Page 76 of Assassin's Game
Shock shuddered through me. “No, of course not!” My mother had been murdered. She would’ve fought to stay with me. She hadn’t died because she was weak.
Geneva cupped my cheeks and forced me up until I looked into her warm brown eyes, faded now with age. “And how are you any different from her?”
I couldn’t answer, couldn’t find the words to tell her she was right when some small part of me said she was wrong. And maybe she sensed that somehow, because understanding stared back at me.
“Sometimes,” she said, “our heart lies in order to find some sense in tragedy. We need someone to blame, and most often that’s ourselves because we are convenient. Accessible. Beating ourselves up lessens the pain, odd as that might be. But…” She stroked at the tears on my cheeks. “You have to recognize the lies. You have to fight them—because they’ll steal your happiness and your future.”
“What happiness? What future?” My words were filled with the bitterness churning inside me.
“That man downstairs is your future,” she said firmly. “That family waiting to see that you’re all right is your future. And you have to fight your way back to them, for your sake and theirs.”
“I don’t know if I can,” I admitted like a dirty little secret.
But Geneva wasn’t shocked, and she didn’t brush away my admission. “Not right now,” she agreed, then stood again, taking my hand and pulling me with her. “You need each other for that. Trust me, baby girl.” She patted my cheek, her touch and her eyes full of love and an iron will. I knew she wasn’t going to let me just float along. “Just a few minutes.”
Which was how I found myself in the elevator, Geneva at my side, hair hanging damp down my back and my face scrubbed naked. I felt exposed, raw, but a longing I hadn’t let take hold all day was also surfacing—for Levi, his arms, his strength. He was on the other side of these doors; I just had to find the courage to walk through them.
Geneva squeezed my hand, and then we were walking into the foyer. To the left, in the living room, men’s voices bantered. To the right, in the kitchen, male and female voices mingled, all so familiar they made my heart ache. Hurrying was impossible, but I strained to get closer to the arms I knew could ease the pain swamping me.
We were almost through the door when Levi appeared in front of me, his wide shoulders blocking out the room beyond him. “Little bird.” And then his arms were around me, solid and strong, and the world that had spun off its axis slowed the tiniest bit. My arms came up beneath his, my fingers fisting in the material of his shirt at his back. The relief was so profound I couldn’t speak. “Mrs. Geneva,” he said, the words of rumble against my ear where it rested on his chest. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
Geneva made a sound behind me—pleasure, love, respect, maybe sympathy. “You were right to send for me.”
He had been, I realized. It hadn’t truly clicked till now what Levi had done—he had brought my mama to me when I needed her. Geneva was the closest thing to a mother I’d ever known, and a woman needed her mother at times like this. “Thank you,” I whispered into his shirt.
Levi ducked his head. “Anything for you.”
I tipped my head up and forced myself to meet his eyes. “Still? Even now?” And then it all welled up inside me and I couldn’t hold back the words. “How could you love me? After—”
Anger flashed across Levi’s face, and his fingers on my lips cut me off. “Don’t ever, ever say something like that again; do you hear me?” Palms on my cheeks, he bent low until his lips brushed mine lightly. “How could I not love you, Abby? You’re my life.” He kissed me again, then pulled back. “You always will be.”
I closed my eyes and prayed he was right. Prayed I could go back to that time when I trusted every word that came out of his mouth to be the truth. For now, I just had to walk in faith, didn’t I?
“Is everyone in the kitchen?” I finally asked.
His warm hands returned to my back, glided down to grip my hips, holding me tight against him. “They are. Just family. You can meet the others later.”
Relief weakened my muscles, and I leaned heavily on his strength as he and Geneva led me inside.
OceanofPDF.com
Chapter Thirty-Three
Nix —
Eli had intended to stay at his computer and work through dinner, but when he found out Abby was coming downstairs, our intimate dinner for two had been canceled. Instead I took a plate down to Monty, who volunteered to watch whatever it was Eli had in place work. At least he’d understand it. I, on the other hand…
After eating, the rest of us gathered our dishes and returned them to the kitchen, where Remi had insisted we leave them for him and Eli to take care of. Levi and Abby were nowhere in sight, but we agreed to congregate in the bat cave at the top of the hour to begin mission planning. Eli gave me a wink from the floor where he and Brooke were playing with Diesel and a thick length of rope with knots at both ends. Leah caught it, giving me a smug smile as I exited the kitchen. I smiled as well, all the way to the elevator.
“Y’all have everything you need downstairs?” I asked the guys as we descended. Titus pulled his hair back, coiling it into a bun and securing it as he answered. “It’s fine. Better than most places we’ve laid our heads.” He grinned at Rhys’s grunt of agreement. “There’s a full bath in the bat cave we are welcome to use,” he said with a snicker.
“How cliché is the name ‘bat cave’?” Rhys asked under his breath as the elevator doors slid open.
“And yet pretty accurate if you consider Levi Agozi’s double life,” I pointed out.
“Exactly,” Titus agreed.
“Exactly what?” Monty asked from his seat at the computer setup, although setup was a bit understated given the fact that the Agozi brothers could probably run the US end of a nuclear war with this system. Seriously I had flashbacks toWar Gameseach time I entered the room, though I had little doubt that whatever voice spoke to Eli through his headphones sounded nothing like Joshua and everything like a sultry, sexy bombshell.
