Page 79 of Captured in Love
Levi leans away just enough that he can meet my gaze. “You can’t promise that. You don’t know—”
I can’t help it—I press a quick kiss to his full lips, enjoying the moment his eyelids flutter closed and he opens his mouth on a sigh. But I don’t let the kiss turn into anything more. With a groan, I pull back and take Levi’s face in my hands.
“Listen to me. Nora loves you. More than anything. And you love her. You’ll find a way to explain what happened. If she could get past the fact that I’m an immortal monster, she’ll get over her issues with you, too.”
I’m not great with pep talks, and I know there’s more to be said, but Levi just swallows and nods along with my words. We stare at each other for a moment, two virtual strangers joined by our love for a woman we might both lose.
“Nora might decide she hates us both in the end. But I think that once we’ve all had a chance to think things through, we’ll figure it out.” I say, then add, “Thank you for the blood.”
“Thanks for the awesome rush.” Levi cracks a small smile. “And for what you said. I hope you’re right.”
I lift one shoulder in a shrug. “I’ve been alive longer than most. Sometimes, love does actually win the day.”
A glimmer of hope lights up Levi’s expression, but he follows it with a wary grimace. “Yeah, but I’ve been feeling pretty cursed lately, so we’ll see about that.”
I step back with a long sigh. I’ve been feeling cursed for the better part of two centuries, so I have no idea how to help him with that.
“Before we do anything else,” Levi says as he pushes himself off the storage room shelves, “we need to find Nora. And there’s one place we know she’ll go sooner or later.” He opens his palm to show me the barbaric brand with the coordinates. “Come on.”
We burst out into the hallway, startling a cleaner with a rainbow pin on the collar of her gray uniform. I jerk, already preparing myself to glamour her into forgetting she saw us. But she winks at me and turns the other way, deliberately mopping a section of the floor that looks as if it has been cleaned very recently.
Gods, when have I become young again, hiding in supply closets and exchanging rushed kisses?
Levi doesn’t seem to notice any of this. He takes out his phone and stabs angrily at the screen. “My father keeps trying to reach me. I’m blocking his number.”
I put a hand on his arm. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? He might be a credible source of information. If the Ballendial witches make a move on us, he might give us a warning.”
Levi sends me a flat glare. “You really think so?”
He holds up his phone for me. It’s open to a messaging app, and his father’s latest text shows on the screen.
I warned you. What happens next is your own damned fault. As of this moment, you’re erased from my will.
“Oh.” I look up at Levi, sympathy swelling inside me. “I’m so sorry.”
Levi shakes his head in a jerky move. “I don’t care about that. I just want to keep Nora safe and I’m worried he might pull Oscar into this whole shit.”
“Is that your brother?”
“Yeah.” He shoves his phone back into his pocket. “He’s twenty-four. Supersmart. He’s already talking about grad school, and I don’t want our father to fuck that up for him.”
I hand him his boarding pass, and we make our way toward the security checkpoint. Levi yanks his shoes off with so much force, one goes flying and nearly hits the bored-looking security officer. I help Levi get his shit together before we end up being detained and questioned. I don’t want to spend another night in this miserable airport, not when Nora is likely already in Greece, searching for the next token all on her own.
“It’s just that I feel like I should be in at least three places at once,” Levi bursts out as we wait in line to board the plane.
A mother carrying a toddler on her hip turns back to give Levi a curious glance. He smiles politely at her, and she flushes pink, then pats down her hair.
Levi appears completely oblivious to the effect he has on her and adds in a low voice, “There’s Nora in Greece and my brother in Boston, and at the same time, leaving Iceland feels completely wrong.” He rubs his sternum. “Like I should stay here and do…fuck, I don’t know what to do.”
“One thing at a time,” I murmur as we make our way through the jet bridge. “What’s your priority now?”
I know mine. I’m headed straight to Crete, hoping I’m not too late to help Nora with the third task. Hoping I’m not too late to win back her trust, because I also screwed up. But from Zurich, Levi could catch a flight back to the States and help his brother if he wishes.
His face twists with pain. “Nora. Always Nora. I started these fucking Games with her, and I intend to finish them.”
I clap him on the back. “Then forget about everything else. You can give your brother a call, but that’s it until we find that third location.”
“Yeah.” Levi straightens his shoulders and heads for the first-class section of the plane. “Thanks, man.”
