Page 63 of Levi
“What do you mean, no one knew about me?I’m pretty sure the government keeps tabs on everyone they put into Witness Protection.”
“That’s just it, no one knew.My uncle and I were the only ones who knew you left and that I had you in my care.”
“What the hell, Brody!”My blood pressure starts to spike and there is a loud pounding in my ears.“Were you ever going to tell me?Or was this some kind of sick game to keep me away from my family?”I accuse.
“It was never a game, Sadie.I’ve been in love with you from the moment we crossed over the state line, here in Montana.I did my research on Levi Thorne and I did you a favor by keeping you out of his clutches.”
“What does that mean?You know nothing about my life with Levi!”I practically scream.How dare he try to even measure the life and connection Levi and I shared.
“It means I know all about his connections with that woman who he was involved with, Sadie.His family is nothing but poisonous and I saved you, even if you don’t realize it right now.Your grandparents have been through enough with that family of his.”
Oh, you judgmental prick!
“You know nothing about what Levi and I did in our relationship, and you have no right to judge someone or something that you obviously know nothing about,” I yell and stop myself from clocking him in the jaw.“And I think that we can start calling me Saylor since the ruse is over.”
“You’re right I don’t, but I do know that you needed to get away from him and I succeeded in that.Ask your grandparents about your aunt.”I would squeeze his head off his shoulders if I could get my hands around his neck.“Look at the life we made here, Sadie.There are no threats of being blown up or shot at.No stalkers around the corner, or the press trying to take yours and Halo’s photos.We can have a peaceful life here and just be us.”
I take a deep breath, trying to calm my heartrate.I stand to put some distance between us because right now I’m pissed and am wanting to hit something.Once I have enough space, I face him, wanting to make sure I’m very clear with this next go around.
“Brody, you had no right to make that decision for me.ME!This is my life and I get to choose how I want it to turn out.How could you think that I wouldn’t want to know that my husband was looking for me?You had no right!”I’m shaking with rage that is building up inside me.How dare he make this decision for me and my daughter.
“We have a life here; don’t you see it.Halo is happy and you are loving the country living.You can’t tell me that you honestly miss having a husband who works all the time and can’t make your life easier?There are no worries here for that, you and Halo can run free and never have to worry.I love you Sadie, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you and Halo.Can’t you see that’s what I’ve been trying to build for us?”
This is the most fucked up life a person could live.With a firm resolve, I stand on my feet.
“You can’t have something that doesn’t belong to you!”I wave my finger at him.“Halo and I were never yours to begin with.We were only here because your uncle said that he could help protect me and my baby from the madman who tried to kill my husband.”
“You would never be in danger if it wasn’t for being with that asshole in the first place,” he retorts.“We are together now and don’t you see the difference in how your life is better now.”
“I was never yours!”I yell.“I only started dating you because I thought my husband divorced me and didn’t love me.I thought he had moved on and didn’t want to be a part of his daughter’s life.”My chest is heaving and I’m short of breath.“How could you ever think it was okay to keep me from him and my family?I had a thriving business that I gave up, thinking this was going to be temporary.Brody, you can talk all you want about Levi being a monster but you are no different.”I’m shaking with rage and Zeus is nudging me to sit down but I can’t.I need to get some distance from him.
“So, what?You’re just going to run back to him with open arms?What about me?What about what we shared here for the past two years?Two months?”He goes to stand.“And stop calling him your husband when he divorced your ass when you were placed under arrest.”
I’ve never been driven to violence in my life, other than when I slapped Levi at the restaurant, but I could easily punch Brody in the face right now.
“Newsflash, Levi and I are still married.He had it stopped when he found out that his father did it against his wishes.”I narrow my eyes.“And I never said that I would run back to him.He and I have a lot of issues that we have to work through, but even if I do that would be my decision.”I point to my chest.
“And us?What about us?”Brody points back and forth between us.
“How can there ever be an us when I was manipulated into moving on with someone who knew my husband was turning the world upside down looking for me?”
He looks as though I’ve struck him, but what did he think would come of this once the truth was out, and that he played a major role in keeping a wife from her husband and a child from theirrealfather.
Then it hits me like a ton of bricks.Levi has been looking for me like crazy since he woke up.All doubts of him not wanting me are gone.He didn’t stand a chance to find me when DA Buttons hid me by not putting me in the real Witness Protection.Levi never stood a chance.If he didn’t have the resources at his disposal then he might never have found me.I’d go on living my life thinking he hated me and never wanted our child.Would Grandma and Grandpa have kept my secret?I know that my grandparents would’ve.
Am I still mad at Levi for keeping me in the dark about the threats to me and Halo?Yes.But it does soften the blow knowing that he’s broken down every door looking for me and Halo.
The guilt of what happened last night settles heavily on my chest, and I need to tell Brody the truth, or I’m no better than him.
“Brody, something happened last night with Levi,” I start, and am having a hard time looking him in the eyes.“I… I didn’t stay at Grandma’s house.Instead, I got drunk at a bar with Everly in town and somehow Levi was there and took me back to his hotel.I’m not going to torture you with the details, but you can guess what happened.”
He starts to pace the room and pulls at the collar of his shirt.He’s mumbling things I can’t hear but finally, he stops and turns back to me.
“Okay,” he says and continues.“I can understand and rationalize that.A lot was thrown at you in the last few days and I can look past last night.But please Sadie, let’s not rush any decisions right now when the tension is so high.I know I’ve kept things from you but…”
“Are you delusional?There are no buts, Brody.What did you think was going to happen when all this blew up in your face?You can’t even call me by my real name.This isn’t real, Brody.You put me and Halo in your real-life fantasy.My daughter has been calling the wrong man ‘daddy’ andhehas missed so much of her life already.”
“Honestly, I never thought it was.The more time went by, the more I thought we’d really become that married couple that everyone here thinks we are.You were finally in a good place, opening your heart again, and I know that I could’ve made you happy until we were old.”
