Page 97 of Immersed
Everyone was alive.
A cold prickle of awareness traced Levi’s spine. He turned, already knowing whathe’dfind.
Asher stood by the van, expression contorted with barely contained fury. His mismatched eyes burned with an intensity that made Levi’s stomach clench. He dropped the equipmenthe had been unloading with a loud crash that made the others turn and stare.
“Equipment room,”Asher snapped. “Now.”
Levi started to protest, but Asher’s hand clamped around his wrist. Levi tried to pull away, but Asher dragged him forward with terrifying strength. The others watched with uncertain expressions as Asher hauled Levi through the sanitarium’s entrance and into a small storage room off the main lobby.
The door slammed shut. Before Levi could speak, Asher’s palm collided with his chest, shoving him hard against the wall. The impact knocked the breath from his lungs.
“You fucking left me!”Asher’s forearm pressed against Levi’s throat, restricting his airway.“You died and left me!”
“Asher—”Levi choked out, hands scrabbling at the arm crushing hiswindpipe.
“No!”Spittle flew from Asher’s lips, his face inches from Levi’s.“You don’t get to talk. You don’t get to fucking die on me!”
Levi drove his knee upward, connecting with Asher’s thigh—not a direct hit to the groin, but enough to loosen his grip. He ducked under Asher’s arm and shoved him back.
“Stop it!”Levi rasped, massaging his throat.“I’m here now, aren’t I?”
Asher lunged again, but Levi sidestepped. His back hit a metal shelf, sending equipment clattering to the floor. Asher’s fist smashed into the wall where Levi’s headhadbeen a second before, leaving a dent in the plaster.
“You promised,”Asher hissed, voice cracking with raw emotion.“You made it seem like we had something, and then you decided to die again!”He swung again, but the movement was clumsy.
Levi caught Asher’s wrist mid-swing, but he wasn’t strong enough to stop the moment.“I didn’t choose to die!”
“Liar!”Asher twisted his arm free and shoved Levi back against the shelves. A toolbox crashed to the floor, spilling wrenches and screwdrivers across the ground.“You’drather die than be with me. You’ve made that clear enough.”
Something in Asher’s voice made Levi pause. Beneath the furywasa core of raw hurt.
“Asher, listen to me.”Levi kept his voice low and steady, hands raised in a placating gesture.“I didn’t choose to die. Zoe attacked. I reacted.”
“By leaving me!”Asher grabbed a screwdriver from the floor, brandishing it with a white-knuckled grip.
Levi went very still.“Think about what happened,”he said.“Replay it. What exactly didI do?”
Asher’s breathingwasragged, chest heaving. The screwdriver trembled in his grip.
“I pushed you,”Levi continued.“Out of the way. When Zoe charged.”
The screwdriver lowered an inch.
“I pushed you,”Levi repeated.“To save you.”
The screwdriver clattered to the floor. Asher’s fury melted into a wide-eyed stare, his eyes brimming with unshed tears.
“You pushed me out of the way,”he said, his voice dropping to a whisper.“You let that thing kill you instead of me.”
Levi kept his distance, still wary of Asher’s volatile emotions. His throat ached where Asher’s armhadpressedagainst it.“I reacted on instinct—”
“No.”Asher shook his head vehemently.“Instinct is self-preservation. You made a choice. You chose me.”
The rage vanished, replaced by a reverent awe.
“We need to focus,”Levi said, seizing the opportunity while Asher was still receptive.“We’re back at the beginning. Do you understand what that means?”
Asher stepped closer, movements hesitant now.“We have time,”he said.“The building hasn’t sealed itself. Night hasn’t fallen.”
