Aching for His Discretion (The Discretion Dynasty #1)

18. Teegan

Chapter eighteen

Teegan

H earing a knock at my door, I placed my gold hoops in my ears as I went over. Upon opening it, I blushed as Levi’s eyes looked me up and down, and his gaze intensified. From my sleeveless brown satin top to my black mini pencil skirt and black pointed-toe chunky heels, his eyes darkened as he looked at me.

“How the fuck am I going to get through this night?” he muttered in Italian before he was nice enough to continue in English for me. “Tesoro... you look so adorable, yet alluring. I’m baffled at how you’re able to be both at the same time.” He entered my apartment, and he closed the door behind him as I did my best to hide my blush.

I grabbed a black sweater and my purse as I gave him a shy smile. “Thank you... you don’t look too bad yourself, Mr. Amante,” I replied, and he placed his hand in mine.

Correction: he looked panty-dropping . His white button-up was slightly fitted, leaving nothing to truly be unseen, along with his black fitted pants, black dress shoes, and suit jacket he held over his shoulder... He looked so pretty.

After bidding goodbye to my sweet kitty, we walked out of the complex and to the car. Thanking him for opening the door for me as I sat down inside, we soon made our way to a restaurant near the city. It seemed to be an expensive Italian one, and another smile came to my face as I was happy that he was introducing me to a small piece of his culture and food.

We entered the restaurant and were escorted by the hostess to a table with a beautiful view of the city. Levi pulled out my chair for me, and I thanked him as I took a seat. He sat across from me, and two glasses of water were placed on the table by a man close to my age, who I assumed was our waiter.

“ Good evening. Can I start you with something to drink?” the man asked, and I waited patiently for Levi to respond, given I had no clue what the man said. As I looked at the menu, however, I bit my lip as I could feel the waiter’s lingering gaze on me. I gazed up at Levi to see he noticed the same.

“A bottle of Giacomo Conterno Monfortino, and if you know what’s good for you, you will take your fucking eyes off of her and show some damn respect.” Levi spoke in a monotone, however the man seemed to pale once he fully looked at Levi, most likely recognizing him.

The waiter quickly walked away, and Levi turned my attention to him as he placed a hand on mine.

“Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to be with me, Tesoro mio...”

“It’s not a problem, really. I need to get away from the hospital and from studying for a while, and I really enjoy spending time with you.”

“You’re absolutely perfect, you know that? It pisses me off how fucking good you look and how every single man in the room has been looking at you ever since we arrived,” he said angrily as he placed a kiss on my hand.

I blushed as I truly did notice a few men looking at me; however, after looking at Levi, they quickly averted their eyes.

I also noticed a few women flickering a gaze or two his way, but with him standing by my side, it was a constant reminder that he was with me.

“That’s why, Tesoro mio... I want you to be mine,” he said sincerely, and I gulped softly. It seemed rather abrupt the way he said it, his intense gaze never leaving mine.

“Yours?” I asked softly, and he nodded as he pulled out a small box. My mouth went dry as he opened the box, revealing a diamond necklace... more like a huge rock on a little chain. My gaze lingered on the necklace as I swallowed hard, unsure of how to respond.

Red flag. He’s known you for a month, Teegan.

But he’s so genuine… he takes care of me, his friends like me, and I feel safe with him.

In that case, I’ll repeat. He’s known you for a month.

This is you being naive, Teegan.

Mitchel. Lidocaine. Trash bags. Blood. Killing.

Say no. Say no.

Say yes.

TEEGAN!

“Teegan...” he muttered, and I noticed I had spaced out for a moment.

“Hmmm?” I said softly as words couldn’t exactly form.

He stood up and went behind my chair.

“It’s a lot to ask of you… I know, sweet girl. But I’d like for us to give it a genuine try. I’d like to make what we have official, hmm? You don’t have to say yes right now. I’ll give you time,” he said as he moved my hair and placed the necklace around my neck.

He placed a kiss on my cheek and then on my lips as I melted into his hold. Unfortunately, despite my overthinking, I found myself falling for this man. Given he’s the first man I’ve ever dared to give a second glance to build some kind of connection, whether it be through our awkward friendship or early relationship, I knew I was falling deep. Too deep... Almost as if he was suffocating me underwater, but it made me feel happy, safe... alive.

The literal man of any woman’s dreams was letting me know that I was his.

Exiting the operating room, I subconsciously played with the new necklace that I was gifted from Levi some nights ago. I hadn’t given him a definite answer yet, but my heart knew the answer… my brain just wanted to get in the way and insert “logic” about the risks of being with him. Buzzkill .

“Excellent work as always, Dr. Monroe,” Dr. Woods remarked, walking beside me, and I giggled.

“Some of the other students will start to get jealous, Dr. Woods.” I smiled, and he shrugged.

“Let them. That’ll teach them that hard work pays off, not partying or using Google,” he muttered, and I laughed again at his antics as we stopped at the locker rooms. “Take a break. You’ve had a long day. Dr. Gordon asked if you were interested in going to view a few more autopsies this evening in his lab. Said you were the only student he was interested in having back on a regular basis.” He shrugged, and I nodded eagerly as I hadn’t been to his lab in about a week.

Bidding goodbye to Dr. Woods, I took a shower in the locker rooms and got dressed in a simple turtleneck with a skirt and the oversized white cardigan I packed.

After pulling on my flats, I made my way to the basement and noticed other medical professionals roaming the floor and popping in and out of Dr. Gordon’s lab.

Upon entering, I walked over to Dr. Gordon, who was presently talking to a general surgery resident. He acknowledged me with his eyes for a moment, and I let him finish speaking as I read the case report for the cadaver we were standing in front of.

Once he finished his conversation, he turned to me and smiled.

“Teegan, glad to have you back down here. How have you been?” he asked, and I returned the smile.

“Great, actually. Helped deliver about five babies today,” I said happily, and he chuckled.

“Sounds like fun… but I prefer hanging out with the deceased a bit more. They tend to cry and complain less.”

“Fair enough,” I laughed.

He introduced me to a few other residents and medical personnel who were assessing the corpses as well. I noticed, however, there was a man with a long brown coat that was standing next to another man in a white button-up and black pants as they stood by the man who’d lost his arm.

My heart dropped to my stomach as the man in the white button-up seemed, unfortunately, very familiar.

Private Investigator Theodore Hale.

Dr. Gordon noticed my gaze and traveled over to them with me trailing behind him, hesitating.

“Gentlemen, this is one of our students, Teegan Monroe. She is one of the brightest in her class. Teegan, this is Detective Felix and his partner Theo. The investigation has started to find the culprit responsible for the death of this man, and the police have handed the case over to them,” he introduced, and I nodded as I greeted the two men.

“Pleasure to meet you both,” I said respectfully.

Detective Felix smiled as I did my best to ignore Theodore’s gaze.

“The pleasure is all mine. Interested in the case? Care to share a few details you know?” he asked, and Dr. Gordon looked at me expectantly as I went to speak.

“Well, he was administered lidocaine for his amputation, and we know it was used in excessive amounts. He was most likely a part of some sort of gang-related activity, and one could assume that this wasn’t an accident as other narcotics and substances were found in his blood after the autopsy. This could have also interfered with the effects of the lidocaine on his nerve and skin cells... Although he died from blood loss, the excessive use of lidocaine most likely led to damage in his nerves, leading him to have seizures and other symptoms that complicated his condition,” I said.

The room was silent for a moment as Detective Felix smiled even harder.

“I like her… you should be concerned about potentially losing your job, Theo. Can’t be in this field and let a med student size you up,” Felix joked, and laughs erupted around the room; however, Theo only let out a small smile as he remained silent. And if I wasn’t a chronic overthinker, I would have ignored the way his eyes attempted to analyze my body language and demeanor, almost as if he was trying to figure something out.

My eyes peeled open from my rest as I heard Grayson pace around the room doing whatever he pleased. I yawned softly as I sat up and looked over at the clock. I had the day off today, and Levi was eager to spend it with me. Sadly, he would be arriving a bit later. Nonetheless, I showered and got dressed in a white sweater, tan leggings, and white knit socks.

I grabbed my flashcards and notes that I would be going over today and placed them on the coffee table as I lit a stress relief candle. Grayson walked beside me as I went into the kitchen, and I decided to bake a few cookies as well. After placing the dough on the sheet, I noticed Grayson’s ears perking up as he walked over to the door.

I smiled as I placed the tray in the oven as I eagerly walked out of the kitchen, excited to see Levi. My excitement continued to build as I got closer until Grayson ran away from the door as quickly as he could and jumped into my arms.

Catching me by surprise, I did my best to calm him softly as I could feel his little heart beating, his eyes seeming afraid. I flinched as I held him closer to me while we heard the rough pounding of the person knocking on the door. We stayed silent for a moment before the rough knocking was heard again. The voice on the other side of the door sent shivers down my spine.

“Teegan... we know you’re inside.”

Looking down at Grayson, I placed a kiss on his head as I whispered to him, tears coming to my eyes: “Go hide.” He didn’t seem to want to leave me, but I shooed him as I placed him on the ground.

Approaching the door slowly, I bit my lip as I opened it to see the last two people I wanted to see on my day off—the two people who made it their goal to make my life miserable.

“Hello, little sister,” Declan said with a sinister smile as Dakota stood beside him silently.

In response, I simply gulped softly as I clenched the doorknob with my hand.

The two people who made it their goal to make my life miserable were unfortunately my brothers.