Aching for His Discretion (The Discretion Dynasty #1)

33. Teegan

Chapter thirty-three

Teegan

W alking into Levi’s office, he sat at his desk as he spoke on the phone. He beckoned me over with two fingers as he continued speaking in Italian. I padded my way over to him and straddled his lap as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

He finished up the call, and I felt content as he pulled me closer to him in the hug. He seemed tired, and I could tell he wanted to say something to me.

“I’m sorry, Tesoro…” he whispered, and I shook my head as I ran my fingers through his hair.

“It’s okay. I’ll be okay,” I replied, a bit unsure of myself, and I thought for a moment before speaking once more. “Can... can you tell me about Antonio?” I asked, and he sighed heavily. The topic seemed to be bringing his mind stress.

“My father… is the one who got me into this business. A few years ago, he turned on me and has been running ever since. Call it jealousy, hate, or envy. He didn’t enjoy the fact that I knew how to get shit done better than he ever could… My mother is blinded by the man he is; although he is abusive, she still loves him dearly. I knew someone I was close to had to be giving him some kind of close information, and I thought I’d found him a while ago, but it turns out John wasn’t the saint we thought he was…”

“What could he have done to me if you didn’t show up?” I asked, and Levi pulled back slightly as he held my jaw in his hand.

“Not a goddamn thing. Do you want to know why, my sweet Tesoro?” he asked, and I nodded slowly as I played with the collar of his shirt.

“Because I will always be there to protect you. If not me, then the idiots in the other room, who would literally take a bullet for you in a heartbeat. Nothing will happen to you, and nothing will happen to the cat, either.”

“And what’s going to happen to Mr. John?” I asked, and he pushed a piece of my hair behind my ear.

“If I tell you, will you try to run again?” he asked, and I gulped softly.

“I don’t know…” I whispered, and he hummed as he pulled me closer and placed a kiss on my neck.

“Just know that he is going to pay for what he did to you.”

Running my hand up and down his back, I sighed. “I don’t know why I ran.”

“You were afraid, Tesoro… your fight or flight systems kicked in, and you needed to do what you thought was best at the moment.”

Laying my head on his shoulder, we remained silent for a while as we enjoyed the presence of one another.

This man was corrupting my brain. I ran because I was afraid… but I felt safe in his arms when he held me, cherished me, and adored me.

His bright red dangerous flags were blinded by my growing need to feel safe with him. It may just be the manipulative tactics he used on me… but I felt like he was truly trying to do better, and if being honest, I could only hope that I was right.

“My pretty girl…” he whispered, and I blushed as he placed a few kisses on my shoulder and neck. He did something to me, something that made it impossible to stay away… something that made me feel like I wasn’t living if I wasn’t near him.

Was this love?

Was I falling for a man who was the definition of danger? The devil in disguise? A manipulator? A possessive man who would literally do anything for me?

“Tesoro?” he muttered, and I blinked a few times as I made eye contact with him.

“Where did you go, baby?” he asked, and I shook my head as I lay on his shoulder. He didn’t say anything in response, just rubbed my back softly as he returned to his work.

My racing thoughts settled as I relaxed in his hold, however, part of my mind, the one that controlled my never-ending overthinking, practically laughed at how naive and gullible I was being. I had little energy to ridicule myself for trusting Levi, so I simply relaxed in his hold even further.

Going into the cafeteria, I grabbed a premade salad and went over to a window. It had been a few days since the incident with Levi’s father and Mr. John, and I kept my mind busy with work and studying to get my mind off of it all.

As I sat down, I flinched as Beverly plopped down in front of me.

“We’re going club-hopping!” she said happily, and I shook my head as I took a bite of my salad.

“No, we’re not,” I muttered, and she whined as she pulled my bowl away from me.

She gave me a smile at my visible annoyance. “We can, and we are. I know your shift ends early today, and I’m going to try to get out a bit early, too. A couple of other med students are going to be joining us, and I’ll pick you up around eight.”

I sighed. I could use the night out… but I was a homebody. I wanted to lay with my kitty and watch telenovelas or K-Dramas. But I guess I haven’t really spent time with her lately. One night couldn’t hurt.

“Fine... I’ll go,” I said, and she squealed as she pushed my salad back over to me.

“I’ll see you later!” She grinned, and I watched as she walked away.

Picking up the phone, I called Levi as I finished up my salad.

“Hello, Tesoro mio,” I heard on the phone, and I bit my lip.

“Hi. Are you busy?”

“Never when it comes to you, baby.”

For some reason, my mouth went dry as I prepared to tell him about my plans for the night. “I-I just wanted to let you know that my friend wanted me to go clubbing with her tonight.”

“Is that so?” he asked, and I shuddered slightly as his tone changed over the phone.

“Um, y-yeah. Just wanted to let you know,” I whispered, and he hummed into the phone and didn’t say much for a moment.

“Well, keep your phone on, and I’ll call you throughout the night to make sure you’re okay,” he muttered, but I felt like that wasn’t it. Like he wanted to say something else.

I rubbed the back of my neck nervously as he spoke again.

“I’ll call you in a bit, Tesoro,” he muttered, and I bid him goodbye and ended the call. I felt nervous.

Knowing Levi, I could tell he wasn’t pleased. I almost wanted to cancel on Beverly, but I decided against it since she was obviously excited for me to tag along.

Texting her Levi’s address, I let her know to pick me up from his place. She didn’t say anything in response, but I did get a thumbs-up confirming she got the message.

Looking in the mirror, I fixed my hair in a low bun as my kitty jumped onto my lap. I was dressed in a simple sleeveless black halter top, blue jeans, and a pair of combat boots. Since I was running out of clothes, I had settled with this look as I hadn’t been back to my apartment in a while.

After finishing my hair, I went to Levi’s closet and picked up one of his black jean jackets. It smelled just like him, and even though it almost swallowed me when I wore it, it had a cute oversized look, and I didn’t want to be too cold.

Beverly texted me that she was here, and I reluctantly kissed my kitty goodbye as I descended the steps and left the apartment. She was double parked in the middle of the road, and I had to get into the back as I noticed two other girls in the car from our medical school and one of them was sitting beside Beverly in the front passenger’s seat. I waved to them politely, and they waved back.

“Ready for some fun, Teegan!” Beverly beamed from the driver’s seat, and I sighed as I buckled my seatbelt.

“Kinda... Wanna be back before eleven PM, though, if that’s okay with you guys.”

“We were planning for three AM, but we’ll shoot for eleven.” Beverly laughed, and I sighed as I leaned my head against the window.

Receiving a message, I looked at my phone to see it was from Levi. I smiled softly as I opened it and read it silently.

Levi: Tesoro, I will be busy tonight, but don’t you hesitate to call me if you need something. Have fun.

Thank you. I’ll keep you updated. x

Be a good girl for me, hmm?

I will…

I blushed slightly and put my phone down as I looked back up. Looking out of the window once again, I sighed as the city night lights started coming into view.

This… is going to be a long night.

We started with one club, and if I calculated right, we were now walking to number four. I only had about three drinks, all with minimum alcohol, but the girls had more than I could count.

It was really late, already past midnight, but I didn’t want to leave Beverly by herself as the other girls were practically wasted. As we approached the next club, my eyebrows furrowed at the familiarity of both the area and the building.

I stopped Beverly. “Bevs, you know this isn’t really the kind of club we’ve been going to tonight, right?” I asked, knowing the nature of Levi’s club was very sophisticated.

“Oh, relax, Teegan. Don’t you wanna see your boyfriend?” she said suggestively, and I froze. Noticing this, she grabbed my arm, and we walked inside as the guard made direct eye contact with me.

As we entered, the girls went to the bar, and Beverly stayed behind with me.

“We should do some exploring,” she said drunkenly, and I looked over at her.

“Explore what, Beverly? It’s a club. The most he has is an office in the back,” I muttered, and she giggled as a smile came to her face.

“Oh... well, in that case, I think I know something you don’t know. ” She smiled, and I had half a mind to tell her to drink some water to sober up, but by the way she was looking, I pressed her on what she said a bit more.

“Beverly... what do you know?” I asked.

She simply grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the back near what looked like the door to the basement. I looked over my shoulder constantly, feeling eyes on me, but I pushed forward as she led me down the steps.

“How do you know what’s in here?” I asked her cautiously, and she shrugged.

“I know a guy… or, to be more precise, some of the students have a weed guy who comes to the house parties and—”

“Wait...” I said, stopping in the middle of the steps, and she looked over her shoulder at me.

“Micah?” I asked as I remembered him miraculously showing up at Alec’s party a few months back.

She nodded as she continued down the steps as I was left feeling confused. Did she know them better than I did? I knew they did a few… shady things, but I wasn’t quite aware that the guys handled drugs.

What’s worse, murder or distributing cannabis or even narcotics to stressed medical students? Take your pick.

“Bevs... let’s go back upstairs,” I urged her as I had a bad feeling, and she rolled her eyes.

“Just come down here.”

I sighed as I descended the steps and followed her a bit inside. It was quiet. We were in a room with steel and wooden doors and file cabinets along the walls as well.

It was dark, dim, and cold… but Beverly didn’t seem to mind. In fact, it looked as though she had been here before and was looking for something.

Then, she asked a simple question—a question that caused my heart rate to quicken and my palms to become sweaty.

“Have you heard from Alec recently?”