Aching for His Discretion (The Discretion Dynasty #1)

51. Teegan

Chapter fifty-one

Teegan

“ P atient presents with early signs of gestational diabetes with an abnormally high blood sugar level. Her excessive amniotic fluid raises questions about potential polyhydramnios. She will be monitored overnight as per Dr. London’s request. Will update when more information becomes available ,” I said into the mic as I watched the words populate in the patient’s online chart. Once I finished, I continued on to my other assignments until I received a message from Levi.

Opening it, I tilted my head as I did my best to hide my growing smile.

Levi: Would you like to get some ice cream after your shift?

If I remember correctly, Mr. Amante, you’re not the biggest fan of ice cream.

You’d be absolutely correct. I am not a fan of flavored frozen milk, especially with all of the unnecessary toppings you get… but you like it, Tesoro. So therefore I love it.

For the record, the toppings are very much necessary.

Tell your patients the same, then get back to me. You are supposed to be living by example, Dr. Monroe. No breaking the rules.

You and I both know some rules are made to be broken.

I sent the last message and heard my pager go off, indicating I was needed in the ER. Signing out of my computer, I placed my phone in my pocket and quickly went over to the room that needed my assistance.

It wasn’t too bad of a case. The woman I had to assist was experiencing severe back pain and was only four months pregnant.

After ordering more tests and doing a few physical exams on her body, it looked to be some mild compression along her spine that blocked some of the cerebral spinal fluid. It would take her some time to recover, and she would need close monitoring of her pregnancy, too.

After washing my hands, I checked the time to see it was close to the end of my shift. Levi would definitely be waiting in the parking garage for me, so I didn’t want to keep him waiting too long. After grabbing my many bags and belongings, I bid goodbye to Abbie and Emma as they miraculously survived being in the clinic all day away from me today. And looking at the way Abbie devoured her sandwich the moment she sat down, the word “ survived” seemed to fit the situation well.

As I exited the elevator to the ground floor, I stopped in my tracks as I heard a voice.

“When were you going to tell me?”

I turned to see Jacob dressed casually in a trench coat as he wasn’t working today. It was freezing in the garage due to the weather, and from the look of his slightly pink face, I could tell he’d been out here for at least fifteen, maybe twenty minutes.

“Jacob? What are you doing here? It’s your day off?” I asked, a bit confused.

He approached me slowly. “When were you going to tell me?” he repeated.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. “Tell you what?”

“That you were fucking your ex-boyfriend again,” he said bluntly, and my eyes widened in shock as he waited for my answer. My jaw practically dropped to the floor as he glared at me with pure hatred. “You know, I always thought you were innocent. It’s what drew me to you in the first place. Why I grew to like you so much and why I took your rejection so hard… but now. Now I’m not too sure,” he muttered.

I clutched my bags closer before I walked over to the parking spot Levi was sure to be waiting in for me.

“Run away. That’s it. Run when the truth comes out. Run so everyone doesn’t find out your just a little whore—” he started, and I turned to look at him as tears filled my eyes. His words sounded oddly familiar to the ones my brother, Declan, had said to me before.

“Stop telling lies. He is the only man I have ever been with,” I seethed.

Jacob laughed humorlessly as he put his hands in his pockets.

“I find that hard to believe. I always wondered why you got so much attention from Dr. Lombardi, Dr. Taylor, and Dr. Maxwell. I guess you’re not as perfect as everyone thinks, huh? You knew I liked you… even if you didn’t want me, you didn’t need to fuck your ex and shove it in my face,” he said, rolling his eyes as my tears fell down my face.

He looked smug, happy that he got this reaction out of me, happy I was crying and doing my best not to sob as he berated me with lies and accusations.

We stood in silence for a moment before we heard slow footsteps from behind me. I wanted to turn to see who it could be, but the voice immediately calmed my nerves and slowed my erratic heartbeat.

“Tesoro?” Levi said, and I turned around to see him standing like my knight in shining armor as always. He held a hand out to me, and I walked over to be comforted in his embrace as I wiped my tears. He placed a kiss in my hair, and I took in a few deep breaths of his scent as I did my best to calm down.

He pushed a fallen hair out of my face and kissed my tear-stained cheek softly before resting his forehead against mine. I didn’t even care that Jacob was watching our interaction. I simply felt thankful that I was with Levi at this moment.

“Are you okay?” he asked sincerely, and I nodded softly. He hummed in response, and I fell into his touch as he caressed my cheek with his thumb softly.

“Here we fucking go,” Jacob said through the silence.

Levi didn’t flinch. “Would you like me to take care of this for you, Tesoro?” he asked, and my heart skipped a beat as I looked up at him cautiously. A quick flashback in my head reminded me of a time he said the same words about the private investigator, Theo.

“Theo... he’s been following me, and he threatened me with losing my career, my life. He knows that I know, and he wants me to confess...” I said shakily, and Levi stayed silent for a moment as if he was contemplating his next few words.

“Tesoro…” he said after a few moments, and I hummed in response as I wiped the tears that were still falling.

“Do you want me to take care of it?”

It felt oddly familiar… this interaction between us—and I felt at a loss for words. Before, I was more hesitant. I was afraid of what he could do, what he was capable of, and the lengths he would go to protect me. All of it frightened me. I didn’t know how to handle it, how to handle him, how to handle his love.

But now, I appreciate his love. I appreciated his concern and his protectiveness. I appreciated his dedication to me, so much that I felt like a hypocrite for what I’d put him through. When he asked me the same question years ago… I was scared and afraid. Today…

I continued looking into his eyes as he waited patiently for my answer.

… I feel safe in his arms.

“Yes,” was all I whispered in response as I gave him my trust. I let him do what he did best and what made me essentially fall in love with him: protect me.

He kept his eye contact with me, and in a split second, he pulled something from his waist, and a silenced gunshot filled the air, followed by the sound of Jacob’s scream of pain as he fell to the ground.

Levi gazed into my eyes… waiting for my reaction.

I remained the same: appreciative, grateful to him, and absolutely in love with the man he was.

He kissed my lips briefly before pulling away for a moment as he walked over to Jacob slowly. Against my better judgment, I turned to see Jacob lying on the floor, clutching his leg in pain and agony. Levi crouched down and sighed heavily as he made eye contact with Jacob’s rage-filled eyes.

“You should definitely go to the hospital for that injury. It seems serious,” Levi advised, and Jacob looked up at him, pain-filled tears in his eyes.

“You fucking psychopath...” Jacob seethed.

Levi tilted his head to the side momentarily before scoffing, “If only you knew.”

He stood and turned toward me. He placed his hand out for me to grab and slowly slid mine into his as I looked down at them. He gradually walked me to the car, and I bit my lip.

“Are we going to be in trouble?” I asked him softly as we approached his car.

He shook his head. “He won’t say anything…”

“How can you be so sure?” I asked.

He leaned down slightly to be eye level. “ I just know, Tesoro. He should be lucky he got off with a warning for disrespecting you the way he did,” he muttered frustratedly, and I placed a small kiss on his lips as a thank-you for sticking up for me.

Did I want Jacob to get hurt? Not at all. But just like when Theo wanted to control my life, I didn’t want to give Jacob room to try.

I didn’t want to give him the impression that he could control my life with made-up lies and whatever jealous thoughts he had against Levi and me.

Using Levi to scare him may not have been entirely practical, but nothing about him or our relationship was practical or ordinary, and I was slowly beginning to accept that.

Exiting the shower, I walked over to Levi to see him lying on the bed on his phone. He noticed my presence and sat up slowly, running his eyes up and down my figure hidden in the towel. He beckoned me over as he sat at the edge of the bed, and I tiptoed over to him and clutched the fabric in my hands a bit more.

He rested his hands on my waist and placed a small kiss on my neck as I bit my lip. Running my hand through his hair, my voice filled the silence.

“What would the old Levi have done to the waiter or Jacob?” I asked softly.

He paused for a moment as he laid his head on my chest.

“The old Levi… would have killed or tortured first and asked questions later.”

“And now?” I asked, and he sighed.

“Now, I do my best to control those impulses… Even though I may act on them eventually, I do my best to make sure it is as delayed as possible to give the person a chance to redeem themselves… but you know,” he began, and I gasped softly as he tightened his hands around my waist. “ The old Levi wasn’t all that bad . He knew how to handle things and make people pay for their mistakes. Fear can be a powerful tool… but you, Tesoro, have taught me the power of forgiveness and patience. That’s why the waiter is home from the hospital still resting, and Jacob still has a pulse.”

“Do you think there are some people who aren’t worthy of redemption?” I asked him softly, and he sighed.

As he loosened his grip, he lifted his head from my chest and gazed lovingly into my eyes.

“I used to believe that… but you’ve shown me otherwise.”