“I love my students!” She looked back at him and he wished she hadn’t. The pain in her eyes nearly gutted him. “What about my tutoring? Franklin has his scholarship paperwork due. He’s the smartest kid I’ve ever taught, and he’s so high-risk, given his home life and family situation and—”
“You’re right. Franklin is high-risk, but not in the way you think.” Levon cursed under his breath and pushed to his feet, too restless to sit. He hated this. Hated that this kid Olive had trusted wasn’t worthy of her faith in him. Hated that she was disappointed and hurt. Hated most of all that Franklin had made the mistake of threatening the woman Levon loved and the mother of his child, because now Levon was going to have to do something about that. He wasn’t a violent man at his core, but the thought of Franklin and the Reapers going unpunished made his muscles twitch with the need for revenge. If he didn’t keep control, he was likely to storm out into the gathering darkness and resolve this all. Personally. Tonight. Without any of the proper protocols and channels. Screw SSoF. Screw the Harper’s Forge PD. Screw everything except protecting Olive and the baby. “It was Franklin. He is the one who trashed your classroom. His face is all over the security footage. There’s more video of him selling drugs at the arcade for the Reapers.” His attempt to cool himself down before delivering this news failed. It felt like he'd pop a vessel from the blood pounding in his ears and the heat scorching his face. “The proof is undeniable. It was him. Once they test that note, I’m sure they’ll find his fingerprints all over it too.”
All the color drained from Olive’s complexion, leaving her white as a ghost. For a sickening moment he worried that she might pass out on him and he rushed to her side, only to be stalled by the hand she held up to keep him away. Bile burned the back of his throat before he swallowed hard to keep it at bay. He’d wanted so much to get this right, but as usual when it came to words, he’d apparently gotten it all wrong. Again.
If only he could rewind this moment, reorder his thoughts, and start again—
“Franklin?” Her voice croaked out, rough with sadness and betrayal, and her shoulders caved forward, like all the fight had gone out of her. He wanted to hold her, wanted to tell her that it would all be okay, somehow. But she kept him at a distance, with one harrowing glance. “How? Why?”
“My guess is he thought he was protecting you. Trying to scare you off so you wouldn’t keep looking into the gang and their activities.” Levon still had no evidence to back up his theory, only an instinct. But his instincts had never failed him before. Please, God, don’t let them be wrong now. He wasn’t sure how much more Olive could take. She was already under enough stress with the pregnancy and the impending birth.
“I have to get back to the school.” Olive stood, her gaze distant as she tried to move past him, and Levon’s fears tripled. She had to be in shock—she couldn’t be thinking clearly. He took her arm, preventing her from reaching the door. But that look. He’d seen that look before. Back when they’d been working together on a particularly heinous assignment in the lab. Olive was piecing together clues. She was thinking. And given the current circumstances, that could only mean more trouble. Levon hauled her back in front of him, his frown stern. “No, Olive. You’re not going anywhere.”
* * *
“Excuse me?” Olive tried to pull free, but his grip was unshakeable. Still, she was not in the mood to take any crap, especially from him. “I’m not sure I heard you right.”
“You heard me.” A small muscle ticked near Levon’s tight jaw. He stared down at her and she suspected he was struggling to find the words he wanted. She also knew she wasn’t making his progress any easier, but maybe that was the point. “Jesus, you think so loud it practically fills the room with noise.”
Olive’s own temper rose. “What did you just say?”
“Olive, your brain is not welcome in this conversation.” Levon leveled a steely stare at her. “You’re too close to this to see what’s really happening. I never should’ve let you get involved to begin with.”
“You don’t ‘let’ me do anything, Levon.” She did pull free then, rubbing her sore arm where he’d gripped her hard, her voice hissing with hurt. Pain dug deep into her core and dammit, she wanted him to feel it too. Wanted him to feel something for her. Wanted to be more than just a burden or another situation to be handled. “I’m not your prisoner. I’m a grown woman, and I think—”
“And there you go again. Thinking.” Levon shook his head and muttered under his breath. “Dammit, Olive. There are some things that you can’t think your way out of. This is one of them. Your safety and that of our baby overrides everything else, and since you don’t seem to be in the right place mentally to prioritize it, I’m doing it for you.”
Oh. My. God. Fury fumed inside her like a boiling pot ready to explode. If she wasn’t pregnant and he wasn’t so damned big, she’d have kicked his ass. The baby kicked hard as if in accord. As it was, all she could do was pace. Pace and plot painful retribution for his caveman ideas. Sure, he was a SEAL, but that didn’t mean muscle was the end-all-be-all way to handle all the world’s problems. And yes, she was close to Franklin Monroe. She was close to all her students. Took an active interest in them and their wellbeing. That wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, if Levon would just listen to her, it might be
