A Chip and a Chair (Seven of Spades, #5)(36)
Dominic crossed his arms, a move that made his giant biceps bulge even more. “And you want me to get that legal advice from your one-night-stand?”
“I want you to get it from Leila,” Levi retorted. “But we both know that’s not going to happen. Sawyer’s the only other lawyer I know we could trust with this.”
“You actually trust Sawyer?”
“I trust his arrogance and his professional pride. And . . .” Levi bit his lip. “He’d do it if I asked.”
“Because he still has a thing for you,” Dominic said flatly.
Levi shrugged and looked away, his cheeks burning. He knew Dominic bore no grudge over his night with Sawyer-they’d been broken up, after all-but that didn’t mean Dominic liked being reminded of it.
After a moment of silence, Dominic huffed out a rueful laugh. “I’d ask what it is that makes men who’ve been with you unable to let go, but I know the answer to that from personal experience.” He touched Levi’s arm. “If you think I should talk to Sawyer, I will.”
“Thank you,” Levi said, gripping his fingers.
He wasn’t able to arrange that right away, though, because all of his energy was being poured into averting Utopia’s murky plans. At Dominic’s suggestion, the FBI hadn’t let Bishop know they were on to him; instead, they’d put him under twenty-four-hour surveillance, hoping he’d lead them to more concrete evidence.
Between the FBI and the LVMPD, word of the elevated threat level was quietly spread to the city’s political and business leadership. Security measures were tightened across the Valley, especially at the potential targets Dominic had remembered from Utopia’s murder board.
The difficulty of preparing Las Vegas for an attack was that the entire city was one big juicy target for terrorism. There were shows and special events going on every day of the week, a transient population that was challenging to monitor, and multiple locations where huge numbers of people gathered regularly, like the Strip and the Fremont Street Experience. Without more specific intelligence, they were floundering in the deep end of a pool whose existence they’d only just discovered.
The majority of law enforcement resources were diverted to the threat, which meant that the Seven of Spades investigation had been mostly shelved for the time being. Levi understood the rationale: A potential terrorist plot endangering hundreds if not thousands of lives was a more immediate problem than a serial killer who murdered one person at a time, and had been inactive for over a month besides. It made sense.
But Levi couldn’t help being secretly, selfishly resentful that this had to happen now.
Sunday rolled around with no real progress made, and Wen insisted that Levi take the day off as scheduled. Over the past few weeks, Levi had fallen into a pattern of training with Adriana on Sundays after brunch at Dominic’s mother’s house, but there was no way he was letting her come into the city given current events.
Instead, he visited the Andersons’ horse farm in Henderson, where they trained in the spacious backyard. Adriana’s foster siblings Josh and Rima were eager to join, and Levi watched with amusement as Adriana proudly demonstrated some of the basic techniques she’d already mastered.
He politely declined the Andersons’ invitation to join them for dinner afterward. As Adriana was walking him to his car, she said, “So what’s the real reason you wanted to train here instead of at Counterstrike?”
“I told you.” He hit the remote unlock button on his keys. “I needed to get out of the city, clear my head.”
She put her hand on the driver’s side window so he couldn’t open the door. “Uh-huh. Has anyone ever told you you’re not a great liar?”
Sighing, he turned to meet her eyes.
“You can tell me. I won’t freak out, and I won’t tell anyone else, I promise.”
He looked at her hopeful expression-her obvious longing to be trusted, to be taken seriously-and relented. “Las Vegas is a dangerous place to be right now. We’re working hard to contain the situation, but we don’t have a full handle on it yet. I want you to be safe. I need you to be safe.”
Her eyes softened, but then she frowned. “What about you?”
“I’m a cop. Not being safe is kind of what I signed up for.”
“I guess,” she said reluctantly. “Just be careful, okay?”
After several promises of caution, she let him go. He checked his phone as he was buckling his seatbelt to find a text from Dominic.
Stressed out. Going to meeting w/ Judd. Be home around 8. Dominic had followed that up with a couple of kissy-face emojis.
Levi typed a quick reply, hesitated, and added a simple red heart at the end. He felt silly the moment he sent it, but a little discomfort was worth the smile it would put on Dominic’s face.
The drive home was uneventful, full of domestic thoughts like whether they had enough coffee in the pantry and what they should eat for dinner. Between the two of them, Dominic was the cook, but he wouldn’t be in the mood after a GA meeting.
Postmates, then-Levi’s specialty. He was debating options as he jogged up the stairs and headed for their apartment door, keys in hand.
The scuff of shoes on concrete was his only warning. A heavy body slammed into him from behind, driving him toward the door as a thick leather belt wrapped around his throat.