A Chip and a Chair (Seven of Spades, #5)(43)
It took the combined efforts of Dominic, Martine, Denise, and Bowen to force Levi out of the building after that clusterfuck. Martine walked them to Dominic’s truck, because Dominic honestly wasn’t sure he could get Levi there by himself.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Levi said as Martine dragged him along by the elbow. “Are you insane? There’s going to be follow-up attacks-”
“Not tonight, there’s not. An organization puts out a video like that to demoralize a population. If they don’t give that terror time to sink in and take root, there’s no point.”
Levi skipped right to his next argument, which was one he’d already tried inside the EOC. “This is why Utopia wanted to kidnap me. They must think they can leverage me in a challenge against the Seven of Spades to make them the king bad guys of Las Vegas.”
“But they failed,” said Dominic. “Get in the truck.”
“No!”
Martine snapped her fingers in front of Levi’s face until he focused on her. “You need to get your head on straight before you come back. I’m not letting you embarrass yourself or the department by losing your cool at a time like this. And do you think I haven’t noticed how stiffly you’re holding yourself? You’re in too much pain to be useful here. Go home.”
Levi relented-barely-and folded himself into the truck’s passenger side with the air of a sulking child. He sat rigidly, not letting his back touch the seat.
Before they left, Dominic connected his phone to the truck’s Wi-Fi and found dozens of texts from worried family and friends who’d been unable to call him with the cellular networks overloaded. There were even a few from Levi’s parents, who’d apparently seen the explosion on the news and panicked when they couldn’t reach Levi by phone. Of course, Levi’s cell had been destroyed by the blast along with his radio, so he wouldn’t have gotten their calls anyway.
Dominic sent a few quick, reassuring texts, then started the slow drive home through clogged streets.
Levi broke his sullen silence a few minutes later. “Once the Seven of Spades sees that video, they’re going to slaughter every member of Utopia they can get their hands on.”
“Good,” Dominic said.
Levi narrowed his eyes. “You don’t mean that.”
“I do. Those assholes killed a bunch of innocent people and are terrorizing the city I grew up in. If the Seven of Spades wants to wipe them all off the map, I won’t stand in the way.”
“That’s not how we do things.”
“That’s not how you do things. But I can tell you that most American soldiers would have no problem terminating Nazis with extreme prejudice.”
Making an exasperated noise, Levi turned his head toward the window. “If we’re going to find out what Utopia is planning in time to stop it, we need them alive.”
A fair point, but it didn’t do much to change Dominic’s opinion. The rest of the drive was quiet, and when they got home, Levi didn’t say a word as Dominic helped him up the stairs.
The men who’d attacked Levi had long ago been picked up. Dominic unlocked the door to their apartment, where they spent a few minutes soothing a frenzied Rebel. He was still kneeling, stroking her head and speaking to her softly, when he noticed Levi had gone into the living room and was lifting a bottle of Knob Creek bourbon off the sideboard.
“Nope.” Dominic joined Levi and snatched the bottle out of his hand. “That’s not how we’re dealing with this.”
“I wasn’t going to get drunk,” Levi said.
“Alcohol shouldn’t be used as a coping mechanism. I know you’ve talked to your therapist about this. Maybe you don’t have a problem now, but the more often you self-medicate with alcohol, the more likely you are to develop one.” Seeing he wasn’t making an impact, Dominic pressed harder. “Or maybe you don’t think that’s a big deal. We’d be the perfect match, after all-a drunk and a gambler.”
Levi recoiled, his nostrils flaring. “How dare-”
“Do you think I haven’t been dying to gamble every second since I found you at that blast site?” Dominic slammed the bottle down so hard he was surprised it didn’t break. “Do you think I’m not craving the kind of relief that would give me with every cell in my body? I’m hanging by a thread, Levi.” He took a shuddering breath, shaking out his hands. “And I-I can’t watch you make the same kinds of mistakes I used to. Drowning yourself in alcohol is not the solution for what you’re feeling right now. Trust me.”
All of the indignation slid off Levi’s face. He stepped closer to Dominic and touched his arm. “How can I help?”
“Let me take care of you,” Dominic said. “You need that tonight, no matter what you think, and it’ll help distract me. Keep me out of my head.”
After a brief pause, Levi nodded. Dominic leaned in and kissed him.
“I’m gonna take Rebel for a walk. While I’m doing that, I want you to go take a bath-a bath, not a shower-and try not to get your bandages too wet.”
With another nod, Levi limped in the direction of the master bedroom. Dominic turned around to find Rebel with her leash in her mouth, wagging her tail enthusiastically.
He double-checked all of the locks and set the alarm before they left. A long walk around their building cleared his head somewhat, and by the time they returned, two uniformed officers had arrived to serve as the first shift of Levi’s security detail. After confirming the cops’ credentials with the substation, Dominic trusted them to their guard duties while he and Rebel went back inside.