Cardinal's Sins

by Mackenzie Wiliams

  Since then, she’d done a pretty good job of getting herself on her feet but extra money couldn’t hurt her or Tessa’s sister. Retirement money, maybe.

  “I was thinking fifty, fifty.” Levi rubbed his chin, toying with his boss.

  “What? No way. Levi, be reasonable.” He rubbed his knees before leaning back in his chair. “Levi?”

  Levi continued to rub his chin, letting Dave squirm for a moment. “Fine. Thirty, seventy. Final offer.”

  “Deal.” Dave shot forward, his hand outreached.

  Levi stared at his hand for a moment before finally leaning forward and shaking his hand.

  “Set up the meeting, now. I want this done with.” He squeezed his boss’s hand a bit too harshly.

  Dave winced for a moment before pulling his hand back with some effort. “Way ahead of you. You’re supposed to meet him in two hours. He said to meet him where he banged his favorite whore. Whatever that means.”

  Levi shook his head. He knew exactly what Scab was talking about. Always an asshole.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Tessa checked her phone again. Still no reply from Levi. She groaned, grabbed the dish towel sitting in front of her on the counter, and threw it. It landed in silence on the floor, not giving her the release she wanted.

  She held up her phone but quickly talked herself out of throwing it. She noisily exhaled before setting her phone back down.

  I need to get out of here. I need to take my mind off Levi.

  Tessa headed to her closet to grab her tennis shoes. She had no plan of what she wanted to do, but it certainly wasn’t sitting here going crazy. Maybe I’ll go shopping or have a beer somewhere.

  She finished putting on her shoes and went back to grab her phone and then her purse. Anything had to be better than sitting here alone. She could call a friend of maybe even her mom, but she quickly dismissed those ideas. She didn’t want to talk to someone she knew, someone who might see how upset she was.

  Tessa headed out of her house and was soon climbing into her small, silver car. She started it up, cranked the radio, and drove off with no real destination in mind. She took a few familiar turns, humming along with the radio.

  After ten minutes, she was driving down a street that had a few small shops and a café. She slowed, looking out her window to see how busy each place looked. Nothing good caught her eye so she continued on.

  Another ten minutes later, she was driving past a block that was coned off for some sort of neighborhood garage sale.

  “All right. Let’s check this out.”

  She turned down the next street and parked her car. As she walked over to the busy block, she watched several women, some dragging kids along with them, all wandering through the tables set up with mostly junk.

  A young boy pushed past her, calling for his mom. Tessa sighed, a strange calm running through her. She lazily stopped by a table, picking up a small figurine of a unicorn. She wasn’t completely at peace, but it was nice to have the distractions.

  Tessa set down the unicorn and slowly strolled over to another table. An old woman was talking with a younger woman, haggling price on a hideous, green sun hat. A small smile tugged on Tessa’s lips as she inhaled through her nose. She turned to watch a mother scolding her daughter for knocking over a small stack of picture frames. Distractions.

  She then wandered down a quieter row of racks of old clothes. As she made her way around a large one, someone caught her eye, making her stomach jump into her throat.

  Levi? Was her mind playing tricks on her? Tessa could have sworn that Levi just walked behind a small shed in the backyard of the house right across from where she was now standing.

  “No. I’m losing my mind.” Tessa closed her eyes for a few seconds.

  When she opened them again, there was nothing surprising before her. Would it be insane of her to walk into someone’s backyard looking for Levi? That’s stupid. She took a deep breath and turned away from the house.

  Tessa walked over to one of the racks and unthinkingly grabbed the sleeve on a purple sweater. She stood still, not really looking at it, her mind bouncing around. Another child bumped into her, but Tessa barely noticed. She dropped hold of the sweater, slowly turning back around.

  “Maybe I should have gone to get that beer.”

  ****

  “You idiot.” Levi placed his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels, watching Scab saunter toward him.

  The “whore” he had referred to was his first wife. They’d married very young, and the marriage was annulled soon after because she had lied about her age. She was only fifteen when they’d signed the marriage certificate, with Scab being eighteen.

  This spot behind the shed was where the two of them used to meet to fool around, hiding from her parents in the house nearby.

  Scab pulled the toothpick out from between his teeth. “Cardinal! Nice to see you, too.”

  The other man came to a halt in front of Levi with an odd smirk. Levi reached out his hand, and Scab didn’t hesitate to shake it.

  “When they told me that you’d quit the business, I knew it couldn’t be true.” Scab flung his toothpick into a nearby bush.

  “Yeah, about that. This is my last job.” Levi ran his hand through his hair.

  “Sure.” Scab nodded at him in a mocking fashion.

  “Listen, I need to make this short. Okay? Do you have what I need?”

  “Of course.” Scab reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone, pressing the screen several times. “There it is. The money has hit my account so we are square.”

  He slipped the phone back in his pocket and then reached into his front pocket. He pulled out a flash drive, holding it out toward Levi. Levi hesitated for a moment before taking it.

  “That’s it?”

  “Why? What did you expect?”

  “No, not the flash drive. This.” He pointed at Scab and then at himself. “Since you refused to work with anyone else, I thought you’d make this more difficult. You know, hoops to jump through or some shit like that.”

  Scab snorted, his smile growing. “Cardinal, I have to be picky about who I trust, but once I do trust someone, there’s no need for games.”

  Levi nodded at him, flipping the flash drive around in his fingers before slipping it into his pocket. “Well, all right then.”

  “Levi?” A familiar feminine voice sliced through him.

  He turned to see Tessa standing several feet away in the grass.

  His whole body tensed. “Fuck.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Who the fuck is this?” The man in front of Levi pointed at Tessa.

  “Shit. Sorry.” Levi looked completely stressed as he turned toward Tessa, his jaw tight before he spoke to her in a hushed tone. “Get out of here.”

  Anxiety shot through her body as Levi’s eyes flashed. He pointed off toward the street. I knew it. He’s back at it.

  “Levi?” She tried to keep the shake out of her voice.

  He exhaled loudly and marched toward her. Tessa held her breath. He looked angry, and she was uncertain of what to expect from him. For the first time in a while, she felt like she didn’t know him at all. She held her ground, watching him approach.

  Levi took hold of her upper arm, squeezing it. His nostrils flared and his jaw was clenched tightly again. “What are you doing here? Did you follow me?”

  Fear tightened her chest because his expression was serious. He looked very similar to when he’d busted into the hotel room and caught Sam touching her. He looked almost as angry now. Was Levi really furious with her?

  “No. No. I didn’t follow you. I just needed to get out of the house and I … I came across the sidewalk sale … and—”

  “Fine. Whatever. Get out of here. Now.”

  “Dude!” The stranger still standing behind Levi lifted his hands into the air.

  A tremble slid down Tessa’s back as she watched Levi’s expression harden even further. He squeezed her arm
one more time before twisting her body toward the way she’d come.

  “Tessa, I’m not joking around. Go.” Levi gave her a small shove, letting go of her arm.

  She took a few stumbled steps before turning back around to face him. His face was tilted down but his eyes were on her, making his stare look ominous. Tessa lifted her hand to her chest, it still felt too tight.

  Tears ran down her cheeks when a few ugly sobs made their way up her throat. “Levi? Are you working?”

  Her hand was still shaking against her chest, and she couldn’t stop herself from crying. The stranger behind Levi lifted his hands into the air again.

  “I’m calling bullshit. Tell Dave he’s burned a bridge.”

  Levi whipped around to face him. “No! I can handle this.”

  He turned back to Tessa, anxiety written on his face. Tessa was crying a bit harder, her whole body shaking. What was happening? He was obviously working a job. Did this have anything to do with her phone, or not?

  Levi stepped to her, his green eyes still wild. “Go. It’s over.”

  Tessa’s knees knocked together as she wiped the tears from her face. “What?”

  His tone was just slightly calmer when he answered. “I’m not saying it again.” Levi turned away from her and walked back to his friend.

  She shuddered as she watched the two men leave the area together. Soon they were out of sight, moving behind someone else’s house. Levi hadn’t even looked back at her. Tessa’s legs wobbled, and she took a step backward.

  “What the hell was that?” Her arms shook, and she slowly turned away from where they had been standing. What did he mean ‘over’? The conversation, or our relationship? Is he really that pissed at me?

  She walked a few feet then paused, still crying heavily. Should she go find Levi and demand an explanation? Should she head home and simply hope to hear from him? Neither options seemed like good ones.

  Tessa took a deep breath, slowing her crying some. She was now next to the sidewalk. A couple of women walked by slowly, staring at her. She managed a small smile before wiping her face with her shirt sleeve.

  Without debating with herself any further, Tessa briskly headed toward her car.

  “All right, asshole. I knew you’d hurt me. I just hoped it wouldn’t be today.”

  ****

  “Who was that?” Scab leaned up against an oak tree, looking a lot less irritated now.

  “No one.” Levi flinched from the weight of the lie.

  He didn’t want Scab to suspect that Tessa was something special to him. Yes, they were friends, but in this business, friends turned into enemies quickly. He was already dealing with his boss knowing his weakness. Levi didn’t need anyone else able to use her against him.

  “I see. Just a fuck bunny that is now stalking you?” Scab folded his arms over his chest with an annoying smirk.

  “Yeah. Something like that.” A flash image of his ex, dirty and passed out in the street, entered his mind.

  “You need to be careful, bro. If we weren’t tight, I’d beat the shit out of you or her for this shit.”

  Levi rubbed the back of his neck. “I know.”

  Scab pushed himself off the tree. “I mean, you’re getting careless, letting her follow you.”

  Levi stared at his feet, feeling a headache settling in. “I know.”

  Scab stepped to him and slapped his back. “You have time for a beer?”

  Levi wanted to say no, but he wasn’t keen on the idea of facing Tessa already. Plus, what the hell was he going to say to her when he did go to her? Tell her the truth and hope she’d forgive him? Lie and hope she didn’t question him? Fuck.

  Levi looked up at Scab. “One.”

  Scab’s face broke out in a huge smile. He slapped Levi’s back again. “One.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Tessa sat at her kitchen table, staring at her phone. There had been one bit of communication since that backyard fiasco. Levi had sent a text saying, We’ll talk later.

  Her heart desperately wanted to believe there was a misunderstanding somewhere and that they would work it out. Her head told her that he was just saving face, maybe keeping her on hold for a booty call every so often.

  She sighed as she grabbed the freshly opened bottle of wine, pouring herself some more. Was this really how their story ended? I’m an idiot. Levi is probably used to fucking his stolen damsels. I was just another notch on his belt.

  Her eyes stung from too many tears. Tessa took a sip of her wine before standing from the table. She walked toward her front window and stared out at nothing in particular. The world looked too bright, the birds too loud.

  “So much for Cardinal and his sin speed dial.”

  She walked back to the table, grabbed both the bottle and her glass, and headed to her living room. Nothing to do now but start the horrendous journey of forgetting about her criminal.

  ****

  Levi stared at his beer as the noise of the bar hummed behind him. Scab had left ten minutes earlier, but Levi couldn’t get himself to leave yet. I’m not good for her. What could she possibly benefit from being with me?

  Another image of his ex lying in the gutter popped into his head but this time, the face was Tessa. Levi growled under his breath before taking another swig of beer. Tessa had already bumped into someone from his job, not to mention, she’d been in contact with Sam. What if she was already starting to slip down that slippery slope? What if he was slowly ruining her life and not even knowing it?

  “Fuck.” Levi let his fist hit the bar a bit harder than he should have.

  The bartender glared at him for a few seconds before turning back to his work. Levi clenched his jaw tightly and ran his hand through his hair. Should he push her away for her own sake? He didn’t even think he was strong enough to do it.

  Goddamn it.

  Levi felt like shit, which was probably why the next memory surfaced. He could still picture how angry his dad looked the last time they’d spoken.

  “You are a piece of shit. Do you know that? I wish any other man was my son but you.”

  Levi took the last drink from his beer. The next memory to surface was carrying his father’s casket out the back doors of the funeral home. The memory of how the lilac bushes’ fragrance had filled him as they walked outside, almost as if the world was twisting the knife.

  Levi shook his head, willing his trip down memory lane to stop. He managed to stop those but another crept in. He slowly recalled the conversation he’d had with Sam about the phone.

  He flexed his fingers on the bar, talking to himself. “Fuck him.” He waved at the bartender. “I need to settle up.”

  In more ways than one.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Tessa stood from the couch but had to immediately bend down to grab the arm of it. The room shifted before her eyes as she took a few shallow breaths. It had been a while since she’d been this drunk. Tessa stood up straight, and a small giggle broke free from her.

  She made her way to her bathroom, not bothering to shut the door, and was soon relieving her bladder. As she finished up, a flashback of peeing in the hotel room while Levi stood guard played for her.

  “Ppssst.” She stumbled a bit, trying to pull up her jeans. “Stupid.”

  Tessa left the bathroom and headed back to her couch. Just before she sat down, though, her doorbell rang. She bobbed to the side, catching herself before she fell. Levi?

  Excitement ran up her back. Tessa didn’t care now about the mean things he’d said to her. She had forgotten why she was mad at him in the first place. Right now, she just wanted his arms around her and his lips on hers.

  She hurried toward the door, feeling a bit clearer in the head. Tessa didn’t hesitate and opened the door, but the sight before her wasn’t a pleasant one.

  “Sam?”

  The overweight man gave her a sheepish smile. He twisted a handkerchief in his hands before shoving it in his back pocket. Tessa noticed that one of his ha
nds was bandaged.

  “Is Levi here?”

  “No.” Tessa thought she should be more fearful in this moment than she was.

  “Shit. He owes me money, and he’s not home.”

  “He’s not?” Anger heated her cheeks as her imagination went straight to him with another woman or him in that shady hotel. “Wait. How did you know where I lived?”

  “We researched you before we kidnapped you.”

  That was such an absurd statement that Tessa couldn’t hold back her laughter. She faltered a bit, her hand falling off the doorknob. An ugly snort came from her, and Sam started to laugh uneasily.

  “To tell you the truth, if I wasn’t worried about Levi killing me, I would kidnap you right now to make him pay me.” He laughed louder, more at ease this time.

  Tessa wondered how much humor was in that statement. Her laughter trailed off, and she placed her hands on her hips. Tessa tilted her head to the side, debating what she should say next. Yes, Sam had tried to hurt her before, but he looked innocent enough now. When am I going to stop being such a fool? Then again, what if Levi thought I was in danger again?

  Tessa scolded herself at the mere thought of trying to purposely put herself in harm’s way just so Levi could be her rescuer. That didn’t stop her from remembering fondly how he’d burst into the hotel room and saved her the first time with Sam. A slow smile tugged on her lips.

  “I have no idea when I’ll see him next. I think he’s working.”

  “Working?” Sam rubbed the back of his neck before pointing behind her. “What if I wait here for a little while? If he doesn’t return my call soon, I’ll leave.”

  “I don’t know.” A bad feeling slithered up her back.

  “Wait.” Sam grabbed his phone. “I’ll send him a quick text to say I’m here.”

  As she watched Sam tapping on the screen, dueling emotions swirled in her head. It was probably a bad idea on Sam’s part to tell Levi he was here. Didn’t he remember Levi breaking his fingers? The reason he wore that bandage? Maybe they were closer friends than she realized. Or maybe he was just stupid.