Page 49 of Burning for You

Levi Holt, A.K.A. Jeans. Of course! His nickname almost certainly originated from Levi’s jeans.

“You should’ve let me finish. Have you forgotten? She killed our father!”

I try to process what, exactly, that statement means. In the short amount of time, with my brain still probably oxygen-deprived, I fail to figure out a plausible explanation. Not even the man’s frightful mental state can be the reason for such a strong accusation.

Levi hurls his arm around my waist.

“So she was the bitch who gave you a blowjob that day? Fuck, Jeans. I thought you were smarter than that,” Jesse shouts.

Blowjob? This is getting ludicrous now.

“We’re on the same side, Jesse. But you’ve gotta let me do this my way.”

“Sure. Levi Holt is always in charge. Not this time. I say she has to die, and I will kill her.”

“She’s no good dead.”

“Oh, she is good dead. This will all be over,” he says. “Until now, I never realized my little brother thinks with his dick.”

“I think with my brain, Jesse. My sober brain. There’s more of a chance she’ll give us what we want of her own accord, rather than relying on Josh Bright serving us revenge for his dead bride. You stay away from her!”

While the two exchange more spats with each other, I feel my brain going into a spasm, as if finally reacting to Jesse’s attempted murder earlier. I just hope Levi is aware of my wilting body. I can’t feel my legs, and I’m sure I’m about to hit the ground.

As I lose the sense of which way is up or down, I feel a pair of arms sustaining me—one strapping my back, the other wrapped around my hips.

When I open my eyes, I find myself being carried out of the hangar. Against the sky over me, I see the young Holt grimacing. I droop down a couple of times, but he keeps tugging me up gently, keeping me on his waist.

He tramps along the length of the paddock, where Grudge is following us on the other side of the fence. I don’t think this is the way to that shed. Wherever he’s taking me, I just hope he’s keeping Jesse at bay.