Sea Haven 01 - Water Bound

would.” She leaned over and took Rikki’s hands, stilling her fidgeting fingers. “Baby, listen to me. You know Levi better than anyone else. What do you think he would do to protect you?”
    “Don’t.” Lev’s tone turned low and deadly. “Don’t put her in the position of thinking she has to protect me.”
    “She does,” Blythe said quietly, “from yourself.”
    Rikki’s eyelashes fluttered twice before she looked up into Lev’s eyes.
    He felt the impact of those dark velvet depths in the pit of his stomach. She was definitely back and thinking. Blythe had found the right incentive to force Rikki back from the edge of meltdown.
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    Laskovaya moya, you are not to worry about me. I can take care of myself. It’s what I do. And this man, this fire starter, will not be an issue soon. I’m tracking him now.
    Lev. She whispered his name in his mind. Intimate. Tender. A reprimand. “Blythe is right. We need to do this the right way. We’ll call Jonas and give him a chance.”
    He sat back on his heels. “You know there is danger in that as well.”
    “Only if you try messing with his head. He’s got his own gifts,” Rikki said. “I feel his energy every time I’m near him.”
    “Good energy or bad?” Blythe prompted.
    Lev straightened, turning cold blue eyes on Blythe. “You can stop any time.”
    “Levi, this is important. That man not only tried to trap us inside the house, he had a gun. If he wasn’t so determined to kill her with fire, he could lie in wait for her. What defense does she have against that?”
    “Me.” His voice was implacable. Certain. Confident. “No one is going to harm her.”
    “Then use the law. Let me call Jonas.”
    Unexpectedly, it was Rikki who changed everything. If you’re really going to be Levi Hammond and not Lev, the shadow man, we have to jump with bothfeet. Let’s do it. Let’s call him. If it doesn’t go well, then we’ll explore option two.
    Lev sighed, turned away from the two women and paced across the floor. This house—the farm—was his refuge, a safe haven from outsiders.
    Every moment away from it increased the danger to him. Every person who saw him was a threat. He hadn’t had time to plant enough seeds, that shadowy memory that would grow with each sighting. He had wanted to go into Sea Haven in the early morning hours and see Inez, the woman who would ultimately convince everyone that Levi Hammond had been in and out of Sea Haven and her store for years. He would have the reputation for disappearing, chasing after dreams, but they would all eventually swear they knew him.
    A sheriff. One with gifts of his own. He rubbed his beard, that soft hair he now kept neat and trimmed, and that altered his appearance and covered old scars. He would have to choose every word carefully, keep to the shadows, allow the women to do the talking, but it could be done. He’d been in worse, tighter situations.
    “Levi?” Rikki prompted.
    He nodded, his stomach rolling. He had too much to lose. He’d never had anything to lose before. He had a strong urge to grab Rikki, throw her in 254

    the truck and get the hell out. His future, his life, was there in her eyes. It wasn’t about the farm, or the house—the perfect hideaway. It was all about a woman.
    He locked his gaze with Rikki’s, looking her directly in the eyes, trying to tell her the enormity of this one decision—what it could cost them. She took a breath, the darkness of her gaze gleaming with intelligence, with understanding.
    “Call him, then,” Lev said, and abruptly turned away, striding through the house to the back porch.
    He had never relied on another human being for anything, until Rikki had come along. Survival instincts were screaming at him, clawing deep, his training protesting the decision. It went against who and what he was, the core of him, yet if he wanted this life, he would have to concede certain things. He’d have to learn, like others, to live within the law—or as close to that as he could possibly get.
    He heard Rikki’s bare feet padding out of the house, coming up behind him. She wrapped both arms around his waist and laid her head against his back. Leaned into him. He stared into the night, inhaling the scent of smoke and rain. The scent of Rikki. He put both his hands over hers.
    “This is risky, sweetheart. You know that, don’t you?”
    There was a small silence. Frogs called to one another, happy for the rain. A cicada sang its song. Rikki