Page 10 of Dissolving Prejudice

Levi shook his head and brought the flowers closer to Chief. “These are for Soren. I made sure to ask for white ones.”

Chief smiled warmly. “That’s kind of you. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

Levi smiled before breaking their stare, and I wondered why it was so important to pick white flowers. Clearly, they all knew things I didn’t, which made me feel like even more of an outsider.

“I’m so happy to see you again, Diesel,” Chief said, cutting into my thoughts and making me notice his attention was now on me. The look in his eyes, which I once thought was hesitant and unreliable, had changed over the years and was now full of confidence and warmth. He no longer looked at me like I was one big mistake waiting to occur but as someone who belonged. It flooded me with emotions I wasn’t at all interested in feeling, not when nothing was certain.

“I said I’d come.”

Chief chuckled, his eyes still focusing on me. “You did.”

Jessie’s whining caught all of our attention, and we looked in unison to see him arguing with a security guard. I rolled my eyes. Of course he’d get caught in less than five minutes.

“It’s just a harmless baby cat,” Jessie declared while not allowing the security man to take Toro from his hands. “Besides, he isn’t even mine!”

“You need to come with me,” the guard said.

“No way, dude!”

“What’s going on over there?” Chief asked us, looking more amused than worried when Jessie pointed at me.

“Diesel! Tell him it’s your cat.”

The guard pinned me with a harsh look. “Is that true?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea who this guy is.”

Jessie gasped, his bottom lip trembling as he gave me an offended look right before the guard escorted him back to the elevators. Well, Jessie better keep Toro safe.

“You’re such a jerk,” Levi muttered and shook his head.

Unlike him, Andrei was trying not to laugh, but the second our eyes met, we both burst out. It was probably inappropriate, given where we were, but it was simply too funny.

“I’ll go check on him,” Levi muttered before handing Chief the flowers. “We’ll be back soon.” Turning to me, he gave me an angry look. “Hopefully.”

“Make sure my cat is happy,” I told him before he flipped me off and left us three alone.

I’m sure he’s not actually angry with me.

“Those are pretty,” Chief said, then smelled the flowers. “But I better put them in water.”

“Don’t we have some vase in the room we can use?” Andrei asked.

“We used them all. You need to see the amount of flowers people have sent. I can open a florist shop.” Chief smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes, and it didn’t take a genius to see the stress and fear in them.

Of course he’d be anxious after his husband nearly died. I’d be the same. In fact, I’d forever remember the paralyzing fear that gripped me that day of graduation when I saw Christian and I knew something bad had happened to Shay-Lee. Pure fear that mixed with rage, followed by haunted days and sleepless nights.

The first few weeks in jail, I didn’t say a word to anybody, and only because I saw no point in it. I saw no point in living, let alone speaking, until Soren told me Shay-Lee was out of danger and would be okay. Deep down, I knew it was bullshit because as long as his father lived, he’d never be out of danger. Yet, understanding that Shay-Lee was alive changed my mind about the future, and I was willing to cooperate with Soren. It worked until the day the lawyer slammed that despicable file on the desk, revealing things I wished I’d never known—truths that changed everything and led me to kill.

Did I regret my actions? I wasn’t entitled enough to admit it because if I did, what was the point of it all? Regretting my decisions would make me a bigger fool than I already was.

“I can go buy a vase in the gift shop downstairs,” I said, distracting myself from those pitiful thoughts. Looking at the flowers Chief held, I smiled. “It would be a shame if they withered.”

“That would be great.” Chief placed his hand on my shoulder. “Thank you, Diesel.”

Thank you. These two little words twisted my gut at the same time his friendly touch weighed on my shoulder. There was nothing he or anyone else should be thanking me for. Since the day he took me in, I’d been an ungrateful bastard. Even now, I shouldn’t be here. Not until I was officially done with Dion. And yet, greedy to see them all, I came here today. Despite the fact I kept lying to their faces, telling them stories about how I worked as a bodyguard, I came here in an attempt to get my old life back.

Like I said, I was an ungrateful bastard. Funny enough, it was what my dad used to call me when I was a kid; who knew he was right for a change?