Seven of Spades2: Trick Roller

In the morning, Levi was woken up by the phone ringing.He closed his eyes and patted it, his mind was dazed, thinking it was an alarm, and then he remembered that he hadn't set it - not only because it was Saturday, but also because of the suspension.

He rubbed his eyes to get rid of sleepiness, and glanced at the screen, it was Natasha's call.It was a bit past 08:30 now, almost oversleeping for him, but he was also surprised that she called him so early on the weekend.

He picked up the phone and got up from the bed. "Hey, wait a minute." He lowered his voice and tiptoed towards the door.Dominic was in a deep sleep and didn't move at all, and the rebellious girl only half-cocked her ears to watch him leave.

"Are you okay?" Natasha asked. "I'm sorry, I know it's early."

After going out to the kitchen, Levi was finally able to speak in a normal volume. "Nothing. It's just that Dominic is still asleep."

"Oh--"

"Shut up," he said affectionately, and started preheating his Platinum espresso machine.It was a birthday present from Stanton, and it was the most expensive thing he owned besides the car.

The other party smiled, but when he spoke again, he became serious: "I heard about the suspension. Are you okay?"

"It's not the end of the world."

"I didn't know you were still investigating 'Seven of Spades.'"

"Well, I don't go around talking about that either." He pours the dark roast into the grinder, sets it up for the French press, and steps away so the noise doesn't drown out the conversation. "I know everyone thinks I'm crazy."

"You're not crazy, Levi. You're just too passionate," she said.

He glanced at the big dark closet by the wall. Its double doors were closed tightly, and the things stored in it were enough to prove that he was possessed by a demon. "Well, it's a matter of opinion," he said. "Are you calling to check on me?"

"Not really. I called to talk about Adrienne."

"Any questions?"

"I'm looking for a local place for her, but I didn't expect it to be a lot of trouble," Natasha said with a sigh, "The collective foster home she temporarily lives in has exceeded the capacity limit, and she even It's not in our system—it's in Reno."

"I thought you were looking for foster homes for her." He went back to the kitchen and poured coarse ground coffee into the French press.

The other party was silent for a while. "Here's the thing. Many foster families don't want to take in teens who have run away from home, let alone multiple allegations of abuse."

"Multiple allegations of abuse?!" Levy said, pausing to fill the hot water from the espresso machine with a glass flare. "What the fuck does that mean?"

"While in Reno, Adriana reported her adoptive father for physical and sexual misconduct against her. Her social worker investigated and determined the allegations were false."

He placed the glass bottle heavily on the counter. "No, Natasha. On the contrary, 'Physical roughness and sexual misconduct' doesn't compare to what she's been through. I can see at a glance what abused children look like— "

"Me too," she said heavily, "I don't know exactly what happened, but there is now a record in Adriana's file that she filed baseless allegations of abuse."

"Did they leave her there?" he said, the familiar rage lurking, a sharp soreness churning in his stomach. "After they determined that her accusation was not true, did they keep her in the original house and face the original man?"

"Yes."

He had to put the phone down or he would literally drop it.He gripped the kitchen counter tightly, with his head bowed between his arms, sucking in air through his nose, and slowly exhaling it out of his mouth.Useless.

Dominique probably reminded Adriana of her adoptive father.The guy might be big and strong, but that shouldn't be a problem.Dominique was a match for Levi only because he was a well-trained ex-Army Special Forces soldier.And this person is probably just a bully who relies on his height and burly to be fierce, but he can't stop Levi's attack just by relying on his burly figure and mere strength.

He could even imagine vivid details and knew exactly how it would feel and sound.Flesh collided with flesh and made a loud noise, bones shattered, and blood spattered from the broken nose... He would break the man's face, kick his ribs hard, lock his throat, let him enjoy the helplessness and happiness The taste of panic.

Levy was immersed in violent fantasies, and was brought back to reality by the whisper of the phone in a daze—Natasha was eagerly repeating his name.He picked up the phone again and said, "I'm here. I'm fine."

"You're not going to be okay," she said. "I know you, Levi. Right now, the only thing on your mind is to go to Reno and find that man and cut him up."

"You're half right. I want to do the same thing with that social worker."

"Levi—"

"I'm not going to actually do it. You know that. That doesn't mean I can't think about it."

When the water had cooled too much, he emptied the carafe and refilled it with hot water.He intentionally controlled the flow of water, pouring it into the French press in a slow and steady flow to keep himself calm and focused.

"It's true, but the problem is that every time you have this fantasy of punishing rape and eliminating evil—of course, as long as you are a human being, it will be more or less like this—and you will always feel ashamed afterwards."

Although the other party couldn't see, Levi still shook his shoulders angrily. "I'll take care of that. It's just... how fucked up our system is for a vulnerable child to be put in such a horrible situation—that she feels like she's running away from home, on the streets of Las Vegas, in a It's easier to find food in the dumpster and go back? God knows what else happened to her in this place. Even if they think her words are all made up, why are they lucky enough to leave her there to face him? Why not give her another place ?”

"I can't answer the question you asked," Natasha said calmly. "This system has loopholes in more than one aspect. What we need to do is to use the existing conditions and do our best."

He put the lid on the French press, let the coffee grounds soak in the water to extract, then reset the grinder to espresso mode, and put a few fewer beans in it. "So what do we do best?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. I used all the connections at hand, and asked for all the favors I could ask for, so that Adriana stayed in Las Vegas for so long. If they can't find a more thorough solution, they Will send her back to Reno. Then there's nothing I can do."

He closed his eyes and let out a long breath. "Okay. I'll see if I can come up with something. After all, I'm free at once."

She smiled weakly and said, "Thanks. I will continue to work hard. I will call you if there is any progress."

"Okay. Let's talk about it later."

"Levi," she said, just as he was about to hang up.

"Ok?"

"It's no big deal that you want to get your hands on Adriana's adoptive father because of what he did to her. It's a completely normal emotional reaction, especially when it comes to child abuse. Most people feel the same way, you don't have to Shame."

"I see," Levi said. "Thank you, Natasha."

After finishing the call, he put down the phone.In a way, Natasha is right, but Levi is not "most people".Most people's revenge fantasies are nothing more than fantasies and will not be put into practice.

If Levi wanted to hurt someone, it was easy for him.He could seriously injure the man, possibly kill him, and if he wanted to, there was almost no one to stop him.

He flexed his neck side to side, brushing these sick thoughts into the back of his mind, and continued with one of his favorite rituals—making coffee.

He finished the French coffee, then warmed two mugs with hot water while the coffee machine was producing a perfectly extracted double espresso.He poured rich and fragrant coffee into both cups, poured espresso into one cup, and poured hot milk into the other cup.As a final step, he took out the ingredients he bought especially for Dominique from the storage cabinet-raw cane sugar and vanilla-flavored coffee syrup.He poured the syrup, hot milk, and sugar into a second mug, tasted it, and almost threw up.

Super disgusting - the kind Dominique would love.

Holding two cups, Levi returned to the bedroom and gently opened the door with his foot.Dominic was still sleeping, but as the aroma of coffee spread in the air, he snorted a few times and moved under the covers.Even the rebellious girl pricked up her ears.

"Hey." Levi said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.He put his own glass on the bedside table and waved the other over Dominic's face.

"It's too early," said Dominique without opening his eyes.

"You don't know what time it is."

"I know what 'too early' feels like." Dominique forced one eye open. "What's that?"

"Calling something unclean, 'coffee' is a blasphemy."

Dominique sat up straight, took the glass, and sniffed it vigorously. "Smells so good," he said, taking a small sip and smiling like a kid on Christmas morning. "Did you make it for me?"

"Yes," said Levi, suddenly embarrassed.Is it too polite?He grabs his coffee, hiding his embarrassment.

Dominic stroked Levi's chin with his finger and said, "You are so sweet."

Levi snorted. "I'm sure you're the only one ever to think that way."

Dominic smiled, but his eyes swept across Levi's body, becoming sharp and scrutinizing. "What's wrong, what happened?"

This damn insight. "I don't want to talk about that," Levy said.Then, not wanting to sound too repulsive to Dominique—he had always done that to Stanton—he added, "But I'll tell you later."

"Okay," Dominic said.He propped the pillow behind his back and whistled to the anti-bone girl. Gouzi wagged his head and got on the bed, and turned over to let him scratch his stomach. "Well, we don't start for the Andersons until two o'clock. There's still hours left."

Levi smiled and moved closer. "How do we pass the time?"

***

The Andersons lived in a suburb east of Henderson, on three acres of desert among the hills at the foot of the River Mountain Range.After Dominique turned into the street where their family's land marker began, Levi looked out the car window, where a herd of horses had gathered under a wooden gazebo, enjoying the coolness of the sprayer.

"Horse?" he said.

The rebellious girl sitting between the two was suddenly aroused by these words, and she came over and lay on Levi's body, pressing her front paws on the car door on his side to look out of the window.She loves horses so much that she gets excited just by hearing the word.

"Yes, Jiasmin's parents opened a small horse farm - it can be used for foster care, breeding, and there is also a horse exercise therapy program." Near the main entrance, Dominique slowed down the speed.Fan Gumei watched the horse disappear from view, let out a breath, and sat back on her seat. "Her mom is a large animal veterinarian, and her dad teaches animal physiology and behavior at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas."

The front gate was wide open, and the driveway was winding, dusty and full of parked cars.As soon as Dominic found a parking space, he parked in it, then jumped out, patted his thigh to signal the rebellious girl to follow.When he turned to close the car door, he realized that Levi was still sitting in the passenger seat, his seat belt was still buckled, and his eyes were distracted.

"What's wrong?" Dominic asked.Levi hadn't told him why he had been unhappy this morning, and Dominique hadn't pressed—neither of them was the type to confide in his troubles easily.They've had a good morning aside from everything; Levi had looked fine until this moment.

"Everyone doesn't like me," Levy said.

Dominic blinked, wondering if Levi was kidding him.

"I didn't mean to be so self-pitying. It doesn't matter to me whether people like me or not. I don't care what most people think. But you do."

"Thanks," Dominique said, a little hurt.

Levi unbuckled his seat belt and turned to face him. "It's not a bad thing. It's important to you to be liked, and you want everyone around you to be happy and get along. You're a natural likeable person, and people are attracted to you. But I...even if I Try to be friendly and say the wrong thing. I can't explain this to you now without offending you."

Dominique shook his head and said, "I don't take offense, Levi. I just don't understand what you mean. Especially in this occasion, at this time."

"I..." Levi stared down at his hands, "I don't want to embarrass you."

oh!Dominique stood up in shock.He knew that Levi would be uncomfortable with strangers, but he had never imagined that Levi's anxiety would manifest like this. "You won't embarrass me."

"Won't it?" Levi said and raised his head again. "These people know you very well, and I believe they love you as much as anyone else. It will make them feel strange when someone like you is with someone like me."

"They won't—"

"That's what Carlos and Jasmin thought. Please don't deny it. The person they imagined to be with you is not me."

"As long as I'm happy, Carlos and Jasmin don't fucking care who I'm with." Dominique said helplessly.He leaned into the pickup and added, "You make me so happy, Levi. I don't want to pretend that I don't care if my friends and family like you, because I do. But I won't dwell on it. I What they see in you, they see too."

"You didn't like me until we started sleeping together," Levy said.

"Wow," Dominic said angrily, "Hey, that's not the case, you know it very well. I fell in love with you when I broke the old impression of you and started to know the real you. At that time We're not in bed yet. Don't cheapen everything between us."

Levi backed off immediately. "You're right, sorry. But doesn't that correspond to what I just said?"

Dominique climbed back to the pickup truck, leaving the anti-guy girl staring at him blankly.He took Levi's hands.

"You're cranky, you're reserved, you're a little bit mean at times," he said, "but I like that because it's what makes you who you are. And you care about the people around you, you're devoted to your work, and you have a great sense of humor. Compassion, it hurts. Even when you mess up, as long as the other person is not messing around, you still respect them. I'm not looking for a likable person, Levi, I'm looking for a good person .That's much more important."

Levi stared at him, eyes wide, but Dominique felt more surprised than moved by his own words.

"What's wrong?" Dominic asked.

Levy half smiled, half breathed in surprise, and said, "You're not the first person to say this to me, believe it or not."

"Because it's true." Dominic carefully kissed his bruised lips. "Okay, have some confidence in me, and help get this pile of stuff out of the back of the pickup."

Levi smiled and nodded.They got out of the car, and Dominique opened the pickup's bed, where he strapped two three-gallon drink dispensers filled with homemade sangria, and a cooler donated by Levi, filled with Bottles of Blue Moon beer.They carried their drinks and walked to the front of the house.It was an American-style one-story house in the southwest style. The off-white exterior wall was brushed and laid out in an inverted "U" shape.

They could hear blaring rock music, loud laughter, screaming children, and the chatter of a dozen people in the backyard.The front door was ajar, but the draft screen door was still closed.Dominic pushed the door open with his elbow and walked into the house, followed by Levi and the anti-bone girl.

"Dom, Levi!" Jasmine broke away from the crowd in the kitchen and rushed to say hello.She was wearing a suspender dress, showing beautiful tattoos, and strands of colorful braids were scattered behind her back, making her whole person radiant. "Wow, drooling, you made sangria."

Carlos followed her, relaxed and smiling, a pair of sunglasses stuck on his head.Dominic handed him one of the buckets of drink dispensers.

“We brought the classic red and my exclusive mango-peach recipe,” he said. “Levy tried both. Honestly, if I hadn’t stopped me, there wouldn’t have been a single drop left.”

Levi rolled his eyes and raised the cooler in his hand. "I'm not very good at cooking, but I'm good at shopping."

"These people are welcome as long as they drink alcoholic beverages, believe me." Jiasmin said. "Come with me, let's go to the back yard, and I will introduce you to the introducer."

Jasmine and Levi walked to the backyard, while Dominic stayed where he was, and whispered to Carlos, "You seem much calmer today. Are you all set about the proposal?"

"Yes. We'll do it when we're ready for dessert."

Dominique patted Carlos on the back with his free hand, and then walked into the spacious backyard.The courtyard is lined with fold-out tables for family buffets; chairs are spread out, shaded by canvas awnings and cooled by huge commercial-grade fans.Dominique and Carlos put the sangria in the place Jasmin designated, and Levi put the cooler with several others.

Jia Simin apologized and went to pick up her parents.A group of elementary school-aged children ran past with a few dogs that barked happily.When Fan Gumei saw it, she whined and stomped on the spot. "Go ahead," Dominique said, and she swished away.

Levi looked at the backyard carefully, with a slight surprise on his face. Dominic understood that he was surprised by the people coming and going here-there were all kinds of races, it was incredible.It was the same feeling when he first came here.

"Are these people Jasmine's relatives?" Levi asked.

"Well, you know that Jasmin herself is biracial, but the Andersons have been foster parents for decades. A lot of foster kids grow up and come here with their partners and kids."

Levi turned to look at Dominic, his bright eyes were obviously excited. "Are the Andersons foster parents? Are they still in foster care?"

"Come on," Carlos said, "they're taking care of two kids right now."

Levi's words obviously have a purpose, but Dominic doesn't understand.But soon, Jasmine arrived, followed by her parents Marcus and Wendy.The couple and their daughter look very similar, but Marcus's skin is darker than Jasmin's, and Wendy's is quite pale.The couple are both sports-loving, enjoy the outdoors and are some of the most hospitable people Dominique has had the pleasure of meeting.

He kissed Wendy on the cheek and shook hands with Marcus. "Dominique, I'm so glad to see you," Wendy yelled. "This must be your new boyfriend, right?"

Levi froze.Dominic met his eyes and thought, "Okay, the boyfriend is the boyfriend, who cares about him", and said, "Yes, this is my boyfriend Levi Abrams. Levi, this is Marcus and Wendy Anderson."

Levi shook hands with them and exchanged greetings.Wendy rolled her eyes over his injured mouth, but politely didn't mention it.Levy must have noticed, though, as he ran his fingers over the bruise and said, "I got into a physical altercation with a suspect, and it wasn't as serious as it looked."

"Levy is a homicide detective from the Vegas Police Department." Jasmine interjected.

"It must be hard work," Marcus said. "Are you a native of Las Vegas, Levi?"

"Actually, I'm from New Jersey."

Levi and Marcus were still talking, and Dominic put an arm around his waist.Levi looked up at him with a smile, and took him back, pulling him closer.

Under the scorching sun, they spent several pleasant hours under the clear sky, eating barbecue and chatting with various relatives of Jiasmin.Knowing that Levi didn't want to be surrounded by strangers, Dominique stayed by his side, but the consequences of drinking too much sangria were finally apparent.He apologizes under his breath and says he's going to the bathroom; Levi waves impatiently.

When Dominic came back, he found Levi talking happily with the two children.Their names are Josh and Limo, and they are currently being fostered at Anderson's house. They are now smiling and gesticulating with their hands cheerfully. Levi listens to them quietly, seemingly lost in thought.

Out of curiosity, Dominic didn't step forward, but Levi's intuition couldn't escape the long stare.After a while, he turned around in the chair, waved to Dominic, and said something to the children.Then he got up from the table and stood beside Dominic.

"Do you know where Mr. or Mrs. Anderson is?" he asked. "I have something important to tell them."

"I think Wendy's in the kitchen," said Dominique, more curious now.

Levi walked straight into the house, followed by Dominic.Wendy was indeed in the kitchen, pouring freshly opened bags of potato chips into a large bowl.

"Dr. Anderson," Levy said.

"You can call me Wendy, honey." She stuffed the potato chip bag into the trash. "What's wrong?"

“I have spent the afternoon talking to your adopted children. They are all happy here, even though it was difficult to adjust when they first arrived. You and your husband have made a real difference for them and have given them a better life. life."

"Well, unfortunately, it's not always like that, but every child who comes into our home, we treat with all our heart."

"I believe it," said Levy, "a little girl I know really needs your help. Do you think you can take another kid here?"