Seven of Spades2: Trick Roller

Levi was awakened by the alarm clock on his mobile phone.He closed his eyes and took pictures until the alarm clock went off, then rubbed his dry eyes with the heels of his palms.Normally, he wouldn't mind getting up early, but he didn't sleep much yesterday.

He got into the quilt and turned over on his back.The rebellious girl at the foot of the bed raised her head to look at him, sighed again and lay back on her stomach.

Dominique was beside him, facing the wall, still asleep.The blanket slid down a bit, revealing his muscular back and Jasmine's Ranger sigil.

Before Dominic, Levy had always liked lean and thin guys, and it wasn't until after sleeping with Dominic that he realized it wasn't a random preference.Before, he'd been subconsciously disturbed by the thought of having sex with a man who physically overwhelmed him.But after going through all this together, after Dominic rescued him in distress again and again, Dominic's size and strength brought him only positive feelings-a sense of security, comfort, and that he still needs to desperately control The burning desire.

Levi traced the colored lines of the coat of arms and the motto below with his fingertips.Dominic doesn't respond—he's always been a deep sleeper, Levi has come to realize that—and Levi presses against his back, puts an arm around his chest, and kisses the back of his neck.

Dominic moved and grunted sleepily.

"Hey." Levi nuzzled his shoulder.

"Hey." Dominic mumbled. "what time is it?"

"It's still early. I'm getting ready to go to work."

Dominique puts his hands on Levi. "I'm sorry to force you to have to—"

"Shh, I wasn't forced to do it last night. I chose to do it. We talked about it last night."

Not only did they talk, Levi felt they talked too much.Dominic was distraught when he picked him up from the McBride Investigative Agency; Levi hadn't seen him so upset since the prank that Seven of Spades gave him the gift basket in April.On the way back to the apartment, he kept switching between the three modes of gloomy silence, harsh words, and self-blame and apology, and he didn't even stop on the bed.Even though Li Wei repeatedly comforted him, he was just going in one ear and out the other.

Dominic's body was as tense as last night, but he didn't say anything.A few seconds later, he rolled over in Levi's arms, faced Levi, put Levi's legs on his crotch, pulled him closer, and kissed his lips.

"I forgot to ask you yesterday," he said, "but did you know I'm going to that party at Jasmin's parents' house on Saturday?"

"Do you want to come with me?"

"Really?" Levi pulled a little distance away. "Have I been invited?"

Dominic chuckled, and for a few seconds he looked as usual. "Of course, both Carlos and Jasmine want you to go." He tightened his arms around Levi, and said, "I want to too."

Levi was pretty sure Carlos and Jasmin didn't care much about whether he showed up or not, they cared about Dominique having a good time, but he got it anyway. "I'd love to go," he said, "but there are always surprises at the last minute that I can't foresee, and you know that?"

This is also the biggest thorn in the relationship between him and Stanton when they fell in love. Stanton still can't accept his 24-hour on-call working method.He wanted to clarify this possibility first, so as not to become a foreshadowing of a future breakup.

Dominic gave him a strange look. "Well, of course. Getting the murderer is obviously a priority. But they probably won't want to bother you on your day off, and then we'll have a good Saturday."

Levi brushed Dominique's chin with his hand and kissed him, feeling uncomfortable with the emotion in his chest.It's always nice to have a little something to look forward to this week.Drew Barton will go on trial on Monday, and both he and Dominic will testify.Drew Barton killed his wife and wanted to blame it on "Seven of Spades". After finding that he could not escape the sanctions, he also attacked Levi.Monday is going to be a rough day, so Levi doesn't mind taking it easy.

He stopped the kiss so that it wouldn't get out of hand.Although the body clamored "more", he didn't have time, and Dominic didn't look like he was in the mood.

When the phone rang, he let go of Dominic and turned over to get it.Dominic sat up straight behind him.

"Who's calling?" Dominic asked.He patted his thigh, and the anti-bone girl twisted a few times to get up from the bed, leaning her head over to let Dominic scratch her ear

"Natasha." Levi sighed as he swiped through the text messages he had received. "The girl I told you about last night—Adriana—she called Natasha this morning and said she wanted to talk to me about the Hensley case. Adriana wouldn't talk about it, And she's seeing someone from Children and Family Services at 09:30, so hurry up. I don't have time to drive you back to get your car first."

"Don't worry about this, I will ask Carlos to help pick up the car."

Dominic was a good liar, but Levi knew him too well now to know that Dominic would never let Carlos help.Even at his best, Dominique was reluctant to bother Carlos; asking for help meant explaining what was going on, and he hated talking about his gambling addiction, not even with his closest friends.He'd take an Uber to McBride's office, or sit in his apartment, bemoaning himself like Levy had seen him last night all day.

Levy found a compromise that didn't hurt Dominique's ego, saying, "Why don't you drive me to work and give you my car in the morning? We can get it back on my lunch break. No hassle card." Lost a quick trip."

"you sure?"

"Yes. Actually, I don't even use a car when I'm working; if Martin and I do go anywhere, we always take her car."

"Okay." Dominic leaned closer and kissed Levi's face. "You are going to go out, I will take the rebellious girl out for a walk first."

As soon as she heard "go", Fan Gumei raised her ears, jumped out of the bed, spun around excitedly, looked at Dominic with sparkling eyes, and wagged her tail non-stop.

Dominic chuckled and got out of bed. "Okay, okay, let me find a pair of pants and put them on."

"You don't have to come in with me." Levy said as he walked into the branch with Dominique.

"I want to say hello to Martin."

Although this may be true, Levi guessed that Dominic was procrastinating and not wanting to separate.He's still insecure, so he doesn't want to be alone.He's been uncharacteristically clingy all morning.

They stopped for a quick cup of coffee—at least, Levi drank coffee.Dominique drank the weird stuff with syrup and lots of milk, and despite Levi's fussy protests, he insisted on calling it coffee.

Levi was in desperate need of caffeine, and he gulped down the hot coffee. At the same time, they got a visitor card for Dominic and walked to the big office.Dominique is a well-known bounty hunter in this area. People along the way greeted him one after another. Some smiled at him, nodded their heads, and bumped their fists.Most of them have a higher opinion of Dominic than Levi, who is obviously the one who works with them every day.

"How do you make friends everywhere?" Levi asked.

"I'm nice to people." Dominic said with a hint of ridicule.

"I'm nice to people too." Levy said, of course, he wasn't particularly nice to people, at least not the kind Dominic said.Dominique is an easy-going social character who will try his best to get along with everyone he meets.Levi felt tired just thinking about the energy expended.

Dominic got closer and murmured, "I think you're very nice."

Levi rolled his eyes, hoping that the blush on his face before entering the office would go away.His desk was facing Martin's; now Martin was in his seat, Natasha sat at his desk, and Adriana pulled up a chair beside her.

"Morning." He said putting down his coffee.

"Morning." Martin looked up—and even higher. "Oh, hey, Dominic."

"Ladies," Dominique said, "it's nice to see you two again."

"Yes, long time no see," Natasha said, getting up from Levi's chair, "Are you still a bounty hunter?"

Levi didn't listen to Dominique's response, and Adriana distracted him.She froze in her seat, staring at Dominic with pure panic, her face gray and haggard, her breathing short of breath, her hands clutching the armrests, shaking violently.

Dominic immediately noticed too.He takes a few steps back, creating more space between him and Adrianna, and visibly making his body language less intimidating.His arms hang loosely at his sides, his empty hands outstretched.

"Then I should go too," his voice was even gentler than before, "I just want to come in and see everyone and say hello."

"When should you and Levi come to my house for dinner," Martin said with a hint of slyness in his eyes, "it's agreed. You should let him go if you occupy him all day."

Dominique grinned and said, "I think I can save you one night. Just tell me when." He touched Levy's elbow and said, "Good luck with the case. See you later?"

Levi nodded.They'd never discussed the extent of public intimacy at work—he wouldn't mind a light kiss on the lips, but Dominique didn't know that yet.

Dominique said goodbye to a circle of people and left.Levi, Martin, and Natasha exchanged glances quietly, all aware of Adriana's anxiety, but unsure how to deal with it.

"Adriana, do you want to go to the room yesterday?" Finally, Levi asked.

Adriana woke up from her stiffness, and agreed.Levi signaled her to go first, and he looked back as he followed.Natasha made a "call me" gesture, and he responded with a thumbs up.

As soon as the door was closed, Adriana asked, "Who is that man?"

"His name is Dominic Russo, have you met him before?"

"No." She hugged herself. "He's just — he looks like someone I used to know. Is he a cop too?"

If the other party was not in pain at the moment, Levi would have laughed out loud. "Uh, no. Not at all." Sitting on the couch, he found her hunched over the wall. "He's my...my boyfriend."

Well, maybe he and Dominic haven't agreed to call each other that, but he needs to make Dominic approachable in her mind, and he won't try to separate the love process between the two from the secrets in bed Tell the children to listen.

Adriana didn't look surprised—Levi could easily be seen as gay—but she frowned anyway. "Aren't you afraid of him?"

"Why should I be afraid of him?"

She shrugged one shoulder and hugged herself tighter. "He's much older than you, so it's easy to hurt you." She looked away, and said, "He also forces you to do things you don't want to do."

Levi's heart was filled with rage, his muscles tensed, his stomach was so full that he had to close his eyes to calm it down.It took him a moment to come to his senses, not wanting Adriana to feel that the anger was directed at her.After he was sure he could control his voice, he said, "You're right. If Dominic wanted to, he could easily hurt me, but I believe he won't. In fact, I feel safer by his side than by anyone's side." More security. You know, he saved my life twice in one week."

"Really?"

"Really. He got hurt both times, just trying to protect me." Levi leaned forward, elbows on knees. "I can understand that his size makes you uncomfortable, but I promise he will never hurt you or me for any reason."

"I..." Adriana let out a heavy breath and put her hand down. "I don't think I really thought he would, it's just that he looked like—I wasn't ready, didn't I just mean it?"

"You didn't offend him," Levi said firmly. "I'm sure it's not the first time Dominic has been treated like this, and he knows how to deal with it. He's more worried about your situation."

She moved to the chair next to the sofa and sat on the edge. "I'm fine, can you tell him I'm sorry?"

"Of course." He deliberately remained silent for a while, but she didn't take the initiative to say anything else, and then Levi said, "Natasha told me that you want to talk to me about my case?"

"Yes." For the first time since we met, Adriana looked him directly in the eye. "I lied to you yesterday."

"About what?"

She didn't answer his question directly, but said: "Natasha chatted with me for a long time last night. She said you are a good person and a good policeman. You have no obligation, but you still help me a lot. I don't want to Because of me, let the real murderer escape from justice."

She fell silent, and seemed to muster up the courage to continue.Levi waited for her.

"I didn't pick up my credit card in Midtown. I picked it up on Long Street." Tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked down. "It was—it was in one of the dumpsters I was looking for food in," she sobbed, covering her eyes with one hand. "I don't want to say it because I feel so ashamed."

"Hey." Levi put his hand on the arm of the chair, but was careful not to touch her. "There is no shame in doing what is necessary to survive."

She shook her head and wept silently, her hands still covering her face.He handed her a tissue and sat with her, neither urging nor comforting, just accompanying her, and if she wanted to say more, he could listen to her at any time.

After a few minutes, the tears fell more slowly.She blew her nose, dried her eyes, and looked up with a simple expression. "It wasn't just that card either - I found it stuck in my wallet, very nice wallet. I took that and the other card and all the cash and left the wallet there. "

"Cash in wallet?"

"Well, it's almost 200 yuan. I've already spent it, sorry."

"That's all right," said Levy. "I spoke to Dr. Hensley's wife yesterday. She won't accuse you."

In fact, Levi was pleasantly surprised by the sympathy shown by Hensley's wife, Dr. Clarissa Northridge, when she learned of Adriana's situation.She voluntarily paid off her credit card bill, so it wouldn't go to court.

"Oh," Adriana said with a wink, "that's nice, thank you." She wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Uh... I didn't just find the wallet either. It was in a Macy's paper shopping bag with a few other things in it - a phone, a laptop, a tablet. All in pieces , so I didn't take them."

Levi sat back.As he expected, Adriana's testimony ruled out the possibility of robbery as a motive.If the murderer was motivated by money, he wouldn't have destroyed Hensley's expensive electronic products, and he wouldn't have thrown away the cash for nothing.

"Where's the litter box?" he asked.

The location she gave was very close to Mirage Hotel, within walking distance.The paper bag was found on Sunday, so the bin was probably emptied, but they still sent a police officer to make sure.

"Thank you, Adrianna," he said, jotting down all the details. "You've been very useful."

"You're welcome." She stopped crying now, but she still held a tissue tightly in her hands. "Will I be asked to testify in court or something?"

"Probably not. Your testimony to the police should be more than sufficient."

"Natasha said she would try to keep me in Las Vegas." Adriana grabbed the tissue in her hand and tore it little by little. "I'm in a group foster home now, but she's trying to find a way to move me into the foster care system here so she can make sure everything is okay."

"She said so, and she will do it. Natasha has done a good job in social work, and she will not let you down." Levi put the pen and notepad in his coat pocket and stood up. "Are you ready to meet them?"

"Well, I just need a little more time."

Levi walked towards the door, stopped halfway, and couldn't help turning back on a whim.He sat back on the sofa, and Adriana gave him a suspicious look.

"When I was in college, a bunch of men beat me up badly - so badly that it almost killed me. I know what it's like to be helpless, and I know the shame that comes with it. But whatever happens to you, it's it's not your fault."

She stared at him with wide eyes, and said after a moment of silence, "You don't look helpless."

"Because I learned how to protect myself," he said, "how to fight back. If you want, I can help you become like me."

A faint smile flitted across her face, invisible, but it was a smile. "okay."

What Levi didn't tell her was that the attack? It had buried deep anger in his heart, and as time passed, they only intensified.He now knows how to protect himself, yes, he has also learned how to control and channel his anger, but that fire has always been burning in his heart.

He was afraid that one day, this anger would suddenly rise up and swallow him whole.