Henry's POV

"I need you to do a favor for me," Kenny tells me as he hands me a file, "It's about my nephew."

"Nephew?"

Kenny nods his head, "My sister's son. I helped him when he was younger. I left him alone and discovered he had run into trouble. Now, he's leaving Westchester Detention Center. I can't take care of him. So this is a personal favor: take care of my nephew until he can return to his feet."

"I have a daughter to protect."

"She'll be fine."

"Kenny, Hanji is almost your nephew's age. I am not comfortable with him in the house with my daughter."

Kenny glares at me with his gray eyes, scowling at me. "Henry Zoe, one of my good friends... you will be making a mistake. If my nephew is not in your house and being cared for well, I'll take that daughter of yours and put her through the system to the point that you will never recognize her. She'll be a different woman. Would you want that? Your daughter and wife. I'll do it to both of them."

"Kenny-."

"Henry, my nephew will provide some protection."

"Like what?"

"Let's just say that there's a certain group rolling into town... oh, I don't know, within a week." My eyes widened as he mentioned that group. "I don't know how long they will be here, but they know better than to take on someone related to me." Kenny leans down at me, grinning with joy. "What do you say, Henry? Take my nephew in and you'll be protected as long as he's around."

"Tell me you can help control him if I tell you he's getting a bit too close with my daughter."

"I can do that. I know what makes us tick."

"Then fine, I'll do it. Let me get to my wife and explain it to her first."

"Tell her that it's for protection." Kenny leaves me in his office as I read his nephew's file.

He's 18 years old. He looks like Kenny but also doesn't. Those soft facial features of his... those aren't Kenny's. If I were to assume, they must come from Levi's mother. If I ignored the details of his case, Levi looks like some typical young boy that shuts himself away from the world. Now, he will be in the same house as my daughter. I'm not too fond of that idea... but if it means keeping my family safe from that group, he has to stay. 

I picked up my phone and dialed Marla's phone, hearing it ring with growing intensity. "Hello?" I hear her voice calmly coming through, "Henry, what's up?"

"I'm sorry to tell you this so short notice, Marla. Someone's coming to stay with us."

"That's fine. How long will they stay?"

"I don't know..."

Marla's voice changed as if she detected the fear in my voice. "Henry, is it about them?"

"Yes. Kenny asked me to take care of his nephew. I don't like it, but if he's with us, we'll be protected from them. He's about Hanji's age. That's the part I don't like. I want her to stay away as far as she possibly can from this boy."

"Is it that bad?"

"I'll explain more later. But please set up the guest room for him. I have to go and pick him up now."

"That is short notice. Consider it done. Since you're here, what do you want for dinner?"

"I don't know. Call Hanji when she's out of school and ask her. I'm afraid I won't be able to call you until I get home. I love you, Marla."

"Love you too, Henry. Stay safe. Promise me."

"I promise." I hang up, clutching the phone tightly. "I promise," I repeat to myself as I take a deep breath. What I have done in the past is coming back to haunt me. But I had to do what I had to do. Now, my family is in danger. I have to rely on Ackerman's help again. It seems I can never escape from their grip. I am their tool to use... and I have no power to stop it.

*   *   *

Levi has that blank stare, and it brought shivers down my spine. He sits at the table, like a robot. Still and lifeless. The second I come into his view, he shoots his head up and stares at me. There was no life in his eyes. 

"Levi Ackerman?" I call out, seeing him look away from me. "Your uncle told me to come and get you from here."

"So?"

"You're living with us."

"I don't want to leave."

"You have no choice. You can't stay here." I say, reaching for his luggage. His quick reflexes kick in and he grabs my hand. As if it was effortless, he began to squeeze my hand, and I felt the blood stopping. "Levi, please,"

"I'm not leaving."

"If you can't come with me, you'll be kicked to the streets. You're 18. We'll be able to provide everything you need until you're ready to be on your own. That doesn't mean you can enter our house and leave. Your uncle wants you to be able to hold a job and have a place to stay. For now, stay with us until you can have a steady income. Then, you can leave."

Levi takes a few seconds before letting my hand go. Cradling my hand, I had to wait until the tingle went away. Levi gets to his feet before grabbing his luggage, and he glares up at me. "Fine."

I help him put his stuff in my car when I finally brought up my daughter. "There's a girl about your age that lives at home. She's my daughter. Her name's Hanji. I want you to stay away from her."

"Why would I want to be near your daughter?"

"You are still a young man. My daughter has her entire life ahead of her. I don't want her getting distracted. And I certainly do not want you wounding into her life as a lover or a fling. Stay away from her. That's one of my many important rules. Do you understand?"

"Understood."

The entire way home, I could not have a sigh of relief. Being near him had this aura of fearfulness. I should be terrified of him, but the only fear I had was him hurting my family. The one person who was going to help protect my family could harm the people he was meant to protect. How am I not supposed to be worried? According to Levi's files, I just violent man into my house.

Do I have to worry that I might not wake up tomorrow morning?