by Janie Marie
“I can’t help it,” he said, laughing at her embarrassed look.
“But didn’t you like—” She made a weird exploding motion with her hands, which made him laugh again as he fixed his towel around his waist.
“I did.” He pulled her towel around her body and pecked her lips. “But just having you near me gets me hard. And I have incredible stamina.” He winked and hugged her, dropping a kiss to her shoulder. “We’re going to go at it for hours when you turn eighteen. Fuck, let’s get dressed. This is torture.”
He kissed her lips, then exited as fast as he could, leaving her giggling as he cussed out her sexiness on his way to his bedroom.
Still smiling, she peeked out to see him already wearing a pair of jeans.
“Such a tease,” he muttered, shaking his head with a smile. “Your lotion is on my dresser. And just pick out a pair from the stuff we bought today. You’re leaving the rest here.”
She smiled when she picked up the lotion. “Have you been using this?” She laughed when he blushed. “Are you blushing?”
“Shut up, Hood.” He marched over to her. “I had to use something that smelled like raspberries.” He smirked and kissed her quickly, then reached for her bag.
“What do you mean?”
He winked and pulled out a pair of black, lacy panties and a matching bra. “Do you think I didn’t get myself off after yesterday?”
Her mouth fell open as she realized what he meant. He chuckled and returned to his drawers. She forgot his perverted ways and internally screamed as he made room for her stuff alongside his.
His phone rang, and he went to retrieve it from his bed, only to realize it had fallen on the floor during their moment there earlier.
“Stop standing there naked,” he said, preparing to answer his call. “We really can’t do any more today, no matter how badly I want to.”
She nodded and dropped her towel, smiling when she heard him cussing softly to himself.
“Hello,” he said, making her giggle because of just how angry he sounded. “Who?”
Kylie decided to end his torture and pulled up her panties, smiling in the mirror when she fixed her bra.
“Yeah, she’s with me,” he said, sounding serious.
Kylie spun around, seeing him lift his finger to silence her question.
“She came to the gym because she was upset. I’ve kept her with me. No, I don’t know where they are . . . Yeah, we were just about ready to head to you.”
Kylie walked up to him, getting his hug as he listened to the person on the line.
“Yes, sir. We’ll be there shortly. Okay. Bye.” He looked at his phone for a second and then sighed.
“Who was it?”
Logan tilted her chin up and kissed her before answering, “It was Kevin.”
She let out a small gasp while he dropped his hands to her waist to keep her close.
“The cops want to talk to you. Apparently, Maura was hysterical and hurt bad earlier. They’re talking about pressing charges, and your stepsister is blaming you, saying you pulled a knife on her. She and her friends are claiming they were just defending themselves from Janie and the girls after you instigated them all into a fight.”
“What?” She let him pull her close as he kissed her hair.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it. They’ll know she’s lying.”
“But,” she said, thoughts of being thrown in the back of a police cruiser then a jail cell popping into her head.
“Shh.” He kissed her hair again and hugged her tight. “Let me make a few calls and then we’ll go.”
“Who are you calling?”
He kept his arm around her as he scrolled through his contacts. “Ryder first. Kevin said the cops are looking for them.” He hit the call button and lifted his phone to his ear. “Ryder’s older brother is better friends with my guy on the force. He’ll keep Janie protected at all costs.”
She wanted to smack him for thinking about Janie, but he was talking again.
“Then I’m calling her brothers.”
“Brothers? Logan, what about me?” What the hell? Kevin calls, and he’s making sure Janie is okay?
“Yeah, I didn’t want to talk to your dumb ass again today either,” he said, presumably to Ryder. “The police want to question Kylie. Maura’s trying to pin it on her, but they’re looking for Janie too.” He was quiet, then he responded, “I said I hadn’t seen any of you.”
Logan moved away, bending down for her clothes as he listened to Ryder. “Yeah, I need you to get him to call Than to find out what’s going on.”
Silence.
“Well, just deal with it,” Logan told him. “He keeps her out of the trouble she gets in.”
Kylie followed his silent order and started pulling her clothes on.
“Whatever. Just get him to include Kylie in his protection. I don’t want her going anywhere near the station. She didn’t do shit anyway, but her family is crazy. They won’t protect her.”
Finally, she smiled, realizing he’d been thinking about her all along. She sat on the bed as he finished getting his stuff together.
“It’s not like that,” he said, “but this wasn’t Kylie’s fault. It’ll come back on Janie, so you need to do it.”
There was a loud retort, and Logan tensed up.
“I have to go.” He ended the call and held out his hand for her as he thumbed through his contacts again.
Kylie jumped up, running to take his hand and getting another quick kiss before he pushed call.
“Don’t worry, Hood. I’ll take care of you.”
“Okay,” she whispered, letting him pull her out of his room.
“Gawain,” he said when the person must have answered, “it’s Logan. Yeah, she’s gotten into shit again. She hurt some girl at school.”
The person on the other end yelled out, and it sounded like he was yelling for others on his end.
“I need you all to take care of the kids at school,” he told this Gawain person. “Okay, but you need to make sure they’re clearing my girl—she’s the one Janie was protecting. Her name’s Kylie Hood.” He nodded, listening to the person on the other end as they reached his car. “All right. Yeah, Ryder is calling Than, but he won’t call him.” He was quiet and tense. “Yeah, come to the gym after you’re done. Okay. Later.” Logan pulled the door open for her but kept her from sitting down.
“What’s happening?” she asked, leaning her face against his hands when he cupped her cheeks.
He took a deep breath, releasing it as he stared into her eyes. “Ryder is going to have his older brother pull his strings with the police. They’ll get you under their protection as well. They’re practically untouchable because of their dad.”
“Why would they help? It’s not Ryder who’s in trouble.”
Logan smirked and pecked her lips. “Janie has lots of admirers.”
Kylie frowned, not sure it was a good idea to rely on Janie and Ryder, and not thrilled to hear that Janie apparently had some sort of magical pussy that called to men.
“Don’t stress out, okay? This is going to work.”
“But you said the Godson family is one to stay away from. What about Janie’s parents just calling and saying she was, like, doing it all in self-defense?”
“Janie doesn’t have parents. She mainly relies on her stepbrothers because her stepdad is kind of a hard-ass. Plus, he’s not around very much. Her brothers, though, they’re kinda legends around here.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard rumors.” She’d never bothered listening to them because no one wanted to hear about how great the Mortaime girl was, but she knew they were supposed to be a big deal.
“See? With all of them, you’ll be fine.” He seemed very happy with getting their help. “They can get pretty much anything done because people either fear or worship them. They’ll make sure no one talks about Janie or you. If the police can’t get witnesses to back Maura’s story, they have nothing. It’s Maura’s fault anyway
, but I don’t know how far her and her friends’ claws go with kids at school. This is just insurance.”
Kylie sighed but nodded, trusting his plan. Logan took another quick kiss, then helped her inside the car.
As she pulled her belt on and glanced at the clock, she realized they had spent two and a half hours fooling around. “This night has turned into a freaking mess. I can’t believe Maura is pulling this crap. And how the hell am I now mixed up with the Godsons and the Mortaimes?”
Logan chuckled and started the car. “Not the Mortaimes—Janie’s mom died when she was a baby. My mom and dad helped her stepdad raise her because he only knew how to deal with a bunch of boys.”
Kylie nodded, understanding his relationship with her a little more now.
He smiled at her and reached out to squeeze her leg. “Don’t worry about anything. And don’t let it ruin our amazing night. I loved it and can’t wait to be with you again.”
She smiled and linked their fingers when he took her hand.
“Everything will work out, Hood. You have me, and soon, you’ll be under the protection of the Godsons. And the Knights.”
Seventeen
SUPER FREAKY
Kylie turned away from the window to look at Logan when he pressed a kiss to her trembling fingers.
“I’m going to be with you the whole time, okay?”
She nodded, still afraid because she remembered how the cops had been. They’d stared at her as she cried and relayed everything, then they listened to Lorelei, and they’d told her that, this time, she would get off with a warning for fabricating a story to get her stepsister and stepmother in trouble. They’d walked out the door after shaking Lorelei’s hand, and they never came back.
Logan was on her side, but he couldn’t force the officers to believe her. If they wanted to, they could throw her in jail.
“Oh, baby.” He kissed her fingers before he reached out to wipe away her tear.
She didn’t even know it had fallen.
“I promise I won’t let anything happen,” he said softly. “Even if they question you, I’m staying with you. You need a parent anyway. I’ll talk to Kevin and make sure he knows I need to be there too. I won’t leave you.”
“Okay,” she whispered, realizing they were entering the gated community she lived in. Her mind was running rampant with all sorts of horrible scenarios, absolutely hating that the wonderfulness that came out of what started out as a shitty day was now being yanked away.
“Shit,” Logan muttered before pulling off to the side of the road and yanking his phone from his pocket. “Hey,” he said, listening to the person talk while he reached out for her hand again. “Where did she go?” He listened again. “Well, keep her by your side at all times. It’s not safe for her to do that. What did Than say?” Again, he listened for a minute, sighing at whatever he was hearing. “Who cares? Every other asshole is into her and you don’t care.”
Kylie realized he was talking to Ryder, and she almost rolled her eyes. Would she ever get away from hearing about Janie?
“I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with you.” Logan laughed, shaking his head. “Stop being a pussy—no one is going to take her from you. I’m the only one you’d have to worry about anyway.”
Ryder yelled an insult back.
Logan chuckled. “I’m not trying to get back with her, idiot. I have a girl. I’m just fucking with you.”
Kylie couldn’t stop her smile, so she turned to look out the window.
“All right. Call him, and don’t forget about Kylie. She’s the one in trouble right now.”
There was a quick reply from Ryder.
Logan’s tone darkened. “You will give a fuck because this is Janie’s fault.”
“Like hell it is!” was clear as day from Ryder.
“Janie knows to keep a low profile and she messed that up, didn’t she?” Logan’s hand started shaking as he listened to Ryder talk. “No, she doesn’t know anything about that.”
Kylie frowned at the fake smile he gave her.
“What happened then has nothing to do with what’s happening now,” he said. “I know it’s the reason why the cops need to stay away, but you’re supposed to keep things quiet. She should know better.” He sighed, nodding. “You know I’ll do what needs to be done. We’re in this together.”
There was a snappy sort of response from Ryder, but it was unclear.
“I said she doesn’t know, and she’s not going to. Just drop it.” Logan exhaled as he let go of her hand to rub his eyes. “I’ll call you when I’m done, all right? We’re almost at her house.” He hung up and stared out his window without saying anything.
“Well,” she said, getting no reaction, “that was a strange conversation.”
He chuckled nervously. “Yeah. Sorry. Ryder gets a little panicky when shit happens with Janie. He doesn’t like the cops snooping around.”
“By the way you were whispering about ‘what happened then has nothing to do with what’s happening now’, I’m going to take a wild guess and say that Ryder and Janie have done something illegal, and you got pulled into it somehow. And he doesn’t want her questioned because he’s protective.”
Logan stared out the window. “What the fuck am I doing?”
Kylie’s heartbeat sped up. She wasn’t really trying to pick a fight. It just seemed clear that Ryder was some sort of criminal—maybe a drug dealer—and something had happened in the past. She just wanted the fight situation sorted out. She wasn’t the one who did anything wrong. “Logan—”
He sighed, rubbing his face. “Listen, I’m not going to lie—Ryder is dangerous, but he’s not exactly bad. And the shit he’s worried about is serious. I’m involved.”
“You’re kinda scaring me.”
He grabbed her hand. “Don’t be scared. Nothing with us will affect you, but he’s going to be angry until I can sort things out. I just need his help, and I need to make sure you and Janie are cleared of this. She doesn’t need this.”
“Well, I don’t either.” She didn’t understand why he was so concerned with Janie. The girl had her own boyfriend.
“I know.” He lifted her hand, kissing it. “Just trust me, okay? Everything I’m doing is to keep you safe.”
“You won’t blame it on me so she stays out of trouble, will you?” She didn’t like how he was making it clear Janie was his priority.
“No.” He gently squeezed her hand. “I just know they’re blaming you because they’re afraid of Janie and the Godson family. Once it’s clear you’re not at fault, they’ll go after her.”
“Well, Ryder has money, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“You don’t understand, baby.” He closed his eyes. “Just let me do what I need to do to get you both out of trouble.”
Warning bells sounded off in her head. There was just something about Logan’s posture while talking to Ryder; he was afraid. Something big was going on there, and she wanted to find out what it was. “Who’s the brother you were talking about?”
He eyed her. “He’s older than them, and he’s very powerful.”
A fifth Godson? One that made Logan more worried than he was about Ryder. “Like strong?”
“He’s physically strong, yes,” he said, “but it’s the shit he’s involved in that makes him powerful. He’s not like the other Godsons. He rebelled against their dad, and he runs this underground kingdom type of thing.”
“Oh.” She was intrigued but terrified. Logan legitimately looked worried about this older Godson brother. Whatever the Godson family did must be more dangerous than she ever thought. “So why are you asking Ryder to call him?”
He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “Because he’s able to do just about anything—and he’ll do anything for Janie.”
She looked away, sighing as he pulled onto the road again. This was still about Janie. Logan knew it would come back to smack Janie in the face, and he was making sure his precious ex wasn’t in trouble.<
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“Try not to think about him,” Logan said. “You probably won’t meet him, but he can get both of you out of this mess.”
She should’ve kept her mouth shut, but she was too annoyed, and curious about this mysterious brother. “Why does he do anything for Janie? Don’t tell me he likes her.”
He didn’t pull his attention from the road as he replied, “Like isn’t the right word. But, yeah, he has a thing for her.”
“Doesn’t everybody,” she muttered.
“No.” He chuckled, patting her leg. “Don’t act jealous. Trust me, you don’t want a single Godson interested in you in any way. I know girls practically throw their panties at them—I’ve seen it happen—but they’re not a family to mess with. And Janie—well, it’s not what you think with her. They have reasons for being in her life. It’s complicated.”
“Whatever.” She crossed her arms. It didn’t make sense that he wanted her to stay away and not know anything about them while he was asking for their help.
“So here’s the plan,” he said. “Tell them exactly what happened. But maybe change that you saw Janie throw the first punch. Just say it wasn’t clear from where you stood—there was too much chaos. If they ask about the knife, tell them what actually happened, but leave out that they took it. Just say you saw it fall, then you ran because you were scared and upset.
“Say you left school because you were worried about Maura doing something else to you. If they ask why you didn’t just call Kevin, tell the truth; you don’t know his number because you don’t have a phone. So we were waiting until we felt he would be home because you were afraid of Lorelei’s reaction.”
“How did Kevin call you?”
“I guess he got my number through the gym.” He frowned, tapping his thumb on the steering wheel. “He must have figured you’d be with me.”
She nodded, feeling her stomach twist when they pulled up to her house. There was a black car she didn’t recognize parked outside, but no one was around it. It didn’t look like a cop car until she saw a flasher light near the rearview mirror.