by J. Woods
“You could have knocked.”
“I could have.”
“What do you want, Cam?”
“I want you to pull your head out of your ass and see that you fucked up Logan. I don’t know what happened...”
“That’s right, you don’t know what happened,” he interrupted.
“But,” she continued, barrelling over him. If anyone of his siblings was as hard headed as he was, it would be the one sitting in front of him. “I can tell you what I saw at Mom and Dad’s the other day and I can tell you that girl is head over heels for you.”
“Cameron, stay out of it.”
“Fine, but we are all getting tired of you being an asshole. So figure it out or put it away.” He stared at his sisters confident, retreating back. He turned toward the window and let out a sigh, she was right. He was getting tired of it too and it hadn’t even been two days. Yes he was mad, but he was more heartbroken - and he didn’t know how to deal with the aching emptiness he felt in his chest. His eyes moved to the picture frames that sat on the shelf. And he knew what he had to do. Grabbing his keys he opened his door more forcefully than needed and ignored his sisters knowing smirk from behind her computer as he bound down the stairs - a man on a mission.
Logan smiled at his mom’s surprised face when she opened the door. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, honey! We weren’t expecting you.” She pulled him into a hug, holding on for a moment longer than usual.
“Dad here?”
“Yes, he’s out back in the garden. You’re looking tired sweetheart.”
“Because I am tired.” She nodded her head in understanding, moving out of his way. He walked through the house and pushing the sliding glass door he found his father huddled over his blossoming vegetable garden.
His dad always knew when someone was there and to Logan’s amusement without turned around his father called back, “Grab a shovel by the door. I don’t know where all these damn caterpillars are coming from, they’re destroying my garden!” Logan got down on his knees, bending over the soil and started copying his father’s movements. It was a familiar ritual; David Savage was a warm understanding man but if he was working he made damn sure you were doing the same. Logan didn’t know how to start; he wasn’t even sure what he was there to ask, his earlier confidence slowly fizzling away. “Son, is this about Zoe?”
Logan looked up in surprised confusion. He hadn’t seen or talked to his parents since their last dinner. “How did you...?”
“Because I know you. And I know you like her, enjoy spending time with her and I also know you probably let her go.” He watched his dad fight with a large weed, to come out victorious as he threw it onto the growing pile before turning to face him. Logan nodded his head confirming all of the above. “Do you love her?” he asked going back to his tomato plants.
“Yes,” he admitted after a long moment. His father sat back on his heels, a pondering look on his face; Logan felt completely exposed. He swallowed the urge to squirm feeling like an errant child.
“Logan, you’ve never quit anything in your life. If you love her, I ask you, what are you going to do to prove it to her?”
“What if she doesn’t feel the same?”
He faced a challenging but knowing raised eyebrow. “What if she does?”
“Lemonade here!” They both turned to find his mom walking out balancing a tray in her hand. His dad immediately stood up going to his wife. Logan wanted what his parents had; especially now as he watched his father place the tray on the table before he took her in his arms and planted a playful but promising kiss against her lips. When they were kids, Logan and his siblings would always scrunch their noses up at their parent’s affection but they always knew it was one of the constants of their relationship.
“Thanks Ma, but I have to get going.”
“Oh really?” she asked, still flushed from giggling.
“Yeah. Thanks, Dad.”
“Good luck.”
Logan drove down the driveway leading to the Barn, pieces of a plan locking into place. He didn’t know about women’s hearts but he knew how to protect and how to rescue. He was a well trained, well stacked weapon and he was going to do anything to acquire his target. Zoe’s heart. Pushing his own male pride aside he knew he needed her sunshine in his life; he wanted her smile, her smell, her warmth and he wanted it when he woke up in the morning, when he went to bed at night and every second in between. She was his and he didn’t care if she didn’t want him, he was going to convince her that she loved him. That her heartbeat matched his own, that there would never be anyone for him but her. Even if it took him forever. Stepping inside he took the stairs two at a time to his office closing the door behind him; he picked up the phone and started putting the pieces of his plan together. His world became a little brighter, a little more hopeful, even if he knew he had a hell of a mission ahead of him. His dad was right, he wasn’t a quitter and he would never stop fighting for her heart.
***
Zoe had five days of monotonous routine; wake up, go to work, pretend to smile, go home to Rachel’s, go to bed, try not to cry, fail at trying not to cry, lie awake in the darkness and wonder what the hell had gone so wrong to turn her life completely upside down, wake up and do it all over again. She had thought about driving over to Logan’s place, a few times, to demand an explanation. After over analyzing every single moment the last time she saw him, when he’d walked away from her, she still had no idea what the hell happened. She went over every one of her actions wondering if she’d done something to push him away, but his whole demeanour changed after he got the phone call from the detective. The case was over and apparently so was she. But she missed him. And her heart hurt.
She walked into her office Friday morning and fell into the comfort of her desk chair. Rachel walked in with a mug of coffee five minutes later with a hard stare in her eyes. “What happened?” Zoe asked, concerned.
“I’m tired of your moping, that’s what happened.”
“Oh. Yeah I’m getting pretty tired of it myself.”
“Good. Then we’re going out tonight.”
“We are?”
“Yes. We’re going to that new wine bar that just opened up, I already booked our reservation. And we’re going to stare at hot guys all night, and then we’re going to go home and talk about all the hot guys.” Zoe laughed at her friend, appreciating the fact that she knew she wasn’t ready to be with anyone yet, knowing Rachel felt the same way, even if she was better at hiding her feelings. And there was nothing wrong with a little eye candy. “And your real estate agent will be here in five minutes.”
“Okay great, thanks.”
Zoe knew she had to sell her place. Going back on Wednesday to grab some clothes, even Rachel, who’d gone with her, had said it possessed a different feel. It wasn’t her home anymore because she didn’t feel safe in it anymore. It was no longer a source of comfort, only carrying unwanted nightmares.
Later that evening, arm in arm, Zoe and Rachel walked into the newest hot spot in Vancouver. Rachel had made her wear the sexiest outfit she had in the suitcase she’d been living out of; a short black high-waisted mini skirt with an almost sheer white, billowy tank top. Her heels were the colour of her skirt almost matching the lengths of her legs. Rachel wore a similar outfit and Zoe knew they were a wall of formidable feminine power with a confidence they both had pulled from somewhere. She knew Rachel wanted tonight to be a cleansing of sorts; she knew her friend had been shaken by Ace and she wanted to give her the distraction she needed.
Taking their seats at a small booth reserved in their name, Zoe looked around at a crowd that only a couple of weeks ago would have tickled her excitement as she searched for her next night of fun. Tonight, she didn’t even feel a flutter. Silently cursing Logan Savage for the standards she now held against any other man. A round of drinks were sent to their table courtesy of the two gentlemen at the bar. Zoe and Rachel both held up their glasses in gratitude. “Very nice, but not what w
e need,” Rachel mused taking a sip. Zoe snorted into her glass nodding her head in agreement. She stared around at suit after suit and not one of them made her want to rip someone’s clothes off. It was depressing.
After a couple hours of schmoozing and flirting, Zoe was feeling lighter, more of her old self crawling out from behind the shadows. Wanting to leave on a high, her and Rachel said goodnight to the gentlemen who had squeezed into their booth. The one beside her was cute; he had dark, almost shaggy hair with a pinstriped suit and one of the whitest, most perfect smile’s she’d ever seen. When he’d asked for her number she immediately refused wondering if she shouldn’t have been so quick to say no. But it didn’t feel right to her. Zoe pulled out her keys telling Rachel to meet her at the car before she watched her disappear into the crowd to find the washroom. She took a deep breath stepping out into the cool summer night air, the warmth in the breeze blowing softly across the bare skin of her legs. She listened to her heels click against the pavement as she walked toward her car in the mostly deserted parking lot, everyone still inside enjoying the start of the weekend on a champagne buzz. She held her hand out pressing ‘unlock’ and as her lights flashed she heard her name being called by a familiar voice, one that wasn’t Rachel and very male. She turned around, “Steven?” He smiled walking toward her, his hands in his pockets. “Fancy meeting you here, how have you been?”
“I’m good,” she smiled. “I’m surprised to see you here,” she admitted.
“Well, it’s the new hot spot. Couldn’t miss it,” he grinned. “Last time I saw you, you were out with that guy. How’s that going?” What an odd question from a stranger, she thought.
“Umm, you know,” she said, waving away his answer with a small girlish giggle. Where was Rachel? she wondered looking over his shoulder. “Cool. Hey did you hear about Alex Sullivan? Apparently he was arrested.”
Zoe frowned, how did he know about that? “Oh really? I hope for nothing too serious.”
“Yeah, not sure what the charges were. Well, I’m getting out of here. Hopefully I’ll see you around?” He turned pulling out a set of keys and Zoe could see the lights on a car flash a few vehicles down from hers.
“Sure, of course!” She didn’t know why but she felt a sense of unease trickle down her spine. He went in for a hug and Zoe didn’t push him away but she didn’t necessarily welcome him with warmth. She scrunched her nose up; his scent wrapped around her, pungent, floral; not like the musky cologne of the man who sat beside her today or the essence of a rustic man like Logan. Zoe’s eyes widen momentarily, finally placing the scent - roses. When she pulled away with a plastered smile she didn’t see the movement of his other hand as he shoved a cloth over her nose and mouth. She quickly realized the source of the smell. Chloroform. She distantly heard the clang of her keys fall to the ground as she felt her fingers lose grip on her purse. She couldn’t fight off the darkness as Steven whispered what was supposed to be soothing words of apology before she lost the battle completely.
Chapter Sixteen
Zoe squeezed her eyes shut; someone was wiping her face with a warm, wet cloth. She felt sick, the smell around her making her want to gag. “Zoe? It’s time to wake up.” She heard the moan tear from her throat; her eyelids had never felt so heavy, she just wanted to crawl back into the darkness. Everything felt weighted down; just the movement of opening her eyes was a daunting task. “Zoe.” The voice turned harder, more assertive. Managing to flutter her lashes she opened her eyes. Steven was staring down at her with an off putting smile, the cloth she’d felt moments before hanging between his fingers. She slowly looked down at her wrists to see they were tied to the arms of the chair she was sitting in. She took in a shaky breath attempting to force the overwhelming panic rising within her.
“Steven, what are you doing?” Taking in her surroundings Zoe realized the smell that was choking her was thousands of red roses; he had her in a greenhouse. The humidity clung to her skin; she wanted to vomit. Her past came rushing back to her in a collage of terrible memories; she hated roses because of Steven. He had lived around the block from her parent’s house, his dad was a florist. They had been playing hide and seek in his father’s greenhouse when he’d played a cruel trick on her locking her inside. She had screamed at him to let her out; she was alone amongst rows and rows of roses, drowning in the pungent smell for over an hour until his father finally came in and found her huddled in the corner, her knees brought up to her chest as she sobbed. Instinctively she knew she was in his father’s greenhouse now. Another realization smacked her hard across the face - it was Steven, not Alex.
“I’m taking care of you Zoe, just like I promised. You’re mine remember?” She clenched her jaw against the harsh words that were stuck on her tongue. Moving her wrists she winced as the rope cut into her skin. She was not going to die in a fucking greenhouse surrounded by roses.
***
Logan didn’t think he’d ever been so nervous, he felt like a kid going to ask his crush to the movies. But this was so much more than that. He called Axel who was running through the field, opening the passenger door to his truck. The morning sun was rising and when he was sitting on his couch mentally going over - everything - for the millionth time, he decided he couldn’t wait until the afternoon. He’d kept his distance all week and as much as he wanted to sit in his truck for night watch on her place, he didn’t. She was a big girl and she could handle herself. He knew that, plus she’d told him as much the last time he’d seen her. He also didn’t take down the alarms he installed in her place letting him know immediately if she were in trouble.
God, he’d fucked up. He was a dick and he had a lot to apologize for. But he still didn’t know if she wanted something past what they’d had. He should have talked to her, see where she was at but instead he pulled away, wanting to be the one to do it first. The question he kept asking himself over the past five days was, was she going to pull away at all? Merging into city traffic, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. “Yeah.”
“Savage. Are you sitting down?”
“What is it Ashbrook?”
“Sullivan made bail.”
“What?” Logan roared almost driving his truck off the side of the road. “How?”
“The judge charged him with breaking and entering and a restraining order.”
“What the fuck!”
“I know, but his prints weren’t on the original threats and he never physically harmed Zoe. The judge said if he didn’t have the evidence sitting in front of him he would have believed Sullivan’s innocence, apparently he was pretty convincing in the courtroom of his ignorance of the entire situation.”
“He’s going to go after her,” Logan concluded, panic tightening around his heart. “I’m on my way to see her right now.”
“Good, bring her into the station so we can discuss a plan of action.” Ending the call he immediately dialed Zoe, growling with frustration when her voicemail clicked in. “Zoe, it’s me, Logan. I need you to call me straight away. Sullivan made bail. I need... Just call me back. Please.” Immediately calling Max he updated his brother on the situation as he weaved in and out of traffic, desperate to get to her apartment. He cut across two lanes of traffic pulling into the underground parking lot, the sound of angry horns fading away behind the closing garage door. A fierce frown formed between his eyebrows when he noticed her parking space empty. Taking the stairs two at a time he ran down the hallway and pounded his fist against her door. “Zoe! Open the door!” He stopped, listening to the unnatural quiet that was coming from inside. Turning the handle, the damn thing wouldn’t budge. No matter how mad she was with him he knew she would open to his frantic knocking. Finding the spare key she’d given him he slid it into the lock. Opening the door he was immediately met with a cool draft. Something was off. Her place was dark and it looked like no one had been inside for a week. Where the hell was she? “Zoe?” He walked down the hall and into her bedroom. Opening her closet he found bare hangers han
ging lonely against each other. “What the hell?” he muttered to himself. He dialed her number again and received the same sweet sounding voice telling him to leave a message. Storming into her kitchen, he ripped open her fridge find the same consistent theme of her apartment - empty. He remembered she went to Rachel’s a few nights ago, maybe she was still there. Jumping into his truck after Axel he rammed the gear shift into drive and peeled out of the lot, the squeal of his tires adding an ominous soundtrack to the lead weight sitting heavily in his gut.
It took far too long to get to Rachel’s house. Climbing out, his dog on his heels, he surveyed the two police cars on either side of her driveway and had to swallow back the bile that was rising in his throat. He walked into the small house without knocking and found Rachel sitting in front of an officer who was jotting down what she was saying. He could see her eyes were puffy from crying, her face pale as she wrung her fingers together in front of her. She looked up and a flash of relief entered her distanced eyes. “Logan!” she got up and ran toward him flinging her arms around his neck. “You have to find her,” she begged. Those five words rendered him absolutely helpless in that moment. Zoe was gone and Rachel didn’t know where she was. Fear and anger rose together inside of him, colliding in an explosion of absolute panic.
“Rachel, what happened?” He grasped at every bit of composure he could, feeling the cold facade of the solider fall into place. This was a mission now, and Zoe was the target.
“We went out for drinks last night to that new wine bar. I was so tired of seeing her mope around the house so I made her go out. When we were leaving I went to the washroom and she went to start the car. When I came outside she wasn’t at the car, there was no sign of her. I tried calling her thinking maybe she’d gone back inside or even met someone while she was waiting for me.” Logan clenched his jaw against the last part, thinking Zoe had gone home with some other guy made him want to throw his fist through a wall. Or the other guy’s face. “But she didn’t answer her phone. So I started to walk back inside and noticed this on the ground. She handed him what she had been gripping the palm of her hand. Logan looked at it; a thin metal, it looked like it was half of a pink broken heart. “What is it?”