by Janie Marie
“Her first time wasn’t the rape.” He shook his head, looking at the ceiling. “I don’t want to talk about this. You hate talking about her, so I don’t even understand why you’re asking about her rape of all things.”
“I’m just curious.”
“About what?” He glared at her. “What it’s like to be raped, or to see your dad and the woman you consider a second mother fucking?”
Her eyes pricked with tears. “I’m trying to figure out why those boys who supposedly raped her are dead!”
His eyes widened. “What?”
God, what was she doing? She couldn’t keep her mouth shut. “I know you have a secret with Ryder. Then she said those boys are dead. And Ryder was furious about Luc being here, and you said Luc can do anything, especially for her.”
“What exactly did she tell you?” he asked.
Her chest started hurting when guilt filled his gaze. Oh, God. “She said they got away with it, and then she said they’re both dead. Ryder looked like he might lose it. So what happened?”
His eyes darted between hers. “They’re dead.”
Her eyes watered when his filled with panic. “Were they killed?”
“Hood, you shouldn’t get involved in this.” His worried gaze broke her.
“Do you not want me to know anything about you?”
“This isn’t just about me,” he said. “Please drop it.”
Her mind raced as she thought about all the little puzzle pieces. Logan wanting help from Luc. Luc being powerful, able to pull strings with the police—Than, the police chief—Janie feeling guilty and protective over Logan and Ryder. Them doing anything to protect her. They didn’t want the police to get close to her.
“You both killed them, didn’t you?”
His eyes begged her to stop.
“You killed them for her,” she went on, her voice shaking. “And she made a deal with his brother to keep you both safe.”
“Baby, please.”
“Tell me! Did you both kill those boys?”
“Hood—”
“Dammit, Logan.” She was trembling with how loud she was yelling. “I will leave you and never see you again if you don’t tell me what’s going on. I’m involved with whatever you’re all hiding. I deserve to know.”
“I tried,” he yelled, making her shut up. “We tried to kill them, but we failed.”
“I don’t understand.” Her whisper seemed so loud between them.
“They raped her!” He didn’t look like her Logan. He looked like a lost, mad man. “They did that to her and got away with it. I didn’t keep her safe. I broke her and made her an easy target. She couldn’t even accept Ryder. He would’ve protected her, but he couldn’t because she pushed him away. Because of me.
“I wasn’t even there after it happened, Hood. No one called me because of how badly I treated her. Then Ryder came. He told me, and I died. My baby doll had been destroyed, and I had been off fucking and partying. She lo—”
He covered his face. “Baby, they didn’t believe her. Only Ryder did, but she wouldn’t accept his support. That was my fault. And when I saw her, I wasn’t seeing the same girl. I saw a corpse. She was gone, and she only breathed because he asked her to.”
Kylie’s heart pounded too fast; he was going to change everything. She’d thought it would only be Ryder.
He made an anguished noise. “I killed her. She’s never been the same. I did her worse than those boys. Before it all happened, I kissed Gloria right in front of her—told her I’d been cheating on her the whole time we were together. I made her what she is,” he roared. “It’s my fault. I practically put the damned bottle of pills in her hand.”
Her mouth fell open when a tear slid down his cheek.
“I had to make it right. I had to make sure they never hurt her again.”
“Logan,” she said, shattered as she watched him trying not to cry more than he already was.
“She looked so dead and empty.” He was the broken one. “And I couldn’t even avenge her. I wanted to. Ryder and I both wanted to. Those bastards got to walk around smiling at everyone while no one believed her. Even when she survived her overdose. Ryder was glued to her side most of the time, but she was tormented. She had to see them every day. And she was called a liar—even her family said so. I know you can imagine what that feels like.”
She stayed quiet. She did know.
“If I lost her because of this, I would die too.”
Kylie shook her head, trying to hug him, but he kept going.
“They sent her cryptic letters. The police dismissed the first one, so she hid the rest. Ryder found more. He took them to the police, but they said there was nothing they could do. That he should consider she was planting them. I was finally seeing her by then, but even my presence didn’t help. When they threatened to hurt her again, that we wouldn’t be able to save her, we snapped. We planned it, but we failed. We both let her down.”
“How?” she whispered, almost too softly to hear her own voice.
He looked up at the ceiling, growling under his breath before he met her gaze again. “We didn’t kill those boys, baby. She did.”
Four
Consequences
The scent of coffee, maple syrup, pancakes, waffles, and various fruits filled the Knight kitchen. It should have smelled like the most delicious breakfast she’d had in years, considering Lorelei only let her eat bland food that tasted like cardboard, but Kylie’s mind was a mess. She couldn’t appreciate the delightful mixture of aromas. She didn’t even think she could eat.
All she wanted to do was go back to sleep, wake up in her bed, and live in a world without Godsons, Knights, and especially, Janie Mortaime.
But she couldn’t. She had to stay in this nightmare where Janie, a killer, was cherished by the man she loved.
Laughter pulled Kylie’s attention toward the kitchen. The Knight brothers, all eleven of them, were joking around as they served themselves heaping plates of food. Not one of them looked concerned by the fact their baby sister was a murderer.
“Is this fine, Hood?” Logan’s voice shouldn’t have startled her, but she still jerked in her seat.
She looked up at his worried expression. He looked tired, and she felt bad that she was the reason why.
“Just relax,” he said softly as he sat beside her. “I promise I’ll take you wherever you want if it’s too much. I just need to see her before I go.”
“It’s fine.” She cut him off. “I’m not trying to make you feel bad.”
“I know.” He kissed the side of her head, keeping his voice low as they watched the Knight brothers laughing at the kitchen island where they had chosen to eat. “I just never planned on you knowing. I shouldn’t have let you get close to this.”
“Well, it’s a little late now.”
“Baby.”
Sighing, she squeezed the hand he placed on her thigh under the table. “It’s fine. Sorry. It’s just—I’m shocked.” She really was. She could totally see Ryder doing it for Janie and had feared Logan had helped cover it up, but not this. They had covered it up for her.
He turned his hand to hold hers and smiled. “I know it’s hard to accept. Thank you for not running out screaming. I swear, she’s not evil or going to hurt you.”
She let go of his hand to grab her fork. “Well, I don’t know anyone who can kill and not be evil, but I am thankful you’re alive.”
He lowered his gaze to the table, but he didn’t say anything.
She hated how he was turning into a different guy. She wanted her sexy man-boy. “Logan, stop acting like this.”
Confusion and alarm were in his eyes. “Like what?”
It made her feel good that he was afraid to lose her, but this needed to stop. She wasn’t going to lose him simply because Janie was a killer. “Like this. Worried about how to act around me. I told you I wanted you. That means I want my cocky Logan Grimm.”
He finally grinned, his eyes sparking with
that alluring gleam that dazed her.
“I can handle this,” she said, “I think. Just be my Logan again, please. If you’re not who you are, it makes me lose the confidence you bring out in me.”
“You’re so sexy right now.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek before leaving more down her neck. “I’m glad this table is hiding the hard-on I’m getting.”
She chuckled and turned to get a quick kiss before the others could see. “Ah, I knew I hadn’t lost you.”
He smirked and shook his head before pecking her lips one more time. “Never.”
Before total warmth and adoration could fill her heart, a ridiculous yell sounded from the other side of the room.
“Guess what daaaay it is?”
They looked over to see the source of the voice.
Janie grinned as Ryder let go of her hand once they entered the kitchen. She raced forward and jumped on Gawain’s back, repeating the question in the same idiotic tone. “Guess what day it is?”
Gawain held on to her legs as she gripped his neck and laughed. “It’s Wednesday, Jane.”
“Hump daaaay!!!” Janie yelled in his ear.
Gareth and Tristan copied her. “Hump daaaay!!!!”
Ryder shook his head. He walked over to the chef and started gathering food while Janie and her brothers kept up their silliness.
“Bed,” said Janie in a clipped tone. “Bed, Bed, Bed, Bed, Bed!”
She jumped off Gawain after pecking his cheek and hugged a blond male who Kylie had met earlier. His name was Bedivere.
“Bed, guess what day it is?” Janie beamed at him.
“It’s hump day. How are you feeling, sweetheart?” He looked older than the others, more mature, but still a good-looking guy. Like the Godsons, the Knights were all handsome in their own ways. Maybe not on the level of the Godson brothers, but still, she’d never seen so many attractive guys before.
Janie hugged him and yelled again. “Hump daaay!”
“Babe, go sit down,” Ryder said, not looking over his shoulder.
After frowning, Janie finished greeting her brothers and went to the refrigerator.
“It’s just how she is,” Logan whispered when Kylie realized she couldn’t take her eyes off the girl she now knew was a killer. She was a killer who acted like a child on a sugar rush. It made her think of the psychotic murderers from superhero comics, and she didn’t quite know how she felt about her anymore. Not that Janie was ever her favorite person—not even close. God, she really was the villain everyone loved.
Logan started eating again as Janie begged them to let her have a Dr Pepper. She received eleven no’s, but Ryder reached up to the top of the refrigerator where Janie couldn’t see and pulled down the drink they had hidden from her.
“She’s so strange,” she said without thinking. At least she didn’t say crazy. Luckily, her voice was quiet enough that only Logan could hear her.
He chuckled. “She’s always been silly, especially with her brothers. But we all kind of know she gets like this when she’s having a hard time. Sometimes she drops afterward, so it’s sort of bittersweet. People who don’t really know her think she’s mean—but she’s the complete opposite.”
Kylie didn’t comment; her mind fixated on Logan’s confession from last night. It replayed in her head like she was watching a movie, like she was watching Logan and herself on a screen.
“We didn’t kill those boys, baby. She did,” is what he had said.
For thirty seconds she had sat still before jumping out of bed to search for her clothes. “You sent me to have a sleepover with a murderer.” Her harsh whisper seemed to echo as she pulled on her panties. “I can’t believe you’d think this is okay!”
Logan jumped up, stunning her for a brief second because he was Logan after all. And he was completely naked. “Hood, wait.” He reached out to grab her before she could run out of the room.
She didn’t care if she had to run down the streets in her panties and shirt, she wasn’t staying here. “Let me go or I’ll scream.”
He covered her mouth.
“Lemmmeego.” She elbowed him and stomped on his foot, but he held her tight. “Legooo.” Her muffled screams hardly produced any sound. Tears spilled as all sorts of gruesome thoughts went through her mind.
Janie was a killer. And Logan and Ryder helped her get away with it. They were all responsible. All killers.
“Baby, she saved my life,” he said, his voice hard but pleading at the same time. “She killed them to save us.”
Kylie stopped moving and listened to him exhale a somewhat relieved breath, but he still held her tight.
“Will you let me explain? Please?”
Nodding, she felt his grip over her mouth loosen. “Explain everything or I’m gone. I’m not staying here with your crazy killer ex-girlfriend. I don’t care if you think those boys deserved it. God, you kept saying she wouldn’t hurt me. You left me here with her!”
“She won’t hurt you.” He was pleading. “I promise it’s not what you think. None of them will hurt you. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“Just talk.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her back to the bed.
“For God’s sake, Logan.” She waved her hand toward his dick. “Put your underwear on.”
He tried to smile, but it didn’t dazzle or soothe her. “Okay,” he said after getting dressed. “She didn’t seek them out, all right?”
“I’m listening. Don’t you lie either.”
“I won’t lie,” he said, cracking a smile when she let him hold her hand. “Ryder brought me the letters and photos she’d tried to hide. They were from those bastards. The pictures were of the clothes she’d worn that night. They had her blood and what was clearly cum all over them. Then there were two used condoms lying on top.”
Her mouth fell open. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not lying. They warned her to stop talking, or next time, she wouldn’t find her way out of the woods.”
“Why didn’t you guys take it to the police?”
“We did,” he said. “Than wasn’t the chief then—one of the boys’ uncles was. They searched their property and the school, but there was nothing there.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
He sighed, closing his eyes, his whole body tense. “Hood, rapes rarely get solved or punished as severely as they deserve. That’s just a fact. Then they kept using me as a reason why she’d make everything up. I mean, you’ve had the police not believe you. You know this can happen.”
She didn’t respond to that. “What about her stepdad? They have money, so he had to have pull.”
Logan shook his head. “When the initial alibis came in, and they didn’t have any other evidence, he refused to believe what had happened to her. That’s why she was living with Ryder. I wasn’t even involved when all this happened. I was gone. But it didn’t end. Like I said, the letters started, and when she was still dismissed, she hid the new ones.
“Ryder found them. Then he decided that was enough. He knew she was lost though. That’s the only reason he bothered to come to me. He wanted me to help find her again, and I wanted to avenge her. Protect her.”
Kylie’s heart hurt. They really had planned to kill for Janie.
“I’m not a killer, baby. But we had to take care of her.” His head dropped lower when she nodded, and he continued, “Ryder was afraid she’d try to kill herself. She was trying to hang on, but she was fading. And those letters never stopped. They promised to make her squirm, to make her scream for us again.”
He looked up in agony. “Don’t you see? She’d cried for us. That night she cried for us to save her—and we didn’t.”
“Logan,” she said, feeling her stomach turn. God, he was really going to do it.
“They were stalking her. I saw them with my own eyes. They weren’t just trying to scare her. They wanted to bury her. But we couldn’t just do it without being suspected. With the uncle as chief, we’d be s
crewed. That’s why Luc got involved. He saw to it that Than would be chief so things would go smoothly for us.”
“Killing someone in cold blood or even for revenge is wrong.” She clutched her throbbing head. This was too much. She felt so sick. “So what did you two plan?”
“Ryder planned it. Luc helped him, I guess, but they wouldn’t let anyone else help. I just told Ryder to tell me the plan—that I was in. He wanted to lure them out—make them think they’d find her alone. I went along with it because I didn’t care what it meant for me. If I went to prison, I’d be there because she was safe.”
“Oh, Logan,” she said, sighing at his foolish reasoning.
“I know it was stupid, but I only cared about her being safe. Anyway, the plan was to have it seem like she would be out in the woods. She went in them a lot, even after they raped her in her favorite spot. Usually Ryder would go and watch her sit there. I think she was hoping to find some part of herself still there, or she was waiting for them to come finish her off.”
Kylie couldn’t stand the sight of his agony.
“It must’ve been their sick fantasy because when those bastards saw where she was going, they followed her. Luc showed up when they got out of sight. He said he already had a man waiting for her, that she’d be safe.
“I knew Luc wouldn’t hurt her, so I stuck with the plan after he left to go meet her.”
Kylie sighed, shaking her head. He was so blinded by revenge and his need to make up for his mistakes.
“I don’t know why we didn’t take anything with us. Pride, maybe. We knew we were stronger, deadlier. We knew we had what it took to kill another person. We wanted them to suffer by our own hands.” He balled his hands into fists, staring at them as they shook.
“It was a fucking mistake,” he said, still staring. “They knew we were watching, and they set their own trap. We walked into an open field with nothing but our own strength and anger, only to find them waiting, guns aimed at both of us.”
“Until she came back,” she said, knowing that was the only way for things to change.