by Janie Marie
“Kylie, take a deep breath.” Detective Parvati smiled kindly. “You’re not in trouble, and I’m sure your stepfather will be more understanding after he’s had some time to take in this information. I want you to be honest with us though. I need to know if you saw Logan with any other women, or if you saw him exchange money with anyone at all.”
She frowned, shaking her head. “No. The only woman he was with was Gloria, and I was there during the massage. Logan teased me, but he didn’t do anything beyond that. After Chris took me out, it was only ten minutes before the crowd was cheering and he was walking out.”
“And Chris.” Detective Parvati wrote something down. “He was with you during this time?”
“Yeah, he was sitting beside me, telling me about Logan’s record.”
“Was there something that happened,” the detective paused, “or something that was said that led you to choose to walk home instead of waiting for Logan?”
“Yes. That’s exactly why I left.”
“What did Chris say?”
Kylie’s eyes burned. “He told me I wasn’t special. He said I wasn’t the first girl he’d been asked to sit in the front row.” She shrugged. “It was stupid to get so upset, but I—”
“Liked him?” Detective Parvati asked, smiling.
She nodded. “He was the first guy to take me on a sort of date, and he didn’t care about the girls Chris was showing him. So being told I wasn’t special hurt.”
Mr. Prince held up his hand. “May I?”
“You’d like to ask her a question?” Detective Parvati asked, confused.
He gave Kali a dazzling smile before focusing on her. “Kylie, did his agent mention a specific girl? When he said you weren’t the first?”
“Um, he said ‘one girl’. A brunette.” She swallowed her pain. “He said Logan wasn’t looking at me the way he looked at her.”
Mr. Prince smiled sadly. “Do you know which girl he was speaking of?”
“I do now.” She rubbed her chest. “Janie Mortaime.”
“How do you know it was her?” Detective Parvati asked.
“Logan told me. He said Chris didn’t want him to have a girlfriend. He had a big problem with Janie, I guess. Something about her and her family getting in the way.” She could barely hold herself together. What were they getting at? “Can I ask why I’m being questioned about this?”
“What do you mean by her family getting in the way?” Detective Parvati waited patiently.
“Logan said Chris was worried about her family finding out about the way he did things. I don’t know what that really meant, but Logan seemed against it. He was really upset to have me and Janie hurt by the things Chris said.”
Detective Parvati sighed. “Is there anything else you can tell me about why Logan was so upset?”
God, was Logan in trouble for the betting? She had to protect him. “I guess he probably believed things would’ve been better with Janie if Chris hadn’t been an asshole to her. Now can I know what this is about?”
Kevin turned to face her. “Sweetheart, Logan is being investigated for his involvement in an illegal gambling and prostitution ring. There are witnesses saying he took a young woman home the night you met him. Initially, they believed it was you. There’s also evidence he forced you to have sex with him.”
Her mouth fell open. “What?”
Mr. Prince held up his hand. “Kylie, these are just accusations, and the evidence the police have is being reviewed. You don’t have to answer anything, but your cooperation would help resolve matters quickly.”
She pressed her trembling lips together but responded, “I swear he didn’t rape me. We haven’t even had sex. I’m still a virgin.”
There was a knock on the door and in walked Than Messor. “Hello, everyone.”
“Chief,” Detective Parvati greeted. “I didn’t think you’d be here so soon.”
He gave her a stern look before settling his gaze on Kylie. “Well, I bumped into Mr. Grimm, and I think I’ve figured out what all this is about.” He tugged a chair from the wall and sat, staring at Kylie the whole time. “How are you, Kylie?”
“I don’t know.” She couldn’t look away from his face. She was almost positive the chief worked for or with Luc Godson, but she did not understand what was expected of her. Did they know about the guys Janie killed? Were they informed Logan had told her? Maybe this was about shutting them both up.
Detective Parvati folded her arms, glaring at him. “Chief, I can gather what you’ve learned after I finish here with Kylie.”
“There’s no need,” Than said, holding up a piece of paper. “Chris and four teammates just signed statements confessing to their involvement in a gambling ring, where they arranged for women eager to sleep with Logan to do just that. Chris was running the game, coaching them on how to display their dislike for Logan to the participants before Logan swooped in. Logan was a tool, and he was worried he’d lose his contract with the organization if he didn’t participate. So he went along with the bets Chris arranged. Only, he informed each girl about it before having sex with them. He gave the girls whatever he earned, completely unaware they’d already been getting part of the pot. I’m guessing him actually having sex was just a means to an end for him.”
Detective Parvati was fuming. “What about the witnesses who say he admitted to using Kylie?”
There was a loud roar and shouts as a crash echoed through the main office. “I’ll fucking kill him.”
Mr. Prince stood, rushing out of the room as it became clear the person yelling was Ryder.
Than sighed, looking at the open door before focusing on Kylie again. “He did use her. To get his ex back.”
Logan slammed his car door, his gaze sweeping the parking lot of his apartment complex as he walked around to open the passenger door for Janie. The shit she’d told him had him ready to destroy the town. The shit Than just called and relayed to him made him want to destroy the fucking world. She was the only reason he was holding back. There was a reason for everything Janie did, and he vowed to always give her time to explain. But his patience was running out.
He helped her out of the seat, sighing when she gave him a look that always had his heart pounding.
“Have you missed me?” She touched his chest, pressing her palm over his heart. She knew what tattoo was there.
Logan didn’t say anything as she traced the letters of her name, which lay hidden under the tattoo of a fallen angel. It was her. He wasn’t even sure if she knew the angel was her. He’d been the one to draw it, and he took his time making sure only he could tell. Still, she knew he’d covered up her name with this tattoo after they broke up.
She slid her hands from his chest to the back of his neck. “Are you angry with me?”
“Yes,” he said, not returning her embrace. “You had nothing to do with the bets. All of that was my fault.”
“I won’t let you go to jail for something I caused. You never wanted to be that man. You did it to hurt me, but you were doing it to hurt yourself. I won’t let anyone take you.”
He still didn’t touch her, but he didn’t push her away either. “I didn’t rape or even fuck that girl.”
“I know,” she murmured.
“And the bitch they said I brought home is lying. I didn’t see her until the next morning. She was Trevor’s. And she was a brunette, not a blonde. So you know it wasn’t Kylie.”
“I know,” she said, even softer. “I’m sure she was brunette for a reason.”
Finally, he grabbed one of her hands, turning it to kiss her fingers because it was killing him to watch her go through this. “I don’t deserve you.”
She smiled at him as if nothing was wrong. “You do. Let’s go inside.”
Logan nodded, casting his gaze around as he led her toward his apartment building. “Does he know?”
“He knows.” She squeezed his hand. “Everything.”
He squeezed back, knowing she always needed that extra bi
t of assurance. “When’s your next class?” They arrived at his door. He opened it and let go of her hand so she could enter.
“We only have twenty minutes.”
Logan threw his things down before following her to his room. She stood there, staring at his bed. She’d been in his room before, but it felt like a betrayal to have her in there after doing so much with Kylie.
She didn’t look away from his bed. “Do you still keep me?”
“You know I do.” He ran his hand through his hair as he walked toward his dresser. He opened it, digging around. His heart raced as he pushed aside the lingerie he’d gotten Kylie. He’d put this stuff here as a way of saying ‘fuck you’ to Janie. Now he felt like a complete asshole. He always did this shit, and she did everything for him.
“May I see it?” She turned her head, staring at him.
Logan found what he was looking for. He lifted the picture of her sitting in the woods. It was a picture he’d taken of her sitting on a big boulder, overlooking her meadow—before her memories of her fairytale meadow turned to nightmares. He swallowed, turning it over to remove the folded sketch taped to the back. “It’s creased now.”
“As it should be,” she whispered, her eyes watering.
“Baby doll—”
“Unfold it, Logan.” She stared at him with those glassy eyes. “I want to see it before anything else happens.”
He took a deep breath, removing the tape, then unfolding the sketch of her he’d done the same night the photo was taken. He’d lied to Ryder when the bastard had him pinned; it was a sketch and a photo. Only, in the sketch, she was naked. She was facing away from him, her long hair covering most of her body. The moonlight had lit up her pale skin and her hazel eyes as she peered over her shoulder at him. “Why do you want this now?”
She turned, dropping her bag to the floor as she came closer. Her sad smile was only visible for a moment as she trailed her fingers across the drawing. “I wanted to remember something beautiful between us.”
His chest ached as he studied her face. She’d changed in these three years, but every freckle was still there. The curve of her pink lips still tempted him with a kiss. “Baby doll,” he said, shaking his head. “Fuck.”
Janie chuckled sadly. “Yes, if you wanted Kylie to trust you, you should have stopped saying it. At least out loud.”
He frowned, lowering the picture as she stepped back. “I promised to always call you my baby doll.”
Her smile broke his heart. “I know. Just like you promised I’d be your Janie.”
“My Janie,” he said, knowing only a few people would understand this between them.
“Did you fire Gloria?” she asked, never looking away from him.
“Yes.” He watched her eyes well up in tears. “Don’t cry. I should’ve done it ages ago. You know I never fucked around with her like I said I did. And when you came that day, I—”
She shook her head, her chest heaving as she closed her eyes. “I’m just glad you finally did it.”
He knew she was thinking, ‘for her.’ “Honey, you know I love you. It’s just—”
“I know,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut tighter. “It’s okay. I forgive you.”
“I won’t forgive myself.” He wouldn’t forgive himself for what he’d done—what he still did to her.
“Then I’ll keep showing you how much I forgive you.” Slowly, she opened her eyes. She said nothing as she reached for the hem of her shirt and lifted it over her head.
He couldn’t move. All the air left his lungs as he watched her kick off her shoes and shimmy out of her pants.
Her trembling lips lifted into a sad, nervous smile as she unclasped her bra. “I kept a lot from you.”
Logan’s heart pounded, and he could only stand there and take in her figure. She’d changed. Her body had filled out in all the right places. The flare of her mouthwatering hips had become even more prominent, and her breasts had gotten fuller. Before, they didn’t quite fill his hands, but he could tell they’d fit just right now.
And she wasn’t lying; she’d kept a lot hidden. He could see the edges of black wrapping around her waist, and he’d soon know exactly what she’d done to herself.
She wiped a tear streaming down her cheek before lifting the phone she’d removed from her jeans and held it out to him.
He searched her sad eyes. “You’re really breaking up with him. For me.”
“And you’re breaking up with her.” She looked away, pushing down her panties.
“You’re sure?” He dropped the photo and drawing onto his dresser without looking away from her.
“Yes. I want you to be happy.” She smiled. “Let me make you happy.”
“And everything that’s happening . . .”
She bit her lip as those sparkling eyes stayed on him. “I told you—I fixed it.”
Kylie’s heartbroken face flashed in his mind, but he tugged his shirt over his head, dropping it on the floor beside her panties as he walked toward her, unbuttoning his jeans. He didn’t push them down, but he cupped her tear-soaked cheeks and smiled when he saw the marks on her shoulders. “I love you. Forever.”
She nodded, tilting her face toward his palm. “Forever.”
Eight
Love is Cruel
Kylie was numb as she stared down at her phone. Kevin had tried to take it from her after she’d cried upon first opening it. Both the detective and Kevin had tried to remove it from her, but she wouldn’t let either of them have it. She did allow the detective to take photos of the text for her investigation, but they weren’t getting her phone. Or the pictures. No, she’d already posted them to social media, exposing the Queen of Whores.
Logan Stolemypanties Grimm: Thanks for your help, Hood.
Attached were three photos. The first was clearly taken by Logan. It showed his chest and abs, as well as one of his hands squeezing a girl’s naked ass as she sat facing the other way. The second showed Logan’s bed, but also a girl’s tattooed back as she—Janie fucking Mortaime—peered over her shoulder, smiling as Logan’s hand was positioned over her ass with a permanent marker between his fingers. The words: My baby doll . . . My forever written above a spot that had His Sweet Jane crossed out.
The final photo was a selfie that clearly showed Logan kissing Janie as he stared at the camera. His precious baby doll’s hair was pulled aside to expose the black angel wings that covered her entire back, but also the back of Janie’s neck where His Angel had been marked through and below read: Logan’s girl.
Kylie looked at the bad boy sitting across from her. Ryder was in handcuffs. His brothers had been sent to class again, and Than, along with the principal, had been talking with him. Well, more like restraining him after he destroyed part of the office. Apparently, he’d been storming down the hall when the school security officer tackled him, knocking him through the glass window around the office. The poor officer was on his way to a hospital, but he was supposed to be okay, thanks to Tercero and Archer saving him as Savaş wrestled Ryder down long enough for Than to handcuff him.
She didn’t look away from Ryder’s glare. She didn’t wipe her tears as they spilled onto the phone she still clutched.
“Give me my phone back,” he demanded, his tone more dangerous than she’d ever heard from him before.
Kylie jumped, darting her eyes over to the chief, detective, Kevin, and Mr. Prince. They were too busy trying to sort out all the mess Ryder had caused and arranging for Ryder to be taken to jail. Luc had shown up though, and he was trying to get custody of his little brother.
“Can’t you hear?”
Kylie’d had enough of his shit. His stupid girlfriend had ruined her life. She turned, not breaking under the violent fire roaring in his emerald eyes. “Kiss my ass, Ryder. Do you have any idea what I just had to read and see on mine? Well, guess what? I posted them so everyone can see her for the whore she is. Lying bitch,” she spat, wishing Janie were here right now so she could claw out her
stupid hazel eyes. “All that shit about her being in love with you and not the one Logan wanted. Not a cheater, my ass. I hope she chokes on his dick and dies. Then she can shove it up her ass as she burns in Hell.”
He gave her the deadliest smile the world would ever know. “Open my phone.”
Her heart throbbed as her eyes lowered to the floor. She hadn’t realized until now his phone had been kicked right to her. She glanced at the others. They were still talking, so she reached down and picked it up.
“It’s 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 0,” he said, still dangerous, but it was the emptiness in his tone that had her considering obeying. “Just look.”
Kylie didn’t know why she did it, but she pressed in the password. There was a text open.
Sweet Jane: Forever his.
The attached pictures below that had Kylie’s heart breaking even more. They were the same as the set sent to her, but there were others that Janie had clearly been the one to take.
They were of Logan’s body. Janie was kissing the tattoo of an angel over his chest. Now that Kylie looked at it, she realized it looked an awful lot like Janie, which made the boiling blood in her veins almost unbearable.
The last one was a selfie. Janie was on Logan’s bed, holding the phone as high as she could while Logan’s back and head were all that was visible as he leaned over Janie, kissing her cheek, and clearly fucking her.
Ryder’s voice was dead. “Read the text before hers.”
Reaper: Yours for longer than always. Not yet, my love. Forgive me.
There were no texts besides that one from that contact. Or any texts in his phone at all. Just this one and the thread from Janie.
“I don’t understand. Are you just trying to make sure I hurt as much as you do?” She closed his phone as she debated throwing it at him.
“I was supposed to see you before you got the text,” he said quietly. He glanced at the others before focusing on her. “The guard . . . I wasn’t supposed to run into the guard. The detective wasn’t supposed to be here so soon either.”
She didn’t know what he was getting at.