Little Hood and Her Wolf (The Big Bad Wolf Trilogy Book 2)

by Janie Marie

  Kylie didn’t want to feed this delusion, but she’d have to find out more if she was going to understand Logan and keep him from losing his mind like the rest of them. “Logan believes this? This is why he thinks he failed? Because he had a ‘mission’ with Janie—his destiny—but she wound up with Ryder and now she’s hurt?”

  He smiled sadly. “If it was my place to tell you, you would weep for what he’s done—for what it must feel like for him. I’m not just talking about what the stories say about his soul in the first world. He’s done enough to scar them both for life here, too. It’s tragic, and I can tell you don’t know about it.”

  She didn’t want to know what Logan was hiding—it could stay hidden. But he could get rid of the guilt chaining him to Janie. “Wait, you think his soul lived in a different world?”

  “It did,” he said without hesitation. “All of ours did. Even yours.”

  “Okay, so his soul is carrying around all this sorrow?” She didn’t want to get into this shit at all, but it was kind of interesting, considering they all thought this way. It certainly put into perspective the way they seemed to think they knew everything.

  “Yes,” Lance said, “and he’s managed to cause her so much sorrow in both lives.” He exhaled, casting a glance to where Logan’s voice was coming from. “I know you don’t like her; I don’t blame you for being upset about their relationship, and I don’t expect you to like her at all—but if you care about Logan, let him go to her. Make an effort to mask your hatred instead of wearing it in his presence. It will wear him down. Just let him continue his journey with her. You have no idea what this is doing to him—what it will mean if he chooses you.”

  Now he’d gone too far, and she was going to make sure he knew it. “I’m not keeping him captive—he can do as he likes. Ryder was the one who told him to stay away, and Logan made the choice to focus on me. I’m not the one to blame.”

  He glanced over again as Logan raised his voice. “I meant it in a helpful way. If you want things to last, you have to push him toward her and see what unfolds. Showing this anger, especially while she’s hurt, is only going to destroy him.”

  She took a deep breath, reining in her anger. “I just don’t understand how anyone expects me to be happy about her, or for me to slap a smile on my face when I can’t get the image of his hand on her ass out of my head.”

  “Logan can’t get the image of her pinned beneath his cousin out of his head,” he retorted angrily.

  She chewed her lip. This was different than being talked to by Kevin. Lance actually sounded like a father, and it pissed her off.

  “Forgive me.” He took a deep breath. “I simply don’t appreciate anyone who’s brought her pain.”

  “I guess I understand.” Her heart burned because she didn’t know what it was like to be loved so fiercely by a father, and that’s what Lance was for Janie and Logan. A loving father, even though he was a cold-blooded killer.

  “Just look up, Kylie.” He smiled, and it was insane how much Logan looked like him. “See how others make up the world you live in. Accept they all have hearts deserving of love, just as you do. If you stay locked inside your mind—in your own bubble—you wilt, and no one gets to see you bloom into a beautiful flower. If you trap Logan in there with you, he won’t thrive. He’ll suffocate. Everything you’re drawn to about him will fade.”

  Her chest ached. She wanted to tell him to go to hell and shove his advice up Janie’s ass, but she had a stronger urge to take in what he was telling her. “So you’re saying if I want my Logan, I have to make sure he doesn’t walk away from Janie?”

  A genuine smile lit up his face. “Yes. Even if we weren’t Grimms, that would be the case. He’s a young man who lost so much of himself. I don’t think any of us want a less than one hundred percent Logan Grimm. It’s a less cocky version.” He chuckled, standing and leaving as Logan walked in.

  “Hey, baby.” Logan kissed her head before sitting beside her and pulling his plate close. “Sorry about that.”

  She smiled at him. “Is everything all right?”

  He didn’t answer her. He just rested his elbows on the table and covered his face.

  Kylie watched him. This wasn’t at all how she imagined their first day after having sex. The morning had been amazing, but now everything was back to how it was before.

  “Sorry about him,” Logan mumbled into his hands. “He’s more of a father to Janie than Arthur is, and he’s beating himself up for letting her down. Arthur wasn’t very patient with her disorders.”

  She was confused for a moment, not knowing what he was talking about, then she remembered Lance had been short with her when she mentioned Janie was bulimic and a cutter. “Oh, well, I guess I never thought about how it makes someone feel to be called by their disorders.”

  He lowered his hands, but he didn’t look at her. “Dad takes it hard because it all started around her mom’s death. Kids at school were little shits, and no one liked she had so many cool brothers and a big house. Some of her brothers were still in school, but they were in high school, so kids were more in awe, you know? They picked on her just because she had things they didn’t, I guess.

  “But it was my parents who she came crying to. My mom told her to work out and watch how much she ate because she wasn’t a boy like us—so she shouldn’t eat like one unless she wanted to look chubby. She was seven. Who tells a little girl to work out?”

  He shook his head, balling his fists. “My dad’s anger makes sense now that I’m older. They got into huge fights. I didn’t like him yelling at Mom, but fuck, he had every right to be pissed, especially after we realized she was starving herself and puking.”

  He exhaled loudly. “She’d been hospitalized several times. I usually ended up being the one who could get her to eat—that’s what he meant about me being the best for her. He’s just worried and trying to pick up where he left off.”

  Kylie looked down. A nasty thought of Janie forcing herself to throw up for attention popped into her head, but she took a deep breath and tried to think about it from their perspectives. God, it made so much sense now that Ryder and Savaş were so concerned about Janie eating. They probably watched her do it all the time, and anorexia and bulimia could be deadly. They probably viewed anyone who could make her eat as a godsend without realizing they were merely enabling her disorder.

  The image of Logan’s drawing of Janie popped into her head. He’d depicted a part of her dying in the most beautiful way, and it wasn’t him that was there when she was killed. It was Ryder. He never came through on being her hero. Any way to do that was something he was eager to do. It wasn’t healthy and annoying as hell, but she understood his and Lance’s mindsets. “Logan, I think you should go see her.”

  Slowly, he turned his head in her direction. “You do?”

  The urge to say something mean burned her throat, but she swallowed it down, smiling as she nodded.

  He let out a relieved breath as he took one of her hands. “Only if you’re okay with it, baby.”

  Kylie smiled, even though she felt like this was a huge mistake. Dread. That’s all she felt from this decision. But if it got her the Logan she wanted—not the Janie-crazed Logan—she would slap on a fake smile and bear it. “I’m okay with it.”

  He cupped her cheeks, kissing her. “Thank you, Hood. I promise I’ll just help her get something in her stomach, and then we can focus on you.”

  She smiled as he gave her another kiss. “Well, let’s eat, then we can go find some stuff you think she’ll be able to hold down.”

  “All right.” He grinned, messing with his phone. “I’m gonna let Tercero know. He’ll make sure Ryder’s okay with us stopping by.”

  “Sounds good.” Kylie watched him texting with a smile, but her stomach was in knots.

  Twenty-Three

  Truth

  Logan’s hand shook in Kylie’s as he opened the door to Janie’s room. The curtain blocked their immediate view, so all that was
certain was the lights were off, and the TV was on with the volume down low.

  “Ryder?” Logan called out softly.

  “Come in. She’s asleep.” Ryder’s tone was tired, and thankfully, he didn’t sound as strange as he had the other night.

  It seemed like Logan was considering making a run for it, so Kylie pulled the curtain aside before he could chicken out.

  Ryder was seated in the recliner chair right beside the bed, holding Janie’s hand as she slept. The agony etched into her bruised face suggested that, even asleep, there was no peace for the girl.

  The bad boy’s gaze darted to Kylie. His expression left her with an uneasy feeling. There was surprise in his eyes, a slight wideness that she wasn’t used to seeing from his normally narrowed gaze, and something she couldn’t decipher.

  “We picked up some of her favorites,” Logan said, “but I got you Italian.” He released Kylie’s hand to carry the bags over to a table. He took out the meal they’d ordered for Ryder and one for Janie. “Have you managed to get her to keep anything down?”

  Ryder narrowed his gaze on Kylie. Perhaps she’d been wrong; he was his usual scowling self who hated her. She actually felt in her being that he didn’t like how close she was to Janie, so she gave him a small wave and moved to the far side of the room to sit. That’s when she remembered the things she’d said the night of Janie’s attack. Luc had told him. Damn, I’m in for it.

  “She’s throwing up,” Ryder muttered to Logan, rubbing his face. “Her head keeps bothering her, too. And she keeps passing out from the pain meds.”

  Logan stared down at Janie, his expression breaking the longer he took her in. She looked way worse than she had the other night. The entire right side of her face was bruised and swollen.

  Ryder carefully removed his hand from Janie’s and got up. “You can sit here. I need to take a piss.”

  Logan sat and put his hand beside hers.

  Kylie almost screamed when Janie darted her hand out, right to Logan’s.

  He didn’t startle. He smiled sadly and gripped her fingers before leaning down to kiss them.

  Kylie breathed out of her nose hard and turned to watch TV. She blinked at the penguins on the screen and got lost in thought, imagining Ryder watching a documentary on penguins.

  The sound of the toilet flushing and the water running helped her refocus on where she was. This wasn’t a place she could afford to get comfortable. Ryder knew she said mean things about Janie, and she had to be ready for his attack.

  Thinking of Ryder, Kylie watched him exit the bathroom. He didn’t look at her; he simply watched Logan with his girlfriend.

  She wondered what went on in his head when he saw them together. No way was he really that selfless in his love for Janie. But the resolve in his expression as he continued to stand there and take them in had Kylie’s cramps returning with a vengeance.

  She tore her gaze from the whole scene, remembering that she still held a vase full of pretty flowers. Logan had personally picked out each flower.

  It was petty of her, but she sat them down as quickly as possible to get them out of her hands. It was too hard to stay nice about her boyfriend being so careful about something like flowers and food for another girl.

  Oh, grow up.

  She ignored the stupid voice and discreetly peeked over when Ryder walked to the other side of the bed. He leaned over, kissing Janie’s head. “Babe, Logan is here. He brought you some food.”

  Janie groaned, and Logan chuckled as he kissed her hand.

  Kylie let out another harsh breath. It was going to take the patience of a saint to not react to every little kiss Logan gave Janie. He could be a bit less touchy.

  Stop being a bitch.

  She wanted to scream at herself, but she tried taking the damn voice’s advice to let go of the hate.

  Finally.

  “Hey, baby doll.” Logan leaned forward. “Do you want to eat with Ryder? I brought him something, too.”

  Instead of greeting him, Janie wretched.

  It was so startling, Kylie’s own stomach recoiled while Ryder sprang into action.

  He sat her up and grabbed a vomit bag so she could puke. “It’s okay,” he told her, not flinching at the awful sounds coming from her.

  Logan gathered her hair, holding it back. He, too, didn’t panic. He and Ryder were a team. For Janie.

  Let it go.

  “There you go,” Logan said at the same moment Kylie felt her own voice approving that she was not arguing back. “It’s over,” he cooed, rubbing Janie’s back as she cried.

  Ryder tossed Logan a washcloth as he pushed the nurse button. “Dip it in the water jug.”

  The intercom sounded. “Can I help you?”

  “Yeah,” Ryder said, “she’s throwing up. I need more nausea medicine and someone to throw this out.”

  “I’ll send someone.”

  “I’m sorry,” Janie croaked.

  “It’s okay.” Logan wiped her mouth. “They’re going to bring you some medicine.”

  She whined but reached up to touch Logan’s cheek.

  “It’s me.” He kissed her palm. “I’m here.”

  Ryder stayed silent as he watched Logan clean Janie up and give her small sips of water. A nurse finally came. She took the vomit from Ryder and out of the room before another nurse entered with a cart.

  She opened the laptop, scanning a vial before scanning Janie’s ID band. “Okay, hon,” the nurse said, sticking the needle into Janie’s IV. “This will help you. Wait a few minutes before trying to eat again, okay?”

  Janie whimpered, leaning back on the bed, reaching for Ryder’s hand.

  He leaned down and kissed her on the lips like she hadn’t just puked her guts out. “Let Logan help you for a minute so I can eat. Then I’ll get you up so you can wash your face, okay?”

  She nodded, whining again.

  Ryder gave her another kiss before getting his food. He didn’t go wash his mouth out or anything.

  Ew, Kylie couldn’t help that one. Thankfully, though, her demon-voice didn’t fire back an insult.

  Logan moved so he could sit on the bed beside Janie. There was a little bottle of mouthwash he was helping her with, and he held up a cup for her to spit in.

  It hit Kylie that Logan really had done this with Janie before. His dad was right.

  Kylie sighed, leaning against the sofa when Logan started feeding her ice a nurse had brought in. Well, maybe it wasn’t so bad that Logan was getting to live out his hero moment. He’d get her to eat, then they could go.

  Ryder came and sat on the empty chair beside Kylie and started eating. Well, it would be uncomfortable now, but she could ignore him like he was sure to ignore her.

  “Did you go see your sister?” Ryder watched her, but he focused on eating his fettuccine. So he wasn’t entirely up for ignoring her, then.

  “Uh, no.” She swallowed as his intense presence didn’t weaken. “We came straight here.”

  “Are you planning on seeing her?”

  She frowned, locking eyes with him. “Why does that matter to you?”

  “It just does.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Well, it shouldn’t. You have your hands full.”

  “Aren’t you worried about her?”

  She snapped her head around. Logan didn’t seem to be paying any attention to them. He was busy cooing over Janie like she was a newborn baby. “Sure, I’m worried. But last I heard, she was going to be fine.”

  “Fine.” He chuckled. “Right.”

  “Okay.” She shook her head. It wasn’t like Ryder cared for Maura. Everyone knew Maura hated Janie, so she didn’t understand his strange concern.

  Ryder didn’t say anything else, but she could feel him watching her. It was like he expected her to pull a weapon out and blow the room to bits.

  “I’m so sorry, baby doll,” Logan said, smoothing Janie’s hair back. “No, it’s not okay. It’s never going to be okay.”

  Ryder stood
and tapped Kylie on the shoulder, then signaled for her to follow him. “They need this.” His voice was strained as he watched Logan drop his head on Janie’s shoulder. Her bruised arms lifted to hug him.

  She didn’t want to leave. She didn’t see how Logan crying in Janie’s arms was going to fix anything, and leaving them alone was only going to make Logan cling to her even more. Still, she knew arguing with Ryder would end disastrously, so she followed him out. Logan didn’t even spare her a glance.

  Once she shut the door, Ryder pointed down the hall. “There’s a courtyard over there. I need fresh air.”

  “You want me to go with you?” She wasn’t sure how to play things with him. He was either violent or just the ultimate alpha-hole.

  “I don’t want you anywhere near me,” he said, walking away. “Come on, Blondie.” He didn’t slow down, but she smiled and ran after him. It was stupid, but she welcomed his assholery over being ignored.

  Pathetic.

  Kylie stayed quiet, keeping a few steps back as she chewed on her fingernails. He was just one of those people who drew you in, even when he treated you like shit. She hoped he’d show her the slightest bit of positive attention.

  It didn’t appear that was happening this evening, since he didn’t even bother holding the door open for her as he strolled outside. Even so, she continued following him, stopping when he walked to a bench near the biggest tree out there.

  He reached behind it and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

  Kylie rolled her eyes as she sat down on the far end of the bench and watched him light his cigarette.

  He inhaled, dropping his head down as he blew out the smoke. Then he started in that empty but almost alluring, deep tone of his. “Since you’re smiling because I’m giving you the time of day, and you’re not trying to stab my baby in the heart, I’m going to assume he hasn’t told you the truth yet.”

  His words threw her off balance, and her heart jolted as she asked, “What truth? He said we need to talk about things, but I think he’s afraid to let them out—but they’re his secrets to keep.”