Logan

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  “But…”

  “But if I don’t tell him everything, we can never really have anything more than what we already have. It would eat at me to keep those secrets from him.”

  “Would it really be so bad if he never found out?”

  “Okay, he might never find out about me flooding his house, but what if Sawyer came out and told the police chief that he was asked to pull Logan over and harass him?”

  “Why would Sawyer tell the chief though? What’s in it for him?”

  “Well, the chief is looking into all his cases where he was accused of harassment. I’m sure he knows by now that you and Sean are together.”

  “We are not together.”

  “It doesn’t matter. If he can get to Sean through you, don’t you think he would?”

  “Hmm. I’m not sure. If it comes out, it comes out. I’m not going to worry about it right now.”

  “If I tell Logan, there’s a chance he’ll forgive me, but if I don’t and he finds out because of something else, I don’t think he would forgive my deceit.”

  “On the other hand, he might not forgive you at all if you tell him, but there is the chance that he’ll never find out from Sawyer. Babe, you have to decide what’s best for you here.”

  “I don’t think Logan would go to the police over a few tickets, but do you think Sean would turn you in for asking Sawyer? He seems very black and white to me.”

  “He hates Sawyer, so I don’t know. Wouldn’t it be like taking a bribe or something?”

  “Something like that. I doubt it would be very good for Sawyer.”

  We sat there contemplating things for a few minutes when I finally came to a decision.

  “I’m not going to say anything. If Sean finds out about Sawyer, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, but I don’t want to give him any ammunition.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Definitely. This thing with Logan is new. I don’t even know if it would go anywhere. I’m not willing to risk what could happen to you if Sean ever found out. I think it’s best this way.”

  “Under one condition. If you change your mind, you come talk to me. I’m sure I could find a way to persuade Sean to keep his mouth shut.”

  “Deal.”

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  It had been close to two months since I confessed who I really was and we were heading out for New Year’s Eve at The Pub. I had done my best to keep things with Logan purely sexual. If I thought of him as anything more than my sex toy, my feelings would get in the way of everything else.

  Vira was joining Sean at The Pub tonight and I wondered if something more was going on there. Vira seemed to really like him, but she was still seeing other men. I wasn’t sure if Sean was doing the whole open relationship thing with her or if he was just screwing her when she felt like it.

  When we walked in The Pub, Logan’s friends were already seated at a table. A big round of hoots went up as we walked towards the table. Sean and Vira were right behind us and she was stunning as ever.

  “Cece, these are my friends. You met some of them when we went paint balling, but now you can actually see them. This is Jack and his wife, Harper.”

  “Nice to see you again. It’s about time we hang out with the woman that’s had Logan all tied up. We haven’t see much of him lately,” Jack said as he shook my hand.

  “I definitely have had him tied up a time or two. How else does a girl get exactly what she wants?”

  “Oh, damn. Logan where did you find this one? She’s a wildcat.”

  Logan punched Jack in the shoulder. “You would know one when you saw one.” Then he turned to me. “Harper over there is quite feisty. I think you two will get along well.”

  “Men are such neanderthals.” Harper stepped forward and shook my hand. “Stick with me and I’ll help you survive this group of cavemen.”

  “This is my friend, Vira. She’s with Sean.”

  “Actually, I came with Sean, but I’m not with anyone.”

  Sean rolled his eyes and Harper chuckled under her breath and smiled. “Good to know.”

  Logan pulled me over to another man that was as huge as a truck. He was extremely sexy, but he didn’t really smile except at Harper. “This is Drew. He’s Harper’s part time lover.”

  “Logan, you know he’s not, so shut your mouth or I’ll shut it for you,” Harper growled.

  “Hey, I had your back when you were making threats against Jack. You just remember that.”

  There was some crazy dynamic that was going on here and I had a feeling I was way out of the loop. Drew gave me a chin lift, but other than that, was pretty quiet.

  “This is Ryan, my business partner.”

  He gave me a quick handshake and said hi, but his eyes assessed me, like they were looking for something deceptive. I quickly looked away because I felt exposed under his gaze.

  “This is Cole, and his girlfriend, Alex, is tending bar tonight.” He pointed over to a small woman behind the bar. She was beautiful, just like her boyfriend. In fact, all of these men were extremely good looking.

  “This ugly fucker is Sebastian.” He had to be shitting me because Sebastian was one of the most handsome men I had ever seen. My panties practically melted when he looked at me.

  “It’s nice to meet you all.”

  “So, you know Logan from a long time ago, right?” Ryan gave me a smile, but his voice said something completely different.

  “Yeah, we knew each other ten years ago.”

  Logan handed me a glass of something and I gripped it tightly as Ryan narrowed his eyes at me.

  “So, you knew our boy from the start, but chose to keep who you were a secret. Why is that?”

  “Dude, chill out. It’s water under the bridge. I’ve made my peace with it, so just shut the fuck up and let’s have a good night.”

  “Just looking out for you, man. Seems a little strange that she would hide who she was.” He shrugged and downed the rest of his drink, but his eyes continued to watch me throughout the night. I had a feeling that he saw right through me and he wasn’t buying what I was selling.

  The rest of the night went by pretty well. Vira and I partied with Harper, who was completely awesome, but wasn’t drinking because she was pregnant. She ragged on Jack with so much ease, but I could tell that she truly loved him. Their friends, Anna and Luke, showed up later and Anna joined us in drinking away the night.

  I was well and truly tipsy as midnight approached and we were all having a great time. Cole excused himself a few minutes before twelve to go find his woman and that’s when all hell broke loose. Fire alarms screeched all around us and before we could move towards the door, thick smoke started to pour out of the back of the bar, most likely from the kitchen. Panic erupted around us as people pushed towards the exit. We were in the far corner, so it didn’t seem like we would ever get to the exit. All the men around us gathered the women and started ushering us towards the door.

  One minute Logan was holding my hand and the next, my hand was wrenched from his when someone knocked into me and shoved me to the ground. I barely had time to register what happened before a body pressed on top of mine and hot breath flooded the side of my face.

  “You’ve been well guarded, Cece. You won’t always be protected though.”

  Fear tore through me when I recognized the voice. I prayed that Logan was nearby and trying to get to me, but even as I laid there scared, I could feel people shoving around me. The weight suddenly lifted from my body and disappeared from sight, but people were stepping on me, keeping me from standing. I pushed myself to my knees, but a shoe connected with my stomach and a person fell on top of me, smashing me back into the floor. More people fell around me and I felt the air being pushed from my lungs as the pile on top of me grew.

  The air was getting thick around me and the people lying on top of me made me dizzy. Black spots appeared in my eyes and I was sure I was about to pass out. There was a person laying across me and their shirt wa
s close to my face, so I buried my nose into the material, hoping that it would protect my lungs from the smoke.

  “Cece!”

  I prayed I wasn’t imagining Logan’s voice, but a second later, he appeared in front of me, kneeling and talking to me.

  “It’s okay, Cece. I’m gonna get you out of here.” I felt the weight being lifted from me, little by little, and then Logan had me in his arms and was carrying me out of the bar. My head lulled against his chest as the cold air hit my face. My head was fuzzy and the lights and sounds around me left me just as dizzy as when I couldn’t breathe.

  Logan placed me on the back of an ambulance where a paramedic placed an oxygen mask over my face. The rest of the night was a blur of doctors and being poked and prodded. After thoroughly checking me over, I was released in the early morning and told to get plenty of rest. We were walking towards the exits when we saw all of Logan’s friends and Vira in the waiting room. This couldn’t be for me over a little smoke inhalation, which meant that someone else had been injured. I noticed that Cole and Alex weren’t in the waiting room.

  “What happened?” Logan asked as he looked at all the stricken faces.

  “Alex was attacked. We don’t know for sure what happened yet, but she was in the back and when she was brought out, she was bleeding pretty heavily from her head. They don’t know if she’s gonna make it. Cole was carrying her out, but he passed out when he was almost to the door. He’s being treated for smoke inhalation, but he isn’t awake yet.”

  I looked at Logan and saw the devastation on his face. He closed his eyes as he looked up at the ceiling. I gripped his hand firmly in mine and prayed that they would be okay. Vira walked over to me and pulled me into a tight hug.

  “Are you doing alright, sweetie?”

  “Yeah, I’m just a little sore.”

  She pulled away quickly. “Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I just need to lie down for a little bit.”

  Logan wrapped his arm around my waist. “How about we get you home.” I looked up at him and saw the battle in his eyes. He wanted to stay and find out what was going on with his friends, but he also wanted to get me home.

  “Hey. Vira can take me home. We’ll be fine. You can stay here and wait for news on your friends.”

  “No, I want to take you home.”

  “Okay, how about you take me home and then Vira will hang out with me. Honestly, I’m just going to sleep.”

  He looked at me for a minute and I could tell he really wanted to do that.

  “I won’t think less of you for not staying with me, Logan. Your friends need you right now.”

  He nodded and we all said goodbye as the three of us walked out the door of the ER. Logan got us home in no time and it took me fifteen minutes to convince him to leave us. I didn’t really want to be alone, so Vira and I snuggled up on the couch for a little bit.

  “Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve got quite a few bruises.”

  “Yeah, I’m mostly tired.” I had been sitting there a few minutes when I remembered the creep on top of me. With everything that happened, I had completely forgotten about him. “When I was knocked to the ground, that guy was there.”

  “What guy? You mean the guy?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why didn’t you tell anyone sooner?” Her eyes were bugged out at me and I wanted to poke her eyes back into her head.

  “Honestly, I forgot about it until just now. I’m not sure that me falling down was an accident. I think he was there watching and he pushed me down. He said that I had been under protection, but I wouldn’t always be.”

  “You need to tell Logan or Sean.”

  “I know, but not right now. They have enough going on with their friends. I’ll talk to them in the morning. All I want right now is a hot shower to wash all this grime off me.”

  “Alright, I’ll be here. We’ll watch a movie when you get out.”

  “Sounds good.”

  I took a long shower and washed away the night, then got in some comfy clothes and went out to snuggle with Vira. We were watching Dirty Dancing when we both drifted off to sleep. The credits on the TV were rolling when I heard a click that brought me out of my slumber. I looked over at Vira to see she was sound asleep. Looking over at the front door, I saw the door handle moving slowly. If it was Logan, he would have come right in. He had a key to the apartment ever since I was attacked, in case I needed him. I slapped Vira on the arm to wake her from her slumber.

  “Ow, bitch. What did you do that for.”

  “Shh. Someone’s at the door,” I whisper-hissed.

  She got to her feet and stared at the door as the handle continued to move around. “Someone must be trying to pick the lock.”

  “I’m sick of this shit. Let’s take care of this fucker. Grab something and we’ll surprise him when he comes in.” I crept towards the kitchen and grabbed the skillet off the stove that still had remnants of eggs from breakfast. Vira grabbed an empty wine bottle from the island and went to stand behind the door. I stood against the wall where the door opened and pushed myself up against the wall as much as possible.

  A moment later, the door knob turned all the way and the door slowly creaked open. I held my breath waiting for the intruder to enter, thinking maybe this wasn’t the smartest idea, but it was too late to back out now. He stepped slightly inside the door and I grabbed his jacket, pulling him into the room. I swung the skillet with all my might and whacked him upside the head. Vira came roaring out from behind the door and smashed the bottle on top of his head. I hit him one more time in the face before he went down, falling in a heap on the floor.

  “Who says drinking is bad for you?” Vira dropped the neck of the bottle at her side and then turned to me. “Quick, grab some duct tape and we’ll tape his wrists.”

  “Do we have duct tape?”

  The skillet was dangling from my hand as I questioned her about the duct tape. We were not handy girls, so why we would have duct tape, I had no clue. I heard the guy moan and I immediately jumped, spreading my legs wide, crouching low, and swung my skillet one more time at his face. Then I rested the skillet over my shoulder as I stood tall. I grabbed my pants with the other hand, hefting them up and then spit on him.

  “I could so play baseball.”

  Vira burst out laughing and then I did also. I supposed that I should be on the ground in a ball shaking, but I was through being scared of this guy.

  Vira walked towards the living room and grabbed some cords from behind the TV. “Here’ let’s tie him up with this.” We tied his wrists as best we could and then his feet.

  “Ya know, I think I should grab my taser just in case. We don’t want to be caught unawares.” She smirked and then walked into the other room. I went and got my phone, trying to decide if I should call Sean or Logan. Sean was the police, but Logan would kill me if I didn’t let him know what happened. I decided that I would call Logan.

  Vira came back out just as I was getting ready to place the phone call. She charged her taser and held it at the ready. I took a good look at the man lying on the ground and confirmed that he was the guy that had attacked me in the office. The guy came to and started struggling with his bonds. I dialed Logan’s number and he answered immediately.

  “Cece, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay, but we had an intruder.”

  “What?” His voice exploded through the phone. Vira pointed the taser at the guy on the floor and pressed the button. The guy on the floor screamed and started writhing in pain. “Cece, talk to me. What’s going on?”

  “Vira tasered him. He was starting to wake up.”

  “Okay, Sean and I are on the way over. Just stay calm. We’ll be there soon.”

  “Really, Logan. We’re fine. We’ll see you soon.”

  I looked at the man on the floor in disgust. “Do you have anymore cartridges for that?”

  “Yep. I’ll go get one.” Vira walked away and returned a minute la
ter, reloading the taser. She handed it to me with a smile on her face. “Don’t waste that. Make sure he’s awake and can feel every second of it.”

  “Not a problem.”

  We stood there for a few minutes as the man tried rousing himself. He wiggled a little, but I wanted him wide awake when I used the taser on him. Logan and Sean made their appearance a few minutes later, barging through the door with anger on their faces. They looked down at the man on the floor that was now staring at them instead of fighting his bonds.

  “What the fuck? You did this?” Logan asked incredulously as he looked at me.

  “I told you we were fine.”

  “Is this the man who attacked you?” Sean asked.

  “Yep. That’s him.”

  “Alright.” Sean pulled out his phone and told the person on the other line his badge number and then told them he needed a squad car at this address. Sean was about to pull the guy to his feet, but I hadn’t had my turn yet. I quickly pointed the taser at the man and pushed the button, watching in satisfaction as he screamed and then peed himself.

  “He’s already incapacitated, Cece.” Sean shot me a disapproving glare, but I just shrugged.

  “He looked like he was trying to get loose to me.”

  “Me too. I saw him trying to get out of his restraints,” Vira added. “You get to clean up the mess since you tased him.”

  “Totally worth it.”

  The police came a few minutes later and hauled the guy off to the police station. Logan stayed behind, not wanting to leave me alone. Sean stayed behind and got our statements and I could see Logan’s anger grow as we repeated what happened.

  “Why the fuck would you decide to go after him? He could have hurt both of you,” Logan roared.

  “So we should have cowered in the other room while he broke in here and tried to attack us? What would you have had me do, Logan?” I crossed my arms over my chest and when Sean went to intervene, Vira shot him with a death glare.

  “If you want to keep your balls, you’ll keep your mouth shut,” Vira hissed.

  “What is it with the women in this town always threatening our balls?” Sean turned to Logan and rolled his eyes. “Alright. We’ll get him booked and I’ll let you know what we find out about him. Vira, do me a favor and put the taser away for the night. Logan’s here, so you won’t be needing it.”