Selena
The drive was awkward. The car was small and the darkness made it seem cozy but we were strangers and the space was too tight. We were two people trapped in a version of intimacy that didn’t suit us, but there was nothing that could be done. I had to get home and Logan trusted Mitchell with my life, which meant, logically, I trusted him, too.
“Are you allowed to tell me what this is all about?” I asked. My voice was thin in the darkness between us and Mitchell hesitated before he answered.
“I wasn’t told not to tell you.”
It wasn’t much of an answer but I went with it. “I’m really worried. I can’t just sit here and not go mad, my thoughts are driving me crazy.”
He nodded, his face only a profile against the passing scenery.
“You and Logan are close, aren’t you?” When Mitchell didn’t tell me anything, the way I needed him to, I cleared my throat. “Here’s the deal. I will tell you the big news about me and Logan if you tell me what’s going on. Does that seem fair?”
He glanced at me. “There’s big news to tell about you and Logan? Logan doesn’t do big news with women.”
I shrugged. “You don’t have to believe me.” I was hoping he would take the bait, let curiosity get the better of him. I needed him to want this information so I could have mine.
He sighed. “You drive a hard bargain.” I shrugged in response. “I can see what Logan sees in you.” He thought for a moment longer. “May took Saul.”
I froze. “Saul, the guy he sees as his brother?”
Mitchell nodded. “So you know about that.”
“I do. He told me how serious Saul is to him, that he’s like a brother to him, that he took Elijah’s place.”
The mood in the car dipped, becoming morbid. Elijah’s death was personal to a lot more people than just Logan.
“Elijah was a good guy. He knew how to keep Logan on the straight and narrow even though Logan was spinning out of control. When he died, everyone thought we would lose Logan, too. I had been part of the Thorns when Elijah was alive but when he died I left for a while. I needed to clear my head, revise what I was doing with my life. When Logan turned the whole gang around I joined them again, ready to start fresh. Logan has been in inspiration, getting over all the loss in his life. It’s thanks to Saul that he made it at all.”
I swallowed, an unexpected lump in my throat. “What will May do to Saul?”
Mitchell took a deep breath. “She threatened that if Logan doesn’t surrender the Fallen Thorns to her, along with all the assets, she’s going to kill him. She wants Logan to leave town.”
“But the Thorns belong to Logan. He inherited it.”
Mitchell chuckled without emotion. “You haven’t met May and her wrath. She won’t rest until she owns the Thorns. Sometimes I think that was the only reason she dated Logan in the first place. There’s only one person that woman cares about, and that’s herself. She tricked everyone into thinking she had a heart but that’s a big fat lie. All she has is a lifetime of greed.”
I shook my head. I knew what it was like to date someone who didn’t fit into your life. Of course, none of my boyfriends had been crazy, but crazy people, maniacs, could happen to anyone. “What is Logan going to do?”
It was Mitchell’s turn to shrugged and he gripped the steering wheel just a little tighter. “I don’t know. He hadn’t decided yet when he’d left but I know how his head works. He will know what he’s going to do by now and if know our boy at all, it’s not going to be pretty. May is arrogant but you don’t fuck with Logan and she forgot that.”
He glanced at me, looking apologetic in the passing car lights after he swore. I didn’t mind. This was part of Logan’s world, part of who he was. I embraced it.
I took a deep breath and looked out the window. What if he didn’t come back? But I couldn’t think like that.
“Now it’s your turn,” Mitchell said.
“A deal is a deal.” I smiled. “Logan and I are engaged.”
Mitchell looked at me, his eyes narrowed. “Are you fucking…uh...messing with me?”
I laughed. “No I’m not messing with you. He asked me earlier tonight.”
Mitchell was quiet for a while. “You must really have something special,” he finally said. “Logan doesn’t just get attached to anyone, not with how many people have been ripped away from him.”
That made sense, and with Mitchell putting it like that I was starting to realize just how special this was.
“Do you think it will last? Do you think he’s genuine about it?”
Mitchell nodded. “Logan doesn’t just jump into something. When he decides on something as permanent as marriage he’s going into it with his eyes wide open. He’s been burned and he’s loved and lost and he won’t just do it unless he really thinks it’s worth it.”
The words were comforting.
“He must have thought about it for some time to know that’s what he wants.”
Some time? We hadn’t even been together that long. Still, it was good to know Logan had made that choice and that I was something special to him. It was good to hear someone else say it and not just hear it from him. Now, if only we could get through this mess alive and well, it would be smooth sailing.
The drive was a lot longer than it had been when we’d gone to the cabin and I fell asleep. When we pulled into my road, Mitchell woke up me and it was morning. We parked in front of the apartment and it felt like a lifetime had passed since I’d last been here. Mitchell got my bag out the back and carried it for me all the way to my door. When I unlocked he insisted he go in first.
I stood out in the hallway, heart pounding, wondering what could possibly go wrong. I imagined all sorts of scenarios where bad guys ran out of the place with guns and masks and I stood away from the door just in case. Mitchell appeared a moment later, telling me the coast was clear.
I felt stupid. My writer’s mind had gone on a rampage again. When we were inside I made us both coffee and put Mitchell’s on the coffee table before heading for the room with mine to unpack. I felt uncomfortable with a stranger in my space but I understood that Logan wanted me safe and I would deal with it for him. Mitchell was sweet and caring and taking care of me for Logan. It meant a lot.
I unpacked my bag, drank my coffee alone, and got in the shower. I still had the lake and our sex on me and my hair was a mess having dried funny. When I got out I felt fresh and clean. I walked to the front room where Mitchell was watching television – didn’t this guy need any sleep? – and told him he was welcome to some food in the fridge. He said he’d ordered some pizza. Pizza for breakfast? I guess if you haven’t slept, breakfast didn’t mean a thing.
I walked back to the room and found my cellphone and called Joanne.
“I’m back,” she said.
“How was it?”
I rolled on to the bed. “Oh, my God. He’s amazing. He’s everything you can imagine in the perfect guy except he’s dangerous, too, in a good way. To other people.”
Joanne laughed. “I haven’t heard you this happy in a long time.”
“I haven’t been this happy in a long time. Logan makes me feel like anything is possible, you know?” He made me feel like everything was different, even my current situation. I didn’t say that part, though. I was scared it would sound too cheesy.
“When are you joining us again?” Joanne asked. “The girls miss you.”
“I’ll be at the next meeting.” I imagined Mitchell sitting in and grinned. “Besides, I have something really big to tell you. To tell all of you.”
“What is it?”
Someone banged on my front door and I froze.
“I have to go,” I said softly. Unless Mitchell had buzzed someone up, something was wrong.
“Okay, but call me. I want details. You can’t leave me hanging.”
I ended off the conversation and walked to the lounge. Mitchell was at the door, his hands balled into fists. He looked alert and ready for a fight. He didn’t seem nervous at all. I had more than enough for the two of us.
“Did you let the pizza man up?” I whispered. He looked at me and shook his head. I was terrified.
“Don’t open it.”
The words had barely left my mouth when the door broke open. Whoever was on the other side had kicked it. The burglar chain ripped out of the wall – fat lot of use that was – and someone with a black mask walked into the apartment. Mitchell attacked. I screamed.