Selena

 

The office was normal. The club – aside from all the bikes and the rowdy men – was normal. Everything was so normal it felt watered down after the last two days. Everything had been crazy. From the moment they’d arrived to tell Logan May had Saul, everything had spun out of control. Hell, even the proposal and sex in the lake had been out there.

 

I had the feeling my life with Logan would always be like that – unpredictable, exciting, different.

 

The office was full of papers and I knew this was the Fallen Thorns’ home ground. When Logan left the room I heard him talking to someone and I knew there was someone else at the door, looking after me. Logan made sure I was safe, no matter what.

 

I ached inside that Mitchell had died. It was something special when someone died for you, and I knew he’d done it for Logan. For me. I had the greatest respect for him. As for Logan, I felt for him in a way I’d never felt for anyone else. It did something to a girl when a man saved her life. Right there, when May had pointed the gun at me and I’d closed my eyes, ready to die, I’d realized exactly how much I loved Logan. I knew now that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him for sure. It wasn’t just a hasty decision because his proposal had been so out of the blue.

 

And it wasn’t because of the sex, even though he was a wildcat in bed. This went so much deeper than that. This was something special that I didn’t let go.

 

He hadn’t blown himself up. He hadn’t died. He hadn’t done anything to make me feel like he would never be back and I would have to carry on without him. And I felt like if I married him he would keep trying, for me. He would keep fighting to keep me alive and he would keep fighting to stay alive to be with me. It was a wonderful feeling. Warm. Secure.

 

I dialed Joanne’s number. The last time we’d spoken was just before Mitchell was shot. She answered in her business voice because she didn’t recognize the number.

 

“It’s me,” I said.

 

“Selena? I’m glad you called. You left sounding so rushed and when I tried to phone later you just didn’t answer. Are you okay?”

 

I thought about it. So much had happened. But I was okay. “I’m more than okay, now. I’ll tell you later what happened. It’s a long story. I’m with Logan now.”

 

“Good.” She sounded like she really approved. “He sounds like he’s good for you.”

 

Oh, she had no idea.

 

“I wanted to talk to you about something important, though. I got a call from Anjelica, you remember her, don’t you?”

 

I tried to rack my brain. Joanne had so many contacts it was enough to make anyone’s head spin.

 

“My publisher friend. She came to the book club once.”

 

Right. Bombastic. Frizzy. I remembered her.

 

“I remember.”

 

“She wants to publish your book. You didn’t tell me you sent it to her, you sly thing!”

 

I frowned. “My book?” I hadn’t sent it in at all. I never thought it was good enough. It wasn’t even finished.

 

“She says you have amazing potential. She wants to pair you up with one of the editors, moving forward.”

 

I opened my mouth, not sure what to say, and closed it again without getting anything out. It must have been Logan. I was pretty sure he was the one who had sent it in. He’d held onto it for so long I’d gotten nervous about it. Maybe that was why he encouraged me to write so much while we were at the lake.

 

“I’m so surprised,” I finally said, finding the words.

 

“I told you your writing is phenomenal. Maybe now you’ll start believing us when we say you have what it takes to make it as a published author.”

 

The words sounded good. Published author.

 

“I have to go,” I said. “I want to see you, though. Tomorrow? There’s so much to tell you.”

 

“I wouldn’t miss a good gossip session for the world.”

 

We ended the conversation. I put the phone back in its cradle and opened the door. One of Logan’s men smiled at me. He was big and muscled and rough, just like the rest of them, and I felt totally safe.

 

“He’s about to make an announcement,” he said and walked to the bar area. I followed him. Logan was in between his men and he looked at home. It was clear to see they adored him, respected him. They were all quiet even though he wasn’t saying anything. They were waiting for him to be their leader.

 

His eyes fell on me and he smiled, stretching out his arm, asking me to join him. I didn’t hesitate. It felt strange stepping into the center of all these strangers but they looked at me with the same regard as they did Logan and I had the feeling they saw me as the leading lady now.

 

“Selena and I are getting married.”

 

A ripple of murmur traveled through the crowd. The men were obviously shocked, surprised. It made me feel like I was truly the only one for him, that he hadn’t had many girls that he was serious with before.

 

“I’m also stepping down from my position as leader of the Fallen Thorns.”

 

Another outbreak of chatter but it seemed like this time they’d expected it.

 

I frowned and looked up at Logan. “You don’t have to do this.”

 

They all looked at me as if I were speaking in tongues.

 

“I want to. You deserve this. We deserve this.”

 

Something inside me broke up and warmth flooded my body. Love. Trust. Awe. I was the luckiest girl in the world.

 

After the announcement we walked arm in arm to the bar. Saul was there. He just smiled at me. I felt unsure around him. He was a bit of a dark horse, but I could see how close he and Logan were.

 

“Who did you phone?” Logan asked after he poured himself and Saul a beer.

 

I declined a drink. I still felt wobbly on my legs and I was nervous alcohol would make me fall over.

 

“Joanne. I was on the phone with her when they broke into the apartment.” I swallowed. I didn’t have to mention Mitchell.

 

Logan pulled me against him and rubbed my back. I could tell by their faces that they felt the death a lot more acutely, but I’d seen it happen. It would haunt me for months to come.

 

“What did she say?”

 

I smiled at Logan. “You’ll never guess.”

 

He shrugged but he had a naughty look on his face.

 

“They’re going to publish my manuscript.”

 

“That’s a big deal, isn’t it?” Saul asked.

 

I nodded. “Especially considering I never sent it in.”

 

Saul raised his eyebrows.

 

I looked pointedly at Logan who just shrugged and took another sip of his beer. Saul laughed. When Logan put the beer glass down he kissed me on the forehead with cold lips. “I told you, you are a great writer. You shouldn’t hide that kind of talent from the world.”

 

“Well, I don’t have much of a choice now, do I?” I was smiling while I said it. I was happy.

 

We stood together and talked. The conversation moved toward Saul and how May had gotten a hold of him in the first place.

 

“I was heading back from the Restaurant. I’d stopped there to talk to the boys about what we’d discussed at the Lake.” Saul had been at the cabin the night we’d gotten engaged. “Everyone was safe and I was headed home. I didn’t think I needed to be careful going home – everything had been so quiet for a while. I guess that should have been a sign. They’d put spikes on the tarmac and popped both my tires. When I stopped there were ten of them surrounding me.”

 

It sounded horrific. He talked about it so calmly, like it was normal. I didn’t know how he managed to keep his cool, but I knew that these guys went through things like this more often. Maybe they were used to it. Maybe there was some biker class that taught you how to stay calm when you were in a life threatening situation. How to Keep Your Cool 101.

 

“They kept me in some warehouse where someone came around the clock to beat me up.”

 

I winced. Beat him up? Logan nodded like he knew, but Saul looked fine.

 

“They hurt you?” I didn’t mean to sound as shocked as I did.

 

Saul nodded, glancing at Logan before he pulled up his shirt. There were bruises all over his ribs and sides. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath through my nose.

 

“Sorry,” he said. When I opened my eyes his shirt was back in place and I could imagine I hadn’t seen it in the first place.

 

“Now that I’m leaving the Thorns we’ll need someone to take over,” Logan said, changing topic.

 

Saul nodded. “No one will be you, though. No one can run this place the way you do.”

 

Logan shrugged. “I get what you’re saying, and thank you, but the same was true for Elijah. I would never have been able to fill his shoes but somehow, with the help of the rest of you, I managed to make a difference nevertheless.”

 

Saul nodded, not saying anything. I’d heard such great things about Elijah that I wished I could have had the opportunity to meet him. He sounded like he was a wonderful person. It must have run in the family.

 

My mind wandered away from the conversation to my own life and what my future held now that everything was so different. I wasn’t just going to the outsider at the book club, with no husband and no real future. I was engaged and I had a future as a published author. It was going to take me a while to get used to the title.

 

Selena Hastings, Published Author.

 

No. Selena Frost. Published Author. Yeah, that sounded really nice.

 

With a publishing contract, there was a chance I didn’t even have to go back to the library again. I could just quit, with immediate effect, and still be okay. Logan had a lot of money. That was becoming abundantly clear – he had a lot more money that he was letting on. Even after I realized he owned the restaurant where we’d had our first date I was still pretty sure I had no idea how loaded he was. That, plus the fact that I was going to be published now meant I could give up my day job.

 

Still, I would go back and work my notice month. I would sit there, engaged, with a ring on my finger and a publishing contract pending and rub it in Alicia’s face that she may be the manager of the place but I was getting somewhere in life. I’d gotten the guy, the happily ever after. I relished the thought of her face when she found out Logan and I were engaged, that I was going places. The fact that she would just be stuck in her little office, going nowhere.

 

“I’m looking forward to seeing you book in print,” Saul said, pulling me back to the current conversation. He was trying to involve me. Sweet of him.

 

I nodded and smiled. “I still have to get used to the idea. It’s all a bit much to digest, what with the events of the past couple of days and the knowledge that nothing will ever be the same.”

 

Saul nodded.

 

Logan smiled. “I’m looking forward to riding on your coattails. Now that you’ll be bringing in the cash it will be nice just to sit back and do nothing for a change.”

 

I pulled a face at Logan. Saul laughed.