I’m almost surprised by how strongly Logan feels about this.

I knew he wouldn’t like it. I knew he wouldn’t want me to get more involved with Spencer than I had to. I can tell that Logan feels guilty about roping me into this whole thing. Obviously he thought it was going to be easier than it actually has been. He thought we’d get married, smile for a meeting with Chester, and basically float through this.

I was meant to be an excuse for the existence of Alexa. But now it’s becoming so much more than that.

I don’t blame Logan for this. There’s no way he could have known that Chester’s son is a total psycho. Nobody knew much about Spencer coming into this, since Spencer basically kept to himself. But it’s gone so much further than I ever imagined it would now, and I have to follow it through.

I feel like I should be wearing a trench coat. It’s one in the morning. Alexa is fast asleep, and I made sure that Logan has the baby monitor before sneaking out. If she wakes up, he’ll have to take care of her, even though he normally does anyway.

I don’t know why I feel compelled to leave the building for this. I head across the street and sit down on a bench at the park. I could easily do this inside, but there’s less of a risk of Logan catching me if I do it from here. I don’t want to hear what he has to say if he happens to overhear what I’m doing.

I dial the number and let it ring. I expected to leave a message, but he picks up before the machine can get it.

“Spencer here.”

I frown at his greeting. “Hi, Spencer,” I say.

He hesitates a second. “Everly?” he asks.

“It’s me.”

“I knew you’d call, sooner or later.” He sounds like he’s smiling, although his words are slightly slurred.

“You didn’t leave me much of a choice.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s true. I’m sure Logan is coming up with all sorts of schemes to get you out of this.”

I realize that he’s drunk, and I decide to be careful. “I want to do the easiest thing possible,” I say.

“Of course you do.” He sounds so damn smarmy and excited. “You’re a good person, aren’t you, Everly? Always willing to sacrifice for others.”

“Only people I care about,” I say pointedly.

He laughs into the receiver. “Of course, of course. Well then, what’s this call for?”

“You know what.”

“I want to hear you say it.”

I flush with anger. “I’ll go on a date withyou.”

“Good,” he says. “Very good. And what do you want to do on the date?”

“I thought you had something in mind,” I hedge.

“Of course I do, but I don’t think you’d like what I’m picturing.”

I make a fist and relax it. “If we’re going to do this, we have to have one rule.”

“Okay, what rule is that?”

“No touching.”

He pauses, and for a second I think I lose him. But he speaks up before I can check my phone. “That’s no fun,” he says finally.

“This is a date. I’m not a prostitute. I wouldn’t sleep with someone on the first date.”

“Everly, Everly, Everly,” he says and sighs. “Don’t you know what I want?”

“Just tell me,” I say, getting frustrated.

“I want to tie you down, blindfold you, and fuck you until you scream.”

I take a sharp breath. “If you can’t behave, this isn’t going to happen. I’ll let Logan do one of his schemes instead.”

He sighs again. “Okay, fine. You want no touching, you can have no touching. But we’re going on the date of my choosing.”

“Fine,” I agree.

“And I still want that money. You make sure he sends me that fucking money.”

He sounds angry, which doesn’t surprise me. “Fine,” I say. “You’ll get your money and your date. And you better uphold your end of the bargain.”

“I give you my word, whatever that’s worth,” he says. “I won’t ruin your plans.”

I hesitate for a second, not sure if I really want to go through with this. Before I can agree, I have one more question. “The other day,” I say. “Were you outside of our apartment in the park?”

He laughs. “Of course I was. Scared the shit out of you, didn’t I?”

“Why?” I ask him.

“I wanted to see how you live. I needed to prove to myself that you’re not really married to that fucking piece of shit.”

“Did you get your proof?” I whisper.

“No,” he says, sounding disappointed. “But it was fun, anyway.”

He’s a sick man, I realize. I really shouldn’t do this. But Logan and I can potentially help thousands of people in this city if we can get this shelter and community center built.

“Okay,” I say to him. “You have a deal.”

“Wonderful. I’ll call you again with the details soon.”

“Fine.” I want to get off the phone and head back inside. It’s chilly out and I’m starting to feel paranoid, like he might be hiding behind the bushes or something.

“And Everly? You tell Logan that you’re doing this. You make sure he knows.”

“I’ll have to, if I want to get him to pay you.”

“Good.” I can hear the sick smile on his face. “Good night, Everly.”

I hang the phone up, not wanting to say anything more to him.

This is probably a mistake. I can sense it. I should probably just give this up and let Logan find some other way of getting us out of this.

But I know there is no other way. Spencer is a disturbed fuck, and only playing into his twisted fantasy is going to work. Anything else, any sign that we’re not going to comply with that he wants, and he’s going to pull back.

I can’t let that happen. I won’t let Logan fail. He wants to protect me, but I want to protect him just as much. Maybe he can’t see that just yet, but he will soon.