Francesca
Tears spilling down her face, Francesca wrapped her arms tighter around Logan. She never should have left this embrace. Everything about it felt perfect, like two puzzle pieces coming together to form a whole. Ever since Logan and Francesca had been separated, something had felt like it was missing from her life. No matter how hard she tried to ignore it. But now, with him so close, it was nearly impossible to deny her mistake at leaving him in the first place. No, this is where she belonged. This is where their child belonged.
Smiling, Francesca snuggled a little closer, ignoring the audience to their private moment. She was used to having an audience. Every single camera in the world couldn’t ruin this moment. Nothing could.
But Francesca was wrong. Something could ruin it. And Davis Thorne was going to try his hardest to do so.
The sound of a car driving too fast on gravel tore through the parking lot, followed by the unmistakable sound the skittering of tires. A car door opened and slammed closed, pulling Francesca out of Logan’s arms to investigate who could be pulling into the shop like a madman.
She instantly regretted looking.
“Francesca!” Davis shouted, his voice thick with something crazy. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Leaving your ass behind like she should have done a long time ago,” Nikki snapped. Francesca’s heart dropped down into her toes, her whole body shivering in the freezing cold weather. “Hey, you!” she said, pointing to one of Logan’s boys. “Go call the damned police. Please.” The kid looked shocked for a second, then disappeared back into the building.
Davis’s pale skin was red with rage, his red hair looking like his scalp was on fire from his rage. A blood vessel popped out on his forehead as he took another step towards Francesca and Logan. “You stupid bitch! How dare you break up with me? After I supported you through this embarrassing pregnancy because biker dude couldn’t step up? You have got to be kidding me.”
Francesca could feel her own anger rising in her blood and her eyes narrowed more with every word. Spinning on her heel, she stood beside Logan, who loomed over her like a protector. “You supported me? By what? Sleeping with the whole world? Making a fool of me by getting arrested on national television? How did you get out anyway?”
Several of Logan’s boys had come out of the garage and stood behind them. They were all pretty threatening individually, and together, they should have sent Davis running back to his car with his tail between his legs. But he had lost it by then and seemed to see nothing but Francesca.
He sneered at her. “I posted bail and walked out of the jail.”
Nikki snorted. “You’re breaking the law by being out of the state aren’t you?”
Davis’s face got impossibly redder as Francesca watched. Logan’s muscles seemed to tense a little more with every crazy sentence out of Davis’s stupid mouth. “Who cares? I thought you liked bad boys, Francesca? Come, don’t you find me hot now, just like your pet inmate?”
Francesca’s eyes darkened with rage. “Shut up, Davis, and go back home before they miss you and throw you in jail forever. Not that wouldn’t make me happy; you have literally ruined the last year of my life.”
“I ruined your life?” Davis screamed, his voice cracking as he nearly started foaming at the mouth. “You think I ruined your life? Don’t you think you have biker boy to blame for ruining your fucking life when he knocked you up?”
Pressing her hands protectively to the precious life inside of her belly, Francesca took a step back, staggering back from the barrage.
But Nikki stepped forward. “You stupid cow, of course not. You’re the one who made her miserable. You’re the one cheated, who lied to me to get me to cheat with you. You’re the one who stole all of that money and made a fool of yourself. You’re the one that ruined your chances with Francesca by being a selfish prick. Francesca only stuck by you because she thought you would be a good father to her kid, no matter how you treated her. She thought you had integrity. Obviously she was wrong, because you’re just a piece of trash.”
Davis gaped at Nikki, his mouth moving but no words coming out. Francesca kind of felt like gaping at her, too. In all of the time they had been friends, Nikki had never stood up for her so vehemently.
New tears slipped down Francesca’s face. “Yes, I was wrong. I was wrong to ever pick Davis over a good man like you, Logan. I’m sorry that it took all of these disasters for me to see clearly. I was just trying to do what was best for my baby. For our baby.”
Francesca turned to Logan, watching as the hardened mask over his features melted away, leaving behind a vulnerable, beautiful man. And her heart melted in return.
# # #
Logan
For a long time after Francesca finished speaking, there was silence in the parking lot. Even Davis was stunned into silence, unable to continue his tirade. He stood there sputtering, his voice lost under the hatred in both Nikki and Francesca’s words.
Logan studied Francesca, unable to believe how strong this beautiful woman could be. Standing in front of all of these cameras and all of these people, admitting to the whole world that she had been wrong. She was trying so hard to fix her mistake, and Logan couldn’t let her suffer any longer.
“Francesca,” he said, taking her tiny hands in his own. “I stayed away. I stayed away from you, thinking a guy like me would only complicate your life. I didn’t want to ruin your career or ruin the future of our son. I’d rather be miserable if it would give you the chance to be happy. But I can’t sit idly by if you are being so poorly treated.” Kissing the fuzzy fabric of her gloves, Logan smiled down on Francesca.
“How did I get so lucky?” he wondered, watching as Francesca’s emerald eyes lit up like Christmas lights on a tree. Logan was the luckiest man in the world, and he’d only get luckier as his son grew.
Sirens blazed, making Logan wince out of habit. Davis’s face was still livid, his eyes bulging out of his skull as he took an angry step forward. It was the wrong move.
Pyro stepped forward at the same time Blade did, their predatory eyes locked on Davis, the spoiled brat. “I believe those sirens are for you, friend. So you might not want to make it worse by stepping forward again,” Pyro said as Blade slammed one of her meaty fists into her other palm.
Davis swallowed hard, then turned on his heel to go back to his car. But two more of Logan’s boys were leaning against his car, big wicked grins on their faces. “Going somewhere?” Jackboot asked, flexing a little as Davis yelped.
He was surrounded, and there was nothing in the world he could do about it. But Davis wasn’t the kind who could go down without a fight, so he turned around, facing the only fight he might actually win.
He turned to Francesca.
Logan automatically stepped closer to her, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders protectively. Francesca stood tall, her eyes blazing like she was just daring Davis to do his worst.
“You stupid whore. No wonder nobody of any worth wants you. You had to drag your date out of the trash and dress him up in pretty clothes. Good luck having a career after I’m gone; I am your career. Your stupid fans love me.”
The police cars pulled into the gravel parking lot. They stepped forward, looking around and trying to figure out exactly what was happening. Logan pointed to Davis. “This man has been harassing us,” he said, a grimace on his face. The cops glanced around at the cameras with confusion in their faces.
“I think you’ll also find that he is breaking the terms of his bail in Nevada,” Nikki smirked, an evil grin on her pretty face. “They told him not to leave the state and not to stalk his ex girlfriend, both of which he’s been doing. Any chance you could clean up this trash for us officers?” She batted her pretty black lashes at them, making a few of Logan’s boys chuckle.
Davis screamed like a madman as they cuffed him for the second time, dragging him bodily from the parking lot to the cheers of the bikers gathered around to watch. Logan and Francesca watched in silence, trying to drown out the sound of his voice as he tossed more horrible insults at the two of them. They both sighed in relief as the door shut behind him, silencing his yells.
“Well,” Francesca said finally, her voice filled with false cheer. “At least we won’t have to worry about seeing him anytime soon. There’s no way he’ll be back out on bail, and his sentence will be at least several years. I think the minimum sentence for the money he’s taken is ten years, and not even rich daddy will be able to get him out of that.”
Logan chuckled. “That’s great news.” He turned her around, grabbing her chin with his fingers.
Francesca looked up at him, her too-big green eyes glittering. A smile formed on her perfect lips as she wrapped her arms around Logan’s neck. “It’s okay. Not as good as knowing you’ll be around.”
Logan wavered a little under those big eyes, an icy touch of uncertainty cutting through his happiness. “But what if I do ruin your career?”
“I have enough money to retire for both of us and — ” She touched her belly gently. “And Lenny. Yes, after my grandfather.”
Logan’s smile grew. “I like it.”
Bowing his head, Logan kissed Francesca with all of his might, much to the delight of onlookers. The whole crowd cheered, even the camera crew, making for a most dramatic and wonderful end to the Savoy’s TV season.