Blow (34 page)

ELLE

W
hat had I been missing?

If this was it, I had a lot of making up to do.

In the midst of all the chaos in my life right now, Logan was a welcome distraction. The post-sex glow I was feeling had to be plastered across my face like a neon sign. True to both our natures, we didn’t stay wrapped in each other’s arms for long. Cuddling, snuggling, nestling, or whatever you want to call it didn’t appear to be either of our things. We were lying next to each other, but neither of us was speaking.

Maybe we were both thinking about what had just taken place?

My phone rang and we separated from each other. I rolled onto my back. Logan shifted to his feet before me.

Distracted by him, I didn’t reach to answer it. The mere sight of him made my eyelashes flutter, my throat burn, and my heart pound. He hadn’t shaved and his hair fell forward as he moved, making him look impossibly sexy. The hint of stubble I was staring at had just rubbed against the sensitive skin of my face, my stomach, and everywhere else, but the yearning I felt for him was still raging—I couldn’t believe it but I wanted more.

Wasting no time, he pulled up his pants and zipped them. Standing before me bare-chested, he looked hotter than sin.

His eyes, as usual, weren’t on mine. Yet he must have felt my gaze because soon enough those lustful hazel pools were looking at me. He reached for his shirt but before he pulled it on, he leaned down and kissed me. “I’ve got to go into work this morning. I’m going to run back to my hotel and shower. Will you be okay here until later?”

I bit my lip. “Yes, of course.”

He eyed me and I wasn’t certain what he was looking for.

Did he want me to say I’d miss him?

At that, I laughed a little and jokingly quipped, “Don’t get too caught up in me.”

“It’s a little late for that,” he said with a wink.

My heart felt like it might explode a thousand times over. It was my turn to look away. He was too much to look at and I averted my gaze back to his body. I’d allow myself the luxury of this sexual affair. I deserved it. I also knew not to read any more into it than what it was about. Plain and simple, it was about the fucking.

My eyes drifted. I licked my lips at the sight of the way his pants hung low on his hips, and I took in the perfection of his chest, the muscles in his arms, the line of his collarbone up to his neck. The jaw I was desperate to kiss, to taste.

I could almost feel my hands sliding inside those pants and I sucked in a deep breath as I imagined the feel of his warm, thick cock—the one I’d just felt. My pulse was racing at the thought and when I finally raised my eyes back to his beautiful face, he was watching me curiously.

“Elle, your phone is ringing again. Maybe you should answer it. Whoever it is has called twice now.”

I was on the other side of the bed and as I rolled toward it, he grinned and reached for it.

He glanced down and handed it to me. “Here, it’s Peyton.”

I blinked out of my trance and tapped my screen. “Hello,” I answered, and let that warm tingle I was still feeling continue to caress its way through my veins while I forced myself to look at the clock. It was early even for Peyton to be calling.

Logan tucked his gun in his waistband and was walking toward the door.

“Elle, I hope I didn’t wake you. I know it’s early, but I’m in the hospital and wanted you to know I won’t be able to make it in to work today,” Peyton said warily.

My heart stopped and I quickly sat up. “Hospital? What happened? Are you okay?”

Machines beeping in the background told me she couldn’t be, yet she sounded like she always did—fine. “Yes, or I will be. Some jerk attacked me last night after I left the boutique. A few cuts here and there, but nothing major and certainly nothing to worry about. You know me—I’m tough.”

My pulse was literally in my ears. “You were attacked?” I gasped in question, unable to believe it.

Logan was stepping out of my room when his spine straightened and he jerked around. His body language had me concerned about more than just Peyton.

“Yeah. Some asshole looking to get his jollies jumped me and pulled me into an alley when I was walking to my car.”

Covering my mouth, trying to find my pulse, and feeling awful for her, I didn’t know what to say or what to ask. “But you’re not hurt?” was my only concern.

Stupid question. She was in the hospital.

Her voice was firm. “No, not really. He just scared the shit out of me.”

“What did the police say?”

She laughed. I swore she laughed. “They aren’t certain yet. I can’t ID him, so there isn’t much to go on. The creeper wore a ski mask and I didn’t get a good look at his build at all. It was just too dark. But I think I hurt him because when he took off, he limped away. The police think it was an attempted mugging gone wrong.”

I gasped again. “Did he take your purse?”

“No. Weird, right?”

“Muggers don’t usually attack you and then leave your purse behind. Why would they think that?”

“Who knows? If you ask me, the guy had an agenda.”

Still trying to process all of this, I asked, “What do you mean, he had an agenda?”

“I don’t know. Like it was a dare or a gang initiation. He grabbed me, pulled me into the alley, and with his knife, sliced through my clothing right to my stomach to start carving the letter
E
on it.
Freak.
Somehow, I managed to free the chopstick I had holding my hair up and then I plunged it into his thigh. He screamed, and someone started shouting at him. That’s when he ran. The person shouting was a homeless man. He hurried over to me and I gave him my phone to call 911. The ambulance arrived quickly and I was kept overnight for a dose of IV antibiotics, but I’m being released this morning.”

“Peyton, oh my God, a knife!” I cried. “But you’re okay? You’re certain?”

Logan was next to me now, looking really pale. “What exactly happened?” he asked, expelling all the air from his lungs.

Covering the microphone with my hand, I whispered what she’d just told me.

He bristled and looked like he wanted to jump out of his skin or maybe lose his stomach. “Ask her if he said anything,” Logan said.

Peyton was talking. “That man was really nice. I have to find him.”

Perplexed, I gave Logan a curious look. “Peyton,” I interrupted her.

“Right. I’m droning. Honestly, Elle, I’ll be fine.”

“Did the guy who attacked you say anything?” I asked her, wondering why Logan wanted to know that.

There were voices in the background. “Yeah, he told me to tell that dog he’d been warned.”

“Dog? That makes no sense.”

A noise escaped Logan’s throat. His hands were clenched into fists and he looked like he was a loaded gun and ready to shoot himself through the wall.

“Yes. I know. He was a crazy tweaker if you ask me.”

My mind became a maze of impossibility. “I’m so sorry. What hospital are you at? I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

The voices grew louder. “No, Elle, that’s not necessary. My mother is here to take me to her house. I’m so sorry, but I’ll have to miss a few days of work.”

Tears welled in my eyes. “Don’t you worry about work. What can I do for you?”

She inhaled a breath. “Nothing. Listen, I have to go—the doctor just walked in. I got everything restocked yesterday. There’s nothing for you to do today. Any deliveries made will be redelivered tomorrow, so you don’t have to go in. Tomorrow will be crazy enough for you.”

“Peyton, stop. Don’t worry—I’ll take care of everything.”

“I know. I know. I’ll call you when I get to my mother’s house.”

“Take care,” I said, and hung up.

“Tell me again, and don’t leave anything out—what exactly happened to Peyton?” Logan asked in a rush.

My voice became one giant exhalation as I told him everything, from the letter
E
on her stomach to what her attacker had said.

“He said the word
dog
. You’re sure?”

“Yes, why?”

“We have to go.” Logan’s voice was low and shaky.

Something tight twisted in my gut.

Concern.

Fear.

The unknown.

I felt myself start to tremble and pulled the sheets up to cover my naked body. “What are you talking about?”

With unrepressed determination, Logan was picking up my clothes and tossing them on the bed. My bra. My shirt. My panties. My sweatpants. “Get dressed now. We have to leave.”

Apprehension rang through me. “What’s going on?”

He stood tall, his shoulders broad, but wariness was all I could see. “Elle, please get dressed, pack a bag, and meet me downstairs. I’ll explain everything when I get you back to my hotel.”

I stood up, taking the sheet with me. “Logan, you’re scaring me. Do you think Peyton’s attack had something to do Michael and Lizzy?”

With quick strides, he came over to me and put his hands on my shoulders. “No. Peyton was attacked because she was seen with
me
. Now do as I said and I’ll explain everything when we get to my place.”

Fear seized me. I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I knew he was telling the truth. The question was . . . should I stay with him or should I run?

“Elle, listen to me. We need to leave. And you have to come with me. I can keep you safe.”

Safe.

Could he keep me safe?

“What about Michael and Clementine?”

“They aren’t in any danger right now. Hurry, and I promise I’ll explain.”

Drawing in a breath, I looked at him again and knew I had to trust him. “Give me ten minutes.”

With a heavy sigh, he nodded and left the room.

The air felt thinner with him gone but not necessarily any easier to breathe.

Logan eyed the cars stacked ahead as if trying to determine how he could maneuver around them. All I saw were their red taillights in a flashing line of stop and go that was never going to end. No alternate was available in the morning traffic and five miles or fifty didn’t matter—it was going to take an eternity to get to his hotel.

The day was overcast and colder than yesterday. Staring out the window, I watched the birds as they flew by, moving at a much faster speed than we were. I was feeling twitchy. I needed to know what was going on. “Talk to me.”

I could see his jaw clench. He was waging a battle from within.

“It’s okay, Logan, just tell me.

His chest rose as he inhaled a breath. “What I’m going to tell you isn’t going to paint me in a good light. I was young, and stupid. I thought I knew what I was doing, but you have to know how much I regret what happened.”

“What you did when you were younger won’t make me think any differently about you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

He let out a huff. “Trust me, it will.”

“Logan, please, tell me what you think happened to Peyton.”

He shifted in his seat and his eyes scanned every inch of me. The slow motion of his stare made my heart race even faster. He opened his mouth and it was as if a chill cascaded around us in the confined space. His tone was distant, direct, matter-of-fact. “It’s not what I think. It’s what happened.”

For as strong as I was, for as courageous as I wanted to be, I was suddenly very afraid. I pressed my lips together and stared out of the glass to wait for what came next.

It wasn’t what I expected.

His hand was on me.

Fingertips softly searching to lock between mine.

That scared me even more.

Ready to burst, I turned toward him. “Just tell me.”

Those hazel pools looked murky as they flashed at me one more time before he looked away and finally, he began to speak. “When I fifteen,” he started, “I met this girl. Her name was Emily.”

Something inside me felt like it might explode. I wasn’t sure what was coming, but I knew it wasn’t going to be anything good—it was in his tone.

“My mother was spending more and more time in New York City and my father and I were staying at my grandfather’s house a lot back then. Anyway, Emily was interested in me.”

I interrupted him. “Emily, is she the girl I remind you of?” I wasn’t sure why I thought that, but his tone was reminiscent of the tone in which he’d told me I reminded him of someone he’d once known.

He gave me a slight nod.

I wondered why I’d bothered to ask that question. I already knew she was. “Sorry, go on.”

He pulled his arm away and gripped the steering wheel with both hands. “I had a lot going on in my life with, my parents on the verge of divorce and my grandfather trying to introduce me to a world my parents wanted me to stay away from. I was a rebellious teen looking for an outlet. Looking to have a good time. Then I saw her. It was summertime and we were all hanging out in the park at the top of Savin Hill. She was there with her friends and the only one not wearing a bikini. I asked around. Who was she? Where did she live? Turned out Emily was not only the sister of a dude I hated, but she was forbidden. And if that didn’t make me want her all the more.”

“What do you mean, forbidden?”

“Everyone knew she was off-limits. She was from the other side of Dorchester Avenue. A Catholic girl who went to a Catholic school. She practically wore a chastity belt. What I didn’t know at the time was that she also happened to have lunatics for her father and brother. I liked the challenge, the danger of it all. It took some time, but eventually she latched onto me,”