“None of us did.”
“I know. And I’m going to explain it all to you guys tomorrow. I need your help with The Barn.”
“Whatever you need.”
“Isabella?” Sharon said.
Logan stepped next to Izzy. Whatever she was planning, he had to at least look like he wasn’t in the dark about it. “Sharon, we’ll meet with you and Jacob before we talk to the whole town.”
Izzy nodded. “We need to check into something first.”
“All right. I expect to hear from you tomorrow, young lady.”
“Understood.” She looked up at Logan. “We’ll be ready.”
Logan drew her into the street and across to the Escalade. “Think maybe you should clue me in on this before you share with the world?”
“We’re going to have a show.”
“What?”
“Call the guys in. We’re going to lure out a crazy woman.” She rounded the truck and got inside.
What the hell did that mean? Logan opened the driver’s side door with a sigh. Fiona popped up in the back, barking her fool head off.
“Hush now.”
“She really doesn’t like it when you leave her behind,” he said.
Fiona tried to scramble over the console to the front seat. Izzy rubbed her face against the dog’s. “I know, I know. We’re going home now though. Okay?”
Fiona knew that word and vibrated with it.
“Back. In the back.”
Fiona whimpered but eventually calmed in the backseat as they made their way down Main Street to the access road up to the house.
Izzy dug her phone out of her sweater and turned it on. He heard the familiar buzz of a phone rebooting.
“Are you sure about this?”
She held up a finger as she dialed. “Marcus? I know—” She cut off as he obviously gave her a lecture. Since Logan was usually the one on the receiving end of those, he didn’t envy her.
She sighed and punched a dial on the stereo. “He wants to talk to both of us.”
“Logan?” Marcus’s deep voice filled the speakers of the car.
“Yeah.”
“Before Bella so rudely cut me off last night, I was trying to explain to her that we had some additional information. We hadn’t been able to talk since I sent you the message about Bishop.”
Logan slowly made his way up the incline to the cabin. “Did he finally get details out of the kid?”
“Well, he’s not exactly a kid, Logan.”
Logan drew in a deep breath. “What did he say, Roth?”
“You were right. That year that he disappeared, DeSalvo wasn’t just going underground to get away from Aimee. He was in a facility.”
Logan’s eyebrows shot up. “What kind of facility?”
“I’m working on it. From the outside it looks like a drug rehab, but something is hinky.”
“Hinky?” Izzy questioned.
“Yeah. I think we’ve finally got something so I’ve got Aidan digging into it with our electronics girl. If there’s something off, Gracie will help us figure it out.”
“That’s great,” Logan said.
“Marcus, we need you out here. We want to lure Aimee out of hiding.”
“Well, she’s not hiding. She’s making herself as public a spectacle as possible.”
Logan opened the window and punched in the code for the gate, rolling into the gravel driveway.
Izzy crossed her arms over her stomach. “We need you to see what she did at the cabin. She’s losing it—there’s no way she’s not. Not with what she did. We need to push her now while she’s freaking out.”
“I thought you didn’t trust me.”
Logan winced at the coolness of Marcus’s tone.
“I don’t trust anyone right now.” Izzy’s voice was matter-of-fact. “She’s got way too much insider information. I don’t know how she’s got it, but she does. So we’re not hiding. We’re in Winchester Falls.”
“Are you nuts?”
He pulled up to the front of the house and parked, leaving the truck running. “Hear her out, Roth.”
“I don’t want to be stupid about this, Marcus. I swear I don’t. But the idea of Logan and me happy and making a life in Winchester Falls seems to set her off. I think we need to use that.”
“I’ll be there by this afternoon,” Marcus said. “I’m bringing a detail. No arguments.”
“None from me,” Logan said.
“Bring Sarah if you haven’t reassigned her.”
“She’s eager to be back on this job.”
“Good,” Izzy said. “I have a lot I want to discuss.”
Logan so didn’t like the sound of that.
Bella slid out of the truck. The familiar crunch of gravel under her boots made her heart beat stutter. She hadn’t been here since the explosion. She opened the back and Fiona scampered out of the truck and over the drive to the yard.
She barked and twirled around in a circle before returning to Bella. “Go on. Go explore.” Fiona cocked her head, her butt wiggling with the force of her tail wagging, but she wouldn’t leave her side. Bella rolled her eyes and went to the back of the truck to help Logan with their bags.
“Are you just going to keep all these plans to yourself? You’re driving me nuts.”
“I just know you’re not going to like it.”
“So why are you doing it?”
She pulled out her weekender and slung it over her shoulder. “Because she killed my best friend and she tried to kill me. Whether she intended to hurt us with the explosion is a moot point now. Not after those pictures.”
Her gut was a mess, but she was clear headed for the first time in months. Aimee had way too much power over them. It was time they did something about it.
Logan stood in front of her and cupped her face in his large hands. “I can’t lose you.”
“We can’t live like this. Not and have any sort of life. I want to marry you. I want to have kids and do stupid vacations at Disneyland with our kids.”
His green eyes went wide.
“Scary huh?”
“Kids?”
“I know we really haven’t talked about them.” She pulled at the plaid shirt he wore. “But we’ve been waiting—always waiting. Waiting to see what she was going to do, waiting to make our announcements, waiting to build a life. I’m tired of waiting. You knew when you kissed me that first time that I wanted all of this. Aimee Collen doesn’t change any of that. She just made me forget about it for awhile.”
“Are you going to give me a dark haired little girl with those topaz eyes of yours?”
“Maybe a little girl with your green eyes and my dark hair.”
“Your eyes are prettier.”
“So you say. I’ve got about fifteen bookmarked links on my computer about how people was poetic about your bottle green eyes, buddy.”
He rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”
She smiled up at him. “I tired of being afraid Logan. I stayed up in the cabin with you wondering every day if she was goint to take you away from me. How am I supposed to not lose my mind? When I wake up I have to know where you are every part of the day. How are you supposed to go back on the road if I’m like that?”
He pressed his forehead against hers. “And you honestly think that a concert will make her come after us?”
“Not just a concert. A special town concert to honor Nichole and Adam’s name. Just for us and the town.”
“Well, I’m all for celebrating their life, but why would that bring Aimee out?”
“Because we’re getting married. Tomorrow. And the concert is our wedding reception.”
He straightened, his fingers tightening in her hair. “Excuse me?”
“Hey, you asked. Now you gotta put up or shut up.”
“Of course I want to marry you. I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.”
“Good answer, King.”
“This isn’t exactly the way I thought our wedding day would go.”
“We don’t do anything half measure. Why should this be any different, right?” She wrapped her fingers around his wrists. “You’re my family, Logan. Nic and Adam were the only people I cared about in this whole world.” She swallowed around the lump in her throat. “So we’re going to have a kick ass wedding in the park. We’re going to use that gazebo that I’ve loved since the day I drove into Winchester Falls and we’re going to make a spectical of ourselves for the town and the papers.”
“That’s going to drive her insane.”
“No, she’s already insane. This is just going to show the world that she is.”
“You do realize Marcus is going to kill us for pulling this kind of stunt. He’s going to hate it. I hate it.”
She jerked back, but he held onto her. He had to know that this was the only way. They couldn’t live their lives with her in the shadows constantly trying to hurt them or people around them.
“I don’t hate the idea of marrying you in front of the whole damn town. I’ll stand at the top of the falls and scream my vows out to the entire town. But I couldn’t live if something happened to you.”
“And that’s why Marcus is going to be our even planner. Along with Sarah.”
“Oh, yeah. She’s going to love that.”
Bella grinned up at him. “Wait until she finds out she has to wear a dress.”
∞♦
∞
Logan escaped down to the studio. Upstairs was Grand Central Station with fifteen of Marcus’s operatives filling his kitchen. Skye and some woman named Ember had taken over his bedroom. They were teaming up on Izzy to alter a dress from The Closet, an antique and consignment dress shop in town.
With Izzy’s schedule there wasn’t time to go shopping for a dress so Ember was going to make her one.
Cole and the guys from his band were due to arrive after their show in Connecticut. He’d even managed to get through the town meeting without killing someone.
It was a miracle really.
The town was excited about their upcoming nuptuals. They were going to take over the entire park for the ceremony and party all night at The Barn. It would be highlight of the year for Winchester Falls.
He was marrying the woman of his dreams tomorrow—which should be the single most amazing day he could plan—and a freaking maniac from his past was probably going to crash it. Yeah. No big deal.
The moment he’d asked Izzy to marry him at the falls he’d known his life was going to change. He’d welcomed it. He was tired of being alone, tired of imagining his life would consist of one show after the other in a succession until he was too old, or worse, irrelevant in the music world.
For the first time he had a chance to have a future that included someone he trusted and loved. And instead of a bachelor party or even just a picnic with his friends, he was planning strategies and security check points so Aimee, or more likely, someone she hired, couldn’t get into the wedding.
He was officially going to lose his shit.
The studio was the only place he figured that he was even able to breathe around the pressure in his chest. He sat down at his piano, his fingers felt clumsy on the keys. The only time his hands had been on the keys since Izzy had been hurt had been the broken piano at the lodge.
The clear tones from the old upright that he’d refinished felt too loud and too perfect. He moved down to the minor keys and slowly picked out notes. With barely there strokes, he wound his way through a tune that had been busting around his ribs since the moment she’d told him they were getting married.
He pulled out his phone and hit record, leaving it on top of his piano.
I poured my heart out into the shadows
Playing around the torn out keys of a shattered piano
The tones were lost to the dust motes and sunlight
The shadows called to her, on a minor melody
The door to the studio opened and he turned. Zeke and his wild hair and ever ready smile peeked around the corner. “You playing sad songs down here, pal? I can understand since it’s your last day on earth as a single man.”
Logan laughed. “Just a memory.”
“We’re ready to party man. We have to give you some semblance of a bachelor party.”
“Oh God, no.”
“C’mon. At least let’s get stupid drunk. Tomorrow is going to be madness.”
Another set of feet came running down the stairs. “Are we doing this or what?”
Logan grinned. Christian had his baseball batt out. “We are not hitting the ball around tonight, man.”
“C’mon, midnight ball was a staple on the tour. We’ve got that huge driveway and a cooler full of brews. Whatdya say?”
Zeke nodded. “Hell yeah. And we got the shitty beer just like the old days. It’s gonna be epic.”
Logan stood up. He so wasn’t in the mood, but if he pretended to have a good time, then maybe he actually would have one.
Zeke slapped Christian on the shoulder. “Great idea. Well, if we can’t have strippers anyway.”
Christian nodded and swung the bat, clocking Zeke at the back of the head. His friend went down like a brick.
“What the fuck?” Logan lunged for Zeke.
Christian held the bloody bat over his shoulder. “You know, I really don’t understand what she sees in you.”
Logan stopped and slowly looked at Christian. “What did you say?”
“Aimee. I mean, man. I don’t get it. But she said that the only way we can be together is if you’ve been properly tortured for breaking her heart. So. Off we go, boss.”
Logan took a step back. “You and Aimee?”
“That night you broke her heart. I was there to pick up the pieces. She explained to me how you treated her. I don’t know how you could turn her away. She’s so beautiful and so full of life. Every day I saw you two together and knew you didn’t deserve her.”
He swung the bat again. A drop of blood flicked across Logan’s face. He jerked back.
“God, I was so jealous. I wanted her so bad and she always wanted you. Until you treated her like shit one too many times and she finally saw me.”
“Christian, I—”
“I don’t want to hear your sob story. I just want to get this over with so I can finally have her all to myself.”
Logan’s gut burned. All this time, all the nights that he’d sat with Christian and the rest of his band. The concerts that he’d nearly blown. The whole time Christian had been just lying in wait.
“So, what you’ve been reporting back to her like a little bitch? Do you honestly think that she really wants anything to do with you? All she wants is me. How can you be so stupid? She’s using you.”
How could he have been so goddamn blind?
“No! I take care of her. I love her like you never could.”
“Then why is she having you do this? Why would she care if I suffered if she loved you so much. Can’t you see that Chris?”
Was the door open?
Jesus, they were in the studio—it was fucking soundproofed.
Did anyone know they were down there?