And in my arms.
Yeah, I was absolutely done pretending. It was time to get shit straight.
20
“Good Lord.” Dee’s wide eyes came to mine. “That boy can yell.”
That boy was Logan and she wasn’t wrong. Logan sounded pissed. But Ethan Lenox sounded more pissed.
I should back up.
After Logan carried me back to his office he left me again. This time it was just to wash up. When he came back he pulled the chunks of glass out then doused my legs with hydrogen peroxide. And by that I mean he poured half a bottle on my right leg from the knee down and the other half on my left. And, he’d refused to blow on my knees, spouting off some logical crap about introducing germs into my cuts. It hurt so freaking bad, germs were the last thing on my mind. Nick had come in and helped Logan mop up the mess on the floor.
Once we weren’t bloodied up Logan carried me into the conference room. Our arrival was met with Dee busting out into tears, necessitating Logan to quickly set me in a chair so he could comfort his mother. Since I was no longer in their brother’s arms that gave Jill and Jackie full access to me. Quinn waited as patiently as she could, but since Quinn was a Walker and the one thing Jasper hadn’t taught his girls was to idly stand by, she gave Jill and Jackie approximately three seconds each to hug me before she horned her way in.
Dee asked what happened and Logan deflected. Jill asked and Logan changed the topic. Jackie asked and he flat out said what happened wasn’t going to be discussed.
Then Detective Ethan Lenox showed up and for some reason, his presence caused Logan to go on alert—high alert—full-on protection mode alert. He excused himself and took Ethan in the hallway to talk. Whatever they were discussing had obviously deteriorated because now they were yelling.
And now Dee, Jackie, Jill, and Quinn knew most of what transpired thanks to the conference room not being soundproof and both of the men shouting.
“Jesus, Logan, I’m a cop. You can’t say that shit in front of me.” Ethan’s voice carried through the door. “I need to interview Lauren and get her statement, that’s all.”
“Is everything okay?” Jill asked.
I didn’t answer because the door swung in and Logan came right to me—as in right into my space—and bent down so he was all I could see.
“This is your choice. You tell me you’re not ready, then we go home and you talk to Ethan after you’ve had a rest.”
“What?”
I wasn’t tracking what the big deal was. I knew Ethan well. Yes, he was a cop but I hadn’t…oh, shit.
“Did I…” I couldn’t finish my question. With everything that happened since we’d gotten to TC, and before that with my ears ringing and my head throbbing, I hadn’t thought about what I’d done. The possibility I’d killed someone.
“No, baby, you didn’t.”
Thank God!
“Did I hurt someone?”
Logan’s jaw clenched.
I’d hurt someone.
“Is Ethan going to arrest me?” I whispered.
“No,” he growled. “But they found blood in the car. Not a lot, but you clipped the passenger.”
I shot someone; how was I not being arrested?
Holy shit! I shot someone.
I felt my eyes start to water. Logan saw the tears brimming and suddenly he hauled me out of the chair and plastered me to his chest. It could be said that being close to Logan was my favorite place to be. However, for the first time since Logan and I started I didn’t feel safe in his arms. I felt fear and a lot of it.
“We’re done here,” he rumbled.
His voice was loud enough that the whole room could hear but his tone was so low it was guttural. Unmistakably displeased but not full of anger. There was something else laced in his tone; threats and undertones of something, I just didn’t know what.
Then he started bossing. This was not his normal bossiness; it was over the top and left no room for argument.
“Mom, go with Quinn and pack up Lauren’s shit. Jill and Jackie, I need groceries at the house. Don’t forget the coffee Ren likes and she needs vanilla creamer, the kind in the white bottle with the flower on it.”
Um. Wait.
I was busy freaking out about Quinn and Dee packing my shit but not so busy I didn’t hear Logan remember my coffee or that he’d noticed not only the creamer I liked but the brand as well. It was sweet and thoughtful he’d ask—well, he didn’t ask he demanded, but whatever—his sisters to pick some up for me.
“What’s going on?”
“You’re moving into my house.”
“What?”
“We were followed from your house. Which means someone was outside watching and waiting.”
In my current state, I couldn’t think about the creepiness of someone watching my house. Which, if I thought about it too hard, would scare the shit out of me. Any other morning I would’ve been driving to work alone. What would’ve happened if Logan hadn’t been there? If he hadn’t been the one driving?
My head came up and I whispered, “Guy drives a black Mercedes.”
“He does. He also left his house at six, drove straight to yours, and parked. Then he followed us out to the highway but didn’t turn off. And his car right now is at the airport and he’s on a flight to Nashville.”
That was creepy and weird and it pissed me off that Guy was not getting the message that I didn’t want anything to do with him. But it was scarier that Logan had talked to Guy and he ignored Logan’s warnings. And it scared me because I knew nothing good was going to come from Logan’s inevitable second chat with Guy. I figured that chat wouldn’t be had with words but with fists.
“Please let Ethan handle this,” I begged.
I held Logan’s stare and watched as determination seeped in. I was wrong; the chat wouldn’t be bad, it would be a disaster.
“I thought I made myself clear. I didn’t. I promised you Guy would no longer be an issue for you. I didn’t keep that promise. But mark this, Ren—he’s gonna pay. He’s gonna feel every second of your fear. He’s gonna feel every piece of glass you had embedded in your skin, every cut, every bit of blood that leaked from your flesh. He’s gonna feel it ten-fold.”
“Man, you have to let me handle this,” Ethan pleaded.
Logan turned but he didn’t take me with him. He let go and pushed me behind him so he was shielding me from Ethan.
“I’m taking Lauren back to my place. She’s gonna rest and you can come in the morning and get her statement.”
“I need it fresh in her mind.”
“Do you? No disrespect, Ethan, but would you let anyone near Honor after she was involved in a high-speed chase? A chase that led to a bullet going through the back of the seat her head was resting on two fucking seconds before that bullet hit? Would you let anybody near her to question her when that shit was still fresh? Not only that but say Honor was forced to take your firearm, crawl into the back seat while you were driving fast, no seat belt, no restraint, knowing all it would take was the motherfucker behind you getting in one lucky shot and your tire was gone and your woman would be dead. But you have no goddamn choice because again, one lucky fucking shot and my tire’s gone, and at the speed we were traveling we’d both have been dead. So, you drive and you do it knowing you got no fucking choice but to let your woman put herself in danger to protect both of you. With all of that, you think I’m gonna let you or anyone near my woman, you think wrong. Tomorrow you come to my house, and we’ll give you everything you need.”