Logan Kade (Fallen Crest #5.5) (38 page)

TAYLOR

King Cain Bowl had been partially renovated in the last few years, but as I entered the front lobby, I smelled the same musk that I remembered from childhood: thick, red shaggy carpet; the smell of old, worn shoes; the aroma of burnt popcorn; and teenage sweat. All of that hit me as I walked inside, and I was instantly comforted. Some things never changed.

The front desk sat a half-level below the lanes. The wall was open so I could see shoes going back and forth when I went to pay. Sounds of bowling balls hitting the floor and slamming into the pins mixed with loud music, talking, and laughter. It was busier than I remembered. Then again, I got off early from my shift, so it was close to seven thirty. It was prime time for some bowling magic.

“Size seven.” The clerk put my shoes on the counter.

I wasn’t sure how many games we’d be playing, so I looked around for Jeremy, but before I could spot him, I turned to see Claire coming in the front doors behind me. And my stomach dropped. Eric was behind her.

I locked up. Everything. All my insides. “What are you doing here?” I asked just as I heard “Hey!” from my left.

Jeremy was coming down the stairs from the lanes. His hand was lifted in a wave, but not for me. He grinned at Claire. As he paused and followed her eyes to me, his smile changed, but it didn’t disappear.

Claire paused, coming no closer, but she glanced sideways at Eric. She frowned, her hands folded in front of her.

I looked at Eric. “What are you doing here?” It’d been almost eleven months since that day, and as I stared at him now, I no longer knew him.

“Okay. Here goes.” His shoulders lifted with a deep breath. “I came to apologize, because…” He glanced around to Jeremy and Claire before focusing on me again. “I’m sorry, Taylor. I’m sorry that I didn’t protect you. I don’t know what happened to me that day, but I’m sorry I let you down. I’m sorry I didn’t protect you. I’m sorry I didn’t stay.”

“What?”

He nodded. Disappointment. Shame. Guilt. Regret—all of those emotions filled his face. “I couldn’t live with what I did. I know Jason told you I went back to school, but I didn’t.”

“What?” This wasn’t making sense.

Eric lifted a shoulder. “I’ve been hiding this last year. Jason called me. He told me that you might need me.”

“Jason knew you were here?”

He nodded. “I thought he’d hate me, too, but I never told him what I did. I should’ve, though. I should’ve just for you, but it was obvious you hadn’t told him too and,” he glanced away, his Adam’s Apple bobbing up and down before he looked back. “I was a coward. I’ve been a coward this whole time, but I can’t anymore, though. That’s why I came tonight. I’m going back to school. I’m going up there to see if I can get back in, and I’m going to stay put, find an apartment. I’m going to stop hiding.”

This guy had been my first love—my first everything—my best friend, my lover. And I...was speechless. I stared at him now, and all the hate that I thought I would’ve felt was gone. I felt nothing.

“Oh.”

Claire and Jeremy were there. I could feel their gazes at what should’ve been a touching goodbye scene, or a meeting where I could finally let him have it. He left me to die, but there was nothing there. The only thing I could think about was Logan.

Eric left me, and Logan hadn’t.

Logan never hesitated. He didn’t run away. He never left me. He ran toward the action. He fought for me. He
fought
for me. He—Goddamn, I couldn’t breathe. I had someone who ran toward me, not away from me.

He never left me…

I was an idiot. A Goddamn stupid idiot.

“What am I doing here?”

“What?”

I shook my head. Claire moved closer to me, so did Jeremy. I knew they were all confused, but I didn’t care. What was I doing?

“I have to go.”

“Wha—where?” Eric glanced around. “I’m apologizing here.”

“I know.” I frowned, pushing past him. “I don’t care.” Then I was out the door and hurrying toward my car. I had to find Logan. Why did I wait? I knew I loved him. I knew I had to find him.

I was at my car—

—then I heard the shout, “GUN!”

LOGAN

I saw her.

I saw her car first and pulled mine over, then I saw Taylor hurrying out of the bowling alley. I sat back, letting the image of her wash over me. Goddamn. She was beautiful. I was going to go over there. I was going to make a speech. I’d grovel. I’d beg. I’d do whatever, but I was going to get her back, but then--no.

I saw him then and time slowed.

She was almost to her car. She was digging for her keys. She was stopping so she could unlock the door—and the guy was coming toward her.

Black hoodie. He was hunched over, his hands in his front pocket. I couldn’t see his face. It was hidden by his hood, and then one of his hands came out.

I saw the gun—and time completely stopped.

No. That didn’t make sense. This was a bowling alley—in a nice part of town, a safe area. My family’s dinner was just a block over, in a five star restaurant.

This wasn’t happening—the blood was pumping through me and my vision began to blur. Not Taylor. Not her—he moved forward, bringing the gun across his body. Taylor turned her back to him, opening her door so she could climb inside.

No! It wasn’t happening. I was out my vehicle and sprinting across the street. I was on his right, but he hadn’t seen me. He kept his head down, but as he raised the gun, he glanced up and to the side.

“GUN!” I yelled. “No!”

I sprinted for him, and time snapped back and sped up. I couldn’t lose her, not when I was just about to get her back. Nothing could stop that.

I raced the rest of the way as the guy looked around. My eyes met the gunman’s, and forget that my heart was in my throat, it was now stuffed all way into my mouth. The gunman was Rankin. Seeing me, there was a split second of surprise, followed by resolve. He knew I was going to stop him, but he was going to do it anyway. The asshole was going to kill her anyway.

He started to turn for her again. I couldn’t see Taylor. I couldn’t take my eyes off Rankin. If I did, I’d lose her.

“
Get down
!” I yelled as the gun went off—
Boom
!

It was louder than I expected. Not like fireworks at all. Then the air was veiled, like a blanket had been thrown over me. I couldn’t move fast enough. The gun went off again, and it was like thunder exploding in my ear.

I never stopped.

I crashed into Rankin, and he turned, ready for a fight, but I body-checked him. I ducked, wrapped my arms around his waist, and threw him to the ground. The gun fell from his hand, and I yelled as I lifted my fist, “Get the gun!” I didn’t know who I was yelling at. I was just yelling, but then I was fighting.

Rankin twisted, hoping to dislodge my hold, but I was on top of him. As he struck my face, I evaded, knocked his arms to the side, and rained punches down on him. Hit after hit, I kept making contact. I wanted this bastard so far gone, he couldn’t fight back, and as I kept going, he finally stopped resisting.

But I couldn’t stop. I heard the gunshot. He wanted to hurt Taylor. That was all I knew. The blood thirst was too much, and I never would’ve stopped. I would’ve killed the guy if someone hadn’t yanked me off of him.

I struggled against the hold until I heard Mason’s voice in my ear. “He’s done, Logan. He’s done. The ex-boyfriend got to her too. He grabbed her and turned his back. He took the bullet, Logan. Not her. She’s safe.”

My brother. The ex-boyfriend. His words started to sink in, but my heart was still pounding. My job wasn’t done. Taylor. I shoved out of his arms and whipped around.

“She’s safe.” He turned me so I could see her, huddled inside the bowling alley. “We were coming back for you when we saw it go down. She’s inside. She’s safe.”

I felt myself nodding, but then I was running. “Taylor!” I yelled, my feet swallowing the space between us.

She saw me coming and tore away from whoever was patting her arm. Someone stopped her at the door, but I tore through it, knocking people down. I was there. She was there, and she was in my arms.

I lifted her, my arms around her, and carried her away. I didn’t know where I was going, but I kept going until there was no one else.

Once we were alone, a door closed behind us, and I looked at her, holding her face. “Holy shit.” I breathed as I kissed her. I needed to know she was okay. Or I needed to reassure myself that I was okay. I didn’t know which one—both, and so much more. I loved this woman. Holy shit, I loved her with everything in me.

She responded to my kiss, climbing against me, and I lifted her again. Her legs wound around my waist, and I pressed her into a wall. I pulled back just enough to double-check she was all there. She smiled up at me, her face flushed and her eyes beaming. So bright. So alive. I touched the side of her face. “I love you.”

I saw her love swim to the surface then, too. She nodded. “I love you, too.”

I rested my forehead to hers. “You’re okay?”

“I’m okay.”

She looked down and lifted one of my hands to inspect my knuckles, which were bloody and raw. “Are you okay?”

My hands would be sore in an hour. It was worth it. I tucked her hair behind her ear and cupped her face again. “If you’d—” I struggled to say the words. I didn’t even want to think them. I gulped for breath. “Fuck, Taylor. If you’d—if he had—”

“He didn’t. He got Eric—” She choked up. “Eric—”

She pulled back, starting for the door.

I couldn’t let her go. The guy saved her, and I’d thank him later, but for now, I just needed her. “Taylor.”

She looked up and saw my torment. Her face softened. She held both sides of my face and pressed her forehead to mine again. She said softly, “I’m okay. I’m okay.”

She kept repeating those two words over and over again. I nodded, my head moving against hers. I knew she was telling me she was safe, but I needed to hear it again. I needed to hear it all the way through the night, the next day, the next week, and even the next month or two. I almost lost the woman I loved. Never again.

Never fucking again.

I breathed out once more. “I love you. I don’t care if you don’t want to be with me. I fucking love you, Taylor.”

“No.” She laughed, her hands holding my face. “No, Logan. I love you, too. I was coming to find you. I was going to plead, if I had to.”

“You don’t have to. I was going to do the same thing.” I wouldn’t get enough. I already knew this. If I had her for a year, I’d thirst for a second, then a third. I stopped, wrapped my arms tight around her, and just held her to me. I breathed her in.

LARGE AND IN CHARGE

LOGAN

The elevators pinged my arrival, and the doors opened for me. My dad’s office was large and in charge, just how he was. Two water fountains lined the side of the long hallway. My dad’s receptionist’s desk was at the end and she was behind it, staring at me. I knew the layout was set up that way to impress colleagues, business associates, and whoever else of my dad’s power. He was fucking James Kade. He owned and operated a shit ton of businesses, but this was me. I’d been there when he brought woman after woman into the house, and that must’ve been years after sleeping with them in his office or at hotels. I’d been there when Mason asked him to come to a little league game and he no-showed. I was there my when mom screamed at him, threatening divorce, and he merely walked out of the room like he hadn’t heard a word. I was there...in that damned empty mansion. Long after my mom left. Long after Mason would go and drink with Nate. Long after my dad was hardly even a roommate. So no, walking down this extensive hallway and seeing some stick-thin woman at the end, sitting there in her tight shirt, the buttons threatening to burst at the seams, a black lacy strap peeking out from one side of her shirt, none of this impressed me.