25
LOGAN
O ur arrival at the clubhouse attracted quite the attention. The bullet-ridden car with its crumpled body from the crash came to a halt in the driveway. In under a minute, men lined the porch, some armed as though expecting trouble.
“Crowe’s here,” Bloom said. “He’ll know what to do.”
I didn’t bother to crush his spirit that when it came to the Agostis, Crowe was nothing but fodder. They had drug runs across state lines. The Mafia ran leaders of countries and infiltrated the highest echelons of the law.
Jesus, why did I involve them in this?
We got out of the vehicle, and I took Bloom’s hands. “It’s all right,” I said to the group of men. “We shook them off.”
“Them?” From the way Crowe was looking Bloom up and down, he wanted to inspect him from head to toe, but what I’d said to him at Thanksgiving dinner must have resonated because he only took a step toward us and halted a couple of feet away.
“What the hell happened?” Grimm gestured for the others to go back inside.
“Two men attacked us on the way here.” My gaze fell on Joel, who hadn’t left with the others. He wore a look of concern. To hell with him. Before he came into town, none of this had happened. “I can only assume they work for my father.”
“I wouldn’t make that assumption.” Joel moved forward, but Bloom slid in front of me, and he backed up.
“You showed up in town at the same time the US Marshal betrayed me and two men tried to kill me. What else am I supposed to assume?”
“Joel—” Grimm shook his head slowly. “You know I didn’t want this life for you. Why did you have to get involved?”
“In what way am I involved? All I did was deliver a message like I was asked to do. Agosti said he wanted me to persuade his son to visit him in prison. That they needed to talk.”
“Talk? Dead men don’t talk, Joel, and someone tried to kill us today.”
“You don’t know that was your father. He sounded sincere when—”
“Sincere?” I barked out a laugh. “My father is a manipulative monster who makes Hannibal Lecter look like a saint. He will chew you up and spit you out when he’s done with you. You have absolutely no idea what you signed up for when you agreed to be his lawyer.”
“You’re wrong,” Joel said. “He has regrets. Many of them, and I think he’s trying to make amends.”
“Then how do you explain someone trying to kill Logan?” Bloom snapped. “Maybe he fooled you, and you fell for it.”
“Okay, this isn’t helping anyone,” Crowe said, his attention fixed on Bloom. “We need to sit down and figure out what the fuck to do before someone gets killed.”
“Agreed,” I said.
Bloom’s stance became rigid. He narrowed his eyes, glancing from me to Crowe. “Just to be clear, we’re still gonna get married, and we’ll be together regardless of what happens.”
“Yeah,” I croaked out. I’d promised him. How could I break that promise even under the intensity of Crowe’s frown?
“Let’s go inside and talk about this,” Grimm said. “There must be a solution.”
We followed Grimm to his office, which was barely big enough for all of us. Joel sat on the edge of Grimm’s desk. Bloom and I occupied a loveseat while Crowe paced behind us. The door opened, and Grimm’s VP, Booker, and enforcer, Mort, filed in. From their acknowledged nod, Grimm must have alerted them, but what could they do? The more people who got involved, the more casualties would result.
“Joel, tell us everything you know,” Grimm said.
“I’ve said everything I know.”
“Well, start again from the beginning,” Grimm snapped. He didn’t seem happy that Joel was involved in my family’s mess, and I didn’t blame him. The young man had no idea what kind of trouble he was in.
“Last spring, Emil Agosti reached out to the firm I was working with,” he said. “He’d come to us on behalf of his father. He needed someone on retainer because they’d lost a lawyer from their team. His cousin was facing gun charges, and they needed another lawyer to represent him. My firm wanted to send someone more experienced, but they wanted me.”
“They asked for you by name?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“And you didn’t think that strange?”
“I didn’t. I’d just won the biggest case of my career. Naturally, I was flattered they asked for me. If I shied away from these cases, I will never make partner at the firm.”
“So, did you win?” I asked. “The case against my cousin?”
He smirked. “Of course I did. I might be young, but I know my way around the law.”
Too damn well. Was him working for my father just a coincidence? I couldn’t shake the feeling it wasn’t.
“What happened then?” Crowe asked.
“I did minor cases for them, mostly dealing with Emil acting on behalf of their father—Marcello Agosti.”
“My brother is in charge now?”
“Not yet. Your uncle’s handling family affairs.”
Not so bad, then. My uncle was the most supportive of my family members. Without him, I would never have gotten away from the family. His guidance had helped me to escape. But he still worked for my father. Would he carry out my father’s orders to kill me?
“When did my father talk to you about confronting me? Did he mention me at all before the incident at the hospital?” I asked.
“He didn’t. It was a week after that I was asked to take on this task because of my connection to Smoky Vale and the bikers.”
I squeezed my knee. Nothing that Joel said made sense to me. Why would my father suddenly reach out to me? And they expected me to believe he didn’t want to kill me? He’d tried two other times to do so.
“Did my father say why he wanted me to visit him in prison?”
“Unfortunately, no. He said it was between you two.”
“Sounds like a whole lot of bullshit to me,” Bloom scoffed. “We’re not going to New York.”
“We?” Crowe echoed.
“Yeah, because if Logan’s going, I’m going. I’m not letting him do it alone.”
I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. I’d known it was a bad idea to get involved with Bloom, and I still did it because I couldn’t keep my hands off him. Now he had to suffer again because of me. All I wanted was for him to be happy.
“Bloom…” I opened my eyes. “Maybe—”
His hard gaze made me swallow the words. I didn’t want to fight with him.
“Can’t Joel reach out to Agosti and find out more information?” Booker leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
“Joel?” Grimm asked.
“I should be able to get through to him. I’ll contact Emil, arrange the call, and get back to you.”
“That’s all we can do for now,” Grimm said. “It’s best if Logan and Bloom stay at one of the clubhouses. They’re welcome to stay here.”
“Why not the Blood Hounds’?” Crowe lurched to a stop next to my chair. Finally, he’d stopped pacing. “Technically, this is a Blood Hound problem.”
Grimm shrugged. “Fine by me. You two don’t always get along, and Jamie would kill me if I stood by and let something bad happen to his mentor.”
“And I can’t stand around and let something bad happen to Bloom. Bloom already has a room at our clubhouse. They both have stuff there.”
“It’s settled, then.” Grimm gave us a nod. “It might be best to postpone the wedding plans you—”
“No!” Bloom grabbed my hand and clutched it in his. “We’re going along with the ceremony. We won’t let anyone ruin that.”
“It’s a small one anyway,” I said. I didn’t want to take this away from Bloom, not after I’d promised to make him my husband and give him my name. “We can even have it at the clubhouse. That reverend friend of yours should be able to officiate, can’t he?”
“I can ask, but I’m sure he won’t say no. In the meantime, you two shouldn’t go off alone,” Grimm said. “Ben’s taken on security work. I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t mind shadowing you.”
“And we’ll pick up the slack when he can’t,” Crowe said. “Sarge was about to leave, but I’ll ask him to stay on for a bit. This is the kind of thing he’s good at.”
Bodyguards. Fuck. I hadn’t needed one since I got rid of the Agosti name. These men didn’t even know me. I’d lied to them about who I was, yet they didn’t question protecting me. A lump formed in my throat.
“Thank you,” I said, my voice hoarse. “I know this has nothing to do with you, so—”
“Yes, it does,” Bloom said softly. “This is what a brotherhood is. I’m with you now. They got my back, and now they’ve got yours.”
A knock sounded on the door.
“Come in,” Grimm said.
One of the twins poked his head in. “There are two cops trying to get onto the premises. How do you want to play this?”
“They’re here because of what happened,” I murmured.
“You don’t have to talk to them,” Joel said. “Not without a warrant. It would only hold them off for a while, but it’ll give you more time to get your story straight.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll talk to them.”
“I’d strongly advise against it until you consult with a lawyer.”
“Well, you’re here,” Grimm said.
“Technically, I can’t represent him. Ohio and New York have reciprocity agreements, but I’d still need to apply to the bar here and meet their character and fitness requirements. All that takes time. But I can give you legal advice.”
“That’s good enough for me.” I rose to my feet. “I’ll talk to them.”
“So will I.”
I pressed a hand to Bloom’s shoulder. “No, on this, I insist you stay here. There’s no need for them to know you were in the car with me.”
“But what if they arrest you?”
“They can’t hold him for too long,” Joel said. “And he has a solid case of self-defense, so he should be fine. The Ohio Stand Your Ground Law applies in this case. You weren’t the aggressor. You were in imminent danger, and it happened in public.”
I slowly nodded. “And you know all this, though you’ve never practiced here?”
Joel glanced at his father, then lowered his gaze. “I’ve always intended to return to Smoky Vale after I make a name for myself. My dream is to be here, legally representing the people I care about, so I’ve always kept up to date with Ohio rulings.”
Grimm’s face softened. He’d been clenching his jaw throughout most of the meeting, and whenever he looked at his son, he couldn’t hide the poignant disappointment. Now he regarded his son the way a father should—with pride and love.
“You plan to come back?”
Joel nodded.
“As touching as this is, if the doc insists, he should come along now,” the twin said.
“I’ll be fine.” I turned to Crowe. “Take him back to the clubhouse. I’ll meet you there after I finish talking to the cops.” If they allowed me to leave. “Do not let him out of your sight or let him do anything rash.”
“But—”
I thumbed Bloom’s bottom lip and gave him my warning stare. “I need you to trust me, okay?”