Chapter 32
Paige’s words started to slur as tunnel vision took over. All I heard was innocent… Guilty… Proof…
My steps fell heavy in front of me, with one step after the other, the old snow compounded underneath my feet. Logan always wore a smug look on his face. Our other interactions had me annoyed and pissed off, but nothing could describe the way I was feeling now.
The scared look on his face gave away everything I was feeling.
Rage. Anger. Fury.
He definitely had a reason to be scared now. Every other time, I held back in fear of showing my angry side in front of Paige. But I think we both could agree, whatever was about to happen, he deserved it. Everyone had a breaking point, and this was mine. My anger was pent up and waiting to be let out.
I’d never been so happy to trust my gut. The moment Paige left the house, I trailed behind her just a couple minutes later. I’d be useless at home. What good would I be just sitting on the couch waiting for her to come back and tell me everything that happened? Instead, I hopped in my truck and parked right outside of the coffee shop. I watched Logan walk in and when minutes passed, it felt like too long for her to be in there with him alone. I stepped out of my truck just as she ran out of Mugs, frantically digging in her pocket for her phone.
This was the exact reason I needed to be here instead of at home, to beat the ever-loving shit out of Logan Brooks. My fists were clenched at my sides and itching to smash his face in.
Red hot blood flushed my cheeks as images of Logan flashed through my mind.
Logan at the funeral. Logan bothering Paige at work. Logan interrupting our perfect fucking day. Logan cornering my brother at the bar. Logan right here in front of my face.
My hands were out in front of my body, grabbing ahold of Logan before I could think twice. Two handfuls of thick black fabric balled up into my fists as I shook him angrily.
I snapped.
“I recall telling you it wasn’t going to be pretty if you kept fucking around when it came to Paige. So here we are. Tell me what the fuck was going through your head dragging Myles into your bullshit? Are you fucking kidding me?” I screamed. He flinched at my volume and surprisingly didn’t put up a fight. He held up his hands as if he were surrendering, but I wasn’t going to let him off that easily.
His clothes still clenched tight into my fists; I took him around the corner into an alley so what happened next wouldn’t be seen by everyone walking around town. Especially Paige. She knew I was fuming, but I didn’t want her to have to experience the full effect.
“You have nothing to say for yourself, asshole?” I asked as I shook him aggressively.
“I already explained myself to Paige. I told her how sorry I was. I told her I fucked up, okay?” he admitted, his voice shaken.
“Do you actually think saying sorry in a situation like this is enough? I don’t give a fuck how sorry you said you were. Sounds like all you did was offer her a pathetic apology.” I gathered the saliva in my mouth and before I could think twice, I spat in his face, treating him like the pitiful piece of trash he had always been.
I didn’t allow him a moment to react to my harsh behavior. I was too fired up to care. The level in my voice began to rise when I continued speaking, “I don’t know every little detail yet, but you never should have brought Myles into this. He’s been a fucking mess over something he never did in the first place. Not to mention you killed Paige’s father… Do you even realize how serious that is? You aren’t going to get away with this.”
I firmly held his body against the brick wall I had him backed up to and pulled my phone out of my jacket pocket. I dialed Paige who was standing close by, not wanting to yell for her and draw even more attention.
She answered right away. “Call the police and tell them everything. Tell them where they can find him.” I hung up the phone and before the police could arrive, I was going to give Logan what he deserved from me. No way was I going to give up the opportunity to give this piece of shit what he deserved.
My eyes turned dark as I glared back at Logan. He looked like he had lost hope. He wasn’t doing much to put up a fight, almost like he had given up. There were no more excuses to escape his mouth. He just stood there in my firm grip like a defeated ragdoll.
Good. He knew he deserved what was coming.
“This one is for Myles.” I reared back my fist and connected perfectly with his cheek. I shook my hand to the side out of natural instinct. I had so much adrenaline running through me that I didn’t feel the pain. I knew it would kick in later, but right now, I wasn’t thinking straight. Currently, I was doing what was right for my brother and the girl I was madly in love with.
His face snapped back; a mischievous grin plastered on his face. “That all you got, Cooper?” He let out a sarcastic laugh, asking for more. I was finally coming face to face with the parts of Logan that Paige had been talking about. One minute he’s on the verge of giving up and the next he’s laughing in my face. He was egging me on, and I had no problem taking the bait.
I pulled my fist back further for a final punch as I heard sirens down the street.
Crack.
My hand made contact with his nose this time as bright red blood gushed down his face. I grimaced at the pain shooting up my hand but still gripped him tightly with my other fist. I refused to give him a chance to run away like the coward that he was.
“And that was for Paige,” I said, wincing at the pain my fist started to feel.
Blood shot from his mouth as he spit to the side. “That’s more like it, bro. Didn’t think you had it in you. To be honest, it took you way longer than I thought it would to throw hands.”
He had no idea how hard it was to hold back. I’ve tried for weeks not to waste my energy on the guy. Because of him, I’d gone back to therapy. My anger was in a good place before he started popping up into my life. But everything had built up and I fucking lost it. I had no regrets in that moment for stooping down to his level. My therapist probably wouldn’t agree, but sometimes it was necessary to get aggression out in this way.
Old Declan would have beat his ass at Paige’s dad’s funeral—the first time I interacted with him and realized he was a piece of shit. Old me wouldn’t have cared about the consequences or where I was when it all went down. I would have dealt with the repercussions later.
The new Declan? I’d been putting in the work. I’d come a long way with my anger, but I could honestly say life hadn’t dealt me a true challenge until Logan came waltzing into my life. Even though I was acting out in a way I hadn’t in a while, I was counting this as an improvement. My anger was always something I was going to need to work on, but today, it was a small win.
“You realize you’re going to the slammer, right? Better get used to getting the shit beat out of you. I’m just giving you a taste of what’s to come. I’m sure you’ll make the perfect bitch,” I spat as I looked him up and down.
“Believe it or not, man, I fucking regret what I did. I didn’t handle it the best. I loved Paige when we were kids, and I always thought highly of her. She put up with me when she shouldn’t have. This was a freak accident that I never wanted to happen.” He looked shameful but I’d never pity the guy. I don’t think there was anyone on earth I disliked as much as Logan Brooks.
My eyes wandered over him in disgust. “If you regret it so much, maybe you should have thought about how big of a mistake you were making when her dad’s body laid on the side of the road. Or maybe before you tried to blackmail someone. A real man would own up to his wrong doings. You’re just a pathetic little boy.”
Sirens crept closer and I was desperate to watch him drive away in the back of that police car. I was ready to have a conversation with Myles and tell him the news. He was innocent. It was over. We could all move on from this or at least try to. I know Paige had to have the conversation with her family as well. It would be a long road, I’m sure, but at least they were on their way to finding that closure. But now, the healing could finally begin one step at a time.
Blue and red lights reflected off the windows in front of the shops as I turned the corner. This time, I shoved Logan from behind, the black fabric on his back in my fists as I pushed him toward his fate. He held his hands up as we walked toward the police officers, blood still trickling out of his nose.
“Logan Brooks?” the sheriff called out, looking in our direction. Logan addressed the officer and nodded his head up and down, knowing exactly what was about to come next.
“I think it’s in your best interest to come down to the station with us, son. We have strong reason to believe you were behind the hit and run resulting in the death of Anthony Wilson early last month. We are going to detain you. Put your hands behind your back so I can cuff you and read you your rights. This will go a lot smoother, assuming you cooperate,” the sheriff ordered.
Logan followed his orders, putting his hands behind his back as I released my grip on him. As he got cuffed, he avoided eye contact with me, but found Paige one last time.
“I really am deeply sorry, Paige,” he said sheepishly before his head ducked into the patrol car. Once my hands were rid of him, I pulled Paige in close to me—her body physically shaking.
The black and white door closed with Logan’s reflection behind it. “We have the phone recording you took but we will need a formal statement from you both. If you don’t mind coming down to the station in a bit so we can get a move on with this case, I’d appreciate it. Here is my card, Miss Wilson. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call.”
“Of course, the sooner we can get this over with, the better,” she said, letting out a sigh of relief. The officer gave her a nod before rounding his cruiser and taking off with the person to blame for all of our issues lately.