Chapter 14
Logan was furious.
It was the kind of seething, pent-up anger that could bubble over and explode at any second. Logan had been here before in his life. When he truly lost his temper, it was a case of all bets being off.
Normally, Logan was able to roll with the punches and if push came to shove he would walk away and let people deal with their own dramas rather than get sucked in himself.
But this was different.
Stella had infuriated Logan and it had felt like one more comment would have pushed Logan into saying some things that he could never have taken back.
With that in mind, heading over to Sinkers was probably the smart move. Logan took a sip on his cold beer and looked around.
The bar was quiet, and with its low lights and soundtrack of some classic blues coming from the jukebox it was probably the ideal setting for Logan’s current state of mind.
‘Another?’ the bartender said, smiling sweetly as she noticed that Logan was nearly done with his beer.
‘Another, and keep ‘em coming,’ Logan replied, his brooding looks clearly attracting a certain degree of interest an intrigue from the young bartender.
But Logan’s mind wasn’t on whether a cute bartender was into him or not. No, Logan had other things on his mind.
Stella was being a brat, and that’s not like her..
Something must have really got to her.
And I just stormed out the damn house…
Logan felt frustrated that he hadn’t been more patient and attempted to work through things with Stella. Perhaps he should have stayed, but on the other hand Logan knew that this could have ended up making things even worse.
‘I should have stayed,’ Logan muttered. ‘I’m her Daddy for God’s sake…’
But Logan of all people knew that sometimes you just need your own space to work through something.
With this in mind, Logan decided that he wouldn’t message Stella to check in on her. If something was bugging Stella, then it was probably sensible to give her the time and space she needed to work it out for herself.
This might not have been a foolproof plan, but it was the best that Logan had in that moment. Anyway, it wasn’t as if Logan didn’t have his own worries to work through…
Cole fucking Rodgers.
This is all down to him showing up.
All the messages too…
Logan gritted his teeth and took the last gulp of his beer, only to find it replaced with a fresh bottle by the cute bartender.
‘Thanks,’ Logan said, his mind focused on Cole and what a total asshole he was.
Gradually, Logan was coming to the realization that Cole’s role in this may have been more sinister than he’d first imagined.
Logan had no proof, but it began to cross his mind that it was Cole who had spiked his drink. And if that was true, then there was a very good chance that it was Cole who had taken Logan’s car after he abandoned it after the crash.
Logan didn’t know what to think.
All Logan knew was that he had to meet Cole to hash things out.
Logan took his cellphone out of his pocket and after checking for any new messages from Stella, he began to type out a message.
You wanted to meet me one on one? Let’s fucking do it. We need to sort this out. I don’t care what you think this is all about, I just want to put an end to it. Logan.
Logan hit send and then sent a follow-up message with his location. It felt like the right thing to have done. The longer Logan had allowed this thing with Cole to drag on, the worse the situation had become. The culmination of course being when Cole showed up and creeped Stella out.
Whatever happened when Cole arrived, Logan was determined to take it in his stride. As angry as he was with Stella in that moment, Logan knew that sorting things out with Cole would go a long way to making both himself and Stella happy again.
But one thing remained unclear.
What did Cole really want?
And how far was Cole willing to go to get it?
‘Sorry, same again?’ the bartender enquired, noticing that an increasingly impatient Logan was done with his beer and casting his eyes toward the bar’s entrance.
‘No, not right now,’ Logan replied, his voice firm and even. ‘Maybe in a bit.’
‘Hey, no worries,’ the bartender said, smiling and walking over toward a large stack of empty glasses that needed putting into the large glass cleaner. ‘Just give me a shout when you’re ready, handsome.’
Logan nodded.
It was nice to be in a bar with friendly bar staff, even if he did only have eyes for Stella. But Logan wasn’t going to even contemplate calling Stella to make things until Cole had arrived. The fact that an hour had passed since Logan messaged Cole wasn’t good.
Logan felt on edge.
Each time the Sinkers door swung open, Logan reflexively went into business mode. Of course, Logan figured that this was some kind of power play from Cole. By keeping Logan waiting, Cole was probably trying to show just how in control of the situation he was.
Asshole.
The longer he keeps me waiting, the worse it will be.
Cole is about to learn a very harsh lesson…
Logan took a quick glance at his cellphone. In part, in case Cole had messaged to cancel the meeting. But Logan couldn’t deny that he was also checking to see whether or not Stella had been in contact.
Sadly, there was nothing from Stella.
Maybe this was a good thing. The last thing Logan needed was to get involved in an emotional message exchange with Stella as he waited for Cole Rodgers to show up.
The longer the wait was, the more stressed Logan became. So much so in fact, that Logan found his mind wandering back to the day that he quit college.
There had been a very clear choice that day.
Logan could have stuck around and fought to keep his place and improve his grades. The alternative was of course to walk away in search of unrestricted fun and adventure on the road.
Logan chose the latter option, and the rest was history. But Logan couldn’t help wondering how his life would have turned out had he stayed on campus, graduated, and stuck it out with Stella too.
Suddenly, the years of living simply for pleasure seemed like wasted years to Logan.
Yes, the parties had been excellent.
And there had been a ton of very cute girls along the way.
But what did Logan have to show for it now barring some increasingly hazy old memories?
My life was becoming a fucking mess.
Stella helped change that.
Why wasn’t I more patient with her back at the apartment?
With still no sign of Cole, Logan was almost at the point of getting up and leaving. Logan could leave Cole to play his silly games and instead get back to Stella… the girl he loved.
However just as this was beginning to feel like the right choice to make, Logan looked up and saw Cole enter the bar. Cole wasn’t alone either.
Following closely behind Cole were two guys, both big and with the kind of slightly mangled faces you’d associate with down and out heavies.
This situation wasn’t going to run as smoothly as Logan had hoped, that much was becoming clearer by the second…
‘I thought I said come alone?’ Logan growled, not impressed by Cole’s henchmen.
‘You don’t call the shots,’ Cole replied. ‘Shouldn’t that be obvious by now?’
Cole sneered and flexed his tattoo-covered arms. He was thirty-eight, a few years younger than Logan. Not only that, but with his grey eyes and greasy black hair he always gave off serious bad-news vibes.
Logan was beginning to curse the day he ever befriended Cole.
‘Who says I don’t call the shots?’ Logan countered, not wanting to give Cole an inch. ‘As far as I can tell, you’re the desperate one. Messaging me. Approaching my girl in a bar. You know what, screw it. You can keep my car. Whatever. I’m out.’
Logan was making his play.
He wanted to show Cole just how little he thought of him. And by being so dismissive, Logan felt like he had Cole right where he wanted him.
What Logan wasn’t counting on though was the presence of Cole’s two sidemen. As Logan got up from his barstool to leave, the two burly men stepped directly into his path.
‘I don’t think so, asshole,’ Cole said, a sneer on his face as he watched his two associates do his dirty work for him. ‘You’re staying until I’m done with you.’
‘You’ve got ten seconds to tell me what this is really about,’ Logan said. ‘Don’t mess with me, Cole. This needs to stop.’
Logan waited for Cole to speak.
Don’t blink.
Don’t show a single sign of weakness or doubt.
Cole hasn’t got anything over me…
‘Well?’ Logan barked, his patience running low. ‘Are you going to speak or…’
‘Here’s how it’s going to go down,’ Cole said, a hint of a smile on his face. ‘I’ve got images of you asleep at the wheel. I’ve got your car. I’ve got evidence that you drove under the influence and ran from the scene.’
‘Asshole!’ Logan said, momentarily losing his composure.
‘There’s a big drag race coming up,’ Cole continued, unperturbed. ‘You’re going to enter. And you’re going to lose. This will make me a shit-ton of money and in exchange I won’t forward all of my incriminating evidence to the police. How does that sound?’
Logan felt enraged.
This was totally out of line and crossing so many barriers of honor and conduct. Respect and trust was big in the drag racing community. In fact, it was one of the things that Logan loved most of all about racing.
But Cole was attempting to undermine every single aspect of what made drag racing such a vibrant, incredible community. Logan was truly appalled.
‘You think you can blackmail me?’ Logan said, his voice full of barely concealed rage. ‘Logan Rain doesn’t lose races on purpose. And I certainly don’t take orders from slimy, good for nothing pieces of crap like you, Cole.’
‘You’ll lose the race, or take your chances with a jail sentence,’ Cole replied, not looking like he was in the mood for backing down. ‘How will your corporate girlfriend react to that? And who will protect her when you’re locked up?’
The threat to Stella was the last straw for Logan.
In a flurry of explosive action, Logan took a swing at Cole and narrowly missed his chin. The two henchmen began to rain down punches on Logan, and he knew that he had his work cut out from the second that the first heavy right-cross landed on the side of his head.
The scuffle was brief, but brutal.
No sooner than had the brawl started, the Sinkers doormen were over and breaking things up. Clearly, it was apparent who the bad guys in the situation were and Cole and his men left without too much pressure from the doormen.
But Cole didn’t leave without one final parting shot…
‘You’ll race and you’ll lose,’ Cole squealed. ‘You work for me now, Rain!’
Logan staggered over toward the bar. He felt dazed and disoriented. The punches that landed from Cole’s henchmen had been heavy, concussive blows. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all.
What… the…
There’s no way I can race.
But… Stella… the police… I…
Logan managed to take a seat at the bar and immediately put his head in his hands to try and focus his mind. Logan was angry. He was hurting too. It didn’t feel good to take several shots to the head, but equally it was a blow to his pride at having the fight stopped by the doormen.
‘Ready for that new drink now?’ the bartender enquired, a look of friendly sympathy on her face.
‘You know what, I think I am,’ Logan replied, seeing the funny side of the situation. ‘And bring it with a shot of your best God damn whiskey on the side too.’
‘No problemo,’ the bartender said, already ahead of the game and pouring out a generous shot. ‘This one’s on the house.’
As the liquor hit the back of Logan’s throat, he took a moment to consider the magnitude of the situation. This was a problem that he wasn’t going to hustle his way out of.
Cole may have been a slimy piece of crap, but it was clear that he meant every word he was saying.
Logan had a choice. He could stay and fight for what he believed in and do what was right. Or he could take the first bus out of town and never have to deal with Cole and his blackmail again.
This felt like a big moment.
Logan wasn’t getting any younger, and the choice he made in this moment could shape how the rest of his life looked.
It was time for Logan to decide upon exactly the type of man- and what kind of Daddy - he wanted to be.