Chapter 42
CHAPTER 42
Logan’s apartment had felt like a prison. The shadows stretched across the walls, distorted by the streetlights outside, while the faint hum of late-night traffic seeped through the open window.
He was restless, and even the noise didn’t distract him. He was drowning in his own thoughts, every moment stretching unbearably long, every second dragging for what felt like hours, until his frustration finally became unbearable.
He’d tried everything to calm himself: flipping through TV channels, scrolling aimlessly through his phone, even attempting to read the dog-eared book left discarded on the couch.
Nothing worked. His mind just kept circling back to Ethan and their argument at the bar.
Now he sat in his Jeep, parked under the dim glow of the lot’s solitary street lamp.
Logan shoved the keys into the ignition, and the engine growled to life with a throaty roar that vibrated through the seat. He let it idle, staring blankly at the dashboard. The clock glowed, its unforgiving green digits seeming to glare back like an accusation.
“Goddamn you, Ethan Parker,” Logan snarled as he dragged one hand down his face, exhaustion and irritation etched into every line of his expression. “Why can’t you just answer your fucking phone.”
The cell rested in the cupholder, its screen dark and unresponsive despite the three calls he’d made in quick succession. Each attempt had gone straight to voicemail, and each time it left him more irate than the last.
He could still hear the chipper tone of Ethan’s message that felt at odds with how things had ended between them earlier.
Logan clenched his jaw and gripped the steering wheel tightly. The last hour had been hellish. Tossing and turning in bed as he’d tried to shut everything off, flipping onto his side and punching his pillow into submission. Sleep had eluded him entirely, slipping through his grasp and mocking him for even trying.
Every time he closed his eyes, Ethan’s face was there.
He’d pushed too hard at the bar and ruined it all with careless words. “Fuck,” he growled, his knuckles turning white as his grip tightened on the wheel. He slammed his palm against the horn, letting out an angry blare that echoed through the empty lot.
He couldn’t leave things like this, not after everything they’d been through. His head fell back against the seat, and he exhaled sharply. “Why do you have to be so fuckin’ annoying?” There was an edge to his voice, a crack where anger bled into desperation.
Ethan was stubborn—maddeningly so—but this silence… It was driving Logan half-mad.
What if he’s with Devon?
That thought struck suddenly like a lightning bolt, white-hot as it seared straight through him. His stomach was knotted so tight it felt like it would never come undone.
Devon’s smug face flashed before him, as if conjured from thin air by his own paranoia. “ I’ll try not to be too rough .” He could still hear his taunt.
Devon wasn’t just cocky, he was dangerous. A predator that made Logan’s skin crawl whenever he thought about it too long. He’d seen firsthand how he operated. How he would refuse to take no for an answer and treated boundaries like mere suggestions instead of hard lines not to be crossed.
And Ethan… proud, stubborn Ethan… he might not see it coming until it was too late.
Logan shifted into drive and the Jeep lurched forward. He peeled out of the lot faster than he probably should at this hour.
The streets were eerily quiet save for a few late-night stragglers or insomniacs like himself.
What if I’m too late?
The thought hit him square in the chest, a visceral ache that stole his breath for half a second before anger took over again.
“Fuck.” He swore under his breath as he pressed harder on the accelerator. The Jeep roared in protest. It wasn’t just guilt driving him anymore, it was fear. Fear that something terrible might already be happening while he’d sat idly by, spinning out worst-case scenarios instead of doing something about it.
“I swear to God… if he lays so much as a hand on you…” the words trailed off—a vow left unspoken as Logan hurtled down those empty roads toward Ethan’s apartment.