Thirty-Nine
Logan
Lyell is touching my arm and won’t stop smiling at me.
I fake a laugh when he tells me a cheesy joke, but I don’t feel anything when I do.
I’m not into him the way he wants me to be.
He’s an attractive guy, but he’s not a bratty blond with piercing blue eyes.
He’s not Blake. I lie about having to step away to use the bathroom, and I ignore his pout when I turn around.
That’s when I see Blake dashing out of the bar.
My stomach drops and I rush after him, not sure what direction to look in at first when so many people move around me.
I run to his car when I spot it in the parking lot but he isn’t there.
My heart is beating out of control as I search around the building, my gaze locking on a man putting someone inside the back of a truck.
He’s in a mask and in a hurry, not looking at me as he jumps in the driver’s side.
My feet are stuck to the ground and I’m temporarily paralyzed as I watch him drive away.
It’s not until the tires scrape against the road that I’m able to unfreeze.
I push through the crowd near the front entrance as I run down the sidewalk, ignoring my friends’ calls to me.
My tunnel vision takes me right to my car and my hands shake as I put my seatbelt on.
I can’t get my breathing under control and I need to.
That was Blake being shoved into that car, wasn’t it?
Or were my eyes playing tricks on me? It’s been hell staying away from him, but I didn’t want to test our luck too soon.
I’ve tried to text him many times, putting my phone down before I could hit send on the message.
He didn’t tell me his plan and acted without me.
I woke up to him gone and was hit with confusion until the anger set in.
Then I got the call from work and knew what he did the moment I was given the address.
They needed backup, and I had to get my shit together so that I didn’t make what he did be for nothing.
I tried to go my separate way for a while, pretending not to notice him too much anytime we ran into each other, and fought the urge to take him in my arms when we did.
I needed to tell him how much I wanted him every day we were apart, but I kept making myself wait, telling myself we didn’t have too much longer.
I thought it was smarter to start small.
He’d bump into me and we’d engage in small talk.
I’d offer to buy him a coffee whenever he ended up short on cash.
We’d find a way back to each other. I told him we would, but I didn’t realize that even the shortest wait could feel like a lifetime.
I pull out my phone, hoping he’s wearing the necklace I gave him after we made love for the first time.
I gave it to him in case he actually took my advice and left.
I didn’t know what I’d do with the information, but I liked the idea of having it.
Just in case. I didn’t think I’d need to use it for this reason, or if I’d use it all.
My fingers tap the screen and the app comes up. The dot is moving. He has it on. What will I be walking into if I find him? Do I care? I set the phone on my middle console, studying the streets the car turns onto. No. No, I don’t care. I’ll deal with it when it comes time to.
I pull out of the parking lot, stopping when the dot is no longer moving. It’s not far from my house. I didn’t think anyone owned that property, and they probably don’t. That’s why they’re taking him there. If something were to happen to him, no one would think to check there.
My stomach twists as I drive onto the main road, speeding up after taking my first turn.
I run stop signs and lights, going faster the closer I get to the location I’m heading to.
I slow down when I’m only a few feet out, parking on the side of the road.
I waste no time getting out, attaching my gun to my holster.
I didn’t have time to change after work, so I went to meet my friends in uniform.
I didn’t plan on drinking so I didn’t think it would be a big deal. This might be.
I carefully close the car door, sidestepping around the front and moving with careful steps.
A loud banging has me moving quicker while remaining on high alert.
I peek around the trees, reaching for my weapon and keeping it down at my side.
A man is standing in front of a shed, laughing, and as he gets into his car, smoke rises and flames come through the old wood.
He’s on the driver’s side, about to start driving off when I finally reach him.
I smash the window with my baton. He jumps, scrambling away from me when I drag him out of his seat.
It’s Blake’s dad. He looks at me, eyes empty, and when the fire causes the door to blow off, I shove him to the ground, tasing him on his side until he’s going slack..
If Blake is in that shed like I think he might be, I don’t have time to ask questions.
I dial the station, asking for backup as I cuff Blake’s dad’s hands behind his back.
I step around him and rush to the burning shed, breaking a side window, and see Blake huddled in the corner with his face covered.
I take my jacket off, swinging it and stomping out the fire enough to clear a pathway.
Blake fights against me when I reach for him, swinging and kicking at me.
He’s chained up. The panic in me increases as the walls begin to cave in, and I tug hard on the chain, shaking it loose after several hard pulls.
I lift him in my arms, jumping forward, and roll with him on the ground as the fire erupts.
Wood and glass explode everywhere, and I cover him with my body.
“No, no, please,” he says and I kiss his hair, moving it from his eyes.
“It’s me, piglet. It’s me.”
His eyes open and he tugs at the collar of my shirt, holding me back. “It is you. You came for me.”
“Yes. I came for you.”
Sirens sound around us and I help him up from the ground.
Part of the roof of the building is on top of his dad’s body.
He isn’t moving, and I’m not sure if he’s okay or not.
I don’t care either. I usher Blake toward the road and cop cars swarm around us.
A fire truck is coming up quickly from behind them.
Blake clings onto me, legs wobbling. I lift him up again, cradling him as he whispers, “How? How did you know to come?”
I tug at the heart on his necklace. “Because of this.”
He looks at me and then at the necklace, stroking the center as I take my hand away. “You were tracking me?”
“Yes. It was wrong to do it, but it felt good to know you were close wherever you were.”
He smiles and I rub soot from his nose. “It was part of our good luck.” He kisses my mouth, eyes rolling back when bright lights shine our way. He goes limp in my arms and paramedics run over to us.
“Is he alive?” one man asks, checking his pulse.
“Yeah. He passed out. Could be from smoke inhalation.”
I’m led to the back of a truck and they have me set him on a stretcher. People are yelling from every direction, but all I care about is him opening those pretty blue eyes again. I need that to be part of our good luck too.
“Logan, what the hell happened?” Hector says, running my way.
“I don’t know. I saw the smoke and went to check it out. It’s down the way from my house and was hard to miss when I was driving home.”
“Shit.” He says something into his walkie, resting a hand on his hip. “Is that Blake Mitchell?”
My gaze follows his and I nod. “Yeah. I think the guy who brought him here might be his dad.”
“No shit,” he says, looking shell?shocked. “That poor guy can’t catch a break, can he? Why would he try to kill his own son?”
“No idea. Maybe Blake can answer that when he comes to.”
“You think he’d find it easier talking to someone he knows?”
I shove my hands in my back pockets, looking around. “Probably. I was planning on going along anyway, so he isn’t alone when he wakes up.”
“That’s a good idea. You think you’ll be able to get a hold of his family too?”
“Yeah. I can do that.”
“Good.” He squeezes my shoulder. “If you need me, give me a call.”
“I will.”
“You said you were going to go have some fun and unwind with some friends after work. I’m starting to think you don’t know what any of that means.”
I force a laugh. “I did. For a little bit at least.”
He looks away when someone calls his name. “We got a body over here.”
“I’m coming,” he calls back. “Alright, I’ll go handle that and you take care of your boy there.” He nods to Blake and runs to the person who keeps calling for him.
My boy. That is what he is. He’s mine and nothing’s keeping me from him from here on out. No one should suspect anything now. They had no reason to before, but with all the questions Hayden was raising, it was hard not to be paranoid.
They go on talking around me about his dad possibly working alongside Hayden, and I jump in the back of the ambulance, holding Blake’s hand when I think no one’s looking.
I hate that this is what brought us together again, but at least we are together.
It’s what Blake kept saying whenever I felt bad about everything that happened between us.
He’s right. We are together, and always will be.
It no longer matters how it happened. Only that it did.