Chapter 8
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It would be so easy to just spill all my secrets.
I would love to be able to tell Logan everything, but there's a fear that he’s going to hate me even more than he already does.
I lied to him. He could easily say our whole time together was a lie, and he wouldn’t be wrong.
So instead of answering him, I grab a notepad from my purse.
“Okay, so we should probably have a game plan going into this, don’t you think? ”
He squeezes the steering wheel, and when we get to a stop sign, he glares over at me. He doesn’t like to be told no, and he doesn’t like to be out of the loop. He’s a man that just gets in there and takes care of things. Unfortunately, this is not something he can fix.
I fill the silence with my ramblings. “I’m sure Amy is going to want your undivided attention.
I’m just going to work on installing the cameras.
There’s one at the gate, front door, and back door, and she wants one that goes into the backyard.
” I turn to look into the back of the van.
“We have the ladders, so as long as there is a tree or a post or something, we can make it happen.”
We pull onto Amy’s road, and he stops before he gets to her gate.
“First of all, you’re not going to be climbing anything.
Second, you’re not leaving my side. I didn’t bring you here to do the job.
I brought you so that you can deal with Amy while I install.
And third, you have secrets. Big ones, it seems. If you brought danger to—”
I cut him off. “I didn’t. No one knows I’m here.”
He watches me closely. “And these guys from the city?”
I hold my breath. “It’s from my nightmares, Lo. That’s all. Trust me, I wouldn’t put you, your family, or your business in danger. No one can find me.”
Fuck, at least I hope not.
Logan’s eyebrows lift to his hairline. “What are you not telling me, Bree?”
Luckily, Amy is walking down her driveway to meet us, and I'm saved from answering. I open the door, ready to escape. “There’s Amy. We’d better get to work.”
I move to the back of the van and am gathering some supplies as Logan joins me. His voice is gruff next to my ear. “We’re not done with this conversation, Bree.”
I ignore him and turn to Amy. “Hey, Amy.”
She frowns at me, and then when Logan turns toward her, her face lights up, and her voice is all husky and sex-laden. “Hey Logan.”
I’m unable to hold back my groan of disgust, but I try to cover it up with a cough. I’m about to put the heavy tote over my shoulder when Logan takes it from my hand and puts it over his instead. He’s looking at me but talks to Amy. “Hey, Amy, you wanna show us around?”
Amy’s caught off guard but pulls herself together quickly. She leads us through the house and out the back door, showing us where she would like to have the cameras.
Every attempt to flirt with Logan or even try to get him alone fails. He’s professional but curt, and it takes a while, but eventually Amy catches on that nothing is going to happen. At least not today.
It takes hours to install all the cameras, but I finally convinced Logan that I would be of better use to actually help with the install instead of just standing around, so that shortened the time some.
By the end of the appointment, I’m covered in dust, grass, and sweat, and I’m exhausted.
Amy is walking us to the van, and she sticks right with Logan, even when he opens the door for me.
He almost puts my seat belt on and then catches himself and hastily shuts the door.
I can’t hear what he and Amy are saying as they walk around to the other side of the van, but Amy sure is smiling as she waves goodbye.
I try not to let it affect me, but I’m not good at hiding my feelings. “You know what? If the security business doesn’t work out, you could probably succeed with a dating business. You can just pimp yourself out and make a fortune.”
I force a laugh at the end, but Logan doesn’t join in. His voice is deadpan and void of emotion. “I’ll just stick to the security business.”
We’re quiet as we get into town until Logan breaks the silence. “Have you heard from Scott and Jo? How are their assignments going?”
Scott and Jo are two men Zach hired while Logan was out of town.
They are both on bodyguard details. “Yeah, I got an email from each of them with their updates. I think Jo will be back next week. Scott will be another few weeks, but we knew his would be an extended situation. Both are good and on track.”
He puts his elbow on the door. “Good. It’s weird having employees and not knowing who they are.”
I match his position and put my arm up in the window, but I lean out a little to let the wind hit me. “Yeah, that happens when you take off for three months.”
He rolls his eyes. “I had my reasons.”
He might as well say it. We’re both thinking it.
It’s me. I’m the reason that he left his town, his family, and his new business.
I’m not sure what I was thinking when I came here.
Did I really believe that we could get back what we once had?
I guess I had hoped, but the longer I’m here, the madder Logan gets.
At what point do I call it? I have months left on my contract, but at this rate, my nerves will be shot by then.
We can’t just work side by side with women openly flirting with him and me unable to do anything about it.
I look over at him, and when he notices me watching him, his jaw starts to tick. I want to suggest we get dinner, but I don’t bother. The answer will be no.
“What?” he asks gruffly.
I clench my hands together in my lap. “You hate me, don’t you?”
He doesn’t seem surprised by the question, and he doesn’t attempt to answer me. The rest of the way into town, I’m staring out the window, trying to hold back tears. I will not cry, I will not cry, I repeat to myself over and over.
Instead of going back to the office, he parks on the side of the road, right in front of Savage Ink. I open my door, ready to get out, when he stops me by wrapping his hand around my forearm.
I stop. Heck, I stop moving, breathing, everything and just stare at him.
He shakes his head. “I want to hate you. I really do. But I can’t… But none of that matters, Bree. When your contract is up, you’re leaving. I won’t ask you to stay.”
His words gut me. I guess I should have known that would be the case. What we had was amazing and life-changing, but I messed it up. I’m the one to blame.
I tug on my arm, but he doesn’t let me go. “I got it, Logan. I understand. I’m going to work for the next nine months without any expectations. I know you want me gone, but if it’s okay with you, I’d like to work out my contract and figure out my next steps.”
His jaw tenses, and he lets me go. “You have a contract. I don’t have a say.”
Basically, he wants me to know that if it was up to him, I’d be gone already.
“Right, I know, I cornered you into this. I thought…”
A dark laugh escapes him. “You thought what? You’d come here and I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off you and we’d go back to the way we were? You cheated on me, Bree. You kissed another man, you—”
“If you’d let me explain—”
He’s not having it, though. He sits in his seat, stiff as a statue and grips the steering wheel.
“There’s nothing you can say to me that would make your actions okay.
” He looks over at me, and all I see is the hatred in his eyes.
“Thanks for going on the call with me.” Before I can answer, he smiles at me.
“Amy and I are getting coffee this weekend.”
I suck in a breath, and it feels like he’s physically punched me in the gut.
It’s been two years. I figured he had been dating anyway, but seeing it and knowing it is another thing.
Unable to hide the hurt, I need to escape.
I jump out of the car, shut the door, and without another glance at Logan, I practically sprint to the stairs that lead to my apartment.
The hurt is unbearable, and I’m left with a feeling of complete and utter defeat.
It’s devastating because any hope I’d had for me and Logan is gone.
I’m not sure what else I can do. He doesn’t want to talk about our past or what happened.
He doesn’t want to hear me out. It’s over… and I’m not sure what to do with that.