Chapter 47
forty-seven
LOGAN
We end up tangled on her couch as we hold each other. She’s sitting sideways across my lap with her arms wrapped around my neck, while mine circle her middle.
“I’m sorry,” I rasp, my skin tight with embarrassment.
“Sorry for what?” she asks, her long, elegant fingers brushing through my hair.
It feels so good.
“For crying. God, you must think I’m a mess.”
“Do you think I’m a mess because I cried?”
I shake my head. “Of course not.”
“Well, there you go.”
I tighten my grip on her. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“I want to be with you, Blair. I won’t lie and say that the idea of marriage no longer freaks me out a little, but I’m realizing marriage was never the real issue.
It was always my dad. My mom, too, but mostly my dad.
” I breathe her in. Her hair smells like flowers.
“His marriages never last because he doesn’t love the women he marries, and because he doesn’t work on making them last.”
“Logan,” she murmurs gently, “I want to be with you too. But I don’t want you to be forced to walk down a path you’re not comfortable with. We can figure out what commitment looks like for us. We have time.”
“I know we do. And I’m not suggesting we rush anything, but I am telling you that how I feel about all of that has already changed, and I’m pretty sure it will keep changing. Just try to be patient with me, okay?”
Her smile is so fucking beautiful. “Okay.”
The jingle of keys draws our attention as Reed steps through the door with a deep sigh. He peels off his backpack and coat, letting both drop to the floor in a heap before he notices us.
“Uhhh, what are you two doing here? Shouldn’t you be at work and practice or something?
” Reed’s head tilts to the side and his eyes narrow as he gets a closer look at us.
Blair and I both have puffy eyes, and I’m pretty sure my hair is a mess from Blair’s fingers running through it. “Did something happen? What’s wrong?”
Panic overtakes the kid’s face so quickly, my heart clenches.
Blair was right to protect Reed so fiercely.
Even if it meant breaking up with me. I’m so used to him being this funny teenager with bright eyes and a quick wit; it’s easy to forget that he’s known more loss and pain in his short life than most people can comprehend.
“Hey, it’s okay. Everything’s fine. C’mere.
” I reach out a hand and motion for him to join us on the couch.
His steps are hesitant—like he’s waiting for me to drop life-altering bad news despite my reassurances—but he sits beside us and lets Blair wrap an arm around him after she wiggles on my lap to get into a better position. I wrap my arms around both of them.
“You’re freaking me out,” he mumbles into Blair’s hair.
“Sorry, Reedy. I promise everything is okay. Logan and I just had an…interesting day.”
“Explain,” Reed demands.
Blair looks to me for help, and I swear I grow three inches taller. She needs me. She’s letting me be a part of this conversation. Inviting me to be a part of this family.
Clearing my throat to dislodge the lump there, I decide to go with honesty. Reed’s too smart for me to bullshit him, and we don’t know how far our stalker will take things. He needs to be aware too.
“Well, it seems like I have a bit of a stalker situation. She’s tried to contact me before and I ignored her, but she’s been posting photos of me and Blair online, and today, she sent your sister an email that was…
concerning. We’re going to tell the team and the cops and we’ll deal with it, but I want you to be alert and aware. ”
Reed frowns. “Is she dangerous?”
“She could be,” I admit. “Or she could be all talk. But we’re going to take this seriously.
She’s posted some photos nearby here, so she may know where you two live.
So keep your head on a swivel, okay? Anyone following you, taking pictures of you, or making your Spidey senses tingle, I want you to find help and call me or your sister, okay? ”
He nods slowly. “Okay… Is that why you were both crying?”
I clear my throat again. “Uh, no.”
Reed narrows his eyes at us. “Did you hurt my sister?”
I love this kid. He’s ready to throw down if I say yes.
“He didn’t hurt me,” Blair replies gently. “I, uh, I tried to break up with him.”
That has Reed sitting up straighter, his expression worried. “What do you mean, you tried?”
“I told her no,” I say, chuckling. “And that I’m in love with her. So I wouldn’t accept her breaking things off.”
“About fucking time you told her. Jeez, man. I’ve known you’ve been in love with her for at least two months.”
“Reed,” Blair says, choking on a laugh, “language!”
The kid shrugs. “It’s true.” He turns to me. “So, you’re in love with my sister?”
I nod.
“Good. Don’t hurt her. I don’t wanna have to kick your ass.”
“Noted,” I say, laughing. I wrap my arm around him and pull him in for another group hug. “I love you too, you know.”
“Bruh. Don’t make it weird,” Reed grumbles, but he’s smiling.
“You mean you don’t want me to stand on the bleachers in the middle of one of your games and shout that I love you?”
Blair snorts out a laugh as my lips twitch.
“Dude, no. Even my sister doesn’t do embarrassing stuff like that. I don’t need my future brother-in-law to pick up her slack.” He rolls his eyes, trying to play it cool, but I see right through him.
He’s happy. Really happy. And his happiness only grows when I shrug, not denying his comment about being his future brother-in-law.
“No promises,” I reply. “Now, where should we order dinner from? All this emotional stuff has made me hungry.”
“I vote pizza,” Reed says. Because, of course, he does. He’s a typical thirteen-year-old boy.
After a nod from Blair, I pull out my phone. “Pizza, it is. How do you feel about pepperoni and onion?”
“We take this kind of thing very seriously,” the Rogues’ GM, Elizabeth Andrews, says with a frown. “I wish you’d brought this to our attention immediately after you received the first email.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I wish I had too.”
Coach Fry runs a hand over his close-cropped fade, leaning back in the chair beside me and across the desk from our GM.
“Logan’s had some issues with female fans before.
One even worked for the team until he made us aware of how uncomfortable her attention was making him.
I’m sure he thought it was more of the same. ”
“I did.” Leaning forward, I brace my forearms on my knees. This meeting is going better than I hoped, but the whole situation is exhausting. “I obviously won’t make that mistake again.”
Elizabeth nods. “And you said she’s been harassing an employee on the social impact team?”
“My girlfriend, Blair Sherman, yeah.”
The GM’s brows rise at that. “Girlfriend?”
Coach Fry chuckles, sharing a look with her. “I had the same reaction. I’d heard whispers that Byrne was seeing someone, but I didn’t give them much credence. Who would have thought, right?”
Elizabeth’s mouth twitches, especially when she notices my exasperated expression.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Pigs must be flying, right?”
She laughs. “You said it, not me. Does Miss Sherman have any idea who this woman may be?”
“No, but she printed the email, along with screenshots of some comments that were left on her social media posts we believe were left by the same woman. Ryder Hanson’s fiancée also printed out some screenshots posted by a fan with the same username as the email with photos of Blair and me, as well as some that included Blair’s little brother. ”
Elizabeth’s smile vanishes as she looks through the stack of papers. “Right. This is unacceptable.”
“Unfortunately, it’s a little worse than it seems.” I clear my throat, not looking forward to relaying the next bit of information.
“How so?”
“Well, in the email to Blair where the woman references Blair’s brother’s life going up in smoke?
We think that was a threat. Blair and Reed lost their parents to a tragic house fire five years ago.
” My fists clench, and I have to force myself to relax them.
Even thinking about all of this makes me want to punch someone. But there are no threats in this room.
“Oh my god,” Elizabeth murmurs.
“Christ,” Coach agrees.
“So you can see why I’m concerned.”
“Yes, I certainly can. Rest assured, we will do everything we can to keep you and Blair safe. We’ll increase security around the building, including stationing someone outside of the office suites.
I’ll be contacting the authorities as soon as our meeting is done, and we’ll get our team working on figuring out who, exactly, is hiding behind this email address. ”
“Thank you.” Relief floods me that they’re taking this seriously. I knew they would, but Blair was still worried the organization would use this as a reason to fire her. I told her that if that happened, I’d raise hell and force them to reconsider.
“Of course. Please let Miss Sherman know that the authorities may request to speak with her, and you should be prepared to make a statement as well. For now, I’ll handle it.”
“I’ll let her know. Thank you, Elizabeth.”
“Of course. The Rogues take care of their own. Please let me know if anything changes, or if this person makes contact again.” Elizabeth stands from her desk and extends a hand. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“I will. Thank you.” I rise, shaking her hand.
Coach Fry does the same, then we leave her office side by side.
“You all right, kid?”
“I think so. I’m more worried about Blair and Reed than myself.”
Coach claps a hand on my back as we walk back toward the locker room, where the rest of the team is getting ready for practice. “They’ll be okay.”
We fall into silence for a few moments until Coach glances my way, his lips quirking up in a smile. “She’s the tall woman with curly hair that barely spared you a second glance when she started, isn’t she?”
I bark out a laugh. “Yep. That’s her.”
His smile grows. “I like her for you. Good job, Byrne.”
“Thanks, Coach. I think.”
“You needed someone who wouldn’t be afraid to bust your balls or be put off by your I don’t give a shit mask.”
“I did,” I agree. “I’m really lucky.”
Coach gives my shoulder a squeeze. “So is she.”
He leaves me at the entrance to the locker room, heading to his office before it’s time to meet us on the ice.
The stench of hockey players punches me in the face the moment I step inside.
Normally, I don’t notice it, since it’s such a regular part of my life, but after sitting in the GM’s office for half an hour breathing in the fresh, lavender-scented air, the locker room funk is worse than normal.
My teammates talk and joke around among themselves, the volume loud and boisterous as always.
Most of them have no idea what’s going on with me, so none of them give me a second glance when I walk past. But as soon as I hit my locker, four sets of eyes turn my way.
I gave the boys the rundown in our group text thread after Reed went to sleep the other night.
I stayed over at their apartment, unwilling to leave the two of them with a stalker on the loose. I’d texted them with Blair curled up at my side, her with a book in her hands, me with my phone. Their responses were just as pissed off and worried as I’d expected.
“What did the GM say?” Maddox asks. I guess he’s their spokesman today.
Blowing out a breath, I scrub a hand through my hair. “She took it seriously. They’re adding extra security and filing a police report. She also said they’d get their internal team on looking into who may own the email address.”
“Good. That’s good. How’s Blair?”
“Kind of freaked out. Pissed that this person threatened her brother. I don’t know. She seemed okay when I dropped her off at her office, but it’s a lot, you know?”
Sebastian nods. “You gave her all our numbers and told her to call if she needs us, right?”
“I did. She’ll probably wander down here during practice to say thank you for that. She was a little emotional about the offer.”
“We’ve got her back,” Griffin says, his chest puffed out. “Her and little Sherman.”
“Lexi said the ladies are going to plan a girls’ night this weekend. I told her we could hang with Reed so Blair doesn’t have to worry.” Ryder smiles at the mention of his fiancée’s name. He’s been on cloud nine since she agreed to marry him up at their cabin over Christmas.
“Thanks, guys. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Probably still be alone and miserable,” Griffin offers with a smirk and a shrug.
“Probably,” I concede. “Listen, I have a favor to ask of you guys. I could use help with something.”
“Whatever it is, you know we’re in,” Sebastian says.
“It’ll be a lot of work. Are you sure you want to volunteer before I’ve even explained?”
Griffin rolls his eyes. “How many times do we have to say it, Logie? We’ve got your back. No matter what. Of course we’re in.”
“All right. Enough of this mushy shit,” Maddox barks. “Finish getting dressed and get out on the ice.”
“Yes, sir,” I say with a cheeky salute.
He rolls his eyes, but he can’t hide his smile.
Neither can I.