Chapter 48
forty-eight
BLAIR
She’s in love with Logan. Did we see the outfit he wore to arrive at the game against the Scorpions?
He looked so good, all she could think about was taking each article of clothing off him.
Did he look upset before the latest home game?
He’d never look upset if he was with her.
Does anyone else have their copy of the Rogues’ puppy calendar set to July, even though it’s the first week of February because Logan’s photo is the only one worth looking at?
Weird, invasive stuff, but we’ve been very careful about Reed and me being seen in public, so she hasn’t had anything to post featuring the two of us.
When we go to the games—which has become a fairly regular thing since our conversation in my apartment—Reed and I spend it in the family box where we’re surrounded by extra security.
Logan has also hired security to follow Reed and me around when we’re outside of our apartment, which I hate but accepted because I refuse to put my brother in danger.
Kai and Travis drive us to and from school and work in their big black SUVs with darkly tinted windows, and they’ve even been picking up our grocery orders to avoid public outings as much as possible.
It all feels a bit like overkill, but Reed’s been enjoying the extra attention it’s gotten him with his team and classmates.
Reed
Me and a couple guys were hoping to hang out today after school. Kai said he doesn’t mind driving us around, and he promises to shadow our every move. The guys think it’s badass that I have a bodyguard. Can we go to the mall?
Poor Kai. I shoot off a text to the thirty-year-old man who has been volunteered for babysitting duty just to make sure Reed isn’t pulling a fast one on me.
Me
Reed said you were okay taking him and a few friends to the mall? You really don’t have to do that.
Kai
Not a problem, Miss Sherman. They’re good kids, and they’re good for my ego.
LOL. Okay. If you’re sure. Thanks.
Shaking my head, a big smile making my face hurt, I text Reed back.
Me
Checked with Kai, and that’s fine. Don’t torture the poor guy. He’s doing you a favor, and I expect you not to forget it.
Reed
I know, I know.
Be home by six. We’ll grab dinner at the arena.
K.
I love you.
Bruh. My friends can see my phone.
I LOVE YOU, REEDY-POO!
OMG.
I’m going to keep saying it in more and more embarrassing ways until you say it back.
I LOVE YOU, MY SWEET LITTLE BABY brO
I love you too, okay? Now can you stop? The guys did think I was cool because I have a bodyguard. Now they don’t.
Sorry, not sorry.
You’re the worst.
I know.
“What are you grinning about?”
I’d be more ashamed of the high-pitched scream I let out if I didn’t have a stalker, but I do, so I refuse to be embarrassed about my reaction to Logan’s unexpected appearance. Pressing my hand to my chest, I glare at my boyfriend.
“You scared the shit out of me. Wear a bell next time.”
The skin around Logan’s gray eyes crinkles as he throws his head back and laughs. “Sorry, angel. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Yeah, well, you did.” My heart pounds in my chest, not having gotten the message that we’re safe yet.
Logan holds out a bag of takeout as a peace offering, his kissable lips quirking. “Will some falafel and fries buy me forgiveness?”
My stomach chooses that moment to growl, and Logan loses the battle with his smile. “I guess.”
“My girl is so benevolent.” He holds my eyes as he leans down and presses his lips to mine. “And beautiful.”
“I guess my boyfriend is okay. For a hockey player.”
“Ouch.” He chuckles, pressing another kiss to my lips before dragging a chair up to my desk and pulling the food out of the bag. “How’s it going today?”
“Good. Just a normal day. Well, outside of Reed texting me to ask if his bodyguard was allowed to chauffeur him and a few friends to the mall.”
“He’s really living it up right now, huh?”
“Of course he is. He’s a thirteen-year-old boy who recently moved. He’s going to use every opportunity to look cool to his advantage.” I steal a glance at my boyfriend as I grab a fry. “You and the guys coming to his games certainly doesn’t hurt.”
Logan comes to as many of Reed’s games as he can, and one or all of the guys from his team have come with a couple of times.
I know part of it is to be there in case something weird happens with our stalker, but mostly, they just have way too much fun cheering on a bunch of eighth graders and drawing attention to themselves.
Which is fine. The cat’s out of the bag where Logan and I are concerned, and all the Southwest Junior High fans and family know about him.
To their credit, everyone is very cool about a bunch of hockey players showing up to games.
Every once in a while, someone will ask for a selfie or an autograph, but for the most part, they just smile at Logan and the guys and leave us alone.
It’s Reed’s teammates that end up fan-boying the hardest, which is adorable.
“You’re coming to the game tonight, right?”
I hum around a mouthful of falafel. “Wouldn’t miss it. Travis is going to drive us to the arena. I told him he could leave after that because you’d drive us home. That’s cool, right?”
“Of course. I thought I’d stay over again if that’s good with you?” Logan looks up at me through his dark blond eyelashes as he leans over and takes a big bite of his lunch.
“Definitely.” Reed gives us shit every time he wakes up and finds Logan shirtless, cooking eggs in the morning, but he’s grown used to my boyfriend’s presence in our little apartment.
Sometimes we hang out during the day at his place, but when it comes to sleepovers, it’s easier to do it at mine.
I don’t want Reed’s routine to be interrupted more than it has to be because of this whole stalker situation.
My computer dings with an email notification, and I reflexively glance at the screen. When I see who the sender is, my stomach twists, and the falafel in my mouth turns to ash.
“Logan.”
“Yeah, angel?” The smile on his face dies when he registers my expression. “What’s wrong?”
My voice wavers and my hands begin to shake. I just want this to be over. “She just sent me another email.”
He’s out of his seat immediately and his solid warmth at my back as he leans over me helps keep me grounded. “What does it say?”
With shaking fingers, I click on the email from ibyrne4u27 and hold my breath.
Blair,
I thought I made myself clear before, but maybe not, because I know you’re still dating my husband.
I told you to break it off with him, and I meant it. Logan Byrne is mine. MINE. He’s just confused. Which is why it’s up to you to help clear things up for him.
Break it off. Now. Before someone gets hurt.
Always watching,
Logan’s Wife
Logan makes a frustrated growl sound that vibrates through me. He presses even closer to my back and wraps his arms around me. “Fucking crazy bitch. I swear to god, when I find out who she is, she’ll regret ever contacting you.”
“I have to tell Reed he can’t go to the mall. And I need to let Kai know there’s been another threat.” The world feels like it’s swaying, but maybe that’s just me. This whole situation is so far outside of anything I’ve ever had to deal with, I feel like I’m being battered by gale-force winds.
“Hey.” Logan lets go of me and spins my chair.
Kneeling in front of me, he cups my face, thumbs sweeping over my cheekbones so tenderly it calms some of my panic.
“Look at me. Reed will be fine. We’ll give Kai a heads-up, but they’ll be in a very public place, with several loud teenage boys.
Kai will keep him safe, okay? Let’s not freak your brother out. ”
“You’re probably right, but fuck. I can’t let anything happen to him. He’s all I have left.”
“No, he’s not,” Logan murmurs. “You have me. You both do. But that’s beside the point, because nothing is going to happen to Reed. We won’t let it.”
“Okay. Yeah. You’re right.”
“I always am.”
I chuckle, more tension bleeding from my body. “So modest.”
“Never claimed to be.”
Logan presses a slow, lingering kiss to my lips. When it’s over, my body leans toward him, chasing that connection. How is he so good at calming me down?
“I’m going to call the GM. I promised to alert her if anything else came through. Can you forward the email to IT and CC her?”
I nod. Having something productive to do helps keep me from spiraling, so I let my fingers fly over the keyboard and send the email to everyone who needs access to it.
“Hi, Elizabeth. I’m sorry to call you out of the blue, but Blair received another email from our stalker.
” He pauses, listening to whatever the GM has to say before nodding.
“Yep. Yeah, she’s forwarding it to you and IT now.
Yes. Yeah, she and her little brother will be there tonight.
Uh-huh. Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate that.
Will do. Thanks, Elizabeth.” Logan ends the call and squeezes my knee from where he still kneels before me.
“Is she mad?” Despite how great the Rogues have been about this entire situation, there’s still a very large part of me that worries they’ll decide all of this is more trouble than it’s worth and fire me.
“At the stalker, yeah. Not at you.” Logan grabs my hand and presses a kiss to my knuckles. “She’s adding extra security outside of the box tonight for you and Reed. And her team will alert the detective in charge of this case as soon as the email hits her inbox.”
“I don’t understand how she can think you’ll want her, even if I did break up with you. She’s completely delusional.”
Logan frowns, deep grooves lining his forehead. “I know. The way she talks, it’s like I’ve met her before. I just wish I knew who the fuck she is.”
“Has she contacted you again?”
“I’m not sure. The team’s been holding any mail that comes for me because of her.”
“Has she contacted you over your social media accounts?”
He pulls his lower lip between his teeth. “I have DMs turned off on everything, and I’ve stopped reading the comments on my posts. I guess I should take a closer look. But later. Right now, I’m more worried about you.”
Logan’s thumbs fly across his phone screen, and I watch as the text thread with his teammates starts blowing up. Within minutes, they know all about the latest email from ibyrne4u27 and her threats, and it’s clear their women know, too, because my text chat with the WAGS gets noisy.
“The guys are worried about you. Griffin offered to let us hang out at his place after the game tonight instead of Chasers.”
“The girls are worried too. They said they won’t let me or Reed leave their sides tonight.” I suck in a deep breath. “We can hang out at Griffin’s if you want, but I don’t want to let this crazy woman win. We’ve already adjusted so much of our daily lives. Maybe it’s stupid, but I just…”
“You don’t want her to take anything else from you.”
I nod. “Exactly.”
“Then she won’t. We’ll all go to Chasers like we planned, and the five of us will be on high alert. She won’t try anything with us around you.” Logan stands, pulling me to my feet with him.
I sigh deeply as he pulls me into a hug. Despite everything, I feel safe when I’m wrapped in his arms like this. Nothing and no one can hurt me. Except Logan himself, but with every passing day, I’m more and more sure that he won’t.
“I love you,” I whisper into his neck.
“I love you too. I’ve got you, angel. I won’t let anyone touch you or Reed. You’re mine.”
“Yeah,” I sigh happily. “I am.”
“You both are.”
After everything, I believe him.