didn’t know we were there. He had no idea. And it didn’t look like coming there had been his idea anyway. We helped give him extra time, but he’s never put me in danger before.” At least, he never realized he had. “I have to believe him.”
“He’s addicted to that lifestyle.”
“If it were Sam? She’s like family to you. If she was messed up in something, what would you do then?”
Logan’s eyes went flat, and his face became an unreadable mask. I had stepped wrong, but I needed to make him understand. Before he could say anything, my voice dropped to a whisper. “He’s my family, Logan. He was there for me when my real family wasn’t. You have to understand that.”
“I do, but he’s sick. You asked me what I’d do if it were Sam, and I’d do the same. If she were in that position, she’d be sick, and Mason and I would take care of her.” He moved closer. His hand took hold of mine, our fingers linking together. “I’d do the same for you.”
I knew he was right. “I don’t know what to tell you, though. He took off. I don’t know where he is, just that he promised to make things right and that Rankin would never be a problem for us.”
Logan wasn’t happy. I saw the anger on his face. He ran a hand through his hair, making the ends stand up in sexy disarray. He looked ready to say something when a thump sounded against the door.
Claire’s hand had smacked the window. She opened her mouth to say something, but her eyes went to Logan and she seemed to change her mind. Her eyes widened, and she stepped back, but she didn’t go away.
“You really don’t know where he is?”
I shook my head, turning back to Logan. “He was at my house this morning. He made me breakfast and then took off. I told him I’d give him time to fix things.”
“Taylor.”
I saw the worry. It dripped off of him, from his tense shoulders to the crease in his forehead.
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
“I’m going to find him, and I’m going to find out what he said to Rankin.”
“And after that?”
“Then we’ll deal with Rankin.”
He started to leave, but I caught his arm. I tugged him close. “Be careful, okay?”
The corners of his mouth relaxed into a slight grin. “What are you doing tonight? I’ll want to see you. Sorry for being an ass in the room.”
“I’m working, and that’s okay.” I squeezed his hand. “But if you wanted everyone to know we’re sleeping together, and I didn’t, doesn’t that make me the awesome one?” I winked. “Think about that.”
He chuckled and bent down to give me a soft kiss. Lingering there, his lips brushed over mine once more before he pulled back. “No one’s on my level.” His hand slid around my waist. “But I think you’ve exceeded it.”
After another deep kiss, he was gone, and I felt a little breathless.
Until Claire popped into the room.
PUNCHING’S MY THING
TAYLOR
Claire stepped aside so Logan could leave, then made a beeline for me. I braced myself, thinking she was going to ask about Jason, but she didn’t. She’d already heard the Logan rumor and wanted details. I wasn’t sure if that was better or worse.
I told her the basic truth, that we were sleeping together. She knew it, but I guess she hadn’t known how involved the sleeping together part meant. She wanted to know more, but I didn’t have anything else I wanted to tell her. Logan and I hadn’t nailed things down, and I didn’t really want to. Most girls might jump at the chance to lock him down, but I wasn’t lying when I’d told him I had baggage. Even though I was starting to deal with things, I had a long way to go. And I had to go to work, so Claire was pushed off…for the moment. I knew she’d want more gossip later, but for now, I was almost eager to punch my timecard.
Telling Logan about my mom and how Eric had left me helped open that door to healing, but it was all so fresh. My worry about the Jason situation helped to distract me, but as I left for my shift at Pete’s Pub, I thought about my mom. I thought about Eric—what I’d say to him if I saw him again. After a moment I felt overwhelmed with pain and bitterness. I felt panic coming on, so I shut it down.
I started off again, but heard my name behind me. It was Jeremy Fuller. “Hey, Taylor.”
He had stopped a few feet behind me, but came forward when I waved. I could feel the disapproval emanating from him.
“Hey back.”
His eyes narrowed. “Logan Kade, huh?”
Yep. There it was. “You heard.”
He nodded. “I did, but I’m not surprised. I saw him outside of my party. I saw how he was looking at you.”
Of course, he did. “I don’t want to be rude because I don’t know you very well, but…” I had no clue how to handle this, but he had an opinion. “I’m not sure if I even want to hear what you have to say.”
“I could see that. But…”
But…it was coming anyway. I could see the wheels turning in his mind. I waited.
“He’s going to hurt you.”
I nodded. “I’ve been told.”
“What are you doing then? I don’t get it.” He took a step closer. A stream of students milled around us. A few glanced over their shoulders or gave us sidelong looks as they went by. A few had knowing looks on their faces, but others seemed curious. A few were irritated because we were in the middle of the sidewalk; I liked those guys the most right now. They had no opinion on my love life.
“Are you supposed to?” I shook my head. “Get it, I mean. I can understand my two best friends having an opinion, but you… You’re my TA.” Suddenly, I knew why he had an opinion. Thinking back, I should have seen it right away, my first day in his class. I’d blamed it all on paranoid girls who were into him, but he had a part in it, too. “It’s because you like me.”
“It’s because I care.” His eyes were full of caution. “Logan Kade hurts people. That’s what he and his brother do. I don’t want that to happen to you.”
“Why do you care?” Because he did. More than maybe he should’ve. There had to be a reason. “Who did Logan hurt that you cared about?”
He shook his head. “It was no one. No one to him, but it was someone to me, and he’s going to do it to you too. I know what you went through last year.”
I stepped back. “Stop. Right there. Just stop.” My mom, Eric, my dad’s absence—he had no right bringing that up. “I’m sorry for whoever you cared about that Logan hurt, but you don’t know anything about last year.”
“I know what happened. I know that’s why you moved back.” He was becoming so intense. “I know your dad’s been emotionally absent.”
The students around us all started to spin together, becoming one long line that wrapped around us, that wouldn’t stop. My hands clutched my bag straps. I hung my head. I wanted to bury it in the ground beneath me.
“Kade is going to shatter you,” he said. “He’s the wrong guy for you to be seeking comfort with. He doesn’t know how to give it, or to be loyal, or to be—” He bit back the rest and closed his eyes. I saw the strain on his face. “Logan Kade destroys lives. That’s what he does.”
I was seething inside, but I asked, grinding out, “Who? Who did Logan hurt that you cared about?”
He didn’t answer right away. He stared back at me, the anger flaring in his eyes, and then it faded and he murmured, almost brokenly, “It was no one to him. She was a girl who had a crush. That was it, but she meant the world to me. She liked him, and she told him at a party. He was drinking heavily. That’s what she said, and she approached him. They had sex, and afterwards…” His voice grew hollow. “He didn’t remember her the next day. It shattered her. That’s not what she did normally, but he didn’t even remember…I cared for her. I would’ve been there for her.”
“What happened to her?”
“She left school.”
So Logan was drunk, a girl came up to him and said she liked him. He slept with her and…that w
as all Logan’s fault. I shook my head. Jeremy was wrong. He was so very wrong, but watching him, I could see that he didn’t care. He was still holding on to the past, on to losing that girl. He wasn’t being rational when it came to Logan.
And I didn’t have any words. There was nothing I could say to make things better, and I didn’t know if I wanted to. He came to me with anger in his heart about Logan, about the girl Jeremy thought he should’ve had, and he used his knowledge about my mother to intervene about another girl, me.
I edged backward again, slowly moving away.
I had nothing else to say to him. The students still moved in a constant line, but my mind detached from my emotions. I knew that line would bend around me. I wasn’t scared of it, not when there were so many worse things to be scared of. Like monsters.
Like people who shot my mother.
LOGAN
Pete’s Pub was busy when Mason, Nate, and I walked inside. The dance floor usually only had a few regulars, but it was packed this Friday night. And as we entered, the people closest to the doors turned and stared at us. Nate and I got attention when we came here, but this was more than normal. It was because Mason was with us. College star and all that jazz. He came out with us because the team didn’t play this weekend. It was rare, and I was planning on taking full advantage. Sam stayed home, so it really was just the guys, but I wanted to check on Taylor. She said she was working tonight.
I usually didn’t care if a girl was mad at me. I enjoyed that—made things more entertaining—but I was finding I didn’t like when Taylor was mad at me. It didn’t sit well. Made my insides all mushy, which pissed me off. But I refused to let anyone know. Whatever stick was up Nate’s ass would be wedged even higher if he knew.
Mason leaned close to me. “I didn’t think this was a college bar.”
“It wasn’t.” But I recognized the students, too.
“The girls from last week tagged us on Instagram,” Nate said. “I’m sure word spread from there.”
“Well.” Mason looked at me. “We’re here.” He pointed to an empty booth in the corner. “You go check on your girl. Nate and I will be over there.”
There was a line to get to the bar, and I could see Taylor’s head bobbing back and forth as she filled orders. She’d only started a month ago, but I wouldn’t have known it watching her now. She wore a cool, calm look, with her hair pulled back in some kind of braid. She had on her black uniform shirt over jeans, and the V dipped low enough that when she darted to the back storage section, I got a glimpse of her rack, and a delicious view at that.
I wanted to go back there and lock us into the storage room. I’d just convinced myself it would be better if I didn’t when I saw another guy break free from the crowd. He was heading right for the storage room. He would’ve walked right past me, but I shifted, leaning my shoulder against the wall and folding my arms.
Nothing.
The guy should’ve stopped, if only to check me out.
When he reached for the door handle, I moved fast to stop him. My arm completely blocked him now, and as he leaned back to take me in, I leaned forward to give him a better view.
“Don’t see a Pete’s Pub shirt on,” I said.
He frowned and glanced down. “No. I don’t work here.”
“One point to me.” I grinned. I felt the asshole coming out. This guy was going to get the full effect. He had no idea what was coming his way.
“Point? What?” He pointed to the storage room door. “I just need to see Taylor. She went in there.”
I cocked my head. “You work for Rankin?”
“Rankin?”
Enough chitchat. I was about to straight up ask if he had a hard-on for Taylor when the door swung open under my hand. I stood back, but kept myself between the doorway and the guy as Taylor appeared. She stopped, braking at the sight of us. I looked over my shoulder at her, but her eyes moved past me. I knew the second she saw the guy. Her eyes went round, and the blood drained from her face. Her lips parted, and she leaned backward, though her feet stayed rooted in place. I started to reach for her when I heard her quiet gasp.
“Eric.”
The fuck? The ex? I looked at him, and his face flushed. He looked guilty. And with good reason.
“You’re the ex?”
“Yeah.”
I grunted. Enough reason for me. I swung my fist and made contact with his neck. He went down, but not enough. He wasn’t on the floor, so I punched again. This time, I hit the sweet spot—going through the cheekbones toward the nose—and his body dropped.
Taylor looked down at him. “Why did you do that?”
“Because he’s a fucker.” It was as simple as that.
She groaned. “I’m going to get into trouble for this.”
“No, you won’t.”
A security guard shoved through the small crowd that had gathered. Mason and Nate were right behind him.
“Logan.” One of the security guards frowned down at the douche. “Why’d you hit the guy?”
“Because he’s a fucker.” I was going to add that I would hit the guy whenever I saw him or I wanted to hit him every time I saw him, but Taylor’s hand clamped down on my arm. She squeezed, stopping me.
“He’s an ex, and my history isn’t great with him,” she explained. “Logan was just worried about me.”
“Punch first, talk later?” The guard looked confused.
I laughed. “More like punch first, never talk later.” I pointed to him. “I did you a favor. The guy is a dipshit.”
The security guard looked from me to Taylor and back again. “Was there a violent history we need to know about?”
“He won’t be a problem, if you’re worried about a lawsuit.” Mason stepped forward.
“Let him try,” I said.
“Logan.” Nate shook his head, giving me the motion to cut it out.
Fuck them. I motioned to Nate and Mason, bending down to grab the dipshit. “We’ll take care of him.”
“Wait. I mean—” The guard gave us a nervous look. “What are you going to do? Give me something here to work with.”
Mason grabbed Eric’s legs, and Nate pushed his way through the crowd, making an opening for us. When we lifted Eric in the air, I said, “We’ll take him to the hospital, make sure I didn’t do any permanent damage. How about that? Can you work with that?”
“I don’t know, man.” The guard still seemed torn.
Taylor moved next to me. “I’ll go with, if that’s okay?”
“We’ll be down a bartender then.”
“Let her go. I’ll step in.” A guy arrived and took in the scene. The name tag clipped to his shirt read Manager.
“Are you sure?” Taylor asked.
The guy waved her on. “Go. Get him out of here before he wakes up. I don’t want to deal with paperwork. As far as I’m concerned, this is a domestic problem. Not a bar problem.”
He stared at Taylor as he said the last part, and I got his message. This was on her. I was about to let him know this was on me, not her, when she nodded.
“Yes, sir.” She touched my arm. “Let’s go. Please.”
I nodded, and Mason and I carried the ex-boyfriend out of the bar. When we got outside, Taylor pointed to her car. “You can put him in the backseat.”
“No way in hell,” I said. “He’s going in my Escalade.”
“You sure?” Mason asked.
I nodded. No way was I letting this guy further hurt Taylor, not if I could prevent it.
“Taylor?” A voice came from the parking lot.
Taylor cursed, and I recognized the same friend who’d interrupted us after sociology this morning. Claire…? I think. Taylor talked about her a few times. She was the female counterpart to that dipshit Delray. Both were Taylor’s friends. Earlier she’d been on cloud nine. This time she seemed transfixed by the