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She nodded her head and surprised me by leaning forward and wrapping her arms around me in a quick, tight embrace. “Be careful.”
My heart lodged in my throat. “You too.”
I waited, making sure she was going in the right direction before turning around and running back towards the cabin. I didn’t care that my lungs were burning and my body was cold from being so exposed to the elements. A stray branch scratched the side of my face and I cried out, clapping a hand over my cheek and feeling it come away wet with blood.
It seemed that no matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t running fast enough, wasn’t getting any closer to the cabin. It was like in a nightmare when you’re trying to run away from the bad guy and you just can’t. No matter how fast you move, he catches up to you.
I was at the edge of the woods when I was- yet again- tackled to the snow. A scream tore from my throat and I fought back. Hard.
“Not this time, fucker.” I shouted and raised my fists, landing a hard blow to his shoulder and another to his chest.
“Hey! Ju- ow! Fuck, knock it off. Juliette!”
Two big hands wrapped around my wrists and pinned them to the snow covered ground, a knee on either side of my hips. I looked up, getting ready to spit in Conlon’s face when I realized that it wasn’t Conlon at all.
“Logan!”
Relief swamped me and I tugged at my wrists until he let them go, my arms wrapping around his shoulders and yanking him down to me. My breath shook as I tried to calm my emotions, but I couldn’t help it. Soon enough, I was crying hard, my whole body trembling, and not from the cold snow that was seeping through my thin shirt. I sobbed into his neck, breathing him in, feeling his hard body against mine. I could barely breathe, could barely focus on anything other than the fact that Logan was there. On top of me. Alive, with a heart beating frantically against my own.
“I thought I’d lost you.” I sobbed, hiccuping.
He slid a hand under my head, cupping the back of my neck. “Never,” he breathed. “You’ll never lose me, baby. I promise. I’m right here. Breathe, okay? Just breathe. It’s all over.”
There was a finality to the way he spoke and I believed him.
I’m not sure how long we stayed like that, hugging and laying in the cold snow. I didn’t care. Hell, I didn’t care if I caught hypothermia from this, I just cared that Logan was there, that he wasn’t shot. That he wasn’t dead. When I heard those gunshots, I was sure that it was over for me, him, us. That there wouldn’t be a chance to tell him how I really felt. But there we were, laying in the snow while sirens wailed in the distance.
It truly was finally over.
LOGAN and I were sitting on the steps of the cabin twenty minutes later, my arm hooked through his and my head on his shoulder. The snow had let up a bit and his jacket was draped over my shoulders as two officers marched Conlon past us, a pair of cuffs slapped over his wrists.
How’s it feel to be restrained, assho
le?
It was a satisfying sight, to say the least.
Ronald had fussed the whole time the EMT’s got him settled on the stretcher. Thankfully, the bullet in his shoulder had gone straight through and they didn’t think there would be any serious damage. But they wouldn’t know for sure until they got him to the hospital.
Nicole was on her way to the hospital, too. Minor injuries and they’d keep her for a few days to treat her for pneumonia- I knew I’d been right about that.
Logan’s hands were bruised and battered and he had a nasty green and purple bruise forming around his left eye. But he’d he’d done some serious damage to Conlon, breaking his already crooked nose and dislocating his shoulder. It seemed as though they’d beaten the shit out of each other, but Logan came out on top. He hadn’t been shot, but we both knew he was going to pay for the damaged hands. His RA would be acting up soon, there was no doubt about it. But it didn’t matter and he said he didn’t care. The only thing he cared about was that I was going home with him, exactly where I belonged.
Mac was laying at our feet, rolling around in the snow like a pig in mud. He was having the time of his life and the police were absolutely smitten with him, giving him all kinds of attention when they had a spare moment.
“I was fuckin’ scared,” Logan said quietly as he kissed my temple. “You didn’t come home and I just knew. I knew something was wrong. When I went to look for you and saw your car at the store it all clicked. He had you, and I didn’t need anyone to prove that. I just knew. The kid at the store said he heard a scream, but by the time he got outside, Conlon’s car was speeding down the road and your car door was open.”
I hated hearing the pain in his voice but stayed quiet, squeezing his arm.
“When Conlon called me, I wanted to kill him. I think I would have killed him here. Tonight. The only thing that stopped me was you. If I killed him, I would have been arrested, and there was no way in hell I wasn’t bringing you home with me tonight. Because… because that’s where you belong. You belong at home with me, Juliette. Me and the dogs. We need you. I need you.”
My eyes watered and I sniffled, wiping at my eyes. My cheek was swollen from Conlon slapping me and there was a jagged cut from the tree branch. I looked and felt like a mess, but I was alive.
I was alive and going home.
With Logan.
I looked up at him and smiled, resting my chin on his shoulder.
