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And just like that she rolls onto her side, her back to me. Leaving me in utter disbelief. I want to shake her and growl at her, swear at her for lying right into my face. I want to punish her for blowing this whole thing up like women always do. She’d better not be lying. I need to find out if she is. I make some decisions on the spot, while I listen to her breathing become regular. She’s fallen asleep.
I should go, yet I hesitate. I sit there like some fool for a long,longmoment. Then I stretch my arms and one of them hovers over her head, desperately wanting to grab the golden tendrils of hair. I huff and withdraw my hand, get up from the bed, get dressed, and walk out the door.
CHAPTERELEVEN
SUNDAY MORNING – LOGAN
I’ve barely closed the door behind me when Ella’s voice startles me. “Morning boss, got you some coffee back down in the lobby. You look like you could use some.” I nearly jump and check my phone. I can’t believe it’s already six in the morning. She’s clearly been waiting for me. She’s still wearing the white blouse and pencil skirt from the hotel, but has taken off the name tag with the hotel logo.
“What the hell, Ella?” I grumble, consciously ignoring the tense look on her face. Damn, I need that coffee. I march toward the elevator and press the button. While we’re waiting, I hold my forehead against the cold metal in an attempt to stop the throbbing.
“Logan—”
“Did you know?” My voice sounds hoarse as I cut her off, stiff, like my body feels.
“Know what?”
“About Angélique?”
The elevator pings and the doors open. We step inside and Ella presses the button for the ground floor. “What about Angélique?”
I slam against the door. “Don’t fucking play games with me.” I clench my jaw so hard that it hurts and brush a tired hand through my hair. “She claims that she’s not an escort. And fuck me, I believe her.”
Our eyes meet. Something’s off. She looks tired, far from her usual peppy self. But then again, all of us have pulled a serious all-nighter and the lack of sleep nearly has me on my knees. With a sigh I turn to meet my own reflection in the mirror and am shocked. My thick hair is unkempt, showing a mess of dark locks behind my ears down to my neck. And my eyes are bloodshot because of the lack of sleep and the onslaught of thoughts racing through my mind.
“No, I didn’t.” Her voice is calm, although her eyes show her surprise. “You want me to check it out?”
“Nah. I’ll kill Big instead.” I’m not joking and we both know it. There’s only one problem. Big’s mom’s bodyguard and they go way back. And for that useless piece of shit, I don’t want to start a war within my family. But he needs to be punished. What the hell was he thinking?
We walk into the lobby where two bodyguards are waiting in silence. They nod a blank greeting, hands wrapped around a coffee, eyes back on their phones. It’s as if they all feel this strange tension. But there’s something else here. Something I can’t put my finger on and I can’t figure out its gravity. It’s like a bomb that first needs to explode for us to understand its impact.
It’s still dark outside, and apart from the taxis that are permanently parked in front of the hotel, there are few people on the streets. Ruby opens the door with a polite greeting and I ruffle her hair.
“Morning, pet.” I settle into the dark leather of the back seat, a hot black coffee in my hand. Mason turns around with a slightly amused look on his face. I think that he likes me calling her that. Interesting.
“Morning, boss.” My smile falters.So we’re back to square one.
I want to make a comment, but at that very moment, the other door opens and Ella gets in. She’s gotten rid of the pencil skirt and has changed into her usual pair of black slacks and flat shoes, functional as always. But it’s not her change of clothes that makes me look up and feel an instant drop in my gut. It’s that tense look in her eyes. She plops down beside me and meets my gaze.
“Are you ready to listen to me now?” She asks.
“What is it?” I mumble.
“We’ve received another threat.”
“Anotherthreat?” Is this the big blow we’ve been anticipating for the last few weeks? Ella slowly nods. “Yeah, and it’s not pretty.” Before she can say anything else, my phone plays its familiar tone.
“Connor.” I nod toward Ella who puts her finger to her lips.
“What’s up bro?” I take a sip from the coffee that has now reached the perfect temperature. There is a moment of silence on the other end of the line and my gaze darts back to Ella, who gives me a look I can’t quite grasp. Connor's voice is muffled and I close my eyes to focus on the sounds coming from the other end of the line.
“Con, Connor?” I take another sip, daring the fast beating of my heart to lay low. Just before I want to disconnect the call, sure that he’s made a butt-dial, I hear the sounds.
“Oh fuck, I hate you. Fuck, fuck,”my brother’s muffled, panting cries. I’m about to call it again, when I hear the voice of another guy.
“That’s it baby, so good. You’re doing so good for me.”
I’m not sure whether I heard the words correctly, but the shiver that goes like ice cold water through my body sure is real as hell. Myyoungerbrother, the kindness and intelligence of the family. Gentle, smart, shy, and soon to be my right hand. Who the hell is he with and what the fuck are they doing?
