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Are they talking about the West Point leader?
“Austin McKenna?” I blurt without thinking, desperate to find out anything that might help Chloe.
Logan’s eyes go even colder, and Maddoc’s lips press together, as if hearing Austin McKenna’s name leaves a bad taste in his mouth. But he sticks with his habit of being an asshole and answers Logan instead of bothering to acknowledge that I’ve spoken. “He’s not going to see it as a risk. He’s already got the girl, and he’s got no reason to think he needs to be cautious about flaunting it.”
My heart jumps in my chest, adrenaline surging through me. He has to be talking about Chloe, which means they’re really going to do it. They’re talking about how to help me get her back.
“McKennaisa fool,” Dante chimes in, sprawling out on the comfortable-looking leather couch and patting the spot next to him as he grins up at me. “Sit,” he says before turning back to Maddoc and Logan. “Did Isaac and Payton have anything we can use to fuck West Point with?”
“Dante,” Maddoc says in warning, shooting a hard look in my direction that I have no trouble at all interpreting.
He doesn’t want to talk about gang business in front of me.
“Yeah, I know.” The big tattooed man runs a hand through his hair, shoving the dark strands back from his face. “She’s not one of us. But she could be helpful if we loop her in. She’s earned this, Madd.”
He grabs my wrist and pulls me down next to him on the couch as if to punctuate those last words, then drapes his arm across the back of it, resting it behind me. He looks back and forth between Maddoc and Logan.
“So? Gonna fill us in?”
Maddoc’s eyes narrow, and Logan looks like he might crack a tooth if he clenches his jaw any harder. I don’t think either of them like the “us” part of that, and I have no idea why Dante is pushing for them to include me in this conversation, but I’ll take it.
“You’d already know what Isaac and Payton had to say if you’d stuck around,” Logan snaps at Dante. He jerks his chin in my direction without actually looking at me. “Where did you take her?”
Dante grins. “To lunch.”
“Breakfast,” I correct him under my breath, nudging him with my shoulder. “First meal of the day.”
He chuckles, flashing me his sexy as fuck grin. “Right. Breakfast.”
Logan definitely isn’t amused by our little inside joke. If anything, he somehow stiffens even more, cool annoyance radiating from him.
“So much for your loyalty to your sister,” he says bitingly, finally shifting his gaze to me. “You obviously don’t care about her as much as you’d like us to believe if you think fucking off to have ‘breakfast’ in the middle of the day is more important than planning how to get her away from West Point.”
His blunt words hit me like a punch to the chest, and I’m on my feet before I know it, anger lancing through me hard and fast. I curl my hands into fists, my voice raspy as I force words out past the sudden painful lump in my throat.
“That’s not fucking fair. You have no idea how much I love Chloe, you ice-cold psycho. If you’d ever loved anyone, maybe you’d have a clue what it means to lose your sister. But of course you don’t know. You’d have to have a fucking heart for that!”
I don’t know what I’m expecting from my little outburst. Maybe part of me hopes that Logan will show an ounce of empathy for once. I’d even be satisfied if he just looked a little bit guilty for blaming me for having lunch, when Maddoc already made it clear that the Reapers are going to take point on getting Chloe back, and that there’s nothing I can do to help.
But instead of softening, Logan’s face goes so still that he actually looks like he’s carved from stone. When he speaks, his voice is different than I’ve ever heard it, soft and dangerous in the manner of a predator that’s about to strike.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” he says, enunciating every word. “Don’t ever tell me who I’ve loved. You don’t knowanything.”
The atmosphere of the entire room changes as silence fills the space, and my stomach twists itself into a knot. I want to glance at Maddoc or Dante to see how they’ve reacted to the sudden change, to read their expressions and try to get a handle on what just happened… but I’m afraid to drag my gaze away from Logan. There’s so much leashed emotion in him that part of me is certain that if I turn away from him, he’ll lunge like the predator he is.
The room stays quiet for a long, heavy beat, and then Maddoc clears his throat.
“Riley, why don’t you go to your room,” he says, phrasing it like a question but making it crystal clear that it’s not.
Shit. I don’t know quite why my words pissed Logan off so much, but I can’t let the fact that I lashed out get me kicked out of the room. I don’t know how much help I can be in whatever plan they put together to get Chloe back, but I’ll feel a hell of a lot better if I at least know what it is. If I know what they know and how they’re considering going up against West Point.
“No.” I shake my head, finally ripping my gaze away from Logan, although I can still see his face in my peripheral vision. “If the three of you are going to talk about rescuing Chloe, I want to stay… please.”
Maddoc’s lips press into a line, and I’m certain he’s about to say no. He already didn’t want me here, and after things got awkward with Logan, I’m sure he’s even less enthusiastic about having me around for their meeting.
“Please,” I whisper again, an ache of guilt building in my chest as I remember Logan’s words. They pissed me off, and it hurt so much because on some level, I feel like he’s right. I haven’t done enough. “I need to, Maddoc,” I plead. “I need to help. I need to get my sister back. I need to be a part of this.”
I’m not fighting with him this time. I’m not even asking. I’m begging.
