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“Don’t move,” he says softly, echoing his command from earlier as he steps away from the bed.
“I can’t,” I whisper, letting my eyes drift closed. And it’s the truth. I’m limp and worn out and completely sated, my body aching and well-used and utterlydone. I may not be numb or empty anymore, but I’m still exhausted… and it’s a far better feeling than the blankness and despair I felt before.
But still not as good as the kernel of warmth that spreads out from my center when Logan returns after a minute with a fresh sheet to fix the bedding around me as I sink down into darkness again. But a different kind of darkness this time, one that feels like coming home.
It’s my last thought before sleep takes me hard, holding me under for the rest of the night.
35
DANTE
I’m still thinkingabout the shit that went down at Frank Sutton’s place as I finish getting ready in my room the next morning. I can’t think of a single thing we missed at the scene, but my gut still says there was something to find, and that West Point found it before they took Sutton out.
I pause as I strap on the holster I always wear inside my pants. No one’s gonna miss that piece of shit, but it still gutted me to see what his death did to Riley. And not gonna lie, it also surprised the shit out of me that Logan stepped up when she broke down.
But maybe it shouldn’t have.
Not knowing what I do—which isn’t all the details, but it’s enough—about his past.
I shake off those thoughts and finish tucking my weapon into the holster, but now that Logan’s on my mind, I think about the other thing that surprised me.
Coming up the stairs after Madd and I finished handling our business, there was no mistaking the sounds I heard coming from Riley’s room, and my cock reacts now just like it did last night.
I’ve never known Logan to develop feelings for a woman before. It’s not just that he doesn’t have much use for them, it’s that he’s got a soul-deep distrust for the entire gender, and it bleeds over into everything. Everything except Riley. She’s gotten under all of our skins, and I’d be lying if I said that knowing my brothers have been just as affected as I am doesn’t feel all kinds of right.
Hearing her moan for Logan last night was hot as fuck.
I palm myself through my jeans. If I had a do-over, I might have snuck in there to watch. But I know now ain’t the time—not with West Point on the move, potentially with a lead we don’t have—so I ignore how interested my dick is in picturing Riley falling apart for my brother, and head downstairs.
Logan’s already there, sitting at the counter with the kitchen pristine and his standard boring-ass breakfast of an egg-white-and-spinach omelet with whole grain toast, as cool and controlled as ever.
“Morning,” he greets me, not a single blond hair out of place or any other sign that he fucked our girl hard last night.
Or did he?
Shit, now I’m back to imagining all sorts of options I wouldn’t have minded having a front-row seat for last night.
I grin at him, heading for the coffee. “Good morning after a good night, yeah?”
Logan pauses with his fork halfway to his mouth, giving me a flat look devoid of all emotion.
I laugh, not buying it, but don’t push it. He’s got a complicated relationship with his emotions, and even though it turns me on to think about the two of them together, I can be patient and wait to see how that shit unfolds and what it might mean for me and my brothers in a longer term scenario.
I turn back to the coffee machine and change the subject, filling him in on some of the steps Madd and I took last night to make sure we get ahead of McKenna’s people. It doesn’t surprise me that Logan’s already brought himself up to speed on most of this, but we toss a few ideas back and forth as he finishes eating.
After a bit, I hear footsteps on the stairs. Too light to be Maddoc’s, so I grab a second mug from the cupboard and start doctoring a coffee the way I know our girl likes it.
“You think we should lean on the Scorpions?” I ask Logan, stirring in the sugar as Riley finally stumbles into the kitchen.
He doesn’t acknowledge her, just looks off into the distance for a moment before giving me a sharp nod.
“Miguel has no love for West Point.”
The small-time gang in the east end of the city isn’t an ally, but Logan’s right about the rocky history between their leader and McKenna. Even better, the Scorpions make most of their money by running a stable of cheap whores. Even if none of Miguel’s girls have seen Chloe, they might have heard talk from some of their johns.
“How are you doing this morning, princess?” I ask softly, handing her coffee to her as Logan starts tapping away on his phone, no doubt following through on my suggestion to put some pressure on the Scorpions.
Riley gives me a wan smile as she takes the mug, sipping it instead of answering me.
