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“I won’t tell them! I won’t talk to them! I swear,” Frank babbles, backing away until he hits the wall again.
“I’m sure your word is as pathetic as you are, Sutton. But just to be clear, if you break it, I’ll come back and pay you another visit,” Logan promises. “On my own.”
Frank is selfish, slovenly, and stupid… but not that stupid. He understands what Logan’s saying.
If Logan comes back on his own, neither Maddoc nor Dante will be there to step in and stop him from finishing what he started today.
I don’t know why Logan seems to care so much. Hell, maybe his threats are just some kind of strategy that the guys haven’t shared with me yet. But still, even though this partnership between us is temporary and I know damn well that the Reapers aren’t really on my side—even though Chloe’s still missing and we didn’t find out anything useful here—when we finally walk out of Frank’s house, I don’t feel quite as alone.
And I really, really wish that feeling could last.
13
RILEY
Nobody speaksduring the drive back to the Reapers’ house. As soon as we left, Maddoc had a contact of his put a trace on the phone, trying to find out a general location of where she might’ve called based on the cell tower pings, but nothing has come back yet. I keep my eyes on the passing scenery, unrealistically hoping that if I scan every street, I might somehow see my sister.
I don’t of course, and the tension in the car feels thick enough to choke as Logan navigates through some of the seedier parts of Halston. Or maybe that choking feeling is thanks to all the worries that flood my mind as I go over the phone call Chloe made to Frank.
Even though she didn’t speak, I know it wasn’t an accident. She decided to reach out to him, which means she’s just as desperate and alone out there as I’ve suspected. But she’s also smart enough that she didn’t actually trust him enough to make real contact. Thank god. No matter how dire her circumstances are, I trust Frank about as far as I can throw him. He already sold her out once. If he got his hands on her again, I’ve got no doubt at all that he’d find another way to use her for his own selfish ends.
Still, knowing that Chloe has my phone and hopefully still has the money I gave her reassures me a bit. It means that she might be okay until we find her. As long as she keeps her head down, at least. It doesn’t make it any easier to find her, since I really am out of ideas that Maddoc hasn’t already had his people check, but I’m still proud of her for staying safe.
And maybe Logan really will be able to figure something out from the voicemail she left—either from the cell tower pings or from the ambient sounds. I can’t imagine how, since it just sounded like a recording of random traffic noise for a minute or so, but if anyone can pull something out of that, it will be him.
When did I start feeling like I could count on him?
I know exactly when.
I glance over at him, trying to sort out how I feel about his rage at Frank and the violence he unleashed like a fucking tsunami back there.
Good. I feel good about it. And if that makes me a shitty person, I honestly don’t give a fuck.
We make it all the way back to the house without anyone saying a word, and the whole time, Logan looks tense as hell. Shoulders stiff and grip tight on the steering wheel as he stares straight ahead with that laser-like focus he seems to bring to everything, a storm brewing in his normally emotionless pale eyes.
I can’t shake the sight of it as we all file into the house. Logan immediately heads up the stairs, and Maddoc takes a call that has him scowling and stomping off to his office as he rips into whoever’s on the other end of it.
“You doing okay, princess?” Dante asks, hovering near me in the entryway.
I pull my gaze off the stairs Logan just disappeared up and give Dante a cynical look. “Okay? Not even close. All of our leads are shaky at best, and Chloe’s not safe.”
He huffs out a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “Fair enough. It was a bad question. You know we’re gonna find her though, right?”
“Of course we are.”
He grins. “Good. Just making sure you don’t forget that. I’ve got some work I’ve gotta go take care of—”
“Then go,” I cut in, my voice harsher than he probably deserves. But dammit, his obvious concern shouldn’t be so appealing, not after everything that’s gone down between us.
There’s no denying that it feels good though, and that almost makes me feel likeI’mthe one betraying Chloe.
Dante, of course, isn’t fazed by the way I snap at him. “You sure you don’t need anything before I head back out?”
“Yeah,” I say, trying not to smile as I make a little shooing motion. “I don’t need a damn babysitter, so unless you’re planning on locking me back up, I’m sure I can manage to keep myself busy until Maddoc comes up with some other way I can be useful.”
His eyes flare for a moment, and it’s far too easy to imagine all the dirty comebacks he could make to the way I phrased that. Maybe I even want him to. But in the end, he just nods and heads back out the door without going there, and I give in to the impulse I had when we walked in, and follow Logan up the stairs, trying to convince myself I’m not taking my life in my hands when I knock lightly on his bedroom door.
To my surprise, it’s not fully shut, and when I rap on it with my knuckles it swings open.
