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“I told you I’m busy.”
I shrug. “I heard you.”
“I also said go home, Beth.” His voice is harder this time, a sharp edge to his tone I’ve never heard before. But I’m not moving, not until I get answers.
“No,” I state, defiant and firm. “I’m not going anywhere until we talk. You want to ice me out? Fine. Go ahead. We’ll both freeze.”
He clenches his jaw, looking at me as if I’m some puzzle he can’t figure out. He drops his hammer onto the ground and strides over to me, looking every bit like the storm I know is brewing within him.
Another menacing step forward and he leans over me, putting his hands on the step at my sides, caging me in.
“Why can’t you just do as you’re told for once?” he growls, the frustration in his voice echoing in the silence around us.
“Because this is not you!” I shoot back.
“You don’t know a damn thing about who I am.”
“Then tell me. You’re pushing me away, and I don’t know why.”
He ignores me, leaning in until my back presses against the edge of the step. “Are you afraid of me, Beth?” His voice booms out into the night. His dark eyes are filled with a torment I’ve never seen before.
My mouth falls open, my pulse beating so fast I’m sure he can hear it. “What?”
“Are. You. Afraid. Of. Me?”
Yes.
No.
All of the above.
But I’m not afraid of him in the way he expects, in whatever he’s attempting to do. I’m afraid of how much my body betrays me when he’s this close.
I can almost see his demons swimming to the surface and his fight to keep them buried. I look away, lip quivering because I need to break the intensity of his stare.
Just as fast, he grabs my chin between his fingers. It’s in his gentle touch, I know he’s not lost, and all of this is an act. It’s a test he doesn’t know he’s giving. He wants to know if I’ll run.
“Look at me.”
I do while fighting the sting behind my eyes. I don’t want him to confuse my tears. They’re not for me. They’re for him.
“Now answer me. Are you afraid?”
I swallow the lump in my throat and answer. “No. You won’t hurt me.” My voice doesn’t break, but he does. The heat I know so well comes flooding back to his eyes. I try to press my hand to his chest, but he stands straight and runs a trembling hand over his face. When he turns away, a crack forms in my heart.
Don’t turn away from me, Logan.
“You should be.” His voice is barely audible.
“Why? Why should I be afraid of you?”
When he spins around, the wildness is back. I stand and step closer when I know he wants me to run.
“Because I’m just like him!” He roars, his chest heaving.
It takes all my strength to remain standing. “What are you talking about? Like who?”
If he says Rob, I might go crazy. I’ve learned to trust my judgement again, and Logan King is not about to shit all over it. I’ve learned when to be afraid. What signs to look for. I know when my gut screams at me until I want to be sick. He’s nothing like Rob.
