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Logan offers her a warm smile or his best attempt at one. It’s the effort that counts, and I can tell he’s putting a lot into this, trying to make her feel better. It’s so easy to imagine him doing the same thing with our daughter, if we have one, when she needs to know her father will always be there for her, just like mine is.
“Chrissy,” I say quietly, guilt twisting my stomach, but I have to say this. “Can you forget you saw Logan?”
She lowers her gaze and closes her eyes. “I already have.”
* * *
I’m in the police station for under an hour, explaining everything that happened. I wonder if I should be worried about how easy it was for me to conceal Logan’s name. It felt as natural as being loyal to my man, the father to my child. When I saidstranger—the whole point of the lie—I swear, this glow was inside me. This warm orb expanded from my womb like my baby was talking to me.
As soon as I get out, I call Chrissy. Stupidly, we brought her here to the station. She should’ve been at the hospital so they could check the drugs. Anxiety hammers in my chest as the phone rings. Then her mom answers.
“Is she okay?” I demand before she can hardly say the entire wordhello.
“She’s fine. They checked her over. She’s sleeping now. The officers have just left. Are you still at the station?”
I let out a long breath. “I’m so happy she’s okay. I wasn’t thinking.”
Iwasthinking, but not about my best friend. When I saw Logan running through the dark, all I could think about was our family and getting him out of there.
“Relax, sweetness. She’s going to be okay. She didn’t… They didn’tgetto her if you understand what I’m saying.”
I swallow, remembering the room, what I saw, and the ugliness that will forever turn me into fantastical worlds. The real one is sometimes too blunt, painful, and sick to look at. “Yeah, I get you, Miss Harris.”
“The police were asking about somebody else on the scene,” she says. “Did they ask you, too? Apparently, somebody beat those boys bloody and locked them in the closet. Broke a nose. Busted several ribs. They’re all laid up in the hospital.” A pause, and then Miss Harris’ voice gets low. “They said this to Chrissy like she’d care and make her liable to give them something. It makes me sick. Whoever that is, and whatever his reasons for running, he did the right thing.”
“We can agree there, Miss Harris,” I say fiercely.
“Take care, sweetness. Chrissy will call you tomorrow.”
“Goodbye.”
I walk down the street to my car and climb inside. I doubt any officers are watching me, but I still want to be careful as I look up and down the street, searching for Logan.
“I’m here,” he says from the backseat.
I almost jump but hold myself back. He’s lying in the backseat in the shadows. His eyes must be closed because those blues always catch the light, even if there’s hardly any at all.
“Drive,” he goes on.
“Where?” I whisper.
“Anywhere.”
I start the engine, pull away from the station, and drive down the highway. Instead of taking the exit that leads to our suburbs, I keep going, heading toward the hills. Logan sits up in the backseat on his cell phone. He’s cleaned the blood off his face, but his knuckles are grazed.
“Who are you texting?” I ask.
“My teammate, Chuck.” Logan sighs. “He’s not happy with me. None of the players are. It’s not like the season’s over, and we’re still winning.” He runs a hand through his hair and sits back. “You’re a good driver, Emma.”
I laugh, so delighted at being here in his presence. It’s like I’m drunk on him all over again, just like that night six weeks ago. Somehow, it feels like so much more time has passed, but at the same time, none at all. “Thanks. It’s easy when it’s this late. When should I turn back for your rental?”
“We’ve got time,” he says, his eyes glinting when we pass a bright road light. We’re winding through the hills now, LA glistening in the distance. “Or maybe it’s like that night.”
My skin tingles all over. My belly warms up, too. “What about it?”
“We kept going.” His voice is deep, gruff. “On that balcony. We both knew we should’ve gone somewhere else. Somewhere less risky, but we kept going because if we stopped…”
“The spell would be broken,” I whisper. “So wehadto do it there.”
