‘I know.’
Turning to Logan, I gather my thoughts. This is a fucking mess. “Look, I promised Katlin I would stay with her until her parents get here in the morning. After that, I will tell you everything, okay?”
“Salena,” he growls. “There’s a killer on the loose.”
“Tomorrow, my apartment, nine o’clock,” I say, my tone firm, though my heart is beating double time as a surge of emotions wash over me, so strong, I think they might bring me to my knees.
Logan narrows his eyes at me, and I feel as if he can see straight through me. He then looks at my brothers. Both hold their hands up and mouth,sorry.Logan doesn’t realize I’m their alpha. They don’t get a say in this.
“I could take you all down to the station. You're withholding information.”
“We aren’t. I said I’d tell you in the morning,” I snap, frustration getting the better of me. I know he’s only doing his job, but I need time to process.
“Salena,” he sighs, his arms wrapping around me protectively, “I’m trying to protect you.”
“I’m fine, Logan,” I sigh, and pull from his arms.
I don’t wait for his reply as I turn and make my way back to Katlin’s room. My heart aches for this girl. She looks so tiny and fragile in the hospital bed, beaten and bruised. The report came back negative to rape, which filled me which such relief I cried silently beside her.
I hear Logan and my brothers in the hall, then the sound of Logan’s feet a moment before he enters the room.
“Did you girls want dinner? I can get anything you want,” he says, directing the question at Katlin.
Her eyes light up and her lip trembles. “I’d love a cheeseburger and fries from McDonald’s,” she whispers.
“Done.” Logan’s gaze finds mine. “And you?”
“Same,” I reply.
Logan turns to leave, and I squeeze Katlin’s hand. “I’ll be right back.”
She nods and I jump up and run after Logan. He pauses, sensing me coming, and slowly turns to meet my gaze. His massive frame is strained and worry lines his face. “Is every–”
Before he can finish, I run into his arms, wrapping my own tightly around him. He stiffens for a moment before relaxing into my hold, his arms wrapping around me. His cheek rests on the top of my head, and I feel his body relax as he lets out a long breath.
“Fuck, you feel so good in my arms,” he murmurs.
I can hear the thundering of my heart as I squeeze my arms around him. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“Tomorrow,” he whispers back. His chest heaves as he looks directly at me, his gaze charged with an electric current.
I can feel it buzzing around us in the air, and I swallow thickly.
“I care what happens to you. I don’t want to see you hurt, or worse,” he says.
I flash him a sad watery smile. I am feeling so many things right now.
Disgust at what I saw in that basement. Sympathy for Katlin, for what she’s been through, and what she will go through to recover from this. A deep-seated anger at my brother. Trepidation at telling Logan everything. And guilt. So much guilt.
It is all too much.
“I’ll be back with some burgers,” Logan says, kissing me softly on the lips. I watch him go, feeling a sudden ache in my chest, before I return to the room with Katlin.
The night goes by slowly as I hold Katlin, her small frame twitching in her sleep. Her whimpers break my heart, my own tears tracking down my face. My own flesh and blood is responsible for this girl’s misery, and it’s all my fault. I stroke her long white, blonde hair, which I washed earlier, after we ate our cheeseburgers. I’ve tried my best to console her, but it will take a long time for her to be at a place where she feels safe again.
Chapter Forty Nine
Salena
