“In the romance books I read, the guy always kisses the girl at the top of the Ferris wheel,” she says with a laugh. “But it’s usually the one that’s open.”
We’re sitting next to each other in the temperature-controlled gondola. The walls are glass, giving us an aerial view, and I paid the guy extra not to put us with anyone else. Nevaeh is sitting next to me, and we’re holding hands. I’ve given up on questioning what I’m doing at this point, and just simply enjoying her company.
Nevaeh turns to look at me, and when her lips curve into a beautiful smile, I have no choice but to lean in and kiss her. Her body sinks into mine, and her arms wrap around my neck. The kiss starts out slow and gentle, until Nevaeh takes over, her tongue delving into my mouth. She climbs onto my lap, and we continue to kiss, our tongues now moving frantically against each other.
Until my phone rings. The noise seems to clear the fog from her brain, and she scrambles off me.
“Sorry,” she breathes. “I think I…kind of attacked you.”
My phone rings again, so I pull it out of my pocket and, seeing it’s my dad, answer it. “Yeah.”
“One of my guys spotted Logan at the hotel.”
After I told my dad about Nevaeh, he said he would tell his men to keep an eye out for him.
“Thanks.”
We hang up, and when I glance over at Nevaeh. She’s looking at me with wide eyes. She must’ve heard what he said through the phone.
“He’s here?” she asks, her voice shaky.
“He’s never going to get to you,” I tell her, pulling her into my side. “I won’t let it happen.”
After we exit the Ferris wheel, since the mood has been ruined by Logan, we decide to call it a night. The entire walk back to the hotel, Nevaeh holds my hand tightly. I texted Rosco to meet us, so he’s walking behind us up the sidewalk. After the valet brings my car around, we head home.
As we pull into the gated neighborhood, I get a text from Rosco letting me know we’re being followed. I consider driving elsewhere, but it’s pointless. I knew it was only a matter of time until Logan found us. It doesn’t matter that he knows where we’re staying, he’ll never get close enough to Nevaeh to ever touch her, let alone take her. I text him back that I want round-the-clock guards on the house, and he tells me he’ll handle it.
We pull into the driveway, and I press the button to raise the garage door. Once we’re in, I lower it.
“I saw him behind us,” Nevaeh says.
“Yeah. I’m going to go outside to talk to him.”
“What if he shoots you?” she asks, her eyes filling with tears.
“He wouldn’t be that stupid. Go inside and shower, and I’ll be up in a few minutes.”
I can tell she wants to argue, but she nods. Once I see she’s safely inside with my parents, I head around the front to meet with Logan.
“Thought maybe you dropped off the face of the earth.” I step up to him, my fists clenched at my sides. I would like nothing more than to deck him in the face, but hitting him won’t get me anywhere. I need to be smart about this. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“I’ve been hiding, trying to figure shit out,” Logan says. His eyes meet mine and it’s then I notice they’re bloodshot like he’s on something.
“Trying to figure what out?” I ask carefully, trying to make it sound like I give a shit about him.
“I-I need her, man,” he stammers, glancing around me at the house. “Felix found me, and this guy… he doesn’t fuck around, E. He’s going to kill me and then he’ll come after her.”
“Who’s Felix?”
“The guy I was telling you about before. He runs a sex trafficking operation up and down the eastern coast.”
“The guy you’ve been working with?”
Logan nods, his entire body shaking from whatever he’s on. “I didn’t plan for this shit to happen. It was only a couple times. I owed him some money, a deal gone bad, and he told me I could pay him… And then that fucking cop found out and…” He stops talking and his eyes widen, as if his brain is finally catching up to his mouth, and he realizes he’s oversharing.
And now it all makes sense. Why Stephen was blackmailing Logan. It wasn’t because of my underground fights, or because of the gambling. He found out Logan was selling women to Felix and he wasn’t going to let it continue. So, Logan put a bullet through his chest.
“Look, man, we go back to elementary school, and thatbroad”—he points to the house—“she’s fucking nothing to you. Just hand her over and everything will go back to the way it was.” He raises his hand to scrub the side of his face and I notice his hands are trembling. The guy is high as a damn kite. There’s no getting any information out of him. He’s not thinking clearly. In all the years we’ve been friends, I’ve never seen Logan such a mess.
