My friends wouldn’t be put off for long, but hopefully this situation with the Clarksons would be wrapped up sooner rather than later.
Whatever the situation actually was. None of us were sure what he wanted with me.
Privately, I hoped I’d never find out.
Logan popped his head out of the wardrobe. “You know we can keep all of them safe. You shouldn’t stop living your life just because that twat is sniffing around.”
Logan avoided saying his name outright. The last time he had, I’d ended up hyperventilating on the floor. It had shaken Logan up so much that he’d had to step out after for a few minutes of fresh air.
“I know.” I picked at a loose thread on my bedding. “But the easiest way to keep them safe is to not see them at all. I’m not an idiot, despite what my family might think. If they know who I care about, they will use that knowledge against me. It’s easier to just keep my distance until the whole situation…goes away.”
Logan harrumphed from the depths of the wardrobe. I could barely see him through the stacks of clothes. Mac was right, I really did need to do something about the mess. That didn’t mean Cole needed to design something though. I was sure Ikea had options for online design. Or I could take a trip to Aberdeen and go into the shop. Ooh, that was a good idea. I could get a few packets of those biscuits, the ones sandwiched with chocolate.
Speaking of chocolate, I still hadn’t found the orange hot chocolate I’d thought about the other night. It wasn’t like I even enjoyed hot chocolate enough to warrant havingdifferent flavours, really. It was Instagram’s fault. Last year, I kept seeing all these posts about hot chocolate stations and justhadto have one.
“Reid?”
I snapped my head up to see Logan staring at me, lips curled in amusement.
“Shit, sorry. Did you say something? My brain was off on an adventure.”
“It’s fine.” That was something I loved about Logan—he never judged me when I accidentally tuned him out. And he didn’t mind repeating himself either, which made my life so much easier. “I just said hopefully Evan will have a positive update when he gets back.”
All thoughts of anything aside from Evan vanished immediately as goosebumps covered my skin. “What? Where’s Evan gone?”
“To visit your old clan,” Logan said distractedly, holding up two tops as he tried to decide between them. “Well, he had. He was due back earlier today. He was trying to find out what they want with you.”
“What?” I leapt to my feet. “Why would he do that?”
Logan settled on the blue top, tossing the red one back into the wardrobe. “Here. This one will have the men forming a queue.”
I batted it away impatiently. “Logan, for fuck’s sake, why would Evan do that? I said I didn’t want anyone going there.”
“No, you said we can’t be violent.” Logan rolled his eyes. “Honestly takes the fun out of it, but whatever. It’s what you want, so we’re respecting it.”
I fell back onto the bed with a thud. “Has he been going there alone?”
“Aye.”
A lump formed in my throat as I caught Logan’s wrist. “You can’t let him. What if he gets hurt?”
Logan eyed me curiously. “Why do you care?”
My stomach hollowed out. “Why wouldn’t I care?”
“I didn’t think you liked him. In fact, I’m fairly certain you told him to fuck off out of your life.”
“That’s not how I phrased it,” I muttered.
“Sentiment’s the same.”
“That doesn’t mean I want him walking onto the clan lands alone,” I exploded, back on my feet once more. “Jesus, Logan. Is he trying to get killed? Doesn’t he know who he’s dealing with? Why the fuck would he do that?”
“Reid.” Logan grabbed my shoulders to stop me pacing. “Come on now. Why do youthinkhe’s doing it?”
I swallowed my fear. “But…I told him I forgive him. I told him I don’t need or want him to keep me safe anymore.”
And you really thought he’d just accept it? For fuck’s sake, you got startled by a spider and he sprinted in to save the day.
