Blackmailed by Her Bully

Running fingers through her recently styled hair, she snorted. The length had stayed the same, but there had been layers put into it. The split ends had been removed. No dye job. Logan knew how he wanted to dress up his fuck toy.

Like now, she wore one of the sheer negligees he’d bought her. There was no reason to wear the damn thing as it didn’t exactly cover anything. She’d be better off standing with her hands covering everything of real importance.

So far, he’d been too busy to make any sudden demands.

Hunter was with her. He sat at the kitchen counter, sipping at his coffee, looking at his cell phone.

“Shouldn’t you be with Logan?” she asked.

“Not until he has a guard for you. I’m here to keep an eye on you.”

“Does he think I’m a flight risk?”

“No. Logan has made many enemies. By bringing you back to the city, he also put your life at risk.”

She turned to look at Hunter. “You’re kidding?”

“No.”

“Who is he?”

Hunter turned off his cell phone and spun, giving her his full attention. She would have worn a robe if Logan had granted her one, but he said she didn’t need to hide. Hunter had seen her completely naked so it wasn’t like any of this was new to him.

She wanted to hide her body from him but chose not to. There was no point in trying to expend energy she didn’t have.

“I can’t tell you exactly who he is, but I will warn you, don’t push him.”

“Great, you don’t really tell me anything. Just make me more nervous.”

“It’s for your own safety. Logan, he’s powerful.”

“Is it all legal?” she asked.

Hunter lifted a brow.

“Of course, you won’t tell me.”

She moved away from the window and sat down on the sofa in the living room, staring up at the large television with no reason to turn it on. She didn’t want to watch anything.

“Is this because of what happened?” she asked. “Did he turn this way because of what Luke did?”

“Yes.”

She looked up to see Hunter had followed her. “You believe me?”

“Not yet, but something doesn’t add up in the sheriff’s finances. I’m checking it out. I’m choosing not to upset you with claiming you lied.”

“You know I was laughed at when I told the Sheriff. When I gave him my statement?”

“How long was it between the attack and you giving it?” Hunter asked.

“Erm, a couple of hours, maybe. I don’t know. I … I was using the school’s swimming pool. I loved to go for a swim and it was the only one in town, but they let it stay open when there was a football practice. I’d spent too long in the water when it happened. Luke was there.” She stopped. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

“Was the only other time you did when you gave the statements?”

“Yes.”

She flinched as Hunter put a hand on her shoulder.

“Does Luke come here?”

“No. He’s never been here alone. This is Logan’s private place. He has another apartment a few blocks away from here whenever he wants to meet the guys.”

“Does he trust them?” she asked.

“Logan trusts very few people. I don’t even believe he trusts me. You’re the first woman he has brought here.”

“Is that supposed to give me comfort?” she asked, smiling.

“It should. It means regardless of what he believes, you’re still important to him.”

“Why are you being nice to me?”

Hunter shrugged.

“It’s probably a trick. Logan put you up to it.”

“No. I figure if what I think happened did, you’ve had a rough ride of it.”

“He said no one would believe me,” she said, tears filling her eyes. She didn’t want to talk, but here she went, spilling the truth.

“Luke?”

“Yes. Afterward, he … I…” She pressed her lips together. “It hurt so much, and he laughed. He said I was a real woman now. He said a few other things, but he warned me. Told me no one would ever believe me. Why would he rape me when he could have any girl? He was the most popular guy in school. I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”

“It’s fine.”

“It was like he already knew, you know? That he wasn’t going to be punished for what he did. He never was. All this time I thought he’d been dealt with. The sheriff told me I didn’t need to worry. I’d never see him again.”

“You didn’t think to question where he went? What happened?” Hunter asked.

She snorted. “I was an eighteen-year-old girl. Me and my parents, we watched cop shows but didn’t know how it worked. None of us did. The sheriff was to be trusted, and we had no reason to doubt him. Why would we?”

“Because that is what people do. They get curious.”

“Well, guess what, we weren’t. I was too busy reeling from what had happened to me.” She closed her eyes, leaning her head back. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. The two people who only ever believed me are gone. You don’t. I don’t see what the point is. All this time I thought Luke had gone to prison. I had no idea it was Logan.” She sniffled. She got to her feet, growling. “It’s not fair. I can’t believe how foolish I was, and my parents. We believed the sheriff, and all this time, it was Logan who paid for Luke’s crimes. Even now, he thinks I’m lying—and for good reason. He wrongly went to prison for something he didn’t do.”