He roughed out a disbelieving sound, though there was something soft about it. “Oh, sweet Aster, you have been a lifetime of trouble, haven’t you?”
Hurt underlined his words, and I fidgeted, took another sip of my wine, and fiddled with a piece of my hair when the server returned.
We ordered our dinners, and when the server walked away, Logan lifted his glass in my direction. “To a new beginning.”
My teeth clamped down on my bottom lip. “And which new beginning is that?”
His smile was too dry. Too casual, though it radiated with an intonation of hate and power. “The one where Jarek Urso never touches you again.”
“I can drink to that.” The words wobbled free on an outpouring of my own determination.
Logan sat forward. There was something furious in his demeanor. “Drink to it? I can promise it.”
My throat thickened. “Logan…”
“I promise you,” he said again, words a growl. “He needs to be reminded of his place. Trust me, Aster.”
It was underlined with implication.
Worry burned through my being as I watched Logan from across the table as the server placed our salads in front of us.
“Is there anything else I can get for you while we await your entrees?”
“We’re fine.” Logan didn’t look away from me as he dismissed him.
Under his stare, I felt the ground tremble.
The whirring of the air.
I took a bite of my salad to distract myself from the magnitude of it.
As if the entire world was focused on me. My skin flushed.
That was right when a tacky, clammy awareness crawled over my skin. I looked up, over Logan’s shoulder, toward the bar on the far side of the restaurant, compelled by the tension that bound the air.
Black eyes stared back at me.
Jarek.
I gulped as fear crashed through my being, and my body heaved forward in shock.
Revulsion.
Loathing.
A sickness I couldn’t escape.
The fact that no matter where I went, Jarek would be right there.
My attention snapped back to Logan who looked as if he were about to go on a rampage. As if he were barely keeping it together.
“Did you know he was here?” It was a rattle of terror.
He gave me a tight nod. Did he have any idea the danger he was putting us in?
“So you brought me here?” The accusation was fueled by fear.
“I told you to trust me, Aster.”