There’s a loud bang and the front door swings open, doubling the sounds of the storm outside. I turn my head to see a tall figure in a suit.
“Kitten,” says Logan softly. He quickly moves inside, kneeling in front of me and gently touching the skin around my cuts. Anger boils in his features so powerfully that it almost scares me. It would scare me if I didn’t know the anger was from protectiveness and his hatred of seeing me hurt.
“Thank God you’re here,” I say. I’m about to foolishly wrap my hands around him in a hug, but he stops me with a firm hand.
“Don’t move. I’m going to get these cleaned and covered.”
“How did you know to come?” I ask, letting myself sink back into the couch.
“My PI didn’t send his hourly update.”
“Uh,” says my mom. “Mr. Steel? Ronnie is in the other room still.”
Logan stands, turning toward the kitchen door. His fists are clenched at his side and his jaw flexes. He steps through the door and there’s a long silence. My mom and I wait, eyes locked in uncertainty. I don’t know what I’m hoping for or expecting.
Logan steps back into the living room. His features are dark. “He’s going to bleed to death soon, unless we cut off some of the circulation to his thigh. His femoral artery is severed.”
I stare in confusion for a moment, wondering why Logan hasn’t already cut off circulation. I realize a second later what he’s saying. He’s asking me. He’s asking if I want Ronnie to die or if I want him to live.
I look to my mom, and to my surprise, she shrugs. I try to think through the pain throbbing in my hands and feet. I try to look past what I want right now. Revenge. Justice. Pain. I force myself to look past that and focus on what I can live with. I don’t think I could live with myself if I knew I had the power to save his life and I let him die.
“He’ll go to jail,” I say. “That’s enough.”
Logan holds my gaze for long enough to tell me he would rather kill Ronnie, but he disappears into the kitchen and I hear the sound of fabric tearing. Maybe he’s ripping a kitchen towel or something to tie off the leg. Either way, it’s over. We’ll call the police, they’ll take Ronnie away, and I’ll finally be able to focus on putting the pieces of my life back together. Except I won’t be doing it alone this time.EpilogueLoganFour Months LaterI lean against the far wall, watching Emmaline fuss over the boxes that have been ready for shipment all day. She kneels down brushes off a strand of fabric that fell on one box.
“Careful,” I say. “Get the boxes too perfect and our customers won’t even open them.”
She smirks ruefully at me, but doesn’t stop moving carefully through the stack of boxes for the tenth time. “Yeah, well… I just haven’t ever shipped products to a real store before. It was always just individual sales or a few people with online stores. This is a big deal.”
I move to her, sliding my hands over her shoulders and working some of the stiffness from them. “You have nothing to worry about,” I say into her ear. “You deserve this. You fucking deserve every bit of it. You deserve to have the world eating out of your hand.”
She laughs. “Does that mean you would be eating out of my hand too? Because I could get used to that.”
I grin, squeezing her a little tighter and forcing her head toward me. “The only thing I’ll be eating out is that perfect pussy of yours.”
“Ahem!” Scarlett half-yells.
Emmaline jumps a little, clearly forgetting Scarlett was still working quietly on her laptop. I admit to forgetting too, but something about talking dirty to her in front of others has always been a turn on for me. The world needs to know she’s mine. Let them overhear.
“Sorry,” says Emmaline. “He didn’t mean what it sounded like he meant.”
Scarlett looks up, giving Emmaline a dry expression. “You don’t own a cat, so don’t even try to tell me…”
Emmaline gives up, hiding her hands in her face.
“I meant exactly what I said,” I say, biting my lip.
Emmaline groans and Scarlett laughs.
“I think I’ll work from outside for a little while. Just uh, let me know when it’s safe to come back inside.”
Emmaline keeps hiding her face until Scarlett leaves. She looks up finally and tries to swat at my shoulder. I grab her wrist, locking eyes with her. “Careful, Kitten. I have you right where I want you now.”
I move into her, pushing her back until I have her pinned to the wall with my body. She looks up at me, licking her lips. “We have to get this order ready.”