“I have something that I thought would be of interest to you.”

“Yeah?”

“A game…New Year’s Day at ten p.m. The stakes will be…worth your time.”

I glanced back at Aster who was on her side, facing me, lost to sleep. Even breaths slipped between her barely parted lips, the girl at peace and my only purpose.

The tattoo burned on my side.

Greed.

It took no thought to recognize she was the only treasure I needed.

“I think I’m going to have to pass.”

THIRTY-SEVEN

ASTER

“Merry Christmas.”Logan gazed over at me where we lie on our sides facing the other. Our hearts were slowed and steadied, and a peace unlike anything I’d ever known had seeped deep into my spirit.

“I never thought I would get the chance to share one with you.”

He took my hand and pressed the back of it to his lips. “You get the rest of mine, Aster. The birthdays and the holidays and the celebrations. You get the days that will never make history and the ones that we will remember every detail of for the rest of our lives. You get every day.”

“That’s good because I’m going to require every single one.” My smile was tender, and Logan grinned, emotion cresting his brow.

We relished in it for the longest time before I brought what we kept trying to keep at the back of our minds into the forefront. “What are we going to do, Logan? I have one more week before my father expects me to return to Los Angeles.”

He inhaled a shaky breath. “We won’t let that happen.”

“We need a plan. I’m going to get in touch with my sister and see if she has made any progress, but I’m not sure we can continue to rely on that.”

Jarek hadn’t shown his face since the altercation in the alley. But I could feel his dark presence looming over the city.

Watching.

Lurking.

Waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

“No. We can’t.” Logan kept kissing over the back of my hand in a soothing manner, even while the ferocity flashed through his face. “I spoke with Jud and Trent last night. Jud has an old connection who’s familiar with the Russian families. He’s going to make contact with him to see if we can find any ties to Jarek.”

Worry and hope flooded my bloodstream. “I don’t want to involve your family, Logan.”

He wound an arm around my back and pulled me flush, his voice turning to grit. “They’re your family now, Aster. Yours. And this family fights for each other.”

Emotion surged. Love and adoration and this lingering fear I would never shake. “Is it wrong I find so much joy in that?”

Those green eyes flashed, though this morning, the stony depths were transparent. “This joy is ours, Aster. It’s ours.”

Then he placed the softest kiss on my lips.

I nearly hit the ceiling when my phone started ringing, and I jerked around to the nightstand to see who was calling.

Panic clawed through my chest. “It’s my father.”

Logan slipped his palm to my cheek. “Don’t be afraid, Aster. You stood up for yourself and came here. Now it’s time for you to see it through.”

Tags: A.L. Jackson Redemption Hills Romance
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