“Hit me with it,” Logan said, when Dwayne didn’t supply the info fast enough.
“Bryce Shillings is partial owner of the place.”
Logan’s blood ran cold. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I thought you might like to know, seeing as you two have, well… you go way back.”
Logan closed his eyes. Damn.
This couldn’t be. He did more than go way back with Bryce Shillings, another Chicago-based billionaire. Bryce has intimate knowledge on Logan’s past dealings.
Specifically, he knew about the insider trading.
Even if Logan did manage to get Charlie Lane off his back, Bryce would be there, ready to pounce. If Logan turned in his acquaintance for the trafficking ring, Bryce would toss out his knowledge about the insider trading with no hesitation whatsoever.
Even if he wasn’t doing it in an attempt to get a softer sentence, Bryce would throw Logan under the bus because that’s the kind of man he was. He fought fire with fire, and didn’t stop till there was nothing but ashes left.
“Logan? Are you there?”
“I’m here.” He pinched the bridge of his nose.
Well, that settled that. There would be no more sniffing around the trafficking ring.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “He has a hand in it?”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay.” Logan sighed. Dwayne’s word was good.
“Anyway, I gotta run. Catch you soon.”
“Bye. Thanks.” Logan hung up with a sigh.
At least he’d already taken Terri to the scenes of the crime. So he could at least say he’d done something.
Too bad that didn’t make him feel much better.
Pushing himself from the chair, he went to get ready for dinner. He’d moved a good amount of clothes into the office, where he also had a pull-out couch to sleep on. This way, Terri enjoyed complete privacy.
Selecting a dark blue suit and a silk burgundy tie, he dressed lethargically. The phone call had left him feeling off, and he didn’t quite know how to fix that.
A soft knock on the door, right as he shrugged into his suit jacket, made him turn around.
“Come in.”
Terri entered the room like a dream. Her face glowed, hair hanging in soft waves around her cheeks. And the dress…
It fit her like a glove, like it had been made for her, with little bits of skin showing here and there. Classy and sexy, it was perfectly her.
“Well?” She did a little spin. “What do you think?”
“I…” He cleared his throat. “I’m speechless.”
She laughed. “Then how come you’re talking?”
“Good point.” He grinned wide. Just like that, his bad mood was gone.
Suddenly, her smile vanished. “Hey, I want to thank you for tonight. And the other nights. For taking me out and showing me around.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
“That’s sweet of you to say, but we both know you don’t have to do these things. You saved me, and I’ve agreed to pay you back by talking Charlie down. There doesn’t have to be anything else. Even if…”
She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and looked away. Logan desperately needed to know what she’d been about to say.
“Even if, what?” he urged.
“Um, I’m not sure what I was about to say.”
Bullshit. Had she been about to refer to the chemistry that existed between them? He’d almost kissed her on the bridge. It had been idiotic to let himself get that close to doing it, and yet he’d felt pulled by a magnetic force in the direction of her lips.
Until he finally came to his senses.
Still… what had almost been had played on a loop in his head ever since they left the bridge. He could have made her his with one touch, but he held back. For the both of them.
Terri didn’t know him. Not really. She was moral, positive, upstanding. He did whatever it took to get whatever he wanted. They were from two different worlds, and nothing good would come from combining their lives.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Hm? Oh. Yes. I’m fine.” He forced a smile. “Sorry. I was distracted thinking about… work.”
Her lashes fluttered as she studied his face. “Okay,” she said in a voice that meant she didn’t believe him.
“Ready to go?”
“Sure.” She left the room first, giving him a delicious view of her backside in the dress.
Stifling a groan, he bit his fist.
“Huh?” She looked back over her shoulder, and he dropped his hand.
“Nothing.”
“You’re being weird.”
“Hungry.” He smiled even bigger. “That’s all.”
Yep. Just not hungry for food.
Terri headed for the front door, and with one last eye roll at himself, he followed.
Chapter 10
Terri
Dinner was the same lavish affair as always. The drinks flowed, and a six-course meal was brought to their little table in a bustling restaurant where a band played traditional Vietnamese music.
She let Logan do most of the talking, chiming in here and there about the food and sharing stories of her travels. All the while, though, she couldn’t get Logan’s phone call off her mind.
She’d been on her way to his office to show off the dress when she heard his voice through the closed door. The conversation had been muted, but she’d caught snippets. Like him asking whoever was on the phone if they were “sure he has a hand in it.”
His tone had been strained, and hearing it sent shivers through Terri for reasons she couldn’t completely understand. Logan had been talking about the trafficking ring. Somehow, she just knew.
What was he keeping from her? Could it be that he knew where the ring had moved onto and he simply didn’t want to tell her?
It sucked to believe that, but it could be possible.
“Hey,” Logan said from the other side of the table.
“Hm?” She looked up. How long had she been lost in thought?
“Did you hear me?”
“Sure.”
She hadn’t, and she didn’t know why she was lying to him.
Oh, wait. Maybe because she didn’t know if she could even trust him. Could be that he had never intended to help her find the traffickers at all, and he’d only agreed to take her to the hostel and the warehouse because he knew full well that both spots would be dead ends.
And, on top of that, he was giving her mixed signals left and right. First he almost kissed her… but then he drew back… then he ignored her… then he bought her designer clothes.
Her head started to spin. Logan Denton was certainly a mystery, and not in the good, attractive kind of way.
The waiter arrived, setting down two of some kind of champagne cocktail. Terri snatched hers up so fast some of the liquid sloshed over the sides.
They’d finished the meal a few minutes ago, and she probably should have quit with the last drink, but screw it. She was angry and still technically on vacation.
Logan’s thick, blond eyebrows knit together. “What’s up?”
“Nothing is up.”
How dare he even ask her that? Like they were friends. Or even… a couple.
She drained half of the cocktail in the time it took Logan to take a sip.
“What’s going on here?” she demanded.
He blinked in surprise. “We’re having dinner.”
“Logan. Don’t.” She made a point to lower her voice before she lost all control of it. “You know what I mean.”
“We are… exchanging favors.” His shoulders stiffened when he said it.
“I get that. But anything else you want to comment on?”
His eyes softened. A moment later, and they flashed with heat. “No.”
“Okay,” she snapped.
Under the table, her foot brushed against his leg. She withdrew it, retreating as far back into her seat as possible.
Loga
n sighed. “You are a beautiful woman, Terri. An amazing person.”
She kept quiet, hoping that there was more to come and not wanting to say the wrong thing and scare him away from the conversation.
“We can’t get involved,” he said. “Think about how messy that would become.”
She could imagine it, but she still wanted to challenge him. “Messy in what way?”
“We still don’t know how things will go down once we return to Chicago.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. “I said I’d help you.”
His lips twitched. “You won’t feel like you’re betraying your brother? You don’t think you’ll get cold feet?”
“You saved my life, Logan.”
Something tightened in her chest, though. His words had at least an ounce of truth to them. Manipulating her brother seemed so far out of the realm of possibilities.
But she had to do it. Even if sometimes she couldn’t stand Logan, she still owed him. And she was a woman of her word.
“Maybe I saved your life,” he said. “But it’s still yours to live.”
Heat spread through her face. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re trying to get me to back out of our agreement.”
His laugh was short, dry, and bitter. “Why would I do that?”
She threw her hands up. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because of guilt. Maybe you did exactly what Charlie suspects you of, and a part of you believes you should be caught.”
His face tightened in a grimace.
She could go on, but she’d done enough damage. Grabbing her clutch, she stood. “I’m going to the ladies’ room.”
The music had switched to a new song, and with it couples had taken to the floor. They swayed romantically, and Terri had to side step around them. Someone touched her arm, and she turned around to decline the invitation to dance, but her mouth only hung agape.
Logan stood there, his palm extended. “Please do me the honor of at least one dance.”
She pressed her lips together, considering. Never before had she been so conflicted over someone. The man made her feel like she didn’t even recognize herself.
Which wasn’t good at all. Terri was used to being in charge of her emotions. Even though she was tipsy—okay, maybe a little drunk—it was embarrassing to have blown up at him.
“Please,” he said, throwing in a side grin that made it impossible to say no.
She slid her hand into his, and before she could second guess the choice, he’d pulled her against him. They swayed to the music, Logan taking the lead.
With his hand lightly pressed against the small of her back and a comfortable few inches between their chests, the hold was completely appropriate. Funny then, that it was also one of the most charged moments of her life.
They swayed to the music, two people who only days ago had been strangers but who now fit against each other perfectly. Terri breathed deep, his musky, woodsy smell making her weak in the knees.
Yep. She was a goner.
This man could make her furious a dozen times in an hour, and she’d still have a soft spot for him. It was his turning on a dime that made it so easy. You never knew which Logan you’d get next.
“Terri,” he breathed.
She lifted her chin to drink in his features. So much about him begged to be touched. His thick hair. Strong jaw. Full, soft lips. She’d never touched them, but she knew they were soft. Softer than pillows.
“Uh-huh?” she asked, more drunk on his face than anything else.
He spun her, a move done so easily it took no effort on her part. She ended right back against him, dancing to the next refrain.
“I want you to know that I care for you,” he said softly.
Sudden emotion welled in her chest. Her bottom lip started shaking, and she bit into it to make it stop.
“We don’t know each other,” she said, knowing full well that was a sorry excuse.
“Do we have to know each other any better than we do now?” He sighed and dropped his head back.
The song ended, and everyone clapped, the two of them included. She watched him from the corner of her eye, wondering if he would continue the conversation or leave her hanging.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he ended up saying.
She started to tell him that wouldn’t happen, that he was being paranoid and she wasn’t afraid, but she held her tongue. Truth was, she didn’t know any of that was true.
Enigmatic billionaire plus dubiously legal transactions plus shaken girl who could possibly be looking for a pair of arms to lose herself in equaled…
Well, whatever it equaled, it probably wasn’t good.
She nodded, her tongue heavy. “I appreciate that.”
Another song started, and he offered his hand again. “One more?”
“No, thank you. It’s pretty late. What do you think of getting back?”
His face was still, hiding whatever emotions he was feeling. “Sure.”
Terri hurried quickly off the dance floor. One step at a time. That’s all the situation required of her. First, get back to the penthouse. Then, get back to Chicago. Next, dissuade Charlie.
After that, Logan Denton would be out of her life for good.
Chapter 11
Logan
“We’ll go anywhere you want tonight,” Logan said as they got into the back of the car the next evening. “It’s our last night. Let’s make it special.”
“Everywhere we’ve gone has been special,” Terri said, though she directed her flat words to the window.
He fought a frown. If she was pissed, he couldn’t blame her for it. He’d basically admitted his feelings for her the night before, without getting too heavy or explicit about them, then drew a hard line in the sand.
Which, to be fair, he’d needed to do. It was best if they both understood the boundaries.
“There’s a nice rooftop restaurant near here,” he said.
“Sure.”
It was about the amount of enthusiasm he’d expected. Leaning forward, he gave the address of the restaurant to the driver. Ten minutes later, they were stepping out of an elevator and onto a rooftop enclosed with glass and decorated with enough potted plants that it could have passed for a jungle.
“It’s nice,” Terri commented as the hostess showed them to a table with a spectacular view of the city at night.
He’d ordered a few more dresses for her that day merely because he thought she might like to dress up for dinner. It had occurred to him that she might not wear any of them out of spite, but she’d slipped into a gold one with a flared skirt and looked so good that he had to stop himself from staring.
Right as they took their seats, his phone rang from his breast pocket.
“Sorry.” He pulled it from his pocket, meaning to silence it. With his grandfather passed and no other family members, it was likely a work-related call.
But then he caught sight of the name on the screen. Dwayne. Logan stared at the number for a long moment.
“Take it.” Terri browsed the menu. “Go ahead.”
“I’ll be right back.”
He walked back in the direction of the elevators, waiting as long as he could to answer the phone.
“Hey,” he finally said into it, once he found himself in a semi-secluded spot, surrounded by plants.
Dwayne got right to it. “Bryce heard you bought one of his girls.”
“What?” Logan pinched the bridge of his nose. “How do you know that? Does he know…” He glanced around to make sure he was alone. “Does he know it was Terri?”
“Don’t know if he knows it’s her.” There was the unmistakable sound of air being sucked between tight teeth. “Being him, though? He’s gonna be suspicious.”
“Right.” Logan shook his head. Dwayne had completely avoided revealing where he’d obtained this information, but Logan didn’t
really need to fact check.
He needed to watch his ass.
“He could have people tailing you,” Dwayne said, voicing what Logan was already thinking.
“Shit.” He pressed his hand against his mouth to keep back further curses.
This was bad.
“You have something to hide?” Dwayne asked. “Because it could look like you bought a fellow American under the intention of setting her free. Nothing off about that.”
“I have nothing to hide,” Logan lied. “Thanks for updating me.”
They said a hurried goodbye—it was always that way with Dwayne—and hung up. Fist pressed to his mouth, Logan paced the corner of the roof.
Did Bryce know that he and Terri had gone to the warehouse? Was he really being followed?
He cast a wary gaze left and right. On the other side of the foliage, people laughed and chatted at the bar. No one looked out of place, but it didn’t mean a car wasn’t waiting below to follow him home.
Standing straight, he drew a deep breath, which wasn’t easy when his chest was so constricted.
At the table, Terri was just sitting down.
“Did you go somewhere?” he asked.
“The bathroom.” She smiled brightly. “How was your phone call?”
“Fine. It was business stuff.” He unfolded the cloth napkin and stared at where he spread it across his lap. “Anything on the menu look good?”
She didn’t answer, which prompted him to look up.
“I heard your conversation.” She gazed stonily at him across the table.
He blinked. “Which conversation?”
“Seriously?” She rolled her eyes. “The one you had a minute ago! I followed you over there, Logan.”
“Okay, shh. Please don’t shout about it.” He propped his elbow on the table and leaned in close to her.
Her pink lips pursed. “I’m not going to make a scene, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“We really can’t afford to draw attention to ourselves right now.”
“What? Why?” She narrowed her eyes.
Bidder - An Auctioned to the Billionaire Romance (Criminal Passions Book 2) Page 6
