by Reus, Katie
She nodded and turned around to face forward again, continuing onward. Every movement, every huff of breath felt overpronounced, as if the shooter would jump out of the brush at any moment because he’d heard their movements.
When she noticed the underbrush thinning ahead, her heart leapt. They must be near the main road Logan had mentioned. But just as quickly, more fear settled in her gut. If their cover was getting thinner, they were easier targets.
“Keep going,” Logan whispered.
On a burst of speed, she sprinted forward. She had no doubt that Logan had been keeping pace with her because the man was in incredible shape. He could probably run twice as fast as her but he was sticking with her to protect her.
As they reached the end of the path there was a wide-open stretch of asphalt just as he’d said.
She felt incredibly exposed and vulnerable in that moment. But logically she knew there was no way the shooter could have gotten ahead of them. Unless…he’d figured out a shortcut.
The fear was back, shoving up and threatening to choke her. She kept imagining him jumping from the bushes, gun in hand, and shooting them down.
Logan pointed to the right and they started running once again, side by side this time, their sneakers beating against the road with little thumps. He still had his gun in hand and was barely out of breath—unlike Grace, who felt like she was about to die at any moment. Her lungs burned and all her muscles strained.
Fear settled deep inside her and she imagined this nameless, faceless shooter taking aim at them, hitting them in the back while she and Logan were unable to stop a thing. When she saw a turnoff to a neighborhood up ahead, joy burst inside her like fireworks.
They were so close.
But instead of turning into the neighborhood’s main entrance, Logan took her arm and directed her off the main road and to the back wall that lined part of the neighborhood.
“We’re going to jump over the wall.” He turned around, scanning the road for any signs of the shooter.
“What if someone’s home?”
“I don’t care. We’re hiding now.” Bending down in front of her, he linked his fingers together.
Immediately she put her foot in his cupped hands. In one quick movement, he hoisted her up. Clutching at the cold stone, she crawled over the wall, and basically rolled into a bunch of bushes.
She winced at the impact, but stayed quiet as Logan climbed over the wall with incredible ease. He slid down next to her in a sleek, skilled move and pulled out his phone.
“It’s finally working.” Relief was clear in those few words.
Her heart was still pounding erratically but they’d found a place to hide at least. And Logan still had a weapon to protect them.
As Logan called his brother and started filling Roman in on what had happened, she peered through the bushes into the backyard, glad they were hidden by all the palm trees and giant cacti. There were even more cacti underneath a couple of the windows and it looked as if blinds were drawn on them so hopefully no one had seen them dive into the backyard. If they had, the owners had probably called the police, but that was more than okay with Grace.
After a few minutes, Logan slid his phone into his back pocket. “Roman is with Vadim and he’s tracking us using my phone. They’re on the way.”
“Mine’s still back at the house,” she muttered. She’d run out of there without even a bra on and everything was finally catching up to her. They still weren’t out of danger as it was. Just hiding from it. “Do you know how he found us? Did you see him?” She kept her voice low, not wanting it to carry on the wind.
“No and no.” He tightened his jaw and reached for her, pulling her close. “This place is quiet so we’ll just stay here until Roman calls me. It might be a while, since they’re in the city.”
“Okay.” As long as help came. Instead of crouching, she sat fully down, collapsing and pressing her back against the wall. Dragging in breaths, she leaned her head on Logan’s shoulder. The cold wrapped around her, chilling her to the bone, but she didn’t care.
They were alive. For now.
She just hoped help arrived soon.
Chapter 17
Grace gratefully took the blanket Logan wrapped around her shoulders as they sat on the couch in the plush hotel room at the Serafina. Roman and Vadim had picked them up hours ago and driven them back to Vegas, but she was still so chilled. So afraid. No matter that the room was warm, she couldn’t get rid of the chill that seemed to have overtaken her entire body.
Detective Hurley was here to talk to them, though she knew there was a team of police dealing with the mess in the house they’d stayed at. At least someone had brought all their stuff to the casino, though it was all with security at this point.
Wyatt Christiansen had also arrived to talk to them, which surprised her. She’d seen him on the news with his wife, and while she vaguely knew Iris, Wyatt was so intimidating and a bit larger than life in person. Iris was too, but she always had a smile for Grace and was much more approachable.
“At this point I think we might want to put you guys into protective custody,” Detective Hurley said carefully as he shifted in his seat.
“No.” Wyatt spoke before Logan or Grace could respond.
The detective raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at Wyatt, who was standing next to the huge wall of windows, all of Vegas behind him as if it was his domain. Which it might as well be, for how much power he wielded in the city. She wondered if his position in the room was some sort of power play because he and the detective had been eyeing each other warily.
“Excuse me?” the detective said.
“No. I can keep them safer than you guys can. No offense.” Wyatt lifted his shoulders.
The detective cleared his throat. “Look—”
“Whatever you’re going to say, the answer is still no. They don’t have to go into protective custody with you and they’re not going to. I should have done this before but you guys didn’t think the threat was that serious.” He looked at Logan and then Grace, his expression softening a fraction. “I’m sorry this happened at all. I should have just put you guys up somewhere instead of—”
“This is no one’s fault,” Logan said, tightening his fingers around Grace’s. “We should have been safe at my friend’s place.”
Detective Hurley stood, clearly knowing he was beat. “All right, then. When we find out how he tracked you, we’ll be in touch,” he said, his expression grim.
Grace simply nodded and waited as Wyatt walked the detective to the door, talking quietly.
She leaned into Logan, needing his warmth. Even after what they’d been through earlier today, she still felt safe with him. Or maybe because of seeing him in action. His quick thinking, getting them out of the house within moments, had given them a much better chance of surviving. She didn’t even want to think about what might have happened if they hadn’t gotten out of there.
“I’ve got a few options for you guys,” Wyatt said as he strode back into the room. “All of them here at the casino. I’ve got multiple open suites available, and there won’t be any cleaning services. No food delivery that isn’t authorized will be allowed into the room. It’ll be a total lockdown and only people I personally approve will be allowed inside the suite.”
“Thank you,” Logan said, squeezing Grace’s hand.
“I really am sorry that it escalated to this,” Wyatt said. “I should have insisted on this before.” There was a hint of self-recrimination in his expression.
Logan shook his head. “Look, no one expected this, least of all me. We should have been fine where we were. I’m not blaming anyone for anything other than the asshole gunning for us.”
“I didn’t want to say this in front of Hurley, but Vadim discovered that you guys were tracked using Grace’s phone,” Wyatt said, looking at her.
“How? It’s never been out of my possession.” Even at school she locked it in her desk. And since she hadn’t even been
at work since all this started, it had been in her purse or pocket. She even used it as an alarm clock, so it was often on her nightstand in the evenings as well.
“Someone hacked your phone using your email account. Vadim says it looks like you clicked on something, a link from an ad, and someone infiltrated your phone’s location tracking that way.”
She wrapped her arms around herself. That sounded horrifying. “How easy is it for someone to do that?”
“Apparently it’s not easy. And whoever did it tracked you in a way that makes it impossible for Vadim to track back to them.”
And it just got even worse. “So…why aren’t we telling the police?”
“It doesn’t really matter how you were found. It just matters that we find whoever did this.” There was a definite bite of anger to the man’s words.
She figured they weren’t telling the cops because Vadim had illegally done some stuff. She didn’t care what he’d done to get the information. She was just glad they were okay and had at least figured out how they’d been tracked.
“Has Vadim secured her phone?” Logan asked.
“Yes. He’s got it and all your stuff up in security. I’ll have it all brought to you when we figure out where you’re staying. I’ve got a couple suites ready, so unless you have a preference for views, I recommend the Monroe suite. It’s bigger than the others and has been empty for a couple weeks. You can monitor who comes in and out easily. I’m going to put security on the door as well. Only people I trust.”
Logan stood again. “Thank you for this. But my friend’s house just got shot up. I need to make sure—”
“I’ve already taken care of it,” Wyatt said, holding up a hand. “The forensics team has already done what they need to do. Technically it’s still a crime scene but Hurley is letting us put the house back together. The windows will be repaired and the glass cleaned up. And I’ve had your rental truck towed. If you need a vehicle, you can take one of the casino vehicles. You two don’t need to worry about any of that now.”
“Okay. And thank you. Just keep me updated. I want to tell him what happened, but reassure him that everything is fine with his place when I do.”
Grace knew Logan felt bad about what had happened, but it wasn’t his fault. Reaching out, she took his hand in hers, squeezing it once. It didn’t remotely feel like Christmas Eve but she was glad she was with him.
He glanced down at her, still standing, and smiled.
“I will,” Wyatt said. “But don’t worry about that stuff. Just worry about your lady.” Wyatt nodded once at her and left.
Still holding Logan’s hand, she sank back against the soft buttercream-tufted couch, pulling him down with her. “This is all so surreal. I don’t even have a bra on,” she muttered. They’d run out of there so fast.
Logan quickly gathered her into his arms. “I’m so sorry about all of this,” he said as she buried her face against his chest. The grip of his arms around her was safe, familiar. Wonderful.
“I think everyone needs to stop with apologies.” She leaned back to look at him. “I know I said I don’t think Kevin is behind this, and I still don’t. But…he is good with computers.” And it was something Logan and probably Vadim needed to know. She figured the cops already did since they were looking for him.
Logan nodded once as if he already knew that.
Closing her eyes, she laid her cheek against his chest again and decided to block out the rest of the world for a long moment. “Do you think we can order room service in that suite he’s putting us up in?”
His grip around her tightened. “I’m pretty sure we can order whatever we want, including a bottle of his best wine. Wyatt doesn’t half-ass things.”
Despite the turmoil congealed inside her, she smiled. “Logan…” She wasn’t sure what she was going to say but her throat suddenly wouldn’t work. Tears pushed against her eyelids, spilling over in a giant wave. Oh God, noooo. She didn’t want to have a breakdown. Had thought she was keeping it together pretty well.
He cursed softly before rubbing a hand up and down her spine as she started full-on crying. “Just get it out.”
She tried to fight it but it was useless. The more she tried to fight it, the faster the tears flowed. The events of the day cascaded down on her like a rockslide. She’d thought she’d been handling everything so well but today had pushed her over the edge. Being shot at like that, having someone hunting them down—she’d never experienced or imagined a terror like that before.
In that moment, she could only imagine how Logan had served in the Marines, how he’d dealt with a whole lot worse than today. It blew her mind and made her especially aware of her own mortality. And on that thought, she wrapped her arms tighter around him, wishing she could find the right words, but she was mentally tapped out.
Absolutely and utterly done. She was just glad Logan was here to hold her.
To keep her safe.
* * *
Logan stepped out of the huge bedroom of the suite they’d been put in to find Grace stretched out on one of the soft white chaise lounges. She’d moved it from the living room where it faced an oversized television so that it was now facing out the window overlooking the city.
She had a plush white robe belted loosely around her. Her toned legs were stretched out in front of her, and she had a glass of champagne in her hand.
“You look sexy as fuck,” he murmured, dropping onto the other chair she must have moved as well.
As he sank down into the plush seat, she smiled. “I figure I’m never going to have a chance to stay in a place like this so I’m taking advantage. Trying to make lemonade from lemons and all that.”
“Why won’t you get that chance?”
She lifted an eyebrow. “I work for the public school system. A night here is like…probably a couple months’ paychecks. Maybe more.”
“You’re probably not too far off the mark.” Wyatt had put them in one of the penthouse suites, and while Logan wasn’t sure how much this place cost he knew it was pricey and probably half a year’s salary for her. It was where the Serafina put their high rollers. Leaning over, he grabbed the bottle of champagne—which was almost empty—from the bronze ice bucket and poured himself a glass.
“This is such an Instagram moment,” she said, giggling, and he was glad the champagne had loosened her up and hopefully eased some of her tension.
He’d hated that she’d been crying, though he understood why. But it had made him feel helpless because there’d been nothing to do to stop her tears. Nothing other than stopping the bastard after them. “Are you on Instagram?”
“Yep. It’s one of my only social media accounts and I love it. I find out all sorts of cool things that teachers and counselors around the country and world are doing. And of course I get unlimited access to cute dog pictures.”
He laughed lightly. He knew she was thinking about adopting a rescue and was hoping to do so once summer started. “Have you ever thought about teaching instead of being a guidance counselor?”
She nodded. “Yes. I go back and forth on whether it would be right for me, because I love what I do.”
He reached out with his free hand and linked his fingers through hers as he looked out at the city in front of them. “You’d make a good teacher.” She was so kind and giving.
“Thanks.” She sighed almost happily and took a sip of her drink.
“You seem like you’re doing a little better.” For that he was grateful.
“I am. Thanks for letting me cry it out on you earlier. I feel like I should be embarrassed.”
He tightened his fingers in hers. “No, you shouldn’t. And I’m surprised it didn’t come out earlier, to be honest.”
She took a sip of her champagne and laid her head back against the lounge chair. That was when he noticed she was wearing the bracelet he’d given her. “The reality of it all sort of crashed over me all at once. It’s hard to grasp that someone wants us, or one of us, dead.”
&
nbsp; “I know.” He tightened his fingers in hers again as he watched her.
She looked so incredible just lying there, her robe loose around her, split up the middle to reveal her bare, sexy legs. Legs he’d had draped over his shoulders more than once. Fuuuck. His cock hardened just thinking about that.
Setting his glass down on a little side table, he moved to her chair and sat on the end of it. This woman completely owned him, even if she didn’t realize it.
She gave him a lethargic, relaxed look. “What’s up?”
Instead of answering, he shifted so that he was kneeling at the end of the lounge and slowly started spreading her robe all the way open.
Setting down her glass, she hitched in a breath as she watched him—and made no attempt to stop him.
“You just sit back and relax,” he murmured. Hell yeah. He just wanted her to enjoy herself. Those tears from earlier had destroyed him.
Her cheeks turned pink as he reached for the tie on her robe and tugged. It was already so loosely belted, and once it was untied it completely opened to reveal his fantasy.
She had nothing on underneath—nothing on at all except the robe and her new bracelet. Her nipples were already hard, her chest rising and falling a little erratically as the robe slid to her sides. It was still technically on her, but showing all the best parts. He was so gone for her.
Reaching between her legs, he slid a finger along her folds. Slowly he started teasing her, barely dipping his finger inside her while keeping his gaze on her face.
She was so expressive, hitching in a breath each time he grazed her clit. He knew how to tease her, loved doing it. But he couldn’t wait any longer to taste her.
His self-control was shot where she was concerned. Bending down, he began teasing her in earnest, flicking his tongue against her slick folds, tasting, devouring. She was everything to him and if he could make her forget about the bullshit they were dealing with, for even a little bit, he was going to.
Almost immediately she slid her fingers through his hair and clutched at him, holding tight. “Logan.” She moaned it out like a soft prayer.
