Hide Your Crazy

by Vale, Lani Lynn

  With one swing, he had the gun knocked out of Tasia’s hand, and it was resting on the ground at Logan’s feet.

  “I have zero problems hitting a girl,” Bruno growled. “I also have zero problems beating the shit out of an old man that plans on stealing a girl from his father.”

  That was when it really started to click.

  Bruno.

  Bruno had been there every single time I’d complained.

  I’d jokingly said it at the restaurant all those days ago, but Jesus. I hadn’t thought it would be true!

  “And I have zero problems taking out a man that defiles a woman,” Bruno continued. “But you? I’m going to take special care of you.”

  Then he had Tasia up and over his shoulder, and he was walking back into the shadows with her a few seconds later.

  Both Logan and Lock moved at once.

  I staggered behind them like a drunken idiot as I tried to recover from the fact that my man was just shot in front of me.

  “Katy?” Dad called out. “Katy!”

  I stopped and turned to see my father jogging down the street toward me, looking worried.

  “What was that?” he asked as he finally caught me.

  My lips were numb.

  That was when I passed the hell out.

  ***

  I came back online what felt like seconds later but must’ve been a bit of time seeing as I was now in Logan’s arms.

  It was the rumble of his voice that I woke to.

  “Gonna have to take a day off to get fitted for new uniforms,” Logan teased.

  “Don’t worry about the uniform,” I heard said in amusement. “I can just hurry the dry cleaners along. And they have your uniforms on file. We’ll get you a new one here…along with more body armor.”

  “He can use mine for the time being,” I heard my father reply with amusement.

  I blinked open my eyes to see I was on the ground.

  Or, I kind of was.

  Logan had me cradled between his upraised legs, and his back was to the brick building that I’d been pressed to not too long ago.

  I scrambled out of Logan’s lap like I was on fire, turned on my knees, and started patting Logan’s chest.

  “Are you okay?” I gasped, tears threatening to spill out of my eyes.

  Logan caught my frantically moving hands and pulled me close.

  “I’m fine,” he promised.

  “Gonna have a hell of a bruise, though,” Lock said. “We haven’t inspected the damage yet. When we got out of the alley, it was to see you on the ground with your head bleeding. Your dad was staunching the flow with his uniform shirt.”

  It was then that I felt the pain in my head.

  And saw that I did, in fact, have my dad’s uniform shirt in my hands.

  My dad was standing there in a white t-shirt and his own body armor, staring at me like I was a nut.

  “I can’t believe you fainted.” He shook his head. “What the hell, Katy?”

  I ignored him and turned back to Logan.

  “Where is Bruno?” I asked.

  “Gone,” Lock said. “We got to the end of the alley to see Bruno’s car being driven away with, we assume, Tasia tucked inside.”

  “We’ll find him,” Dad promised. “We already have plenty of officers in the area looking for him. And we have a BOLO—be on the lookout—for his car. He’ll be found.”

  Was it bad that I hoped that he wouldn’t?

  I hoped that he got away, and we never saw him again.

  I also hoped that he didn’t hurt Tasia too badly, because I wanted that bitch to go to court. I wanted her to lose her child. I wanted her to lose her freedom. And I wanted her to pay for shooting my man in the chest, even if she had known that he was wearing body armor.

  I wanted to watch her go down so hard that she’d never be back up again.

  “You okay?”

  Logan’s whispered words had me staring up at him with resolve. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine. You?”

  He winced. “Gonna hurt tomorrow, but I’m good.”

  I pressed my hand against his face.

  Then I smacked him on the head.

  “Ow! What was that for?” he asked.

  “Don’t ever do that again.”

  His mouth turned up into a lopsided grin.

  “You mean protect you?” he asked.

  I narrowed my eyes and said, “Yeah. That was dumb.”

  “It wasn’t dumb,” Dad said. “It was good, because had anything happened to you, I’d have lost my shit, and he would’ve followed you to the grave.”

  Sadly, his words were so lethally soft that I had a feeling he was speaking the truth.

  “Whatever.”

  Lock dropped down until he could see my head. “Ambulance is here.”

  I could tell. The blinking red and blue lights were a dead giveaway.

  “Oh, look at all the sexy firemen,” I teased.

  Logan’s hand squeezed my ass as he stood up with me in his arms, not making a single sound at the added weight of my body in his arms.

  “Not a word, darlin’,” he said. “You’re getting checked out.”

  I didn’t argue with him.

  “So are you, big boy.”

  He went to argue, and I narrowed my eyes so hard that his mouth closed tight without saying a word.

  “Ohh, and it begins,” I heard said.

  That was when I turned my eyes to see Lock’s father hanging out on the edges of the alleyway.

  “You.” I pointed at him.

  “Me?” he grinned.

  I flipped him off, causing him to laugh.

  “You know,” he said. “You did that to me when you were seven, and it was just as amusing then, because I know you’re not much more harmful than a pissed off kitten.”

  I snuffed. “Mean.”

  “Truthful,” Logan rumbled as he stepped into the back of the ambulance.

  When the doors shut behind us, the medic asked me a question, but I was too tired to think about what he was asking. I turned and rested my head against Logan’s broad chest.

  “I’m just going to rest right here until we get there.”

  And that was exactly what I did while Logan answered the medic’s questions.

  Chapter 22

  Cops are sexy naked.

  -Coffee Cup

  Katy

  I undressed Logan slowly.

  He was sore, tired, and amused as I took my time slipping off the tight uniform shirt that he’d slipped back on to leave the ER with.

  After an inspection of his chest, and deducing that there would be bruising and nothing else, he was sent home with strict instructions to come back if anything changed, or he started having shortness of breath.

  After that scary thought, we drove all the way home without saying a word.

  Now we were in the middle of my apartment, and he was half dressed.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  I swallowed hard and shook my head.

  “No,” I admitted. “Not even a little bit.”

  Instead of making me feel better with false platitudes, he helped me undress and urged me into the shower.

  My clothes were ruined.

  A, they were bloody. And B, they were forever going to remind me of that night, even if there wasn’t a stain to be seen ever again.

  “You’re thinking too much,” he said as he picked me up by wrapping his arms around my upper thighs and carrying me into the bathroom. “Better duck or you’re gonna knock your head.”

  I did, just in time, too.

  “Shit, Logan!” I laughed. “I’ve already had one set of stitches today!”

  He chuckled as he walked over to the shower and turned it on.

  “I want to build a house with a massive iron bed so I can tie you to it without worrying about it breaking, and an even bigger shower so I can take one with you without being on top of y
ou,” he told me as he stuck his hand underneath the spray.

  I squeaked when his cold hand met the bare skin of my ass, and cool water started to drip down the back of my thigh.

  “Jesus,” I squeaked. “What the hell, man?”

  He squeezed my ass, then I had a moment to grin, only to scream bloody murder when he stepped into the still freezing cold water.

  “Logan!” I cried out. “What the fuck?”

  I was fairly sure that our neighbors heard that one.

  His goddamn laughing was enough to make me want to beat him.

  “Put me down, you jerk!” I ordered roughly.

  He did, and I felt my spine curl into my chest as the spray hit my bare back.

  “Ack!” I shivered and turned, exposing the front of his body.

  That was when the still fucking cold water hit his dick and balls, causing him to curse even more loudly.

  That was also when he quickly switched our positions and held me there, struggling and cursing.

  “Don’t get your stitches wet,” he ordered.

  I gave up right about when it started to warm up.

  “I’ll kill you when I have the energy,” I told him. “Jesus, and I still have to go to work tomorrow.”

  I had two autopsies to perform in the morning, and not a lot of time to do it.

  “You won’t, because you love me,” he disagreed.

  He was right. Despite being a shithead for the last two minutes, he was my shithead, and I did love him.

  Dearly.

  That was why it’d scared the absolute crap out of me to see him nearly shot to death right in front of me.

  And an hour later, when we were lying in my bed with the dogs at our feet, I told him exactly what had rolled through me at the second that the gunshot sounded.

  “I was scared shitless,” I told him. “All I could think about was that I just found you, and you were being taken away from me.”

  That was when, despite both of our injuries, he rolled into me and settled himself between my legs.

  I didn’t protest, nor did I complain in the least.

  Instead, I opened my thighs wider, and then threaded my arms around his neck and pulled him in even closer.

  There wasn’t a single inch of space between our bodies when he started to kiss me, slow and deep.

  No other words were exchanged.

  Nothing was said at all. He did all of his talking with his body.

  “Imagine me,” he said. “There was my crazy ex-wife pointing a gun at me, and the love of my life was at my back, seemingly unprotected if I failed to talk her down.”

  I hadn’t thought about that.

  “Get inside of me already,” I ordered.

  He didn’t waste any time.

  One second, he was pressing himself against me, and the next he was working his thick length inside of me, one slow thrust at a time.

  He stopped suddenly, his face coming down until he could look me directly in the eyes.

  “I want to have babies with you,” he said. “I want to grow old with you. I want to live the rest of my life with you right here next to me. I want to hear about what gross things you found inside of your dead bodies, and I want to chain you to me every night before we go to bed. I want to do all of these things, and I want to do them for the rest of my life.”

  I swallowed hard and lifted my legs, trailing my bare feet down the length of his butt and lower back.

  “I want to hear about your crazy cop stories,” I said. “I want to see you dressed in that tight uniform every single morning when you go to work, and I want to take it off of you when you come home. I want to have your babies. I want to bring them to work so you can see them when you’re working, and I want you to come visit me when I’m working even though it wigs you out to see dead people on my table.”

  I hadn’t missed his look of revulsion the one time he’d come to my work.

  But he’d do it. For me.

  He’d do anything for me. Even be shot.

  Talking was short after that.

  He held me tight to him as we rocked together.

  And eventually, when he came inside of me, and I followed right after him, we fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  And not once did I sleepwalk.

  Nor did he wake up and have to walk the halls.

  Chapter 23

  That blood you donated might be in someone’s erection right now.

  -Food for thought

  Logan

  My stomach was tied in knots as I made my way up Reese and Luke’s front walk.

  I’d had a long day at work, and an even longer night thanks to not sleeping well—again.

  I missed having Katy in my bed, and it’d only been a day.

  Yesterday there’d been a rather large school bus accident carrying about thirty college basketball players. Eight of the twenty-three players on board had died, and every person in the area capable of doing an autopsy had been doing them.

  Hence sleeping alone last night.

  Katy had pulled an all-nighter, leaving me alone with nobody but the dogs for hours and hours on end.

  It had given me a lot of time to think, which was why I happened to be where I was.

  Raising my hand to knock, I did so, then turned slightly to survey the neighborhood.

  There was a house for sale across the street, and one two doors down.

  I was studying them, thinking the one two doors down looked a lot like I pictured when I thought about Katy and me raising a family, when the door finally opened and Reese appeared.

  “Hey, Logan.” She smiled at me. “How are you?”

  I grinned. “Better now. How about you?”

  She gestured for me to come in.

  “I’d be better when that woman is caught,” she said.

  I would, too.

  Tasia still hadn’t been found, and neither had Bruno.

  Honestly, I highly doubted that they’d ever be found since we hadn’t seen hide nor hair of them since it all went down two days ago.

  “I don’t think she’s going to be found,” I admitted. “Nor is he.”

  “Trial is still going down, though, right?” she asked.

  I nodded. “Talked to Paydon and his parents today when I went by before coming over here. They’re still having to fight the grandfather for custody. But they should win just fine. Especially since Bruno gave us that little tidbit about Warren planning on kidnapping Gibby. There was a couple hundred grand taken out of his account the day of the shooting, as well as plans with a few local thugs to ‘do the kidnapping’ according to the investigator.”

  Reese shook her head, then sighed and gestured to the kitchen.

  “Come sit down while I finish frosting this cake,” she ordered. “Tell me what you came over here for.”

  Blunt, just like Katy.

  I liked it.

  “I want to ask your permission to marry your daughter,” I said. “And after I get your permission, I want to ask you how the hell to approach the subject with your husband without completely getting shut down.”

  Reese’s eyes lit.

  “Because you want to keep your job?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “No. Not because of my job. Would it be nice to keep it? Yes. Is that the reason I’m asking you to help me? No. I just want to make sure that I get him to say yes so that I don’t have to live the rest of my life with your daughter knowing that he said no.”

  “You’re so sure that she’ll say yes?” Reese asked, mischief sparking in her eyes.

  “Yes,” I confirmed.

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Because I love her,” I answered simply. “And she loves me.”

  “You’re sure of this?” she pushed.

  I felt the smile appear on my lips.

  “I’ve never been more sure of something in my life,” I told her. “I’ve had quite a few emotions roll thro
ugh me this week after I was shot…and one thing I know of for sure, I want Katy at my side for the rest of my life.”

  Reese’s lips twitched. “Then tell him exactly that. He doesn’t need sweet words. He needs to know that you’re going to be there for his daughter. He also needs to know that she’ll be taken care of. Which, he saw firsthand that you were willing to do.”

  That was true.

  But still.

  “So…you want to go ring shopping with me?”

  Reese’s eyes lit up just as Rowen walked into the house.

  Her eyes took me in, then her mother, then me again.

  “Please, God, tell me that you did not just welcome him into our family.”

  Reese’s brows went up. “And what if I did? What’s it to you?”

  “What’s it to me?” She blew out a frustrated breath. “It means that there’s one more person that I have to share chocolate cake with!”

  ***

  Luke

  I wasn’t surprised to find him in my office.

  What I was surprised to find was my wife in there with him, looking at rings on my office computer.

  “What are you doing?” I asked as I came to a halt right inside the door.

  “Looking at rings for Logan to give to Katy,” she said.

  My brows rose.

  “Are you asking her, or telling her?” I asked curiously.

  “I’m asking you.” Logan stood up and put his hands into his pockets. “Then I’m telling her.”

  I forced my grin to stay off my face.

  “I just got news,” I said.

  He pulled his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Yeah?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” I confirmed. “Tasia has turned up. She’s okay, but she is definitely freaked the fuck out. She’s also giving up the fight for her child. She’s ordered her father to stand down, and she’s also turned herself in. As of ten minutes ago, she’s locked up in the city jail. She also has apologized, and asked me to extend that apology to you.”

  I blinked.

  “What?” he asked, sounding confused.

  “She also said that Bruno, Katy’s high school friend, wasn’t the one to kidnap her. Some man she couldn’t identify was,” I continued.

  Logan blinked. “That’s…what?” He tilted his head. “I know what I saw.”