by Jill Sanders
He wasn’t given the opportunity to speak before Tiffany chuckled loudly and ran her eyes up and down Amy’s dress. “I highly doubt that,” she purred as her fingers dug into his hair, trying to pull him down for a kiss.
His entire body tensed as he tried to push the clinging woman away. He thought he heard Amy growl slightly, then knew he was in trouble before even seeing Amy’s reaction. He watched the reaction of Derrick and John and took the hint that he needed to duck, quickly.
Not even dislodging himself from Tiffany’s hold, he bent at the waist and missed the stream of liquid that would have hit him directly in the back. Spinning around, he watched a very angry Amy storm toward the elevators.
When the high-pitch screaming finally reached his mind, he turned back around to see Tiffany, soaking wet, glaring at Amy’s back.
“Who is that bitch?” she screamed and started storming toward Amy.
Logan ran after both women and beat Amy to the elevators. He spun her around. “It’s not what it looked like,” he started to say, only to be interrupted by a very pissed-off Tiffany.
“I don’t know who you think you are, but I’ll have you banned from . . .” Logan stepped between them quickly.
“Leave it to me,” he growled in Tiffany’s direction while he held Amy still so she wouldn’t jump into the waiting elevator.
He watched the fight leave Tiffany’s eyes, then she poured on the purr again and stepped closer to him until her soaking wet breasts were pushed up against his jacket. “Fine, I’ll just head upstairs and change into my backup dress. I’m in room number sixteen oh one.” She discreetly put a card in his jacket pocket.
“Listen, Tiff,” he started to say again, only to have Amy twist in his arms.
“Hold still,” he said, tightening his hold on her.
“This is Amy, I’m with her now,” he blurted out quickly, since he knew there wasn’t enough time to do it properly.
He watched Tiffany’s eyes zero in on Amy, then a slight smile curved on her lips. “Oh.” She chuckled. “Really Logan, you could do so much better . . .”
Now he was holding Amy back from scratching Tiffany’s eyes out as Tiffany laughed even more.
“Logan, you’d better cage your new bitch.” She walked toward the waiting elevators.
He tugged on Amy’s hand, but she didn’t budge. So he picked her up and carried her toward a private cabana area, securing the doors and locking them in.
“Would you like to tell me what all that was about?” He crossed his arms over his chest, blocking her escape from the door.
Instead of speaking, she crossed her arms over her chest and mimicked his stance. “Would you like to tell me what all that was about?” She finally repeated his question to him.
“That was Tiffany.”
“Yes, so I gathered,” she interrupted.
He prayed for patience. “Remember, I told you we used to go out.”
She waited.
“Well, it appears that her father has released her of her obligation to marry . . .”
“Yes, I heard that part. So did everyone else on the terrace.”
He leaned his shoulders back against the closed doors.
“I didn’t know she was over there. I swear. If I had I never would have . . .”
Her eyes narrowed and he chose that moment to shut his mouth. Instead of speaking, he walked over to her and took her by the hips. “I don’t want to be with anyone other than you,” he whispered into her hair. He could feel her anger vibrating within her. He pulled back and looked deep into her blue eyes then rested his forehead against hers. “Honest.”
He felt her sigh, then her hands went up to his hair. He smiled as she finger combed it back into place. “Okay, but if she comes near you again tonight . . .”
“Trust me, she won’t.” He leaned down and kissed her until he felt her melt against him. Just the thought of her leaving him had his body shaking.
“Where do we go from here?” she asked when he finally paused for a breath.
He took her hand in his and pulled it up to his lips. “Wherever it is, we’ll do it together.” He had never spoken truer words than those. No matter what came at him, he knew he wanted her by his side. That thought alone scared him.
When they walked out of the cabana a few minutes later, the entire two hundred guests on the terrace clapped and cheered. He turned in time to see Amy’s cheeks turn pink with embarrassment, and he couldn’t help himself from twirling her around as they laughed.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Logan and Amy had made such a hit, they’d been deemed the honorary King and Queen of the party. He was relieved that Tiffany hadn’t shown up again the entire night. Amy had been embarrassed for a while after the little show, but he had managed to get her out on the dance floor several times. By the end of the night, she had relaxed and he could tell that she’d enjoyed the evening.
The next day at work, his uncle had bragged that he had another funny story to tell everyone who hadn’t shown up for the party. Amy had blushed, but had taken all the teasing in stride.
There was very little time over the rest of the week for Logan to spend with Amy at work. When he finally left the office, he would head over to her place and they would spend their nights together. But some days they were stuck at the office until after dark.
He’d talked with his uncle about hiring on some more staff and had been told he was looking into it. They had all heard the rumor that his uncle was also looking into leasing some space on the floor above and would be turning those into the executive offices. But so far his uncle hadn’t said a word to him about it.
He’d taken on a large number of his own listings and had a full schedule of showings just like most of the other Realtors in the agency.
By the next Friday morning, he was completely exhausted. He knew he and Amy had a full day of showings ahead of them. He was sad that they no longer went on showings together; he missed the extra time with her. He knew they couldn’t afford to until they hired more employees.
He watched her pull out of the parking lot and felt his heart skip a beat when her Jeep disappeared down the road.
“There you are,” his uncle called out after rushing to the side of his SUV. “When you get back, I want to see you and Amy in my office.”
“Sure, what’s up?” He frowned.
“Oh, nothing big, just wanted to run something by the pair of you.” He glanced around the parking lot. “Did I miss Amy already?”
“Yeah, she just left. I’ll text her you want to see us.”
“Great.” His uncle patted his hand and walked back into the building.
He’d been around the man for only a couple months, but already he felt closer to him than he had ever felt to his father. Which made him feel a pang of hurt in his chest every time he thought about it.
Growing up, he never really thought of his father as mean. Just strict. Sure, he was spanked with a belt until he couldn’t sit straight, but what kid wasn’t? Or so he’d thought his entire childhood.
Now, as an adult, he knew better and wished more than anything that his mother had left the bastard a long time ago. But he couldn’t solely lay all the blame on her; after all, she got slapped around plenty back in those days too.
Now, his mother was set up in a nice condo in Cherry Creek and spent his dad’s hard-earned pension while the bastard rotted in hell.
It had been nice to talk with Amy about his past, about his parents, and the way he’d been raised. She had given him pointers on how to deal with his mother, who was still in denial of the man’s shortcomings as a father and husband. It was hard to be close to a woman who was still so forgiving of the man who had made Logan’s childhood such a living hell.
He took a curve a little too fast and tried to clear his head from the unsettling thoughts, then purposely let his foot off the gas. He had plenty of time to get to his first appointment and didn’t want to end up in a ditch somewhere. Especially since he had a
few years left paying off the new car.
His mind played over his options as he slowly drove up the twisted road toward Black Hawk. Amy had kept all her listings in the Genesee area, while he’d started taking the farther ones in Black Hawk and Central City. The small towns had done a lot of booming since gambling was legalized over two decades ago.
Not only had he chosen the area because the roads were a lot more dangerous to drive in the winter, but because the class of the clientele was a lot different from those in the market for the much-higher-priced homes.
There were several developments going in that would house most of the employees and staff that worked in the big casinos. They still made quite a profit for RMR, which meant every buyer was treated equally.
He was early for his first appointment, so he let himself into the home and made sure the current owners had cleaned up as requested. He was thankful when he walked into the place and noticed it had been cleaned since the last showing he’d had a few days back.
When the potential buyers finally showed up, they argued the entire time he showed them the small place. She thought the home was perfect, while her husband or boyfriend thought the place was a pigsty. His words, not Logan’s.
He doubted he’d hear anything more from the young couple and moved on to his next showing, an even smaller home right in downtown Central City. The place had been converted into a shop at one point and was commercially zoned.
His client, a young woman with jet-black hair and large green eyes, was already standing by the front door when he drove up.
“Hello,” she almost whispered. “I’m Xina.” Her voice was not only faint, but very eerie. “You should take the rest of the day off. Go see your loved ones,” she said as she shook his hand.
His looked at her askance. “I’m sorry?”
“I’m sorry.” She glanced toward the door. “Sometimes I ramble on.” She motioned for him to show her around.
Less than ten minutes later, she took a deep breath. “The place is perfect for what I require.” She stood just inside the front door. “The air in here is good and strong. I’ll start my offer ten thousand lower than the asking price.”
“Okay, if you’ll give me a few minutes, I’ll need a signature.” He pulled out some paperwork and filled everything out quickly. He couldn’t explain it, but the longer he was around her, the more eager he was to get away. “If you’ll just sign here.” She reached for the pen and her eyes met his.
“You’ll need your keys. Don’t forget your keys are in your back pocket,” she said, then leaned down to sign the paperwork. “Thank you, Mr. Miller.” She looked at him, and for a moment, he swore sadness crossed those green eyes of hers.
“Um, Miss . . .” He looked down at the paper for her name again.
“Xina. Just Xina.” She didn’t even turn back to him to answer.
“What is it you’re using this shop for?” he asked.
“I’m a spiritual healer.” She left as he felt a shiver run up his spine.
His next three listings weren’t as exciting as the first two. The next woman he showed an apartment to instantly disliked the place. After that, he showed the same house from his first showing to another couple and they both seemed pleased and made an extremely low offer. The last one was to a single male who was looking at a higher-scale home on the outskirts of town up in the mountains.
The place was gorgeous. Five bedrooms, four and a half baths, with a built-in movie theater basement. He could just imagine himself with a man cave like that someday. Not to mention all those rooms for the kids he wanted. Every one of them looking a great deal like Amy.
He was on his way to his last meeting when Amy called. Pulling into a gas station, he answered, “Hey.”
“Hi, are you about done?” She sounded winded.
“Yeah, are you okay?” He was instantly worried.
“Yes, the condo I just showed was on the fifth floor. I don’t know why anyone would want to jog up five flights of stairs every day.”
“Hey, my uncle wants to see us back at the office before we call it a weekend.”
“Okay . . .” He could hear the question in her voice.
“I have no clue why. He said he just wanted to run something by us.”
“Hmm. I’m heading back down now.”
“I’ve got one last listing, then I’ll be there.” He glanced at his watch and calculated. “About an hour, if this appointment with these sellers goes fast.”
“Okay, see you there.” She made a kissing noise, which sent goose bumps all over his skin.
“I’ll do that in person when I see you.”
“Promise?” she whispered.
“Always.” He smiled as she hung up.
He liked listing the higher-priced homes near Silver Gulch. The entire loop of homes ranged in the millions and were all under a year old. There was a private school, tennis courts, and if the rumors were true, a community swimming pool coming soon.
His appointment was with the current owners of the listing. He’d done his research on the home and hoped it was worthy of the price tag his clients had placed on it. The man who’d insisted on being the last appointment of the day had sounded eager to sell.
As Logan drove up the private drive, he whistled.
The place was bigger than the home he and Amy had shown the Penningtons. He frowned when he noticed that part of the giant place was still under construction. Parking his car, he got out, tucked his keys into his pocket and reached for his bag.
When Amy got back to the office, she handed the single offer she’d received to one of the other agents to type up and send out the next morning. She chatted with the office rats, what everyone called all the wannabe-Realtors who did the filing and paperwork. Then she headed back to her desk and took her time answering a pile of emails she’d been putting off.
After she was done, she glanced at the clock. Walking down the long hallway, she peeked her head into Gary’s office.
“Is Logan back yet?” she asked.
Gary looked up from his computer, a pair of black bifocals hanging on the edge of his nose.
“Not yet.” He looked down at his watch. “Should be back any minute.”
She pulled out her cell phone. She hated to call him if he was with a client, or driving down a windy mountain road. Tapping her phone to her chin she decided to wait a few more minutes.
“Why don’t you come in here and wait? I’m sure he’s just stuck with a client.”
She nodded and walked over to sit in one of two soft leather chairs.
“So, any hint as to what you want to talk to us about?” She smiled as she tried to hide her nerves. She knew everything was going great at the agency, and to be honest, had hoped it had something to do with a promotion. But she doubted he’d bring both Logan and her in as partners. The issue had her torn: she wanted the promotion, but was still uncertain about how she felt regarding Logan’s place in the firm.
Over the last two months, he’d proven to her that he was just as hard a worker as she was. He was smart, loyal, and . . . she was about to add the word sexy to her list. Giggling to herself, she blinked and waited for Gary to set his glasses down and look at her.
“Nope, not until Logan gets here.” He leaned back in his chair. “So, tell me how it’s been going.”
She sighed because she hated small talk with Gary. He somehow always made it seem like a counseling session instead of friendly conversation.
She talked about her listings for the week and slowly watched the time tick by. When fifteen minutes had passed, she pulled out her phone and typed a quick text message to Logan.
Where r u?
When she didn’t get a response, her foot started tapping on the floor. She tried again five minutes later. After five more, she dialed his number. When it went to his voice mail, she jumped up to ask Ana where his last appointment was.
Ana mentioned a client’s name, but no address.
“Why don’t we check his
computer?” Gary suggested over her shoulder.
She raced down the hall and logged into his machine.
Scribbling down the address, she picked up the phone and dialed Central City’s police—only for the police operator to tell her that address wasn’t valid.
“What do you mean it’s not valid? I’m looking at an MLS of the property right now,” she insisted into the phone.
“I’m sorry, but it’s not in our system yet. If it’s a new home . . .”
She glanced quickly over the paper. “Yes, it is. Can you send someone out there? The nearest intersection is . . .” She rattled off the street names and felt her heart jump faster.
“I’ll see what we can do. There’s a convention in town and most of our troopers are busy with that.”
Shutting off her phone, she looked over at Gary, who had turned a deep shade of red.
“Get your keys. We’re going for a drive.” Then he pointed to Ana, who was crowding in the doorway with a few other people. “Don’t leave until he comes back and give us a call the second he does, if he does.”
She nodded as Amy dragged him out the door. Worry was begging to win out in her mind and she was starting to feel a little lightheaded at the thought of something terrible happening to Logan.
A ton of reasons as to why he hadn’t checked in or answered his phone popped into her mind. He could have car problems. He could have gotten lost on a side road and didn’t have cell service. A tree could have fallen on his car, trapping him as a hungry bear slowly crept—She shook her head and tried to stop all the nonsense from flooding her thoughts as she drove up the mountains with his uncle sitting beside her.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Logan tried to open his eyes, but instantly felt pain shooting through his temple. Groaning, he tried to reach up and touch the spot only to realize his hands were secured behind his back.
Shaking his head, he smelled dirt and blood. The mixture sent shock waves through him. The room was too dark for him to see clearly, not to mention his head was killing him, causing his eyes to blur.
