The Logan Brothers - Books 1-4: (EXPOSURE, CRASH, TWIN PASSIONS, and ADDICTED TO YOU)

by Shorter, L. A.

  I hit the light switch and the room was quickly bathed in a sickly orange glow. I squinted as I saw the figure on the bed stir, Brad's face now revealed as he lay on his back. His eyes flickered, his left hand lifting to cover them as he sat up.

  It took a while for things to dawn on him as his mind came into focus. His hand dropped and the confused look on his face turned to shock and fear as his eyes found me, standing in the doorway, a crowbar dangling menacingly at my side.

  He scrambled up out of bed and into the corner of the room. It was the reaction of a fucking coward. When he spoke his words were rushed, cracked, and broken in terror.

  “Who..who...are you!” he said, cowering in the corner of the room like an abused dog.

  “Brad Scott?” I asked, my voice cold and dry. My heart was pounding inside but I didn't show it. I had grown used to reigning in my emotions when I needed to.

  He nodded. “What's going on? Who are you?”

  “I'm a close friend of Elle Harper. I think you know her don't you?” A growing menace infected my words as a questioning frown dipped over my eyes.

  “Erm, yeah.” His face was white, the blood rushing out of it. He looked like he was going to faint.

  And yeah, he knew exactly why I was here.

  “I've come here tonight for one reason.” I let my words hang as I slowly walked further into the room towards him.

  “I've come here to tell you what you're going to do. And if you don't, well...” I lifted up the crowbar as his eyes widened.

  “OK Brad, here's how things are going to go. You have two choices.” I played this part well. It was what I did with anyone who tried to cheat in my casino, anyone who tried to wrong me. I gave them two options, and they always chose the one I wanted.

  Brad, I knew, would do the same. Because really, there was only one choice he could make.

  “You can either leave this motel right now, tonight, and never come back here again, and never, ever, ever, speak or go anywhere near Elle again or....”

  I walked in further, watching him shake and cower, my eyes growing ever more fierce.

  “...or I can take this crowbar here, and do what I'm best at.” I didn't need to clarify what that was. The threat was enough.

  His reaction was instantaneous.

  “No, I'll go, I'll go. I'll leave in the morning.” The words came tumbling out with such speed and fear that I could hardly understand them.

  God he really was pathetic, squirming around on the floor like a worm. He'd been hiding out in this motel, creeping into town and looking for Elle. There was probably no other reason for him to be here. He was just a fucking stalker, a low-life. He fucking sickened me.

  I looked briefly to the table with the TV on it and saw pictures scattered over it. They were all of Elle, pictures of her with him, pictures of her with friends, pictures of her on her own. My eyes drew up to the wall where I thought I'd seen decorations. They were images, as I thought, once more of her. They littered the wall, pinned up all over it.

  My eyes began bulging in anger at the sight.

  His face looked even more sheepish and scared when I turned back to face him. I gritted my teeth and growled through them, my words vibrating out of my throat.

  “No, you'll leave now. You'll leave tonight. If I don't see you coming out of this motel and driving off in the next 5 minutes, I'll come in here and give you option 2. HAVE YOU FUCKING GOT THAT!”

  The last words thundered out of my mouth, my calm suddenly shattered.

  I couldn't tell whether he was nodding on the floor or just shaking, but I didn't care. He'd got the fucking message.

  I took one last glance at the images on the wall, my eyes stopping on one of Elle smiling in the sunshine, her face lit up. She looked so happy, so at ease, so free. I smiled lightly as I looked at it. I'd love to see her like that again.

  I ripped my gaze from the image and back towards the door. “You've got 5 minutes.” I growled again. “I'll be watching from my car.”

  With that I stormed out of the room, leaving the door hanging open as the cool night air spilled inside.

  I'd kept my promise. I hadn't hurt him.

  Chapter 26

  Elle

  The last two weeks had flown by. I mean, seriously flown.

  The night Crash came to me I'd been a mess. It sucked that anyone could make me feel like that, and it sucked that I didn't have the guts to do anything about it myself. Well, I guess I would have done eventually, or at least that's what I told myself.

  Only, I didn't need to in the end. Crash did it for me.

  He'd called me early the next morning to tell me he'd found Brad, talked to him, and had seen him leave. He'd done all of that while I was sleeping. I couldn't believe someone would do all that for me.

  I'd questioned him, of course, to find out exactly what had happened and he'd told me. I believed him when he told me he hadn't touched Brad. I believed the iron tone of his voice when he'd told me that Brad wouldn't bother me again.

  But I also knew what he didn't tell me. That he must have threatened him. That he would have promised violence if Brad ever came back. As long as they only remained threats, that would be fine.

  At the end of it, I didn't want Brad hurt. I wanted him to move on. Maybe this was what he needed to deter him for good, to shake him out of this state he'd got himself into. I hoped - no, believed - that he could finally move on.

  And so could I.

  ....

  It was a summer evening when I went on my first night out in a while.

  Even with the threat of Brad gone, I'd remained locked in my room for the next couple of weeks. I had mountains of revision to get through and wasn't going to let anything get in the way of my grades.

  So I knuckled down and set my mind to my exams alone. Everything fell to the wayside, everything except my dancing. That was the one thing I could never give up on.

  Now, though, my mind was free. I'd just completed my exams for the year and was revving myself up for a celebratory night out. I could feel the excitement building in my body as I danced and drank in Tess' room, Alice and Lexi bouncing alongside me.

  But it wasn't an excitement about finishing my exams that gripped at me the most. No, it was something else.

  It was the knowledge that Crash would be there.

  Crash.

  The guy who people had warned me off. The guy who was apparently a psycho. The guy who'd been rumored to be involved in murder.

  But no, that wasn't the man I'd come to know.

  A car arrived to pick us up and take us to the club for 8 PM. There was a boundless energy inside it as we drove, the four of us cracking jokes and giggling the whole way. For the first time in a while, everything seemed to be going right for us all.

  The most notably happy to me was Alice. I mean, Tess and Lexi always had this enthusiasm and verve for life, but Alice was a more reserved character, rarely letting her emotions run loose.

  Tonight, though, her smile couldn't be contained. She looked like a different person, a jubilant glow around her as if she'd just gotten married or something. It was great to see.

  I'd spoken to her briefly about what had happened with Brad, how Crash had come to me and how, by the next morning, it had all been sorted. I felt nervous telling her, expecting her to frown and tell me that Crash couldn't be trusted, that he'd probably hurt the guy or worse.

  But she didn't. Something had changed in her. She only smiled when I told her and said how she'd been wrong about Crash, how he'd always do anything to look out for me. It was a complete turnaround, and one I didn't quite understand. I knew, however, that her buoyant mood tonight was probably related to it somehow.

  Inside the club the guys were waiting. Kyl
e mirrored Alice's radiance, his face lit as brightly as hers. The twins stood together, as they often seemed to, Gem by Cade's side. Then there was Jude, standing by Zack. I noticed his eyes fall on Lexi as she came in, following her closely as she went through the group, kissing them each on the cheeks. I smiled at the sight, watching his expression turn a little sheepish as she approached him. So cute.

  I felt my heart dip, however, as I looked on, Crash's absence sapping my excitement. Why wasn't he there?

  A huge surge of disappointment began fusing through me, my entire body deflating as I went in and said hello to everyone.

  “Is Crash not coming?” I asked Kyle as he passed me a glass of champagne.

  He frowned, as if I was slightly mad, and smiled. “What, you mean the guy standing behind you?”

  I turned to see Crash standing right behind me, a wide smile on his face. He wore a pair of smart black pants and a beautifully fitted white shirt. It hugged his body tight, the curve of his pecs and muscled arms visible beneath it.

  I saw his smiling eyes dance over the group before he quickly took my hand and pulled me away towards a back-room.

  “I've never been one for public affection,” he said as we rounded a corner away from prying eyes.

  Then he kissed me passionately without me saying a word, sparks running through my lips and down my body as his hands brushed through my hair.

  “I can't stay,” he spoke again, pulling away. “The work never stops.” He smiled, his beautiful white teeth shining like his shirt, but I felt the world drop again.

  “But I've only just got here.” The disappointment in my voice was so obvious.

  He nodded. “It's just for now. But I wondered,” he said, taking my hand in his, “if you'd like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?”

  My heart lifted like a kite. “Yeah! Oh, I mean...that would be nice, sure.”

  He lifted my hand up to his lips and kissed it. “Perfect. I'll call you.”

  And just as suddenly as he'd appeared behind me, so he was gone again.

  ....

  The rest of that night I was walking on clouds.

  Dinner tomorrow night. With Crash.

  I couldn't keep my smile at bay as we all celebrated together. My boundless joy wasn't lost on the girls who all commented, at one time or another, on my Cheshire Cat grin.

  The sense of relief inside me was almost overflowing from my every pore. Exams over, Brad gone, social status solidified, dance troupe flourishing. For the first time in months, years even, my life was great.

  Of course, the cherry on top was Crash. And by God was it a delicious cherry.

  I spent most of the night dancing with Lexi; Tess and Alice coming and going. We had a private table beside the dance floor where the boys sat, chatting happily and sipping on spirits. They all looked really smart, with Armani shirts and jackets hugging their frames.

  I could see Alice trying to drag Kyle out onto the dancefloor but he was having none of it. It looked as though none of the Logan boys liked to move much, actually. All except Jude. After a few drinks he'd built up enough confidence to make a play for Lexi.

  He came and whispered in her ear and I saw her giggle coyly. They looked like they'd make a really cute couple. Lexi was literally the most adorable girl I'd ever met and Jude had this boyish charm and boy band look to him that would appeal to most girls. Not me though - I preferred a proper man.

  Tess still had her eye on Zack, so went over and chatted with him on occasion. I knew they'd made out before but it was always when Zack was wasted. Any time I saw him sober he looked disinterested. Give it a couple of hours though Tess, and he'll be all yours.

  She got plenty of interest when she joined us out on the dance floor though. She always did. It wasn't just the way she looked, it was how she acted and this vibe she gave off. From the stories Alice had told me I knew she had this totally open side to her, completely sexually liberated and willing to try just about anything. She didn't seem to mind when Alice called her a slut in jest. Frankly, she had no way to argue against it.

  I just thanked God that it was Alice I was living with and not Tess. I mean, who was to know who she'd be dragging in after a night out. Frankly, I don't think the presence of a room-mate would deter her after a few too many drinks and with a hot guy on her arm.

  There were plenty of guys in the club, all dancing in groups around us and trying to inch their way closer. Some would make a play but were quickly shot down by myself or Lexi. As the evening wore on Tess, on the other hand, began to take the approaches of random guys more seriously. Zack didn't seem to care a great deal as he sat over with the others, a fact that probably spurred Tess on to try to make him jealous. I didn't think there was much chance of that happening.

  It must have been getting late when I started to feel the night blurring around me. I wasn't sure whether it was the drink or the growing claustrophobia of the dance floor, but I could feel my head beginning to cloud over. It was probably a mixture of both.

  I went over to the table and told Alice that I was just going to pop outside to get some air, clear my head. She nodded vacantly, a smile still plastered on her face, as I migrated towards the door.

  I stepped out of the club and into the cool evening air, filled now with smoke as dozens of people gathered outside, plumes of cigarette smoke issuing from their mouths. I moved off further to find some pure air, sucking it deep into my lungs. It was so refreshing, so invigorating, my spinning head beginning to settle.

  The noise of the club remained loud at my back, however, booming and pulsing. I moved off further down the street, looking for a quiet spot to gather my thoughts. The sound of the club softened in my ringing ears as I walked, the street growing quiet and largely deserted.

  The alcohol in my body hid any cause for concern I might have otherwise felt, the street now eerily silent around me, the club a couple of hundred feet down the road.

  A single car drove past me, moving slowly down the street towards the club. I heard it slow further still, the gears changing as it turned back on itself and came towards me. The sound of the engine grew louder at my back, but I thought nothing of it.

  The noise suddenly stopped, the sound of wheels rolling on tarmac gone. All I could hear was the light chug of the engine as the car sat parked at the side of the road. My heart beat was now rising steadily as I heard the door click open. I felt an urge to turn around but didn't.

  Then there were light footsteps, their pace quickening behind me. I forced myself around as they got closer and saw a cloth come straight for my mouth and nose. I breathed in deep as the cloth was forced on me, a rotten smell inside it. I could feel my knees weakening immediately as my hearing went faint and my vision began to blur.

  I could only make out the shape of a man in front of me, his hand strong around my mouth, his body covered in dark clothing with a hood hanging over his head and shrouding his face. I tried to scream but the cloth muffled the sound, only serving to force more of the rotten gas up my nose.

  It all happened in a flash: the car, the man, the cloth. Within seconds I felt the world closing in on itself, everything going blank.

  Then darkness, nothing, as I fell unconscious.

  Chapter 27

  Crash

  The taste of Elle's lips were lingering in my mind as I woke. I wish I could have stayed there with her, but I couldn't.

  Duty had called, the demands on my time now growing even more with the development of my new project. I had to attend a dinner meeting with some of my investors, the disappearance of Walter Lithgow still heavy on their minds.

  I'd made sure, of course, that his 'disappearance' wouldn't have a major impact on my project moving forward. I'd waited until he'd played his full role before removing him fr
om the picture.

  It still ate away at me - his death. I often woke with images of that evening in my head - my hand gripped tightly on the pistol, my finger locked to the trigger, Jones' hand removing the task from my own. It was a guilt that I'd battled with for weeks, and one that might just live with me for my entire life.

  The show would go on though, and my life was now dominated by my new casino. Plans were well and truly in progress now, and I was meeting to keep my investors in touch with everything we were doing.

  Yet still, rumors of what had happened with Lithgow continued to seep into every meeting, with the conclusion being firmly drawn that he must be dead. I kept my expression flat during these discussions, trying to press on with the business at hand.

  No one would suspect me, of course, and I knew Jones will have done a good enough job to ensure that Lithgow was never found. But still, every time I heard his name, every time those memories came flooding back, I felt a heavy pang in my gut.

  I lay there now, though, my mind on other things. Dinner tonight with Elle. It would be the first proper date I'd been on in years, ever since I was younger and more innocent. In recent times any time I'd spent with a girl would only lead to one place. Well two places really - my place or hers.

  I hadn't had a date in a long time where I genuinely cared for the person, where I wanted to get to know them more and treat them right. The feeling made me quickly realize why Kyle had fought so hard for Alice. I understood that now.

  My phone rang loudly on my bedside table and reached quickly for it. I didn't recognize the number. Probably yet another drain on my already limited time.

  I picked it up and heard a woman's voice. It was Alice. She sounded worried.

  “Crash? It's Alice.”

  “Er hey Alice, what's up? Is everything OK?” I'd never gotten a call from her. Something must be wrong.

  “Um, well, probably yeah. I was just calling to see if Elle was there with you?”

  I sat up in bed. “Elle, no she's not here. What's going on, is something wrong?”