-Hailey-
Logan’s side of the bed was cold when I woke up. I rolled over to it and breathed in the scent of leather, motor oil, and sex, and let it anchor me for a second before the silence pressed in,
I reached for my phone on the nightstand, and the screen was blank. No missed calls. No new texts. Nothing from Stella.
The time glowed back at me: 10:04 AM. Early for her, but not unreasonable. A little knot of something cold started to creep into my gut.
She worked late, I told myself, rolling onto my back and staring at the ceiling.
She’s a night owl.
Her phone died on the charger like mine always does.
She’s sleeping it off, dead to the world.
The excuses felt flimsy against the memory of her concerned voice on the phone when she told me about the Russian guy stopping by.
I hit her contact again and put the phone to my ear.
It rang. And rang.
And rang.
Then it finally clicked over to her voicemail.
*
Hey, you got Stella. Leave a message. Or be normal and send a text, you fuckin weirdo. *
I ended the call without leaving a message. What would I even say? ‘Hey, just checking to see if the Russian mob paid you another visit?‘
My thumb hovered over Nikki’s name. She was practically always with Stella. Maybe she’d heard from her.
The phone rang twice before she picked up.
“Hello.” Her voice was a dry crackle. Already awake, already annoyed.
“Nikki, it’s Hailey. Sorry to call so early.”
A beat of silence.
I could picture her face. The way she’d be cataloging this, deciding how much energy to expend. “It’s fine. What’s up?”
“Have you heard from Stella today? Or last night?”
Another pause. “No. Why? She forget to pay you or something?” The sarcasm was a wall, like always.
“No, nothing like that. I just… tried calling her last night and this morning. No answer. It’s probably nothing. Her phone’s dead or something.” I was trying to convince us both.
“She was supposed to finish the linework on that dragon back piece today,” Nikki said, her tone shifting from annoyed to
curious.
1/4
7 68
98S
Chapter 98
55 Vouchers
“Client’s coming in at noon. She’s usually pretty on top of that shit. But it’s Stella… she could’ve gotten a better offer, decided to drive to fucking Vegas on a whim. You know how she is.”
I did know. Unpredictable. Brash.
But also wildly protective of her business. Canceling an appointment wasn’t her style.
“Yeah,” I said warily. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“She’ll probably stumble in around noon smelling like a distillery and a good time, complaining about the light,” Nikki said, and I could almost hear her shrug.
“I wouldn’t sweat it. You doin‘ okay?” The question was casual, but it had an edge.
“Something like that,” I murmured.
“Good. Well. If she doesn’t show by noon, I’ll try her. You focus on… whatever it is you’re doing.” There was a finality in her tone. The conversation was over.
“Thanks, Nikki.”
“Yeah. Don’t mention it.” The line went dead.
I let the phone drop onto my chest, and it should’ve echoed like a bass drum with how hollow I felt.
Nikki’s lack of concern should’ve been comforting. But part of me wondered if she even knew about the Russian… or about my situation. I wasn’t sure if Stella had told her anything.
I could go find Logan and tell him. Watch his face shut down, his green eyes go cold and operational as he added another variable to the endless list of threats.
The scene from yesterday flashed in my head. Me on the pool table straddling Leo, the raw terror on Logan’s face when he thought the blood was mine.
I felt the desperate, claiming weight of his body on mine last night, his need to erase every danger with physical proof that I was here, I was his, I was alive.
He was downstairs right now, dividing his club into cells, turning his home into a fortress. He was balancing on a knife’s edge, trying to handle everything.
I couldn’t hand him this. Not yet. Not when it was probably nothing. I wouldn’t be the girl who cried wolf.
I swallowed the knot of fear. It didn’t go away… it just settled deeper into the pit of my stomach. I’d keep it there for now.
For him.
I slipped out of bed, took a quick shower, threw my wet hair up into a bun on top of my head, and got dressed. Then I headed downstairs, just to not be alone anymore.
The smell of fresh coffee hit me halfway down the stairs. A rich, dark promise of normalcy that almost made me believe it.
The main room was quieter than last night, the tension replaced by a low, purposeful hum. The pool table was still covered in Leo’s blood, but someone had mopped the floor with bleach. The scent was almost overpowering the coffee.
I followed the murmur of voices the kitchen. The scene there was so domestic it felt surreal,
Scarlett was
buttering
tain of bread on the counter. Abby was methodically wrapping sandwiches in plastic wrap.
Kayla and Ruby were loading cans of soda and bottles of water into a massive cooler, and Trina stood at the stove, tending to
2/4
55 Vouchers
a massive pot of something that smelled like onions and garlic.
It was Ruby who saw me first. A wide grin split her face, nearly dropping the cigarette from the corner of her mouth. “Well, look who finally decided to join the workforce. Sleep okay, princess?”
It was a far cry from Kayla’s quiet accusation yesterday. The edge was gone, replaced by teasing familiarity.
“Hardly,” I said, managing a small smile and heading straight for the industrial–sized coffee maker. “He steals the blankets.”
A round of chuckles went through the room. Trina glanced over her shoulder. “There’s clean mugs in the dishwasher. Help yourself. And grab one for me while you’re at it. Black.”
I did as I was told, handing Trina her mug and pouring one for myself.
“We’re prepping for the siege,” Scarlett said, nodding toward the cooler. Her hands never stopped moving, slapping ham and cheese onto bread like a professional. “Figured we might as well be comfortable while we’re locked in the panic room.”
“It’s not a panic room,” Trina corrected, stirring her pot. “It’s a tactical repositioning. Sounds better. Makes Jake feel less like he’s failing at his job.”
“Whatever it is, it’s damn sure better than being shipped off to Washington,” Ruby said, blowi ceiling vent.
a smoke ring toward the
“No offense to the ocean, but I’d rather be here where the action is. Even if the action is just watching Link try to figure out how to hook up a DVD player.”
“It’s the principle,” Kayla added softly, placing a wrapped sandwich gently into the cooler. She looked up at me. “I’m sorry for being a bitch, Hailey. You were right. Running away wouldn’t have stopped this. At least this way, we’re all together. We face it together.”
I knew she meant well, but the words landed directly on the secret I
*Together.*
was carrying.
I took a long sip of coffee, letting the heat scald my tongue, hoping it would burn away the worry.
Abby caught my eye and gave me a knowing smile. She was in her element here, Useful and needed. The side of my sister I was used to seeing.
“They’ve got couches and everything down there now,” she said. It’s like a weird, windowless bachelor pad with enough “They’ve got couches and everything down there now,” she said artillery to take over a small country.”
“Our kind of place,” Scarlett deadpanned.
I stood there, cradling my mug and letting their chatter wash over me. A warmth that almost reached the cold stone of dread in my stomach.
They weren’t just tolerating me anymore. They’d drawn a circle and put me inside it. Because I’d stood my ground. Refused
to run away.
And all I could think about was the growing certainty that I was wrong. That the cost of all of this would be bigger than any of us really knew.
3/4
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
