Chapter 122
-Hailey-
:
Logan didn’t let go of my hand until we were inside his apartment.
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I stood frozen in the middle of the living room with my arms wrapped around me, just watching him.
He clicked the deadbolt shut, then shook his head slightly like that wasn’t enough. He grabbed one of the kitchen chairs and wedged it under the doorknob.
Then he headed for the window.
“Logan, what are you-” I started, but he looked over his shoulder at me and brought a finger to his lips.
He yanked the curtains closed, and a bunch of dust flew off of them. We never bothered closing the curtains.
He peered through the narrow gap between them, scanning the alley below like he was expecting to see something other than empty beer bottles and a dumpster full of trash.
When he turned away from the window, I tried again.
“Logan…”
He was moving frantically through the apartment now. He whipped his head around to face me and shook it hard.
He flipped the couch cushions. Opened all the drawers and cabinets. Removed the lampshade and carefully inspected the bulb.
I sank onto the couch, twisting my fingers together in my lap. Trying to calm my nerves. He was scaring the hell out of me, but I clearly wasn’t going to get any answers until he was done with whatever this was.
He went through the kitchen. The bedroom. I heard him lift the mattress, drag furniture away from the walls.
He went through both bathrooms, rifling through the cupboards and medicine cabinets, lifting the lids off the toilet tanks, then replacing them.
Finally, he slumped against the bathroom doorframe and looked at me.
“He was here,” he said. It came out rough. “Well… out there. In our fuckin alley.”
My heart sank, and goosebumps crawled down my arms. “When? How do you… how do you know?”
He looked at the floor and ran a hand through his curls, but he didn’t say anything.
“Logan…” I pressed. “What happened at the park?”
He looked back up at me. “I found Stella’s phone… on the carousel.”
15:37 Thu, Feb 5
Chapter 122
His eyes went up to the raven on the wall behind me.
“Anatoly wasn’t there?” I asked.
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He shook his head. “No. He was here. There was a picture on the screen… taken from down there in the alley. He got through our security. Or he sent someone. Left us a message.”
God, dragging information out of him felt like pulling teeth. “Logan. What was the message?”
He sighed. “Hang on. Stay right there.”
I watched him move back to the window. He unlocked it and threw open the sash, then climbed out onto the fire escape.
When he came back inside a few seconds later, he handed me his phone.
He’d taken a picture of the wall under the fire escape. Of the new graffiti painted on it.
Five words.
And each one sent a tendril of ice racing up my spine.
He took the phone back from me and shoved it in his pocket, then pulled his cigarettes out of another and went back to the window to light one up.
He offered one to me, but I declined. My head was spinning so fast, I felt like I needed to grip the couch cushions to keep myself from flying away.
Round and round in circles.
My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and the vibration startled me out of my spiraling thoughts. My fingers were trembling as I tugged it out of my jeans.
The screen lit up, and my heart dropped into my stomach.
A text notification. An unknown number.
My gut wrenched because I already knew the notification before I finally tapped it.
–
somehow, deep down-
who it was. My thumb hesitated over
The message was short. Just three words, one horrifying sentence.
* Look up, Hailey. *
My breath caught in my throat and made a strangled gargling sound. The walls felt like they were closing in on me. My skin prickled, and I could feel it. A set of eyes on me. Watching. I didn’t want to look up.
want to see it.
I didn’t
My head snapped toward Logan. He was staring at me, with his cigarette forgotten between his fingers. His brow furrowed and he took a step toward me.
15:37 Thu, Feb 5
Chapter 122
“You good, Ace?” he asked.
I nodded too quickly, forcing a shaky smile. “Yeah. I’m okay.”
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It sounded weak even to me. I shoved the phone back into my pocket, trying to act casual, like my heart wasn’t trying to escape from my chest.
He didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t push. His eyes lingered on me for a few seconds before he turned back to flick ash out the window.
I cleared my throat. “We should, uh… I’m gonna go back downstairs and get a drink. It, uh, it feels weird up
here now.”
Logan glanced over his shoulder at me. “Feels safer up here than it does down there. I already cleared the place. Checked everywhere for cameras. Wires.”
“Not everywhere,” I murmured under my breath.
“What?” Logan asked.
“Um,” I said louder. “I really need a drink. Can we go downstairs?”
He studied my face again before nodding and tossing whatever was left of his cigarette out the window. He closed the window and locked it, and I couldn’t help but marvel at how pointless that was.
I forced another smile and stood up. My legs felt like jelly. The phone in my pocket burned against my ass. A ticking time bomb of terror.
I needed to get away from Logan just long enough to think – to process what the hell was happening without him seeing me fall apart.
We headed for the door, and as Logan moved the chair blocking it, I slipped my hand in my pocket and turned the phone off completely. No more messages. No more surprises. Not until I could breathe again.
Downstairs, the main room was quiet. Conversations cut off as we passed. I could feel everyone’s eyes tracking us – tracking me. The weight of their concern was pressing down on me so hard I wanted to scream.
Scarlett appeared at my side, pressing a glass of whiskey into my hand. “You look like you could use this,” she said softly. “Drink.”
I knocked it back in one burning gulp. It did nothing to dull the panic clawing at my ribs.
Across the room, Abby caught my eye and frowned. She started toward me, but I shook my head slightly. I couldn’t handle her questions right now. And I didn’t want to risk her getting closer to whatever nightmare was unfolding.
Logan’s hand settled on the small of my back. “You’re shaking,” he murmured against my ear.
“I… I need to pee,” I responded feebly. “Be back in a sec.”
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.
