-Hailey-
My heart didn’t drop… it plummeted through the floorboards, leaving a vacuum in my chest. My mind scrambled, rejecting the evidence of my own touch.
It was gone. Gone.
The word echoed, and then two horrific explanations crash–landed in my brain. And I couldn’t decide which was more terrifying.
Scenario one: Logan found it. He’d been in here, maybe this morning while I slept, and he’d discovered the little black eye watching us. He’d figured it out. And he hadn’t said a word.
The glacial coldness, the watchfulness… it wasn’t just a bad mood. It was the quiet, seething fury of a man who knew his old lady had been keeping a catastrophic secret.
He was waiting. For a confession? For a slip–up? The silence was his interrogation.
Scenario two: Anatoly. He’d somehow slipped back in here, through our reinforced defenses, and retrieved his toy. He’d been in this room *again*.
If he could get in and out that easily, then we were never safe. Even with Viktor and his men helping with security.
And this meant his game was evolving. The camera had served its purpose. What was next?
I didn’t know which scenario was worse. The betrayal Logan must be feeling, or the absolute, chilling mastery Anatoly was demonstrating.
Both left me utterly exposed. Both meant the delicate lies I was balancing had already shattered.
I was standing on the couch, frozen, with my hand still pressed against the dusty beam… when the toilet flushed inside the bathroom.
The sound jolted me into action. I scrambled off the couch and landed heavily on the floor. I frantically brushed the dust from my hands onto my jeans, then plopped back onto the cushion and tried to arrange my face into something resembling bored compliance,
My heart was a wild animal beating against the inside of my ribcage.
The bathroom door opened. Logan stepped out, wiping his hands on his own jeans. His eyes, of course, went straight to me His gaze swept over me, and I could’ve sworn it flicked up to the rafters for a second
Did he see it? Did he know? Did he know I thought he knew?
He didn’t say anything. He just walked to the apartment door and leaned against it, folding his arms over his chest. His mare was heavier than before. More accusing
It felt like he was seeing right through my skin. down to the frantic, guilty rhythm of my pulse
After a few long seconds of staring, looking as though he wanted to say something he stood up right and pulled the dood
open.
And I followed him back downstairs like the obedient little puppy I was
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6:38 pm PAY
Chapter 142
Ten feet might as well have been ten miles.
That was the length of my leath. The exact fitme Logo had geninnet himot away hoses my send the
His head was turned away from meve. He was hearing one of these low terment sech come with Cowok fo heads bent over the laptop screen Bot I wasn’t fooled
His entire posture was angled toward me, so his peripheral aon could cach my males wind
The dubhouse hummed around in- for clock of passes, the low evable of coenerdiens soise to the silent surveillance operation happening between an
But all Sex Hee backend
traced the lip of my whinkey fan with my fingertip. This was the mood feestor It had all men at llusion. Another test of my compliance
‘See? I’m giving you space.
But his attention was a weight pressing down on the crown of my head. I could feel it witor om boking at hum When my phone vibrated in my back pocken. I finched. My finger slipped and dipped in the whiskey
froze. My eyes darted toward Logan Had he heard it Had he sensed it Fer the shift in the airé Smelled my feari
His shoulders tensed up. That was all. He didn’t turn toward me, bor the myths of his comeration with Ledger inched fr
fraction of a second.
He’d felt it. He knew.
My heart was pounding in my ears now. Slowly, trying to make the movement seem like a camd adjustment, I pulled the
hone from my pocket. I kept it low, angled away from Logan’s sightline, but he kne
unlocked the screen to see a text from Officer Andrews
Sam]: Call when you have a minute alone.”
A minute alone. What an absurd concept. A bitter laugh almost bubbled out of me. I didn’t have a máte ale I probably wouldn’t have a minute alone for the rest of my life, the way things were going
My thumb hovered over the screen. This was a risk. A huge one. But it was also a lifeline. Sam was my only coctions outside, to a potential solution that didn’t involve Logan charging headfirst into a traps. I had to answer
I typed quickly. Every keyuroke felt deafeningly loud
No alone time. Logan’s watching me like I’m gonna bolt. It’s bad
I paused, my mind racing. A call was impossible. But maybe…
Can you come here? Talk in person!
Maybe he’d let me talk to her in Talon’s office or something. Or she could slip a mote
The idea was a little bit childish. Like passing notes back and forth in science class. But i was all I had
It was either that or wait for Logan to fall into a sleep so deep I could sneak away again. And with how he was acting today,
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7:38 pm PMMO
Chapter 142
that felt like a distant fantasy.
I hit send. A tiny act of treason transmitted through the airwaves.
I didn’t wait for a reply. I slid the phone back into my pocket.
Then I picked up my whiskey glass, and my hand was steady. A small miracle.
I took a long sip. It was a performance. *See? Just checking my phone. Just having a drink. Nothing to worry about.”
finally dared a glance toward Logan. He was still talking to Ledger, but his head was turned now. He was looking right ar ne. Our eyes met, and his weren’t cold anymore. They were heated. Calculating.
He’d seen me read the text. He’d seen me type a response. He hadn’t stopped me. He’d just… observed.
He held my gaze for a few seconds. A silent acknowledgment of the move I’d just made. Then he turned back to Ledger as nothing had happened.
But the canyon between us had just eroded another mile.
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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.
