Chapter 15
Chapter 15
-Logan-
My jaw clenched and I glanced at the chick in the back. Why the fuck would she call in the heat?
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“Cops,” I muttered. “Fantastic.” I dragged my fingers through my hair, keeping my other arm around Hailey, ready to pull her clear if shit went sideways.
My record flashed through my mind – the arrests, the warnings, the nights in lockup. One more strike and I’d be looking at real time. But leaving Hailey to face this alone wasn’t an option.
“Logan,” she whispered, so soft I barely caught it. “Maybe you should-”
“I’m not leavin‘ you,” I cut her off. Something in those haunted eyes of hers made everything else disappear. The shop, the cops, all of it just… gone. “Not happening.”
River and Monty exchanged a look. River leaned against the counter with his arms crossed. Monty shoved his hands in his pockets, uneasy.
Stella stood guard at the door, arms crossed like she was bracing for impact. Her eyes flicked to Hailey. “You sure you’re okay?”
Hailey nodded, but I caught the tremble in her legs, the way she locked her knees to stay standing.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said.
Bullshit. I could read the lie all over her face, but before I could call her on it, sirens wailed outside.
Fuck.
My arm tightened around her on instinct.
“It’s gonna be okay,” I murmured in her ear. “Just stick to the truth.”
The sirens cut off. Red and blue strobed through the windows. Stella unlocked the door a second before it burst open, bell jangling violently as two cops barreled in with guns drawn.
Great. It was Ramirez. Of course it was.
“Hands where I can see them!” he barked, then he recognized us.
“Well. Logan Nash… River Wilson… Maverick Montgomery. I should’ve known.” Ramirez lowered his gun a few inches but kept it ready. “Every damn time there’s trouble…”
I didn’t flinch. Kept my arm locked around Hailey’s waist, feeling her shaking against me. My muscles were wound tight, ready to move if Ramirez tried anything.
“We’re not the trouble here,” I said, keeping my voice level despite the rage still burning in my gut. “Guy came in with a gun.
Threatened her. We handled it.”
Ramirez’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Handled it, huh? You always seem to be handling things, Nash. Where’s the gun?”
I jerked my chin toward the floor where the piece had skidded. “Over there.”
Ramirez motioned to his partner, who picked up the gun with gloved hands. “He fire any shots? Did you?”
“With what, my invisible Glock?” I shouldn’t’ve been snarky. Couldn’t help it. “I would never break my parole like that… sir.”
13:03 Mon, Dec 22 M
Chapter 15
He didn’t say anything, but I could tell he wanted an excuse to cuff me. Drag me back to a cell.
“Someone wanna tell me what happened here?” he said finally, dripping with suspicion.
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I felt Hailey shudder against me, her body going rigid for a second before she pressed closer. My fingers tightened instinctively around her waist.
Ramirez softened when he looked at her. “You okay? Miss…”
She nodded, her throat working as she swallowed. “Hailey… Hailey Conway. Yes. It was my ex… he came in and started threatening me. Logan stopped him.”
Ramirez’s attention snapped back to me, suspicion written all over his face. “Stopped him, huh? And how exactly did they
do that?”
I clenched my jaw. “He was pointing a gun at her. I disarmed him.”
Ramirez snorted. “You expect me to believe you just walked in here and took his gun without any trouble?”
“Whatever,” I growled, my patience wearing thin. “He’s lucky I didn’t put him in the ground.”
Haileys fingers landed on my arm. “Logan…”
I took a deep breath, trying to level myself out.
“Why’re you always right in the middle of these things, Nash?” Ramirez muttered
I shrugged, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing me sweat. “Just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
Ramirez snorted. “Right.” He turned to his partner. “Get statements from everyone. Hailey, I’ll need to talk to you separately.”
I felt her tense against me, her fingers digging into my side for a second before she forced herself to step away. I let my hand linger on her, not wanting to break contact.
“It’s gonna be fine,” I murmured in her ear again. “Just tell him the truth.”
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She nodded, but I could see her legs trembling as Ramirez led her to the corner. He pulled out his notebook, his voice dropping. “Start from the beginning. What happened?”
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I watched her take a shaky breath, her eyes darting to me once before she turned back to Ramirez. “He came in… Matt. Uh, Matthew O’Connor. My ex. He… he-”
Hailey’s voice cracked halfway through her sentence, She cleared her throat and tried again, but it was still rough. Every word out of her mouth twisted the knife a little deeper in my gut.
Ramirez kept scribbling, all business. His partner took the rest of our statements. I could feel River and May watching me like I was a live grenade,
I dragged a hand down my face, forcing myself to stay still. The list thing Hailey needed was me losing my temper with the
cops.
When she finished telling him about all the shit Matt did to her, Ramirez shut his notebook. “Okay. We’ll put out a BOLO for O’Connor,” he said. “You did the right thing calling it in.”
I almost laughed. The right thing would’ve been letting me finish it.
“We’ll let you know when we have him in custody,” he continued. “In the meantime, I’d suggest taking precautions. Call us immediately if he shows up again. And maybe think about a restraining order.”
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Ramirez turned to me. “And you. Stay out of trouble. Or do you want me to drag you downtown for questioning?”
I met his stare head–on. “You got my statement. You got the gun. You need anything else, you know where to find me.”
He didn’t like that, but he didn’t push it. “Just keep your nose clean, Nash. I’m tired of writing your name in reports.”
“Then leave me the hell alone.” I muttered.
He ignored the comment, waved his partner toward the door, and the two of them finally cleared out.
Hailey stood by the counter, arms wrapped around herself, staring at the empty space where Matt had been. Stella was hovering but kept her distance, like she knew this wasn’t her scene to step into.
I crossed the room slow, not wanting to startle her. When I stopped in front of her, she finally looked up. Her eyes were glassy.
“You okay?” I asked. My voice came out rougher than I meant it to.
She nodded, then shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Fair.” I rubbed a thumb over the scrape on my knuckle. “You did good. Kept it together.”
Her lips pressed tight. “I thought he was gonna shoot you.”
“Yeah,” I murmured. “So did I.”
For a second, we just stood there, the air heavy between us. Then she swayed a little, like the adrenaline finally drained out of her. I caught her before she hit the floor.
“Hey,” I murmured, steadying her. “Easy. You’re done for today.”
She didn’t argue this time. Just let out a shaky breath and leaned against me.
“River, take care of the girls,” I said over my shoulder. “We’re headin‘ out.”
River gave a short nod. “You got it.”
I turned to Stella. “Hailey’s gonna take a few days off. Til this shit blows over.“;
“No problem,” she said. “But, uh… is there any way you can send some guys over here anyway? In case he comes back. I’d feel better.”
“For sure,” I said. “He won’t step foot in here again.”
Monty started sweeping up the broken glass by the counter. “Be careful, brother.”
“Always,” I lied.
Outside, the daylight felt wrong – too bright, too clean. I got her helmet on, got her on my bike, her hands gripping my cut like a lifeline. The wind on the ride back was sharp enough to sting, but at least it cleared my head.
By the time we pulled up to the clubhouse, her arms were still locked around me. I killed the engine, waited for her to breathe again.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
I looked over my shoulder at her, her hair tangled from the ride, eyes tired. “You don’t need to thank me,” I said.
“You stopped when I asked you to,” she whispered.
13:03 Mon, Dec 22 M
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Chapter 15
That hit hard.
“Yeah,” I said. “Guess I did… Don’t get used to it. Next time he shows his face, he’s dead.”
When we got inside, Hailey pulled her phone out of her pocket. She stared at it for a minute, then held it out to me.
A text from Matt.
-I know where ur staying, bitch… i’m coming for u-
Fuckin hell, the guy was a goddamn herpes sore. He just kept comin‘ back.
“Logan,” she said. Her eyes were pleading with me.
“Stay here. Grab a drink with Trina and my sister. Clear your head.”
AD
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.
