Of Loss & Betrayal (Madison & Logan Book 2) (28 page)

I collapsed on top of Logan as the last tremor left me, feeling weak and utterly satisfied. Logan stroked my back as we both struggled to catch our breath. His chest was warm and I snuggled against it, feeling perfectly content. I made a sound of dismay when I saw that my nails had actually broken through his skin, leaving small moon-shaped scratches on this chest. I leaned over and kissed them gently.

“I’m sorry,” I said apologetically. “I got a little carried away. I didn’t mean to actually scratch you.”

Logan laughed and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll take those battle scars any day, if it means you riding me like that.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help laughing. I admired the ring on my hand that was resting on his chest. It was a foreign feeling, having a diamond ring on my hand winking back at me. It was hard not to just stare at it.

My thoughts wandered to my dream about Cassie. I called it a dream, but I truly believed that it had been Cassie reaching out to me, pushing me back into the living. For the first time, I felt peace about what had happened to her. I was able to accept that she had known about Logan and me, but I was also able to accept that she hadn’t killed herself because of it. I would forever regret the way I handled the situation back in college, but I would always be grateful for Cassie’s forgiveness and love.

Chapter Twenty-Two

I called Emily the next day to tell her about our engagement. She was almost excited as I was and was ecstatic when I asked her to be the maid of honor. The first thing she asked was whether Logan was going to have some hunky groomsmen. I laughed and told her I’d be sure to tell him it was a necessary requirement.

I called my father after my phone call with Emily. He was surprised but happy for me, and made me promise to visit home soon with Logan. Logan’s parents were still in Europe, but he had mentioned that he would let them know today about our engagement.

I spent the entire morning daydreaming about what our wedding would be like, as well as looking up online how exactly one went about planning a wedding. I didn’t take Logan seriously when he said he wanted to be married in three months, but I knew he wouldn’t be patient enough for a year-long engagement. Truthfully, I didn’t want to wait that long either. We had wasted so much time; I didn’t want to waste anymore.

Later in the day, I finally settled myself in front of my computer to get some actual work done. It was difficult, because my thoughts kept drifting to Logan and our wedding, but I forced myself to buckle down and was able to get a good amount of writing done.

It was late afternoon when my phone rang, and I smiled when I saw it was Logan calling.

“Have you set a date yet?” he asked when I answered the phone.

I laughed. “We just got engaged last night, plus I’m actually getting some work done today. I think we’re allowed a few days to just wallow in the moment.”

“I guess it’s acceptable to wait a few days, but we definitely need to pick a date by this weekend.” Logan’s words were firm but I could hear the smile in his voice. “I’m leaving work early today. I’ll probably be home in about an hour. I expect you to be waiting naked in bed for me. Start playing with yourself so that you’re nice and wet for me when I get home, because I’m going to start fucking you the moment I walk through the door.”

I blushed at his erotic words in the plain light of day. “Logan,” I admonished, “what if someone at work hears you?” Despite my protestation, I could feel myself starting to get wet.

“My office door is closed,” Logan said dismissively. His voice deepened. “I’ll see you soon.”

I couldn’t wait for Logan to come home after we got off the phone. I finished the section of my article I was working on as quickly as I could, and then put my computer to sleep. I took Lola for a walk around the block, freezing my ass off the entire way. By the time we got back, it had been almost an hour since Logan’s call, so I hurried to do as he asked. I stripped and lay on the bed, the comforter cool and smooth against my body. I slid one hand down to twist my nipple as my other hand went farther down. I spread my legs open and stroked myself, pretending that it was Logan touching me. It didn’t take long to make myself orgasm. Despite the release, I still felt an ache inside me, because it was nowhere near as satisfying as it was to be with Logan. I willed him to hurry home, needing to feel him inside me.

I was lying in bed, daydreaming about Logan, when the next thing I knew, I woke up from a deep sleep. It was dark inside the apartment, and I groggily looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table. I was surprised that I had been asleep for over an hour. I was also surprised that Logan wasn’t home yet. I was cold, so I got up and put my clothes back on. I checked my cell phone to see if he had called, but there was nothing. I frowned. He definitely would have called me if he had gotten held up at work. I was puzzled by the lack of contact.

I dialed his number and listened to his phone ring, but he didn’t pick up. I hung up when it went to voicemail without leaving a message. I tried his office line, but it went to voicemail as well, since his assistant would have already left for the day.

I went into the living room, where Lola greeted me with a wagging tail.

“Hey, girl,” I said, scratching her on the head. “Do you know where Logan is?”

Lola wagged her tail harder, nuzzling her head against my hand, which usually meant she had to pee. I bundled up and put her leash on, my breath taken away when cold air blasted me outside. Lola took take forever to relieve herself, and as soon as she did, we bounded back inside. I fed her dinner and checked the time again, frowning that I still hadn’t heard from Logan. Where could he be?

I didn’t know who else to call, so I sat on the couch, unable to concentrate on anything besides wondering where Logan was. Lola padded over and put her head on my lap, looking up at me with soulful eyes as if she knew something was wrong. Minutes passed, turning into hours, and Logan still wasn’t home. Worry turned into fear and I wondered if he had been in some kind of accident. What were the odds that he would be in yet another accident, but I didn’t know what else would detain him for so long. I called the non-emergency police line, but they had no reports of an accident involving someone of Logan’s description. I then began calling hospitals, but none of them had records of a Logan Delaney being admitted, or even a John Doe that fit his description.

It was almost two o’clock in the morning when my cell phone rang. It was from a blocked number, and I grabbed it and hit the button to accept the call.

“Hello?” I said, not bothering to hide the frantic tone in my voice. “Logan, is that you?”

There was silence on the other end but I could hear someone breathing. “Who is this?” I cried out frantically. Something was very wrong, but I didn’t know what. I just had a gut feeling that Logan was in trouble.

“Madison, calm down.”

I swallowed hard when I recognized the voice. “Mack, what’s happening? Do you know where Logan is?”

“He’s with me. We’re about five minutes from your apartment. We’ll buzz the front door when we get there. Just let us up.”

Something wasn’t right. Mack sounded calm, but why was he here in Chicago? Why hadn’t he said anything when I first answered the phone? Nothing was making sense.

“Can I speak to Logan?” I asked cautiously.

Mack paused before answering. “He’s almost passed out drunk. I doubt he can hold the phone up to his ear, let alone put together a coherent sentence. I’ll see you soon.”

Mack disconnected the call before I could say anything else. I paced the floor while I waited for them to arrive. Why would Logan be drunk? Where had he gone when he was supposed to come straight home? For a split second, my heart dropped and I thought of Kristina. But that was impossible. First of all, she was still in jail. Secondly, Logan would never have anything to do with someone who not only tried to murder me, but entertained the idea of murdering him. I couldn’t see him calmly having drinks with Kristina, even if she hadn’t been locked up.

I jumped when the buzzer sounded, and I pressed the button to unlock the apartment building entrance. I opened my front door, anxiously waiting for them to appear. I could hear footsteps as well as shuffling. When I finally saw them, I realized it was because Mack was practically dragging Logan up the stairs. I opened the doorway wide so that Mack could half-carry him in. He lugged him to the living room and dropped him unceremoniously on the couch. I rushed over and kneeled next to him.

“Logan,” I said worriedly. “What happened?”

Logan was stretched out on the couch, and he rolled his head towards me. His mouth was working but no sounds were coming out. He definitely seemed incapacitated, but drunk wasn’t the first thought that came to mind. I looked up at Mack.

“Where did you find him? And what are you doing back in Chicago?”

“I had to come into town suddenly to tie up some loose ends and I called Logan to see if he wanted to meet for a drink,” he explained. “Whereas I only had a couple, he kept throwing back drink after drink.” Mack shrugged. “He seemed a little stressed out. Maybe that’s why he drank so much.”

I frowned. “That doesn’t sound like Logan. Not only would he have called me to tell me he was meeting you for drinks after work, but he never drinks to the point of being out of control.” I glanced back down at Logan. “Plus he doesn’t look drunk to me. He looks more like he’s drugged.” I looked up at Mack. “We should take him to the hospital. What if someone slipped something into his drink?”

Mack sighed and dropped onto the armchair. He rubbed his forehead tiredly. “There’s really no need to continue this ruse.” He pulled his hand out of his jacket pocket and pointed a gun at me.

Shock wasn’t the right word to describe what I was feeling when I saw Mack pointing a gun at me. To say I was stunned was ludicrous. That word was too mild to describe the emotion that rushed through me. Was this some kind of joke?

“What are you doing?” I asked incredulously.

Mack gave me a grim smile. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m getting ready to kill you and Logan.”

Terror overwhelmed me as I stared down at the barrel of a gun, once again. This must be a nightmare. This couldn’t be happening.

“Why?” I managed to croak out. “Why would you want to kill us?”

Mack leaned back in his chair casually, as if he wasn’t pointing a gun at me and hadn’t just told me he was planning on killing both Logan and me.

“It’s a long story. I doubt you want to hear it all.”

As long as I could keep him talking, it meant that I had a few more minutes to figure out what the hell I was going to do to get us out of this situation.

“Why don’t you humor me,” I said, trying to pull my composure together. I didn’t want Mack to see how shattered I was.

Mack gave me a rueful smile. “I’m sure you’ll be upset to learn that Kristina is the cause of all this. I’m here to tie up loose ends for her.”

“Why?” I asked, unable to hide the edge of hysteria in my voice. “Why the hell would you do that?”

Mack was silent for a while before answering. When he did, there was pain in his voice. “I don’t know when it happened, exactly. Logan was dating Kristina, and I was dating whatever flavor of the month I was screwing at the time. I don’t even remember her name. But the four of us spent a lot of time together when Logan was living in L.A. One day I looked at Kristina and I knew. I knew that I loved her. I’ve been through so many countless women in my life, and I had finally found the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.” He gave me a humorless smile. “The only problem was that she was hopelessly in love with my good friend.”

I wanted to interject, to ask him more questions, but I was afraid if I did, he would stop talking to me, so I stayed silent, letting him lead the conversation.

“I didn’t try anything with her while they were together. What kind of person would I be to fuck my friend’s girlfriend?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “From what I know about your past, you aren’t as self-controlled.”

His comment seemed offhand, but it sliced through me like a dagger. Still, I kept silent.

“When Kristina moved here with Logan, I thought I would never see her again.” He gave me a half-smile. “But then she came back to L.A. She was torn up about Logan choosing you instead of her. I was there for her. I comforted her and consoled her through her breakdowns. I can’t even tell you how many nights I rushed over to her apartment after a call in the middle of the night where she was sobbing hysterically. And slowly, she got over Logan.” He dropped his gaze to the gun in his hands. “And then one miraculous day, she looked at me differently. Not as a friend and a shoulder to cry on, but as a man.” He looked back up at me, his eyes intense. “The word love pales in comparison to the intensity of our feelings. I had never been so happy in my life.”

Logan groaned, his eyes fluttering open. My heart dropped when Mack sat up and pointed the gun at him. Logan looked up at him, although I wasn’t sure if he actually saw Mack since he seemed so out of it. His gaze shifted to me, and then his eyes fluttered back closed again.

“What happened to you and Kristina?” I asked, wanting to direct Mack’s attention away from Logan and keep him talking. I was eyeing the fireplace poker, wondering if I could grab it before Mack was able to shoot. I wasn’t sure if I could make it, but I didn’t know what other choice I had.

Mack’s eyes narrowed at my question. “That idiot got into a car accident in L.A. and Kristina found out about it through one of their mutual acquaintances. She acted like the world was coming to an end and begged Logan to let her see him. And that bastard agreed because he felt so bad about her insisting that she was traumatized, because it was bringing up all the old memories about her father dying in a car accident.” His mouth twisted. “She was beside herself with worry and grief. She didn’t want Logan to know we were together, so we visited him separately. After she saw him, she told me that we were over. She needed to be there for Logan, and she realized that she could never love anybody but him.”

Mack laughed, the sound ugly and twisted. “I have countless beautiful women begging me to give them the time of day and I have to fucking fall in love with the one woman who couldn’t care less about me.”

“Did Logan and Kristina really get engaged?” I couldn’t resist asking, since Mack seemed to enjoy pouring out all the details of their dirty past.

Mack curled his lip. “Kristina was fucking delusional. She begged Logan to give her another chance, but he told her that he was in love with you, and he could never be with anyone else. She was convinced that if she could just break the two of you up, Logan would come back to her. On the day he was supposed to fly back to Chicago, she begged him to meet her for coffee. He kept refusing until she said that she was having thoughts of harming herself.” He shook his head. “I don’t think he even noticed the ring on her hand. She told me she begged for one last picture of them together to remember him by, so she had a waiter take a picture of them.” He grimaced. “That’s the story behind the picture that she claimed was their engagement photo. She was planning on using it, somehow, to break you guys up, but the perfect opportunity presented itself when Logan lost his memory.”