Unknown (Hooked Book 3) (5 page)

“I can see that,” Sam said with a nod. “Holden has a hard time going to competitions with me, and I don’t have to travel anywhere near as much as you do. The thing is, before I found Holden, I’d never seen a love like yours. It was hard as hell not to be sick with jealousy just watching you. I don’t think, even if you’d had to travel all over the world every other day that he would’ve ever scoffed.”

Malik gripped the edge of the weight bench tight enough to snap the wood. “Guess we’ll never know.”

“Guess not,” Sam agreed, taking away the last of Malik’s hope. After all, if they still spoke, then Sam would know better than anyone if Logan was done. Seemed he really was, and Malik had no one to blame but himself. Malik stood, leaving behind his confessions and Logan. Ryan stood, ankles crossed and leaning against a nearby resistance machine. It couldn’t have been more obvious he’d been listening to every word. Malik barely stopped himself from tossing an accusing look over his shoulder at Sam. The man had to have known Ryan was standing there.

“You don’t protect your face.”

Malik rolled his eyes. “I’ve been competing for years. Feel free to go back to your cock fight.”

Ryan didn’t appear the least bit offended. “You’re good. I didn’t say you’re not. But I saw your last match, and not only do you rely too heavily on brute strength you also don’t protect your face. If you want to be the best, you need to be better.”

“All right,” Malik said, choosing to move along and ignore Ryan rather than getting into a pissing match. He loaded some weights on the bar. Ryan didn’t go away.

“If you’d like, I could work with you.”

Malik swallowed down a chuckle. “Look, Ryan. It is Ryan, right? For some reason I keep wanting to call you Brian.” He knew it was Ryan; he just didn’t like the man very much.

“Yes.”

“Okay, Ryan. Boxing and MMA aren’t the same. Nothing you show me will hold up in one of my matches. I’m sure you’re amazing at what you do, but it’s not what I do.”

Ryan didn’t appear the least bit put off. He kept his hands clasped behind his back while following Malik around as if he had nothing better to do with his time. “Actually, the two are more alike than you think. How many fights have you been in?”

With a shake of his head, Malik gave in. “Too many to count.”

Ryan’s eyes flashed with humor. “I’m not talking matches. How many bare knuckle, in the streets, going for blood fights have you been in?”

Even though he had no clue where this was headed, Malik shrugged. “When I was a kid, I was always into some shit. As an adult, I’ve tried to act like one.”

A low chuckle escaped Ryan. He motioned for Malik to go ahead with his workout. “I’ll spot you.” Left with no other choice, Malik settled onto his back with Ryan spotting him. The man kept up his chatter in spite of Malik’s obvious lack of interest. “That’s the difference between us, I suppose. I’ve had to fight for every inch my entire life. Growing up didn’t change a damn thing except how high I could reach. I’ll fight hard and dirty without a qualm. So I protect myself when I go into a match as if the man I’m facing intends to break every rule. Boxing is no different. The man squaring off against you has every intention of hurting you, even if it means killing you.” Ryan stared down at Malik as he knew all Malik’s secrets. “If you really love that sexy husband of yours, you need to start acting like it. Protect your fucking face.”

A snort left Malik without his permission. His strain against the weights showed in his voice as he responded. “And Logan thought you weren’t flirting with him.”

Ryan’s smile was unrepentant. “I hope you set him straight.”

“Do you want to die?”

Ryan released a bark of laughter, drawing the attention of a few men working out nearby. “I’ll take my chances. After all, I already know your weaknesses. You’ve yet to learn mine.”

“Guess I’d better learn them then,” Malik said as he sat up and brushed his forehead on his shoulder, wiping away the sweat.

Ryan’s smile grew. “Was that your way of accepting my offer?”

Did he want to? No, but Logan was wrong. Malik did love him more than anything, including his career. If it took swallowing his pride and accepting Ryan’s help to ease Logan’s worries, then that’s what Malik would do. “I guess I am.”

“Awesome,” Ryan all but cheered. “Just think, you’re one step closer to winning back Logan. That is, if you can beat me to him.”

“You’re a stupid motherfucker,” Malik grumbled, incapable of letting Ryan’s taunt pass without comment, but his mind was on the other half of Ryan’s claim. Could he win back Logan? There was no time like the present to try.

*

There were flowers on his desk. They didn’t have a card. Logan stared at the coral colored roses for ten minutes before working up the courage to inquire about their presence.

Julie, his assistant manager slipped into his office to grab the keys to the cash room. Logan tried not to blush as he pointed at the flowers. “Where did these come from?”

Julie’s blonde curls bounced as she glanced his way. “Some guy delivered them while you were busy helping to train that new guy. I set them on your desk since I didn’t know where you wanted me to put them.”

A wave of relief washed over him. They weren’t his. “Oh, is it your birthday?”

Julie’s face screwed up in confusion. “They’re not for me. They’re yours.”

Logan found himself staring at the bouquet again. “That’s odd.”

The tinkling laughter filling the room at his expense made Logan smile. “It isn’t odd. That’s what people do when they care about you. They send you flowers.”

Logan’s smile faded. No one cared about him. “There wasn’t a card.”

“
Oooh
, a secret admirer. That’s even better.”

“Actually, that’s kind of creepy if you ask me,” Logan said, but his humor returned.

“What’s creepy?”

Logan’s gaze hit the doorway at the sound of Malik’s voice. Julie shot him a surprised glance before quickly skirting past Malik and out the door. She knew. Julie had been working at River Night Brewery for as long as Logan had. She’d been there to witness him falling in love with Malik, marrying him, and she’d been there when Logan had lost him. Logan didn’t blame her for not wanting to stick around to witness anymore Malik drama.

Logan’s heart raced. His pulse sounded so loud in his ears, he wouldn’t be surprised if Malik could hear it. He refused to show how Malik affected him. “We were saying it was creepy to send someone flowers without a card attached.”

“Sounds like something a weirdo would do, for sure.”

They weren’t from Malik. Logan wasn’t sure how he felt about that. His immediate reaction was to hide them. It wasn’t as if Malik could miss the vase sitting on his desk. Even though Logan didn’t know who sent the flowers, and he certainly hadn’t done anything to deserve them, he still didn’t need another black mark against in him Malik’s books.

“So which of your co-workers got flowers from a creeper?”

Fuck
. “Why are you here?” Logan didn’t want to lie. Dodging seemed the best course of action.

“I’m here for you. Can I take you to dinner?”

Logan’s shoulders fell. “Malik, I—”

Malik cut him off. “That’s it, Logan. Just dinner. And don’t tell me you have to work. I called before I came, and some guy up front said you got off five minutes ago.”

Logan didn’t respond. He had nothing. Never in his life had he wanted something as badly, but his mind had gone into self-preservation mode.

“Please?” Malik added, “I’m willing to beg.”

Goddamn, Malik looked so fucking sexy and life just wasn’t fair. There was no way he could say no. He stood. Malik’s expression turned hopeful. Logan’s heart jumped into his throat. Why did he do these things to himself? Who was he kidding? He’d walk into the flames of hell with Malik, if only Malik would ask.

“Can I at least take a shower first?”

“No.”

Something between a sigh and a laugh left Logan. He didn’t know which way to go. “You can’t always have your way, you know?”

Malik’s dimples made an appearance. It had been so fucking long. Logan’s knees weakened at the sight. “You shouldn’t have done such a good job of spoiling me if you didn’t want me to think I could have whatever I wanted.”

Three words rose in Logan’s throat. He had to swallow them. Loving Malik was a habit—one he didn’t know how to shake. But if Logan let it, this addiction would kill him. It damn near had already.

*

As Malik looked on, Logan removed his tie and tossed it into Malik’s truck. Malik’s skin tingled with awareness as his mind raced with possibilities. Logan’s dress pants hugged his gorgeous ass and his shirtsleeves were rolled up, exposing his forearms. Malik wanted to peel the clothes from Logan’s body with a desperation he’d come to know all too well. Since the minute he met Logan, the man had been completely under Malik’s skin.

“Where we headed?”

Those blue eyes, goddamn. Malik never tired of seeing them. He had to clear his throat to answer. Lust was choking Malik. “I thought we might hit that seafood place near the mall.”

Logan chuckled. “The one you can never remember the name of?”

“Yeah, that one,” Malik said as he climbed into the truck. As he waited for Logan to buckle his seat belt, he added, “I still think ‘lobster tank place’ is a suitable replacement for whatever that place is called.”

“It’s called the Lobster House,” Logan said, sounding adorably put out, which was exactly why Malik always pretended he couldn’t remember the name.

Malik shrugged. “Mine’s still better.”

Logan snorted.

The sound had Malik smiling like an idiot. “So how was work?” Malik asked, refusing to let silence take over.

“It was work,” Logan answered the same way he always did. “I’m training a new guy. He’ll probably last three months and I’ll start all over again.”

“Well, being a waiter sucks,” Malik said, throwing in his two cents. “I remember how much you hated it.”

“It had its perks. I met a lot of people.”

A hum started in Malik’s chest. He was one of those people. No doubt, he was reading too much into it, but it didn’t sound as if Logan regretted him. Maybe there was still hope. “But you like being a manager better,” Malik said what Logan hadn’t.

“I like being a manager better,” Logan agreed.

Malik cleared his throat and broached his first uncomfortable topic of things that needed to be said. Some things were easier to say while watching the road instead of seeing Logan’s reaction. “I’m glad to hear that. Sometimes, I think about how you quit college to travel with me, and I hate myself for stealing your dreams. At the time, I thought it was only a matter of time before I could give everything back to you, and make your life easier. Instead….” Malik shrugged, not really knowing how to finish that sentence. He’d taken everything from Logan. That was a hard pill to swallow.

“You didn’t steal anything from me.” The words came out low enough so Malik barely heard them. “I handed everything away. All I wanted was to be with you,” Logan said, his voice gaining strength. “I didn’t care if I had to wait tables or if we lived in a small house. As a matter of fact, as much as I loved our tiny space, if we’d needed to move into a pay-by-the-week hotel room, I wouldn’t have cared. All I wanted was you.”

Yet, he’d still left. Malik bit back those words until he thought he’d chip a tooth. They’d both played their part.

“But I still left,” Logan added, stealing Malik’s argument and shocking the hell out of him. “It was a nightmare—like I was walking around in a fog. Nothing felt real but everything felt raw.” It was as if Logan described everything Malik felt. “I didn’t even tell anyone for the longest time. My mom still doesn’t know.”

Malik glanced over in surprise. “Are you kidding me?”

Logan flashed him a sweet smile. “You have Christmas presents from her at my place. I told her you had a match up north and got snowed in. She was pretty upset on your behalf.”

A bark of laughter escaped Malik. “My mom doesn’t know either.”

“That explains why she’s continued calling once a week as if nothing happened.”

Malik shook his head, incapable of believing how ridiculous they both were. “No. I’m pretty certain she would’ve done that anyhow. She loves you as much as I do. That’s why I didn’t have the heart to tell her.”

He’d spoken without thought. Silence filled the truck. It lingered between them until they were nestled at a table in the back corner of the dimly lit restaurant. That’s why Malik had chosen this place. Not only was it their favorite restaurant, it had great mood lighting and the way the tables were set up made it seem as if they were alone.

Malik somehow managed to make enough small talk to get them through until their food arrived—until he couldn’t take it anymore. Being this close to Logan, and not being able to hold his hand or steal small kisses, it was the shit nightmares were made of. If Logan didn’t want to try again—ever, Malik needed to know that. This slowly bleeding to death needed cauterizing.

“I don’t want a divorce,” Malik said with no real plan as to how he’d start. Once it was out there, he couldn’t stop. “Even if you never want me again, the thought of legally losing you—I’d rather die.”