Redemption Hills: The Complete Collection

11. Logan

ELEVEN

LOGAN

It was half past ten when I weaved my way through the throbbing crowd toward the private booth tucked at the far back corner of Absolution. Absolution was the club Trent ran and owned, though a piece of that pie went to both Jud and me.

Our businesses were all tied. Bound together since the three of us were bound in blood and loyalty.

They earned the money.

I invested it.

Multiplied it and turned it over.

It was my calling. What I’d been bred to do.

What fed my addiction and destroyed the last vestiges of goodness inside me.

Lights strobed over the crowd, and lust stroked the air with an undercurrent of greed.

Tonight, a cover band was on the stage, the place packed and wild and hedged with a vibe of decadence.

I inhaled it like it might help me regain my footing.

Because I was tripping in a direction I couldn’t allow myself to go.

I should’ve always known Aster Rose would be a dead-end, and I was pretty sure if I didn’t get smart, that dead-end was going to land me six feet underground.

Things were already turning south in my brain. Leaving her there tonight? After walking in on her wearing that nightie? That shit had been one second from being impossible. How easy it would’ve been to slide my hands under the slip to get to all that sweetness.

To set my dick free and take her against the wall.

It’d been so fucking long since I’d been in that body, in that perfection, that I’d nearly walked right over that line.

Felt what she might give.

Topping it off was the memory of the way it’d felt sitting next to her at my niece and nephew’s performance. Like she’d been there all along. Where she’d belonged. My mind raced with the possibilities that my brain knew better than to go to.

It’d left me shaken.

Hungry for things that really should sour on my palate.

I’d only intended to push her a bit. Tease her. Tempt her the way she was tempting me. Then I’d touched her, and all bets were off. I couldn’t handle the way she’d looked at me with those fire-agate eyes.

The way she had to stop herself from letting the pleas drop from her tongue. I had nearly lost it right then, and I knew I had to get the fuck out of there before I did something stupid.

Like putting a wall between us was going to cure the need.

My cock still raged, and my fingers were itching with the desire to sink right in.

Mouth watering for any taste of poison she might give.

Funny since there was a huge piece of me that still wanted to tell her to fuck off.

This was the girl who’d destroyed me. One who’d left a hole so deep and wide it didn’t stand a chance of callousing over.

It was just this gaping, festering mess that would forever hate what she’d done.

I didn’t trust her.

Not at all.

And the really sick part of me didn’t give a fuck. That part didn’t care what she’d done or where she’d been. Her place was with me.

It certainly wasn’t wise.

I’d known it in the hard panic that’d taken hold of my brothers when they’d seen me walk up with her like rolling in with a Costa was perfectly normal.

It was a line in the sand.

A beckoning of trouble.

A middle finger to the type of people who were not to be trifled with.

The kind of people we used to be, but it was a life that we’d left behind.

Permanently.

And now a Costa princess was in my penthouse apartment.

I shouldered through the crush to find my brothers were already waiting for me in our regular booth reserved for us at the very back of the club.

Trent sat on the right and Jud on the left, Trent sipping from the expensive scotch he preferred and Jud sipping from a foaming mug of his favorite beer.

It wasn’t all that rare of a sight.

I slipped into the booth on Trent’s side and cut them both an overzealous smile. “I’m here, boys. Let the party begin.”

Trent grunted. “Think you know full well we didn’t call you here for a party.”

Right.

It was an inquisition. I’d figured Trent wasn’t looking to chill when he’d leaned in like he was going to tell me goodbye after the recital and told me to be here at ten.

I rocked back against the booth like I hadn’t dropped a nuclear bomb on them earlier tonight without giving them a reason for war.

“Why so glum? Tell me the honeymoons haven’t already worn off?” I said it like it was a sad, sorry state of affairs. “Are your poor, tiny dicks shriveling up from disuse? It’s an injustice, you know.”

I cracked it the way I always did, rubbing it in like they were the ones going to be missing out for the rest of their lives when they’d tapped into what really mattered. “I warned you guys…but did anyone listen to their baby brother? Nooo. When are you all going to realize I’m the smartest of the bunch?”

Jud pointed at me from across the table. “Cut the crap, Logan. Don’t think you’re going to bullshit your way out of this one because I’m not buying that smile on your face for anything.”

Trent went right for the throat. “Care to tell me why the fuck a Costa showed up at my kid’s performance tonight?” he demanded.

I shrugged like it was no big deal. “Like I said, I ran into her last night and thought we should catch up.”

Trent’s brow lifted and his voice lowered, “You ran into her? Where?”

I knew I was going to get the rain of fury from my brothers. I respected the hell out of them, but in this instance, I was having a really hard time finding any fucks to give. Still, I tried to play it off like I wasn’t in deeper than I’d ever been. “A friend’s house.”

“What friend?” he pressed.

I sighed. “A client of mine. No one you would know.”

“Why was she there?”

“Not really sure.” At least it was some version of the truth because really, what the hell was that prick Jarek doing there? “A few acquaintances and I were having a friendly game of poker, and lo and behold, there she was.”

Nothing but a perfect dream wrapped in black silk.

My dick stirred again.

“ Friendly ?” Trent pushed.

“Just wagering on a little good fun.”

Jud groaned.

They didn’t exactly approve of my playing. I did my best to keep it on the sly most of the time, but there’d been instances when I couldn’t turn over a car as quickly as I’d like, and they’d get a whiff of what was going down.

“Shit,” Jud rumbled, scrubbing a meaty palm over his face. “Want to tell us what was on the table?”

“Things might have gotten a little dicey.” I eased in the confession.

“How so?” Jud asked, eyes narrowing as he lifted his beer to his mouth.

I paused, hesitated, then let the truth bleed out. “I might have won her.”

“The fuck?” Trent spat.

They stared me down like I’d lost my mind. Why I bothered pretending I hadn’t, I didn’t know because I knew I’d stepped into a world I’d do better to pretend I never knew existed.

We all three eased back when the server showed with my regular drink.

The second she was gone, Jud sat forward, his elbows propped on the table and his face in his hands. “This is a joke, right? Tell me it’s a fucking joke, Logan.”

His giant arms were bound in muscle that flexed and bunched. Like he was coming up on a battle that would require him to fight to the death.

I prayed to God it wouldn’t come to that.

Because it didn’t matter if I knew agreeing to her staying with me was the right thing to do, didn’t matter that I knew she needed help, her being here was going to come at a cost.

Problem was, I still didn’t know how steep that might prove to be.

Blowing out a sigh, I scratched at the back of my neck in discomfort. “Not a joke.”

Anxiety gusted around the table, quiet taking hold for a moment.

My throat worked, and I forced myself to lay it out because there was no use in trying to keep any of it from them.

We had each other’s back, whatever messes we found ourselves in. And when it came to us Lawson Brothers, we always seemed to find plenty of it.

I let myself feel it. The weight of what I’d done. The decision I’d made. How it might impact us all.

Aster’s face flashed through my mind. The way she’d begged me to let her stay. The way the pain in her eyes was greater than the fear of what standing up for herself might be.

The way it had me itching to go on a murder spree.

I doubted much weighing any of the risks now would make me change my mind.

None of it would make me take it back.

Still, I was letting the disquiet come out with the explanation. “There was a big game at one of my most affluent client’s places. He likes to play big. High stakes. All-in kind of shit. Played a couple times at his table over the last few months. I didn’t know what I was walking in on last night, but I found myself sitting across from Jarek Urso.”

“Fuck.” It heaved from Trent in a bout of horrified shock. He scrubbed a tatted palm over his face, like it might flush out the mistake he’d undoubtedly believed I’d made.

“Yup.”

Trent eyed me seriously, like he was calculating those days, trying to make it add up.

“You have history with her?”

Shallow, disheartened laughter rumbled out. “You could say that.”

Shame bound my spirit.

All the warnings Trent had given me to lay low when it came to the Costas. The way I’d promised again and again that I would. That I was keeping my nose clean.

Never had I let my brothers in on what’d gone down with Aster. Not after everything that had happened. Not with the choices I’d made that started a domino effect that I couldn’t undo.

I didn’t even know how to give voice to the loss.

Guilt bottled tight in my chest.

Agitation buzzed from Trent. “How deep, Logan?”

My eyes dropped closed. “Really fucking deep.” I opened them, bitterness getting ground up in the clench at the back of my teeth.

“But she ended up with Jarek?” Jud issued it like he was processing it, too, though his voice was tinged in understanding.

“That’s right.”

“Shit,” Trent said low.

“And last night you ended up sitting across from her husband at a shady table at one of your client’s places,” Jud added like fact, scratching at his beard.

I was sure by the look on his face that he’d come to the quick conclusion that revenge was the sum I’d been aiming for.

“That is correct, brother.” I swallowed around the landslide of jagged rocks that tumbled down my throat. “He and I were the last men standing. His stack was depleted fast.”

I drove my fingers through my hair. “I just wanted to push him. Shame that motherfucker. So when he pressed to go all in, I called for his girl instead.”

My girl.

Jud all but groaned, flopping his big body back in the booth. “You are a twisted fuck, you know that, Logan?”

A short shot of laughter rumbled out. “Made me crazy, her standing there with him.”

I hadn’t even acknowledged it then. The way I’d wanted to climb right over that table, put a bullet between his eyes, and take back what was mine.

“I thought I’d prove a point. Get him on his knees. But I didn’t think for a second he’d bite. But I already knew the bastard was a snake, so I’m not sure why I was surprised. Asshole lost, obviously. Let’s just say Aster was not pleased by me trying to claim my prize.”

“Tell me she knocked you clean flat.” Jud cocked a smirk.

I smiled with a rough chuckle. “Girl wanted to claw my eyes out, that’s for sure. She ran upstairs instead, saying she wasn’t going anywhere with either of us.”

Sweet savage that she was. Fierce and defiant and soft and pliable.

My throat thickened. “The prick took off after her. He put his hands on her, so when I stepped in and distracted him, she bolted. I found her walking her ass through the frozen forest. Long story short, she asked for a place to stay until she can figure out a way to get free of him. I agreed.”

All in a night’s fun.

“And you agreed to help her? After this chick, who you never should have touched in the first place , broke your heart?” Trent added all kinds of emphasis in the areas that stabbed at my guilt.

“When you put it that way, it makes me sound like I’m the fool here.” I cracked it like a joke.

“ Sound like it?” Jud arched a brow.

“What’s her end game?” Trent cut in.

I gave a halfhearted shrug. “She wants out.”

“Out from under Jarek or her father?” Trent’s jaw was working like mad. He’d always considered himself the protector of the family, like because he was the oldest, it fell on his shoulders. He’d forgotten our father’s blood ran through all of us.

Vengeance.

Cruelty.

Greed.

Unease twitched the muscles at the back of my neck. “Not sure how far she wants to take it. She just said she needs to prove to her father that Jarek has turned on the family.”

Dread poured out of him like a sieve.

“This could get messy.”

I took a sip of my drink. “It always does.”

“You trust her?”

My spirit shook. “I shouldn’t,” I admitted.

Trent eyed me, seeing way down deep the way he always did. “Think the most important question here is what your end game is, man. Why are you doing this? You want a revenge fuck, or does it go deeper than that?”

A disorder burned through my body.

Possession.

Hunger.

It all rose from a well to swill with the loss.

“I’m going to fight for her. The way I should have then.”

The truth of it plowed through me like a cry for victory.

“Is she worth it?” Jud’s voice was soft, filled with empathy.

I ran my finger around the rim of my glass, staring at it while I contemplated, my mind flashing through a thousand memories.

In all my rage, I’d almost forgotten how the girl’d been so fucking sweet.

“I might regret it, but yeah, I think she is.”

Jud gruffed an incredulous laugh. “Chances are you will, man, chances are.”

My exhalation was heavy. “I don’t see how there’s anything else to do.”

“So that’s how it is then?”

“Yup.”

Chuckling, Jud lifted his beer. “To the love-fucked. Believe me, brother…” He looked between me and Trent. “Trent and I would be there in a heartbeat if it were our girls. Get it. Just fucking be careful. Watch your back. These people are not to be toyed with.”

Trent took a sip from his tumbler, lifted his, too. “And know we’re always here. No matter what you need.”

I ducked into the hallway that read Employees Only and headed for the exit that would dump me in the staff parking lot.

Milo, one of the original bouncers here at Absolution, the guy more family than employee, stood guard at the door.

If Jud was a giant, this motherfucker was a goliath. Covered in tats and scary as fuck.

Dude rarely said a word, his demeanor quiet and subdued, though I was pretty sure he would take a bullet if it was required. God knew the number of pricks he tossed to the curb on a nightly basis.

“Logan, Sir, how are you tonight?”

“Same ol’, same ol’.”

I didn’t see the point in telling him I itched. That I’d had one drink with my brothers and the only thing I could think about was getting back to my apartment.

To see that she was there. Whole.

“That’s all we can ask for, isn’t it?”

“Yup.”

He opened the door. “You have a good night. Be safe out there.”

“I plan on it,” I said as I stepped out into the fat tufts of snowflakes that flitted from the sky, and I stuffed my hands into my pockets to ward off the chill. Rays of glinting lights streaked through the frosty, damp air, the snowflakes falling in a slow cascade, casting the lot in a globe of white.

Absolution was set in an old warehouse on the industrial side of town. Most everything within a five-mile radius was locked-up tight for the night except for the chaos that roiled within its walls.

The lot was deserted, and the sound of the band and voices seeped through the bricks and vibrated the ground. I moved over close to where I’d parked my car before I glanced around to make sure I was alone. When I found that I was, I blew out some of the tension, leaned against the wall in the shadows, and dug into my pocket to pull out my phone.

I dialed the number then pressed it to my ear.

It rang three times before the groggy voice answered, “What the hell, it’s almost two in the morning.”

“Calling in that debt, Dean.”

Dude owed me after not making good on a lost bet—I’d figured his connections might serve to be more valuable than the hundred-grand he’d lost.

I might play hard, but I played smart.

Rustling echoed from the other end of the line, and I heard a door snap shut before he exhaled heavily when he shut another. “What is it you need?”

“Information.”

“On who?”

“I want everything you can get on a man named Jarek Urso.”

I could tell he was fumbling around on his desk to find something to write on.

“U-r-s-o. Los Angeles,” I continued. “Birthdate is May 12, 1993.”

“And what do you want to know?”

“Everything. Everything he owns. Every investment. Every connection. Every sin he’s committed and every debt he owes. Where he puts his dick and where he dips his dirty fingers.”

It wasn’t like a man like that would stay faithful.

Air puffed through the line. “And what do you want with this guy?”

“What do you think?”

Reservations left him on a strained sigh. “Why do I get the feeling I would have fared better giving you the deed to my house?”

“Don’t worry yourself, Dean. It’s off the books.”

Off the books was what I did.

“Right,” he grunted.

“Just get me what I need.”

“I’ll get everything I can. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

“As if I have another choice.”

He hung up without saying anything else. I tucked my phone into my pocket and moved to my car, started it, put my hands to the vents and welcomed the heat. I tried to gather my emotions before I headed back to my apartment where I’d lived for the last year.

I rubbed my hands over my face like it could break up the disorder. Give me some clarity.

I didn’t know if I saw the flash of darkness or felt it.

The depravity that curled through the air.

I dropped my hands and peered into the hazy white light where the vapid shadows hovered like an army of wraiths at the edge of the lot.

I swore I saw something.

A shift.

A shape.

I didn’t know, but the only thing I could do was open my car door and climb out into the soft fall of snow.

A feeling took me over.

Possession.

The need to protect.

I saw it.

A silhouette that disappeared around the side of the building.

“Hey!” I shouted, “Hey, stay right the fuck there.”

I took off in that direction.

A gust of wind howled through the evergreens, swishing and churning through the towering spikes that touched the heavens, and I thought I heard the clatter of footsteps retreating in the distance.

I hustled along the side of the brick building in the direction of the disturbance. It was chaotic. An upheaval that shuddered in the frozen air.

I ran headlong into it, overcome by the need to hunt down any fucker who would do her harm. Hurt her. Stop it in its tracks if we were being hunted.

I rounded the corner only for that whooshing in the trees to become the air whooshing from my lungs when a rod slammed into my stomach.

Pain shattered through my body.

I was hit so hard my footing failed, and the ground came up quick under me. My face impacted the pavement before the rod struck my ribs.

Agony flash-fired up my side.

I clawed to get up, to get to my feet, to face this piece-of-shit who lurked in the darkness.

The voice was at my ear. “It’s the only warning you’ll get.”

Then he shoved off and ran into the cover of the forest.

I managed to climb to my feet. The sky and ground spun. A whorl that became one. The pain almost dropped me to my knees again, but I forced myself to stand, swiped the blood from my mouth, and shouted into the distance, “Pussy. Next time, show your face.”

I felt the hatred that blistered back.

I bottled it. Took it down. Made it mine.

Then I stormed back to my car and got inside.