Redemption Hills: The Complete Collection

35. Logan

THIRTY-FIVE

LOGAN

LOS ANGELES, NINETEEN YEARS OLD

Logan rubbed the star-shaped note between his fingers as he slipped out the back door of the office and into the night. The second he stepped outside, his heart rate spiked.

Anticipation.

Need.

A sticky, heavy dread.

Because he could feel it catching up to them.

He felt her presence emanating from behind the outbuilding, her sweet spirit stretching out in a slow build of seduction.

His Little Star that shined so bright.

“Why are you hiding?” he muttered.

Intensity flashed, and she peeked out from around the corner. “Because I have to.”

“Are you going to get into trouble?” It was purely a tease.

They were already in so much trouble.

So much trouble.

“No. I’m going to get you into trouble.”

He couldn’t help but smirk at their little game. “Do I look like the type of guy who really minds?”

Besides, there would be no more hiding soon.

“I’m afraid you will.”

“I’ll do anything for you.”

He moved forward, through the dense foliage to where she waited. Her chest heaved, making the necklace he’d given her twinkle in the bare light. He touched her belly that had barely begun to swell, felt the joy spring up from the places he’d believed he’d never feel.

Aster tipped her face up toward him. A fire burned in her agate eyes. “Then take me away from here. Let’s just go. Disappear forever.”

He blinked. “We can’t just leave, Aster. How am I supposed to take care of you and the baby? What about my family? We have to play this smart.”

Moisture filled her fevered gaze. “Family is what we’re supposed to be now. And if I stay here any longer…”

She choked on her fear.

He stole forward, wrapped her in his arms, and breathed out a weighted sigh. “You are. And I’ll do anything for you. I just…what if we tell your father? Convince him you belong with me? I don’t want you to have to hide for the rest of your life. For the rest of our lives. There has to be a better way. I mean, I’ve been making him a shitton of money, Aster. He respects me. What I do.”

Pride carved itself into the middle of him. Logan’s cut had gotten bigger and bigger, and Aster’s father had told him he’d never met another so promising.

Aster edged back a fraction, and her gorgeous face pinched. “He’ll kill you, Logan.”

“And what if he doesn’t? What if he gives us his blessing?”

“He won’t.”

“Then I’ll ask Trent and Jud for help.” He didn’t believe it would come to that.

In despair, she blinked. “And how many members of our family have to die for us to be together?” Her hand fisted at the hem of his shirt. “Let’s just go.”

He rushed to gather her up, pressed his lips to her forehead, and murmured, “Okay.”

Okay.

Whatever it took.

He’d already promised her that.

Something rustled in the bushes about twenty feet away, and they jumped apart. Logan peered into the dusky shadows where the leaves waved and lapped.

He couldn’t make out anything.

But he felt it.

The grim darkness that flashed over the night.

Swallowing hard, he turned back to Aster, grabbed her by the outside of the arms, and squeezed. “If you really want to go? Then we have to do it soon. We’ll leave this week. Be ready.”

A fist pounded on his bedroom door, and Logan jerked upright in bed.

“Logan, get up, family meeting in two.” Trent’s voice radiated through the air, lined in a hard, manic edge.

Logan glanced at the clock. It was just after ten a.m.

Apprehension surged.

What the hell was going on?

Whatever it was, he knew it was big. He could feel it echoing through the house, banging the walls like a warning toll.

Logan scrubbed a hand over his face to break up the sleep, then he tugged on the pair of jeans he’d left on the floor, and he fumbled out.

Late morning light seeped through the drawn curtains, and Trent was pacing the living room.

Jud sat on the very edge of the couch with his hands clasped together, conflict tangled in his being. Logan moved to sit beside him as unease curled through his spirit.

Nathan came out from his room, his eyes wide and trained on Trent, in tune with his twin.

“What’s going on?” Concern filled Nathan’s question.

Trent roughed an agitated hand over the top of his head, and he inhaled deep before he swung back around. “We’ve got a problem. Pit’s girl is pregnant.”

Confusion bound everyone’s tongues.

“It’s mine,” he clarified.

Logan felt like he’d been zapped.

Shocked.

Stunned.

It seemed he wasn’t the only one who’d found trouble. The only one with a child on the way.

He knew this was different, though.

Trent wasn’t close to being in love. Wasn’t close to fighting for a family that’d barely begun.

He’d been sleeping with Juna as a way to get at Pit. Pit was the man Trent had been hunting since the day their mother had been gunned down. The man Trent believed ultimately responsible for her hit.

He’d been doing everything he could to get close enough to take him out since.

It appeared he’d diverged paths.

“She’s dead if he finds out,” Trent continued. “I’m taking her out of here to keep her safe until the baby is born. I’m gonna raise it myself. We’re leaving. This city and this life. We’re gonna disappear, start over. It’s a bad life, and I won’t bring a child into it.”

A sound pitched out of Logan without his permission.

Relief.

Stark, gutting relief.

He bent in two, trying to clear his head. To process it.

They’d just been offered an out on a silver platter.

“It’s okay, man. It’s gonna be okay. Promise.” Jud squeezed his knee, thinking Logan was upset while Logan wanted to shout with the out they’d been given.

He could have Aster and his family.

There was a better solution.

Logan barely processed the conversation that ensued. Nathan asking him if raising a kid was what he really wanted. If he would be happy.

“You make me happy. The three of you, that’s it. And…” Trent choked. “And this kid.”

This kid.

Logan understood it to his soul.

Trent cleared his throat. “Have a deal to see through tonight. Big one. I don’t show, our father will be coming to collect. Don’t want to raise any suspicion. Get ready. Pack only what you need. Meet here at four. We roll an hour before sunrise. That is if everyone is with me?”

Logan’s head spun as their destinations became clear.

Trent said to only pack what they needed, and the only thing that was going to be was Aster.

Aster.

He wanted to shout it, claim her, but he figured it was going to be a whole lot easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission. Trent was already going to lose his shit when he found Aster with him.

But he also knew his brothers would stand beside him.

Just like they all did with Trent. They moved to him and set their hands on his shoulders. “We’re with you.”

Five minutes later, Trent and Jud’s bikes were roaring down the street.

Nathan looked at Logan, eyed him intently. “What are you going to do, man?”

Logan shrugged like it was clear. “I’m bringing her with us. She and our kid.”

Disbelief flushed Nathan’s expression then he almost smiled. “Shit. And here I thought you were supposed to be the smart one, and you got yourself into the same kind of mess as Trent?”

Emotion throbbed. “Nah, man, it’s not a mess. Not when it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”