Redemption Hills: The Complete Collection

41. Logan

FORTY-ONE

LOGAN

LOS ANGELES, NINETEEN YEARS OLD

Logan tried to conceal his harsh breaths as he approached the office where he was rarely summoned. Dread slithered across his flesh, his stomach in knots and his heart beating out of time.

Aster’s father had to have found out.

Had to know.

And if that were the case, he doubted much he would make it back out of that room.

Gathering his courage, he knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

He inhaled a shaky breath and opened it to the rambling study.

Aster’s father sat behind his enormous desk, coolly casual the way he normally was, like there wasn’t a thing in the world that could touch him.

An immortal king.

Logan gulped and took a single step forward. “Sir, you wanted to see me?”

“Shut the door and sit.” He pointed at a chair across from his desk.

Logan clicked the door shut and tried to keep his knees from knocking as he crossed the room and sat. His muscles ticked as his nerves scattered.

Andres Costa leveled him with his eyes, studying him like he were sifting around in Logan’s mind for his secrets.

Finally, he said, “You have been an asset to this family, Mr. Lawson. When your father suggested I bring you in, I was skeptical, but you’ve proven yourself to be more than worthy.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

A tiny bit of the tension drained off, but not enough to keep him from itching in the seat. Unsure of where this was going because he definitely felt a but coming.

“Inside these walls is much different than when you step outside of them, though.” Aster’s father swished a hand around the room. “Here, there are fewer mistakes to be made. Fewer temptations to lead you astray. Fewer questions of loyalty.”

Logan’s chest squeezed.

What was he implying?

Did he know?

He clung to the arms of the chair while sweat gathered at his nape.

Andres Costa eyed him carefully. “And I think it is time we give you the chance to prove that, Mr. Lawson. Your loyalty to me and this family. My brother, Antonio, is to receive a shipment tonight of a treasured family heirloom. I wish you to accompany Jarek to my brother’s warehouse to ensure its safe passage here. You will be rewarded handsomely, of course, but more importantly, you’ll secure a spot for yourself in this family if you want it.”

Pride welled up, a feeling like he’d found his path, what he was purposed to do.

His mind spiraled with a thousand thoughts. Every one of them at odds.

Trent’s choice to leave this city. Aster begging him to take her away.

Logan’s pulse thundered.

But was that what she really wanted? To be separated from her father forever? From her sister? From all that she knew? And if they left, he could never provide for them the way that he could here.

This was his chance—his chance to earn Aster’s father’s trust. To earn a place in their family. To show him Aster would be better off with him than with Jarek.

And she deserved the world. Every fucking treasure. A giant house and a big backyard. She didn’t deserve to be running and hiding in the shadows for the rest of their lives, terrified of what might be waiting for them around the corner.

He didn’t love that he’d be doing it alongside Jarek. That asshole couldn’t be trusted. But maybe it was the exact opportunity he needed in order to show Aster’s father that Jarek needed to go.

Logan wanted it.

He wanted it.

And this was his one chance.

He had to take it.

“I’d be honored, Sir.”

“Good. I have hundreds of men at my disposal, and I chose you to accompany Jarek. This is a mission of the utmost importance. The heirloom is priceless, but more so, it is a personal treasure to me. Its transport is very sensitive, and only the three of you will know its details. Do I have your loyalty and your word, Mr. Lawson?”

“Yes, Mr. Costa. You have both.”

Unease trembled in his guts. Trent would be furious, but this was the best way for Aster. For their child. For him.

It would allow them both to maintain connections with their families, but more so, it ensured their safety.

Their comfort.

A good life.

He excused himself and rushed down the hall, newfound purpose pushing his steps forward. He nearly tripped when the hand flew out from a doorway and jerked him to a stop.

“Aster,” he breathed, slipping into the room where she was concealed. “What are you doing?”

“Hiding.” She let go of a small smile, but it was filled with worry.

He took her precious face in his hands. “And soon we won’t have to hide any longer. I just spoke with your father, and he’s asked me to retrieve a shipment tonight. He said he chose me over a hundred other men.”

Pride brimmed in his spirit, while surprise filled her agate eyes. “What?”

“This is my chance to prove to your father that I’m worthy of you.”

“I don’t understand. I thought?—”

“I was going to find you to let you know my brothers want to skip town. Leave forever. But that means hiding forever. And I don’t want that for you, Aster. We’ll constantly be looking over our shoulders, running, always worried about being discovered.”

“No, Logan.”

He pressed on, too excited by the prospect. “Yeah, it sucks this job is with Jarek, but you know what that means…it means your father is placing me on the same level. This is our chance.”

Trepidation shimmered across her skin. “No, Logan, I don’t like it. I just want to leave. I want to leave this place and never look back.”

“But I’ll be able to provide for you. For our baby. And you won’t have to leave your sister and your father behind. Don’t you see? This chance came on the same day as we would have to leave. It’s fate. This is an opportunity that isn’t going to present itself again.”

“No, Logan, I just…” Aster stepped back. Dread radiated from her being. “I don’t trust it. I don’t.”

He rushed back for her, so reckless, the two of them in the house. But it was time. Time.

“You have to trust me.”

“Please, Logan, if you love me, let’s just go with your brothers tonight. I don’t want any part of this world. I don’t care about the money, the only thing I care about is our family. Please.”

Logan stepped back. “I gave your father my word. I have to, Aster.”

“Logan,” she begged.

He gripped her by both sides of the face. “You have to trust me.”

“And what if it goes bad? What if something happens to you?”

“I will come back to you. No matter what.”

“Promise me.” It wheezed from her lips.

He dipped down and uttered the words he’d promised her time and again.

“Even if I can’t see you, I’ll know you’re there, and I’ll find my way to you.”

“And there is no place my heart won’t find you. My North Star.” Sadness filled her voice when she whispered it, and she touched his chest.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back…tonight. Meet me at our spot at one.”

“Okay.”

Logan wavered outside Nathan’s doorway where his brother had a suitcase open on the bed packing his clothes.

Logan struggled to breathe, his spirit in an upheaval. He’d been so certain of his decision when he’d sat in Andres Costa’s chair, but actually saying it out loud—doing it—made him feel like he was taking an axe and splitting himself in two.

His heart on a chopping block.

Nathan felt his presence, and he slowed to look back at him in question as he tucked another stack of shirts into his suitcase. “What’s going on, man?”

Clearly, it was radiating off Logan.

The dissention of what had to be done.

He stepped forward, unease firing from him like bullets through the room. He roughed a hand through his black hair. “I’m not leaving with you guys tonight.”

Nathan stilled, a rush of hurt and disbelief radiating from his pores. “What?” he finally managed.

Logan felt like he had a ball of shredded glass in his throat. “I’m staying here, with Aster. I have an opportunity to do this right. Gain the respect of her father. I have to take it.”

“Logan…” He paused, gathering what to say. “Those people, they can’t be trusted. If you’re getting in any deeper than you already are, that has to tell you it’s a bad idea.”

His head shook as his spirit warred. “I’m not doing anything illegal. Picking up an important shipment and delivering it to Andres Costa. It’s a test of trust. That’s it.”

Nathan scoffed. “If you think whatever you plan to do isn’t illegal, then you really are a fool.”

Logan shuffled on his feet. “You know how much I love you and this family, Nathan. God…we’ve been through so much shit together. The three of you basically raised me, and you raised me with the knowledge that family is everything. That we stand by each other no matter what. And Aster has to be that now. I have to make her a priority. Do what’s best for her. Live right by her. Protect her and provide for her.”

“And how are you going to provide for her? By letting your hands get dirty with her daddy’s blood money?”

A frown curled Logan’s brow. “Like what I’ve been doing hasn’t already muddied my hands.”

“But you know it’s different, and if you stay here, if you get further involved, become a part of them, it’s gonna get ugly, man. You have to know that.”

Let’s just go.

Her words spun through his mind, his conscience at odds.

Run or stay.

But running didn’t feel right.

“She’s worth any sacrifice, and by doing it this way, I’m opening up a route to both our families. She and I will be free to see the people who mean most to us. I don’t want to spend the rest of our lives with the fear of being discovered. Hiding.”

It’s what they’d had to do since the day they’d met.

Pain lanced through Nathan’s features. “And I’m afraid you’re going to find more trouble than you bargained for.”

Trouble.

She was always worth the risk.

“I have to see this through. And once we have Aster’s father’s blessing, we’ll come to you guys. Raise our kid with Trent’s. I just need to make this right.”

Nathan moved across the room. Apprehension oozed from his being, and his dark eyes dimmed as he touched his chest. “I have a bad feeling, Logan. A fucking bad feeling about all of this. Trent and you and all this bullshit that has taken root in our lives.”

“Maybe this is the one thing that will set all of us free. But I have to take this chance. For her. I love her. Love her. And I can’t ask her to live her life in fear because of her love for me.”

Nathan wrapped his arms around Logan. Hugged him tight. Logan hugged him back just as fierce. “I get it. I get it. Just please be careful. I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you. To any of you.”

“I’ll be careful. I promise.”

“So fucking proud of you. I hope you know that, Logan. Probably don’t say it enough, but you’ve got it right, man. Your heart. Don’t ever fucking let anything taint it.”

Logan’s heart pounded a riot as they pulled into the dusky alley behind the warehouse. Rain poured from the sky in heavy sheets, the sky cast in severe streaks of light as the storm ravaged the city.

They were on the shadiest side of town, the streets lined with decrepit buildings that housed vile acts and sinister intentions.

Jarek cast him a malicious glance before he killed the engine and the lights went dim.

Nausea gathered in Logan’s stomach, this feeling that everything was off. Darkness reigned, only the barest streams of dingy light arching through the bleary expanse from a spotlight hung on the side of the building.

Jarek cranked open his door. “Let’s go.”

Logan’s phone rang, and he rushed to shut it off.

That unsettled feeling only intensified when he saw it was Nathan. The second he rejected the call it started ringing again. Agitation crawled through his being, a feeling coming on strong that Aster and Nathan had been right.

He never should have come here.

Because evilness clouded the air.

Dense and dark and unrelenting.

“Are you already going to puss out? I can’t say I’m shocked,” Jarek sneered. “You shouldn’t be here. You don’t belong.”

Guilt clawing at his chest, he silenced his phone and tucked it into his pocket. “I’m coming,” he grunted.

With a harsh shake of his head, Jarek climbed out of the car and strode through the torrent that poured from the sky. Logan rushed to follow, his shoes splashing through the dirty puddles that had gathered.

Jarek came to what appeared a small metal garage door, and he pushed a button at the side as he peered into a camera.

It buzzed and began to roll up.

Inside stood a man who appeared close to the same age as Aster’s father, his hair the same color, his eyes the same shade.

They were less trusting, though, darting around as he held a box to his chest. “My brother should have come himself rather than to trust two boys who know not what they possess.”

“I am perfectly aware of the importance of this delivery, Antonio,” Jarek shot back. “You act as if he shouldn’t trust me when soon I will be married to Aster. I am every bit as much a part of this family as you.”

Antonio scoffed. “You have a long way to go before you take the seat at the head of this family.”

Bile climbed Logan’s throat. Once Aster’s father and Antonio both passed, Jarek would be next in line.

Darkness swirled behind them as the rain pelted the ground. Dread filled him full. Logan suddenly realized he wasn’t sure if this was a test that could be passed.

Antonio stepped forward into the murky light. He tossed a glare at Jarek as he went to pass the box to him. “Be careful, mutt.”

Jarek’s nostrils flared.

Anxiety raced through Logan’s veins, and he swore he could feel it, the bolt of depravity that struck with a flash of lightning.

A figure emerged from behind, dressed in black and covered in shadow. A mask concealed his face.

Jarek whirled around, and Antonio’s eyes went wide as the man lifted an arm, cocking a gun as he edged forward.

“Give it to me,” the man snarled.

Antonio tightened his hold on the box. “That would be a very unwise mistake on your part.”

“Do you think I give a fuck what you say?”

A shot was fired.

Antonio howled when he was struck in the leg, and he dropped to the ground as the box crashed against the pavement.

The lid busted open, and two necklaces flew out, clattering and rolling across the ground, their giant stones glinting in the bare light.

The man went for them, leaning down to grab one, and Logan took the opportunity to dive onto his back.

He hit him with a thud. They fell to the unforgiving ground, and the attacker scrambled around in the dirty puddle, trying to turn so he could angle his gun.

“Let it go!” Logan shouted as he struggled to pin him, to hold him down. “Jarek, help, get the gun from him!”

Antonio crawled to them, struggling to get the necklace from the man’s hold.

“Jarek!” Logan shouted again.

Another shot rang out.

Logan froze as Antonio slumped to the ground. Blood pooled around him.

Shock pierced through him.

Oh god. No. Oh god.

His heart clanged in his chest as Logan fought for the man’s wrist that wielded the weapon. He finally curled both hands around it, bending his hand back enough that it forced him to drop the gun.

It skidded across the ground.

Logan grunted when an elbow cut him hard in the side.

The blow loosened his hold, but he managed to knee the guy in the ribs, sending him back down.

On his hands and knees, Logan scrambled for the gun that lay three feet away.

The masked man was on his feet by the time Logan got to it. Logan flew around, lying on his back, and he pointed it in the man’s direction.

The man hesitated, his attention whipping between Logan and Jarek before he ran, the single necklace dangling from his hand as he disappeared into the alleyway.

Breaths heaved from Logan’s lungs and the world spun.

Horror had him in a fist.

His eyes met Jarek’s. Jarek who stalled for one second before he darted for the second necklace.

Logan was faster, on his feet and snatching it up before Jarek could get there. In a flash, he had the gun pointed at Jarek. Rain pelted his face, and he tried to blink, to make sense, to process. “Stop, right there.”

Jarek skidded to a stop, hatred on his face. “You did this,” he spat in the direction of Aster’s uncle who lie face down in a puddle, the water that streamed from him blood red.

“You did this. And Aster’s father will know.”

Logan realized he’d taken his attention off Jarek for too long when he turned back and he also had a gun pointed at Logan.

Logan’s hand shook. “That’s not true.”

“It is. You killed him.” Jarek cocked his gun, but it was Logan who pulled the trigger.

It rang out, at one with the crack of lightning that cut through the night.

Clutching his side, Jarek dropped to his knees.

And Logan?

He ran.

Rain soaked his face as Logan panted for a breath where he had his back pressed to a wall of a building at least a mile from where he’d run. He gasped for oxygen, to see, to keep the ground from slipping out from under his feet.

But it spun and spun and the sickness reigned.

He bent over and vomited on the ground. It splashed on the pavement, mixed with the rain, and Logan thought he would faint.

His hand was curled around the necklace, his other around the gun.

What had he done?

What had he done?

Disoriented, he raked his arm over his face to clear some of the derangement that muddled his mind. He struggled to get it together.

To breathe.

With a shaky hand, he leaned down and set the gun on the ground before he dug his phone out of his pocket.

He had six missed calls from Nathan and a couple messages.

Dread sank all the way to the bone.

He squeezed his eyes shut to try to clear his vision, and he could barely fill his hemorrhaging lungs when he tapped into his messages.

He put it to his ear and forced himself to listen. That dread turned to alarm when Nathan’s panicked voice came through. “Logan, answer your fucking phone. I need you. Juna showed here.”

The words were haggard, coming between juts of his breaths.

“That job Trent is supposed to do tonight is a fucking trap. Juna and Dad set him up. He’s going to kill Trent, Logan…fuck…”

There was fumbling on the other end of the line.

“Juna said she couldn’t go through with it, so she came here to stop him, but he hasn’t been here since this morning and now he’s not answering his phone. We have to stop him. Warn him.”

Terror caught Logan by the throat. Frantic, he tossed the gun into the dumpster, then he stumbled out from his hiding place, mumbling, “No, oh god, no.”

He pushed out onto the street as the next message came through.

“Fuck, Logan. Answer.” Nathan choked a pained sound. “I’m going by myself. God, I hope you’re okay. I’m freaking the fuck out. I love you. I love you.”

The line went dead.

Frantic, Logan dialed Nathan. He was going to promise him he was coming, all while the reality of what he’d done chased him through the rain-drenched night.

His call went to Nathan’s voicemail.

“Shit,” he whimpered, trying to focus as he dialed Trent, and he shouted into the messages when he didn’t answer, “It’s a trap. Fuck, Trent.”

He realized he’d cried it.

Begged it.

He stumbled, dialed Jud.

Nothing.

Nothing.

He ordered a car that was two minutes away then stuffed the necklace into his pocket. His limbs were shaking out of control when he slipped into the backseat of the car as a rash of chills washed over him.

He looked down through the dim light to the blood that he didn’t realize covered his jeans and his hands.

Just like Nathan had promised it would.

“You okay, bro?” the driver asked.

Logan choked around the knot in his throat. “Just hurry.”

Twenty minutes later, the car was at the curb in front of their house, and Logan stumbled out.

Disoriented.

In shock.

He heard the roar of motorcycles screaming up the street. He almost breathed out in relief until he saw it was only two lights.

His eyes narrowed as he tried to make out who it was.

Trent and Jud.

They flew into the drive as the wind howled and the rain battered.

They squealed to a stop, their engines killed, their eyes wild.

Trent fumbled off, soaked in blood.

Jud fell right to his knees.

“Nathan,” Logan begged. “Where is Nathan?”

“He’s gone. He’s fucking gone.” Trent wailed it.

It was half cry, half fury.

Logan bent in two.

“No.”

No.

Nathan had needed him, and he’d ignored his call.

No.

Agony froze his blood. Burned in his mind.

He swayed side-to-side, and he blinked and struggled to focus.

The only thing he knew was he had to get to Aster and explain before Jarek got there.

His head split with a rush of pain.

Unless Jarek was dead.

He pressed his hands to the sides of his head like he could stop the butchering inside.

“Get in the truck,” Trent shouted, racing for the house.

Jud was moaning.

Just fucking moaning where he’d dropped to his knees.

“I have to get to Aster,” Logan mumbled.

“What?” Trent shot out in a slash of anger and confusion.

“Aster.”

“Are you fuckin’ crazy? Aster Costa? I just fucking put our father in the ground after he had Nathan mowed down. We’re leaving. Right now.”

Trent grabbed Logan by the shirt and hauled him up.

It was when he noticed the blood that saturated Logan’s clothes. “What the fuck did you do, Logan? What did you do?” It was horror. His own guilt.

Like he could be the fault of this.

“Nathan,” Logan cried.

Trent tossed him into the back of the truck. “Don’t move your ass out of that spot.”

Logan leaned out the door and vomited again. Two minutes later, doors were slamming and Trent was tossing a bunch of bags into the back.

Jud slid into the front passenger seat, and Trent put it in reverse and gunned it out of the driveway, clipping his bike as he went, metal screeching as it was dragged two feet.

Then he shifted into gear and floored it.

“I have to get to Aster.” It was a moan.

Trent whipped his attention over his shoulder to Logan. “You will never step foot in Los Angeles again, Logan. Do you understand?”

“I have to?—”

“We’re all dead if you do. Promise me. Fucking promise me.”

Logan couldn’t form the words on his tongue. Couldn’t tell a lie that great. Because he had to get to her. To his girl and his baby.

Little Star.

He curled in on himself as they traveled through the night.

It passed one a.m.

She’d be waiting for him.

Terrified.

He called from somewhere near Sacramento when Trent stopped for gas, hidden away in the bathroom so his brothers wouldn’t know.

There was no answer.

His spirit screamed.

He tried again the next day and the next.

He called and called for what felt like forever.

He begged the heavens for guidance.

For his Little Star to know he would come for her.

“Even if I can’t see you, I’ll know you’re there, and I’ll find my way to you.”

It took him two months to slip away from Trent’s paranoid eye. He sneaked away with the stone necklace and the ring he’d purchased the week before.

He would go to her father. He would present the one stone he possessed to Andres Costa that he’d been charged to protect and explain to him what had happened that horrible night.

His guts clenched because he still didn’t know Jarek’s fate. If he were alive or if that bullet had put him in the ground.

It didn’t matter, he would beg for a chance.

For a chance to love and protect Aster, swear he would never make that kind of mistake again.

He would give her a good life. A better life. Away from the evil that lurked in that place, just like she’d first begged him to do.

When he got there, it didn’t take long until she wandered out to their secret spot.

Only tears covered her face, and her stomach was flat.

He fumbled out from his hiding place.

Shock filled her face before it twisted with horror.

Or maybe it was the horror that consumed him. The way his knees wobbled in a slash of pain, and the words pitched from his mouth on a plea. “The baby.”

“I got rid of it,” she hissed in disgust and anger, though the words hitched in her throat midway, and she held her middle, too.

Grief whorled through the air as he struggled to process what she’d said.

The hate that had come with it.

He stumbled to the side.

He was going to pass out.

He couldn’t stand.

He gripped both sides of his head. “What are you saying, Aster? What the fuck are you saying? Tell me you didn’t. Oh, fuck, please.”

Sickness flooded his bloodstream.

Their dreams flickered through his mind in black and white.

As if it’d all been imagined.

Unreal.

It was then he noticed the ring that glinted on her finger.

“What the fuck is that?” Pain wheezed out with it, fury following close behind.

“I’m Jarek Urso’s wife. What did you think, you could crawl back here, and I’d just be waiting for you? How could you come here? After what you did? You stole from my father. You killed my uncle.”

Logan’s head shook. “No.”

Her face pinched in a disjointed revulsion. “You chose to leave, Logan. You chose this.”

Logan stumbled forward. “No, Aster. No. I told you I’d come back to you. That even if I couldn’t see you, I would find my way back to you. You promised.”

Her eyes slammed closed when he grabbed her by the upper arms.

Shivers rushed over her flesh, and she tore herself from his grasp.

“Don’t touch me. I belong to Jarek now.”

“Aster.” Her name scraped from his soul. “No, fuck, please.”

He couldn’t fathom it.

What she was saying.

What she had done.

She hugged her arms over her chest. “It was just a stupid fantasy, Logan. I belong here. With Jarek. I’m a Costa princess, and thanks to you, my uncle is dead, and it’s time I took my rightful spot.”

She believed that? How could she fucking believe a word Jarek would feed her?

“Aster, no, listen to me.”

She recoiled when he grappled to take hold of her again, and her voice twisted with spite. “Don’t touch me! Don’t. Fucking. Touch. Me. You were never good enough for me, and we both know it.”

Agony spiraled with the anger. “Are you fucking kidding me? I would have died for you.”

“That’s good because you’re dead to me.” She took a step away. “I hate you, Logan Lawson, and I don’t want to ever see you again.”

“Aster.”

“Go! Do you hear me? I hate you. I hate what you did. I hate who you are. Just…go.”

She turned and rushed back into the foliage.

Numbness seeped into his bloodstream as he watched her go.

Dimness clawed.

He’d lost it all for her.

His brother.

Now his child.

Every hope now slayed.

He vomited the sickness onto the ground.

And as he reached into his pocket and curled his hand around the stone, he let bitterness take over every spot where Aster Rose had existed.

He let hatred reign, and he promised himself he would never be in the same position again. He wouldn’t stop until he held the power. Until who he was counted. Until he had everything.

Then…then he would make Jarek Urso pay for what he had stolen.

Resolved, Logan turned and slipped into the darkened night as that single, little star burned out.