An Act of Redemption (3 page)

Logan’s sister is only two years younger than me and goes to a different school than I do. In all the years we have been together I’ve only got to meet both his mom and sister a handful of times. He doesn’t like taking me to his house; he keeps that part of himself from me. It hurt in the beginning, but I think it’s because he doesn’t like for me to see what a mess his mom is. His dad walked out on them when Logan was young. I don’t know what happened because that topic has always been off limits. But his sister, Janey, once told me that he was not kind to any of them, especially Logan. She said it was a blessing he left. Only their mother doesn’t feel that way, which is why she is a constant wreck. She drinks her problems away and can’t cope, so that leaves Logan to shoulder all of the responsibility of taking care of them.

“With the raise I just got I’ll be able to afford my mom’s place too, and I won’t be that far from them if they need me.”

This is something he shouldn’t have to worry about. It bothers me because he deserves to go to college and pursue something he really wants to do. I have no doubt he likes working at the garage and he’s good at it, but I’m sure that’s not his dream. I do understand why he does all this though, and it only makes me love him more, because it goes to show how honorable he is.

“Well, I can help pay for it, too.”

He shakes his head, quickly dismissing me like he always does any time I offer to help pay for something. It drives me crazy.

“Don’t frown, Anna, or your face will stay like that.” I glare harder at him, which he finds amusing. Chuckling, he flips me to my back, hovering above me. “Don’t be mad, baby.” He kisses my lips but I don’t reciprocate, even though I really want to. “Look, I appreciate you wanting to help, but I don’t need it.”

“It’s not about helping you, it’s about paying for my share. Unless you plan on not having me over?” I ask, with a quirk of my brow.

He grunts. “Once you’re done with school and out from under your parent’s roof your ass is mine, baby, and you’ll be in my bed every night.”

The thought of getting to wake up in his arms every morning sounds like pure heaven. “See, then I’ll need to pay for my share.”

“You don’t need to. I’ll take care of it.”

“You don’t always have to take care of everything on your own, Logan.”

“I’ll always take care of you, Anna, whether you like it or not.” I soften at the sincerity of his tone. I want to tell him I will take care of him too, but I know he won’t appreciate it. Leaning down, he brushes his lips across mine. “Tell me you love me.”

Even though I’m still peeved, I decide it’s an argument for later and allow myself to melt against him. “I love you…most of the time.” I tease.

With a sexy smirk he lays a loud smacking kiss on my mouth. “Go to sleep before I end up doing things to you that I know you can’t take right now.” He rolls to the side, making sure to bring me flush against him.

I curl my arms around his, holding him close to me. My eyes grow heavy but I fight sleep. “I don’t want tonight to end,” I admit softly.

His warm lips meet my shoulder. “We will have more nights like this soon, Anna. I promise.”

Not soon enough. Rather than voice that I grab his hand and kiss his palm. “I love you. Thank you again for tonight.”

“I love you, too.” His reply echoes through my head and a warm contentment settles over me just before I drift off into a deep slumber.

Unfortunately, all too soon, the shrill ringing of a cell phone interrupts my peaceful slumber. I moan at the unwelcome disruption and open my bleary eyes to see it’s two in the morning.

Logan rolls over, half asleep, and feels for his phone that’s on the nightstand. “Yeah,” he answers, his deep voice raspy with sleep. I feel him tense, and I fully wake at the sound of the hysterical voice coming through the other end of the line.

“Janey? What’s wrong?” I sit up and look down at him. “What the fuck do you mean he’s there?” He flies out of bed and starts getting dressed. I quickly follow suit, my heart in my throat at the sobbing sound of his sister’s voice. “I’m on my way. Go to your room and lock the door, I’ll be there soon.”

“Logan, what is it?” I ask as he hangs up.

“Fucking Robert!”

“Your mom’s ex?” He nods in confirmation. “I thought they broke up?”

“So did I.” He sits down and starts putting his shoes on. “Listen, is it okay to borrow your car? I shouldn’t be long.”

“Of course.”

“Thanks.”

“And I’m coming with you,” I add, as I finish zipping up my dress.

His head snaps up and he looks at me for the first time since the call. “No! You’re staying here.”

I shake my head. “Forget it.”

“Anna, you aren’t coming.”

We glare off at one another, the air becoming thick with tension. I quickly realize this isn’t going to get us anywhere so I try a different tactic. “Logan, please let me come. I don’t want to stay here by myself, I’ll go crazy worrying if you’re okay.”

His expression softens just before he walks over and pulls me against him. “I’ll be fine, baby, I can handle him.”

I have no doubt he can, but I don’t want him to deal with it alone. I don’t want him to keep shutting me out. “Please,” I plead softly, trying one more time. “Let me be there for you.”

He stares down at me, a war battling in his midnight blues, and I see the moment he gives in. “Shit!” His hand runs through his hair in frustration. “Fine, let’s go.”

I feel a small sense of victory that he’s finally letting me be there for him. However, my triumph is short-lived when we pull up to his place ten minutes later. Even from inside the car you can hear chaos erupting from the tiny run-down house. My heart stops at the sound of glass shattering and the desperate scream that follows.

“Stay here!” Logan orders, just before he races out of the car, not even bothering to shut off the engine.

I don’t follow the demand. I rip the keys out of the ignition and run after him. I enter through the front door right behind him and my stomach plummets when I see Logan’s mom on the living room floor, barely conscious, her face a bloody, swollen mess.

Oh god.

Logan starts toward her but his attention quickly draws down the hall at his sister’s scream. “Janey?” He switches direction and charges to her room.

I rush over to his mom and drop down beside her. Grabbing her hand, I try to offer comfort while keeping my eyes on Logan. He fumbles with the door handle but it’s locked, his sister’s screams becoming more desperate. Backing up, he kicks down her door, and the sight that we’re met with has bile rising in my throat. A man, who I’m assuming is Robert, is on top of Janey, hitting her in the face.

“You motherfucker!” Logan’s fury is so loud it ricochets off the walls.

Time seems to slow as Logan rips Robert off Janey and begins hitting him repeatedly. Blow after blow I watch transfixed as the man I love becomes someone else, someone I’ve never seen before.

“Logan, stop!” The panicked plea that comes from me sounds distant even to my own ears. He doesn’t quit, and I stay frozen, unable to move.

The final blow that he delivers sends Robert crashing into the dresser. A sickening crack from where his head hits the edge sounds throughout just before he slumps to the floor, unconscious. Logan stands rooted to his spot and stares down at him, his chest heaving with rage. Janey crawls across the bed and launches herself at him. He braces a hand against the wall to steady them and holds his sister as she sobs against his chest.

Eventually his eyes find mine, and I suck in a sharp breath at his tortured expression. I distantly register the sound of sirens fast approaching. Our gazes hold and dread courses through me. I get the overwhelming urge to grab Logan and run, knowing things are about to get worse.

And I was right, they did. They got a whole lot worse.

Anna

Three Weeks Later

A
fter being stripped of all of my belongings and a very uncomfortable pat down by a woman who looks like she could eat me for breakfast, I follow behind a guard as he leads me to the visiting area. The stained yellow walls and smell of disinfectant has my stomach churning more than it already was.

“You can have physical contact but your hands must be visible at all times. If you embrace, it can’t be longer than ten seconds. Kissing is allowed, but it must also remain brief and no open mouth contact is permitted.”

I listen to the guard explain the rules, my heart aching at having so many boundaries when it comes to seeing Logan.

He stops and looks back at me, clearly waiting for a response.

“I understand,” I respond softly.

He watches me with an expression I can’t decipher before he starts moving again. “So how do you know Sheriff McKay?”

I was waiting for this question. If it hadn’t been for Cooper I wouldn’t have gotten in here to see Logan, at least not this quickly. Forms had to be filled out and filed for clearance before I could, and I didn’t have time for that.

“He’s my brother’s good friend,” I respond, using the simple way of explaining Jaxson rather than the long version.

Jaxson and my father were adamant that I didn’t come here, but I don’t care. I need to see Logan; I need to know that he’s okay. I haven’t seen him since the night he was arrested and taken into custody. The moment Robert Moss was pronounced dead, and I realized how much trouble Logan was in, I begged my dad to hire the best lawyer he could find. At first he was not jumping at the opportunity to help, but when he realized how badly it would jeopardize our relationship he finally complied. Or so I think. I haven’t heard anything since Frank Davenport, the said lawyer my dad hired, came to see Logan. Which is why I am taking matters into my own hands now.

The sound of a buzzer pulls me from my thoughts as we reach the visiting area. I take a deep breath and try to pull myself together, knowing Logan needs me to be strong right now.

The big double doors swing open to a large room with tables and chairs; a few prisoners occupying them with loved ones. My gaze quickly searches out Logan and I spot him in the far corner, sitting at a table with his head down and hands cuffed in front of him.

“Knight, your visitor is here,” the guard bellows.

His head snaps up and my heart constricts painfully when I see he has a black eye. Our gazes meet, his expression twisting with disbelief. “Anna?” He shoots out of his chair. “What are you doing here?”

I waste no time rushing over to him, my response clogging in my throat. He raises his cuffed hands above his head, anticipating my embrace and I don’t hold back. I throw myself at him and his arms come over top of me, pulling me in close. His mouth quickly finds mine and shreds my fragile composure. My sob bubbles up to the surface and explodes against his lips.

“Shh, don’t cry. Please don’t cry, Anna.”

“Tell me you’re okay.”

“I’m okay.”

Remembering the rules and not wanting to get either of us in trouble, I step back but reach up and cup the side of his face, my thumb tracing just under his swollen eye. “You don’t look it,” I comment sadly. It’s not only the bruise—he looks exhausted, angry and most of all, defeated. “What happened? Who hurt you?”

Something flickers in his eyes, something hard, and just like that, it’s as if a switch goes off in him. He pulls back from my touch and closes himself off from me. “You shouldn’t be here.”

I gape at him, trying not to let his words sting. “How can you say that? It’s been killing me not knowing if you’re okay.”

“I’m fine.”

He most certainly is not
fine
, but with a nod I let it go, for now. “So what happened with the lawyer my father sent? What’s his game plan?”

He shifts slightly before clearing his throat. “Nothing, because I’m not using him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look, Anna, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I’m not accepting your father’s help and especially not his money.”

“What? Don’t say that, of course you are.” He shakes his head but I don’t let him speak. “Yes, you are!” I snap, not bothering to hide my irritation any longer. “Now is not the time for your bullshit pride on accepting help, Logan. You’re in serious trouble here and—”

“You think I don’t fucking know that?” I flinch at his outrage and the room goes dead quiet. He blows out a heavy breath and scrubs his cuffed hands over his face in frustration. Once again I notice how tired he looks. “Listen, I’m sorry, this isn’t coming out right. I don’t need the lawyer because I’ve been offered a plea bargain and I’m going to accept it.”

“A plea bargain?”

He nods. “For manslaughter.”

I have no idea what that is, but it doesn’t sound good at all. “What does that entail? Community service? Won’t that affect your job?”

“It’s not community service.”

I wait for him to explain but he remains quiet. “Well what is it then?” My stomach twists at the resignation in his gaze and I quickly realize I’m not going to like what I’m about to hear.

“Six years.”

“In prison?” Everyone turns to us at my outburst. He doesn’t respond, but he doesn’t need to. I shake my head, immediately rejecting the idea. “No, you can’t do that. We can get you out of this without a prison sentence.”

“How the fuck do you know?”

“Because the lawyer my dad has is the best. He wouldn’t have hired him otherwise.”

“Do you have any idea the cost of that shit, Anna? I’m not taking it only to be sentenced for life.”

“Who cares about the money! You’re willingly pleading guilty for a crime you didn’t commit. I don’t understand why you would do that.”

“Because I did do it. I fucking killed the guy whether I meant to or not and this is better than a murder charge.”

“It was self-defense. You saved your sister’s life.”

He shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it does. Don’t do this, please.” Warm tears begin to spill down my cheeks. “I can’t—I can’t—” I lose my breath and feel myself slipping into hysterics.

“Fuck!” He pulls me against him again but this time his caged arms bring me no comfort. “Everything will be okay, I promise. I’m lucky I was offered this and I need to take it. It’s for the best, trust me.”