“The fuck you will!”

I catch movement in the corner of my eye, but I do my best not to react to it. There’s no way I’m going to fuck this up now. This is my last chance to make it right for Sierra, and I’m not about to let her down.

22

Sierra

Something about Logan gives me hope. In the car, I had to consider that this was it. I was going to die at the hands of a power-hungry maniac with a gun. Someone who doesn’t like being humiliated or outsmarted.

“You’re going to call them. From my phone,” Hale barks as he tosses Logan the cellphone with his free hand. “Call them now and tell them you have their goods. Do it now!”

The barrel presses into my spine, and all I keep thinking is that he’s squeezing it so hard his finger could slip, and I’d be gone before I even hit the ground.

“Okay, okay!” Logan answers as he turns on the phone. Hale tells him the number to dial as Logan’s hands shake.

“Don’t do it, Logan!” The words slip out of my mouth before I can stop them. I can’t let Logan get back into this mess. He’s already been clean for so long, and if he calls those guys, they will either force him back into the business or they will kill him. Either way, the Logan I love is gone.

He looks up at my face, and there’s a hint of something in his eyes that squeezes my heart until a tear slides across my cheek. It’s a look that asks me to trust him. A knowing look that quiets me.

“No,” I whisper.

“Shut. Up.” Hale snarls against my cheek. “Make the call!”

“What makes you think they’ll believe me?”

“Because you’re going to be very convincing,” he snaps as his hand wraps around my throat. He squeezes, and I can immediately feel my pulse slow.

Suddenly, there’s a noise at the end of the alleyway. It sounds like a shoe scraping against the gravel, and Hale turns his head for a split second, long enough for Logan to pounce.

“Freeze!” a familiar voice barks from far away.

Logan’s hand is around my waist as I’m hoisted over his body and to the ground. There’s a struggle. I turn in time to see Hale throw a punch at Logan’s jaw, but he dodges it and dives for the gun in Hale’s hand. They fight for a moment before I spot Rafe, the young cop jumping over the hood of the car to help Logan force Hale to the ground.

Somewhere in the struggle, Logan loses his grip on Hale, and all I hear is the deafening sound of the gunshot.

“Logan!” My voice aches with the scream as I watch wide-eyed to see Logan staring down at his body. Then he looks up at Hale and throws a punch so hard against his jaw that he passes out cold on the cement.