A tear rolls down her cheek and she shuts her eyes like I’ve caused her pain. “No, Logan. He said I have to be the one to do the drop-off.”

I feel the blood drain from my cheeks. Her words beat through my skull like a drum. Of course, he’s taunting me. Of course, he wants me to give him everything. One more knot in the noose.

“Not an option,” I croak, but it feels weak.

“It’s the only option. He won’t meet you. It has to be me.” She presses up on her knees so her face is closer to mine, but I step away. I can’t let her feel my hands shaking.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I don’t mean for it to sound so accusatory, but it hurts to know she held this information alone. The fear she must have felt all night, knowing what she was up against today. And all I could think about was getting my dick wet.

Fuck. Freedom was so close, and now it’s farther than it’s ever been because I’ll drop Hale’s dead body in the ocean before I let him bring Sierra into this again.

“I’m sorry,” she sobs as she reaches for me, but I can’t let her touch me. I’m poison.

Turning away from her drives a rage through me, and I turn and hammer my fist into the wall, feeling the skin break and the bones rattle. Sierra screams.

The pain does nothing to distract me, but it clears my mind. I should have never let it get this far, never should have given in to the temptation. And if I really loved her at all, I’d make sure she’d never trust me again.

“Get out,” I growl, keeping my face away from her.

She sobs out and runs her nails across the skin of my back. “Logan, I’m not scared. I can do this.”

“This is my business,” I bark at her. The pain from hurling my anger at her hurts me more than it could hurt her. “You had no right to get involved. Did you ever think that he’s using you to nail me?”

“No,” she cries through her trembling lips. “It’s not like that.”

“What do you know?” When I step up to her, my voice booming, she flinches. And I splinter into a million pieces, too broken to ever be repaired again. But I’ve already gotten this far, it couldn’t get any worse now…

“You don’t know a fucking thing, princess. I didn’t have the heart to tell you before, Sierra, but you’re the fucking reason I lost that stash in the first place. I was too busy babysitting you the night of the bonfire when I had other shit to do.”

Her face shows a glimpse of anger, which is good. Get angry, baby.

“You come around here once a year to get some grungy local to stick his hands down your pants and now you think you know what it’s like. You don’t belong here, you can’t stay here, and now that I’ve gotten a taste, you’re nothing but a pain in my fucking ass now.”