The voices grew louder. “No, Elle, that’s not necessary. My mother is here to take me to her house. I’m so sorry, but I’ll have to miss a few days of work.”

Tears welled in my eyes. “Don’t you worry about work. What can I do for you?”

She inhaled a breath. “Nothing. Listen, I have to go—the doctor just walked in. I got everything restocked yesterday. There’s nothing for you to do today. Any deliveries made will be redelivered tomorrow, so you don’t have to go in. Tomorrow will be crazy enough for you.”

“Peyton, stop. Don’t worry—I’ll take care of everything.”

“I know. I know. I’ll call you when I get to my mother’s house.”

“Take care,” I said, and hung up.

“Tell me again, and don’t leave anything out—what exactly happened to Peyton?” Logan asked in a rush.

My voice became one giant exhalation as I told him everything, from the letter E on her stomach to what her attacker had said.

“He said the word dog. You’re sure?”

“Yes, why?”

“We have to go.” Logan’s voice was low and shaky.

Something tight twisted in my gut.

Concern.

Fear.

The unknown.

I felt myself start to tremble and pulled the sheets up to cover my naked body. “What are you talking about?”

With unrepressed determination, Logan was picking up my clothes and tossing them on the bed. My bra. My shirt. My panties. My sweatpants. “Get dressed now. We have to leave.”

Apprehension rang through me. “What’s going on?”

He stood tall, his shoulders broad, but wariness was all I could see. “Elle, please get dressed, pack a bag, and meet me downstairs. I’ll explain everything when I get you back to my hotel.”

I stood up, taking the sheet with me. “Logan, you’re scaring me. Do you think Peyton’s attack had something to do Michael and Lizzy?”

With quick strides, he came over to me and put his hands on my shoulders. “No. Peyton was attacked because she was seen with me. Now do as I said and I’ll explain everything when we get to my place.”

Fear seized me. I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I knew he was telling the truth. The question was . . . should I stay with him or should I run?

“Elle, listen to me. We need to leave. And you have to come with me. I can keep you safe.”

Safe.

Could he keep me safe?

“What about Michael and Clementine?”

“They aren’t in any danger right now. Hurry, and I promise I’ll explain.”

Drawing in a breath, I looked at him again and knew I had to trust him. “Give me ten minutes.”

With a heavy sigh, he nodded and left the room.

The air felt thinner with him gone but not necessarily any easier to breathe.

Logan eyed the cars stacked ahead as if trying to determine how he could maneuver around them. All I saw were their red taillights in a flashing line of stop and go that was never going to end. No alternate was available in the morning traffic and five miles or fifty didn’t matter—it was going to take an eternity to get to his hotel.

The day was overcast and colder than yesterday. Staring out the window, I watched the birds as they flew by, moving at a much faster speed than we were. I was feeling twitchy. I needed to know what was going on. “Talk to me.”

I could see his jaw clench. He was waging a battle from within.

“It’s okay, Logan, just tell me.

His chest rose as he inhaled a breath. “What I’m going to tell you isn’t going to paint me in a good light. I was young, and stupid. I thought I knew what I was doing, but you have to know how much I regret what happened.”

“What you did when you were younger won’t make me think any differently about you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

He let out a huff. “Trust me, it will.”

“Logan, please, tell me what you think happened to Peyton.”

He shifted in his seat and his eyes scanned every inch of me. The slow motion of his stare made my heart race even faster. He opened his mouth and it was as if a chill cascaded around us in the confined space. His tone was distant, direct, matter-of-fact. “It’s not what I think. It’s what happened.”

For as strong as I was, for as courageous as I wanted to be, I was suddenly very afraid. I pressed my lips together and stared out of the glass to wait for what came next.

It wasn’t what I expected.

His hand was on me.

Fingertips softly searching to lock between mine.

That scared me even more.

Ready to burst, I turned toward him. “Just tell me.”

Those hazel pools looked murky as they flashed at me one more time before he looked away and finally, he began to speak. “When I fifteen,” he started, “I met this girl. Her name was Emily.”

Something inside me felt like it might explode. I wasn’t sure what was coming, but I knew it wasn’t going to be anything good—it was in his tone.

“My mother was spending more and more time in New York City and my father and I were staying at my grandfather’s house a lot back then. Anyway, Emily was interested in me.”

I interrupted him. “Emily, is she the girl I remind you of?” I wasn’t sure why I thought that, but his tone was reminiscent of the tone in which he’d told me I reminded him of someone he’d once known.

He gave me a slight nod.

I wondered why I’d bothered to ask that question. I already knew she was. “Sorry, go on.”

He pulled his arm away and gripped the steering wheel with both hands. “I had a lot going on in my life with, my parents on the verge of divorce and my grandfather trying to introduce me to a world my parents wanted me to stay away from. I was a rebellious teen looking for an outlet. Looking to have a good time. Then I saw her. It was summertime and we were all hanging out in the park at the top of Savin Hill. She was there with her friends and the only one not wearing a bikini. I asked around. Who was she? Where did she live? Turned out Emily was not only the sister of a dude I hated, but she was forbidden. And if that didn’t make me want her all the more.”

“What do you mean, forbidden?”

“Everyone knew she was off-limits. She was from the other side of Dorchester Avenue. A Catholic girl who went to a Catholic school. She practically wore a chastity belt. What I didn’t know at the time was that she also happened to have lunatics for her father and brother. I liked the challenge, the danger of it all. It took some time, but eventually she latched onto me,”

I tried not to parallel Logan, the teen, with Logan, the man, but it difficult. Was that what I was to him—a challenge? The thrill of danger?

God, I hoped not.

“I know what you’re thinking. And no, that’s not what this is.” He motioned between the two of us. “I’m not that same lost kid anymore who thought he could rule the world with money and power.”

I pushed my doubts aside. This wasn’t about me—it was about him. “I’m fine. Go on.”

He assessed me for a long time.

I gave him a slight nod to let him know I was okay.

“For a while, I thought I loved her, but then I realized that was my friend James talking, making me think that. Don’t get me wrong; I liked hanging out with her. It made me forget everything else I had going on. But I wasn’t looking for all the shit that would come with telling her father or my grandfather, and she was cool with that until one day when she wasn’t. Out of the blue, she told me she wanted to tell them.”

I could see the confusion in his face, like he just didn’t get women and their changing their minds.

“After that, I started to get nervous. She said she’d keep us quiet, but I wasn’t so sure. Then she started to get more and more serious about us and she was throwing around words like love, marriage, and forever. The day she told me she loved me and she wanted to run away together, I broke it off.”