Crush(86)

“I liked all of your friends who came to be with you for Killian’s funeral. The way you talk about them I know they mean a lot to you.”

They did.

But then so did she.

“And they liked you.” I slid one of my hands up to the center of her back between her shoulders and then dipped her low. I had to stop before I wasn’t going to be able to. I kept her there for a few moments and then pulled her back into my arms. “I hate to end this, but we should probably get going.”

She was still gazing at me, biting her lip.

My body was starting to react to hers and I felt my own lips part. I quickly let go of her and shook my desire off. “Come on, we don’t have much time to eat before we have to meet the guys. Where do you want to go?”

Elle looked flushed. “How about the Hornet’s Nest?”

I gave her a little tap on her ass. “Sounds great. Now let’s get moving.”

Many choices in my life have been hard to make . . . none harder than passing on sex. Great sex. Sex with Elle . . .





ELLE


“So it’s decided then?” Miles asked quietly.

Logan was glaring at everyone. He was all coiled power as he stood over the table in the break room at Molly’s. With his tie removed, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and the first couple of buttons of his white shirt undone, his muscles seemed to flex with his every movement. “No, it’s not,” he barked.

Declan cocked his head and looked toward Miles.

In response, Miles slid a piece of paper across the table and Declan picked it up and read it out loud. “Compound agent found on outside packaging is a perfect match to compound agent found in vehicle registered to Logan McPherson.”

“I know what the f*cking report states,” Logan muttered, flopping down in a chair beside me and grabbing my hand. He laced our fingers together and I rubbed his skin, hoping it might calm him down. Agent Blanchet had given him a copy of the report with the information she had on him before she released him. He could be in a lot of trouble. This was my fault and there was nothing I could do to help him. I felt guilty. I felt helpless. I hated it. I had to do something.

“Then you know we don’t have much of a choice because I don’t care what that bitch told you, this is some persuasive evidence that you committed a felony, and you know as well as I do, she’ll use it if she has to.”

I shivered at the thought of what Logan had done for me. How he’d risked his entire future for the choice I’d made. And even though I’d do it again as long as it meant keeping Clementine safe and out of harm’s way, it didn’t temper my guilt.

Logan’s eyes burned into me and I knew he could see my despair. With a squeeze of my hand, he gave me a small smile. I gave him one in return to reassure him I was fine. Even so, he still flung Miles a filthy look.

Just then, my phone rang. I let go of Logan’s hand and quickly reached for my purse to silence it. I’d received three blocked calls at dinner. Including the one from yesterday, that made four in two days. Logan insisted on answering them himself, but whoever was on the other end hung up at the sound of his voice every time.

“Give it to me,” Logan said through gritted teeth.

I shook my head. “Let’s just ignore it.”

Miles and Declan were having their own conversation and weren’t aware of what was going on. “Maybe Elle can help,” Declan said, drawing my attention back to the table.

Miles cocked his head as if he understood what the glances and glares were about and then slid a pad of paper my way. “Can you show me what the keypad looks like?”

I knew it was my decision whether or not I tried to get into Michael’s panic room, but I still found myself glancing back to Logan. When I saw his face was twisted up in anguish, my heart banged in my chest. I hated what this was doing to him, but I knew it had to be done. We had to find out the truth. Both Logan’s and Clementine’s futures depended on it. With that in mind, I averted my gaze to the empty paper in front of me and proceeded to draw the rectangular box as I remembered it.

When I was done, my heartbeat had not yet slowed. If just the very idea of what I had agreed to do was making me nervous, how was I going to react when I was actually doing it? With a deep breath, I slid the paper back over to Miles. “The outside was stainless steel, the inside was black with blue number pads. Above the numbers were a red, a yellow, and a green light.”

He looked at my drawing. “It appears to be a standard digital two-relay keypad with a magnetic lock.”

“Which means?” Logan asked with a harshness in his tone that made me wince.

Miles ignored Logan’s hostility. “It means once you enter the assigned code, the number sequence will deactivate the magnetic lock, and the door will open. If the keypad is programmed to toggle mode, then when you enter the same code it will either release the lock again or reactivate it.”

“I don’t understand. Why would Elle have to release the lock again?”

“These types of locks are complicated. Once the lock is deactivated, there are two possible outcomes. The door could automatically close itself after thirty seconds or it might remain in the open position.”

“How will I know which one to expect?”

The sigh Miles gave told me the news wasn’t good. “You won’t. It’s programmed during the initial installation and I have no way of knowing.”