Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
I shrugged in response to her question. If Logan had any brains, he was probably long gone. There was no need to go into detail about a man I’d never see again. “Just a tourist who happened to be walking past.”
Her brows rose in sync, followed by a narrowing of her eyes. “Why are you lying?”
“I’m not lying.”
I twisted around to replace the bottle and rinse out the shot glass. When I turned back and grabbed a rag to wipe down the bar, Jamie had crossed her arms and cocked her head, watching me intently. She knew me too well. I could never lie to her and get away with it.
With a huff, I threw the rag into the sink and leaned against the backbar. “He stopped to check on us, all right? I’d stopped on the side of the road when Chance called to tell us to pay up. I hadn’t pulled back out when he passed, so he stopped to see if we needed help.”
Jamie leaned back and studied me. “Is this why you knew each other’s names?”
“How do you even know this? The fight lasted all of a minute once Logan got involved.”
She scoffed. “Skye, half the town was eating at the Bear Trap when you stopped the truck. Jordan called me when this Storm guy outmaneuvered Jake and put him on the ground. I was at the bank dropping last night’s take and hightailed it over when she said you’d taken off for the bar, so I passed the man on the street.”
Hearing half the town had a ringside seat for the implosion of my family freaked me out, and my heart began to race again.
What if someone called CPS and they tried to separate us?
“Do you think . . .” I had to wet my lips as the stark reality of what could happen caused my mouth to run dry. The county CPS checked on my brothers and me regularly. If they got wind of what happened, if someone told them what Chance was threatening to do . . . The room began to spin at an alarming rate, and panic grabbed hold like death itself. I gasped for air to draw more into my lungs so I could control my reaction.
“Skye?” Jamie’s concerned voice sounded like it was coming from across the room, instead of right in front of me.
I turned my head to look at her. To try and center myself on a familiar face so I could calm down. She took one look at me and bolted for the front exit, which made the panic worse. It felt like I was having a heart attack, but I knew that wasn’t right. I knew I was too young, but my arms and legs grew cold as the tightness in my chest paralyzed me with fear. I could hear Jamie screaming for help as I slid down the backbar, curled my arms around my legs, and began to rock to keep from losing it altogether. I had to pull myself together if I had any hope of beating Chance. I just needed a minute to process everything without fear ruling my headspace.
The door slammed open a minute later, and a deep, rough voice barked out, “Max. Comfort.” Seconds later, a warm wet tongue began to lick my face. I jerked at the sensation and opened my eyes to find a German shepherd in my personal space. The dog whimpered until I opened my arms, then he crawled onto my lap as best he could and began to lick my face again. I instinctively wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his neck. Just the softness of his fur seemed to ease the ache in my chest, so I clung to him like a lifeline until I could open my eyes without the room spinning. When I did, I found Logan Storm squatting in front of me, his brilliant blue eyes zeroed in on my face, and God help me; I wanted to crawl onto his lap like his dog had done to me until all my problems disappeared.
“Better?” The concern in his voice wrapped around me like a warm blanket. It had been so long since someone had taken care of me. Since I hadn’t been terrified about our future.
I nodded in response but kept stroking Max, afraid to let go.
Logan seemed to relax a fraction when I answered, then manipulated his large frame until he was sitting on the floor across from me. He leaned his back against the icemaker and settled in. Jamie appeared on the other side of me with a bottle of water and handed it to me. The minute it hit my hand, I tried to drink it down until it was gone, beyond thirsty. But Logan reached out and stopped me halfway through.