Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56885 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56885 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
That has me squeezing my legs together even tighter.
“It’s okay if you’re nervous,” he says.
“I know. I’ve been nervous about everything I’ve ever done. But it’s like you said, Logan. Who are we? We’re people who strive to do better, no matter how nervous we are, no matter how hopeless things might seem.”
He watches me with a mixture of pride and fierce desire. It’s a combination I’ve never seen before.
“Are you ready?” he asks, squeezing my knee.
I put my hand on his. “Yuh-yes. I think so.”
Logan flips a switch on the headset. “Pilots, destination one, please.” He flips the same switch.
“Destination one?”
“I want to show you something,” he says, his tone growing dark and mysterious. Emotion grips his features.
I want to ask more, but then the helicopter blades begin to slice through the air, the engine whirring, the noise loud even through the headset. I grip his hand with both of mine, holding on tightly.
“Am I hurting you?” I ask.
“Hold as tight as you need,” he growls. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll always be here for you.”
His use of ‘always’ makes my heart shimmer as much as his touch makes my body ache. He’s talking about more than a helicopter flight.
“Open your eyes, gorgeous,” he says.
I peel my eyes open, laughing shakily. “I didn’t even know they were closed,” I admit.
When the helicopter lifts from the pad, my stomach wavers, but I keep my eyes open, staring at my boyfriend, my man. Under these high-stress circumstances, thinking of him like this somehow doesn’t seem ridiculous.
“We can leave all our worries behind,” he yells over the sound of the helicopter. “Float away from the city. From the guilt.”
“Just for today,” I mutter.
“Piper?” he says louder.
He didn’t hear me. Good. I don’t want to ruin this. I want to forget. I just want to be with him.
“Let’s fly away, Logan,” I say, louder this time. “Just me and you. No guilt. No mob. Not anything. Just us.”
When the helicopter gets higher, soaring over the city, I breathe shakily and then look down. The buildings are growing smaller, everything drifting away.
“Beautiful, right?” he says.
“It is,” I agree.
“I’m not talking about the city. I’m talking about the look of wonder on your face.”
The helicopter surges out of the city toward the countryside. After only a few minutes, it descends. Logan’s mood shifts as if he’s descending, too. He sits back, interlacing his hands, his jaw pulsing, highlighting his manly features.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask.
“I’ve never brought anyone here before,” he replies. “Even Elliot doesn’t know I prevented it from being torn down. But I want to show you, Piper. I want to share everything with you.”
Even the rest of our lives?
It’s like a mental text that I leave unsent. That’s the tricky thing about being face-to-face. There are some things I’d shoot off in a text without even thinking about it, but are almost painful to say aloud.
The helicopter descends on a field next to a forest.
Once the blades have stopped slicing the air, Logan unstraps himself. I follow his lead. He jumps down from the chopper, then lifts his hands up, grabbing my hips and lowering me to the ground. He’s so strong, I feel like I’m flying, even more so than in the helicopter.
“It’s not far,” he says, taking my hand.
I sense he needs me to be here for him, though I’m not sure exactly what’s going on. We walk through a small area of the forest, then onto a country road that looks like it leads to a small town.
He says nothing. I don’t speak either. His body is tense like he’s mentally preparing himself. But for what?
Soon, we turn down a dirt lane. A rundown abandoned building sits in a clearing. All around, nature is overgrown. Trees and weeds and flowers, but for yards around the building, crews have evidently been working to keep it from encroaching.
“This was my home before CPS took me. Life wasn’t easy for me or Elliot… but it was hell here, Piper. It was…” He shudders, staring at the house like he’s seeing a ghost.
I wrap my arm around his waist and lean against his chest, knowing he just needs me to be here. He needs somebody to hear him. No, not somebody. He needs me.
“My mother died giving birth to me. My father, he was… he was the cruelest bastard you’re ever likely to meet. He hurt me, Piper. I thought he broke me forever. And then later, at the orphanage, I thought that just made the breakage even more permanent. This is why I’ll never let life break me. This is why I’ll stand up against the mob, against my own demons, against everything. The world tried to ruin me. I thought it succeeded on some level, deep down, but I could function, at least…”