Page 43 of Wild Boys After Dark: Logan
“Shut the fuck up. I’m a private investigator. I’m not with Kutcher. I’m nailing him.”
“Fuck, man.”
“Shut up.” This was too easy. He was putty in Logan’s hands. “Here’s what’s gonna happen. I’m going to take you down to the station, and you’re going to tell those motherfuckers everything you know about Kutcher. The dealing he’s doing from the pen, who his customers are, the whole load of shit.” After the police had given up looking for his father’s killer, Logan had lost a lot of respect for the men in blue, but there was about an ounce left. Enough to know how to play the fucking game when he was in their presence. Beyond that, Logan did things his own way.
“Got it?” Logan twisted his arm to send his message home.
“I’m not going back to jail. No fucking way. You can kill me.”
“That’s a shame. I kinda liked this T-shirt. Guess I can wash the blood out.” He let out a bored breath, and Kanets flailed harder.
“Wait!”
Logan crushed Kanets’s face into the desk again. “You fucking ready to play, or you wanna die? My trigger finger is mighty itchy. I’ll get you a fucking plea bargain for ratting out Kutcher, but if you fuck up…” Logan leaned down and spoke in a threateningly low tone. “I’ll take great pleasure in killing you.”
“Fine. Fine. I’ll fucking do it.”
“Louder. You’ll do what?” Logan demanded.
“I’ll fucking snitch, man. I’ll tell them everything.”
“Good boy, because possession of drugs and a firearm while on parole is some nasty shit. And this…” He tapped Kanets’s head with his gun. “This is the only alternative you’ve got.”
Chapter Thirteen
STELLA BOXED A dozen muffins for a customer and rang up her purchase. After she’d bared her soul to Willow, which she’d followed with a brief wallow in embarrassment, Stella had been forced to find her footing again. Willow hadn’t allowed her to wallow for more than a few minutes. She had set her hands on her ample hips, leveled a determined stare at Stella, and said, Honey, you’ve got a wicked hot man out there fighting for your life, a funny chick standing right here, ready to have some fun, and you want to waste your energy on being embarrassed? You go right ahead, but I’m going to eat a cupcake. She proceeded to take the biggest bite Stella had ever seen of a white cupcake with pink frosting. After finishing that one, Willow had licked each finger and grabbed another.
“You’d better get yours fast. Otherwise they’ll all be gone. Trust me, this girl knows how to eat.” Willow ate half of the second cupcake in one bite and then flashed a toothy smile.
That was several hours ago, and since then Stella had been having so much fun helping customers and baking that she’d almost forgotten about Kutcher. Almost. The problem was she definitely hadn’t forgotten about Logan, and every time her mind drifted to him, she remembered where he was. And then she’d feel a little queasy, until the bakery got busy again and sidetracked her thoughts.
After Stella rang up the muffins, she went to help a young couple who was waiting, but Willow came out of the kitchen, patted her shoulder as she whizzed by, and beat her to it. Now, with a moment to think, Stella’s mind turned back to Logan. He hadn’t told her what he was going to do. Important PI stuff could mean anything. She envisioned him with all sorts of expensive equipment, scoping out…What? Kutcher was in jail, due to get out in two days. Her stomach sank again. She had no idea what Logan was doing, but she’d seen him carry two duffel bags to the truck when they were getting ready to leave. She hoped that whatever it was, he was safe.
A tall blond woman with wild curls flew through the doors, sending the bells above the doors into a frenzy. She wore a billowy long skirt and a fitted top that made her appear younger than her wise eyes conveyed.
“Wow! What a glorious day!” The woman set a box on the counter with a loud thump and pushed her springy curls from her face. She narrowed her eyes at Stella, shifted a curious gaze to Willow, then back to Stella.
“That’s Stella, Mom,” Willow said from where she was bent over behind the counter, plucking cookies from the display and boxing them for the couple.
Mom?
Willow’s mother’s eyes widened, and a warm smile appeared.
“Oh, honey.” She motioned for Stella to come around the counter. “Come over here. Let me see you.” Willow obviously came by her high energy naturally.
Stella stepped nervously around the counter. She had a feeling she was in for scrutiny and wasn’t sure she was up for it, even with all the fun she’d had with Willow.
