Page 65 of Sin Bin

She pulled her legs back into the car and closed the door, then reached across the seat and grabbed the phone with trembling fingers. Her heart thumped in her throat when she saw who was calling.

She pressed the answer button and brought the phone to her ear. “Logan?”

“Hey, Jup—” He broke off abruptly. “What’s wrong?”

She squeezed her eyes shut, tears leaking from the corners. “Nothing’s wrong,” she croaked. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t sound fine.” His voice was sharp with worry. “What’s going on?”

“N-Nothing.” She struggled to sound normal. “I, uh, just left the adoption center where I volunteered. They threw me a surprise going-away party. It got me all weepy and emotional.”

Logan was silent. He didn’t believe her.

“I have pictures from the party. I’ll send them to you.” The words came out in a rush. “Wait till you see the cake they got me. It was decorated like the solar system. It was so cool. The detailing was just amazing. And it was chocolate…” She trailed off weakly and took a shaky breath, trying to steady nerves that felt like they’d been scraped raw.

There was another silence.

“That town has a lot of ghosts for you and me,” Logan spoke low in her ear. “You seeing ghosts, Jupiter?”

She swallowed tightly and nodded, even though he couldn’t see her.

“I think it’s good that you’re leaving Las Vegas,” he continued in an almost hypnotic murmur. “You need to go someplace new. Get a fresh start.”

“Yes,” she whispered around the knot in her throat. “I agree.”

“Where are you right now?”

“Um…somewhere on Rainbow Boulevard. You know where that is?”

“Of course, angel. I know those streets like the back of my hand. How far are you from home?”

“About thirty minutes.” She opened her eyes, looked around and let out her breath slowly. She felt much steadier, the last vestiges of anxiety seeping away. The deep rumble of Logan’s voice was making her feel safe. Protected, even.

“I’ll keep you company on your way home,” he told her.

“Mmkay.” She hesitated, then added shyly, “Thank you.”

“Anytime, Jupe.” His tone was soft, almost tender.

She opened the glove compartment, fumbled out several tissues and blew her nose. “So, um, what have you been up to?”

“Just got back from the gym.” She heard a jangle of keys in the background. “Got any of that chocolate cake left?”

“Yeah.” She sniffled, amused that he would ask about cake after working out. “It’s in the backseat.”

“Good. Save me a piece.”

She gave a teary laugh. “It’s gonna be hard and dry by the time I get back to Denver.”

“I don’t care. I’ll nuke it in the microwave.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Yuck, Logan.”

He chuckled. “Let me be the judge of what’s yucky.”

“All right. If you insist.” A faint smile tipped up the corners of her mouth. “I think there’s still a part of Jupiter left.”

“Awesome. My favorite planet.”

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