Page 141 of Sin Bin

“What’s this?” he murmured, fingering the thin welt buried under her hairline.

“It’s an old scar.”

“From what?”

She shook her head against his chest. “I don’t know. I can’t remember how I got it.”

“Like the broken ribs,” he said grimly.

She nodded. “There’s a gap in my memory…missing pieces of the past.”

Logan was silent for a long moment, gently stroking her hair. “That night I called you when you were driving home after your going-away party. Something was wrong. I could hear it in your voice even though you tried to play it off.” He paused. “Had you just had a panic attack? Like the ones you used to have at the group home?”

Tears pricked her eyes before she gave a jerky nod.

His arms tightened, concern for her pouring off him. “Did something happen?”

“No. Not really.” She swallowed hard. “I had driven past my aunt and uncle’s house, where I lived for a short time after my parents died. I thought being there would jog my memory, knock something back into place.”

“Did it?” Logan asked gently.

She licked her dry lips and shook her head. “Nothing happened.”

Logan pulled back to bracket her face in his hands and search her eyes. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “While I was parked outside the house, a car backfired down the street. It scared the crap out of me, sent me into a panic attack. I felt kind of silly afterward. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

He watched her with those midnight-black eyes that saw everything, even the secrets she was trying to hide from him.

She forced a smile. “I’m fine, Logan. Seriously.”

He studied her a moment longer. “Whenever you’re ready to pursue retrieving your foster care records, my lawyer is on standby.”

“Thank you, Logan. I really appreciate that.” She hesitated, biting her lip. “I thought I was ready before, but now I’m not so sure. I don’t know what’s in those files, and that scares me.”

Logan pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I understand.”

“I know you do,” she whispered, staring up at him. “You understand better than anyone.”

He gathered her back into his arms, tucking her head against his chest as she wrapped her arms around him.

Framed against the Las Vegas skyline, they stood there holding each other tight, losing awareness of everything around them for a very long time.

Meadow was the first to speak again. “I know how difficult your birthdays have always been for you. Are you going to be okay on Friday?”

Logan’s chest lifted on a soul-deep sigh. “I guess we’ll find out.”

Chapter Nineteen

LOGAN

He woke up with a massive boner.

But that was nothing unusual. He was a healthy young guy. Morning wood came with the territory.

What was highly unusual was the presence of a woman in his arms. He didn’t do sleepovers. The only times he spent the night with a lover were when he was too drunk to safely drive himself home. On those rare occasions, he never woke up holding the woman in his arms.

Of course, the one currently snuggled against him wasn’t just some cheap hookup.

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