Page 71 of Logan

“Listen to me. There’s nothing you need to do. Akran and Malik are dead. I’ll handle?—”

Her eyes widened as understanding seemed to slip through the cracks in her shock. “No. No, you’ve got to go after Rashad. I know that.” Each word seemed forced from deep within her chest and dragged over dry lips.

Standing with his help, her body quivering, she gazed around the ground again, shaking her head. “I…I have no idea…” She looked up at him. “You’ll have to tell me what to do. I don’t know how to fix this.”

His heart wanted to shelter her from this horror but warred with this head, knowing she was right. The longer it took for him to begin looking for Rashad, the more time it gave him to get away. Sighing, he said, “I’ll carry the two bodies away from here.I just need you to check the laundry room to make sure whatever they were pouring into bottles is gone.”

Vivian avoided his eyes and staggered toward the laundry cabin, his arms supporting her. Her movements were uncoordinated, almost automatic, rather than purposeful. Finally, she nodded and looked at him. “I have to focus. I have to get rid of any traces of the bacteria.”

“I’ll help?—”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t want to take a chance on your becoming contaminated. I know what to do.”

He stayed at the door, grabbing his phone while she moved to the shelves next to the washing machine. She picked up an industrial-sized bottle of bleach. Opening the lid, she sniffed, then nodded. Taking a towel from the shelf, she soaked it in bleach and began wiping down the surfaces, including the floors.

“Cole? Are you close? I need Sisco and Casper at the inn. There’s a path and a cabin. I need a disposal for two.” With Cole’s agreement, he called Landon. “Vivian is okay. All are eliminated except Rashad. Sisco and Casper will help me clean the area. Disposing two. I need Sadie to erase all security footage in the area. Viv is working on disarming the contaminants.”

Disconnecting, he watched as she bleached every surface Farrah and Nafisa might have touched. She found plastic garbage bags and dumped all the soiled towels inside. Looking up at him, she shook her head. “You can’t touch this, Logan.”

Sisco and Casper approached from the back, and he greeted them silently. Their gazes swept the area, landing on Vivian, but this was not the time for introductions. She glanced at the men, her eyes widening. “They’re with me, Viv.”

She turned her gaze to him, but her thoughts were hidden. Nodding, she walked out of the laundry room and over to where the bodies were.

Sisco and Casper quickly moved the bodies after ensuring they were protected from contamination, and Logan noted she turned her head away. The air in her rushed out, and she held on to the nearest tree for a few seconds. Then, straightening, she walked toward the plastic spray bottles still on the ground. Breathing deeply for a moment, she shook her head and bent to her task. Without gloves, she improvised with the bleach-soaked cloths, using them to hold the bottles. Pouring pure bleach into each one, she gave them a shake. “This will kill all the bacteria.”

Logan nodded, then headed into the woods after Casper and Sisco, making sure they were handling the remains. “You got this?”

“No worries,” Casper said. “We’ll carry them a few miles away, farther into the woo.”

“We’ll come back and head to the airport. Give us about an hour,” Sisco added. “I’m checking to see that Sadie erased any security footage the hotel has. It’ll be like none of us were ever here.”

Casper inclined his head back where Logan had come from. “Go take care of your girl.”

Snorting, Logan shook his head. “I’m afraid after all this, the last thing she’d ever want to be ismygirl.”

Sisco held his gaze. “You can always talk?—”

“It’s done,” Logan said, his voice definitive. “Probably better this way.”

“If you believe that, you’re wrong,” Casper added. He turned away and hoisted one of the bodies over his shoulder before walking away.

Logan offered a chin lift to Sisco, then headed back toward the cabin. When he walked in, she squeaked in fright, so intent on what she was doing she hadn’t noticed him approaching.

“Did you?—”

“All done,” he clipped. His gaze drifted to what she was doing, his eyes darting around.

“I’ve wiped down the entire inside of the laundry cabin with bleach. I have the towels in there.” She pointed at the large plastic bag. “I’ve poured bleach in all of these bottles to kill the bacteria.”

“I have gloves. I’ll dispose of them,” Logan said, his eyes finally lifting to hers. Feeling uncertain, he gentled his voice, his heart aching, as he asked, “Babe, how are you doing?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he hated the question, guilt eating at him.She should have never fucking had to have dealt with any of this.

Swallowing audibly, she blinked away the sting in her eyes and licked her dry lips. “I…I killed someone, Logan.”

He immediately stepped forward, enveloping her in his arms. Holding her close, he murmured soft words as his lips pressed to the top of her head, wondering how he could ever make things right for her.

39

At the knock on the door of Vivian’s cabin an hour later, she lifted her head as Logan entered. She sat in the lone chair, her packed bag at her feet. Staring at him in the doorway, she felt like she should speak, but no words came forth. She was blank inside, devoid of all feelings, and was sure her face was cemented in a blank expression.

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