Page 44 of Short, Lethal & Claimed

She opened her mouth only to have Shane cut her off. “You don’t have to do this. I won’t tell the leech that you’re trying to escape,” he said, leaving her even more confused.

“I would never hurt you,” Jill said, following Shane’s terrified gaze to the pool before she glanced back and-

Logan was suddenly there, gently pulling Caleb into his arms. “Shhh, it’s okay.”

“You don’t need to do this!” Shane shouted, tightening his arms around his little sister as he turned so that he could keep his eyes on both of them.

“I’m a good boy,” Caleb sobbed against Logan’s neck as he wrapped his arms around him.

“I know you are,” Logan said soothingly as he gently caressed the little boy’s back.

“I have no idea what’s going on right now,” Jill admitted, swallowing hard as she stood there, watching helplessly as the twins cried.

“She’s going to punish us,” Caleb sobbed against Logan’s neck.

Shaking her head, Jill said, “I would never-”

“I know you wouldn’t,” Logan said before he shifted his attention to the little boy in his arms. “Why do you think Jill was going to hurt you? Hasn’t she been nice to you?”

“The water,” Caleb said, pulling one hand away so that he could blindly point back towards the pool and just like that, Jill finally understood why they panicked anytime she mentioned taking a bath.

“I see,” Logan murmured as he continued gently caressing the little boy’s back while Shane watched his every move. “I think she was trying to do something nice for you. She didn’t know that you were afraid of the water.”

“I’m not afraid,” Shane bit out, but the look on his face…

God, he looked terrified.

Turning his head, Logan kissed the top of Caleb’s head as he said, “Prove it,” making the teenage boy go still.

“I don’t have to prove anything,” Shane said, swallowing hard as his terrified gaze flickered to the pool.

“I see,” Logan murmured, kissing the top of Caleb’s head one last time before he gently placed him down on his feet and-

“What are you doing?” Shane demanded, keeping his terrified gaze locked on Logan as he reached down and grabbed hold of Caleb’s arm and pulled him back.

“Going for a midnight swim,” Logan said as he finished toeing off his shoes and reached down to pull his socks off.

Shane opened his mouth only to snap it shut and swallow hard as his panicked gaze moved from Logan as he pulled off his shirt and dropped it on the floor to the double doors behind them. He moved to take a step back only to go still when Logan crossed the short distance and swept Jill off her feet.

“Ready, Angel?” Logan asked, adjusting her in his arms as he carried her to the edge of the pool and turned around so that they were facing the children and-

Did he just wink? Jill found herself wondering seconds before he managed to tear a surprised squeal from her as he fell back into the water, taking her with him. She held her breath as Logan’s hands found her hips and guided her back to the surface. As she took her first breath, she saw the worried expressions on the children’s faces and felt her heart break for them.

When Logan pulled her into his arms, Jill wrapped her arms around him and watched his eyes turn silver as he pulled her closer. For several minutes, neither one of them said a word as he moved them through the warm water and-

“Their guardians punished them by holding them underwater,” Logan said softly.

“I didn’t know,” Jill mumbled weakly as her gaze flickered back to the children to find them watching them.

“I know you didn’t, Angel,” Logan said as he reached up and gently pushed a strand of wet hair out of her face only to have his fingertips linger on her cheek as his gaze dropped to her lips.

Swallowing hard, Jill watched as his silver eyes slowly met hers and-

“I wanna try,” Caleb said, thankfully breaking whatever spell Logan seemed to have over her and drew their attention to find the little boy yanking his hand away from Shane, who bit out a curse and tried to grab his little brother only to have Caleb duck beneath his reach and quickly made his way to the pool.

“Are you sure?” Jill asked, reluctantly pulling away from Logan so that she could hold up her arms and-

Felt her lips twitch when Caleb stubbornly shook his head and gestured for Logan. Chuckling, Logan moved past her and held up his arms. After a slight hesitation, Caleb moved closer and allowed Logan to pull him into his arms.

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