Page 76 of Puck Struck
"I thought he was in Chicago," he says.
"So did I." The familiar panic claws at my throat. "He said he had business there."
"He lied." Logan hands the phone back to me. "He's playing games."
"What if he's watching us right now?" The thought makes my skin crawl. "What if he knows about…this?"
Logan's eyes meet mine, steady and determined. "Let him watch. We're not doing anything wrong."
"But what if?—?"
"No." He cups my face in his hands. "Don't let him in your head. That's what he wants."
I want to believe him. I want to feel as sure as he sounds. But the fear is real, a living thing that wraps around my chest and squeezes like a vise.
"I can't drag you into this any further," I say, pulling away, reaching for my clothes. "It's not fair to you and your family."
"Cam, stop."
"No, I mean it." I stand up from the bed because if I don’t put distance between us, I know I’ll fall back into him. And that would be wrong. Irresponsible. Self-centered. He’s got too much to lose. I can’t be the cause of anything more. "We expected this to happen, right? That he'd escalate, try to get to me through other people. Obviously, he has with Keating, but I won't let that be you."
Logan watches me dress, his expression stony and sullen. "So, what, you're just going to push me away? Handle this alone?"
"If I have to."
"Bullshit." He stands up and inches toward me, closing the distance between us. "You don't get to do that. Not now."
"It’s the only way."
"No, you listen to me. I'm in this. Not because I feel sorry for you, or because I need to rescue you, but because I—" Hestops, takes a breath. "Because I care about you. And I don't walk away from people I care about."
The words hit me with a blunt force. Too much, too fast, too intense. I've heard them before, of course. Empty promises from people who claimed to care, who swore they'd stick around. None of them ever did.
And even though I want to believe Logan is different, the weight of his words, of what he's offering, is suffocating. I can’t breathe through the noose around my neck, and one false move will have me hanging, flailing, choking on my choices.
"You barely know me," I say, taking a step away from him. "Not really."
"I know enough."
I shake my head. "No, you don't. You know the parts I've let you see. The parts James forced me to show you."
"Cam—"
"This was a mistake." I slide my feet into my shoes. "We got caught up in the moment, in the game, in this whole fucked-up situation, but we need to be smart here."
Logan's expression darkens, his eyes lancing my heart like icy spikes. "Smart? Or scared?"
The accusation stings because it's true. "Maybe both. I have to handle this my way, Logan. I can't—" I swallow hard. "I can't let you risk everything for me. Your career, your family, Ethan's future. It's too much. I don’t want that on my head."
"That's my choice to make."
"No." I grab my jacket. "I won't let you make it. Sorry."
My hand is on the door handle when he speaks again, and it makes my chest shudder with regret. The anger and hurt in his voice makes my stomach roil. "So that's it? You're just going to walk away?"
I don't turn around because I can't bear to see his face. "It's better this way."
"Bullshit."
