Page 45 of Celebrity Dirt

“Addy…”

“Please…not yet.”

He grants my wish and tucks us both into bed, snuggling me close to him, allowing me to find peace and solace as I fall asleep in his arms.

I’m drowning. My arms and legs refuse to move as I sink deeper into the abyss. I suck in air, but only water fills my lungs. Each breath robs me, and I choke. My lungs spasm. My chest heaves. I’m suffocating. My body slams against the ocean floor. Tiny black images surround me until they come into focus. Fish. So many fish. I fight them, but my arms don’t move. I’m helpless. They come for me, nipping and biting at my flesh. Nip, nip, nip—

I shoot up, gasping for air and patting at my skin for fish bites.

“What’s wrong?” Logan’s concerned voice pulls me from the lingering memory, and I turn to his worried eyes. “Talk to me. You okay?”

I need the visions of my nightmare to fade. “Shoot, did I fall asleep?”

“Yeah, babe, you’ve been asleep for almost twelve hours.”

Unease settles inside me. “Twelve hours? He—he hasn’t come back for me, has he?” My body begins to tremble, and I try to fight out of his grip. “We can’t stay here. You’re not safe.” I reach for him, my hands cupping his face. “Logan, you’re not safe.”

He cradles me in his arms, lays me down, and blankets his body over mine. “You don’t have to worry. Right now, we’re safe. But I need you to tell me what happened. Can you do that?”

I want to shake my head, and not repeat the horrid things Vincent said to me. But he needs to know. He needs to get out. “Logan, you were right. He said things. Warnings.”

“What kind of warnings?”

“He asked me where we stood. I told him we were good. I told him I loved you.”

I don’t even know how he can laugh at a time like this. “You said you loved me?”

“Yes!” I bang on his chest. “He was telling me in not so many words that if you weren’t around, he would take care of me. How accidents happen. Logan, he’s going to get rid of you. I can’t—please—let’s leave. We need to go to the police. They can help us. Then you and I…you said what we were starting was real. We can go to the police.”

Logan shakes me. “Addy, no.”

“Yes! We have to! He was dead serious. He doesn’t plan on keeping you around much longer. I’m scared. We need to go to the police.”

His lips find mine, and he kisses me hard. I know his intention is to try to sway my mind. But he doesn’t understand. “Stop. I need you to listen. I can’t have him hurting you. If you won’t. I will.”

His hand digs into my hair, tugging almost to the brink of pain, and I wince. “Addy, I need you to listen to me. No. Cops.”

“But you don’t understand—”

“No cops.”

My shoulders tense. My lips thin, and I become angry. “Why not? Is your loyalty to him worth your life? You’re willing to die over a stupid job? You’re the one who warned me, and now I’m warning you. He’s going to kill you to get to me!”

His expression remains cold, and my anger spikes. I take my fists to his bare chest. “Why aren’t you listening to me?” My tears fall in furious waves. “Why are you acting like this is not a big deal? This is your life. What the heck is wrong with you?” My beating fists become weaker and weaker as my emotions take over, and my tears turn to desperate sobs. “I don’t want you to die. Please…please…”

He wraps his arms around me, forcing me close, and I continue to cry in his arms. “Addy, listen to me. I should have never made you stay with me. This is on me, but I’m going to get you out.”

Unease morphs into full-blown panic inside my chest, and I rip out of his hold. “How? He’ll suspect something. And just like you said, he’ll come after me. And he’ll kill you.”

“No, he won’t. I’ll handle it.”

“How? You’re not invincible, Logan.”

“He needs me to oversee the shipment with Renaldo. He’s not going to make any moves before that.”

“Logan, listen to yourself. You’re seriously going to help him traffick girls? Stop being ridiculous.”

He takes too long to answer, which is the only answer I need. “Are you kidding me? You’re going to go through with it?” More silence. I stare back at him, blinking away my disbelief. “I can’t… How can you look at yourself in the mirror knowing what you’re about to do?”

How could I have been so blind? So stupid to think I was making a difference in his life? That he felt my words when I told him he deserved better. “You make me sick.”

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