8. Logan

CHAPTER 8

Logan

I f I told her everything I found out while she slept, we'd probably be at it again by now, on the washing machine or wherever else was closest.

The insurance fraud—that's the tip of the iceberg as far as Ret Foster is concerned. Real piece of work. Stephanie wants to blow the whistle, which is honorable, but she's only experienced one side of the world she lives in.

If we squealed now, we'd both be dead before sun up. That much I'm sure of.

I know how ruthless men like Foster are. Plus, it would take days to collate and transport this treasure trove of evidence by myself.

Risking time like that might work if it were just me. But I've got Stephanie to think of now. Her safety and her happiness are my only assignment from now on.

Getting out of the building from inside her family's palatial apartment is easier than getting in uninvited. A rear, basement parking garage is our only way out, undetected.

In less than a half hour, we're on the freeway. I'm driving a standard car I keep for assignments. Nothing fancy and definitely not what Stephanie's used to.

She's taken it pretty well, considering. Probably more shocked that folks actually do get around in cars like this.

Hey, if I can fit in comfortably, that's enough for me.

"What's the matter? Your seat not far back enough?" I quip. I get it though, she's had limousines and first-class everything since she was born.

We still have a long drive ahead of us.

"You seem to know everything about me and my family, Logan. So far, all I know is your first name. And no, this seat doesn't go back far enough."

She starts to hyperventilate, shooting me a worried look because I know she's having second thoughts. Who wouldn't?

"You're right," I agree. "It's okay, really. Sorry to rib you about the car thing."

"I-I'm just scared now, Logan."

"I know. It'll be alright, you'll see. You really wanna hear all about boring old me, though?" I joke, trying to lift her mood.

It works. In seconds I have her full attention once she wipes her eyes and leans in closer to me, resting her hand on my arm as I drive.

"I do, actually. I want to know everything about you, Logan, even if it takes all night to tell me."

"It is a few hours to a safe place," I muse aloud, but I've never been one to talk about myself. Then again, I haven't exactly had much living company for a while.

So I tell her. Everything short of who and maybe just how many people I have killed. She wants to know about me, not what I've done.

That sticks out for me more than anything.

"My brother and I were fostered into a military family when we were really young, grew up thinking it was the only way of life. Living on a base or near one, moving once in a while. We both knew we were soldiers long before we went for basic training…"

Far from bored with my life story, Stephanie wants to know all the tiny details, most of which I have trouble remembering. But it feels good to be able to talk to someone about things I spend most days trying to bury just that little bit deeper.

She goes quiet once I get to the part that got me where I am now—the situation we're both in.

I've never told a living soul about Jase and that night in the jungle. Stephanie's head is against my shoulder by now, her body glued to mine as we drive.

"We were set up by our own people. It should've been me going first, but Jase went. Didn't matter in the end. They all got the same."

If there was ever anything to ruin a mood, it's relaying my life story over a long drive. But Stephanie never flinches or shies from asking me pointed questions.

She goes quiet after a while, only taking the time after a long silence to tell me the one thing nobody ever has. And from her lips, it's all I've ever needed to hear.

"It wasn't your fault, Logan. And I know it's not the same, but yeah. I know how it feels to have someone taken from you. Someone you care about."

She could have quizzed me about the people I've killed, about how I live with myself because of it, but that's how I know she's the right girl for me.

She sees the man, not what he's done. See who I could be over who I am right now. And if she's by my side from today, I know that everything that's brought us together will be worth it.

"Is it too soon for me to care about you?" I ask. Asking myself aloud, I guess. I've never actually been much of a people person.

"It's never too soon for that," she whispers, snuggling deeper into me until she's asleep again.

It's been months since I've driven to the one place I know nobody else could find me. Mercenary assassin pays very well, but there is a lot of upkeep.

Houses, apartments, cabin by a lake, which is where we're headed. A dozen identities as well as the full-time keeping up appearances as a day trader working from home. It made the killing part feel easy.

Stephanie has convinced me without saying a word. My new life, our life. It starts now. If she can leave my past behind, I'll leave it there too.