Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

LOGAN

W hat the hell is she doing here?

As I looked into Mira's hazel eyes from across the dining hall, I was caught totally by surprise. I hadn't seen this woman since Jude and Mickey's wedding about nine months ago, and I'd honestly started thinking I'd never see her again.

Just a couple months ago, they'd had a baby, and when I hadn't seen her around the festivities before the big arrival, I'd just kind of assumed she worked overseas and that I wouldn't be seeing her with any of their celebrations at all.

At least I'd been half right. She did work over the sea. It was just a little more literally than I'd thought.

"Logan! You made it." Slate stood up and strode over, but I only managed to look away from Mira once he'd reached me and clapped me on the back. "Welcome to the rig, bro. Officially, I mean. How was the flight in?"

"Terrible," I admitted before I glanced back at her. "Am I interrupting something?"

He chuckled, clapping me on the shoulder again before tightening his grip and leading me over to their tables. "Guys, I'd like you to meet Logan, the new owner. "

He cast a meaningful look at the ragtag group of workers around the table—though I didn't understand said meaning behind it—then turned back to me. "Logan, meet Peach, Jack H, Andy, and of course, Mira, my baby sister."

His baby sis—Wait. What now?

Hoping like hell that I was doing a better job hiding it than I thought I was, I did a slow double-take, blinking hard as I looked at the no-nonsense woman staring back at me. Out of her bridesmaid dress now—obviously—she wore a black, long-sleeved T-shirt with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows, not a speck of makeup, and her hair was pulled up into a high, tight bun behind her head.

Yet, she was still fucking beautiful. Even without the paint, the loose, shiny waves, and the fancy, silky dress, she was so damn hot that I was tempted by her all over again. In the many months that had passed since our hookup, I'd never forgotten the sound of her moans and the way her body writhed underneath my own.

And all those memories played on a dirty loop in my head as I looked at her now. Except I wasn't only looking at her. I was also looking at the three roughnecks sitting with her—and I was standing next to her big brother, who was one of my best friends.

With that thought in mind, I did my best to play it cool, making sure to look at each of the men around the table in turn. At least that way, I couldn't be accused of ogling her in any special way. "It's very nice to meet you all."

A few grumbles met my words, but I wasn't really listening to them. Instead, I was already turning back to Slate, trying to wrap my head around the fact that apparently, I'd accidentally fucked his sister.

"That's your baby sister?"

He grinned, his chest puffing out a little as he nodded. "Yep, although I guess she's not a baby anymore. She's also probably the most feared person on the rig, but she'll always be my wittle bittle sissy, Mira."

"Shut up, Slate," she snapped at him, and the guys sitting with her chuckled. She shut them up with no more than a scathing glare, but Slate didn't seem as afraid of her as the others .

"Oh, come on, Mira. Don't tell me to shut up. It's cute. And it's true." He motioned toward her. "Can you believe she's all grown up now?"

"No," I said honestly, my gaze hooking on hers once more. "I really, really can't. Last I heard, she was still in high school."

"That was a long time ago." He sat down in the seat he'd vacated to greet me. "Join us? I know you're on a tour, but there's no way you're going to meet everybody in one go anyway. I'll even get you a coffee if you ask nicely."

"Please?" I ventured carefully, not too sure if I wanted whatever passed as coffee on this thing, but needing caffeine nonetheless.

Slate laughed, getting up and taking Evan with him when they walked over to the long metal counter bolted to the wall. With him now gone, I went to say hello to her properly, taking the empty seat next to hers and leaning in close.

"What are the odds of running into you here, all the way out in the middle of nowhere?" I joked as I sat down. "In Satan's asscrack, of all places."

"Odds are high," she said, completely deadpan and not bothering to keep her voice down. "Seeing as how I'm the sister of your consultant on the rig."

I chuckled. "Yeah, about that. I knew he had a sister, but he never said she was hot."

"Or good in bed," I added under my breath, leaning in close enough that nobody else could hear. "Wanna come see my cabin later?"

Mira's jaw tightened, her skin paler now than it had been when I'd walked in. She moved her eyes from one of mine to the other, then suddenly stood up. "Let me show you to your bunk."

"But Slate's getting me?—"

"I know. We'll grab the cup on the way out."

"Seriously? My bunk? Now?"

"I'm sure you'll want to freshen up," she said as she swung her leg over the metal bench she'd been sitting on. "We'll grab your coffee from Slate and then I'll show you where you can put your things before we meet."

"We're having a meeting?" I frowned as I got up and followed her over to where Slate was pouring coffee from an urn into a Styrofoam cup.

A shudder passed through me just at the sight of the thing, but at this point, any caffeine was better than no caffeine. Mira glanced at me over her shoulder as she marched up to her brother. "Yes, we're having a meeting. Isn't that what you're here for?"

"Well, yeah, but?—"

"Then it's settled. We'll meet in an hour. In our office. In the meantime, you can take your things to your cabin and I'll show you where it is."

As I followed her, I couldn't help dropping my gaze to her full ass for just a moment. The pants she wore didn't do her any favors, but I didn't need them to in order to remember what that butt had felt like when she'd sat on my lap.

My cock stirred, enjoying the memories until I remembered where I was right now. Walking around an oil rig with a semi as a man who was—apparently—already hated when I'd only been here for an hour probably wasn't the best idea.

On the other hand, it was a better idea than Mira's, and frankly, I didn't even really know why I was following her. But I had a feeling nobody around here said no to this woman.

"You know," I said as I increased my pace to catch up to her and slid my hands into my pockets. "I'm the boss. Doesn't that mean I get to decide when we meet?"

"No." Aggravation shimmered in her eyes when she moved them to mine for just a beat before she stared straight ahead again. "Why didn't you tell me you knew my brother?"

"I didn't know I knew your brother. Didn't even know you had a brother."

She let out a long, deep sigh, her teeth grinding as her eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything else as we approached Slate. He seemed surprised when he turned with my coffee in hand to see us there, but he didn't question her.

"There you go." He handed over the white cup. "Let me know if you need anything. If not, I guess I'll see you for our meeting?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. Did we have that on the books right away?"

Slate laughed. "Technically, you've got about an hour. Wanna move it to now?"

"No, an hour is good," I said. "Mira mentioned something about an office?"

He darted a glance at his sister before he looked back at me. "It's as good a place as any on the rig. Unless you want to do it here, in which case, we will most definitely have curious ears listening in."

"Your office it is," I agreed. I didn't have anything to hide from these workers, but an update in private sounded like the best idea. "How do I find it?"

He winced. "Let Mira show you. Is she taking you to your cabin?"

"Apparently."

Mira tensed beside me, leaning closer to her brother and glancing at the table we'd just left. "I think we need to find out what he's doing here before the others do."

"I know what he's doing here," Slate said, but then he shrugged and flashed me an apologetic smile. "She's right, though. Give the guys a minute to get used to you being on the rig. Tempers always flare when the big shots come out."

"Why?" I frowned. "They do realize I'm not here to fire anyone right?"

He lifted one shoulder and grimaced at me. "No, they don't. I haven't told anyone why you're here, outside of just coming to check it out."

I groaned, rubbing the side of my jaw as I realized that was what the hostility was about. Well that, and probably the fact that I was a suit. The money behind the operation, but to their minds, definitely not the brains and certainly not the brawn .

As I thought it over, I nodded. "Yeah. Okay. Let me unpack, and I'll meet you in your office in an hour."

Slate gave me another grin, then waved as Mira grabbed my forearm in a vise grip and practically dragged me out of the cafeteria behind her—and I let her. As the heavy door swung shut behind us though, I withdrew my arm from her grasp and rubbed my fingers over the spot where she'd touch me as I smirked at her.

"You're stronger than you look."

She spun around to face me, her expression serious and her voice now low. "There's a lot about me you don't know. In fact, you don't really know much at all, but as far as anyone on the rig is concerned, that's because we've never met before."

I lifted my palms in surrender before sliding my hands into my pockets again and started following her when she took off down a labyrinth of hallways. "Don't worry about it. It's not like I'm bursting at the seams to tell your brother what happened between us, but I won't lie to him if he asks."

"Something he'll never do if we just pretend it never happened," she ground out, her feet sure against the rusted metal floor.

My own, however, were not so sure. My shoes slipped a little bit with each step we took, and occasionally, I had to grab the rail when a burst of speed was required to keep up with my new tour guide. Without said rail, I'd have been on my ass the first time we took a corner.

I wonder if they sell shoes at the commissary. It was starting to look like this pair wasn't going to cut it out here, but especially not with the sea being as rough as it was. Not that the rig was as vulnerable to the waves as a ship might've been at all, but still.

Or maybe it's all just my imagination and my shoes are fine.

Mira bit her lip when I grabbed the rail again, hiding a smile as she ducked her head before she shook it. "What were you thinking coming here in your polished loafers? It's an oil rig, Logan. Not a fashion show."

"Really?" I snapped the fingers of my free hand. "Shit. I must be in the wrong place, then. Could you point me toward the nearest runway?"

"Sure, and once we get there, I'll put you right back on whatever plane you flew in on and we'll forget we ever saw each other today."

"That wasn't the kind of runway I was talking about. Personally, I'm not even sure that one counts as a runway at all. It's more of a helipad, isn't it?"

She let out a long-suffering sigh and rolled her eyes when she glanced at me again. "You really don't belong here, bro."

"Bro?"

"Yep. I thought more colloquial language might help me bring the point across to you."

I chuckled, rocking back on my heels while I waited for her to turn a giant wheel on the door in front of us. "You're funnier than I remember, and for the record, I do belong here. It's mine, after all."

Fire shot out of her eyes when she looked at me and spun the wheel at the same time, turning it like it was nothing at all. "I'd stop saying stuff like that if I were you. Everybody knows you own the rig, Logan, but they don't need it rubbed in their faces. They work hard and this is what they do for a living. It's not a game to them."

"It's not a game to me either. Do you know what this thing cost me?"

"I do." She sighed again as she pushed open the door and walked outside.

Outside. Shit. We're going out there?

Wind and waves crashed against the pillar down below, but at least the rain had stopped. I tucked my chin closer to my chest, wrapping my jacket tighter around my body as I hurried after her. If my feet had been unsteady inside though, it was way worse out here, with the wind so strong that it was like I had to push through an invisible barrier to keep moving and my soles sliding on the damp platform.

Mira didn't seem fazed by any of it, simply lowering the sleeves of her T-shirt as she twisted to check on me. "Are you coming?"

"Sure," I muttered, feeling more frazzled than I'd ever been before. It wasn't a feeling I was used to, and I didn't care for it at all .

While I tried to come to terms with the unfamiliar emotional territory, Mira must've seen that I wasn't quite myself, but she wasn't sympathetic. She even let out a low laugh at my expense. "The last time I saw you, you were in total control and you weren't afraid of getting wet."

She winked at me. Fucking winked before she shook her head. "It's just a little water, and you'll get used to the sounds."

I wasn't so sure about that, but I didn't say it. I was already feeling like I was out of my depths—and depths weren't something I particularly wanted to be thinking about right now. Even so, my gaze settled on the dark blue sea surrounding us and a shudder worked its way down my spine.

Taking a tiny bit of pity on me, Mira motioned for me to precede her once she'd opened another door, and I gratefully darted back into the rusted hunk of metal, shivering slightly and happy to be out of the battering wind.

"Our office is that way." She pointed toward another hallway. "Second door on the left. Your cabin is this way. Come on."

"How do you know which one is mine?"

She gave me a droll look. "There's an executive cabin. It's never used, but I'm assuming that's the one you want, right? Unless you were planning on bunking with Slate?"

"No, the executive cabin will be fine."

As she led me into it, I realized that there was absolutely nothing executive about this, except perhaps apart from the fact it seemed to be equipped for only two people instead of four, but in general, it was entirely unimpressive.

Mira darted back to the door, her hand already on it to shut it behind her as her gaze came back to mine. "I'll meet you in the office in an hour. You might want to leave earlier than you think you need to. It's easy to get lost out there."

"Yeah, I bet," I muttered, but before I could ask her to just meet me back here instead, the door closed with a heavy thud and I was alone.

On a death trap. In the middle of the ocean.

Yeah, I definitely shouldn't have come here.