Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

H e was out of his mind if he really thought that she was going to spend the night with him, Jill decided, only to bite back a sigh as she stood there, taking in the children huddled in the corner as they pressed their hands against their stomachs all while glaring accusingly at her.

For a moment, Jill considered pointing out that she didn’t give them the junk food, only to decide against it and grabbed the comforter and a couple of pillows off the bed and brought them over to them only to have the older boy snatch everything out of her hands. Keeping his glare locked on her, he quickly tucked the smaller children in while she stood there, thinking about the last time that she’d been forced to make a deal to keep a child safe and-

That was another lifetime ago, Jill reminded herself as she slowly exhaled.

One that no longer mattered.

“If you need anything, just-”

“We don’t need anything from you,” came the immediate reply that had her biting back a sigh.

“Of course, you don’t,” Jill murmured as she turned around and headed back the way that she came, knowing that there was no point putting this off any longer.

She had no idea what he had planned, but whatever it was, she was ready, Jill reminded herself a few minutes later when she walked into his bedroom. She glanced from the closed bathroom door to his bed before shifting her attention to the comfortable leather chair against the wall and decided on the spot by the door. She was adjusting her dress over her legs when the bathroom door opened and Logan walked into the bedroom.

Her gaze flickered to the bed before she ran her eyes over him, watching the way that the muscles in his arms and chest flexed as he ran a towel over his damp hair, the way that the well-defined muscles in his torso shifted and turned with the move, the thin trail of black hair that disappeared behind the black pajama pants hanging low on his hips and-

“It’s never going to happen,” Jill said, making him chuckle as he tossed the towel aside.

“What’s that, Angel?” Logan drawled as he made his way to the bed.

“I’m not spending the night in that bed with you,” Jill said as she watched him lean over only to end up biting back a sigh when he reached beneath the mattress and grabbed the stake she hid earlier.

“I have no plans of touching you,” Logan murmured absently, tossing the stake in his hand as he made his way to the leather chair and sat down. “Not until you ask me to,” he said, making her lips twitch as he examined the stake she made from the dining room chair that she’d managed to steal earlier.

“You’re delusional,” Jill said, watching him absently nod as he turned the stake over and tossed it to her, taking her by surprise.

“You really think this is a good idea?” Jill asked with a pointed look at the stake in her hand.

“Probably not,” he said, not really sounding all that concerned that she was armed.

“Why am I here?” Jill asked as she placed the stake on the floor.

“You’re here to entertain me,” Logan drawled as he lazily gestured for her to get on with it.

“And why would I do that?” Jill asked, shifting to get more comfortable as she thought about the children in the other room and-

She had no idea how she was going to pull this off.

For months, she’d been trying to find a way to get this damn chain off her leg and make it through the front door without Logan’s men stopping her and now…

She was going to have to put her escape plans aside until she figured out how she was going to pull this off with three marked shifter children who didn’t trust her.

“Because you want something,” Logan reminded her.

“You mean besides my freedom?” Jill asked, blinking at him.

“The children,” Logan said, watching her curiously.

“I believe that’s already been settled,” Jill said, counting down the minutes until she could return to her closet. She didn’t want to be here, not in this room, and not with him, not when he was the reminder of everything that she lost.

It was funny how one moment could change everything.

If she knew what was waiting for her, she never would have gone into that room, never would have looked up when she heard the voice that used to terrify her because once she did…

It was all over.

Everything that she’d worked so hard to forget came back, slamming into her, and left her reeling. If she’d been anywhere but at that compound, she could have lost herself in her work, spent time with her grandmother, found something, anything, else to focus on so that her past couldn’t swallow her whole, but there’d been nothing to catch her when her entire world was turned upside down.

Until she spotted the vampire that she never thought she’d see again sitting in a cell.

“Start talking,” Logan said, leaning back against the chair as he placed his elbow on the armrest and propped his chin on his fist, looking completely relaxed. When she didn’t say anything, he added, “We had a deal.”

Knowing that she really didn’t have a choice, Jill leaned back against the wall as she said, “About?”

“Anything.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Jill said as she picked up the stake and absently turned it over in her hands. It definitely wasn’t up to her father or brother’s standards, but it should do in a pinch, Jill thought, running her fingertips over the rough surface.

“I doubt that,” he said, making her lips twitch as she dropped the stake on the floor, knowing that she had bigger problems than the man who apparently had nothing better to do.

She needed to make a choice.

Figure out how she was going to get three marked shifter children through that door or find a way to call for help. If it was still just her that she had to worry about, she’d take her chances with whatever was waiting for her outside that door, but she couldn’t take that risk, which meant…

She was going to have to find a way to call for help, which was going to be a problem since there was no one left that she could trust.

“Figure out how to escape yet?” Logan asked as he found himself watching her.

“I’m still working on it,” Jill said, looking lost in thought as she absently rolled the stake between her hands.

“Will you let me know when you figure it out?” Logan asked, taking in her long, dark hair pulled up into a messy bun, the way that she worried her bottom lip between her teeth, the thin white straps that stood out against sun-kissed skin that held up a bright white sundress that hugged every mouthwatering curve before running his eyes over short, curvy legs that ended with small feet with the cutest fucking toes that he’d ever seen.

“You’ll be the first to know,” she said, making his lips twitch.

“I’m sure I will,” Logan murmured, wondering what it was about her that drew him.

He had so many questions…

“Tell me what you were like as a child,” Logan said, deciding that was the best place to start.

“Angry,” Jill said, shrugging it off as she tossed the stake back on the floor.

“You can do better than that, Angel,” he said, once again gesturing for her to get on with it.

“I was a bitch,” she said, making him frown.

“The deal’s over if you lie, Angel,” Logan said, wondering just how much she was going to tell him.

“I didn’t know there were rules,” Jill said, sounding bored as she got to her feet.

“There are always rules, Angel,” Logan said, watching her as she smoothed down her dress.

“And what exactly are these rules that I’m expected to obey?” Jill asked, not really sounding all that concerned that she was completely at his mercy.

“You answer my questions,” Logan said, watching her absently nod as she slowly made her way around his room, taking in everything as though she didn’t already know every inch of this penthouse by heart.

“What else?” Jill asked, throwing him a questioning look as she made her way to his bureau.

“That’s it,” he said, watching as she took her time examining everything he’d placed on top of the bureau.

“And that’s exactly what I did,” Jill said, picking up his watch.

“And yet, I don’t believe you,” Logan said, watching as she ran her fingertips over the leather band.

“What exactly don’t you believe?” Jill asked, placing the watch back on the bureau and picked up his wallet.

“That you were a bitch,” he said as she opened his wallet.

“I was a miserable bitch,” Jill corrected him, pulling out his driver’s license and sent him a questioning look. “Jonathan Chase?”

“For those times when I have to play nice with the humans,” Logan said, watching her as she nodded and placed his driver’s license back in his wallet only to bite back a smile when she swiped his credit card in the process. It happened so fast that he almost missed it, making him wonder where she picked up that skill.

“And how often is that?” Jill asked as she placed his wallet back on top of the bureau and palmed his credit card.

“Only when I can’t avoid it,” Logan said, watching as she glanced around his bedroom before she made her way back to her spot by the door. “I saw the way that your parents dotted on their children. You were well-loved.”

“Ephraim didn’t come into our lives until I was fifteen,” Jill said as she sat down and deftly slid his credit card behind her cuff as she made a show of fixing her skirt.

“And before that?”

“Is off-limits,” she said firmly.

“That’s not how this works,” Logan said, watching her close her eyes as she dropped her head back against the wall and-

“That’s all you’re going to get from me tonight.”