Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

H e had a plan, Logan reminded himself as he sat there watching his angel sleep when the only thing that he wanted to do was to walk into that closet and pull her into his arms, but…

That wasn’t a choice.

Slowly exhaling, Logan forced himself to focus on the only thing that mattered.

Finding Pierce.

With that in mind, he ignored the searing pain tearing through his hand and closed the security feed before he began the nightly ritual that helped him keep his sanity over the years. He logged into the forum under Tomas’s username and checked on the bounties on their heads, making sure that Jill’s name hadn’t found its way back onto the list and noted that there were several more bids on the children, two on him, and zero bids on the bounty that he set on Magnus.

Once he made sure that there weren’t any surprises waiting for him, Logan checked the daily reports that Gray sent on Pierce and felt his jaw clench when he saw that there was nothing new to report. Telling himself that it was only a matter of time before Pierce showed up, he…couldn’t help but wonder what the twins were doing out of bed.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?” Logan asked, closing his laptop as he gave the adorable six-year-olds standing next to him his undivided attention.

“There’s a monster in our closet,” Caleb said, hugging his teddy bear tightly in his arms while Emma did the same only to follow that with a firm nod, making his lips twitch.

“Did you tell your brother?” Logan asked as he debated waking Jill only to decide against it. Between taking care of the children, driving him out of his fucking mind, and plotting her next escape attempt, she was exhausted.

“He refuses to look,” Caleb said as he worried his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Let’s go take care of that monster,” Logan said, biting back a sigh as he stood up and made his way to the door only to frown when Caleb stepped in the way and held his arms up. That was followed by Caleb clearing his throat and giving his arms a pointed shake.

Narrowing his eyes on the adorable little boy, Logan leaned down and picked him up, which was immediately followed by picking Emma up when Caleb cleared his throat again. Logan adjusted them in his arms as he did his best to ignore just how good it felt to hold them. He’d hoped for children, prayed for them, but that dream died along with Elizabeth.

“Why are you sad?” Caleb asked, drawing his attention to find the little boy watching him. “Is there a monster in your closet too?”

“No, no monster,” Logan murmured as he moved to place them on their feet outside of their room only to end up swallowing hard when Emma took him by surprise and kissed his cheek.

“Show me where the monster is,” Logan said as he took their hands in his as he stood up.

“You’re only going to make it worse,” Shane said, sounding bored as they walked into the room.

“He’s in there,” Caleb said, pointing at their closet door while Logan absently noted the pile of books and workbooks on the floor next to Shane’s bed.

“Stay here,” Logan said, releasing the twins’ hands and made his way to the closet.

“Don’t let him get us,” Caleb whispered softly behind him.

“I won’t,” Logan promised as he opened the closet door and took in the closet full of toys, neatly folded blankets, and clothes hung up before glancing back at the children. “No monsters.”

“They’re really good at hiding,” Caleb assured him as he hugged his teddy bear against his chest.

Absently nodding, Logan turned back around and dutifully looked for the monster again. Once he was assured that the closet was monster-free, he closed the closet door, turned around and-

“Check under the bed.”

-felt his lips twitch when Caleb pointed a damning finger at the bed as his sister nodded solemnly.

“No monsters,” Logan said as he finished looking beneath Caleb’s bed before looking beneath Emma’s bed.

As soon as he was done, the twins were climbing onto Shane’s bed and settling in next to the teenage boy determined to hide just how fucking terrified he was and-

“I can tuck myself in,” Shane bit out with a glare when Logan pulled the covers up and tucked him in along with his brother and sister.

“I know you can,” Logan murmured softly as he leaned down to kiss Caleb and Emma’s forehead the way that Jill did every night before he reached over and ran his fingers through Shane’s dark hair, moving the hair out of his face in a gentle caress that had the teenage boy swallowing hard before he reluctantly closed his eyes.

“Goodnight,” Logan said quietly as he made his way to the bedroom door and after a slight hesitation, he turned the bedroom light off and made his way to his room, turning lights off as he went.

A few minutes later, he was standing in his shower and-

He couldn’t fucking do this, Logan thought as he dropped his head beneath the spray of hot water. He never should have brought them here, never should have let them stay, and never should have held them in his arms, Logan told himself as long-ago memories threatened to drop him to his knees. He-

Couldn’t fucking do this.

He couldn’t let his angel and three shifter children destroy everything. Not now when he was finally close to finding Pierce. They were just a means to an end, Logan reminded himself as he turned the shower off and grabbed a towel. Grinding his jaw, he dried off before he pulled on a pair of grey sweatpants, all while he desperately tried to hold onto his anger, needing it more than ever to get him through this.

He thought about everything that he did to get here, the sacrifices that he’d made, all the fucking pain that he’d gone through, and when his thoughts turned to Elizabeth, he found himself thinking about his angel instead. He thought about the way that Jill teased him, the way his body caught on fire from a simple brush of her fingertips, and how his breath caught when he saw her, and realized that Elizabeth never made him feel that way and-

He hated her for it.

Determined to destroy this hold that she had on him, Logan forced himself to focus on what he had to do next as he opened the bathroom door and-

Sighed heavily when he saw the small mound hiding beneath his covers. She really was too fucking adorable for words, Logan thought as he hesitated by the door, telling himself that he should send her back to her room, but…

Fuck it.

Too tired to really care, Logan turned the light off before he climbed into bed. Releasing a sigh, he closed his eyes only to feel his lips twitch when he felt the covers rustle seconds before the small bundle curled up next to him moved closer. A moment later, Emma wrapped her tiny arms around his arm before she pressed her forehead against his arm and slowly exhaled seconds before he felt her relax. Within minutes, she was fast asleep and-

He was releasing a pained grunt when Caleb climbed onto the bed and climbed over him. With a grumble, a grunt, and a satisfied sigh, the little boy dove beneath the covers and curled up next to him. Definitely not going to let them soften him, Logan told himself, only to sigh and dutifully turn his head so that he could kiss the top of Caleb’s head when the little boy grumbled, “Goodnight kissy,” against his arm.