Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

“ R evenge,” Jill repeated back, looking lost in thought while he sat there as a wave of emotion rushed over him that he couldn’t quite make out before it disappeared.

“I never lied to you, Angel,” Logan said as he watched her.

“No, you didn’t, did you?” Jill murmured to herself as angry silver eyes met his. “But then again, you never told me why you were doing this either.”

“And I’m not going to,” Logan said because the last thing that he wanted to talk to her about was Elizabeth.

“You don’t think that I have a right to know why you ruined my life?” Jill asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

“And how exactly did I ruin your life?” Logan drawled.

“Are you serious?” Jill demanded as a surge of anger washed over him.

“Deadly,” he said, watching as she slowly nodded. “You would have ended up in this situation with or without me.”

“And what situation would that be exactly? Because I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t have lost everything and ended up in a Sentinel cell, cut off from my family and trapped here if it wasn’t for you,” Jill snapped as that wave of anger intensified.

“No, you probably wouldn’t have,” Logan murmured in agreement. “But the outcome would have remained the same. Your father would have turned you and-”

“That was never going to happen,” she bit out, taking him by surprise.

“Your father never would have sat back and watched you die,” Logan said because that was the one thing that he’d been counting on.

“It wasn’t his choice to make,” Jill said as he watched a muscle in her delicate jaw clench.

“And what choice would you have made?” Logan asked as he remembered the moment that she realized she was about to die and-

She’d closed her eyes and slowly exhaled instead of begging him to save her.

“What every little girl dreams of.”

“And what’s that?” Logan asked dryly.

“To fall in love, get married, have children, and grow old before dying in my bed, all while pretending that this world doesn’t exist,” Jill said, making his lips twitch.

“You’d really give up a chance to live forever?” Logan drawled.

“In a heartbeat,” she said with absolutely no hesitation.

“Tell me about this dream man that you planned on giving up immortality for,” Logan said mockingly as he leaned back in his chair while he considered her.

“He would be devastatingly handsome, of course,” Jill said in a teasing tone.

“Of course,” Logan murmured before adding, “And obscenely rich.”

“It wouldn’t matter to me,” she said, shaking her head.

“I imagine it wouldn’t with the trust fund that your father set up for you,” Logan pointed out.

“Are you talking about the large trust fund that my father opened in my name when I turned sixteen and have never touched so much as a penny of? Is that the trust fund that you’re referring to?” Jill asked with a pitying smile. “Your stalking really needs work.”

“Probably,” Logan murmured absently as he gestured for her to continue.

“He would have dark hair, green eyes, a neatly trimmed beard simply because he knows how much I love the way it feels against my skin, and an easy smile. He’d love working with his hands, building something from nothing. He’d be a good father and love us more than anything,” Jill said, making him wonder if she had any idea that she was describing the man that he should have been.

Once upon a time, that’s all he wanted.

A wife that he adored, children that he would have spoiled only to have it destroyed in the blink of an eye.

“And how many children would you and this paragon of a man have?” Logan asked, swallowing hard as he thought about the moment Elizabeth turned to him and smiled as she ran her hands over the flowers growing in the meadow where their house would have been.

He’d imagined two small children by her side, a boy and a girl with her golden locks and a shy smile. He would have given anything to give them to her. He should have bought the land as soon as he had the money instead of waiting, but he had to be sure that it was what she wanted.

Once Elizabeth told him that she loved it, Logan kissed her forehead and ran across the meadow, through the woods, and down to the stream where they’d had their first kiss only to discover the coins that he hid there were gone. He lost his mind tearing that glade apart, searching for those coins only to realize that he’d lost everything. He tried to bargain with the lord only to be given until winter to buy the land before he sold it to someone else.

Because of him, Elizabeth had been forced to go to London to find work as a maid so that she could help buy the land. He’d begged her to stay with his family, but she was so damn determined to help him that she took a post before he could talk her out of it. Desperate to make things right, Logan traveled north, taking jobs cutting down trees during the day and working the wood at night. He’d worked until his fingers bled and he couldn’t see straight before he passed out and did it all over again the next day.

He’d saved every coin that he could get his hands on, but it wasn’t enough.

Not nearly fucking enough.

As soon as the first frost came, he went home, prepared to get down on his fucking knees and beg the lord for a chance to work off the debt in exchange for the land. He barely managed to get the words out when the lord’s wife was shoving her husband aside and grabbing Logan’s arm. She dragged him around the large manor, pointing at everything that she wanted replaced by spring, leaving her husband with no choice but to make the deal.

With Kale’s help, he managed to finish early, received the sealed parchment giving him the land and-

“Who was she?”

“Who’s that, Angel?” Logan asked as she watched the pained expression that told her everything that she needed to know slowly disappear.

“The real reason why you’re doing this,” Jill said, having absolutely no doubt in her mind now that this was over a woman.

She knew that look.

It was the same look that her brother Chris used to get when he tried pushing Izzy away. It was a mixture of regret and longing that had her wondering what kind of woman could bring a man like Logan to his knees.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Logan murmured instead.

“And what question would that be?” Jill asked on a bored sigh as she stood up and began her nightly search of his room with the hopes that she could find something useful this time.

“How many children?” Logan asked as she took her time making her way around his room, absently noting that the red lights were off on the two cameras in the room.

“As many as he was willing to give me,” Jill said, pretending that the reminder of everything that had been taken from her wasn’t slowly destroying her and forced herself to focus on getting out of this mess with the promise that she could finally lose it when this was all over.

“Why didn’t you access the trust fund your father set up for you?” Logan asked as she made her way around his bed.

“Because I didn’t need it,” Jill said, running her fingertips over the soft comforter as she glanced at Logan to find him watching her through silver eyes. “What was her name?”

His eyes flashed brighter as he bit out, “That’s none of your business.”

“I believe we already covered that,” Jill said as she shifted her attention to the nightstand, noting that there was a new book. Picking it up, she absently flipped through it as she said, “Her name?”

“Elizabeth,” came the softly spoken answer that had Jill absently nodding as she placed the book back down on the nightstand.

“Tell me about her,” Jill said, running her fingertips over the soft comforter as her gaze shifted to his bureau.

“What do you want to know?” Logan asked as she dropped her hand away from the bed and made her way to the bureau so that she could run her fingertips along the edge.

“Let’s start at the beginning,” Jill said as she took in his wallet, keys, and phone before she glanced back at Logan to find him watching her.

“That’s a different story altogether, Angel,” Logan drawled as she shifted her attention to the bathroom.

“It’s a good place to start,” Jill murmured absently as she took in the neatly stacked toiletries lining the bathroom counter before she turned around and leaned back against the wall, giving the vampire that ruined her life her undivided attention.

“Shouldn’t you be more concerned about the three marked shifter children that are part of my diabolical plan?” Logan drawled, watching her curiously.

“I don’t know. Should I?” Jill asked, blinking at him as she silently dared him to say something that would force her to grab the stake that she hid beneath his bureau a few weeks ago.

She watched his silver gaze flicker to the bottom of the bureau before settling back on her. “The children are under my protection,” Logan said firmly.

“Meaning…”

“Exactly what it sounds like,” Logan said, shifting to get more comfortable as he considered her.

“What happened to using them as bait?” Jill asked, watching him closely, looking for any sign that he was lying to her.

“I’ll find another way,” Logan said, not really sounding all that concerned. “I’ve waited eight hundred years, Angel. I believe that I can wait a little longer.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that,” he murmured.

“Why?” Jill asked, knowing that there had to be more to it.

“I don’t normally make it a habit to explain myself to prisoners,” Logan said, sounding bored.

“Prisoner,” Jill repeated back slowly, testing the word. “Is that what I am?”

“What else would you be, Angel?” he asked, not quite able to meet her gaze and leaving her wondering about that.

“That’s a good question,” Jill said, gesturing for him to get on with it.

“Is this where I share my tale of woe?” Logan asked mockingly.

“That depends,” Jill said, pushing away from the wall and made her way back to her spot by the door, her chain quietly clinking behind her as she moved.

“On what exactly?” Logan asked as she sat down.

“On whether or not you’re going to tell me about Elizabeth,” Jill said, taking her time adjusting her skirt over her legs.

“It’s never going to happen, Angel,” Logan said firmly as she sat there, slowly nodding.

“Then, I suppose we’re at an impasse,” Jill said as she met his glare.

“I suppose we are.”