Rigatoni Ruin, page 9
Opening the door wider, I scanned the living room to find it empty.
Slipping out of the bedroom, I scurried through the living room and over to the kitchen. They weren’t there either. It wasn’t until I spotted Logan at the door that I saw a man in the hallway. His heavy gaze clashed with mine.
The muscled man, littered with tattoos, stared at me. The edge of my vision swam. My feet felt heavy, like I was back in the pool of gelatin.
“She’s about to faint,” he said to Logan.
Logan glanced back at me. “Jade?”
His voice floated to me in a fog.
“Sit down,” he said as he neared me.
I believe he helped me to a chair, but my mind turned fuzzy.
Logan glanced over at the Exterminator. “This is what I was telling you.”
The Exterminator nodded. “Understood. She won’t see me.”
And then he was gone. Logan crossed over to close and lock the door. He then kneeled next to me. “I didn’t mean for you to see him. Are you okay?”
“He’s going to babysit me?” I asked as my senses began returning.
“He’s the best one for the job.”
“I don’t need the best.”
“He’s also the only one available,” Logan said. “It's either this or desk duty, and he hates desk duty.”
“I can’t have him babysit me,” I said. “I nearly fainted.”
“Which is why I asked him to stay hidden. If all goes well, we’ll have the guy in our custody tomorrow, and Gunner will be back on desk duty.”
“I suppose if I don’t have to see him,” I said. “But I still have a life. I’m not going to sit in my apartment.”
“All I’m asking for is a day or two. You’ll have Lan to keep you company.”
I frowned at him. “Lan is going to work for the restaurant. He’s going to abandon me, too.”
Logan laughed.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because you remind me of Nana Nina. I never saw it as clearly as I do now.”
“Nana and I are not the same.”
“No? Okay, tell me how she would react if I told her to stay at home for a couple of days.”
She would pout, too.
“That’s not fair,” I said. “No one wants to be stuck at home.”
“Jade, all I’m asking for is a day or two.”
“Will you visit me?”
He nodded. “Anytime you ask me to. I’ll drop everything and come over.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“I’m going to test you to see if you’re telling the truth.”
“I always tell the truth.”
I pulled out my phone and texted him. I need you now.
He glanced at his phone and grinned. Standing, he pulled me with him. “It’s a good thing I’m close by.”
“And what about tomorrow?”
He scooted me to the bedroom. “Same concierge service.” He kicked the door closed, and I found myself safely wrapped in Logan’s arms.
A girl could get used to this kind of service.
I didn’t know what time it was, but it was still dark. The streetlight made Logan’s bedroom glow bright enough that I could see he wasn’t in bed with me.
Sitting, I groggily glanced around me. Where was Logan? And what woke me?
I pushed back the covers and stood.
Walking to the door, I opened it to find Logan pacing with the phone to his ear. He was obviously worried about something? But what?
It was hard to concentrate since he was only wearing underwear that hugged him, flattering his firm physique.
He didn’t notice me as I watched him walk back and forth along the length of his sparse living room.
“When will you be ready?” He paused his steps. “Yeah. I’ll figure something out. Remember, I can only help from the outside. I could lose my job . . . No, I know . . . I’m only doing this for Jade. If you want my help, it’s the only way I can give it. Mila is your priority. Jade is mine.” He began pacing again.
Logan headed to the window and peeked out of the drawn curtains. “No. I’m not pulling in others. If we do this, it will just be the three of us.”
“Tomorrow?” Logan dropped the curtain and ran his fingers through his messy locks. “Yeah. Arrange the flight. I’ll meet you at the airport.”
He ended the call and didn’t move for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually, he stretched. Lean muscles flexed and bunched.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he let out a soft curse.
Logan was worried.
And that made me worried.
When he turned toward the bedroom, I raced to the bed and jumped in. By the time I had the covers on and pretending to be asleep, he walked into the room. Eventually, the bed moved under his weight. He wrapped his arm around my waist and curled up next to me. His breath was soft and even, but I knew all was not well.
“How much did you hear?” he asked.
When I didn’t respond, he said, “Jade, I know you’re awake.”
“How?” I asked.
“You aren’t snoring.”
“I don’t snore.”
“We can save that discussion for later. How much did you hear?”
“Only that you’re leaving tomorrow.” I turned to face him. “And that you’re worried.”
He placed a kiss on my nose. “Everything will be fine.”
“Can I help?”
“No. You need to focus on yourself. Let me focus on Mila.”
“Why do you have to leave tomorrow? Did something happen?”
“Nothing happened. Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
“Okay. But when will you be back?”
“Hopefully before you wake up the next morning.”
“Promise?”
He smiled. “I would promise you the moon, but I can’t promise when I’ll be back.”
I snuggled into him. “Just come back.”
“I will.”
Sending in a cop, a wayward son, and a bakery chef into a mob battle was suicide. Could I really let them leave without me, knowing if they were caught, their death certificates were soon to follow?
As soon as Logan’s breathing slowed and I was sure he was sleeping, I fumbled for his phone on the nightstand. Perhaps there was information in one of the texts.
He’d be angry I snooped, but if I could aid them somehow, I would. Even if it was helping on the sidelines.
The phone was password protected with a six-digit code.
I glanced at him, wondering what code he would use. Would it be something simple? A significant date? Or something difficult?
He’d never use his birthday.
His locker combination from high school?
As I sat and thought, I remembered him accessing his phone. He always started at the top. So, small digits first.
Toward the end, his thumb would graze down a bit before heading back up.
I attempted a code, trying to mimic his hand movements. It didn’t work. But something about those numbers seemed familiar.
I moved my thumb, hovering over the numbers. One, one, zero, nine . . . I paused. There was a reason those numbers were familiar. We had our first date on November ninth.
I finished the code and was both amazed and in awe that it worked. How long had he been using that code?
And was I willing to abuse his trust and the sacred date by hacking into his phone?
I took a breath as I weighed my options and feelings.
What if I only looked at messages from Nash and Colin?
That would still break his trust. However, it might save his life, too.
I sighed. Even if I saw the messages, could I do anything to help? Probably not. Which meant I would break his trust, and I’d be useless.
With another sigh, I locked the phone and set it on the nightstand. Just as I was about to turn away, the phone lit with a message alert from Isla.
Why was she texting so late?
I definitely wanted to read that message.
My hand hovered over the phone before I pulled it away.
Resuming my spot on the bed, I curled into Logan and pretended that everything was okay.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Are you going to be okay?” Logan asked when he dropped me off at my apartment the next morning.
“I’m more worried about you.”
“Don’t be. I’ll be back by tomorrow.” He leaned over and placed a kiss on my lips that were still swollen from our last-minute make-out session. If the world was going to end, I can honestly say we made the most of it. “Don’t forget, Gunner will be here today. He’ll keep out of sight.” He handed me a scrap of paper with a phone number scribbled on it. “This is his number. Call him if you think you’re in danger.”
“I’ll be fine.”
He pressed the paper in my hand. “Just take it.”
I took it and then looked at Logan. “I know I asked you to help with Mila, but I don’t want you to go.”
“Worried about me?”
I nodded. “Of course I am.”
“I feel like that every second I don’t know where you are or what you’re doing.”
“Every second?” I scoffed.
He nodded. “Think about the scrapes you’ve gotten yourself into and then step into my shoes.”
“I survived.”
“I will, too.” He gave me a kiss. “And I’ll check in.”
“Thank you.”
He escorted me to my apartment, where he gave me one last kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
After he left, I stood at the living room window to watch him angle into his car and drive away.
“Is the weirdo back?” Lan asked when he walked into the living room. He stretched with a sigh and then pulled his damp hair back into a low ponytail.
“No. Logan just left. He’s heading out with Colin and Nash. They’re going to get Mila.”
“They’re getting Mila? What about me staying here?”
“You still have a room here. We’ll figure something out. I’m more worried that he won’t return.”
Lan sank heavily into the couch. “There is always the possibility that he won’t. But Colin knows the ins and outs. Logan knows to stay out of danger. Nash might have issues. Not sure how his cooking skills will help him.”
“It’s only the three of them against an entire mob.”
“I’m surprised you and Nana Nina aren’t following him.”
“I want to.” I sat in the chair next to the couch. “Last night, I hacked his phone so I could read his text. But I got cold feet. If he found out I broke into his phone, he might not trust me ever again.”
“Who else would know his plan?”
“Colin and Nash. Possibly Isla, since she has to cover for him while he’s gone. Maybe my babysitter.”
“Babysitter?”
“Logan assigned someone to watch me because of the lurker. Even if I wanted to follow Logan, he’d know in an instant.”
“Sounds like you’re stuck here.”
“Yep.” I stared at the wall for a few moments before swinging my gaze to Lan. “Are you officially the new delivery guy?”
Lan nodded. “After the cops cleared out, I finished the shift. Made about thirty in tips.”
“Not bad for a partial shift. Do you like it?”
He shrugged. “It’s money. I can’t say I’d want to do this long term, but it’s good for right now.”
Maybe by the time he was ready to quit, Ross wouldn’t hate me as much.
“What are your plans for the day?” I asked. “Nana’s picking me up for ice cream with my dad. Do you want to come?”
“No. It sounds like it will be family time. I’ll just hang out here until my shift. Maybe get some groceries with my tip money. You don’t have much here.”
“When it comes to groceries, I’m the worst roommate. Mila did all the shopping.”
“I’ll buy some extra snacks then.”
I smiled. “I think this arrangement might work out.”
He chuckled as he stood. “I’ll head out now.”
“Just watch yourself out there. I don’t want the lurker to come after you.”
“Chinese guy,” Lan said, pointing to himself. “Nobody notices us unless we’re in the suburbs.”
I tsked at him. “Chinese American guy with long, pretty hair.”
“Pretty? Kick me in the nuts while you’re at it.”
“It is pretty.”
He rolled his eyes and left.
I returned my gaze to the wall and wondered what I was supposed to do with myself until ice cream. No one needed me. No job to get to. I couldn’t leave unless it was with a babysitter.
Was this what my father felt like? Trapped and useless?
I totally understood his surly mood.
Standing, I paced to the window to find my spy. It was like a hidden object search as I attempted to locate the wigged weirdo on a busy city street.
My gaze paused at the bus stop, thinking he might be there again. But there was no one waiting at the stop.
The pretzel cart was across the street in its usual spot. My stomach growled. Maybe I could run down and get a pretzel. I’d be back in my apartment before my babysitter could spot me.
Speaking of babysitters, I thought as my gaze swept along the sidewalk and parking lot. If he was here, he was great at hiding.
Taking some cash, I headed downstairs. I peeked out from the front door before exiting to the sidewalk. Just as I was about to cross the street, a muscled arm wrapped around me, hoisting me up like a sack of potatoes and returned me inside.
I kicked and jabbed, knowing these tattooed muscles didn’t belong to Logan.
“Stop,” he grunted.
“Put me down!” I ordered.
“Not until you’re back in your apartment.”
“You’re going to walk up two flights of steps with me hitting you?”
“I need the exercise. Your baby hits are nothing compared to fighting in a cage.”
“I can walk.”
“And you can try to run as well. Not happening under my watch.”
I dug my knuckle into tender flesh, but he only smacked my butt.
“Behave,” he warned.
“I’m telling Logan.”
“Go ahead. I’m doing him a favor, and I already regret it.”
Once he reached my door, he set me down. “Unlock it.”
“It’s open.”
“You have someone on your tail, and you leave the door unlocked? Logan didn’t tell me I was babysitting an idiot.”
He pushed past me and into the apartment. He maneuvered through it with speed and efficiency, checking all the closets and behind doors. He even checked under the bed.
Once he returned, I handed him the cash. “I want a pretzel.”
“No.”
“Then I’m going outside and getting one.”
“No.”
“You can’t say no. You are my bodyguard, not my dictator.”
“I’m whatever I need to be.”
“Just like you needed to be the Exterminator?”
When Gunner narrowed his eyes at me, I took a step back.
In the cage, Gunner wasn’t the biggest guy I had to fight, but he was muscular and fast. No one lasted long in the ring with him.
With his shaved head, tattoos, gold teeth, and a glare that could scare a serial killer, the Exterminator lived up to his name.
“Hey,” he said. “Snap out of it.”
I felt a stinging slap to my cheek, then another one.
“Why are you hitting me?” I growled.
“You went all glassy-eyed for like five minutes.”
“Only five?”
He eyed me. “Logan said the 411 messed up your head.”
“I’m not diagnosed yet. However, five minutes isn’t too bad. I’m normally out longer than that.” I rubbed my jaw. “However, no one hits me while I’m out, either. Your bedside manner is horrible.”
“I’ve never had complaints about my bedside manner before,” he said with a smirk that showed off white teeth.
“What happened to your gold teeth?”
“They were just for show. Scares people.”
“How much else was for show?”
“None of your business.” He took the money from my hand. “Stay here. If you leave, I’ll eat the pretzel while you watch.”
When I sat on the couch, he left and retrieved a warm, doughy pretzel.
He tossed it to me.
I frowned when the salt scattered over my jeans and floor. “You knocked off the salt.”
“Do you complain about everything? I got you the pretzel.”
I nibbled on the pretzel and eyed him. “Thank you.”
That deflated him enough to ease his stance. “Don’t leave again.”
“I’m going for ice cream with Nana at noon.”
“No. I’m not chasing you and some old broad around the city. You’ll stay here.”
“She’s coming to pick me up, and she’s normally armed. I wouldn’t make her mad.”
He grumbled something under his breath.
“I’ll buy you ice cream if you come with us,” I said. “Think of it as a bonus.”
“A bonus would be to get back into uniform and on the streets.”
“Why are you on desk duty?”
“My cover was blown. Too many people know who I am. I’m no longer able to do undercover work.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t get back on the street.”
“I got a mark on my head.”
“Then you might as well embrace your time with me until you have to go back to your desk. You’ll love Nana. She’s spunky.”
“Logan warned me about you and your family, especially Nana.”
I waved off the comment. “We’re harmless. But I wasn’t lying. Nana has a purse filled with weapons, though she doesn’t use them often. I’m not even sure she knows how to use them.”
“Just stay here. Hopefully by tomorrow, we’ll never have to see each other again.”
“Hopefully,” I echoed. When he opened the door to leave, I asked, “Do you know what Logan is planning?”
“Yeah. And it’s none of your business.”
“Is it a safe plan? Do I have to worry?”
