Page 135 of Never Sleep with the Enemy

That’s more like it, Logan.

I throw the phone in frustration. It bounces off the mattress and slides to the floor. I don’t bother retrieving it. Let it rot down there. Let everything rot.

The door to my suite bursts open. Tesla storms inside, fury etched into every line of her face.

“What the hell happened back there?” she asks, her voice sharp and urgent.

I shrug, too tired to spin it. “You saw the same thing I did, Tessie.”

“No, you—” She stops, breath hitching as her hands land firmly on her hips. “You need to tell me what thatwas.Right now.”

“It just slipped out.”

“Bullshit, Logan. I know you. That didn’t just slip out. Youmeantto say it. Why?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“No.” She drops to her knees beside the bed, forcing herself into my line of sight. “Iamgonna worry. I’m worried about you. I’m worried about Katrina.” Her voice trembles with anger. “Talk to me, Logan. I know there’s something more going on, so don’t lie to me. Just tell me why.”

I look at her. At Tesla. AtSilvia.

At the girl Goldie and I stumbled on in Atlanta, strumming her guitar on the sidewalk. Not for money, not to survive. Simply because she loved doing it.

I made a vow that day. To give her a shot at the life she deserved, no matter what it cost.

“I did it to save you,” I answer.

Tesla frowns. “From what?”

“Monroe.”

“Monroe’s gone, Logan.”

“No, he’s not,” I say. “He’s here. And heknows.”

“Knows what?”

“Tessie,” I whisper, meeting her eyes. “He knows.”

Her expression stills. The truth settles into her eyes, her breath going shallow.

“Who you were,” I say. “What you did. He knows.”

She looks down, her hands falling limp at her sides.

“He came to me,” I go on. “Said if I didn’t break up Criminal Records before the Battle of the Bands, he’d expose you.”

Tesla breathes slowly. “Oh.”

“I couldn’t let that happen,” I say. “Not to you. Not to Goldie. Not after everything you’ve worked so fucking hard for.”

She lifts her gaze, blue bangs falling into her eyes. “But…” Her voice cracks. “What about Katrina?”

“What about her?”

“She’s ourfriend!” Tesla shakes her head, wounded. “You didn’t get close to her just to hurt her. You wouldn’t do that.”

“Well, I did.” I look away, dropping my eyes to the floor between us. “What’s done is done.”

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