Page 54 of Frozen Hearts
I’m practically yelling at him, and realizing I sound completely unreasonable I clamp my mouth shut. I have no idea what game she’s playing at, getting close to Logan and toying with his emotions, but I downright refuse to let her sink her claws into him, too.
By now, he’s staring at me like I’ve grown a third head.
“Dude, chill out,” Royce says in a low voice. “You’re drawing attention.”
Forcing myself to take a deep breath, I stare Logan straight in the eyes, and in my most serious tone, I hiss, “She’s off limits. Trust me, man, you do not want to put your dick in that.”
“Holy shit,” Royce gasps. I’m guessing he’s put two and two together while Logan still looks mystified. “She’s the girl?”
They both know about my tumultuous past that has led me to this point, and Logan cops on immediately, eyes widening in shock and a silent plea for me to be wrong.
Holding his gaze, I nod. “She’s the girl.”
“No way.” He shakes his head, refusing to believe what his ears are hearing. “That can’t be. There’s no way she’s the same girl.”
“Believe me, man. She is. I wouldn’t lie to you.”
“But, she’s so sweet. And innocent.” Tearing his gaze away, he turns to watch her as she dances on the stage, oblivious to our piercing gazes. His eyebrows flatten in uncertainty. “We had a connection.”
When the performance comes to an end and the spotlight dims, the lights in the rest of the room brighten and I catch sight of the pain etched into his features.
Fuck. He truly fell for her.
A fresh wave of anger crashes through my veins, igniting the oil drum of hatred that has been simmering for Riley James for the last four years. How dare she cause Logan, of all people, pain.
This is all her fault. I understand that and yet, knowing my confession has gutted him makes me feel like total shit. Guilt gnaws at me despite knowing, in the long run, I’m doing him a favor.
The blame lies with her. She’s the one who lied to him. Used him. Who is pretending to be someone they aren’t… and for what purpose? What does she want with Logan? Hasn’t she done enough damage? She has to sink her claws into him, too? Logan who is a genuinely real and decent guy. Who would sooner give someone the shirt off his back than see them go without. Who struggles daily to appease his friends and his family and do right by everyone while also fighting for what he wants.
Fuck no.
I refuse to let her destroy another life.
To steal the happiness that emanates from Logan and provides the only source of hope Royce and I cling to on our darkest of days.
My vision blurs with the intensity of my rage, and I struggle to maintain control over my thoughts. Everything is screaming at me to get up. To hunt her down and demand my pound of flesh. The anger is relentless, fueled by memories as it pushes me to the brink of losing myself to the darkness within.
It’s only a hand on my shoulder that pulls me back from the edge. My vision clears, a sliver of awareness breaking through the maelstrom of emotions as a small voice whispersshe deserves worse than what you can do now.
That one thought pushes back the darkness and enables me to tune back into the conversation as Royce asks, “What is she doing at Halston?”
“Same as every other student?” Logan says with too-casual of a shrug. “Getting a degree.”
Ignoring him, Royce shifts his attention to me. “Do you think she followed you here?”
I shrug, only half paying attention as I mull over the wordsshe deserves worse. “No clue.”
I never had any intention of letting Riley get away with what she did. Between school and everything else, I haven’t had an opportunity to give her any real consideration.
However, now that she’s been hand-delivered to my doorstep, I think I’ll move dealing with her to the top of my to-do list.
Deciding the voice in the back of my head is right, and Riley deserves far worse than anything I could do if I confronted her here and now, an evil smirk tugs at my lips.
Spotting it, Royce nudges my shoulder, a conniving twinkle in his eye. “Why do I get the feeling you’re scheming?”
“Maybe because I am.”
The three of us lapse into silence, and I lose myself in my thoughts as Riley reappears in a new outfit for another group performance. She remains oblivious to our eyes on her, and while I watch the lying enchantress, my dick twitches like a traitorous bastard, paying no heed to the warning I just gave Logan.
