Chapter 5: Reed

Logan and Reed spent the early hours of the morning with the cops, who’d searched the place for evidence. Besides the knife and the dead bird, which were bagged and sent to the lab for forensics, there was nothing more to go on.

Reed had immediately sobered up following the incident and had almost gone into shock. Thankfully Logan took charge and sat him on the sofa, with the blanket wrapped around him for warmth and comfort. He’d made Reed hot tea and when he returned to the sofa, Reed clung to him, crying into his chest, until the cops arrived.

“It’s okay, Reed, it wasn’t your fault.” Logan held him tightly and rubbed his back soothingly, like he was comforting a child. “Hush…it’s okay. I’m here.”

“But…” Reed looked up at Logan with big tearful eyes. “What if he’d hurt you?”

Logan’s eyes widened. “You were worried about me?”

Reed nodded. “Of course. I don’t want either of us to get hurt.” Fresh tears filled his eyes and Logan drew him close. Reed couldn’t tell if it was his imagination but he swore he felt Logan’s lips pressing against his head.

“I promise I won’t ever let anything happen to you.” He ground out the words, fierce and protectively, and Reed never felt as safe as he did in that moment.

After the cops had left, Reed was too scared to go upstairs on his own, so Logan told him to sleep on the couch and that he’d keep watch. Reed agreed, feeling emotionally and mentally exhausted. He finally fell asleep after a lot of tossing and turning.

Now it was late morning, and Reed had woken up to the smell of coffee, eggs and bacon wafting from the kitchen. His stomach involuntarily rumbled at the smoky aroma. Rubbing his eyes, he pushed the blanket off and padded that way, pulling out the stool at the breakfast bar, and watching Logan expertly cook their breakfast.

“Hi.”

“How you feeling?” Logan took his eyes off the bacon and looked at Reed.

“You ever think of shaving off that beard?”

Logan returned to cooking. “I’m asking you how you’re feeling and you ask me about my beard in turn?”

Reed shrugged. “Sorry.” He fiddled with the salt shaker. “I’m doing okay.” They locked eyes and for the first time, Reed’s smile was completely genuine. “Thank you for last night. I don’t know what I’d have done without you.”

“No problem. Just doing my job.”

There he goes again. Why does Logan put up such a wall around him?

Reed tried again. “You saved my life, Logan. I’ll never be able to repay you for that.”

“Yes, you have actually. You’ve paid me handsomely.”

Reed pursed his lips and looked away.

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. I just meant that I’d not be doing my job—if I didn’t do what I did. If that makes sense.” He offered Reed a small smile.

“Sure. I get it.”

They ate in silence. Reed surprised himself by eating everything on his plate. It was delicious.

“Thanks for cooking. That was really good.” He reached over for Logan’s empty plate and their eyes held as if there were unspoken words. Reed held his breath, waiting—for anything—but Logan was stoic.

Reed rinsed the plates, his thoughts returning to his stalker. As if reading his mind, Logan spoke from behind him.

“I’ve been working out a few things while you were sleeping.”

Reed turned off the tap and turned to face him, his back against the sink. “About what?”

“I need to get you out of here as a matter of urgency. It’s not safe here—not until we catch him.”

“Where do you propose we go?”

“We’re going back to your parent’s ranch. Gonna go off the grid for a while.”

“What?” Reed eyes bulged and he crossed his arms crossed. “No.way.in.hell.”

“Sit down, Reed.”

There was something about his tone that stopped Reed from arguing, so he reluctantly complied. Still, he wasn’t about to give in easily. “I’m sitting.” He glared at Logan. “But I’m not leaving.”

Logan exhaled. “Tactically, it’s the best place for us to go. No one would expect you to go back there since you haven’t visited in nine years—it works for our situation. And since the town is small enough to catch any suspicious behavior, it’s our safest bet. I can’t have you in San Francisco while this crazy person is still on the loose.”

Memories flew at Reed from every direction, like a movie reel but on double speed. His chest constricted. Finally, when he was able to speak, his voice broke and it came out as a whisper. “I don’t want to go back there, Logan.”

Logan got up and came back with a fresh glass of water. Reed gratefully took a few sips and closed his eyes, breathing in and out slowly.

“Reed? What’s wrong?” Logan’s voice was soft as he placed a hand on Reed’s shoulder.

Reed opened his eyes. “Just a whole lot of bad memories.”

Logan furrowed his brows and looked at Reed with concern. “With your parents?”

Reed shook his head. “Not at all.” He gave Logan a small smile. “They’re the best…just everything else.” Reed wasn’t ready to reveal everything just yet. He still wanted to get to know Logan first.

Logan nodded, but Reed could see that he’d softened towards him. Logan squeezed his shoulder, which took Reed by surprise. “It’s only for a short time. Best-case scenario is that the stalker will attempt another move soon and if he finds you’re not here, he’ll go crazy. Cops are waiting to flush him out.”

Reed inhaled sharply. “Do my parents know?”

“No.”

“Thank you. I think you’d scare the living daylights out of them if you told them over the phone.”

Logan nodded. “We don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to our arrival so we’ll play it on the down-low.” Logan paused for a moment. “You keep in touch with them regularly?”

Reed blinked bringing his focus back to the conversation. “What? My parents? Yeah, sure. We speak at least once a month and they visit every few months.”

Logan seemed pleased with his answer. “Good. Okay, well, go pack your stuff. You’ve got two hours. If you’re not ready by then, I’m hauling your ass out over my shoulder.” He smiled, trying to lighten the situation.

Reed puffed out his cheeks and exhaled slowly, his fingernails digging into his palms. “You sure there’s no other place we can stay?”

“No. If there was, I’d give you a choice.” His voice was quiet. “I’m sorry, Reed, but we’ve got to do what’s best and your safety is my priority.”

Reed glanced at the floor, defeated. “Guess I’m going back home then.”

Reed threw his clothes into his suitcase. Angry tears of frustration gathered in his eyes but he blinked them away, refusing to cry again.

He’d done nothing wrong, yet here he was, forced to leave his home.

He was pissed off at his stalker.

Pissed off at Logan. But somewhere deep down, a little voice told him that Logan was doing the best for him.

Most of all, he was pissed off at the thought of going back home.

I swore I’d never go back.

He sat on his suitcase and managed to pull the zip around until it finally closed shut. Then he dragged it off the bed until it landed on the floor with a thump.

Reed smiled at his bulging case. He wasn’t even sure why he brought along half the outfits he selected—it’s not like he’d have the chance to wear high fashion on the ranch.

Whatever.

I'm not the same boy who departed all those years ago.

I'll show them the man I've become.

Reed tried to initiate conversation with Logan on the drive up but mostly, all he got was a grunt in response. Logan had hired an SUV and for extra protection, he made sure the windows were bulletproof. Reed thought it was a bit over the top, but he didn’t vocalize his thoughts.

They were now three hours into the drive and Reed folded his arms and gazed straight ahead, his foot tapping away unconsciously.

He was dreading going back home.

“Can we stop over somewhere for tonight? It’s all just happening so quickly and I kind of need a minute.”

In his peripheral vision, he saw Logan turn his head to him before he returned his focus back on the road. “There are no fancy five-star hotels on this route.”

Reed bit down on his lip to stop from smiling. “A motel will be just fine.”

“Just one night,” Logan said with a sigh. “I get that this is hard for you but no more detours after this.”

“Got it.”

Reed watched the scenery fly past him. Since Logan wasn’t one for conversation, he flicked through the radio stations until he found one he liked. His face broke out in a grin, when he heard the opening beats to one of his favorite songs.

“Oh my God, Logan, I love this.” Spinning the dial, he turned it up until the ‘80s music track was blaring through the speakers.

Reed closed his eyes, threw his hands in the air and sang along at the top of his voice.

Opening his eyes, Reed turned in his seat, his upper body moving to the beat and he pointed with both hands at Logan, singing along in time with the lyrics. His enthusiasm must have been catching, for Logan turned to him as Reed sang his heart out, and then he smiled, which opened up into a full grin.

A real life, boxer-melting grin.

Shit. Logan Price is hot when he isn’t scowling.

Reed felt a tingle go through him and suddenly, his entire body felt too hot for his skin and he felt his face flame as dirty thoughts about Logan sprang to mind. He knew just where he’d like that sexy mouth on him.

Reed almost groaned out loud as his body began to respond to his thoughts and he turned to the window, discreetly placing his hands over his semi-hard cock.

As the day faded to dusk, they stopped to grab some dinner at a roadside diner and then later, Logan pulled into a motel. Thankfully, from the outside, it didn’t look nearly as bad as Reed feared.

“Stay here, I’ll check us in.”

Reed nodded and watched as Logan left the SUV to go inside. Looking around the lot, Reed saw that it was pretty empty, just a couple of cars parked up for the night, so he was sure they’d have no trouble getting rooms.

Five minutes later, Logan came back out, holding two sets of keys in his hand. They retrieved their overnight bags from the trunk and Reed followed Logan to the door.

Even though there was zero chance of his stalker being here, Reed waited patiently outside, while Logan insisted on doing a quick sweep of the room. Two minutes later, he emerged.

“Clear. You’re safe here—I’m just next door if you need me.”

“Thanks. See you in the morning, Logan.”

Logan sidestepped him and Reed entered the room. It was sparsely furnished as expected, but the bed looked clean. He turned to see Logan watching his reaction.

“Everything okay for you here?” Logan raised an eyebrow, as if waiting for Reed to complain.

“It’s fine.”

Logan’s expression was curious but he didn’t reply. With a curt nod, he walked the few steps to his room next door.

Reed closed the door gently and twisted the lock. Then he walked over to the bed, trailing his hands along the sheets.

Ever since his moment in the car with Logan, he’d felt distracted. Despite Logan being a man of few words, Reed felt safe with him. And not just because he was his bodyguard. There was something else about Logan—they seemed to have the right mix of chemistry together. When he’d grinned at him earlier, Reed’s heart had leapt with joy and it took him by complete surprise to see that maybe there was a different side to Logan after all. A side that Reed very much liked. And the way he’d looked after him last night—Reed hadn’t felt so close to anyone in such a long time.

So why is Logan so permanently closed off? What happened to him?

Reed pictured Logan’s face, the way it lit up when he smiled, transforming his features. Last night, when he carried him up to bed, even though he was drunk, Reed could feel Logan’s thumping heart and the way he looked at him, Reed could tell he wanted to kiss him. He’d probably deny it, but Logan was definitely affected.

As Reed thought about him, a small smile on his lips, he couldn’t help but become turned on. Logan’s gruff and stoic ways, his internal strength and sense of calm, was in complete contrast to his own.

But it was sexy.

He was different.

Reed felt himself harden once again, with all the pleasant thoughts that ran through his mind. His body tightened and he felt an almost painful tug of desire at his groin. This time, Reed couldn’t stop himself. Pulse racing, he unzipped his jeans and kicked them off, moving to the bed. Shuffling up against the headboard, he lowered his boxers and his thick and heavy cock sprung out, pre-cum already leaking from his slit.

Groaning, Reed grabbed his erection and started to pump hard and fast. Over the last few days, as much as he initially disliked Logan, he hadn’t been able to stop himself from fantasizing about that strong, hard body of his pressed up against him. The tribal tattoos, which he glimpsed when Logan was shirtless, covered one side of his upper body. His hot muscles and ripped abs were so enticing. The thought of Logan’s full lips wrapped around his cock.

Reed imagined himself rubbing against Logan, fondling him and taking his cock into his mouth. He moaned out loud, thinking about pumping his cock inside Logan, arching and writhing as he’d bring about Logan’s pleasure. Reed was close now and he jerked himself harder, biting his lower lip to stop himself from calling out any louder. The walls were thin and Reed was sure that Logan could hear, but that merely turned him on even more.

Oh, shit.

Reed’s eyes rolled back into his head and his vision exploded with stars. His whole body spasmed and his cock pulsed and shot out streams of cum all over his hands.

It took Reed a few minutes for his breathing to finally return to normal, but he was shocked with the intensity of how hard he’d come.

Dammit. This is going to be a lot more complicated than I thought.