25: Way out

It felt wrong to leave Chicago with Bryce nearby, possibly waiting to pounce at any moment, but it also felt wrong to let Terri travel by herself. He’d nearly had a heart attack when he couldn’t get in touch with her earlier and didn’t want a repeat of those events.

But that thing he’d said in the car? About not being able to survive if something happened to her?

He didn’t know where the hell those words came from, but it couldn’t happen again. The line between them had been drawn, and he’d be a pathetic man to tow it.

They stopped at the house, where Terri grabbed the bag she hadn’t unpacked and he explained to Kim that they would be gone for a day. Or two.

Three? Three really pushed it. That felt like a vacation he didn’t have time for. A lot could happen in three days.

Then again, getting out of Chicago could be good. If Bryce was sniffing around, a little break from the city might throw him off their trail.

“Ready.” Terri appeared at the top of the stairs, bag in hand.

He’d packed as well, which should have taken him longer than her, so what she’d done up there with that extra time was anyone’s guess.

As she got closer, he noticed she’d put on more makeup. She wore perfume now, too. So that’s what she’d been doing.

“You look nice,” he said. ‘Nice’ was a good, safe word. Friendly acquaintances used it all the time.

“Thanks.” She ducked her face, looking bashful.

“I’ll take that.” Shouldering her bag, he headed for the garage.

Maybe she hadn’t meant for him to notice the way she’d dolled herself up a bit. Maybe the intention hadn’t been aimed at him at all.

They were headed to her hometown. There could be people there she wanted to impress. Say, a guy.

A wave of jealousy rolled through Logan. Terri wasn’t anywhere close to his, but the thought of her with another man made him tense up.

They climbed into the car, and he shot a glance her way, where she tapped on her new cell phone. Was she nervous about heading home? Is that why she’d put in a little extra effort?

Whatever the reason, it had paid off. It was going to be hard to drive without looking over at her every few seconds.

“It’s about three hours,” she said as they exited through the gate. There was a warning in her voice.

“I don’t mind the drive.”

“Okay. Just checking. It’s not too late for you to change your mind. I would be careful.”

“Do you want me to stay?”

“No.” Her eyes, the color of spring, caught his. “I don’t want you to go out of your way.”

“Even if I was going out of my way, it doesn’t matter. We’ve been through this. No way in hell am I letting you take this trip alone.” “I won’t be alone,” she mused. “Charlie will be there.”

A weird silence followed that. Looked like he would be meeting Charlie sooner than predicted.

“What are you going to say?” Logan asked. “How are you going to introduce me?”

“Well, he just texted to say he won’t be there till late tonight.” She waved her phone. “So we have some time. I’m thinking I’ll catch him first and explain it all to him.”

Logan’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. He might have saved Terri’s life, but he’d still done it in order to get out from under Charlie’s nose. There was no hiding that.

And he didn’t think Charlie would be so eager to overlook or forgive him for that, even though Terri seemed convinced otherwise.

“We’ll roll with it,” Logan said, despite being the kind of person who abhorred rolling with anything.

It was Terri’s plan, though, and her brother. He could offer his opinion, but she was the one with the power. She’d proven it at that rooftop restaurant in Vietnam.

They fell into silence, Terri fiddling with the radio some before leaving it on so low you couldn’t hear what the music was anyway. A tension filled the car, and there didn’t seem to be a way to dispel it.

“What’s Girard like?” he asked, eager to talk about something—anything.

“Tiny,” she answered. “Um, old.”

“You mean historical?”

“No.” She smiled at the road in front of them then laughed. “I mean there’s a ton of old people.”

“Okay.” He joined in on the laughter. “Gotcha.”

“Actually, I don’t know the exact demographics. That’s just how it’s always felt to me. There are some young and middle-aged people there. Every town has the people who are born and die there.”

“And you never wanted that to be you?”

She rubbed the back of her neck, forehead furrowing. For whatever reason, the question had her thinking hard. “No,” she said at last, with a crisp finality.

“I felt the same way. I mean, even though I’m still in the city I grew up in, I feel a thousand miles away from where I once was.”

“Metaphorical distance counts. It wouldn’t for me, but…” She shrugged. “It’s the next exit.”

He signaled and took the exit. How were they leaving the city already? It felt like they’d gotten into the car only a minute ago.

“What did you want, exactly?” she asked. “When you were a kid.”

“To be successful. To have money. Own a company.” He paused. There was more to it. “To be in charge of my destiny.”

There it was. The heart of the matter. He’d felt so out of control as a kid and teen, growing up poor and with no adults to turn to. Seeing his friends fall into drugs, crime, or just general despondency made him want to try harder to find a way out.