Chapter 4: Logan

“How do I look now?”

Logan, with his back to Reed, squeezed his eyes shut, counted to five and then flicked them open. This was probably the tenth outfit that Reed had asked his opinion on in the past hour and a half.

As if Logan knew anything about fashion.

With an effort, he smoothed over his expression, relaxing his lowered brows, and swung around in his seat to see what Reed had come up with now. He stood there grinning, hand on hip. Logan raked his eyes over his body. And stopped short, narrowing his eyes.

“Wait. Is that a skirt you’re wearing?”

“Yeah. It’s called fashion.” Reed raised an eyebrow, waiting for more questions, but Logan merely sat back in his seat, struggling to contain his smile.

“Are you smirking at me, Logan?”

“No, no, not at all. After all, as you continually tell me, you’re the designer around here.”

“Hmmmm. What, it’s because it’s a skirt, right?” Reed narrowed his eyes. “Whatever. I’m proud of how I look and what I wear.” He looked down at his feet and when he glanced back up again, Logan was surprised to see a hint of vulnerability in his eyes. “Well, you sure I look okay? I want to make a good impression tonight, it’s quite a big event we’re attending.”

“You look fine.”

Reed released a groan, slapping his palm on his forehead. “That’s what you’ve said each time I’ve come out here. You’re really no help at all, you know that?” Spinning on his heel, Reed stomped back upstairs.

Logan mentally shook his head, at a loss. What did he do wrong? Reed Luxe was a total drama queen, as Logan was fast coming to realize.

But an endearing one.

He thought back to when they first met at Kellen’s apartment. Reed had come into the room and the first thing that hit him was the scent that filled the room. Logan had never smelled anything so…captivating and fresh. When Reed came into view, he noticed that Reed obviously kept in shape. Sure, he wasn’t built like himself, as Logan had put in some serious body-building time, but he still had a slim athletic build. Logan’s eyes had raked over Reed’s bright pink polo shirt, which he’d teamed with navy blue shorts. His eyes had followed up his chest and landed on his face. Besides the dark circles underneath his eyes, Reed Luxe was a very handsome man. His blond hair was perfectly gelled to the side, not one hair out of place and unlike himself, Reed didn’t wear a beard, showing off his smooth complexion instead. His chocolate brown eyes locked onto Logan’s and everything seemed like it was going to go well.

Until Reed opened his mouth.

I knew then he was going to be a challenge.

They’d arrived back at Reed’s beach cottage, or rather—mansion, three days ago.

It was the most beautiful house Logan had ever seen, set at the crest of a hill, with incredible views overlooking Ocean Beach. With five bedrooms and three bathrooms, the property was filled with natural light, pouring in from all sides through the magnificent windows and skylights. However, it still managed to feel private because of its lush garden surroundings. The home was airy and bright—Logan felt like he was entering another world, a life he wasn’t accustomed to.

It took him a couple of days to adjust to his new surroundings, as well as upgrade the security. No wonder the stalker managed to get into the property—with so many windows, most of them without additional locks, it was clear to see how he entered the house. Logan was pleased that the new state-of-the-art security system was due to arrive tomorrow. While it wasn’t the perfect solution—he never fully trusted technology—it would at least set his mind at ease while Reed was inside the house.

His thoughts turned to Reed. Despite what Logan thought about his overly dramatic ways, he couldn’t help but admire the man for what he’d accomplished. Logan was only a couple of years older, but their life experiences were vastly different. When Reed wasn’t looking, Logan checked out his Wiki page a couple of days ago, discovering more about him and his rise to fame. He discovered that Reed, an only child, grew up in a small town in Oregon but left when he was eighteen after he entered and won a huge amateur fashion designer competition in California. His parents owned a small ranch in Oregon and as there was no further mention of them, Logan assumed they were still there. Logan continued to read about his accomplishments in the fashion world and his cutting-edge designs, but soon the meaningless jargon became too much and Logan’s eyes glossed over.

Next he went onto Google and looked at images of Reed at various events. Once again, Logan couldn’t deny that he was a very handsome man. A few pictures were taken with other men, who Logan assumed were dates, but there didn’t appear to be a significant other in Reed’s life, as far as he could tell.

The doorbell jolted Logan out of his thoughts and he leaped up, on high alert. Pulling the door open, he was faced with a group of people standing there—two women and two guys, one of which was Kellen, who shook his hand.

“Hey guys, come on in. Reed will be down in a sec…he’s, er, having some clothing problems…issues…thing.” He shrugged his shoulders apologetically.

One of the women rolled her eyes and smiled. “Hi, you must be Logan. I’m Marie, one of Reed’s managers and,” she pointed to the two others next to her, “this is Amy and that’s Preston. Of course, you’ve already met Kellen.”

They exchanged pleasantries and then Reed appeared, bending over the banister. Logan saw that he was wearing a bathrobe. I guess the last outfit didn’t cut it either.

“Hey guys, thought it was you. Marie, Amy, can you help me, please? I can’t find anything to wear.”

The ladies turned to each other with a smile. Marie shot Logan a wink as she sidestepped past him. “It’s not like he doesn’t have, like, a thousand outfits up there.”

Logan hovered in the background, sitting in the kitchen as he listened to the friends’ chatter and laughter, spilling over into his direction. He felt a pang of envy laced with intense sadness. It was clear to see that this group of friends were extremely tight. However, what was especially interesting for Logan to witness was how Reed had totally toned down his diva-like behavior. He was, like, almost normal with them.

Logan wondered if it was all part of an act.

He glanced up as Kellen moved over to him, beer bottle in hand.

“Hey, Logan. How’s it going? Finding your feet around here?”

“Not bad, thanks, Kellen.” Logan, smiled and leaned back in the chair, dropping his pen onto the table. “You guys seem like you’re having fun catching up.”

Kellen pulled out the chair and took a seat. “Yeah. Beer?”

Logan held up his hand. “No, thanks. I prefer not to drink when I’m on a job.”

“Sure.” Kellen tilted his head in the direction of Reed and lowered his voice. “How’s he doing?”

Logan considered his question for a moment. “He’s doing okay. A little jumpy the night we first arrived, but he slept a lot better last night.”

Kellen nodded. “Good to hear that.” He ran a hand through his dark hair. “Look, I know at first that Reed can seem too much, a little overly dramatic, shall we say, about things in general.”

Logan couldn’t help the smile at that formed on his mouth. He merely nodded.

“But I just want you to know that underneath that big personality is a really, really great guy. He’s the most loyal person I know, with a heart of gold. He’d do anything for us and I’ve no doubt he’d take a bullet for me.”

Logan’s forehead wrinkled in concentration. Why was he telling him that? “I don’t understand…”

Kellen nodded. “I guess I’m just trying to say, give him a chance. I know you didn’t exactly take this job out of choice.” Kellen grinned when Logan’s eyes snapped to his. “Look, all I’m saying is that Michael told me he had to practically drag you out of your bike repair shop. We just really appreciate you looking out for Reed and for being here.”

Logan released the breath he was holding. He wasn’t sure how much Michael had told Kellen about his finances but it didn’t appear as if he gave anything away.

Kellen took a sip of his beer. “Just so you know, we like to hang out at Preston’s garage once a week. It’s not bikes and it may be boring for you but we’re working on restoring a ‘64 Buick Riviera.”

Logan’s eyebrows shot up. “Reed’s doing that too?”

“Sure is.” Kellen laughed. “But then he has to go get a spa manicure afterwards to remove all the dirt and grime from his hands.”

Logan looked over at Reed, who was deep in discussion with Preston, with a renewed respect. There was more to him that met the eye.

“Sounds awesome. I’d love to take a look, if it’s cool.”

“Sure thing. It’s normally our Sunday morning ritual. We get up, head down to the coffee shop near Preston’s place, fill up on breakfast and then work on the car till lunch.” His voice filled with pride. “You should see it; it’s really taking shape now.”

“It’s a plan.”

***

“Hey, Logan.”

Logan looked up from his iPad. “What’s up?”

“I think I’m going to give it a miss tonight, after all.”

“You sure?” Logan raised an eyebrow in surprise at Reed’s change of heart—he seemed very enthusiastic earlier.

“Yeah, I am.” He looked at his friends. “We’re having a good time. Besides, I don’t think I’m really up for socializing in a big crowd.”

“Sure. Whatever you want to do.”

Some time later, Reed ordered in pizza, insisting that Logan join the four of them. Logan reluctantly took a seat with them. He preferred to keep to himself, but Reed wouldn’t take no for an answer, so he sat quietly in the corner, watching them getting more and more drunk as the evening went on. However they were harmless drunks, and even though Logan didn’t comment much, he found himself smiling at some of their conversations.

Logan couldn’t help but be drawn to Reed. There was something magnetizing about him—maybe it was the way he carried himself, or the fact that he was always so effervescent. He could see why his friends adored him.

It would be easy to fall for someone like him.

Logan shook his head—where the hell did that come from?

Finally after midnight, they decided to depart and after what seemed like a long, drawn-out goodbye, filled with many kisses and drunken group hugs, Logan eventually shut the front door and went to take a seat on the sofa.

Reed, sprawled on the sofa, looked at Logan, his face flushed from the alcohol and his eyes half-closed. “Logan Price. How’d you like that?”

Logan could see that Reed was now very drunk.

“It was a very pleasant evening. You’ve got some great friends.”

“I do, don’t I?” Reed burst out laughing. “I mean…I wish I also had a boyfriend to snuggle up with…that would top it off.”

Logan didn’t respond.

“Why aren’t you saying anything, big Logan?” Reed leaned forward, swaying in his seat. “You have a girlfriend?”

“No.”

“Ah, I see. You really are the strong, silent type, aren’t you?” Reed snapped his fingers. “Does it feel weird to you to be staying with a gay man? Does it? Are you worried that I’ll jump all over your fine ass one night?”

Logan bit on his lip to stop from laughing out loud. He wasn’t about to tell Reed in his current state that he had plenty of gay friends from the Navy.

“I can assure you that I don’t have any homophobic views, Mr. Luxe.” Logan knew he would irritate him by calling him by his last name, but he was slightly peeved with this drunk Reed, who appeared to have summed Logan up in his mind.

Reed scowled at him. “I told you. I’m not my father. Anyway, are you always so closed off?” Standing, he began to sway but somehow managed to stop himself from falling back down onto the sofa. He didn’t bother to wait for Logan’s response. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight, Logan.”

Logan could see that he was struggling to walk and the last thing he needed was for Reed to hurt himself falling down the stairs or something.

“Reed. Wait up.”

Logan pushed off the sofa and walked up behind him. With one smooth movement, he wrapped his arm around Reed’s waist and legs and picked him up.

“Oh, my.” Reed’s arms automatically hooked around Logan’s neck and for a moment, they were inches apart.

Logan was surprised with how light Reed felt in his arms. His eyes were drawn to Reed’s full mouth. Logan wondered if his pink lips were as soft as they looked. Reed’s tongue moistened his lower lip and Logan couldn’t tear his eyes away from that small movement.

“You look like you want to kiss me.”

Logan blinked rapidly, pulled out of his daze.

“Let’s get you to bed.”

He released a breath and quickly walked up the stairs and into Reed’s bedroom. Logan couldn’t understand why he suddenly felt so hot and bothered. He gently placed Reed down on the bed and backed out, avoiding eye contact.

“Let me know if you need anything,” he called over his shoulder.

Logan returned downstairs, slightly shocked at his reaction. He didn’t know what the hell that was all about and forced it away in his mind.

He washed up for the night and then pulled the blanket across to the sofa. Although Reed had set up one of the guest rooms for him, Logan told him that he’d prefer to sleep downstairs until the new security system was installed. He watched a little TV, went to check on Reed, who was snoring lightly, and then came back downstairs. Satisfied all was in order, Logan flipped off the light and slipped under the blanket, adjusting the pillow at the same time.

He was a light sleeper, so his ears pricked up when he heard the sound coming from the kitchen, approximately an hour later. All senses on alert, heart thumping with adrenaline, he reached for his Glock, which was on the table, and threw the blanket off him. The noise was getting a little louder and Logan’s eyes, quickly getting used to the dark, tried to assess the sound.

It took him another second to figure out that someone was by the kitchen door. By the sounds of it, they had picked the lock and the intruder was now inside the property.

Logan swung his feet onto floor, ready for anything.

Then, his heart almost stopped. Reed was coming down the stairs! The noise in the kitchen disappeared—the intruder had heard him, too. Fuck! He had no choice but to warn Reed—he didn’t know if the person was armed.

“Upstairs now!” he roared.

Reed froze on the stairs, while Logan dove off the sofa, running for the kitchen. At the same time, something came flying at his head, but he ducked and rolled out of the way. There was a commotion and the next second, the kitchen door flew open and the intruder ran.

Logan was torn between chasing him and finding out what was thrown at him. If it was a bomb, he needed to get Reed out of there now.

Reed began screaming on the stairs and Logan flipped on the light, desperately scanning the floor for the object.

His eyes landed on it the same time as Reed’s.

What in the hell?

Reed’s eyes were filled with terror, his mouth open in shock, a silent scream on his lips.

Lying in a bloody and broken heap was a dead lovebird with its neck wrung.

Logan’s head spun to the door, and while whipping out his cell phone to call the cops, he sprinted barefoot out into the backyard, but he knew it was too late. The intruder was long gone.

Fists clenched, every fiber in his body was ready for action. He turned the air blue with the curses spilling out of his mouth, frustration clawing at his stomach. Heading back inside, Logan’s eye caught something shiny on the patio. He stopped and saw a ten-inch knife, which was no doubt dropped in haste.

His chest tightened at the sight.

If it wasn’t for his presence, Reed might have lost his life tonight.