MAISY

When I woke up in the hospital, I didn't know what had happened. The last thing I remembered was falling in the garage and the blood on my hands. An officer came in as soon as the nurse gave him the all clear. My pulse began to speed up and my palms grew clammy as he walked inside. He was a little older than me, but had a baby face that even his dark brown goatee couldn't hide. He introduced himself as Robby and told me he was a friend of Logan's, and despite the fogginess still lingering in my head, I knew something was was wrong.

"Where is he?" I demanded in a broken voice. "Where's Logan?"

I pushed myself up from the bed and the IV attached to my arm tugged against my skin as my fingers clenched the lumpy mattress beneath me and ice water rushed through my veins. My gut was already telling me something horrible had happened, but my gut had been wrong so many times. I scanned Robby's sympathetic face and tears pooled in my eyes as I shook my head in disbelief.

The blood drained from my face and the monitors I was still hooked to spiked. My heart stopped for a moment and I could feel it fissure and tear apart as a fat tear craved its way down my cheek and the emptiness set in. Robby's eyes darted over to the machines and he seemed to panic when he realized what was happening.

"He's going to be fine Maisy." His gaze jumped back and forth between the monitors and me as he continued to reassure me. "He got out of surgery an hour ago."

"Surgery?" I gulped around the enormous lump still lodged in my throat and the tips of Robby's mouth dipped down as he nodded. "What happened?" The question came out in a cracked whisper and Robby's expression went somber which only elevated my hysteria.

"Those men took you to an abandoned warehouse," he quickly explained. "Logan went in after you. He managed to take one of the guys down, but the other one got a shot off. He was hit in the shoulder-- through and through. He's lucky though; he'll probably be discharged tomorrow. He's going to need a little physical therapy, but other than that he's going to be okay."

I nodded, hearing the words but not registering anything except the fact that Logan had been hurt. "He's going to be okay," I repeated, needing the confirmation, and Robby nodded along with me.

"Yes, Maisy. He's going to be okay."

After a minute or two, when I managed to calm down, Robby took out a small notebook from his jacket and slipped back into professional mode. I watched with unease as he flipped back the black cover and my heartbeat steadily picked up again. I wasn't sure what he was going to ask, and had no idea how I was going to lie my way out of it.

"Maisy, can you tell me what happened?"

I decided to stick to the facts where I could, and explained how Logan dropped me off at the garage and how I couldn't find anyone inside. I told Robby about tripping over something and discovering the blood on my hands.

"I don't remember anything else."

"So you never got a look at the guys?"

I shook my head, watching as he scribbled something down in that notebook of his.

"Maisy, the two men who took you worked for Hector Meza. Do you know who he is?"

I shook my head again, already beginning the lies, but Eddie's warning about the police was ringing through my mind. If they found out what I'd done I could go to jail, and Hector could easily get to me in jail. Robby scanned my face and I did my best to keep it neutral, knowing that he was trying to read me. Luckily for me, I had years of practice wearing a believable mask.

"Hector Meza is the leader of a small time gang out of Austin," Robby explained. "They mostly deal in drugs and prostitution." His eyes flicked over to me and I could only imagine the connections he was stretching to make, but I kept my mouth closed.

"These men were staying here in town Maisy; they had your name and address on them. Kidnapping isn't their usual M.O.. Any idea why they would be after you?"

I shook my head and did my best to appear as confounded as he was even though I got the feeling that Robby wasn't buying my bullshit. But I wasn't a suspect here, I was the victim and he wasn't going to pressure me, at least not right away.

"Logan mentioned your tires had been slashed." I nodded. "Has anything like that happened before?" I shook my head and could feel his frustration with me.

"What about the other guy?" I questioned. "The one who shot Logan."

"He was killed at the scene."

The relief I felt was short lived. That man was replaceable. I knew it'd only be a matter of time before Hector would have someone else out looking for me, and he wouldn't stop until he reclaimed the money he thought I had stolen.

I needed to get out of there. I needed to disappear again.

"I understand you were headed out of town."

"Yes."

"I was hoping you could write your information down for me in case I need to get in contact with you." He offered me his notebook and pencil and I took them, but didn't write anything down.

"I don't have an address," I told him. "I'm in the middle of moving."

Robby nodded but I detected the underlying suspicion in his eyes. "Your phone number will be fine." I began to write my cell number down, debating if I should switch some digits around, but thinking better of it at the end.

"Maisy," Robby spoke as I wrote, "the doctor's are releasing you, but I have to advise you that I think it'd be wise for you to stay in town. I'll be able to assign an officer to protect you and--"

I was already shaking my head. "That won't be necessary."

"Maisy, I think it's something you should seriously consider. Those men had your name for a reason, and someone like Hector Meza doesn't give up easily."

"I'll be fine," I told him, with more confidence than I felt. Robby's frown grew as I handed him back his notebook and pen, but he had no legal recourse to force me stay. I'd already gotten Logan too involved in all of this and needed to get out of town before it got any worse.

Now I stand in the hallway and stare into the window of his hospital room and can't seem to make myself leave. The fear and slightly panicked feeling I've had since I first opened my eyes hasn't subsided. I had thought it would once I saw him. I thought it'd go away, but it's still there. The doctors and Robby told me that Logan would be okay, but I wouldn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes, and looking at him now doesn't make me feel any better.

He's laying on a bed, covered in pristine white sheets in an overly sterile room. The only signs of life are the fresh flowers on a small table beside him and the beeping machines attached to his body. I knew I would end up hurting him; I just didn't realize it'd be this bad.

A nurse startles me as she brushes past and into Logan's room. I continue to watch as she putters about around him, checking the machines and his IV drip. His chest rises underneath the sheets and I feel mine constrict at the same time, hating that I won't ever get the chance to thank him for what he did. Logan Stanfield saved my life and all I did was mess up his. I study his face, memorizing the slopes and lines, hoping to never forget them, before I finally make myself walk away.

Author's Note:

So, how about the new cover? I'm totally digging it and hope you guys like the change too. This one is official-- as in bought and paid for, so it's mine and I couldn't be happier!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter. You guys have been so supportive of Maisy and Logan, and this story. It's really taken me by surprise. I've been working on a few more books lately, and I've got to tell you I've got some good stuff in the works for you so be on the lookout! For all you readers of The Madonna, The Virgin, and The Whore, new chapters will finally be posted this week. I know it's been forever but between editing both The Return and The Restoration, writing this one, and The Madonna, The Virgin, and The Whore, and the other two I've been working on... I've been stretched a little thin! Hopefully these new chapters will make it up to you ;)

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