Chapter 37: Chapter Thirty-Seven

RAE

“Excuse me. Do you live here, ma’am?”

I turn to face the security guard. “Not exactly. I, uh… I really need to talk to… It’s an emergency.”

“Yeah, we’ve got her,” he says into his walkie-talkie. To me, he snaps, “I’m going to need you to come with us.”

“I can’t.”

He sighs in exasperation. “Ma’am, please don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

“Please,” I sob. “Please, I need to… His family…”

“Rae?”

The security guard steps in front of Logan. “Sir, are you the resident here? We were just escorting this young woman out. Apologies for the—”

“No, she’s with me. Long day, honey?” Logan navigates around the guard and rests his arm over my shoulders. “Let’s get you inside. Thanks, officer.”

“Uh, sure.” The bewildered officer starts saying something into his walkie-talkie, but I don’t hear a word. I’m too busy thanking my lucky stars that Logan came home in time.

“What on Earth was that?” Logan exclaims when we get inside. “Rae, what are you—”

“Logan, I need to tell you something,” I interrupt. “It’s about your dad and the…and the trial.”

His face goes white. “How do you know about that?”

I tell him everything. The details come out in spurts, much like my sobs, but Logan gets the picture.

Then, he calls Steven on my phone, and Steven gives him a slightly more eloquent and scientific rundown of the pharmaceutical details.

He immediately calls his dad, who doesn’t answer. The voicemail Logan leaves is eerily calm. Meanwhile, I’m over here blubbering like a toddler who lost her ice cream.

Then, Logan’s on the phone with his mom, who I don’t think is much help, and then he’s talking to someone named Fran. Then, he’s screaming at Michael.

He’s threatening him and using finance words I’ve never heard before and making demands, and then he scribbles a number on a piece of paper.

After telling Michael to fuck himself, Logan dials the number he wrote down.

“Hello,” he says coolly. “My name is Logan Quincy. I’m the son of Eric Quincy, one of your test subjects. I want him released from the glioblastoma study today. Right now.”

He grits his teeth while the person on the other line says something unintelligible. “If you think we won’t pull your funding and report you to—” The other person is yelling now. “Yeah? Try me.”

Wow. Logan’s angry voice is hot.

“Yes. Do that.” He tears at his hair while the person on the other line speaks. “Yes. Tell him to call me.” He sighs loudly. “Sorry, Rae. One last thing.”

I shake my head and hope he knows I mean that he doesn’t have to apologize.

I’m pretty sure the next call is to a private jet company because Logan starts saying things like ‘charter’ and ‘airport,’ and then he recites a credit card number.

When he hangs up, his hair is sticking in a million directions.

“I think you just saved my dad’s life,” he murmurs.

“You got him out of the trial?”

Logan nods.

“Oh, thank God,” I breathe.

He pulls me into his arms. I lean into his chest, whimpering when my cut elbow touches the chair behind him. “Rae!” he exclaims. “Rae, you’re hurt.”

“I dove into the parking garage,” I admit. “That’s why they called security.” I bite my lip. “I’m not very sneaky.”

Logan lets out a tiny laugh. “You’re… You’re incredible. God, Rae, I— ~shit~ . Dad?” He presses his phone to his ear.

“Yes, I canceled it. No, listen—” Mr. Quincy is screaming something I can’t understand. Logan bites his lip and picks at his fingernails.

“You were the first human subjects, Dad. They lied.” More screaming. “You have a flight leaving at four. If you don’t come back, I’ll report the trial. I’ll report the trial, and I’ll resign.”

The screaming is louder. “You think I’m bluffing? I’ll call a board meeting for tomorrow afternoon and raise a vote to have Howard promoted to CEO.”

I can no longer hear Mr. Quincy’s voice, which I assume means he’s speaking at a normal volume now.

“Yes, I know the consequences. They’re going to kill you at the trial. At home, you can—” Logan’s voice breaks “—you can be comfortable.”

They stay on the phone for another hour. The conversation strays from business to Logan’s mom and whoever Fran is to glioblastoma and back again. When Logan hangs up, his eyes are misty.

“Dad’s on his way to the airport now,” he chokes out.

“Thank God,” I repeat. There isn’t much else to say.

“Thank ~you~.” Logan sighs.

He pulls me into his arms, and I melt into his hard chest. My head finds the groove by his neck where it fits perfectly, and his rests atop mine.

I breathe in the remnants of cologne still clinging to his shirt after his long workday and drift into a haze of contentment, pretending that he hasn’t already moved on. Pretending I’m still his.

“Rae, I need to tell you something,” Logan murmurs, instantly plucking me from the Zen I uncharacteristically achieved.

~Why must everyone need to tell me something tonight~?

“Okay,” I whisper into his chest.

“Zoe told me you… God, this sounds so fucking bad. At Barney’s, when we saw each other, Zoe came to talk to me.”

I nod. She stormed over to Logan and screamed at him for breaking my heart and coming out with a date so soon after. I won’t lie; I wasn’t all that upset she did.

“She told me you were on a date with the guy you were talking to. I was really f—”

I step backward, eyes wide. ~No fucking way. She wouldn’t do that~.

“You should sit down. You look a little dizzy.”

I plop onto the floor. Chairs are too much effort right now. Hell, breathing is too much effort right now. I need every ounce of energy to comprehend what Logan’s saying.

“Do you need some water?”

I shake my head.

“Okay. Let me know if you… I was really fucked up—not that it’s an excuse, fuck—but I went home with someone. I couldn’t be alone when I thought you were with someone else. That’s why I left with her.

“The next morning, I saw Zoe with the guy she said you were out with, and I knew she had lied.”

“That was Steven I was with,” I whimper.

“The guy I just talked to?”

“Yeah. I happened to see him out. I wasn’t…”

“I know,” Logan says softly. “I’m so sorry, Rae. If I could take it back, I would.”

I try and fail to blink away the tears. “I have to tell you something too. I… I went home with someone too. For the same reason. I just… I couldn’t be alone when I thought you were with someone.”

“We’re a mess,” Logan mutters.

My laugh is shaky, but it’s a laugh.

I suppress a shiver when his thumbs brush away the stray tears on my cheeks.

“If you’ll have me, I’ll never let you go again,” he murmurs. “I promise.”

“I’ll have you,” I whisper. I absorb some of the strength radiating from his perfect eyes and add, “I won’t let you go either. I promise.”