Rush (Roam Series, Book Four) (6 page)

“Get your hands off of her-…,”

“We were just
dancing
,” she fired.

“
Dancing?
”

“Nope, sorry, you don’t get to pull the ‘Daddy’ card now, West.” She
blocked me with one arm, arching one eyebrow at her father. “Go mind your own business.”

I could tell by the expression on his now-shaven face that
no one
spoke to him in that tone. Smug, I tucked Violet even closer to my side.

“
You can go check on Troy first,” I added.

He took an uncomfortably close step to me, his face inches from mine. “If you’re doing this
for some kind of juvenile revenge directed towards me, and you hurt her, I’ll kill you. Again.”

I managed to
keep his unwavering look. “If I wanted revenge on you, I’d just take Roam from you. I’d find a way. You may have spent centuries with her soul, but I’ve spent seventeen years with her mind.”

“No part of her wants you, Logan.”

“Ask her how many times she kissed me while you were in 1977.”

“Well, as fun as it is to be stuck in
the middle of this pissing match over Roam, I’m going for walk.”

Violet shoved away from me, heading for the back door.

“Vi, wait,” I called, but she had already crossed the small living room and was out the door. Turning to West, I pointed to the bedroom door. “Go in there to Roam and your baby, because if she doesn’t want me, then it’s
not my job
to take care of her. Violet and I were just playing around. Nothing happened.”

He rubbed his fingers against his jaw before his temple. “
I’m sorry. It’s easier to trust you when you look like… yourself. I know you mean well.”

An apology? Did that just happen?
I decided I was on a roll. “I like Violet. In a non-threatening, eighteen-year-old, she’s fun-and-cute-kind of way. I’m not really forty- or whatever I am in this life.”

“
I know.”

“And whatever aftershave they used, you smell like an old dude.”

He almost smirked, waving at the back of the house absently. “Go find her. I’ll check on Troy before I go in with Roam.”

I nodded, moving out the back door. After walking the beach in both directions several times, I finally gave up and went back to the cottage.
I hope she’s okay.
The moonlit evening was mild, and the rain seemed to have finally stopped.

Near ten, I pulled a blanket over my legs and stared at the back door, waiting. The baby cried once, but then I heard nothing but soft voices and silence from the bedroom.
If she’s not back in ten minutes, I’m going out to find her.

Finally, the door creaked open, and she quietly crept to the couch. I sat up, but she held her palm up, indicating that I stay. Without a word, she slipped under the blanket and turned away from me. My back pressed against the couch, and her hips tucked against mine
.

“
Are you okay?” I hushed against her ear, knowing there was no way in hell I was going to be able to sleep with her ass jammed into my crotch.

She shifted, moving away from me- slightly.

“I’m just another girl with Daddy issues. You should run while you still can.”

I wrapped my arm around her waist, tugging her against me. She rolled back to find my eyes in the darkness.

“I don’t think we’re any less fucked up than the rest of the population. Even adding immortality, reincarnation, and time travel.”

She gave a short sigh. After a moment, she turned completely
to face me, our bodies running parallel on the couch. She tossed her leg over my hip, and I tightened my grip on her waist, knowing full well she could
feel
how turned on I was. Her face pressed against my chest.

I moved my mouth against her forehead. “
What if I don’t want to run?
”

She pressed her face into my neck, gripping my shoulders with all of her strength.

“You’re my
only friend.
Please… let’s just keep it that way.”

I smoothed my hand over her curls,
instantly somber. The lower half of my body reconnected to my brain, and I tugged the blanket over us and closed my eyes.

I’m everyone’s best fucking friend.

Violet

Killing myself was easier than I thought it would be.

The
moment I realized that I was alive again, I gasped for air and lifted my bloodied wrist to my face. Logan kneeled over me, holding sodden towels in his hands.

“What in the
hell
were you
thinking
?” West’s hands on my face, the pain in his voice, stunned me even deeper into disbelief.

“I… you can kill him,” I managed, my voice shaking. I looked up at my father. “You can snap his neck. We’re still immortal.”

His blue eyes, so much like mine, flared. “You can clean this up,” he growled, pushing to his feet. I looked at Roam helplessly; the sympathy in her expression was clear.

“I’ll do this. Logan, help her,” she ordered, mopping up the bloody mess on the floor.

Logan lifted me into his arms as though I weighed no more than a child. He set me to my feet, and I took small steps as he led me towards the bedroom.

West appeared in the doorway with more towels, and I met his eyes.

“I understand why you did this. But we’re working together. No surprises.”

“Okay,” I tried not to cry; his disciplining voice
worked some inherent parental magic on me, and I cringed.

“Logan, please help her clean up.” Easier now.
He has a temper… must be where mine comes from.

“I
am
,” Logan snapped, pulling his fingers over my hair before kissing my head.

My resolve broke; I leaned into him, letting the tears slide down my cheeks. He sighed and lifted me into his arms again, carrying me to the bathroom.

“That was pretty brave,” he said, reaching for the hot water faucet. “You’re the ballsiest girl I know.”

I exhaled a laugh, brushing at my tears with the back of my hand. “Thanks… I think.”

“Most people don’t actually
succeed
in killing themselves when they cut their wrists. So… congratulations?”

He held a clean towel under the water, and I rested my head against his chest. “
No one would really miss me if I was gone.”

“Oh, no, definitely not your mother- who we’ve been doing all of
this for.”

I listened to his sarcastic response, letting him scrub at the blood on my arms. “
It’s been nine years. Do you really think she’s the same? Who knows what’s happened to her.”

He scratched his beard, shrugging. “I don’t know that answer, Violet.”
He sighed at all the blood. “I can’t believe you had the nerve to do this. It must have really hurt.”

I watched him rinse the rag, and as he returned to my side, I grabbed his elbow. He lifted his eyes to mine.

Before I lost my courage, I dug my fingers into his skin. “I’m messed up. You should know that.”

He kept his eyes on mine. “Who isn’t?”

“No, Logan. Between my second and third foster home… I spent a year in juvenile prison. For stabbing my foster father.”

He lowered his eyes quickly, intent on cleaning my arms. “Why?”

I wrapped my fingers over his hand, stilling his movements. “I can spend our time together giving you clues about my shitty past, or I can just tell you he touched me in bad ways. Do you prefer the troubled, elusive crybaby or the sarcastic, blunt little bitch?”

He leaned forward, only inches from my lips. After searching my eyes for endless seconds, he slid his fingers through my hair, along my temple. “
Well, sounds like he deserved it then.” His warm breath sent a shiver over my back, and I exhaled sharply. “Also, if I must choose… I’ve always had a thing for sarcastic little bitches.”

I laughed
with unexplainable relief, cupping his face in my hands.

“Is
this beard uncomfortable?” I reached for the towel, my eyes finally dry. He applied both sets of fingertips to his jaw, scratching.

“I feel like the wolf man. I hope the real me doesn’t ever get this hairy.”

The light in the bathroom was dim, casting shadows into the corners of his face. I tucked my hand against his jaw, leaning in.

Kiss him. He deserves it.

“
Thank you,
” I whispered, widening my eyes as he pulled back. “What’s wrong?”

“
I don’t want a thank-you kiss. I want the ‘I’m-going-to-
die
-if-I-don’t-kiss-you-right-now’ kiss. Let me know when you’re feeling that.”

He
pressed his lips to my forehead before leaving me in the bathroom.

I processed his words, attempting to wash the dirty towels in the bathtub.
Does he feel something for me?
I blew at a curl stuck to my cheek, shaking my head.
Stop it, Violet. All he wants is Roam.
West appeared in the doorway, and I turned back at his voice.

“
Don’t worry about this, Vi. We’re leaving.”

“
But… what will we do…,”

“
When we get back, we’ll try the inclined planes- somehow. We’ll find Laurel.” He squatted at my side, and in the close confinement of the bathroom, I was hyper-aware of his every movement. “I’ll find your mother, Violet. It’s my fault that you’re apart, and I won’t stop until I make things right for you… for both of you.”

I averted my eyes to the bathtub, dropping the towels. “
And if she’s not the same? If she’s… hurt? Or… not herself?”

His palm rested on my shoulder, and I fought back
more
stupid tears.
God, maybe Roam has some contagious crying disease.
“I’ll take care of her. And you. And not just because it’s my responsibility- because I want to.”

I
turned to him, recognizing for the first time, being this close, that he had a light sprinkling of freckles across the tops of his cheeks. He was so tanned, they almost disappeared into his complexion.

“I always wondered… where my freckles came from.”

His hand stilled, and then he gripped my shoulder, turning me into his arms. “You’re not alone, sweetheart. Not anymore.”

His endearment
sounded completely natural; I pressed my forehead into his shoulder.

Eva began crying from the bedroom. I sniffed, and pushed away, nodding. “Thank you
.”

The trip back to Ohio
was about as lively as a wake. I assumed co-pilot position, already sick of all of the fifties music on the radio. Logan and West took turns driving. When we reached the half-way point, I gave up trying to hold myself back from discussing our plans. Turning to West in the driver’s seat, I cleared my throat. “So, when do we try these inclined planes?”

Without turning toward me, he answered too quickly. “When we have Troy secured, and Roam healthy enough to take care of Eva.”

Logan was right.
I knew it.
Yes, he planned to save my mother… when it was convenient for
him
.

“What if you stay, and I take her through,” Logan called from behind me, leaning closer to the front seat. “Roam will never be able to explain Eva.”

“And if Troy is in 2012 and secure, there isn’t much danger if we try to cross over,” I agreed, silently thanking Logan for his support.

West glanced at us once before turning back to the road. “It sounds like you two have discussed this.”

“Yep.” Logan answered.
I love the way he doesn’t cower from West.
He seems to intimidate everyone
but
Logan.

“
I will find a way to explain Eva,” Roam’s defensive words sounded from next to Logan. “My dad and Morgan will know her.”

“When I marry you, we can explain that she is my child. It will work out.”

It was as if West’s words had shifted the mood in the entire van. I imagined end-of-the-world movie scenes where ice slowly crept over all hard surfaces of the vehicle, inching toward Logan before swallowing him whole.

“Married, huh?” He said something else to Roam, but I stopped listening.

He is definitely hurt. That’s it- not getting involved.

The tension only increased with every mile we traveled. When we reached Cleveland and took turns using the department store bathroom and changing our clothes, we all began to feel the fatigue from the last few days set in.

Roam and West held Eva between them in the backseat, whispering lovingly to each other, and I stole a glance at the baby.