A Debt To Pay

16

LOGANS POV:

What the fuck had I done?

I replayed the moment over and over again in my head. She blurted out yet another comment that irritated the hell out of me and I snapped.

I wasn't used to being disrespected – not by anyone. Grown men quaked when they went head-to-head with me. Ruthless leader and vicious criminals had literally pissed themselves from my presence alone. I didn't tolerate shit and everyone knew that.

Everyone except this fucking woman.

She said exactly what she thought, consequences be dammed and if it was anyone else, I'd have put a bullet through their head after the first eye roll. I should've done it with her. It would've saved me a hell of a lot of trouble but I didn't.

Why didn't I?

Why couldn't I?

I'd done everything but. I'd threatened her, I'd shown her exactly how I treat people who dare to cross me. I'd introduced her to one of the slimeballs I had to do business with and tried to strip her of her dignity. She seen me kill someone, watched me torture him just because I could. And yet still, she showed absolutely no fear when I threatened her life.

In fact, she looked at me like I was some sappy puppy.

She drove me mad. And yet, despite every threat, I couldn't follow through. I couldn't bring myself to hurt her – fuck knows why.

Not until yesterday morning.

Her question shouldn't have surprised me. She had a million of them. She was determined to know everything about me and no matter how much I tried to give nothing away, I found myself revealing that small part of my history. I was a fucking idiot.

I pride myself on not caring. After years in the business, if I'd learnt one thing, it was that caring about anything or anyone made you weak. It made you vulnerable. And that's what made me a good leader. I had nothing for anyone to use against me. No weaknesses. If my men were killed, I simply replaced them. If I lost money, I simply made more. If someone betrayed me, I simply killed them.

But the story of my mother. The emotions I carried from that day weren't easily shaken. I had locked them away and focused on building my empire. But one simple question from the pesky girl I couldn't bring myself to kill and it all came flooding back.

The second the words left her mouth; I saw her shoulders tense and her jaw clamp shut. She realised her mistake instantly. Her snarky little comment was a step too far and she knew it. But the damage was already done.

I wanted so badly to hurt her for the way her words made me feel. It'd been a long time since I had felt anything. The stupid organ in my chest that was meant only to pump blood around my body and keep me alive suddenly felt like it was splintering and I hated it.

Yelling at her didn't diffuse my anger and before I even knew what I was doing, I was dragging her from the room, my mind foggy with memories of my mother. I briefly considered taking Mia to my other office, the one she had seen me kill someone in only days ago. But the thought of her blood dripping onto the floor of my home only made the pain worse.

What the fuck was wrong with me.

But I knew what was wrong. It was impossible to deny that the woman who I had taken from her home was exquisite. She was small, at least a foot smaller than me at 5'4. Yet her legs were long, her thighs thick and her hips wide. Her waist was small and her breasts weren't particularly large either but since the moment I had laid eyes on her, I'd wanted my hands on her body.