Total Knock Out / Book Two

Chapter Four: Promises To Be Kept

Logan watched as her daughter snuggled further into Stanford's chest and willed her heart to slow down, to find a different rhythm to follow other than the echoes of a long forgotten bass drum kicking inside of her chest. Her face still burned, a blush high on her cheekbones, and she knew that she owed Jaxon an apology for kicking him to the ground. For thinking that he would have hurt Zoey and Rori.

Charlie sat on the couch beside her with Zoey in her arms and everyone else followed, scattered around the living room and waiting for Stanford to speak. He probably thought she was crazy and was going to politely decline helping them, and Logan prepared herself for the worst when he opened his mouth.

"I guess what I need to know is if Rori still sleeps in the same room as you, or does she sleep by herself? Because I have two spare rooms but if she sleeps with you then we'll have to move some things around so the two of you can take the master bedroom."

Logan just stared at him, letting out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding, before promptly bursting into tears. The crying wasn't anything new, it happened all the time over anything and everything; even silly things like a soup commercial or accidentally stepping on a snail that was trying it's hardest to make it down the sidewalk. She was thoroughly convinced that the hormones her doctor promised would fade after having Rori were still clinging to her bones, ruining her life one ugly cry at a time.

The crying did, however, put an anxious look on Stanford's face like he didn't know what to do now that the flood gates had opened. Logan really didn't blame him. Most of the time she didn't know what to do when she started crying either. The only upside to his completely miffed expression was that it sent her into a fit of laughter, wet gurgling sounds leaving her throat while Charlie snorted into her hand and patted Logan on her leg like they were old friends reliving a distant memory of their misunderstood youth.

Logan wiped the tears off her cheeks and took a few deep breaths, deciding that maybe she should get herself under some semblance of control before Stanford changed his mind about helping them because he thought she was completely crazy. She opened her mouth to speak but let out a hiccup instead, the red already on her cheeks burning hotter when Lylah began snickering with Charlie. She took a few more deep breaths and tried again.

"Rori sleeps by herself now, but I like to be close to her. The apartment we're in now is set up to where my room is right beside hers, and the landlord was gracious enough to even tear down a section of the wall that connected the rooms and put up a door when I told him why I was so protective over my daughter. She likes the fact that she can just slip out of bed and reach mine on the other side of the door in just a few steps when she has nightmares."

She watched as her daughter snuggled even further into Stanford's chest, like she was trying to crawl into his skin while she was asleep. It was moments like this when she felt guilty about not giving Rori a father figure to be close to, her heart breaking because it wasn't supposed to have ever ended up like this. She knew deep down that it really didn't matter, her father loved Rori and constantly spoiled her and when her brother got to come home from his deployment; he did the same exact thing. Rori had men in her life that loved her and showed her how a man was really supposed to treat a woman, but none of them looked at her with such wonder and awe and helplessness like Stanford was doing right now. Like he was carving out a part of his heart just for Rori and getting ready to defend it with every ounce of strength in his body.

"I think we can work something out," Stanford promised, finally looking away from the child in his arms to Elijah and grinning when his friend nodded his head at him. Maddox and Damion both sighed and nodded when he look at them, but Logan couldn't even bring herself to care that they weren't letting her in on what they were planning. Stanford was willing to protect her daughter and she had a feeling that he didn't break the promises that he made.

She let out a sigh of relief and looked over to where Jaxon and Landon were sitting side by side, their heads bent together and whispering among themselves. She supposed her apology could wait until later, but she really did want him to know that she didn't used to be the kind of woman to attack first and ask questions later. He would probably understand, given his career path. Landon had told her a few days ago that they had dealt with more cases like hers than they ever wanted to.

"We need to talk about what Logan is getting herself into," Darcy warned, rubbing her hand up and down Parker's back. "You can't just spring it on her like you did to Lylah and I. We didn't have a child to worry about so we were fine with it, but you need to take Rori into consideration before demanding that she just follow you around everywhere. Especially with you training for your fight."

Logan watched as Maddox leaned down and kissed his wife on top of her head before looking over at Stanford, a little confused as to what she was talking about. He rolled his eyes but grinned at Darcy before shifting Rori to the side so he hand one arm free. He ran his hand through his blonde hair and scratched his jaw, muscles flowing in such an easy manner that Logan had to pinch her thigh and count to three before meeting his gaze.

"You'll have to come with me everywhere. If I go to the rec center, you and Rori go to the rec center. I go to the grocery store, the two of you go to the grocery store. The only time you'll have away from me is here at the house when we're in separate rooms, or when I go for a run and then one of the other guys will be here to hold the fort down. Rori will have to be pulled from preschool if she's in it, and you'll have to take a leave of absence from your job. I can't tell you how long this will take. I won't negotiate with you. The second you showed up here with Landon, you put your trust in me keeping the two of you safe."

Logan's heart skipped a beat at the thought of completely trusting a man, her trauma coloring her perceptions and she knew it. But she also knew that she couldn't keep her daughter safe all by herself and that she desperately needed help to make sure they both stayed alive at the end of this. She took a deep breath to gather her courage and nodded her head.

"I'm a preschool teacher, and Rori was in my class anyway so that won't be a problem. My boss knows what's going on and told me to take as much time as I need to get things sorted out. But I can't promise that I won't fight with you when it comes to Rori. I've been taking care of her all by myself for the last four years and it's going to be hard to do everything you say without batting an eyelash," Logan warned, feeling slightly relieved when Stanford just nodded at her. She had been prepared to pull the 'Mother Knows Best' card but it just looked like he was accepting the fact that she wasn't going to sit back and let him take complete control of her life.

"I'll need two days to get everything ready." Stanford directed his statement to Landon, who just nodded and got to his feet. Logan bit her lip, a nervous habit that slipped out when she couldn't get up and pace the floor, and accepted the fact that in two days her life was going to change. Her daughter's safety would always come first to her, but she couldn't help but feeling like she had just agreed to jump out of an airplane without a parachute.