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“It started off simple enough. Fi would see him somewhere but she didn’t think anything of it. Then, when we’d been together for six months, I proposed to her. She said yes and I was the happiest I’d ever been. But things started escalating quickly. Things were left at the house for her, and we got notes in the mail that scared her so bad that she’d just sit in a ball on the floor and shake.”

“Oh, Logan, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault. And back then, I didn’t realize how serious it was. To me, they just seemed like a guy trying to get back with his ex but every time we got something from him, it scared the hell out of her. She never told me about her past, either. It wasn’t something that she ever wanted to talk about and I didn’t push her. Blaze told me everything, after the fact. One night, about a month after we got engaged, she called me. I picked up the phone but it was just static so I hung up and called her again.”

My stomach knots up, and my chest aches because I know this story isn’t going to end well, but all this time, I assumed that she had died in a car accident or was hit by a drunk driver. I never thought it could be something like this.

“Instead of Fi answering, it was Ian. He told me that he had my girl and that if I came to face him like a man, he would let her go. I was at the shop and Blaze insisted on coming with me with a couple other guys, including Chance. When we got to the field where he told us to meet them, he had her on her knees in front of his car with a gun to her head.”

His breath hitches, and I climb on his lap, straddling his legs as I press my lips to his cheek in an effort to be there for him but I have no idea if I’m doing any good. His hands slip up my sides, and he holds me as his eyes drift closed for a moment.

“I begged him to let her go, to take me instead, but he just laughed. He said if he couldn’t have her, then I couldn’t either and he…” He chokes on his words, and tears slip down my cheeks as I imagine what he’s going to say next. His hold on me tightens, and he takes a deep breath.

“He shot her right there in front of me. I’ll never fucking get that picture out of my head. I ran to her but she was already gone,” he says, his voice cracking, and I hold him tighter, sobbing into his shoulder and wishing there was more I could do for him.

“I love you,” I whisper, because honestly, I can’t think of anything else, and he holds me closer. “I’m so sorry, Logan.”

I can’t even imagine the hell that my situation has put him through, and it all makes sense now. Every single look and every single reaction makes perfect sense, and I regret that I put him through this again.

“Wait. There’s more I have to tell you, and if I don’t say it now, I don’t know that I ever will,” he says, pulling his head back to look at me as he blinks away the tears that were filling his eyes. I run my hand down his cheek, and he shudders.

“The guys, they grabbed Ian and threw him in the back of someone’s truck while Blaze called his buddy at the police station, who happened to be Fuzz. Fuzz came out with a couple detectives, and as they took Fi away, he promised me that I would get my retribution.”

My stomach sinks, and I wonder just what he did to this man.

“God, Kitten, please don’t leave me for what I’m about to tell you. I fucking love you, and I can’t lose you.”

“Go on,” I whisper, wondering if I could leave him even if I wanted to.

“They kept him in the county jail until his arraignment, and Fuzz got Ian in a room by himself and let me in the back. I spent a couple of hours in there, doling out what I thought was justice. I messed up his knee so bad that he had a permanent limp and he couldn’t hear out of his right ear. I lost count of the number of cuts I made on his body but to this day, I still remember his screams as I poured my pain into him.”

I’m frozen in his lap, trying to process what he just said and think of something to say in response. I’m bothered by just how much I don’t care. I should, right?

“Please say something, Ali,” he says, that fear in his voice again.

I meet his eyes and open my mouth but nothing comes out. I close it again and shake my head. “I know I should probably be repulsed by the things you’ve done and I’m trying to find even a shred of disgust, but I can’t. I know you, Logan. I know the man you are in here,” I say, placing my hand on his chest, over his heart. “I know that anything you did was for the ones that you love so how can I fault you for your total devotion to those lucky enough to find themselves in your heart?”

He glances up at me and swallows. “You don’t think I’m a monster?”

“I think under the right circumstances, anyone can temporarily become a monster but you have a good heart. I think the fact that you still feel this guilt over what you did means that you aren’t the monster you seem to think you are.”

“I would do it again. If I had to go back, I would do it all over again and probably finish the job this time.”

My fingers dig into his skin, and he hisses. “Are you trying to run me off?”

“No. I just need you to understand who I am.”

“Who you are is the man who threw himself into a situation that caused him immense pain to keep me safe. Who you are is a man who every day helps women escape a hell I can only imagine. Who you are is the man who I know would lay down his life to protect me, the man that I trust completely with every part of me. That’s who you are, Logan, and I love every piece of you. Even the ones you think are broken or damaged.”

“Have I mentioned that I fucking love the shit out of you, Kitten? You are everything that I ever wanted and all the things I didn’t even realize that I needed.”

I nod, leaning down and pressing my lips to his softly before pulling back just enough to let them brush against his as I speak. “I love you, too, Logan. Until the day I take my last breath.”

He hooks his hand around the back of my neck and pulls me onto his lips. I pull away when he wiggles underneath me, and when I look down, he’s holding out the engagement ring.

“I say it’s about time you put this on,” he says, and I grin as I hold my hand out. He slips the gorgeous antique ring on my finger before pulling it up and kissing it.

“It’s gorgeous,” I whisper, admiring it.