Chapter 180

Logan

I couldn’t believe what Ella had just shown me.

An envelope of photos of Miles, not only the leader of my pit crew but also a close friend of many years, sat on my passenger seat beside me. The photos were just about as incriminating as they could get; they depicted Miles going to lengths to clearly sabotage me.

In one photo, he was leaning over the hood of my race car with a pair of scissors in his hand and a guilty look on his face. In another photo, he was creeping across the garage with his hood up, headed straight for my car with a pair of pliers.

And in a third photo, he was seen walking away from my car, tucking a small length of wires into his pocket.

It made no sense. Miles had been a friend of mine for years. I always trusted him, and he never failed me. Not once did my car malfunction while it was under his care. That was part of the reason why I always won.

So why, all of a sudden, did Ella have all of these photos of him? And why was she so insistent on the fact that Miles was a spy of some sort?

I drove in silence, the tension coiling inside of me like a snake waiting to attack. My fingers were wound so tightly around the steering wheel that my knuckles were turning white.

Almost as soon as I saw those photos, I knew I had to talk to Miles. I knew he would be at the race track right now. I had to see him in person, talk to him man-to-man. And I was certain that I knew what his response would be.

“Five years,” my wolf’s voice echoed in my mind. “We’ve known Miles for five years. He would never do something like that to us. Never.”

I nodded to myself, gripping the steering wheel even more tightly. “I know,” I said out loud. “That’s what’s so confusing. And Ella was so adamant, too.”

My wolf’s voice was filled with concern. “Do you think she’s lying? Do you think she’s plotting against you for some reason?”

I shook my head, my thoughts flickering back to the fear in Ella’s eyes when she had shown me those photos. She didn’t seem like herself; she seemed haggard and shifty, so much unlike her usual self. Something was amiss here, I was sure of it.

Not to mention the night I found her after she had torn up her apartment. “I was looking for something,” she had said.

I believed her when she said she was looking for something; that much I could tell was true.

But what was she looking for? And why destroy her apartment in search of whatever it was?

“No,” I finally said, clearing my throat. “Ella wouldn’t plot against me, not unless something happened. Maybe she’s in danger.”

My wolf agreed. “You’re right. There’s something going on with her. The fear is emanating off of her almost as strongly as her sweet scent.”

As I pulled up to the race track, I sat in my car for a moment, the weight of my decisions pressing down on my shoulders. None of this made sense, other than the fact that something was clearly plaguing Ella. She wouldn’t turn on me, not for no reason. Something happened.

I groaned audibly, passing my hand over my face.

How had I let this happen? I had sworn to protect Ella from the dark side, to keep her safe from the dangers that came along with being involved with the mafia. I had worked so hard to make sure that would happen.

And yet, here I was, a failure who had somehow let her get entangled in something that could potentially be fatal for all I knew.

Whatever it was, I needed to get to the bottom of it. And fast.

“You need to tread lightly, Logan,” my wolf advised. “Don’t act too quickly. And whatever you do, don’t make it too obvious. You never know who’s watching… or who’s listening.”

I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what lay ahead. My wolf was right; for all I knew, I was being listened in on right now. Maybe that was why Ella had been acting so strange; maybe she was under surveillance.

Maybe she had been looking for a hidden camera that night.

“You’re right,” I said, choosing to switch to my inner voice to speak to my wolf just to be safe. “Let’s play dumb. At least for now.”

I stepped out of the car, taking care to leave my phone behind just in case it had somehow been tapped, and walked up to the garage. Already, I could hear the sounds of the race track this early in the morning: power tools, rumbling engines, loud music, and voices.

And one of those voices was Miles’.

“Hello?” I called out as I entered. I looked around the bustling garage, past all of the other employees and trainees, and finally spotted Miles. He was over by my car, testing the engine. When he saw me, his brow furrowed, and he got out of the car and walked over to me.

“What are you doing here so early?” he asked. “I thought you weren’t coming until late tonight for practice.”

“I need to talk to you,” I said. “You have a minute?”

Miles nodded without hesitation. One thing was for certain: if he was somehow sabotaging me, he was a damn good actor. I let him over to the alley behind the garage, where I didn’t waste any time. I pulled out the envelope and handed it to Miles.

“I need you to look at these,” I said, my voice firm.

Miles took the envelope and began to flip through the photos. His expression changed from confusion to shock as he saw the images of himself in various compromising situations.

“That the hell is this?” he asked, his voice trembling. “This isn’t me.”

I watched Miles carefully, trying to gauge his reaction. I wanted to believe my friend, but I needed to be cautious just in case.

“You sure it’s not you?” I asked, choosing my words carefully.

Miles’ eyes were filled with desperation as he looked at me. “Logan, you know me. You know I would never do anything to hurt you. Please, you have to believe me.”

For a few moments, I just looked into Miles’ eyes. My wolf probed, lending me some of his strength to enhance my ability to read the man standing in front of me.

And in his gaze, I saw nothing but sincerity.

Finally, I nodded and took a step back, taking the photos from him. I tore them up, resulting in Miles’ eyes widening even further.

“You—” he began, but I cut him off with a wink and a shake of my head, just in case we were being listened to. Miles seemed to take the hint, and nodded.

“Take some time off,” I said, not wanting to incriminate either of us just in case. “Once I get to… the bottom of this, I’ll contact you.”

Miles nodded, relief flooding his expression. “Okay. Time off it is.”

As I walked away from the garage with the torn photos in my hand and a whispered promise to wire Miles enough money to get him through the next few weeks, I had a new goal in mind.

I needed to figure out what was happening with Ella, and quickly; but I had to play dumb until I got to the bottom of it.

But once I did, I knew that I would do whatever it took to keep her safe.