Chapter 220

Ella

After witnessing Logan’s reckless display at the racetrack, my heart was a tangled mess of worry and frustration. I wanted to pummel him for the danger he had put himself in, but I also wanted to hold him. I wanted to scream and cry at him, but I also wanted to kiss him.

Now, standing there, watching him grip his hair in a mix of despair and defeat, I felt a wave of empathy wash over me. I hated seeing him like this; it was just a testament to the turmoil he was in. I couldn’t stay mad at him.

And then he uttered those words: “I need you, Ella.”

The layer of ice that had formed around my heart melted just a little bit more as he said those words. I let out a soft sigh, my shoulders slumping slightly. Logan was opening his mouth again to say something else, maybe even to explain himself, but I wasn’t hearing it. I had other plans.

“Are you hungry, Logan?” I found myself asking, the words slipping out in a softer tone than I had intended.

He looked up once again, his expression shifting from shock and pain to utter confusion. “Hungry?” he echoed, as if the concept was foreign to him at that moment. “You’re thinking about food at a time like this?”

I nodded, attempting a small smile to ease the tension. “Yeah,” I said. “I just got out of work and haven’t eaten all day. How about you? Have you eaten?”

There was a brief pause where Logan seemed to weigh my question. Finally, a slight nod accompanied his response. “Yeah, I could eat,” he said, the rough edge in his voice softening just a tiny bit.

A memory flickered between us—the roadside diner we had visited on one of our first outings together. It seemed like a lifetime ago, a moment of simplicity amidst the chaos that had since unfolded. But the burgers were good and the view was even better.

“Hey, let’s go to that diner we went to last time,” I suggested, hoping to recapture some semblance of that earlier ease between us. “I could go for something greasy and horribly unhealthy.”

Logan let out a soft chuckle. “Um, alright,” he said, running his hand through his hair. “Let me just put my race car away, and I’ll drive us—”

“Actually,” I interrupted, “I was hoping to drive.”

Logan quirked an eyebrow, clearly not expecting those words to come out of my mouth. “You want to drive?” he asked incredulously.

I shrugged. “I actually sort of enjoyed it last time,” I said softly. “If you wouldn’t mind me driving your beloved red car, though.”

For a moment, Logan blinked at me with a look of shock crossing his features. But then, that shock was replaced with a soft smile, and he nodded. “Sounds good.”

A few minutes later, Logan and I were pulling out of the race track’s parking lot. My hands shook ever so slightly as I gripped the steering wheel, but with Logan’s guidance, I was soon pulling onto the road and following the curves with ease.

We didn’t talk much on the way to the diner, but we didn’t need to. The radio played some soft music that crackled through the speakers, and the hum of the engine filled whatever space was left between us.

My wolf, although furious with me for putting us in danger like I did earlier, was content to be by Logan’s side. I think she knew that something had shifted in those harrowing moments on the track. Something big. Something important.

Soon enough, we were pulling into the diner. After ordering two greasy cheeseburgers, two orders of fries and a couple of glass Coke bottles, we made our way back out to the car.

As we sat there, the warmth of the food was a small comfort. I broke the silence first. “Logan, about today...” I began, my voice hesitant.

He looked over, his eyes meeting mine. “I know, I was out of line at the track. It’s just... everything’s getting to me.”

I reached out, placing a hand over his. “I understand, but you can’t keep doing this to yourself, Logan. It’s not just about you anymore.”

Logan took a deep breath, the weight of his thoughts evident. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, Ella. When all of this started, it was about the money, the inheritance. I thought that was what I wanted, what I needed. Hell, I didn’t even fully intend on following through with my promise to take down the mafia. I just wanted the money, and to hell with everything else.”

His honesty was raw, and it struck a chord within me. “And now?” I asked softly.

“Now, I’m not so sure,” he confessed. “After a while, I started to think that I could use the fortune to make a difference, to fight the mafia from the inside. But the deeper I get, the more I realize... it’s a battle I might not be able to win as easily as I’d hoped.”

His vulnerability in that moment was disarming. I could feel Ema’s presence, her encouragement not to react in anger but to understand the change he was undergoing. “You’ve come a long way, Logan,” I murmured. “I’ll give you credit for that.”

Logan’s gaze softened, a hint of the man I knew and loved peeking through his troubled exterior. “You’re the one who deserves the credit,” he said softly. “If it weren’t for you, I’d still be as greedy and selfish as I ever was.”

He paused then, his blue eyes meeting mine. “Thank you, Ella. Thank you for making me realize that I don’t need this money. And… thank you for everything else, too.”

As he spoke, I felt my cheeks flush what I was certain was a deep shade of red. I averted my gaze back to the Coke bottle that sat between us, the glass causing the distant city lights to glint off of it. And in that moment, I felt my wolf’s presence; she said nothing, but she pushed me to say something, to finally speak what had been on my mind.

“I love you,” I whispered, finally lifting my gaze to meet Logan’s.

Logan’s eyes widened. “You—”

“Do you love me, too?”

Logan stared at me for a few moments, the city lights reflecting in his blue eyes just like the glass bottle. Their blue depths were possibly even deeper than the ocean in those moments, and all I could hear was the pounding of my own heart in my ears.

But then he leaned forward, cupping my face in his hands. Our lips met in a soft and tender kiss, one that lasted for what felt like forever.

When we finally pulled away, there were tears in my eyes.

“I love you too, Ella,” Logan said softly.

I nodded, pulling away just enough to wipe my tears away. “Good,” I whispered, eliciting a slight chuckle from Logan before I turned back to face him with more determination in my gaze now.

“What is it?” he asked, searching my face. “You look like you just had an epiphany.”

I shook my head. “No epiphanies,” I said softly, which was true; I think I had loved him from the beginning, from the moment we had laid eyes on each other. “But Logan, what now? Do you want to run? Let your father give the money to Harry and get the hell out of dodge?”

Logan paused for a moment, his eyes still searching mine. “Is that what you want?” he asked.

I swallowed. My mind seemed to whirl with possibilities, two of which stood out above the rest: roll over, let Harry get the inheritance and give up on the city… Or, stay and raise hell. Not for the money, not for the family name, but for the people in this city—people like Sarah, and Rickie, and the escorts at that party, and the people enjoying their burgers and the view all around us. For them.

“I want to stay,” I said. “I want to stay and do what I said I was gonna do.”

Logan’s face, originally a mask of concern, slowly spread into that same grin that I had fallen in love with from the beginning.

“Together, then,” he said, extending his hand for me to shake. A grin of my own spread across my face as I took it without hesitation.

“Together.”