And all he does is nod and smile, as if he was just waiting for me to come to this eventuality on my own, which, knowing William, he probably was.
“They were blood diamonds, Logan, and I had to make sure they were used to heal the damage they caused in the first place.”
He’s silent in the aftermath of my admission, as if mulling it over; “Well, fuck Benson then, huh?”
I smile, hearing the grin in his voice; “Yeah, but he’s not gonna like it.”
Logan laughs grimly; “Nope. Hey, Bryce?”
I arch an eyebrow.
“You did the right thing, you know, and I’m proud of you,” He chuckles; “Even if Benson’s probably going to kill us both for it.”
Fuck this, it’s now or never.
I can feel my pulse spike as I let the words stew in my throat, letting the words form that may actually destroy us both before Benson even has a chance to; “Hey, Logan?”
“Yeah, buddy?”
“There’s something else I need to tell you.”
There’s a breath of silence; “Shoot.”
It’s weird, talking to a wall like this with him behind me, but it’s now or never; “You know I love you like a brother, man. You’re my best friend, and-”
Logan laughs; “Jesus man, we’re not dead yet-”
“This isn’t anything I meant to keep from you, it just happened. and it couldn’t be helped.”
“Bryce, Jesus, spill it alr-”
“It’s Peyton.”
The room goes dead silent. Logan says nothing, and I swallow heavily; “It’s Peyton and me, actually.”
The shrouding silence continues, and I wince. Fuck, this is it; the calm before the Logan storm when he explodes; “Logan, I-”
And then he starts laughing.
Fuckin’ laughing.
“Look, I-”
He snorts, choking on the laughter; “Jesus that took you long enough.”
I frown; “Huh?” A million thoughts blow through my mind at once, but there’s only one thing I can think to say; “You knew?”
“Bryce, for fuck’s sake, yes I knew. Of course I knew.”
I’m actually at a loss for words; “But-”
“But I didn’t kill you?”
I’d laugh, if I wasn’t still totally fucking confused about what was going on; “In a nutshell, yeah, pretty much.”
I can hear him sigh; “My sister means the world to me, man.”
I shake my head; “Logan, I know, and I’m so-”
“Just shut up for a second. Look, you’re the strongest, most loyal, and most dedicated guy I know. You’ve seen and been able to walk away from shit that would’ve cut most guys off at the knees, but you’re still standing. A guy like you with a girl like Peyton? Are you kidding me? She’d be lucky to have you.”
There’s a moment of silence where I try and process all of this; “Hold up, so you’re not mad?”
“Am I mad? Fuck yeah I’m mad.” He sighs; “But I’m only mad because you weren’t man enough to make it work, and you let her get away.”
“It’s more complicated than-”
“No, it’s not,” He says sharply; “It never is. You still care about her?”
I clench my hands into fists, and the fact that I’m stuck in here away from her comes rushing to the surface. And suddenly, I’m just saying it; “I love her, Logan; more than anything in this world.” And as soon as I say it, I realize how true it is. I don’t just love Peyton Rivers, she’s everything; she’s the end game for me.
I can hear him chuckle behind me; “Good fucking answer.” He clears his throat; “Look, I don’t have to come up with some hardcore, menacing shit to scare you with about what happens if you hurt her, do I?”
I laugh; “Believe me, I’ve already run through anything you could possibly come up with in my own head. Consider the job already done.”
I can hear him snort; “Deal. Now let’s figure out how the fuck we’re going to get out of here and go find my sister.”
28
Bryce
“Take your time; you don’t want to go all-in right away.”
I groan as the big man’s fist slams into my gut, doubling me over as far as I can go with my wrists chained to the wall behind me. Benson chuckles and shakes his head as Anderson’s fist connects with me again, making me see black spots with the air already gone from my lungs.
“Easy, Anderson, easy. The idea is to hurt him, not knock him unconscious on the third hit.”
Anderson’s face is still a mess - and I mean a fucking mess - from that night at the cafe, and it’s really the only consolation I’m taking from any of this right now. Black bruising still rings his eyes, and a stiff white plaster bandage covers his nose, making him appear like some sort of cartoon character. He makes a face at Benson before turning back and leering in close; “Aww, am I going too hard, you little pussy?”