The first thing I see is Logan, his battered-looking face intently and wildly looking at me from across the room from the chair he’s bound to. My arms feel sore, though I quickly realize I’m not tied up like he is. Like that means anything with Javier and two large men with guns in the room with us.
“Get the fuck away from her.” He snarls, his biceps bulging as he grits his teeth and strains against his bonds.
“Oh, from her?” Javier grins and runs the back of his hand sickeningly across my cheek. “I’m not so sure, Logan! I’m just not so sure!” He nods his head as if he’s thinking some sort of deep thought, and he turns on his heel and walks slowly towards Logan. “Orders, Marine. Orders. You see there’s a chain of command for a reason, cabrón, but I guess you missed that day back in Marine school.” He reaches out and pats Logan on the cheek, who snarls and whips his head away as Javier chuckles. “So, I’m thinking, maybe you need to learn a solid lesson about doing what you’re fucking told to do, Marine. A big lesson.” He turns and winks at me, giving me an evil smile that makes my skin crawl.
Logan strains violently at his ropes. “You leave her the fuck alone!” He snarls at Javier. “You wanna hurt someone? Hurt me, fucker.”
Javier about doubles over laughing. “Oh, please. Come on, Logan! What do you think I’m gonna do, hit you?” He turns to his goons and shakes his head while he shrugs dramatically. “Nah, no way Papi. You’re the type of fucked-up weirdo that enjoys that shit too much.”
“So what do you want.”
“What do I want, Logan?” Javier tsks and shakes his head. “We had a deal, remember? I just want you to keep up your end of it.”
“Blackmail isn’t a deal.”
Javier shrugs. “Well, it’s not one you want, but it’s still a deal.” He turns to look at me again. “I bet she still doesn’t know, does she? About Africa?” I stare at him defiantly, but I can see that wicked grin on his face curling into something even more sinister. “No? Oohhh, then I bet she also doesn’t know about Afghanistan either, does she.” He smirks at me. “I bet you didn’t know Captain save-the-world over here is wanted by the U.S. Government for desertion of duties and colluding with the enemy, did you?”
A chill runs up my spine, and even though I try and stop them, my eyes instantly flick to Logan. Javier catches the move and chuckles. “Uh-oh! I think I just blew up your spot here, marica. You’ve got some explaining to do now!”
“Quinn-”
Logan’s chest is rising and falling heavily with his breaths, and he slowly shakes his head at me. “It’s not-”
“Oh, come on, Logan!” Javier hoots. “You gonna be that clichéd about it? ‘Oh, it’s not what you think, baby’,” he pantomimes to me before rolling his eyes. “Yeah, chica, it’s everything you think it looks like. Soldier boy over here skipped out of the Marines in Afghanistan. Fucked right off in the middle of battle like some kinda chicken-shit and just ditched it like a bad date.”
Logan’s eyes are locked on mine, and he’s slowly shaking his head as his face grows paler and tenser. He looks more hurt and more terrified in that moment than anything I’ve ever seen from him before. Even more-so than anything I’ve ever seen from him after a fight. My heart breaks a little bit knowing I can’t just walk over there and hold him and tell him it’s okay right now.
“I met up with him and his little pals working for Blackriver in Africa,” He winks at me. “Mercenary outfit, in case you didn’t kn-”
“Don’t listen to him, Quinn.” Logan says through gritted teeth, his eyes never leaving my face. “Don’t listen to a word he-”
I scream as Javier’s fist comes comes crashing across Logan’s mouth, knocking his head sideways with a thud. Javier hoots and shakes his hand. “Dios mio, Papi! You got a jaw like a fuckin brick wall!” His goons cackle at his joke as Logan turns and spits blood on the floor.
“Logan!” I start to jump up from my chair when one of the big guys shoves me back down. Javier hoots out another laugh and turns back to Logan. “You know, I take it back. I might just learn to enjoy smackin you around with her here watching it.”
He cracks his fist across Logan’s face again, and the sound of his grunt tears at me like someone ripping my heart out.
“So how about it, cabrón. You gonna go fight who I tell you to fight next week? We learn our lesson yet?”
Logan grimaces and shakes his head before he looks up, blood trickling from his lip as he grins like a crazy person at Javier. “You know what? I’m actually having a hard time with the first part of the assignment if you wouldn’t mind going back over it.”