Remorseless (Fractured Farrells: A Damaged Billionaire Series Book 3) Read online

  Julie watched him walk away as she jumped up to follow. She would’ve preferred twenty minutes, but she could be ready to go in ten. Once back in her room, she swept her makeup back into her bag and made sure she had all the toiletries packed away. Then she tucked away the previous day’s clothes and did a quick search of the room to make sure she wasn’t leaving anything important behind. Once she was clear, she opened her door and gasped in shock when she saw Logan there. “I thought you were going to be in the lobby,” she said breathlessly.

  “I was, but I remembered you pack more luggage than the Queen of Sheba and figured I could give you a hand.”

  “Thoughtful.” She maneuvered out of the way so he could take the suitcase from her as she went back to get the other two. She had luggage that had four wheels on each bag, so they were easy to get from place to place. The hard part was fitting out the door with the two oversized bags, but she turned sideways and managed to push one out in front of her and drag the other behind her. “So, since you’re feeling thoughtful, you care to share where we’re going today? I won’t tell anyone, promise.”

  “You haven’t been reporting my every move to Robert?”

  “Of course not. I’ve been reporting them to Nathan.”

  He glared at her, obviously not amused.

  “Hey, Nathan is the one I worked with the most and he responds to my texts the fastest. But if you want me to keep things from your brothers, all you have to do is say. I’ve just been telling them where we are and that everything is okay. But it’s not a requirement. I still will have to tell them that everything is okay, but I’ll leave out any extra information.”

  Logan stopped in his tracks and looked over at her. “You’ve been spying on me for my family and you expect me to be okay with this?”

  “Umm... Did you think I wasn’t telling your brothers what was happening?” Sure, she could see how he might think it was a betrayal, but she’d made her intentions rather clear. So by virtue of that, he should assume that there would be communication to his family.

  “Well, now I’m asking you to stop.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll stop. Now where are we going?”

  “We’re going to Colorado.” He continued down the hall and through the lobby.

  Julie tried to guess what Logan would want in Colorado. “In the mood for some skiing? I know of some great resorts out that way. If you want, I can make a few calls and get you the best place in Denver.”

  “I don’t need you to get me anything.”

  “I can get a list of the best restaurants. Make sure we don’t eat anywhere with less than five stars.”

  They got out of the sliding doors and Logan stopped and turned to look at her. “I can think of something you can do.”

  “Anything.”

  “Stop talking. Let’s just get the hell out of here.”

  Julie bit the inside of her lip as she internally repeated the sum of money she was being paid to look after Logan. If he wanted to go off on his own, fine.

  But at least he told her their destination. Even shitty progress was still considered progress.

  “Why do you keep looking at that thing?” snapped Logan three hours into their drive.

  Julie looked up from her phone. “Umm...you told me not to talk.”

  “So? What’s so fascinating about the damn phone?”

  “Well, my options to entertain myself are to stare in silence at the Mojave Desert or to play with my phone. Is my looking at the screen bothering you?” she asked skeptically.

  His knuckles turned white as he gripped the wheel tighter. “It’s not bothering me,” he bit out, even though he knew it didn’t sound convincing. It did bother him. He just didn’t know why. He woke up this morning convinced today would be different. He wouldn’t let Julie distract him and he’d stay focused on getting to Colorado.

  But even though she hadn’t said a word since they’d gotten in the car, he kept glancing over to her. Maybe if they were in a busy city he would’ve had to pay more attention to the road, but by now they were well into Arizona and there were only sparse trucks and cars on the road. Since Julie had pointed out that he didn’t have a valid driver’s license anymore, he made sure to stick to the speed limit and laid low in the slow lane.

  Which left him too much time to sneak glances at Julie.

  “Remember that you promised not to inform on me to Nathan,” he said, trying to think of a good reason why her phone use bothered him so much.

  “Oh yeah, I’m messaging him every time we go by an exit so he knows exactly where we are,” she said sarcastically.

  “Fine then. If you aren’t spying on me, what is so interesting?”

  “Well, right now I’m looking at the map on my phone and trying to figure out why we’re going through Albuquerque to get to Denver and not through Vegas. This is longer by about two hours.”

  “Maybe I’m not a fan of Vegas.”

  “Are you a fan of two hours? Because that seems like a long time, according to my already cramping legs.”

  “There are people who might recognize me in Vegas. I’m trying to keep a low profile.”

  “An actual answer out of you! I’m impressed. Between this and you telling me where we’re going, I think you’re actually starting to like me.”

  “I don’t like you,” he said a bit too quickly.

  “Relax, Logan. I’m just giving you shit.” She looked back out over the endless desert. “Can we stop soon? I need a bathroom and a caffeine fix.”

  He looked down at the gauges and saw that they’d need gas soon anyways. “I’ll keep an eye out.”

  About twenty minutes later, they finally came to an exit that had a truck stop with a store and restrooms. He pulled the SUV to a pump and put it in park. “Pick out a good amount of snacks, too. We have a lot of ground to cover and I don’t want to stop for big meals.”

  “The entire day stuck in the car. Fantastic.” She got out of the car and swiped her credit card at the pump. Once it was approved, he watched her go into the station and then followed her with his eyes until she was past the wall of windows in the front of the store.

  He could leave her. Just drive off and not look back. She wouldn’t be able to find him. Even if she knew the general location he was going, Denver was a big place. It would be so easy to just drive. He had no money, but he could get around that. Once he found Alecia, she’d help him out for a while. From there, he’d figure it out. He always did.

  Just as he was about to jump in the driver’s seat and get the hell out of there, he saw the black rectangular phone in the passenger’s seat.

  If he drove off now, Julie wouldn’t have the cell phone she was so attached to. Damn it. Logan punched the door as he turned around and continued to fill the tank. He was going to regret this later. He could already tell.

  The large tank seemed to take forever to fill up and Julie still wasn’t back. She didn’t seem like the type to spend hours in the bathroom fixing makeup. Maybe she was grabbing all the food in the store?

  He put the nozzle back, screwed on the cap to the tank and headed into the gas station. He did a quick walk around the perimeter but didn’t see his sexy girl next door anywhere. Fuck, did she fall in the toilet or something?

  Well, he needed to use the restroom too. If she wasn’t out after that, he was going to give her serious shit.

  Except, when he made it to the back of the gas station, the women’s bathroom door was hanging wide open, with no sign of Julie.

  She wasn’t in the gas station at all.

  Julie forced herself to walk into the gas station and not look back at Logan. Sure, there was a chance that he could drive off and abandon her, but they’d made so much progress. Did she really need to stand and stare at him just to make sure he stayed put?

  But her phone was in the car, so at least if he did try to go anywhere, she could have the phone company track him down. Did Logan know that was possible? She didn’t really know what forms of entertainment
were available to prisoners. Maybe he would know how dangerous it was to keep the phone and toss it?

  Once she was inside, she risked a quick glance and he was still there, watching her. She took a breath and walked out of his line of vision. After her quickest bathroom break ever, she ran back to the windows and let out a sigh of relief when she confirmed that Logan was still there and pumping gas.

  Whew. Okay. Now she could focus on picking out snacks. It was a rental car and it got hot in the sun, so she sadly had to cross anything chocolate off her shopping list. She didn’t want to have to clean the melted chocolate off the car later. That, and if chocolate melted, some would stick to the wrapper and wasted chocolate was just too sad to contemplate.

  So she stuck with neater snacks: jerky, nuts, and a bag of chips. She was about to go to the next aisle when she realized someone else was there. She started to walk by the man when she noticed the leather jacket in his arms. Suddenly it clicked into place and she realized she knew the guy. He’d been eating breakfast at the hotel. Well, drinking coffee. The big guy with thinning hair. Julie narrowed her eyes and instead of passing the man, she stared him down. “You look familiar,” she said.

  He spared a glance in her direction. “That’s strange.”

  He started to walk away, but Julie wouldn’t let him go that easy. “No. I have a really good memory for faces. I saw you at the hotel this morning. So are you on a trip? Heading on vacation? Or is this a work thing?”

  He stopped and turned on her. “That’s none of your business.”

  “Well, if someone is following me or the guy I’m with, it’s kind of my business.” As in it was literally her job to make sure no one knew where he was.

  “Fuck, lady. It’s just a coincidence.”

  Julie didn’t believe in coincidence. Not when she was traveling with a Farrell and every news outlet in the country would kill for the story on what he was doing now that he was free. “Don’t bullshit me, buddy. I know why you’re here and if you think for one second that—”

  “Maybe we should talk about this somewhere more private.”

  Maybe he’d cut the lies once they got outside. It would be hard to get a real go-getter of a reporter off Logan’s back, but she had a good amount of leeway in the budget. If he was okay with wire transfers, maybe she could bribe him to go away. Well, she could bribe him for the moment and then maybe call the cops on the license plate to really throw him off the trail. That would be enough to get them some distance at least.

  “So do you mind if I ask how you found us? I’m rather impressed and would like to avoid encounters like this in the future.”

  “Just walk, lady.” He kicked the back door open with his foot and pushed her out.

  She thought it was impossible, but there was someone who talked to her in a more condescending way than Logan. She turned and faced him. “Listen. I’m really impressed that you made it this far, but I can’t let you get any closer to Logan. If you allow me to arrange a few things, I’m sure we can—” She shut up abruptly when she saw the shiny metal butt of a gun poking out from his jacket. Julie backed away slowly. This reporter was going way too far. “I just have to...”

  He dropped the jacket to the ground and pressed the gun into her stomach.

  Julie’s breath caught in her throat. “I’m really sorry for what I said, but I don’t think any story is worth this...” She’d been so stupid to come out here. But it was broad daylight and she’d somehow assumed that there would be people or truckers or something on this side of the gas station. But the dumpsters kept them hidden from view from anyone. She was going to die next to a dumpster. What kind of bad luck was it to die next to a dumpster? Though dying in your twenties was bad luck no matter what... She snapped herself out of the stream of consciousness and focused on self-preservation. “I can pay you.”

  That seemed to give the guy pause. “I’m already getting paid.”

  “I can pay you more. I work with billionaires and I have an open credit line. Just name your price.” And the second he was gone, she was calling the cops. The second she got Logan to a safe spot and then she would call the police; otherwise, the media would really be here. Then she’d be almost dead and she would’ve failed at her job. Alive. She needed to focus on the alive part. “Just name your price and I’ll make sure—”

  “There is no price. Sorry, but you weren’t supposed to see me.”

  Before she could think of any other way to bargain with him, he tucked the gun into his back waistband.

  Why would he apologize if he was just going to put—

  His hands went to her throat and the pressure was immediate and intense. Strange. She’d assumed that the lack of air part of being strangled would be the worst part, but the intense pain was overpowering. She clawed frantically at his hands and face but nothing seemed to sway him.

  The lack of air started to catch up with her; her arms seemed to get heavier and harder to manage. But if she couldn’t get him off her...

  Suddenly a dark flash slammed into the man and her throat was released as Logan and the guy fell to the pavement. Julie rested against the wall as her knees failed her and she slid down. She needed to get up and help him, but she couldn’t seem to get her legs working.

  But she shouldn’t have worried. Logan had the upper hand and was punching the guy over and over again. Julie tried to tell him to stop, but nothing came out of her sore throat except for a pained croak.

  He seemed to hear her and looked over. There was a crazy, almost feral look in his eyes, and Julie backed up farther against the wall. “Shit,” he muttered. Then he rummaged through the guy’s pockets and grabbed a phone, wallet, and keys. “Can you stand?” he asked.

  Once again Julie made the mistake of trying to talk and she winced through the pain. Instead, she nodded as she tried to push herself up. Apparently she lied, because her shaky knees could barely function, but Logan set an arm behind her back and led her around the gas station. Julie glanced behind them, but the guy was still on the ground. “Police,” she croaked out in a barely audible voice, but Logan kept pulling her along.

  “We need to get out of here.”

  “But—”

  “For the love of God, stop talking, Julie.” He half led, half dragged her to the rental and pushed her into the passenger’s seat before he got behind the wheel and sped off. Luckily there wasn’t anyone around or Julie would be terrified he was about to run someone over. She brought her hand up to her sore throat. She wanted to pull down the mirror to see whether it was all black and blue, but from the reckless way he was driving, she didn’t want to impair his vision in any small way.

  Instead, she leaned back and closed her eyes, trying not to focus on the speedometer as Logan accelerated onto the freeway and swung into the fast lane. She just survived one attempt on her life. She really didn’t want to get into a car crash now. “Careful,” she breathed as she reached over to rest a hand on Logan’s thigh to make sure he heard her.

  He jerked at the touch and he looked over his shoulder before he swung the car into the slow lane and then onto the shoulder.

  Julie’s heart leapt into her throat at the sudden maneuver and she clenched her fingers, only belatedly realizing that she was squeezing his thigh. Before she could remove her hand, he’d brought the car to a stop and jumped out. Had he even looked to make sure some other car wasn’t going to run into him?

  But then he was on her side and opening her door. She couldn’t even try to ask him what he was thinking about doing before he set his hands on her legs and turned her to face him. “How are you feeling? Do you need to go to a hospital?” Without waiting for her response, he set his hands on her neck and gently tilted her head back to look at her neck.

  “I think I’m okay...” she whispered. He released her and she looked at him. From the height of the seat, she was now eye level with him, and her knees were parted far enough that he stood right in the middle. She was suddenly intensely aware of how intimate this pos
ition was, and the pain in her neck was now the last thing on her mind.

  “I didn’t see you when I went back into the gas station,” he said.

  “I recognized the man who...I recognized him from the hotel this morning. He must’ve followed us and I assumed he was a reporter or paparazzi.” Her throat was still sore, but if she whispered, she was able to get more words out without intense pain.

  “I doubt that.”

  “So do I at this point.”

  “I’m sorry you got hurt.”

  “Why didn’t we call the police? That man should be in jail right now.”

  Logan shook his head. “He wasn’t the one after me. He was just a hired hand. If the cops come in, then everyone will know where I am and I’ll be in even more trouble.”

  So he wasn’t just going to Colorado for fun. He was running from something. Maybe it was time for her to ask for a raise. “Do you still have his phone?”

  Logan fished it out of his back pocket and handed it to her. The small flip phone was outdated and cheap, which meant it probably didn’t have a lot of personal information on it. There were no text messages received or sent, but there was one number in the call log. Julie took her own phone out and snapped a picture of the call log before she handed the phone back to Logan. “If you don’t want him to find us, you should leave the phone here.”

  Logan took the phone. “They can track us even if we don’t use it?”

  “I don’t know. Better safe than sorry.”

  Logan tossed the phone and Julie inwardly shuddered. This was a stupid time to think about littering, but damn she hated leaving waste in such a pretty natural environment; it seemed like a shame. Then Logan ran a hand over her arm and the surprise touch pulled her from her thoughts.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Julie looked to where his hand stroked her bare arm and then back to his face. The bright sun was behind him, putting most of those sharp features in shadows so even his ice-blue eyes seemed darker.

  She’d always thought Logan was attractive, but seeing him now, with all his attention, and even his hands, on her, an unfamiliar bolt of longing went through her. She’d almost died. She’d almost died and Logan had saved her, and the adrenaline was wearing off but it was still there, and damn, she wanted to pull him closer and kiss him until her throat stopped hurting and she forgot what had almost happened.