‘No, not right now,’ Logan replied, his voice firm and even. ‘Maybe in a bit.’
‘Hey, no worries,’ the bartender said, smiling and walking over toward a large stack of empty glasses that needed putting into the large glass cleaner. ‘Just give me a shout when you’re ready, handsome.’
Logan nodded.
It was nice to be in a bar with friendly bar staff, even if he did only have eyes for Stella. But Logan wasn’t going to even contemplate calling Stella to make things until Cole had arrived. The fact that an hour had passed since Logan messaged Cole wasn’t good.
Logan felt on edge.
Each time theSinkersdoor swung open, Logan reflexively went into business mode. Of course, Logan figured that this was some kind of power play from Cole. By keeping Logan waiting, Cole was probably trying to show just how in control of the situation he was.
Asshole.
The longer he keeps me waiting, the worse it will be.
Cole is about to learn a very harsh lesson…
Logan took a quick glance at his cellphone. In part, in case Cole had messaged to cancel the meeting. But Logan couldn’t deny that he was also checking to see whether or not Stella had been in contact.
Sadly, there was nothing from Stella.
Maybe this was a good thing. The last thing Logan needed was to get involved in an emotional message exchange with Stella as he waited for Cole Rodgers to show up.
The longer the wait was, the more stressed Logan became. So much so in fact, that Logan found his mind wandering back to the day that he quit college.
There had been a very clear choice that day.
Logan could have stuck around and fought to keep his place and improve his grades. The alternative was of course to walk away in search of unrestricted fun and adventure on the road.
Logan chose the latter option, and the rest was history. But Logan couldn’t help wondering how his life would have turned out had he stayed on campus, graduated, and stuck it out with Stella too.
Suddenly, the years of living simply for pleasure seemed like wasted years to Logan.
Yes, the parties had been excellent.
And there had been a ton of very cute girls along the way.
But what did Logan have to show for it now barring some increasingly hazy old memories?
My life was becoming a fucking mess.
Stella helped change that.
Why wasn’t I more patient with her back at the apartment?
With still no sign of Cole, Logan was almost at the point of getting up and leaving. Logan could leave Cole to play his silly games and instead get back to Stella… the girl he loved.
However just as this was beginning to feel like the right choice to make, Logan looked up and saw Cole enter the bar. Cole wasn’t alone either.
Following closely behind Cole were two guys, both big and with the kind of slightly mangled faces you’d associate with down and out heavies.
This situation wasn’t going to run as smoothly as Logan had hoped, that much was becoming clearer by the second…
‘I thought I said come alone?’ Logan growled, not impressed by Cole’s henchmen.
‘You don’t call the shots,’ Cole replied. ‘Shouldn’t that be obvious by now?’
Cole sneered and flexed his tattoo-covered arms. He was thirty-eight, a few years younger than Logan. Not only that, but with his grey eyes and greasy black hair he always gave off serious bad-news vibes.
