The Girl Worth Fighting for (The Girl #2) Page 7

  “Rainey?” Jesse’s voice snapped me out of my flashbacks and brought me back into the room. I looked around and noticed that everyone was getting up and headed toward the door. The meeting was over. Lizzy stood across from me, a concerned look in her eyes, and tipped her head. I nodded in reply and pushed my chair back.

  “What’s up, Jesse?”

  “You okay? You flinched. Are you hurt or something?” If that wasn’t a loaded question right in that moment. Nevertheless, I plastered a smile on my face.

  “I haven’t had breakfast yet. My stomach isn’t too happy with me.” It wasn’t a lie. I really hadn’t had breakfast yet. My stomach had been in knots when I got ready this morning and I couldn’t bring myself to eat anything.

  Jesse eyed me, but then gave me a small nod. “If you say so.” Damn. That kid was too observant for his own good. I turned around and followed Lizzy to her office.

  “Rainey. Wait up.” Hearing his voice, I did the opposite. Instead of stopping or slowing down, I quickened my step. But I wasn’t fast enough. I felt a warm hand on my arm, then that hand stopped me and turned me around.

  “You running away from me?” Logan was standing in front of me, close, his eyes boring into mine.

  I narrowed my eyes on him, glad and grateful that I was now getting pissed instead of panicky. “No,” I snapped. “Why would I run away from you? You don’t scare me.”

  “Now, now. Lying doesn’t become you, gorgeous.” That jerkface bastard son of a bitch.

  I tore my arms from his grasp. “You—”

  “Rainey, Logan, I need to have a word with you in my office.” My eyes swung to Taryn. She wasn’t happy, I could tell by the scowl on her face. With one last glare at Logan I turned and followed her, then sat in the chair in front of Taryn’s desk, crossing my arms, while she went around it. I heard someone close the door behind me, then saw Logan sit down in the chair next to me out of the corner of my eye. I kept my eyes straight ahead and my mouth shut as I watched Taryn take a seat with a heavy sigh.

  “Is there something going on here I should know about?”

  I shook my head. “No. Nothing.”

  Logan chuckled but remained silent. Cocky bastard.

  Taryn’s eyes moved from me to Logan then back to me. She shook her head slightly and sat back in her chair on a deep sigh. “All right. I’ll get straight to the point then. It’s none of my business what’s going on between you two. Unless it happens here or affects your work with the kids.” She paused, giving us a chance to defend ourselves, I supposed. But neither Logan nor I said a word. I ground my teeth and swore to god that if Logan got me in trouble, I would rip his head clean off. “What happened yesterday in the common room cannot happen again. This is your place of work. A place where street kids come to feel safe and get some food in their bellies. It’s not a place where you can neck while said kids watch.”

  I closed my eyes. Shit. Someone had told Taryn about Logan kissing me in the common room yesterday. I was mortified. And about to blow my lid. But this wasn’t the place to lose my shit. That I would do behind my closed office door once I apologized to my boss for my unprofessional behavior. So I straightened my shoulders and uncrossed my arms.

  “I’m sorry, Taryn. It will never happen again. I promise.” Taryn nodded at me then looked at Logan. That son of a bitch smirked first at me then at Taryn and said, “My apologies. I promise not to kiss Rainey in the common room again.” I was going to wring his neck.

  “All right. I trust that the two of you will stay professional from now on.”

  “Absolutely,” I confirmed on a quick nod.

  Logan just nodded, that smirk still playing around his lips.

  “Logan, if you’ll excuse us for a moment. I need to speak with Rainey.”

  He got up from his chair and headed for the door. “I’ll wait in your office,” he informed me, probably to let me know I had no chance of running from him again. Oh, he had it coming.

  “You do that,” I replied snippily, which made his smirk reappear in full force.

  “It’ll only take a few minutes,” Taryn assured him. The door clicked behind me, and Taryn’s eyes landed back on me. Only now they weren’t reprimanding anymore. They were amused.

  “He’s one cocky bastard, isn’t he?”

  I had to laugh at those words coming out of her mouth, almost the exact words I had been thinking only minutes before. I sank back into my chair, relieved the scolding part was over and Taryn was her normal laid-back self again.

  “That’s an understatement.”

  “He’s been after you since the first day he walked through the door. Does him kissing you mean you finally gave in?”

  “No. I haven’t. He just surprised me and I couldn’t react fast enough.”

  “Hm. That’s not what I heard, but I won’t push. You sure you’ll be okay working closer together with him?”

  I sighed. No. I wasn’t really okay with it. For more than just the reason of spending time with Logan. But this was my job and I would not let him or my past interfere with what I loved to do. The kids were my priority. My emotions could be dealt with later. “Yeah, I’m sure. It’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

  Taryn nodded once more as her eyes roamed my face. “All right, girl. Keep me in the loop and let me know how it goes.”

  “Will do,” I said as I pushed up out of the chair and left the office.

  My stomach growled, reminding me I really should eat something, so I made a beeline for the break room in the hopes there was a donut left. It was Thursday, which made it Jimmy’s turn to get the donuts, and he always got more than enough. He also always made sure Lizzy and I got our favorite ones. My mouth watered at the thought of a good old sour cream-glazed donut washed down with a strong, black coffee.

  “Hey, doll. How you doin’?” Jimmy asked while I headed straight for the box of donuts sitting on the counter. When I opened it and stared at its contents, appalled, I saw a mug of black coffee appear in my line of sight.

  “Now, don’t blow a gasket, but Logan just took the last one.”

  I turned to him, ignoring the mug he was still holding under my nose. “He took my donut?”

  Jimmy shrugged. “I don’t think he knows they’re your favorite, but yes, he got a coffee and took the last sour cream-glazed one.”

  “Oh, he knows. You can bet your ass he knows.” I turned on my heel, determined to give that donut-stealing jerk a piece of my mind once and for all.

  “Hey. Don’t forget your coffee.” I went back and grabbed my coffee out of Jimmy’s hand, mumbled a “Thank you,” then headed straight for my office with only one thought on my mind: I was done. Stealing my donut today of all days was the last straw. It was only ten in the morning. I was anxious and worried about my mom’s tests, had practically had no sleep at all last night, was told I would have to not only work with Logan, but return to a place I swore I would never set foot in again, and had been reprimanded by my boss for kissing a guy during work in front of the kids. I was done with this day. And done with Logan.

  Ready to blast him, I entered my office and closed the door firmly behind me. What I would say next wasn’t something I wanted anyone else to hear. I opened my mouth to let fly, but closed it when I saw what was sitting on my desk in front of my computer as if waiting for me. A coffee. And my donut. I stared at it, not sure what to think.

  “I heard you say to Jesse you hadn’t eaten anything yet, so I grabbed you a coffee and your favorite donut. You’re lucky too. It was the last one.”

  I was still staring at the donut and the coffee, grinding my teeth. Shit. That was actually nice of him. Not that I would admit it out loud, especially not to him, but I could admit it to myself.

  “Thank you,” I snapped.

  There was that chuckle again. “You’re welcome, gorgeous.”

  “Don’t call me that. Didn’t you get me in enough trouble already?”

  He leaned forward in his chair as I sank down into mine. And
rendered me speechless yet again. “I apologize for getting you in trouble. I didn’t mean to do that and I’m sincerely sorry. I mean it. It won’t happen again.” He was completely serious, I could tell. And I believed him. I sighed a relieved sigh and took a bite of the delicious donut. God, this is good.

  “Fucking hell,” I heard murmured from across me and opened my eyes. Eyes dark with desire were staring at my mouth. I swallowed.

  “What?”

  “You’re making it really hard right now to stay in this chair, when all I wanna do is come over there and kiss you until you can’t breathe.”

  I widened my eyes in disbelief. “You just said it wouldn’t happen again!”

  He shook his head, his eyes staying glued to my mouth, as if he couldn’t make himself look away. “I said I wouldn’t get you in trouble again. Not that I wouldn’t kiss you again.” His eyes locked on mine. “I will kiss you again. Soon. Very soon.”

  My breath hitched and my stomach flip-flopped as my body reacted to his words. I dropped my donut and hung my head, resigned, burying my face in my hands. All the anger that had fueled me only minutes earlier left me. I couldn’t deal with this right now. Not today.

  “I don’t have the energy today, Logan. Just drop it.”

  Silence met my words. I lifted my head and found him looking at me, his eyes no longer hot but serious. “What’s wrong, Rainey? Something happened between yesterday and today. And I don’t believe it’s the kiss we shared. Your eyes are sad and worried. They’re also scared, no, terrified. What’s going on? And don’t tell me I have no idea what I’m talking about. I’ve watched you this past month and you’ve never looked like this.”

  All I could do was shake my head. I might not have the energy to fight with him right now and win, but I wouldn’t spill my guts to him. That was not something I did. “Nothing is wrong. Not that it’s any of your business.”

  Logan was grinding his teeth in what I assumed was frustration. I stayed silent. What was going on in my life wasn’t any of his business. It never would be.

  “We should talk about those classes,” I changed the subject. I needed him out of my office. Stat.

  “We will. Tonight. I wanna show you the gym and introduce you to the trainers who volunteered to help.”

  I gulped and shook my head. No, not tonight. It was too soon. I needed some time to wrap my head around it all, to bury my emotions deep, to steel myself. And I doubted I had the headspace to deal with anything but my mother tonight.

  “I can’t tonight.”

  “You got plans?” he asked angrily.

  Before I could answer, my phone rang. I turned from him and answered. It was Ben. My stomach dropped with dread. That was quicker than I expected. I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not, but feared it didn’t bode well.

  “Hey, Princess.” He sounded tired.

  “Hey, Ben. How did it go?”

  He sighed. “They aren’t done yet. We still got a few hours to go just to get all the testing done. I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you’re doing okay.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m okay.”

  “You’re a shit liar, Princess.” He paused. “You want us to grab Chinese on the way home? Figure by the time we’re out of here it’ll be almost dinnertime. You coming over, right?” Of course, I would. Nothing and nobody would keep me.

  “Chinese sounds great, actually. I should be able to head out on time today.”

  “All right, kiddo. I’ll see you later then.”

  “Bye.” He hung up and I did the same. When I turned around, I realized I wasn’t alone in the room. Shit. I had forgotten about Logan.

  “You having dinner with Ben tonight?” His words came out low and forced and the way he said Ben’s name was anything but friendly.

  “As a matter of fact, I am.” Maybe that would make him go away.

  “He your boyfriend?” I shook my head. I wanted him to leave me alone, but I wasn’t a liar.

  “No. He isn’t my boyfriend.”

  “Make sure it stays that way,” he growled and got up, his eyes warning me I better follow his order. Jerk. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning. Eight. Be ready.” Then he was gone before I had the chance to reply.

  Chapter 7

  Logan

  LOADED WITH TWO GIANT COFFEES and bagels from the Bagel Company, Logan was on his way to Rainey’s house. He was still wired from the thought of her having dinner with another man the night before. Not even an extra hour of training last night had helped. He had known it wouldn’t, but his normal workout hadn’t stifled his urge to hit something—or someone—over and over again until his muscles started to protest. All day yesterday, he had to keep himself in check, stop himself from going back to the shelter, throwing her over his shoulder, and taking her home so he could make it crystal clear to her—preferably with his dick inside her—that she was under no circumstances having dinner with another man ever again. She was his. And his possessive caveman streak he hadn’t known existed until he met Rainey had egged him on, pushing him to stake his claim, to mark what was his.

  Christ. He took a deep breath in an effort to calm down as he waited for the light to turn green, his fingers tapping the steering wheel.

  His mood and agitation hadn’t gone unnoticed. Right after he had left Rainey’s office, he had headed over to the gym, which was located only a few blocks away from the shelter. Yes, now that he was making his way up the ranks, he could have upgraded and trained at a higher-level gym, but his roots were here. It was where he grew up and where he found his calling. Right here at Pete’s Gym. It didn’t matter if he was a small-time boxer or made it big. This was where he was going to train no matter what. He was loyal to a fault, had learned what it meant to be able to rely on people, to trust they would believe in you whether you made it big or not, as long as you gave it your best. And he had learned that right here, first under Pete’s watchful eyes shortly after his dad had left and he was on the brink of heading down the wrong path, then from his current trainer, Jay. Jay always preached life lessons, be it during training hours or in private. Both Pete and Jay were like fathers to him, something Logan was more than grateful for. He had started to spiral downwards when his mother found out about his father’s cheating and they split, and if not for Pete, he wouldn’t know where he would be now. Probably in prison. He had met Jay a few years after he had started training under Pete. Jay had been a boxer himself, though Logan didn’t know much about his past. He’d never asked him about it. In the beginning, he was too young to care. Later on, he respected Jay’s wish for keeping his past private.

  Both of them had been on to him last night.

  “Look at that, Pete. I know we’re stepping up your training to get you ready, but shit, Logan, what did that heavy bag ever do to you?”

  “Fuck off, Jay,” Logan growled on another punch, forcing the bag to swing backwards, away from him.

  “You got somethin’ on your chest?” That was Pete. He sounded concerned. Knowing how controlled and disciplined he usually was, Logan wasn’t surprised Pete had caught on to his mood.

  “Nope. Nothing.” Sweat was dripping down his forehead and into his eyes. He wiped his glove across his forehead and got back into position. But before he could land another one, Pete was holding on to the bag, stopping him.

  “Talk to me,” was all he said, his eyes serious and waiting. Logan knew he wouldn’t be able to bullshit Pete, but he still tried, though his anger and frustration were fighting to come to the surface.

  “Got nothing to talk about, old man. You mind?” He gestured to the bag, prompting Pete to move out of his way so he could continue, but Pete didn’t budge.

  “Do I gotta knock some sense into you? Spill, son. We don’t use anger to get where we need to be. We use focus, determination, discipline, and passion. You know this better than anyone. Now, spill.”

  Logan took a deep breath. Pete was in his late sixties, but Logan wouldn’t put it past his tra
iner to knock some sense into him. In fact, Logan knew the old man wouldn’t hesitate to do just that. So he spit out what he knew his trainers would pull out of him anyways.

  “It’s a girl, okay? I met someone and she is driving me absolutely insane.”

  “Oh, fuck me.” Jay rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re this aggravated over some tail you’re chasing?”

  Heat crept up Logan’s neck. “Don’t, Jay. Don’t talk about her like that. First of all, you know I’m not the tail-chasing type. And second, she is anything but that.” His voice was a low growl he could feel vibrate in his chest. Nobody talked about Rainey that way, not even jokingly.

  Jay’s eyes narrowed on him, reading him. “Shit, you’re serious about this one, aren’t you?”

  “Very,” he clipped, trying to rein in his anger so he wouldn’t use one of his trainers as a punching bag. Even though Jay didn’t actively box anymore and hadn’t since Logan had known him, even though he was only in his late-thirties when they met about nine years ago, he was still in serious shape. Logan wasn’t looking forward to going any rounds with the man. He wasn’t sure he wouldn’t get his ass handed to him. Nevertheless, if he didn’t tone it down, Logan wouldn’t hesitate to take that risk.

  “Calm down. He didn’t mean anything by it.” Pete’s serious and probing eyes were still on him. Logan took another deep breath and calmed his shit down. Pete was right. Jay had just been ribbing him. He wasn’t trying to insult him or Rainey. “So who is this girl that’s got your panties in a twist?”

  Jay chuckled, and Logan couldn’t help but chuckle with him. Jeez, Pete wasn’t far off in his assessment. “She works at the shelter I’m volunteering at. She’s amazing. But guarded. And stubborn.”

  “Giving you a run for your money, isn’t she?”