Undone (Unbound Trilogy Book 2) Read online

  Logan hangs his head for an agonizing heartbeat, then has the gall to look at me with remorse. “You are way off base, Ellie. This is not what it seems, and that baby, if there is one, is not mine.” He lifts his hand and points in her direction.

  I scoff. “Possibly not, seeing that she’s probably had as many men as you’ve had women. If this isn’t what it seems, then tell me Whitney isn’t your wife? Tell her to get the hell out of here. Shoot her in the place her heart should be. Do anything except stand there and be unlike the man I know you to be.”

  Satisfaction. It springs into Whitney’s eyes.

  I didn’t want to speak to him, didn’t want to let Whitney see how much Logan hurt me, and her gratification flows out like a river gone wild when she stands and without taking her eyes off me, shimmies her short skirt down as far as it will go.

  God, I let him come inside of me after he’s been with her. The thought nearly gags me.

  “I can’t. Whitney is my wife, but not in the way you think.” My heart cracks as Logan reaches for my face, frames it with warm hands, and draws me toward him. “Please go home and wait for me to explain. I’m begging you to believe me. Asking you to trust me.”

  Hostility spreads and lights me up.

  I will never trust him again. Never allow my heart to be on the edge of falling into the deep end. He demolished it.

  Drowned me.

  “Then I suggest you take your filthy hands off of me and attend to your wife. Whatever you have to explain will be futile, Logan. You are married to a woman who partook in trying to break me. An accomplice to rape. Do you know what that makes you?” I step back and watch the man I’ve fallen in love with pretending to look as lost as I feel. He’s a damn good actor.

  My gaze flits to Whitney’s stomach. She doesn’t look pregnant. Then again, what the hell do I know since I’ve been living with a veil of lust pulled over my eyes for weeks?

  “Get out of my house before I call the police. Logan and I have been married years. Logan moved me here after my mother died. I’m warning you once, Ellie, if you think I look bad, Logan knows as well as I do what will happen to you if he touches you again. You’ll be dead because Shadow will make sure of it. My brother is more than likely plotting a way to kill you already. He may or may not know where you are. You can get a head start on him if you leave now.” Whitney shrugs, and like the spoiled bitch she is, she looks down at her fingernails, a rock the size of a dime rests on her ring finger.

  Fear and anger.

  They wrap tiny tendrils around me nearly dropping me to the floor.

  “Shut the fuck up, Whitney. Ellie, you are safe, do you hear me? I have you protected.”

  I open my mouth to tell him to shove his protection up his ass, but the words don’t come out. He’s lied to me all along. Who’s to say they aren’t keeping tabs on me and reporting back to Logan and Shadow?

  “Logan is all yours. You and those women he’s fucked can have every piece of him.” My chest rises and falls wildly. My body temperature heats with the adrenaline racing through me as I bring my fist up and connect it with Whitney’s face. She wobbles backward, her hand coming up to collect the blood that starts dripping out of her nose.

  “The Kleenex isn’t down the hall. It’s in the half bath off the kitchen right where I put it. Stay away from me. Baby, no baby, I don’t care, if I ever see you again, I will cut your tongue out of your mouth and I will kill you.”

  I spin so quickly and run out the door because I feel Logan wanting to drag me into his arms. His warmth, his hold I would have sought comfort in if I would have run into Whitney anywhere else but here, will not touch me, not after they’ve touched her.

  “Motherfucker!” Logan’s outburst strikes my ears and pierces my heart in the same second my hand reaches for the handle on Norah’s car.

  I don’t look back.

  I gasp and cry and fracture. Splintering in a million tiny little pieces.

  Shadow is coming.

  I’m once again afraid for my life.

  Chapter 2

  Logan

  My brothers and my friend, Rocco, the men I trust. I love the shit out of them.

  Seth came to my house the minute I called, and Lane finally called to tell me about two minutes after Ellie left that he was on his way. Rocco had unfinished business and got here as soon as he finished. The only one missing from this jury that’s about to sentence my wife to her death out of our family is Gabe. He’s still with Lexi. The man is most likely climbing the goddamn walls and itching to blow my wife’s skull clear out of her head.

  Same as I pray to God, I can do.

  It was much easier telling Lane, Rocco, and Gabe, what Whitney said to Ellie and what went down after. Not sure why, it just was. Maybe it’s because while Lane and I were dealing with our problems, Seth was sitting in a support group in the basement of a church, doing something I never thought he’d do. He was getting the help he needs on his own.

  That is the only damn good thing to come out of this fucked up night.

  Not sure how in the hell a bunch of strangers convinced the man to go to rehab when none of us could, but they did, and that’s what matters.

  He’s leaving in a few hours for at least a six month program in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Out in the middle of nowhere. Deserted as all fuck, and just what he needs. He’ll live in solitary confinement without any knowledge about what’s happening with our family, and if his worry about Ellie, me and the rest of the family isn’t incentive enough to beat this disease, I don’t know what will.

  I’ve got a reason to hate Whitney, Seth; he never liked her. Not even before we found out what she’d done, and after, well, he bit his tongue for me. Don’t think that’ll be happening tonight.

  Good thing he’s going because once I’m through with Whitney, I’m going to need all the help I can get to bring down Shadow. And fuck all, do I need Seth sober. His mind is sharp as a tack when he is.

  “I’m your wife. We are partners in business and marriage. I gave you my money because I trusted you and you betrayed me. You will give me the protection I need, Logan. You will give me every dime you made off my money or the first thing out of my mouth when I talk to Shadow next is the location of Ellie. I need that money, and you know it. You know as well as I do my brother wasn’t planning on coming here. He hates this city. Force my hand, and he will. None of you will be safe if he does, including your precious little daughter, Lane. Now untie me, damn it.”

  My expression remains expressionless as I meet Whitney’s glare.

  I didn’t know where Shadow was going; just like I had no idea after years of living in this city, I’d run into Ellie. After that remark, I know without a doubt he’s headed here. Bitch done went and told him.

  The minute Ellie ran like a bat out of hell, I grabbed Whitney by the neck and placed her in a headlock, squeezing until she nearly passed out. Then I slammed her ass in a chair, tied her up, and left her screaming and throwing a tantrum while I went about making sure Ellie had someone keeping an eye on her. The security who lost her earlier can be dealt with by Gabe. They’re his men; he can take them down.

  Guess it doesn’t matter though, Ellie was bound to find out the big secret I kept from her.

  “Logan, keeping me tied up isn’t accomplishing anything. I’ll sign the divorce papers if you give me my money and keep the promise you made to protect me if Shadow found out what I did, please, come on.”

  I cock my head, hostility erupting across my skin as I continue to stare her down.

  I’m not sure who’s dumber in this screwed up situation, my fucking wife or me.

  Me when it comes to making mistakes because marrying Whitney is the dumbest one I ever made.

  Survival is what she wants.

  I’ll never let her have it.

  Her idea of controlling this situation only makes me laugh. Only makes me realize how stupid Whitney is. I can’t blame her much for that. After all, she was raised by a manipu
lative woman who programmed her kids into thinking the world owed them and they were going to take no matter who they stepped on to get what they wanted — their mother fucked them up, turned them into rotten souls of humanity.

  I could have pulled my plan off without marrying Whitney. The thing was, I wanted her to trust me, needed her to think I was committed in spite of the cheating and whoring we’d done.

  Swingers and whores.

  Both full-blown loving that life. Straight out of the bitches’ wombs that birthed us. Not that her mother was a swinger, no, the slut just spread her legs and swallowed men whole.

  “Bitch, please don’t come into my brother’s house and act like you own shit. Your money, my ass, you haven’t earned a penny in your life.” Seth towers over Whitney, forcing her to meet his gaze. The guy’s fists clench, body trembling just dying to lay into her.

  Let him; I don’t give a flying fuck.

  “It is mine. Half this house, half the business, it belongs to me. If Logan wants a divorce, he’ll give me what’s mine. Why in the ever-loving fuck would I listen to a word you have to say anyway, Seth? You’re nothing but a drunk with mommy issues.”

  “Is that right? Pretty sure Lane and I have a say about the business. Are you that messed up in the head that you forget nothing of my brothers is yours? One of those fake documents you signed made it so. Pregnant or not, you don’t want to square off with me. I’ll slap you into next week and not give a shit. Far as mothers go, at least mine didn’t pay my way out of a crime that should have had you and your brother dead people walking.”

  “Oh, and your mother not paying attention to her kids makes the three of you so much better. You and I know that paper wasn’t legal, just like the rest,” Whitney yells, followed by a high-pitched scream.

  Let her think what she wants. It’s the only legal document she signed.

  “Prove it, bitch. Oh, wait. You’ll never have the chance because you’re just as good as dead.” Seth’s chest shakes from laughing as he backs away, and I find myself smiling at his behavior. The guy is riling Whitney up and not letting her backlash about our mother get to him. Lord knows Whitney’s brains would be all over my walls if he did.

  “Fuck you, Seth.”

  Whitney’s glare goes from Seth to Lane, to Rocco and stops at me.

  Uncaring and relentless and cruel.

  The feeling is mutual; it has been for a long damn time.

  “No, thanks. I love my brother, but Logan was the only one dumb enough to touch you. Thank God he’s found someone better. Someone who cares without wanting something. Someone who shines with inner beauty, not some fake ass cunt who forced him into a box by getting away with being an accomplice to rape.”

  Regret knots in my throat. That inner beauty he’s talking about is dimming every second I sit here. I feel Ellie fading away in my chest.

  Whitney’s glare turns desperate as it fills with wonder, hate, and jealousy.

  “You’re mine. Ellie is Shadow’s. That’s the way it’s supposed to be,” she whispers, her eyes giving me that innocent look I’ve seen many times when her mother set her sights on her next victim. She fails to forget manipulation doesn’t work on me.

  Not since the day I found out what she did.

  Hostility burns through my blood. Mind working what it is I should do to Whitney as I shift my gaze toward my brothers and best friend. They have their brows raised as they stare my psychotic wife down.

  “The fuck? Then the four of you are supposed to be one big happy family? Who are you trying to fool, yourself? We all know as well as you do if Shadow gets hold of Ellie, he will harm her, and you’ll love every minute of it.” This known information is coming from Rocco.

  “You need to make them shut up, Logan. Our marriage isn’t anyone’s business except ours. You had to go and get involved with Ellie, didn’t you? You fucked up.”

  Yeah, I did in more ways than one.

  “You call what you had a marriage? Well, fuck then, sign me up. I’d love to marry a woman and steal every dime she has, then toss her out on her ass. The only problem if she were to be like you, I’d have sliced off a toe for every year I had to look at her. Christ, can I shoot her in the mouth yet?” Rocco leans forward, disappointment that he can’t kill Whitney in the devious smirk he gives her.

  “Go to hell, Rocco.”

  “Living there like the rest of my friends in this room are. Partly because of you, bitch.”

  I rub the tips of my fingers across my forehead; I can feel the vein throbbing, an endless tap at my brain. It won’t be long until my head explodes. I can already feel the bomb ticking behind my eyes.

  First, I’m going to make Whitney squirm, make her see a bit of me she hasn’t ever seen before.

  The monster she helped create.

  I smirk, remembering the day I was finally able to set my revenge in motion, it was the beginning of the end of me living in the bowels of Hell, pretending as if I cared about Whitney. Going to visit Shadow, kissing his ass when he’d repeatedly ask me if I found out who set him up, when, at first, he thought it was me. Somewhat confident, he still suspects.

  I don’t care. Shadow’s as good as dead as his sister.

  The guy was already in prison when their mother Elizabeth got a bullet through her head while walking from her car into a shopping center. Shadow was beyond pissed when the feds wouldn’t bring him across state lines so he could attend her funeral. In a matter of weeks, he went from pissed to downright furious when he found out Elizabeth left everything to Whitney. With good reason too, the asshole couldn’t keep his own afloat.

  I made sure of that.

  It took a lot of flying back and forth to New York and sitting in a room listening to the two of them go at it until Whitney promised Shadow she’d give half of the money to him when he got out of prison.

  That was when I put together a plan to bring Whitney to the ground.

  Shortly after Whitney received the money, I convinced her to let me invest. I told her a bald face lie that we’d triple it by the time Shadow got out.

  It wasn’t like it rightfully belonged to either of them. No, it belonged to victims their mother played on, men like Ellie’s father and in my mind’s eye, that money was Ellie’s.

  Whitney thought we were capitalizing on every dime. She’s as greedy as she is needy. I was making bank alright; she was losing everything she had.

  She signed the millions over to me. I made triple, plus some with intentions to give it to Ellie someday and tell her to do what the hell she wanted with it. After getting to know Ellie, she’ll more than likely give it away, that, or tell me to shove it straight up my ass.

  I placed the investments in Lexi and Lane’s names, and thanks to Whitney snooping through files at the club, she found out about them. She put two and two together and went off on my ass. I finally had enough and threw her broke ass out, filed for divorce, and that’s when she disappeared — leaving me to search for her. I had my lawyer and his private investigators on her, or so I thought. That asshole kept telling me he couldn’t track her down. But the minute I asked Gabe to step in, he found her on the arm of a drug king. During that time away, she plotted successfully in getting ahold of my laptop — the only thing she had to destroy me.

  Until she found out about Ellie and me, that is.

  Shadow is getting released early, due to be out in about five months. That, plus Whitney getting wind of Ellie and me is what brought Whitney back. The witch didn’t come here because Gabe let her latest victim know she was using him, no, she came to me because there is nowhere left to run. She thought I’d help her by tossing a fake goddamn pregnancy on me.

  Oldest trick in the book.

  Her last attempt for safety and she failed.

  Whitney’s not getting a goddamn penny whether she’s pregnant or not. The animal can fend for herself for all I care. She’s good at stalking out prey.

  Bitch coming up in my house, creating all kinds of ruckus and spewing her
bullshit. No punishment is enough for Whitney but death.

  “You think this is funny? I’m serious, Logan. Paybacks are a bitch, and I will destroy everyone to get and keep what’s mine. I’d think twice about trying to hurt me. Shadow won’t stand for it. He already wants your precious Ellie, and he’s going to get her. I went to see him right before I left for Paris. He was upset you weren’t with me. I lied and told him you were getting his affairs in order. If you think my brother is going to allow you to get away and live happily ever after with Ellie. You are delusional. He will hunt you down and make you watch while he fucks her and then he’ll rip every limb off her body. If you don’t want me telling him where she is, then stay away from her.”

  Staying away from Ellie would be like slicing all my fingers off. They are already itching to touch her velvet skin. To hold her in my arms and tell her everything.

  I know Whitney like the back of my hand. She’s a bitch scorned, a woman with screws loose. Whitney is the type to ruin Ellie no matter what. The minute she found out about Ellie and me, she got word to Shadow, I know she did. It’s no wonder he’s tight-lipped more so than before.

  I shoot Rocco a look. He has a guy doing life on the inside. He made a deal with him in exchange for information. I’ve been sending his contact’s family money to keep them afloat until they get their lives together. So far, we haven’t gotten shit and we probably won’t unless we can come up with a plan to have someone kill Shadow. Shank that son of a bitch in the jugular and watch him die.

  Hardly likely though.

  My brothers both look my way, a disgusted sneer on their faces while Rocco, hand slips to his gun. And me, I want to play with Whitney a bit first. Tease and taunt and then snap her pathetic neck.

  If only I could do it right now. If only I could have done it while Ellie was here.

  “I think you’ve gone stark raving mad if you expect me to believe a word you say. Shall I have you committed? I’m not sure how much protection you’d have once your brother finds out you’re the one who turned him in if you’re in a straitjacket. We could give it a try. For a woman who used to have a good poker face, you aren’t hiding your hand very well, Whitney. I see your lies. You already told Shadow where Ellie is. Don’t play me for a dumbass.”