Her Temporary Bodyguard

(Part 17) Chapter Sixteen

"Are you sure?" Logan asked, trying to quell the panic that was making itself known. Jason nodded.

"Yeah, I even checked the closets."

"She wouldn't hide in the closets," Logan murmured, taking another look around the room. He saw the back door and wondered if she had gone outside. He took a step toward it and then stopped when movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention. The floor-length curtain behind the sofa had shifted and he didn't think that the window was open. Logan reached out and pulled the fabric back from the wall. A soft protest squeaked in her throat but Tara made no move to take her hands from her face. She was trembling so hard that he could see it.

"Tara." Logan said her name softly, not wanting to scare her even further. "Tara, honey, it's me." She peeked out at him from behind her fingers and the fear in her green eyes slammed into Logan like a freight train. Obviously she had not recognized his or Jason's voices. Pushing the curtain away, he reached for her just as she dropped her hands and really looked at him.

"Logan," she breathed in relief, falling against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. Her nails scratched him as she clung to his shirt but Logan didn't ask her to ease up because she was shaking hard enough to rattle his teeth. Instead, he tightened his hold and tried not to think about how perfect she felt.

He heard Jason's steps on the creaky stairs but didn't turn to acknowledge the other man. Not until Tara took a deep breath and stepped back on her own accord. She pushed her hair back from her face and lifted her gaze to meet his.

"I thought..." She shook her head and Logan's stomach tightened. He knew what she had been thinking.

"I know," he said, giving in to the need to tuck a rogue lock of hair behind her ear. He didn't care that Jason was watching them. His focus was on Tara, and how she had thought that the Balbonis had located her hideout.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"He gave me a much needed kick in the pants," Jason replied before Logan had a chance. Tara tensed, her face shutting out all signs of the fear she'd been feeling as she turned to face her brother.

"I thought you weren't coming back for two weeks," she said coldly.

"Tara, I'm sorry," Jason began, taking a step toward her. Tara felt Logan take a couple of steps back, away from her, and felt the loss physically. She squared her shoulders and narrowed her eyes at her brother, knowing she needed to settle this for once and for all.

"You're sorry? Sorry for what?

"For everything." She shook her head, her fists clenching at her sides. She'd been absolutely terrified that Joey Balboni had found her, so convinced that her life expectancy could be measured in minutes that she'd been shaking from the power of it, from the energy it had taken to hold herself completely still. Adrenaline pulsed through her, transforming her from a woman on the verge of flight to one ready to fight.

"So, what, that's the Band-Aid you're going to slap on all of this mess?" Tara snarled. "You're sorry? And that's just supposed to magically fix everything?

"Tara," Jason began.

"No! No, you don't get to talk. Your time for talking is long past." She didn't know when she'd walked into his space, but it felt good to jab him in the chest with her index finger, so she did it again. Jason stood his ground, his eyes softly pleading but she was too furious to let him off easy.

"Your actions got our parents killed," Tara said coldly, a twinge of familiar pain striking her heart. Jason winced.

"I know," he said quietly.