Chapter Nine - Logan

Logan jerked his attention to the back door, a skillet in his hand, as Dax jumped to his feet, legs braced, ears perked. Logan tilted his head a little, straining to hear whatever might have spooked the German Shepherd, but heard nothing. He glanced back at Madison; the woman clutching to the towel on her stomach, her eyes wide as she stared at the back door. He could read the worry on her face, the panic twisting her nerves into a tight ball of trembling fear.

Setting the skillet on the stove, he moved toward the back door. He never received visitors. Before opening the door, he peered out the window. Standing there, staring out into the woods behind Logan's cabin was the shaggy, dark-haired form of Luca Basile, his hands stuffed into his pockets as he waited, looking casual and relaxed, but Logan knew better. Luca may appear laid back, but the man was anything but and had saved Logan's ass several times when he was with the Hunters.

Logan glanced back to Madison. "It's all right," he assured her and then glanced down at Dax. "Worry wart." He turned and opened the door, stepping out into the night to join Luca, who turned around to face him. "Surprised to see you here," he said.

Luca shrugged. "Levi wanted me to come out and take a look around after you called. Anything else to report?"

Logan shook his head. "No, it's been quiet." He gestured back into the cabin. "Madison just woke up, so we haven't exactly had much time to talk. Any idea what attack she's talking about?"

Luca nodded as he slid his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms, his shirt pulling up over the tattoos along his arms. He stared at Logan with green eyes so pale quite a few people believed he was actually blind. He wasn't, of course, but the rumor helped him with some of his missions, so he let it float about. "There was an attack last night in Dark Moon Mountain Park. The park ranger there, Jeremiah Rains, found it after Elias called him to tell him about your visitor." He shook his head. "Pretty grizzly scene from what I heard. Report said they killed the two men pretty quick, but took their time with the female. How did your girl stumble across it?"

"Bad timing," Logan said as he glanced back through the door at the weakened blond he knew sat there waiting on him. "She was out walking a trail and walked right into the massacre. She barely got away."

"Her escape may not last long," Luca said. He glanced back out at the darkening woods. "I allowed my wolf to scout around before knocking on your door, but we didn't come up with anything." He turned back around to face Logan. "Looks like she made it here without being followed, but I have no idea how long that good fortune will last. Need me to take her off your hands? Levi has a safe house in town we can stow her at until we find whoever is after her."

Logan pressed his lips into a thin line, tempted to take the offer. He knew Levi was aware of his thirst for solitude after the death of Dusker. He glanced back through the closed door, picturing Madison sitting at his kitchen table, wounded and alone, frightened even though she put on a strong front. "Thanks, but I'm not sure she's ready to move around that much yet." He turned back to Luca. "I'll keep her here a couple of days while she regains some of her strength. We'll see what happens after that."

Luca cocked an eyebrow at Logan, but didn't say anything about his decision. "We'll patrol the area a little, but I know you have your own traps out here. Don't hesitate to call if you need anything or if you change your mind." Translation: If being around someone gets too much to handle. Logan knew what the other man feared, and for all he knew, Luca was right to worry. Still, what choice did Logan have? He may not have wanted her here last night, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that here is exactly where she needed to be.

"Thanks, but I'll be fine. Promise. Just be quick to catch these asses." He crossed his arms over his chest, forcing himself not to change his mind and send Madison off with Luca. "She wounded one of them. May have even killed him. Keep an eye out for a body."

Luca nodded. "We'll do our best. Keep in touch."

They shook hands and then Luca slid into the darkening woods while Logan returned to the warmth of his cabin. Madison just stared at him, worry pinching her features. Dax was already curled up around her feet, his head across his front paws, snoring soundly.

Logan just glanced at the German Shepherd, shaking his head as he moved back over to the stove. "That was just Luca, one of the Pack Hunters. The park rangers found the campsite of the attack." He glanced over his shoulder at her. "The place was exactly as you described, the bodies still there." He felt his expression shifting to one of sympathy and quickly turned away. This was not what he needed now. He didn't need to feel. To care.

"Are they looking for the rogues who attacked those people?" Madison asked, and from behind him, he could hear her shifting in the chair and chanced a glance over his shoulder. Madison winced a little with the movement, sucking in a breath. Dax lifted his head, watching her until she settled down again and then he laid his head back down on his paws.

Logan turned back around, finishing his preparations for dinner. "They are," he assured her. "One of the deputies, Jag Johnson, is an excellent tracker. I'm sure they'll have him out there trying to discover where the rogues went." He grabbed a large cutting knife from the block along the splash wall and started hacking away at some celery. "All we need to do is wait it all out."

"Are you saying you're not taking me to someone else?" he heard her ask. "That witch from last night seemed to think you would be quick to get rid of me."

He paused from cutting the celery a moment, staring down at his hands. His breathing was loud in his ears as was the silence. He knew what he had planned to do—get her off his hands as quickly as possible. Now, however, he wasn't so sure that was what he truly wanted. "Dara was just going off what she's known about me." He shrugged as he continued to cut the celery. "I've not been real welcoming to others lately. I prefer being alone."

Silence answered him at first, but then he heard, "Oh."

He glanced up into the window and saw Madison's reflection as she stared off, her shoulders slumped.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice soft. "I was just running—stumbling, actually—when Dax here found me. I just collapsed. I wasn't thinking of anything but escape. I didn't mean to bring this to your door."

He threw the steaks in the skillet adding the vegetables he cut up, then turned to face her, leaning back on the counter, arms crossed over his chest. "There wasn't any other place for you to go. You were severely hurt, lost a lot of blood, and being chased. How you lost them, I don't know, but you're lucky you did. They would've finished you off." As he spoke, Logan couldn't help but notice how beautiful Madison was even in her weakened condition. Her blond hair hung gently over her shoulders, framing her pale oval face, the long strands pointing to her ample breasts. Her lips, full and red, begged to be kissed and stirred things within him he had hoped to bury. Feeling led to pain. Always. "Moving you may be as dangerous as keeping you here," he continued. "But, I'd rather keep the risk to others at a minimum. You can stay here until you gain your strength back. We can decide what to do then." He shrugged. "Shouldn't be but a couple of days if I know Dara's healing powers. By then, hopefully, Jag's tracked down the rogues hunting you and Levi can dispatch them quickly."

She gave him a weak smile. "Then I can be out of your hair."

He shook his head. "Then, you can get on with your life," he corrected her. "What did you do before you wound up on my porch?" Then it dawned on Logan that he didn't know anything about Madison outside of the fact rogues hunted her because of what she had seen. "Is there someone I should call to let them know you're all right? Is anyone worrying about you back home?" Do you have a husband? Boyfriend? Of course, the latter questions he kept to himself.

Madison shook her head, her blond bangs swishing slightly across her forehead. "I live alone, a small apartment in town. My parents won't miss me for a few days when I don't make our weekly call, and work thinks I'm on vacation for the next two weeks." She stared down at her hands as she twisted her fingers together. "There is no one waiting for me."

His heart ached at her words as he took in a deep breath, wishing to pull the anguish from her. "We affect people in ways we don't even know sometimes," he offered as some sort of solace. "I'm sure, it's the same for you." He turned and flipped the steaks, stirring the vegetables as well. "It would surprise you whose life you've touched, I bet." He hadn't realized the truth of that statement until he disappeared from the world. They had come out to his cabin to check on him at first, his friends and teammates, but eventually the visits dwindled as he made it clear he wanted to be left alone. He valued his solitude, his isolation.

He glanced up into the window's reflection again, staring at the woman who dumped herself into his life. He valued those things yesterday. Today, he wasn't so sure.