“I can do this, Marie. I used to do this all the time,” Logan insisted, staring intently at Marie who was sitting across the fire from him.
Marie chewed nervously on her bottom lip, glancing down at her lap. “Ah don’t doubt that ya could, Logan. It’s just the fact that Ah hafta stay here an’ wait, not knowin’ what’s happenin’ t’ ya.”
Rising to his feet, Logan walked around the fire and sat down next to Marie. Wrapping his arms around her waist, Logan pulled her into his lap. “I know that you’re worried, darlin’, but I can promise you that I’ll be fine. Nothin’ bad’ll happen to me. I promise.”
“That doesn’t make it any easier,” Marie murmured, leaning back against his broad chest. “No matter how fast ya heal, yer still gonna get hurt.”
“Don’t worry, Marie. It doesn’t hurt. I barely even notice it,” Logan tried to assure her. “Besides, it’ll be more than worth it in the end. We’ll have some money and can get a descent meal and sleep in a motel or somethin’. It’ll be good, Marie.”
Still, Logan could tell that Marie wasn’t convinced. It was nice to have someone worry about him. Logan couldn’t remember anyone actually worrying about him. Especially not when it came to cage fighting. When he fought for money in large metal cages, men were cheering either for or against him while women were plotting how to get him into bed at the end of the night. Once he had beat all his opponents, he would drive from city to city in search of the next round of fights. It was a simple existence, one that Logan had lived comfortably for many years.
This time around Logan was only doing it for the money. He needed to make some quick money for him, Marie and Kurt and, depending on the size of the tournament he came across, he could very well end up making a few thousand in one night.
“Are ya sure we can’ do somethin’ else t’ make money?” Marie pleaded, staring up at Logan with wide brown eyes. “Somethin’ that doesn’t involve ya gettin’ yer brains bashed in?”
“This is the quickest way to make money, Marie,” Logan insisted, trailing a finger along her cheek. “Now we need some money desperately so I’m gonna do this. Understand?”
“Logan--”
Shaking his head, Logan placed his thumb over her lips. “I know that you don’t like this, Marie, but we don’t have a choice right now. So let me do this and you can yell at me later.”
“Ah’m gonna hold ya t’ that,” Marie said softly, managing a tiny smile.
Logan pressed a kiss to her temple then nuzzled his face against the side of her head. “I know you will, darlin’.”
It was several more minutes before Marie actually let go of Logan long enough for him to get up. He reminded her continually that she wouldn’t be by herself. That Kurt was there with her. If he hadn’t been there, Logan would have insisted that she go with him into the bar. It was a roughneck place, but Logan would rather her bet here than alone in the forest. But Logan knew that Kurt would protect Marie so he had no qualms about leaving her there.
“I’ll be back real soon,” Logan promised, brushing his lips against Marie’s forehead as he pulled her into a tight embrace. “You won’t even notice I’m gone.”
“Yes Ah will,” Marie lamented. “Soon as Ah can’t see ya anymore, Ah’ll be missin’ ya.”
“Don’t worry, Marie. I’ll keep you entertained,” Kurt spoke up, appearing out of nowhere. “Now how about letting Logan go before he misses the fights. I don’t know about you, but the idea of sleeping in a real bed is very appealing.”
Tucking a strand of behind her ear, Marie looked up at Logan with huge eyes. “Be careful.”
“I’ll be careful,” Logan assured her, kissing her once more on the top of the head before he turned and headed out of the clearing they had camped in for the night.
It was only a half hour walk to the bar that had the fights going on. That was as close as the three of them had come to being around people. Logan had been a little worried of it all at first. After everything they had been through, Logan wasn’t ready to trust anyone other than Marie and Kurt. But it was the closeness to the town that was the reason Logan had learned of the bar hosting the cage fights.
Before he could even see the bar, Logan could smell the scent of alcohol that always loomed over such drinking establishments. It was a scent that Logan had become very familiar with over the years. It smelt like home to Logan. Before Montgomery and his lackeys had captured him, Logan had spent a great deal of time in such bars.
The instant that Logan slipped into the dank, smoke-filled atmosphere of the bar, he felt at home. This was what he had missed in the time that he had been forced to abandon his way of life. Logan knew that it wouldn’t become a way of life again, but he still could sneak a peak once in a while.
“How does a guy go about getting himself into these fights?” Logan demanded as he strode towards the bar.
The bartender looked up from the glass he was cleaning, looking Logan over with a calculating eye. “You want to fight in the cage? You look a little scrawny for that.”
“I can fight,” Logan insisted. “I can take on whoever you want me to.”
The bartender arched an eyebrow. “Looking to make some quick cash, buddy?”
“Nah,” Logan said with a shake of his head. “Been away from the circuit for a while and I’m looking to get back in.”
“Were you a regular then?” the bartender asked, setting his rag down on the counter.
Logan shrugged his shoulders absently. “I fought enough. Mostly around the north of Alberta.”
“You got a name, buddy?” the bartender inquired.
“The name’s Hunters.”
The bartender’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “Your Hunters? Shit! We all thought you’d died or somethin’. No one’s heard from you for five years. Where the fuck have ya been all this time?”
“Down south. Things came up and I just couldn’t get back,” Logan said attempting to hide his distress after learning that Montgomery and his goons had had him for five years. For five years he had been cut open and experimented on by that sadistic doctor.
“Glad to have you back, Hunters. I’ll get something lined up for you tonight,” the bartender told him, heading over to the other end of the bar.
While he waited for the man to come back, Logan sat down on a stool. His mind was in shock. It hadn’t just been a few months-- a year at the most. It had been five years.
Five years.
Logan had lost five years of his life to Montgomery and his experiments. Those were five years that he wouldn’t be able to get back. Snaking his fingers into his hair, Logan leaned forward so that his elbows were resting on the bar, his head supported by his hands. At that moment, he wanted Marie. She would take away the pain that came with this knowledge.
The return of the bartender forced Logan out of his brooding. He had to focus if he was going to win the fights. And Logan had to win. They were in desperate need of money because they couldn’t very well continue living the way they had. Marie deserved better than that. But, at the same time, they had to stay hidden. Not only did they have Erik looking for them, but Logan didn’t doubt that Montgomery would be searching for them. He wasn’t likely to let them go so easily.
“You’re gonna be fighting Jackson in the next round,” the bartender informed Logan. “He’s a bit bigger than you, but if you fight anything like you used to it won’t be much of a problem for you.”
Logan nodded his head. “Good. Could you get me a shot of bourbon while I wait?”
“Comin’ right up.”
As soon as the bartender turned away, Logan’s senses were bombarded by a powerful perfume. Before he could even turn himself around on the stool, the woman was pressed up against him, making sure to press her breasts against his chest.
“What say you and me head back to my house and get to know one another?” the woman drawled, her voice thick and husky.
Turning his head, Logan came face to face with a gorgeous blonde with sparkling blue eyes. Had he met her before Marie came into his life, Logan would have jumped at the chance to fuck a woman with such a killer body. But now he had Marie.
“Sorry, but I already got a beautiful woman waiting for you at home,” Logan told her, pulling himself away from the blonde.
Undaunted, the blonde reached out and trailed a finger along his cheek. “No one says that she has to know. We’re the only ones that have to know.”
Logan grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled away. “Not gonna happen. I love her and I’m not gonna risk losing her. So just go find someone else to fuck.”
The woman glared at him then stalked off in a huff. Logan watched her go then turned back to the bartender to get his drink.
“That’s a first,” the other man commented. “I don’t think anyone’s ever turned her down. That woman of yours must be something special.”
Logan nodded his head as he picked up the glass. “I love her more than anyone else in my life. She’s this gorgeous, sexy little thing that makes my blood boil.”
“Then you’d better make sure that you don’t damage yourself too much in the cage,” the bartender said with a grin. “Now I suggest that you drink your shot real fast ‘cause you’re up now.”