started to notice.
Now, as he walked to the front door, he had the sense of being watched, but when he listened and sniffed, no one was there. Yes,
sniffed
—something he’d never admit to doing. Forests weren’t the only thingthat had a scent, he’d learned. Sometimes he could smell his friends coming long before he saw them. His hearing had improved, too. So when he listened and smelled, and detected no one, he knew no one was there.
He stepped onto the front porch and lifted his hand. Then he stopped. Behind this door could be his father. Was he ready? What would he say?
“Looking for someone?” drawled a voice behind him.
Logan wheeled to see a young man step onto the porch. He was around Logan’s age, maybe a couple of years older, well built, with curly blond hair and blue eyes, his strong jaw the only thing keeping him from tipping over into pretty-boy.
“You looking for someone?” the guy repeated.
Logan squared his shoulders.
“Jeremy Danvers.”
The guy’s eyes went from cool to icy. “Yeah?”
“Yes. Is he home?”
“You think this is a good idea?”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking if you want to reconsider. Maybe you made a mistake.”
Logan met the guy’s stare. “If Jeremy Danvers is here, I want to see him.”
The guy gave a slow nod. Then his fist shot out, plowing into Logan’s jaw. Logan slammed into the stone wall and everything went dark.
Logan’s face sank into something soft and warm, and he inhaled the faintest scent of laundry detergent. He lifted his head. Pain throbbed through his skull and he let out a soft moan, then dropped back onto the pillow. A few more minutes of sleep, and then he’d—
His eyes snapped open as he remembered what had happened.
He lay on a twin bed covered with a clean bottom sheet, but no top sheet or blankets. In front of him was a bare wall. He picked up the slight scent of dampness. A basement. He rolled over and saw…He blinked. Bars.
Logan started jumping up, but the pain forced him down, and he bit back a wave of nausea. Jail? Oh, God, what had he gotten himself into?
He’d heard rumors of college kids venturing into a backwater town and winding up in jail. Well, if that was the case, these yokels would be in for a shock. He was a law student…well, prelaw anyway.
At the rustle of the page turning, Logan looked to see the guy who’d decked him. He sat on a folding chair outside the cell and was reading a textbook, with a pencil between his fingers. He jotted something in the margin, then continued reading.
A student? Logan looked around. He wasn’t in jail; he was in someone’s basement, with an older student standing guard. Now it made sense.
“It was a setup, wasn’t it?” Logan said.
The guy lifted a finger, telling Logan to wait, as if he’d known he was awake.
“The letter, the address, it was all part of it,” Logan continued.
A soft sound, almost like a growl, and the guy slapped his textbook shut.
“Part of what?” he said.
“The hazing.”
“Hazing?”
“For Pi Kappa Beta. I told Mike I didn’t want to join, but he signed me up as a pledge, didn’t he?”
The guy met Logan’s gaze with a steady stare. “Do I look like a frat brat?”
Logan sized him up. Blond, blue-eyed, ridiculously good-looking, athletic …
“Yeah, you do.”
The guy snorted and shook his head. “You want to get out of this alive, you’re going to need a better story than that.”
“A—alive?”
“Dumb kid,” he muttered. “You’re lucky you
are
just a kid. Otherwise I’d be digging your grave out back, not babysitting you.”
Logan lowered his eyelids so the guy wouldn’t see the flash of fear.
Get a grip
, he told himself. It’s a hazing. Bury me in the backyard? Please. Couldn’t Pi Kappa Beta come up with something more believable than that?
“Did you really think you’d get away with it?” the guy continued.“Barely Changed, and you’re going to challenge the Alpha? That first Change addle your
Now, as he walked to the front door, he had the sense of being watched, but when he listened and sniffed, no one was there. Yes,
sniffed
—something he’d never admit to doing. Forests weren’t the only thingthat had a scent, he’d learned. Sometimes he could smell his friends coming long before he saw them. His hearing had improved, too. So when he listened and smelled, and detected no one, he knew no one was there.
He stepped onto the front porch and lifted his hand. Then he stopped. Behind this door could be his father. Was he ready? What would he say?
“Looking for someone?” drawled a voice behind him.
Logan wheeled to see a young man step onto the porch. He was around Logan’s age, maybe a couple of years older, well built, with curly blond hair and blue eyes, his strong jaw the only thing keeping him from tipping over into pretty-boy.
“You looking for someone?” the guy repeated.
Logan squared his shoulders.
“Jeremy Danvers.”
The guy’s eyes went from cool to icy. “Yeah?”
“Yes. Is he home?”
“You think this is a good idea?”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking if you want to reconsider. Maybe you made a mistake.”
Logan met the guy’s stare. “If Jeremy Danvers is here, I want to see him.”
The guy gave a slow nod. Then his fist shot out, plowing into Logan’s jaw. Logan slammed into the stone wall and everything went dark.
Logan’s face sank into something soft and warm, and he inhaled the faintest scent of laundry detergent. He lifted his head. Pain throbbed through his skull and he let out a soft moan, then dropped back onto the pillow. A few more minutes of sleep, and then he’d—
His eyes snapped open as he remembered what had happened.
He lay on a twin bed covered with a clean bottom sheet, but no top sheet or blankets. In front of him was a bare wall. He picked up the slight scent of dampness. A basement. He rolled over and saw…He blinked. Bars.
Logan started jumping up, but the pain forced him down, and he bit back a wave of nausea. Jail? Oh, God, what had he gotten himself into?
He’d heard rumors of college kids venturing into a backwater town and winding up in jail. Well, if that was the case, these yokels would be in for a shock. He was a law student…well, prelaw anyway.
At the rustle of the page turning, Logan looked to see the guy who’d decked him. He sat on a folding chair outside the cell and was reading a textbook, with a pencil between his fingers. He jotted something in the margin, then continued reading.
A student? Logan looked around. He wasn’t in jail; he was in someone’s basement, with an older student standing guard. Now it made sense.
“It was a setup, wasn’t it?” Logan said.
The guy lifted a finger, telling Logan to wait, as if he’d known he was awake.
“The letter, the address, it was all part of it,” Logan continued.
A soft sound, almost like a growl, and the guy slapped his textbook shut.
“Part of what?” he said.
“The hazing.”
“Hazing?”
“For Pi Kappa Beta. I told Mike I didn’t want to join, but he signed me up as a pledge, didn’t he?”
The guy met Logan’s gaze with a steady stare. “Do I look like a frat brat?”
Logan sized him up. Blond, blue-eyed, ridiculously good-looking, athletic …
“Yeah, you do.”
The guy snorted and shook his head. “You want to get out of this alive, you’re going to need a better story than that.”
“A—alive?”
“Dumb kid,” he muttered. “You’re lucky you
are
just a kid. Otherwise I’d be digging your grave out back, not babysitting you.”
Logan lowered his eyelids so the guy wouldn’t see the flash of fear.
Get a grip
, he told himself. It’s a hazing. Bury me in the backyard? Please. Couldn’t Pi Kappa Beta come up with something more believable than that?
“Did you really think you’d get away with it?” the guy continued.“Barely Changed, and you’re going to challenge the Alpha? That first Change addle your
Similar Books
