As Tyler’s car pulled away, Jean couldn’t shake the cold realization that he had already gotten exactly what he wanted tonight... Logan in custody... and her on her knees, begging.

The precinct’s interior felt even colder when Jean walked back in with Jared and Martha at her side. The desk sergeant glanced up, recognition flashing in his eyes the moment he saw Jared Kingsley.

"Mr. Kingsley," the sergeant said, already straightening in his chair. "Detective Harlan is with your son now..."

"Then tell him I want him out," Jared cut in, his voice even carrying that quiet authority that made people move. "Now."

The sergeant nodded briskly and picked up the phone. Within moments, Harlan emerged from the back, holding a thin folder.

"We were just finishing up," the detective said, though his eyes flicked to Jared in wary acknowledgment. "Dominic’s statement, plus a few witness reports. With the charges filed, it’s complicated..."

"I’ll take complicated if that’s going to make my son out of this place," Jared interrupted again. "Start the paperwork."

Jean’s eyes were fixed on the hallway behind Harlan, and her heart kicked when Logan appeared, flanked by two officers. His hair was slightly mussed, jaw shadowed with bruising, but his eyes... those cold, unshakable eyes... locked on her the moment he saw her.

"Logan," she breathed, stepping forward, but he shook his head just enough to stop her.

"Wait," he told the officers. "I want to speak to her. Alone."

"That’s not standard procedure," one officer began, but Jared’s sharp look was enough to silence him.

They were given a corner of the waiting area, still within sight of the officers but far enough that their voices could be low.

Jean took in the sight of him... the fresh scrape along his temple, the swelling at his cheekbone and her hands itched to touch him, to make sure he was really okay. "You shouldn’t have gone to him," she whispered.

"And you shouldn’t have gone to him either," Logan replied, his voice razor thin. "I saw Tyler outside standing with you."

Her lips parted, guilt flashing in her eyes. "I had to try. They were talking about keeping you here longer."

"You don’t beg men like him, Jean," Logan said, his voice low but fierce. "He feeds on it."

Her throat tightened. "Then tell me what I’m supposed to do when I’m watching him destroy you and I can’t stop it."

Something in his expression softened, but only for a moment. "You stand with me. That’s all I’ll ever ask. The rest... I’ll handle it."

Before she could answer, Harlan called out that the release papers were ready. Logan straightened, his jaw setting again as he turned toward the desk. But the brief touch of his fingers brushing hers as he passed said what his words didn’t... I’m still here. And I’m not done.

_______________________

Jared’s deep voice was a low rumble over the phone, his tone sharp and commanding as he spoke to someone on the other end. Whatever he said worked... minutes later, the officers who had been hovering around Logan reluctantly stepped back. The tension in the room didn’t ease, though.

Jean stood frozen in the narrow hallway outside the interrogation room, her hands twisting together until her knuckles turned white.

Logan emerged, his wrists free, but his expression was far from relieved. His jaw was tight, his eyes darker than she’d ever seen them.

She took a step toward him. "Logan... What happened between you and Tyler? Why is he doing this?"

He stopped right in front of her, so close that she could feel the heat radiating from his body. For a moment, he said nothing... just studied her face as if he was looking for something.

Then, in a voice rough enough to scrape her heart raw, he asked, "Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant with his child?"

The hallway seemed to shrink. Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

_________________________

The ride home was suffocating. Not because of the luxury sedan’s leather seats or the city traffic... they could have been driving through an empty desert and it still would have felt the same.

Jean sat rigidly, her gaze fixed on the blur of passing streetlights, her hands curled tightly in her lap. Logan’s words from earlier still echoed inside her skull, cruel and sharp like a blade that refused to be pulled out.

"Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant with his child?"

She had answered him with silence, because anything she said would either sound like a lie... or a confession.

From the driver’s seat, Jared didn’t speak either, his eyes cold in the rearview mirror as if gauging whether the two of them were going to break apart before they even reached home. Martha sat beside him, her lips pressed thin, holding in questions she was clearly dying to ask.

In the back, Logan leaned back in his seat, arms folded. The shadows hid most of his expression, but Jean could feel his anger.

It wasn’t just in the way he sat... it was in the heat radiating off him, in the way every breath he took felt heavy enough to crush the air between them.

At one red light, he finally turned his head toward her. "If you think ignoring me will make this go away, Jean, you’re wrong."

She didn’t look at him. "And if you think accusing me without knowing the truth will make you right, then you’re no better than Tyler."

The muscle in his jaw twitched. The rest of the ride passed in silence, but the unspoken war between them filled every inch of space.

The drive was suffocating. Neither of them spoke, but the silence wasn’t empty. It was thick, pressing down like the weight of a storm cloud ready to burst.

Logan sat on the far side of the backseat, his gaze fixed out the window, jaw tight, hands clasped so hard his knuckles were pale. Jean could see his reflection in the glass... the hard line of his mouth, the dangerous stillness in his eyes.

That’s a part of me... I regret, Logan. I regret.