Logan's Rattler by A. Jarrett (inspirational novels txt) 📗

louder as they got closer to the campsite. Finn broke the kiss to look at his friends.

“Seriously, guys, were you going to let him start slicing my head from my shoulders before you came to my fucking rescue?” Finn smiled as he joked with them.

“Hey,” Ben said with a mischievous grin on his face. “I know you pretty well, and you would have never let us hear the end of it if we stole your thunder.” Ben’s voice grew serious. “I know what it’s like to want to save the man you love, and I wasn’t about to take that away from you.”

Finn nodded his head in thanks. “I appreciate that.”

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“No sweat, but we did have a backup plan set in place in case your ass needed it,” Ben teased.

“You let Logan go to distract Rhett, didn’t you?” he asked Klaus.

“Well.” Klaus’s face scrunched as if he was thinking of a way to explain what had happened. “Technically that wasn’t the plan, but your mate elbowed me pretty fucking hard in the ribs, so he kind of got away on his own.”

Finn looked back at his mate. “You’d risk yourself to save me?”

He knew the answer, but it was always nice to hear the man Finn loved confess his affection.

“I’d die for you a thousand times over again.” Tears sprang to Logan’s eyes. “I love you, Finn.”

Before Finn could respond, the sound of coughing interrupted them.

“Lindsay.”

Logan pulled away from Finn to stare over at Rhett, who lay motionless on the ground. A rattlesnake bite from a shifter was deadly to other paranormals. It was a death sentence. There had yet to be a cure for such a bite.

Finn grabbed Logan’s arm as he moved toward Rhett. The venom caused paralysis, but Finn didn’t want to take any chances. “It could be a trick.”

Logan understood Finn’s hesitation, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Rhett needed to find peace. Even though this man killed his best friend, Logan still had his humanity and could show this man some mercy.

“Let me go to him,” Logan said softly. “He’s dying. I feel like I owe this to Lindsay.”

Finn looked to Rhett then back to him. He gave a quick nod, and Logan crawled over to Rhett.

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“I’m here, Rhett.” Logan took Rhett’s hand in his and cradled it to his chest.

“I’m so sorry for what I’ve done,” Rhett rasped out. “I never meant to hurt anyone, but I’ve missed you so much. I’d have done just about anything to be with you again.”

“It’s okay.” Part of Logan could sympathize with the man. Living without the love of his life had to be a grueling existence. He ran his hand through Rhett’s sweat coated hair and tried to sooth the man in his final minutes.

“I shouldn’t have let you run into that fire.” Rhett began to cough, and blood bubbled up in his mouth. “I should have been the one to die in that fire not you.”

“Shh, don’t talk like that.” Logan didn’t know what else to say.

What Rhett did was wrong, but he did it for love. Logan wondered how he would have reacted had the shoe been on the other foot.

“We’ll be together soon, promise.”

“Logan.” He looked up at Ben when the man spoke. “Ask him if he knows the name of the witch who he made the deal with,” Ben said in a low voice, but Logan didn’t think it mattered. Rhett seemed pretty out of it and probably didn’t even notice the other men standing around.

“Rhett, can you tell me the name of the man who made you this deal to bring me back?”

Rhett started to wheeze, and his eyes lost all focus. Logan laid his fingers against the hot flesh of Rhett’s cheeks, trying to bring him back to the present.

“Rhett, please, do you remember the witch’s name?”

“Damon.” Rhett’s breath came out in a hard gasp. “His name was Damon.”

Logan looked up at Ben. The man looked over to Klaus, and the witch gave a jerky nod. Whatever they needed to know Rhett must have been able to provide that bit of information.

“Will you be there waiting for me?”

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He looked down when he heard Rhett’s small whisper. Logan’s eyes stung from the unshed tears building up. This man had caused him so much pain and hurt, but it wasn’t in him to not show compassion. Lindsay was his ancestor and the least he could do was help ease Rhett’s transition from this life into the next.

“Of course I will.” Logan smiled through his sadness, trying to be strong.

Rhett’s breath drew shallow, and his eyes went blank. Logan saw the