Page 32 of A Reputation Dark & Deadly

"I never fucking agreed to that, sweetheart," he said.

Peyton's eyes cut him and he flinched. It was subtle and it was quick but she noticed that his face did react to her look, whether he would admit it or not.

"You're a dick," she said through gritted teeth. "You know what? You can go. I'll take the tour by myself." She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to open the passenger door when Logan grabbed her wrist.

"I don't fucking think you know what you do to me," he told her slowly, his eyes burning into hers, making her cheeks flush with heat. "Hell, I don't know why you do to me. All I know is that you fucking scare the shit out of me but I can't not be around you." He reached out and curled an errant strand of hair behind her ear. She hadn't meant to, but Peyton leaned into his touch and his eyes widened just slightly that she would react in such a way. "Am I finished? Can we go?"

Peyton swallowed and leaned back in her chair. "Was that so hard?" she asked. He shot her a warning look and she couldn't help it when a giggle slipped out of her mouth.

Logan rolled his hazel eyes and popped out of the car. Peyton followed suit. After closing the door to the car, she shoved her hands in the pockets of her thick hoodie. It was ridiculously cold, the sky already black just after seven o'clock at night. The sky was overcast and dark grey. The rain had finished up a couple of days ago but there was a good chance a new storm was coming. As much as she loved the rain, Peyton didn't want it to prevent her from getting this tour of the jail.

Logan was in his usual leather jacket with a red scarf tied around his neck. On his feet were black boots and he wore black jeans and a white shirt.

"Aren't you cold?" Peyton asked, hunched over to try and keep as warm as possible as she made her way over to him.

"Only my heart," he replied with a snarky grin.

Peyton rolled her eyes but smiled and followed Logan as he led her to the entrance. There was one ticket booth which was now closed that led to a metal gate. A man leaned against the gate, nearly as tall as Logan but not nearly as lean. It was hard for Peyton to make him out in the darkness but just from the lean alone, she could tell he had to be related to Logan in some way.

By the time they reached the man, he had turned on one of the street lights so the front entrance was lit up and easier to see.

"Hi," the man said, his blue eyes resting on Peyton. "I'm Brandon, Logan's half-brother. You must be Logan's TA."

Peyton nodded. She found it interesting that Logan hadn't referred to her as his student but she pointedly ignored the curiosity that started bubbling up inside of her. Instead, she placed her hand in his offered one and shook it.

"Peyton," she told him. She gave him a big smile and dropped her hand to her side. "Thanks so much for agreeing to do this! I'm so excited. I love all things Alvin Herbert."

Brandon chuckled. "How can I refuse my brother, especially when he never brings girls over to meet his only family?" he said, shifting his eyes over to Logan.

Peyton shifted her eyes and found Logan giving his brother a look similar to the one he had given her in the car, minus all of the amusement.

She furrowed her brow, unsure of what to make of it. She hadn't thought that there was anything amiss between the two but the more she looked at Brandon and the more she stayed in line with Logan, the more she felt this unspoken tension circle the two men, coiling around their bodies and squeezing like snakes.

From the corner of her eyes, Peyton took the opportunity to take in Brandon now that she was up close and in the light. She didn't particularly like comparing the two together since she barely knew Brandon save for the fact that he worked here and was Logan's half-brother and it was hard to compare Logan to anyone, if she was being honest. However, she found that while Logan was older than Brandon by a few years, she preferred his salt and pepper scruffiness to Brandon's clean cut look. Logan was both taller with broader shoulders and more muscle but Brandon held his own despite being leaner and a couple of inches shorter. Brandon's skin was a shade darker as well, leading Peyton to believe he was mixed with either Italian or Hispanic genes. Brandon also dressed much different than Logan. Currently, he wore a white collared shirt tucked into dark jeans and had loafers on his feet. His chestnut brown hair was combed and in place but it wasn't slicked back like Logan's. While Logan looked at his brother as though this was the last place he wanted to be, Brandon looked at Logan with a competitive gleam in his eye, as though his only mission in life was to best his brother.

Peyton shifted uncomfortably. Why had Logan agreed to take her here when he clearly did not get along with Brandon and didn't want anything to do with him? Why put himself through it?

Before Peyton was allowed to give the question much thought, Brandon clapped his hands together, shifting his eyes from Logan so they rested on Peyton.

"Well, the night's only going to get colder," he pointed out. "Why don't we begin?"

The tour was just under two hours. Once they left the entrance and slipped past the gates, Peyton completely forgot about Logan's choice to be here in the first place. Instead, she immersed herself in the rich history the small building had to offer.

The jail itself was smaller than people usually thought. Typically, the general public didn't quite realize that jails were only supposed to be used to house temporary inmates. A lot of the times, they were occupied with drunkards sleeping off their booze-infused hangover or they awaited trial. Larger, more secure prisons housed inmates that were sentenced for a long duration of time. Old Newport Jail only had three jail cells, two community cells for the drunks, prostitutes, and alcohol sellers, and one that held anyone deemed as more dangerous and was awaiting either transport to a bigger facility or sentencing at the next door courthouse.

Peyton took pictures of herself in Herbert's original cell and Brandon led her through the motions of his grand escape once he was found not guilty of murder. The state was going to extradite him to Iowa for robbing banks and somehow, Herbert escaped from a jail that was supposed to be impenetrable.

After that, Brandon led them back to the jail cell before excusing himself. The tour was winding down and he needed to make sure everything was off and ready for tomorrow, leaving Peyton alone with Logan in the cell.

"You are so fucking weird," he said when they were finally alone. His eyes were gleaming with amusement, however, and his tone was playful rather than malicious.

Peyton was smiling when she finally looked at him. Not even his smartass comments could dim her happiness.

"And you're a grump," she said. "You have no idea how cool this is. You have no idea how happy I am right now."

"Trust me, I know." He shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. The crinkle of his leather filled the silence. He leaned towards her and flicked her nose. "You haven't stopped smiling like an idiot."

Peyton let the gruff comment roll off her shoulders with ease. She beamed at him and his eyes were caught into hers. He looked stricken by something on her face, and it took her a few seconds before she realized that she could read that look. He wasn't trying to hide it. He was stricken by her. Not her nose or her eyes or anything else but by her. She felt her smile slipping but not because she was unhappy. If anything, she was more serious about this new feeling, the thrum of the moment cackling with sparks.