#Chapter 65: Eventful Evening

Logan Jesse’s letter arrived at dawn. It smelled like wine and smoke, like all his very essence had been pressed into the parchment along with the ink. Arrogance was in every stroke of his quill. I knew I shouldn’t read it more than once, but I did. I read it four times, in fact. It took several attempts before the true meaning of the words sank in. And then, each sentence scratched deeper into my skull like claws across stone, wearing it away. It was a taunt. Every word. Every flourish of his quill was intentional and made to irk me. And of course, it did. How could a threat to Evelyn not? Her safety was at risk every moment she drew breath around him. And she was still there. Still surrounded by his rogues. Still unrescued because of my failure to retrieve her. Every hour, thoughts of Jesse with Evelyn plagued me. I was so haunted by these possibilities that I decided it was time to take drastic measures that evening. Before sunrise, I was pacing the stone corridor