He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not

from the fears and worries that plagued her.
    He couldn’t put it off any longer. Time to see what kind of damage his baby sister had done. She’d wreaked havoc with his love life in the past, telling one of his girlfriends in high school that he had herpes. Madison thought the lie was hilarious. His girlfriend didn’t. That was the end of their relationship.
    Not letting Madison see how he felt about Amanda would be a challenge. Not letting her know how furious he was about her coming to Shadow Falls when he’d asked her not to would be even more challenging.
    Then again, maybe it was a good idea to let her see how furious he was. It might knock some sense into her, make her see that he had serious concerns about her safety. But he didn’t want to scare Amanda, make her dwell on the killer again. It was a hell of a situation.
    “I haven’t told you yet about Logan’s date to the senior prom and his alleged medical condition.” Madison laughed.
    “And you’re not going to.” Logan strode into the room.
    Amanda looked up at Logan standing on the other side of the coffee table, hands on his hips, scowling at his sister.
    “Logan,” Madison said. “You’re home.”
    “And you’re not. Why is that?”
    “I’m on vacation. You knew that.”
    He leaned forward, placing his palms on the coffee table, his scowl even darker. Amanda was glad his anger was targeted at Madison instead of her. She wouldn’t want to face him in his current mood. His sister was grinning, not daunted in the least.
    “You were on vacation the last time I talked to you,” he said. “I told you to either stay where you were or go back to New York. I specifically told you not to come here.”
    “Since when have I ever done what you told me to do?”
    He gritted his teeth together and straightened. “I’m serious, Madison. You shouldn’t have come. It’s not safe.”
    “But it’s safe for Amanda to be here?”
    “That’s different.”
    “Why? Because you don’t want her to leave? You would put your own desires over her safety?”
    A tic started in his cheek. “Do you really think I’d put anything above Mandy’s safety?”
    Madison grinned at Amanda. “He calls you Mandy? How sweet.”
    “Oh, for God’s sake,” he growled.
    “Oh, for God’s sake, yourself,” Madison said. “I haven’t seen you in months. At least give me a hug before you go all cop on me. I’ve missed you.”
    She jumped off the couch and charged around the coffee table toward him. Amanda thought she was going to tackle him but at the last second, he opened his arms and caught his sister against his chest.
    “I missed you too, trouble.” He gave her a hug and kissed the top of her head. His anger seemed to evaporate as soon as she hugged him, but lines of worry still crinkled his brow.
    He looked over her and gave Amanda a slow, sexy wink.
    Instantly her pulse sped up and an ache started in her belly.
    Oh, boy, did she have it bad.
    Madison pulled back and looked up at him, her face serious for once. “If it makes you feel better, Amanda already lectured me about coming here. She explained what was going on and that I should have listened to you. And if I’d known all the details, I would have followed your advice. But as usual, you tried to protect me by dancing around the issue. All you did was make me curious, which is why I came. So, it’s really your fault that I’m here.”
    “I told you not to come. That’s the only detail you needed.”
    “You hear that, Amanda? My brother thinks telling a woman to do something is the same as asking . It’s going to take a special woman to put up with his archaic views and bring him into the current century.”
    Without giving Amanda a chance to respond, Madison pointed her finger at Logan’s chest and poked it against him with every syllable to emphasize her words. “Amanda is a very special woman. I hope you appreciate her.”
    She turned and strode toward the archway. “I’m going to go upstairs and get ready for bed. I chose the blue bedroom on the opposite side of the house from yours, Logan. I’ll turn my iPod up really, really loud. Good night, you two. Have fun.”
    Amanda’s eyes widened at Madison’s parting words.
    “She’s a real force of nature, isn’t she?” Logan sat in the recliner opposite the couch.
    “I like her,” Amanda said. “I can’t always follow what she’s talking about, but I like her. She’s sweet.”
    “You think she’s sweet?”
    “I