Victoria’s Secret was on the other end of the mall. Long before I got there, I could tell there was a commotion going on inside. I heard the thumping bass of techno music playing, and customers were gathered by the doors to look inside.
I had to push through the crowd to get a view. When I did, I gasped.
There was a folding table set up by the door, just like in all the other stores. And Logan was wearing the same Santa outfit as Harper and Riley. But there was one important difference: Logan was shirtless. His red pants were bunched up around his waist, and he was wearing a red-and-white hat, but there was nothing in between covering his skin. Logan’s chiseled body was on full display as he danced in place while wrapping a box on the table. His butt swayed back and forth in time with the thumping music, giving all the women outside the store quite the show.
Inside the store, there were at least twenty women waiting to get their presents wrapped.
He handed a poorly-wrapped box back to a woman, who stuffed a wad of bills into the donation jar. He blew her a kiss, then saw me.
“There’s my favorite person,” he said while accepting a box from the next woman in line.
“I have a million questions right now,” I replied.
“Can they wait? I’m kind of busy.”
“Yeah!” the woman in line snapped at me. “He’s busy. So wait your turn.”
I ignored her and asked, “Why aren’t you in the Grand Canyon? I thought you were working for the next couple of days.”
“Plans changed. I’m here now.”
A woman leaned over my shoulder. “You work in the Grand Canyon?”
“I’m a National Park Ranger.”
She and two other women swooned. Seriously—they visibly swooned at Logan like he was a juicy steak they wanted to sink their teeth into. One of them grabbed a box of perfume off the shelf and hurried to get in line.
“Did you get permission to be in this store?” I asked. “They normally don’t let us set up, because they put everything in pink Victoria’s Secret shopping bags.”
Logan pointed at the check-out line. “Oh yeah. The manager was all for it. We’re drawing more customers than she’s ever seen.”
He finished wrapping the next gift, then handed it to the waiting customer. She pulled a fifty-dollar bill out of her purse and then aimed it at Logan’s face. He slowly leaned forward, opened his mouth, and then snatched the money away with his teeth. The customer giggled and left. Logan put the money in the donation jar. Which was already almost full.
“Heard you found out about Riley,” Logan said.
I stiffened. “I did.”
“He’s a dumbass,” Logan said. “Harper and I’ve been trying to get him to tell you the truth, but he was all embarrassed about it. I don’t know why. You knew about my community service hours and it wasn’t a big deal. I guess Riley was worried you would think less of him.”
“I guess so.”
He glanced at me while still dancing in place. “I hope you can forgive him. Maybe not today, but eventually. He’s got a good heart.”
“We’ll see,” I said, but I was already struggling to stay mad at Riley and the others.
Suddenly there was some shoving and shouting behind us. The crowd of watching women parted and two Flagstaff Police Officers walked into the store.
The Victoria’s Secret manager came running up. “Is this about the crowd? I know the max occupancy is only forty, so if there’s an issue we can tell people to wait outside…”
The first officer shook his head. “We’re looking for Logan Verdugo.”
Logan abruptly stopped dancing. “Ah, shit.”
“Are you Mr. Verdugo?” the officer asked.
“Afraid so.” He raised his voice. “Sorry ladies, but the show’s over.”
“What! Why?” the next woman in line demanded.
The cops pushed forward and secured Logan’s hands behind his back with a pair of handcuffs. “Logan Verdugo, you’re under arrest for assault and battery.”
The crowd of women went wild. They began shouting and screaming Logan’s name, pushing against the cops and grabbing Logan’s arms. For a few moments I felt like I was a girl in the sixties caught between The Beetles and their rabid fans.
Eventually they gave way for the cops. I followed them out into the mall promenade. “What did you do?” I demanded.
“It’s possible we paid a visit to Pierce’s house last night.”
“And you assaulted him?”
Logan glanced at the cop. I could tell he didn’t want to admit anything out loud.