by Lori Ryan
Chad’s eyebrows shot up and Logan could tell he wasn’t taking Sam’s question or her apparent anxiety over the issue lightly.
“Who’s Alonzo?” Logan asked.
The answer came from Chad. “Lazarus Alonzo. He’s the guy who was behind the human trafficking ring that took Kelly a few years ago. Sam consulted with the FBI to hunt down the rest of the women who’d been taken, rescuing all but one of them.”
Logan didn’t miss the haunted look in Sam’s eyes at the mention of the woman she didn’t save. He knew that feeling, knew the horror of knowing you’d let someone down. Left someone behind.
“She also helped the FBI hack into his servers and freeze most of his assets, things he’d thought were hidden. When she found accounts the FBI couldn’t legally touch, she drained all the money out of them. They never caught him, but Sam was able to cripple him. It’s rumored he’s rebuilding his empire, but it’s slow going without the resources Sam took from him.”
“Could it be him?” Logan figured Chad would have kept tabs on whether the FBI had any leads on this guy and whether he might be coming for Sam.
Chad locked eyes with Logan and Logan had his answer. It was possible. But it seemed Chad wasn’t going to let on to Sam that she might have an old enemy coming after her.
“Alonzo shouldn’t have access to your identity, Sam. The FBI was really firm about keeping it confidential and I know the agents we worked with. They’re good. They wouldn’t let your true identity out there,” Chad said.
Sam said exactly what Logan was thinking: “Anything can be hacked.”
The statement was ironic and neither man could argue with her, given her status as one of the best—if not the best—hackers in the country.
There had to be a file somewhere with her name in it, and if she could hack anything, there were others out there who could, as well.
Chad nodded but kept his voice even. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Sam. It’s more likely your work here is what this person was after when they bugged you. Could be someone’s trying to get access to info on Sutton through you. They know you sit in on a lot of Jack’s meetings and you have access to a lot of sensitive information. They also wouldn’t think you’d realize your things had been moved in a locker, whereas Jack or Andrew or I would be expected to be more on guard about stuff like that. People who don’t know you wouldn’t expect that you’d spot something out of place so quickly, so they might have thought you were an easy target to bug.”
Logan watched carefully and Sam’s face seemed to ease as she took in the logic of what Chad was saying.
“I’ll head home with you and be sure nothing’s been planted at your house, Sam,” Logan said. “Do you have a security system at your home?”
Sam shook her head no. She should have one. Logan knew she’d been making a lot of money with her new game. He was surprised she didn’t live in a mansion somewhere at this point, but that just wasn’t like her. That was evidenced by the fact she hadn’t quit her job. She sure as hell didn’t need to work at Sutton for the money.
Hell, he’d seen action figures and backpacks based on Tangled Legacy at the store the other day. When they were selling merchandise based on your game, it meant you’d officially hit it big. She should have a security system and then some at this point.
“Okay. We can get one put in place quickly enough. Give me a day to get things lined up with Zach and we’ll get you set up with security,” Logan said.
Sam nodded but the look on her face told him she was battling nerves on the inside. The urge to wrap his arms around her and pull her in close swept through him. He gritted his teeth as they walked out, shoving away thoughts of being her hero.
The drive to her house was going to take all the nerve he had in him right now. He wasn’t in any shape to be anyone else’s hero, when he couldn’t even keep his own shit together. Couldn’t even drive from point A to point B without having to force the bile down in his throat.
Chapter 7
Sam put her key in the lock, but Logan startled her when he closed his hand over hers.
“Let me go first. Just in case.” He smiled at her but the smile was cold. He wasn’t focused on her right now. He was in military mode. Or what she assumed was military mode. He seemed more like a machine at the moment, and Sam wondered if this was normal after his ride home. If it had to do with any PTSI symptoms when he was driving or if it was because he was in protection mode for her.
He never told her as much, but she knew driving was hard for him. He arrived at the office far too early and left far too late. She had read about the trouble veterans could have with sitting in traffic or even just being at a red light, and she was fairly sure he was having those types of issues. But, he’d stayed right behind her for the ten-minute drive to her town house. She had to wonder what it had taken him, emotionally, to persevere.
Maybe he’d slipped into soldier mode because of the threat, or what they all assumed was a threat, to her. Maybe this was just his protective mode.
If this was how he functioned when threatened, she couldn’t imagine how hard it had been on him to live like this for years, through deployments overseas and who knows how many missions with his team. What would it take to shut down your feelings and function with such pure, calculated precision and drive?
She moved over as Logan entered the small space that her front door opened into. The town house was three levels, with the front door opening into a hallway in the basement level. There was a garage to the left and a staircase to the right. Between them was a short hallway that led to a finished room that still stood empty. Sam had never decided what to do with the room and only used it to get to the utility room that housed the hot water heater.
Logan quickly checked the garage and back room, looking into the utility room as well, before returning to Sam and starting up the stairs that led to the second level of the house. This level featured a sunken living room with a fireplace and framed images of characters from Tangled Legacy, her online game, hanging against one wall.
A case mounted on another wall held collectable figures from Tangled Legacy. Sliding glass doors led to a small patio and a common grass area.
Another three-step staircase to their left led to a dining room that looked out over the living room, broken up only by a half wall and the added height. Logan would easily be able to see anyone in these rooms without having to enter them because of the open concept.
He turned left, moving through the dining room to the kitchen and Sam waited while he checked in there. She was fascinated with how he moved, his feet silent, his body always placed to maximize her safety and provide cover for himself and her.
She’d thought about Chad’s explanation that this was simply someone seeking information about her work at Sutton and she thought he was right. It made sense.
And because of that, she didn’t truly believe anyone would be in her town house. She allowed herself to fantasize about all the other things Logan’s body could do as she watched him move with ease through her rooms.
He wasn’t just in shape; he was a machine. He’d released the top two buttons on his shirt during the drive here and she could see the tanned skin below his neck tempting her with all kinds of illicit thoughts.
Sam actually felt saliva build in her mouth at the thought of reaching her tongue out and trailing it down his neck, while she undid a few more buttons to expose his chest.
Then he was silently making his way up the next staircase to the final level of the town house and Sam’s mind flashed to her bedroom. She quickly catalogued the room in her mind. Three skirts, two pair of pants, five shirts, and three bras hung throughout the room. The remnants of her morning frenzy as she dressed.
Well, it could be worse. At least the clothes were all piled on her bed and chair and she’d put her shoes back in the rack in her closet before she walked out the door. And there were no panties hanging around. That was something.
She followed along behind him, hanging back on
the stairs to watch. Logan swept her bedroom and bathroom, even going so far as to open the door to the crawl space in the bathroom, and then the guestroom while she waited on the staircase landing. When he finished, he returned to her, his eyes looking slightly more relaxed. A little more like the man she knew.
And, of course, her eyes found their way back to the vein that ran down the side of his neck, disappearing beneath his shirt. Oh, how she wanted to follow it down, stripping back the fabric to see what lay beneath it.
Sam swallowed hard as Logan moved toward her, his body predatory. He bent in close to whisper in her ear and Sam bit her cheeks to keep from gasping.
Or launching herself into his arms. Launching was a very distinct possibility. The heat of his breath tickled over her skin, teasing and taunting her.
“Offer me a drink, Sam,” Logan whispered, but her brain had a hard time processing what he meant.
She pulled back and looked at him. His grin was wide and amusement now colored his eyes.
The soldier was gone. Teasing, playful Logan was back in place.
He ran his hands up her arms, sending chills—the good kind—through her body before pulling her in close again. Mouth at her ear—and this time she’d swear he intentionally let his mouth touch the curve of her ear ever so slightly, sending shivers through her—he whispered his instruction again.
“Samantha, offer me a drink. The listening device in your bag is picking up nothing but silence so far.”
Oh. Right. The bugs.
Sam nodded, not exactly trusting her voice as she drew her eyes up to Logan’s face. He smirked at her as he pulled out a device she assumed would sweep for listening devices. Sam cleared her throat.
“Can I get you a drink, Logan? Um, I think I have root beer and, um, maybe … water. Milk? I have milk.”
Milk … it does a body good. His body sure has done good. Maybe he’s a milk drinker.
Logan was grinning at her again, the look in his eye telling her that maybe she’d said that out loud.
“Did I do it again?”
“Yup.” The look on his face was entirely too smug.
“Jerk. What do you want to drink?”
There was laughter in his eyes and his voice as he continued to scan her home with the device he’d brought. “Water would be great,” he said, as he headed off toward the stairs to the second floor.
Sam left her jacket and purse up in her room, purposefully leaving them behind, so unless Logan found more bugs, no one would overhear their conversation.
She followed him down the stairs but when he headed into the dining and living rooms, she stayed in the kitchen, popping ice into two glasses and filling one with water and the other with root beer. Root beer was her vice. Certainly not her only vice. But a big one.
“Make yourself comfortable,” she called in to Logan as she put the root beer back in the fridge and bumped the door shut with her hip. She figured if there were bugs in here, they should be saying something to one another. She saw Logan slip almost silently down the stairs to the basement before coming back up and crossing to the couch, where he sat down.
“Nothing in the house,” he said. He tossed a signal jammer, similar to the one Chad had given her earlier, on the coffee table.
“The scanner should have picked up any devices even if they weren’t transmitting. Some devices only pick up if a bug is actively transmitting information. Chad likes his toys and keeps some pretty advanced stuff around, but to be on the safe side, continue to jam any conversations you don’t want overheard.”
Sam sat beside Logan and handed him his water before sipping her root beer. She tucked one leg up under her and tried not to pay attention to the fact that the hottest man she’d ever met was sitting next to her. In her home.
She tried to ignore the fact that, when he sat, the strong muscles of his thighs flexed against the fabric of his pants, drawing her gaze and making her wonder what those muscles looked like beneath his pants. What they felt like.
This time, she caught herself before she reached a hand out. No feeling up the hot guy sitting next to you. His knowledge of all this technical stuff actually made him twenty times more appealing than he would be if he’d just been a pretty face and a hot body.
“Do you really think this is just about Sutton and someone digging for information? The competition looking for something?” Sam asked.
“Yeah, I do,” Logan said. He half turned to face her on the couch, one arm up over the top edge. He lifted a strand of her hair and let it run through his fingers.
Sam almost rolled her eyes at how her body reacted to the simple gesture. It was more than just the physical rush of heat and the leap in her chest. There was an emotional tug at her heart and she needed to remind herself that Logan didn’t plan to act on whatever this was that seemed to pull them together.
He’d said as much to Jack at the cocktail party. She overheard it herself.
Well, not overheard. She saw it come out of his mouth with her own eyes. And despite how many times he told her she looked like Jessica Rabbit and he thought she was hot, he didn’t plan to do anything about it. Which sucked.
“You should really think about moving into a higher security place. Something with gated access and regular security patrols.”
Sam shook her head. “Can’t. Mrs. Murphy relies on me to bring her groceries and Mr. Johnson needs someone to help him feed and trap the feral cats that live in the woods behind us. We trap and release them after we get them neutered or spayed.”
Logan gave a slight shake of his head, but he didn’t push. “We’ll have Zach set up security here then. He’ll install the standard door and window sensors, but I’ll also have him put in some panic buttons in strategic places that you can hit if you’re ever in trouble. He can wire them to the police station, but also to me. I’m only five minutes away from here.”
Sam told herself to focus on what Logan was saying, but it was hard. She should probably be taking this more seriously, but both Chad and Logan had assured her she was likely safe. Really, how could she be expected to pay attention to words when he was sitting on her couch, staring at her with those intense eyes that made her want to whimper and strip down to her panties?
“Are you listening to me, Sam?”
Sort of.
“Yup.” She nodded.
“The crawl space in your master bathroom — if the alarm is tripped or you notice anything suspicious, hit the panic button and head right for that crawl space. Barricade yourself in with the boxes in there. Is there anything heavy in them? Heavy enough to hold the door?”
“Books,” Sam said. “Most of them are filled with books.”
Logan nodded. “Good. Light enough for you to move quickly, but if you pile a few in front of the door, they should hold briefly. They’ll buy you a little time. And, with the crawl space being in your master bathroom, it’ll be one of the last places any intruder gets to when they enter. Block yourself in and don’t come out for anyone other than myself or Chad. I’ll get a bar to add to that door to fortify it, but the boxes are your contingency plan until we get that installed.”
“So yummy when you’re in protector mode.” Sam sighed. “Damn, that was out loud, wasn’t it?”
Logan gave a huff with a shake of his head, but she saw the corners of his mouth twitch and knew he was trying not to smile.
“I should go,” he said, standing. He picked up the jammer and handed it to her. “Remember to turn this off and let them hear you watching a little TV and brushing your teeth. Anything they’d expect to hear.”
“Won’t anyone listening think that’s odd? I mean, suddenly their device just goes out?”
He shrugged. “At first they’ll just assume it’s interference from everyday stuff you’d run across. It won’t tip them off for a few days, at least. Eventually, they’ll notice it’s happening too often, but not at first.”
He paused and seemed to search her face. “Are you okay to stay here tonight by your
self? Do you want me to stay with you until Zach gets your security system in place?”
Yes, please.
“No, that’s okay. I’m not worried about it. I think Chad’s right. Jack will probably know exactly who it is and Chad will track the bugs back to them and it’ll all be fine. Like you guys said, I’m the weak link. Chad and Jack and Andrew would certainly notice anything awry right away and people know that. They wouldn’t think I would spot anything, so they targeted me, that’s all.”
He seemed to shake himself out of a haze. With purposeful movements, he took the jammer from her hand and showed her that he was turning it off. She wasn’t honestly sure if his next words and actions were for show for whoever might be listening, or not.
Frankly, she didn’t care.
Because before she knew what was happening, Logan was murmuring her name and he’d lowered his head to hers, capturing her mouth with his.
And, oh God, capture was the right word. Because the haze and heat and dizziness of the kiss caught her. Caught in the control of his hands as he laced them through her hair and angled her head, taking the kiss soul deep with the stroke of his tongue on her lips. Lips that parted without thought or care, letting him delve into her mouth.
Sam moaned and Logan’s arm dropped to her waist, hauling her against him, bringing the hard planes of his body flush to the soft contours of hers. Her entire body responded in an instant, and tantalizing warmth raced through her as her curves fit to him.
And then, he pulled away. His gaze was intense, his breath just the smallest bit out of control, but he quickly collected himself. He steadied his breathing as he pushed her away from him, seeming to place her quite purposefully out of reach.
Sam couldn’t make out his thoughts, and honestly had no idea if he’d done that simply for the benefit of anyone listening, or because he’d wanted to.
She was going to choose to think he’d wanted to, but he shuttered his eyes and said a quick goodnight before walking away, and that left her wondering if it was all just for show, after all.
