Christmas Conspiracy

by Robin Perini

  She bit her lip, looked at the kids and Gretchen having a makeshift picnic on the bed, and sighed. “We’re safe here,” she said, softly.

  Logan’s phone rang and he slid it from the case on his belt. Kat moved in to listen.

  “What do you see, Rafe?”

  “A teenager ran his muscle car off the road,” Rafe said. “Crashed through the fence and slammed into the tree. He must have been going pretty fast. The whole thing came down and destroyed his car—and the camera.”

  Kat sagged against Logan. A false alarm.

  “Is the kid okay?” Logan asked.

  “He’ll live, but he’s hurt. Doc stabilized him, and we’re taking him to the hospital. It’ll be faster than calling an ambulance. The hospital knows and the E.R. is on standby. I’ll be back soon,” his right-hand man said.

  “Okay. Make sure there are extra patrols out there.”

  “Already done, and some men are fixing the fence and clearing the tree off the road. Blake’s on his way.”

  “Copy that.” Logan ended the call and walked back to his security man. “You heard?”

  Zane’s hands were flying over the keyboard. “Everyone’s been alerted. The sheriff should be just about there.”

  “Is everything else still clear?”

  “So far as I can tell.”

  Logan hesitated. Should they stay in the panic room longer? The kids were fussing, and Kat looked exhausted. “Keep me posted,” he said to Zane before walking over to the group on the bed. “I guess we’re not playing down here, after all.”

  The two kids protested.

  “How about some lunch?” he asked. “Grilled cheese sandwiches?”

  “And more cookies?” Lanie jumped off the bed and headed to the stairs.

  “Maybe tonight,” Kat said with a frown. “You don’t need a sugar rush before a nap. You two have caused enough trouble for one morning.”

  Gretchen carted the kids up the stairs. Logan shut the door to Zane’s command station, waited until the alarm system reset and started after them.

  Kat clutched Logan’s arm, and they stopped on the stairway. She leaned into him, and let his hand caress her back, feeding off his strength.

  “I can’t live in fear anymore, Logan,” Kat insisted. “Call the king. If this is what my life is going to be like as a princess—constant fear of assassins showing up or royal guards coming after me—I don’t want to be one.”

  “You’re sure?” Logan tilted her chin up to meet his. “Most people would jump at the chance to be royalty, even with the inherent danger.”

  Kat met his gaze sadly. “Not me. I never bought into the princess fantasy, even when I was a kid. I wanted a horse to ride, my mom healthy and at home to tuck me in at night. Other than that, I just prayed not to go to bed hungry,” Kat said. “I never expected much more.”

  “And now?”

  “I want to stay alive. I want the life I was building back. I want my kids safe, and I want them to grow up like normal children. I may not be able to provide for them like the king, but things will get better for us. Someday.”

  Logan stepped away from her, his expression wary. “Do I have a place in your plans, Kat?”

  Kat stared down at her feet and shifted back and forth. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I never dared include you in my dreams. You were everything I believed I couldn’t have.”

  A flicker of desire sparked in his hazel eyes, the green deepening with his changing emotions. Kat tensed as he stepped closer, but her breath also caught at the way her body reacted to him, as if preparing for his nearness. How could he have this effect on her?

  “And if you could have me?” he asked, his voice husky. “Would you want me?”

  Kat swayed toward him, barely able to stop herself from going into his arms. “I’m still afraid.” She hesitated. “We’ve gone through hell together since yesterday. I’ve depended on you totally, but we really only had one week to learn about each other, and it’s been turmoil since you came back.”

  “Does that matter? We have two children together.”

  “We don’t know each other very well. What if I’m not what you think?” she whispered softly. “What if it turns out you don’t want me?”

  “I know a lot about you, Kat.” Logan tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear and Kat took in a shuddering breath. “You’re passionate, loyal and you love our children. That’s an incredibly attractive—and sexy—combination. I wanted you three years ago. Despite everything, I’ve never stopped.”

  He lowered his mouth, skirting her lips, teasing her. Her eyelids fluttered closed.

  “Tell me we have a chance,” he whispered.

  He tugged her closer, and she let him press her body against his, reveling in his strength.

  She licked her lips nervously and he groaned. “Do we? Because I will…”

  “Logan—” she put a finger to his lips “—shut up and kiss me…”

  His mouth took possession of hers. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her tight to him, her softness crushed against every hard plane of his body. His arousal pressed against her belly and her own body softened in response.

  Logic abandoned her. She couldn’t think about danger or protecting her heart. She could only feel and remember how incredible they were together. He stole every sense and she didn’t care. She’d been so lonely. For him, she realized. A partner to raise her kids, but also…for this. His tongue explored her mouth and she dueled with him, needed to taste him.

  Instinct took over. She pressed against him and he groaned, backing her toward the wall. He moaned and arched his hips against her. Her hands explored the hard lines of his chest. Suddenly his foot slipped on the step. He laughed. “We’re going to kill ourselves on these stairs. And let’s hope there are no secret cameras in this hallway.”

  Kat buried her head in his chest. “I am so embarrassed. What if Zane caught us?”

  “I’m sure he’s kissed a few women in his time.”

  “I was all over you, not even thinking about where we were.” She brushed the hair back from her face. “I’m not princess material, that’s for sure. I’m not refined or sophisticated, and I doubt public displays of affection on the palace stairways would be allowed.”

  “You’re everything I want. You’re mine,” Logan said, his voice low and determined. “I’m not letting you go again, Kat. We’re in this together, unless you send me away.”

  “I’ll never do that,” she said. “If only my father would leave me alone.”

  Logan kissed her forehead. “We’ll put an end to this right now.” He took his phone and dialed a number, hesitating over the last digit. “Do you want me to tell him?”

  She stared into his eyes. “I’m not a coward. I’ll do it.” She had to. She wanted to go back to how her life had been before this nightmare ever began. Well, everything except not having Logan in it.

  Logan pressed the last button and lifted the phone to his ear. “Sergei, it’s Carmichael. Kat wants to speak to King Leopold.”

  With a shaking hand she took the phone from Logan, looked at him and pressed speaker. His eyes warmed at the show of trust. She took a deep breath.

  “Have you come to your senses, Katherine? I’m on a tight deadline. The plane taking me back to Bellevaux leaves soon.”

  Kat cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. I don’t think me being your heir is a good idea. Have a safe trip.”

  “You can’t be serious,” the king sputtered. “This is no time for selfishness. You are a princess. You have responsibilities. Are you a fool?”

  “My first responsibility is to my children—and keeping them safe. I don’t want the crown. Find someone else.”

  “There is no one else, you foolish woman.”

  “Watch yourself, Your Majesty.” Logan’s tone brooked no argument. “You have no right to speak to her that way.”

  “I am the king and her father. I have every right, and this conversation is private,
Mr. Carmichael.” The king’s frustration peaked. “Katherine, your brothers are dead. You are my last remaining child. If it’s not you, then be named Regent and put your son on the throne.”

  “Hayden isn’t even three!” Kat shouted. “Find a more distant relative and adopt him. Change whatever law you need to, but leave me alone. My son is not a pawn.”

  “This is not over,” the king threatened.

  “Oh, yes, Father. It is.”

  “Goodbye, Your Majesty,” Logan said. “And, by the way, if it isn’t clear already, I quit.”

  * * *

  THE STENCH OF THE underground prison made him smile.

  The Duke of Sarbonne held the whip in his hand and stared at the unconscious man on the floor.

  “Wake him.”

  The guard swallowed deeply. “Yes, Your Grace.”

  A huge wave of satisfaction flowed through the duke. He was so close to having everything he wanted.

  The prison guard threw a bucket of water on the prisoner’s body. He didn’t move.

  A loud clang of metal slammed down the stone-lined hallways.

  “I want him awake. He has information I need.” The duke lifted his shined boot to kick. If water didn’t work, pain would.

  A small gasp sounded from the doorway behind him. The duke whipped around.

  “Y…Your G…Grace,” Niko stuttered, his face pale. “A word, if I may?”

  The duke stared down his aide, watching him tremble. “What is it?”

  “The princess has refused the king’s command. She’s staying in Texas.”

  “What?” His roar of fury echoed down the hall.

  The man on the floor groaned, as if coming to, but the duke ignored him, grabbing his aide by the throat. “Tell me everything,” he hissed.

  Niko tried to shrink back, but the duke held him inches away.

  “S…someone is trying to kill her. There have been several attempts on her life.”

  The duke stilled. “Her? Not the children?”

  “All of them.”

  He shoved Niko away in a rage, slashed the man on the floor with his whip, then whirled on the older guard. “Get me the information I want from this prisoner, or you’ll take his place.”

  “Y…yes, Your Grace,” the man stammered.

  Pushing past Niko, Sarbonne strode out of the prison, up the winding staircase and through the secret passage. His servant’s quick steps hurried behind him.

  “Leave me,” Sarbonne ordered, his grin twisted at the relief on Niko’s face. He was too much of a coward to be of much use except catching and carrying, but he also feared for his life too much to betray Sarbonne.

  The duke dialed a familiar number. “Someone is double-crossing me,” he said as a man answered. “It had best not be you, Victor. I need that princess alive. Here. Get her for me.”

  “That was not part of our arrangement.”

  “Well, it is now, if you ever want those mineral rights.”

  Dead silence filled the phone. “You dare threaten me, Sarbonne?”

  “I dare anything. It is my destiny to sit on the throne of Bellevaux. If you want a taste of my power once I get there, you’d be wise to not cross me now.”

  Another pause. “I see. I am glad you clarified our arrangement.”

  The duke relaxed his furious death grip on the phone at the quiet comment. “I’m glad you understand, Victor. I don’t care how you arrange it—or who you have to kill—but have your men find her and bring her to me within forty-eight hours.”

  “Any other…requests?”

  “Yes.” The duke smiled. “I want her too terrified to make one wrong move once she gets here.”

  Chapter Six

  Logan’s phone rang. Again. He pulled it out of his pocket and scowled at the screen.

  Kat’s face tensed, and she worried her bottom lip. “The king wasn’t happy. Maybe…”

  “He threatened you.” She didn’t need to doubt herself. Logan turned off the power and stalked into the situation room. “Zane, I need you to delve into King Leopold’s finances. I want solid proof I can use to keep him out of Kat’s life.”

  His computer expert crossed muscular arms in front of his chest and grinned. “I love taking down royalty,” he said, and cracked his knuckles. “Can I bring Sierra Bradford in? She’s got Europe wired. Particularly the banking system.”

  “Sierra?” Logan scratched his neck. “You trust her?”

  “Oh, yeah. I thought about suggesting she join the team, but she had a personal matter to deal with in Denver. I was going to mention it when she straightened things out.”

  “You think she’d agree?”

  “She’s the best. Worth asking.”

  “You’re the best.”

  “For cybersecurity, yep. I won’t deny it, but Sierra’s a true genius when it comes to financial tracking. Especially in the EU and former Soviet Union. She’s so intuitive about where these scumbags try to hide money, she’s downright scary.”

  “Make the call.” Logan needed leverage, and Sierra Bradford had the security clearance to make things happen. He didn’t need to tell Zane, but Sierra had been on Logan’s shortlist for a while. The fact that she was his friend Noah’s sister made the situation tricky, though. Noah lived a very dangerous double life, and Sierra may not be aware of Noah’s extracurricular activities. Working for Logan would change that.

  Kat looked between Zane and Logan, her eyes curious. “What’s Sierra going to look into? What do you plan to do to my father?”

  “His irregular finances have been on my radar awhile. He’s up to something. I’ll use the knowledge any way I have to.”

  “Blackmail?”

  Logan smiled, the plan coalescing in his mind. “I prefer to call it…wielding a strong influence over his future decision making. He backs off you and the kids, or I’ll reveal what I discover.”

  Zane snorted. “A rose by any other name, buddy.”

  “What has he done?” Kat asked.

  “The last few years, King Leopold has had an unusual inflow of cash from an unknown source,” Logan said. “I was tracking it, but when your brother, Prince Stefan, was killed, my main link to the information disappeared.”

  The grief of Stefan’s murder hit Logan in a fresh wave. His friend had valued integrity over everything, and it had cost him his life. “With the king threatening you and the children, I have more reason than ever to identify the source of Leopold’s secret funds—especially if his duplicity resulted in the bomb attack against the royal court and the assassins coming after you.”

  Kat shuddered. “You think finding out his secrets will make him stop? He’s a king.”

  “Of a country on the brink of extinction. Leopold will do anything in his power to prevent information leading to his downfall from being revealed. We need to convince him it’s in his best interest to leave us alone—and alive—while he comes up with another heir.”

  Kat frowned. “He seems awfully confident in his power, Logan. The truth is, he scares me.”

  “Information—in the right hands—is more powerful than most people recognize.” Logan caressed her cheek with his finger. “Let Zane do his work. We’re running out of time and Leopold isn’t the only one we have to stop.”

  * * *

  LOGAN TOOK KAT’S HAND and they climbed the stairs to the main level where Lanie and Hayden were freshly bathed, sacked out on the floor of the living room, huge pillows tossed everywhere. Gretchen watched them with an eagle eye.

  “Cartoons,” she whispered. “They’re entranced.”

  Were the kids “entranced” enough that Logan could steal some time away with their mother? He let his gaze rest on Kat, taking in the curve of her cheek, the light hitting her blond hair, the smile on her face as she watched their children. They’d been caught up in a whirlwind of events. They needed some time to settle things between them. Did they have a future? Did the heated looks he occasionally caught from her mean anything, or was the ranch merely a
safe haven until she could hightail it out of here? He sure as hell didn’t want her to sleep alone in that king-size bed again tonight, but…

  “If you could do watch duty for a few minutes, I’m going to put the laundry in,” Gretchen said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Kat knelt down on the floor between their kids and tickled them. Both children squealed with delight, then rolled around in a jumble of blankets as they tried to tickle her back. Finally, they both tackled their mother, smothering her with hugs and kisses as she held them close.

  Logan’s heart warmed at the sight. This house hadn’t seen much laughter since his mother had left. Even before then he could remember too many times when he’d barricaded himself in his room with the music blaring so he didn’t have to listen to his parents fight.

  Watching Kat with Hayden and Lanie, Logan longed to join them, but he hesitated. They seemed so much like a…family. Close and loving. Complete. Would he be welcomed?

  Gretchen walked back into the room. Her face was stark white and tears filled her eyes. One fist clutched tight to her chest. “Oh, Logan…”

  He raced to the older woman. “What happened?”

  Wordlessly, Gretchen opened her hand and held out a scratched, heart-shaped necklace.

  Logan couldn’t catch his breath. “It can’t be…”

  With a trembling hand he took the jewelry and weighed it in his palm. So light and so devastating in its implications. His mother had been wearing it when she had walked out on him and his father. He felt like the bull gored him and left him to bleed out slowly where he stood.

  “It’s your mother’s,” Gretchen choked out. “I’d know it anywhere.”

  “Where did you find it?” He forced the hoarse whisper from his throat. He couldn’t take his gaze away from the tarnished locket, or the dark spots that flaked off the broken chain. If he wet the chain, would the flakes turn red with blood?

  Gretchen swallowed back tears. “In Lanie’s jacket. The one she wore today when she fell in the well. I turned her pockets before putting it into the washing machine. The necklace fell out.”