He took the jagged plastic piece from his pocket, jammed it into the screen, and popped it out. After dropping the screen behind him on the balcony, he returned the plastic piece to his pocket and reached for the window ledge again. He worked his fingers underneath the small opening and then pushed the window all the way up.
He leaned against the house and took a breather. The night had taken a lot out of him, and this next bit would be tricky. Not so hard on a normal day, but today had been anything but. He glanced down. Two stories. Not enough to kill him, but chances were good he would break something.
The breeze hit him, and he shivered. Lacy must be really cold by now. That thought was what spurred him on. Pushing off from the balcony, he grabbed onto the window ledge and hoisted himself through, landing on the bathroom floor. He lay there for a second, saying a silent prayer of thanks, then got up and grabbed a towel off the rack. After quickly drying off, he started a sweep of the house.
The mansion was even bigger inside than it had appeared from the outside. The bedroom he walked through was huge It had to be the master. He came out on an open walkway that overlooked what he assumed was what real estate people liked to call a great room, aka, huge family room. There was a massive curved staircase that led to the lower floor. The other end of the walkway turned into an enclosed hall that he guessed had more bedrooms.
He walked over the stairs and started down. The stairway followed a wall down and curved at the bottom. The front door was about twenty feet away. The great room was to his right. It had a wall of glass going all the way to the ceiling. The view during the day would be amazing.
It was dark so he couldn’t really see the furnishings but what he could see definitely seemed high end. He moved forward a few steps and determined that the formal dining area was off to his left on the far side of the door. The kitchen was on his right. There was a hallway behind him that ran parallel to the one upstairs.
Logan stood still for a second. No one was in the house. He knew it in his bones. It had that empty feel. It was time to get Lacy in and get her warmed up.
He walked over to the kitchen area. He entered through a large doorway and realized it had a pass through to the great room.
He couldn’t help but notice all the high-end finishes in the kitchen. Even in the dark, he knew they hadn’t missed a trick. He gave a silent whistle. It was the type of kitchen he aspired to own one day.
He hadn’t told his family and had kept it from most of his friends, but Logan Callahan was a secret Food Channel junkie. He loved to watch all the shows. He often spent his weekends experimenting with new recipes. Some day he wanted his own amazing kitchen to create in.
Sighing, he walked over to the alarm panel. It was a good system, but nothing too crazy. Thank God, his father had made him work in the family business every summer, starting when he was fifteen. His brothers had also worked for the company for a spell when they were younger, but he knew alarms best. By the time his brothers had come on board, a couple of years after him, the company was bigger, and his brothers had worked more in the office than in the field.
After finagling the wiring for a moment, the light flashed green.
Praying that the whole system was down, not just the panel, he opened the door to the deck. Nothing happened. Grinning, he walked out onto the deck and waved in the direction where he’d left Lacy. After a few seconds, he saw movement. Letting out a pent-up breath, he turned and went back into the kitchen.
“Logan?” she called softly from just inside the door to the kitchen. He emerged from the pantry with a flashlight in one hand and some cans in the other. “What are you doing?” she asked, puzzled.
“Making dinner”—he paused—“or an early breakfast, I guess.” He checked her out in the beam of the flashlight. Her body convulsed with shivers, and her lips were turning blue. Not good. “Go upstairs to the master bath and take a shower. I already checked—there’s hot water. See if you can find some dry clothes to wear. I’ll make something to eat. I don’t know about you, but I’m about to pass out from hunger.” He walked toward her. “Here.” He held out a flashlight. “They had extra flashlights in the pantry, and it’s better if we don’t turn on the lights.”
She nodded and started out of the kitchen. His best guess was that she was too tired and cold to do much more than nod.
Twenty minutes later, with the Moroccan chicken simmering on the stove, he started a search of the house. He had been surprised by the well-stocked pantry. Not only had he found all of the spices he needed, but there’d also been a few veggies, fresh herbs, eggs, and some milk in the fridge. Not to mention wrapped and labeled protein in the freezer. The refrigerator situation suggested the owners would only be gone for a short period. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
He walked through the great room and went down the hallway, searching room after room for a phone or a computer, anything they could use to contact the outside world. So far, zilch. He strode into the last room off the hallway, which turned out to be an office. He walked over to the desk, but no dice. There was no phone, and while there was a Mac laptop charger, there was no laptop. The owners had probably taken it with them but forgot the cable.
He went back to the kitchen to check on dinner. The savory smell set his stomach to rumbling. He added a bit more lemon and threw a bunch of cilantro on top and then headed to the master suite in search of Lacy. He hadn’t liked how pale she’d been before her shower. What the hell would he do if she got sick?
He walked through the ginormous master and heard water running. He called her name loudly several times, but there was no response. He started to worry she might have passed out. Just in case, he chanced a peek into the bathroom and stopped short. She had angled the flashlight up so it bounced off the ceiling and lit the whole bathroom. She stood naked under the spray.
She was breathtaking. Her eyes were closed, and she was standing there with her head raised to the showerhead, letting the spray run over her body, not moving at all. Her breasts were full and high. Her ass looked firm and rounded like a peach. The muscles in her legs, which marked her as an athlete, made them all the shapelier. His gaze roamed over her, his fingers aching to do the same.
When she moved to push the hair out of her eyes, it broke his reverie. He quickly ducked out of the bathroom. No need for her to think he was some sort of stalker. He tried to call her name, but discovered his throat was totally dry. He must have been standing in there with his mouth gaping open. Great. What an idiot! Good thing she hadn’t seen him like that. He swallowed and tried again.
The third time he called her, she turned off the water and answered. He announced that the food was ready. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. Warmer. I’m tired of being wet, though. Just give me a minute to dry off. I’ll be right down.”
“No rush.” He started out of the room.
“Logan?”
“Yeah?”
“I found some clothes if you want to change. Check the far closet. I think there are probably some in your size.” He could hear her moving around in the bathroom and found himself picturing her naked again. Damn.
“Uh, yeah. Thanks. I think I’ll eat first and then shower. I can change later.” He rushed to leave the room. He needed to get his head back in the game. There were still kidnappers out there. Fantasizing about Lacy nonstop was seriously going to limit his ability to function.
When she entered the kitchen twenty minutes later, all of Logan’s hard-won control went out the window. She’d found an oversized plaid shirt that covered some sort of white tank top. She’d rolled up the legs on a pair of soft-looking sweats. Instead of looking silly, she looked divine. Her hair was curling about her shoulders, and her freshly scrubbed face had color in it. She seemed innocent and young, an effect that was emphasized by the oversized clothes and the dim beams the flashlight provided. Logan’s heart gave a big thump in his chest.
“I know, I know, I look ridiculous, b
ut I didn’t have a lot to choose from.” She walked across the kitchen self-consciously.
He just smiled. “You look cute.”
“Cute is not usually a word I strive for, but I’ll take it.” She sat down at the breakfast bar as he bustled around plating their food. “Looks like there aren’t any phones or computers in the upstairs bedrooms. Did you have any luck?”
He shook his head.
“Wow. Nice kitchen. I’d love to have a setup like this. My apartment has a tiny galley kitchen. A set up like this would be heavenly.” She ran her hands along the granite countertop. “Nice job with the flashlight.” Logan had placed it in the center of the table in the eat-in area of the kitchen. It pointed straight up at the chandelier above, making the light refract all over the room.
“You like to cook?” he asked as he placed a plate in front of her.
“Yes, when I get the chance, which doesn’t happen often. When you live by yourself…well, you know. Cooking for one is not much fun.”
He opened drawers until he found the one with the cutlery. He knew exactly what she meant. He tended to cook for friends or cook big meals and freeze the leftovers. His friends in New York loved his dinner parties, but he’d never invited his family. They had no idea about his secret passion.
He was two people in some ways. The Logan his family knew and the Logan he had become. He was on the verge of sharing his new lifestyle when his father had announced he had cancer. Life was a whirlwind after that and with his dad’s treatments and him and his brothers stepping in to temporarily help run the company, it just hadn’t seemed important.
And then came the day when they’d all decided to make the change permanent. Although his dad wanted it, Logan hadn’t been so keen. Gage had been, and so had Mitch, surprisingly. Mitch had always been the playboy of the group, but he seemed to want to settle in and make something of the business. He didn’t give a reason why and, God knew, Mitch wasn’t going to discuss it with him. They never really saw eye to eye on much of anything.
“This looks fantastic. Where did you get the food? Was the fridge stocked? Do you think people will be back tonight?”
Lacy’s questions broke him out of his reverie. “The fridge isn’t fully stocked, but it does have the necessities. I found some chicken in the freezer, and they had some boxed couscous in the pantry. I’m not sure when they’ll be back, but it looks like they aren’t planning on being gone for long. On the bright side, at least we get to eat well. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Dig in.”
“Smells fabulous.” She grabbed her fork and was already digging in when he sat down beside her. “Mmm. Oh my God, this is amazing! And I’m not just saying that because I’m starving,” she mumbled as she chewed.
He was inordinately pleased. He loved it when someone enjoyed his cooking. “Glad you like it.” He started eating and had to admit it was pretty good. In record time, she hopped up from her chair and walked over to the stove. “Is there any more?”
He laughed. “Hungry, huh?”
She grinned. “Swimming always makes me famished!”
“Help yourself.”
Lacy refilled her plate. She came back and sat down beside Logan again. “This tastes fantastic, and you were exhausted when you made it. You must like to cook.” She put another forkful into her mouth and moaned as she chewed.
“I do like to cook. I find it relaxing and fun. It’s the one time I get to be creative.” Slightly embarrassed, he stared at his plate. He hoped his face was hidden by some of the shadows in the room. He hadn’t meant to say anything. It had just slipped out.
“Your brothers must love it when you cook.”
“Uh, they don’t know. None of my family knows that I like to cook.” He must be more exhausted than he’d thought. Admitting his secret to anyone wasn’t Logan’s style, but admitting it to the person he was supposed to be investigating, well he must have lost his mind out there in the water. . Except…she made him feel totally relaxed about it.
She glanced at him as she chewed. “I get that.” She paused and took a sip of water from the glass he had poured earlier. “Want to know my secret?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Shoot.”
“I want to be a party/wedding planner.”
Now it was his turn to be surprised.
She shrugged. “Sure, it would be a waste of my law degree, I guess, but I’m really good at logistics, and I like order. Not to mention parties. I’d be excellent at it.”
“I don’t doubt it.” He smiled. He could totally picture her ordering everyone about as she ran parties with military precision, which is probably where she learned her organizational skills, from her father’s arms business.
“Would you ever go into it?” she asked as she scooped up the last bite of food from her plate. “Cooking as a profession, I mean.”
“I, uh, would like to own my own restaurant.”
His shoulders tensed as he said it, in the expectation she would laugh, but instead she asked, “What kind of restaurant?” She seemed genuinely interested.
“There’s this place on the same street as our office. Not sure if you noticed it when you and Alex were holed up there with us. It’s an old pub that’s sort of falling apart. It has a prime location, though, and it could be really great if someone put the work in.” As he warmed to the topic, his shoulders relaxed. “I’d like to overhaul it to be a place for people to hang out and relax while eating a great-tasting meal. I like things like this dish, Moroccan Chicken, not too complicated but flavorful. I want to have traditional pub food like fish and chips and burgers, but also interesting salads and seafood dishes.”
Chapter Six
The joy bloomed on his face as he spoke about his dream. There was no sign of the bossy, condescending Logan she’d observed when he’d been on the opposite side of the boardroom table. No sign of Lucifer, the take-charge lawyer who made her hot despite herself. Against this Logan, she had no defense.
“You should totally do it,” she said. “If this meal is any indication, your food is amazing. With food like this and a prime location, your place would be a hit from day one.”
“What about you? Would you ever start your own wedding planning company?” he asked as his blue eyes sparkled at her in the dim light.
Swallowing, she pretended to inspect her plate. “I’d love to have my own party planning business in the city. There are so many cool venues, and I have lots of ideas on how to utilize them better.” She paused. “Anyway, that’s my dream.”
“Sounds like a good one to me and very doable.”
She sighed. “We’ll see.”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” he asked quietly.
“Well, on top of all this mess, my father has diabetes. The doctors are having a hard time getting it under control. His condition is serious.”
There, she’d said it out loud. She hadn’t even mentioned it to her best friend, Alex, yet. but here she was talking to Logan about it. Somehow, it felt natural to share with him—maybe because he had done the same with her. Once again, she found herself questioning her earlier impression of him. Maybe he wasn’t as domineering as she’d thought.
“I’m sorry, Lacy. That’s tough.” He reached out and touched her arm. “It’s not easy to have a sick parent.” She saw sadness flicker across his face.
“Oh God, Logan, I’m sorry. I forgot about your mom. And your Dad.”
He smiled a sad little smile. “Don’t worry about it. I can’t believe it’s been over four years since she passed. It’s taken all of us a long time to recover, especially my dad. And he’s doing well, too. The doctors say he should be fine. I just meant that I know firsthand how hard it can be, so if you ever want to talk about it, I’m here.”
She nodded. There was a lump building in her throat.
“You know, I used to cook for my mom when she was sick. I would visit and bring her soups and things. I’d tell everyone the food was from a restaurant in the city, but she knew better. It w
as our secret.”
He paused, then said, “Your father will be fine, Lace. With all the medicines out there today, they’ll figure it out. Diabetes can be managed. Just hang in there.” He rubbed her back, and to her embarrassment, she could feel tears threatening behind her eyes. She searched the kitchen for a distraction. She was afraid if she started crying, she wouldn’t stop.
Something caught her eye. “Ohhh,” she squealed and leapt clear of her chair to dart across the kitchen. He watched as she grabbed a mug and hit a button. The smell of fresh coffee filled the kitchen in seconds.
“Nothing like a built-in coffee maker,” she cooed while surreptitiously wiping her eyes. “What I wouldn’t give to have one of these babies. Can you imagine getting up in the morning and having coffee almost instantly? Without having to prep it the night before? This machine is worth its weight in gold.” She stroked the outside of it. “I would marry someone for this machine.”
“I take it you like coffee.” He put his plate in the sink and joined her by the machine.
“Yessss. It runs in my veins,” she purred. “Not having coffee for the last umpteen hours has been its own form of torture.” She smiled at him. “Want some?”
He stilled.
“Coffee,” she blurted out. “Want some coffee?” she croaked. She hadn’t meant it as an invitation, but the look he had given her made her toes curl.
He’d cleared his throat before speaking, but his voice still came out husky. “No, I’m good.”
Taking a sip, she tried to remember why sex with Logan would be a rotten idea. Maybe they could date. Except for the fact that it was all her fault they were running from kidnappers. Besides, there was her father to think about. She had to get him out of the Bahamas and out of his current line of work, and then there was his health to get sorted. No, it was better to put the whole idea of Logan Callahan on hold. But it was so hard when he was leaning in close…
Smash and Grab: Action-Packed Thrilling Romantic Suspense (Callahan Security Series Book 2) Page 6
