Smash and Grab: Action-Packed Thrilling Romantic Suspense (Callahan Security Series Book 2)

by Lori Matthews

  “What are you doing back in New York? I would have thought Drake would want you by his side twenty-four seven.”

  “He does, but after he talked with Gage and myself, he decided to send me back here with a copy of the prototype. He wants to make sure there’s a spare copy just in case we need it.”

  “Makes sense,” Logan said.

  Gage piped up. “He’s concerned that his programmer may be compromised in some way. She’s near completion, but she’s sent him some encrypted messages saying she thinks she’s being followed. I’m going to have to go to her location and maybe do an extraction. We’ll see how it plays out. Mitch is going to go back to Europe tonight. Don’t worry. I’m leaving Dragan in charge. He should be able to handle things until you get back here.”

  Mitch spoke up, “Speaking of which, how are things on your end? Find anything out yet? When can you come home?”

  Logan briefly entertained the idea of lying to his brothers about the mess he was in. They both had a lot on their plate. But he was nothing if not pragmatic. His brothers would both be better equipped to handle the situation than he, and keeping Lacy safe was the most important thing. “Ah, about that. There’s more going on down here than we anticipated.”

  “What do you mean? Is Lacy Carmichael actually involved with the Drake mess?” Gage asked.

  “Well, I haven’t gotten that far.” Logan sighed. “So, I ran into some trouble.” He went on to explain the last two days’ adventures to his brothers.

  “Fuck, Logan, if I’d had any idea that this was even a possibility, I never would have sent you.” Gage swore again.

  “Yeah, I know. None of us had any idea she was Armand Fontaine’s daughter.” Logan took a sip of his now cold coffee.

  Mitch asked, “Do you think he’s behind the whole mess with Drake? It would make sense since he’s a broker. Maybe he caught wind of its existence and now he wants a copy to sell. Or maybe Fontaine is trying to acquire it for a client?”

  “It’s a possibility,” Gage agreed.

  “I don’t think so,” Logan said. “I had to do some research on Fontaine back in my JAG days. I don’t think he’d hire out to get the prototype. He’d use his own guys—ones he trusted. I know he’s here on the island, or at least he was up until a couple of days ago. I’m pretty sure he’s not in Europe at the moment. Presumably, he would have his best guys with him, especially with his daughter in danger. Although…” He thought about how Lacy had to follow some stupid protocol that said she wasn’t allowed to contact her father. Maybe he didn’t care all that much.

  “What are you thinking?” Gage asked.

  “I guess I’m thinking it’s a possibility. I don’t think Fontaine is involved with the Drake case, but I can’t rule it out completely.” He needed to talk to Lacy for that.

  “How safe are you at this moment?” Mitch asked.

  Logan glanced around the hotel suite and thought of Cecil downstairs. “About as safe as possible given the circumstances.”

  “What are you thinking, Mitch?” Gage asked.

  “I’m thinking that the best thing we can do for the moment is have Logan sit tight. We need to get some stuff sorted here and get help sent his way, but with the kidnapping attempt and our other stuff, we’re stretched thin. It may take a day or two. I’d advise him to get the hell out of there, but without cash or his passport, that’s just not possible. If we send cash, it will take twenty-four to forty-eight hours before he can get it anyway.”

  Mitch continued, “Logan, I know this sucks, but you just have to stay put and keep your head down for the next day or so. We’ll be there to get you, but we have to plan. If we waltz in there, and Fontaine is involved with Drake, then we could be setting off a chain reaction where the shit will hit the fan all over the globe.”

  Logan leaned back in the chair and swore silently. He didn’t blame his brothers. What Mitch said made sense. He just didn’t know how he was going to keep Lacy from leaving. He had to keep her safe and had to find out the truth.

  “Logan are you there? You OK?”

  Gage’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “Yeah, it’s fine. We can stay here a while. I’ll do my best to find out the truth about Lacy and her father. But guys, don’t take too long.”

  “We won’t. Promise.” Gage said and rang off.

  Logan’s gut churned. The coffee had turned sour. He wanted to grab Lacy and take the next plane home, but his money and passport were at his original hotel, and there was no way he was going there. By now, Scar had to know where he and Lacy had been staying. It was surely being staked out by someone, probably Hairy.

  He took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders. He was in over his head, but he decided then and there, if they got out of this mess alive, he was going to open his own restaurant and Lacy was going to do her party planning business. Life was short, and spending it doing things other than following his dream seemed really stupid at the moment.

  He got up off the couch, then walked into his bedroom, making sure to leave the door open so he’d hear Lacy when she got up. They needed to talk. He peeled off his clothes and crawled into bed in his boxers.

  His mother’s voice echoed in his head as he closed his eyes. You have to watch out for your brothers.

  No, mom, they have to watch out for me, he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

  He woke with a start, roused by the sound of a door closing. He leaped out of bed and made a mad dash for the living room. He had told himself Lacy wouldn’t try to sneak out without saying good bye, but he wasn’t so sure. Rounding the corner, he skidded to a stop when he saw her standing there with a waiter. They both looked at him in shock. The waiter was obviously used to seeing strange things since he recovered quickly and gave him a nod. It took Lacy a moment longer. She handed something to the waiter and showed him out.

  “Is everything alright??” When she gave him a once-over, her cheeks turned a becoming shade of pink. He was standing there in his black boxer briefs.

  He scratched his neck and then shrugged. “Yeah. I heard the door and I guess I was worried. And half asleep. Not a great combination. Now that I’m up, is that coffee I smell?” He walked toward the table where a pot and two cups were laid out.

  “Um, yeah.” Her voice was slightly husky to his ears. When he smiled at her, her cheeks turned pink again.

  “Your ribs look a bit better and you don’t seem to be in as much pain,” she said as she walked over to the table and sat.

  “It’s amazing what good food, sleep, and some ibuprofen can do.” He filled both of their cups and handed hers over. His fingers brushed hers, making him aware of her closeness and his lack of clothing. He took a gulp of coffee and choked on it.

  “Hot?” she asked innocently.

  “A little.” He sprawled on the couch. “So, how did you sleep?”

  “Like the dead.” She smiled, but it faded quickly. “That probably isn’t the best analogy right now.”

  He admired her ass as she rose, and with her coffee cup in hand meandered toward the window. She peered out at the water. The pair of khaki shorts she was wearing fit her perfectly, making her ass look high and round, and his fingers ached to touch. He had to get his brain going in another direction. “What’s your plan?” he asked.

  She turned around and eyed him speculatively. She smoothed down her hair, an unconscious gesture he now recognized as her attempt to maintain some sort of control. She walked toward him. The white, sleeveless, collared tank she had on stretched across her chest. He had a hard time keeping his gaze on her face. She was so damn sexy.

  “I’m going to go into town in a bit,” she said. She hesitated for a moment and then said, “Like I said before, there’s a certain procedure I have to follow in emergency situations. It was put in place by my father’s security team. I have to be at a certain location at a certain time. Then his people will come get me.” She took another sip of coffee.

  “Not to be harsh, but how do you know your father
is still…?”

  “Alive?” She completed his thought. “I don’t know for sure. I won’t know until later. There’s a signal that will be given if my father is dead.”

  He watched her closely, but her face was an expressionless mask. He knew she was expecting him to fight with her about going alone. It’s what he wanted to do, but he’d decided he wasn’t going to get anywhere doing that. If he agreed to let her go, he could follow her, make sure she made it to safety. The idea of letting her go anywhere alone had his insides tied in knots. He had an overwhelming desire to hold her close. Keep her safe while he could. Hell, he just needed to touch her.

  He got up off the couch, moved over to her, took the coffee cup from her hand and put it on the table. “Wha—” His mouth was on hers before she could finish the thought.

  She was all fire and ice. Passionate in the courtroom, yet positively frigid toward him in person. Every time they’d met over different cases, and then with her friend, Alex, he’d admired her intelligence and sharp wit, but her shields had always been up. Nothing personal between them. No acknowledgement that he even existed as a man.

  And then when he saw her on the yacht, she was so sexy in that green dress and so vulnerable when she was fighting with Markus. It had been his undoing. Now that he had her in his arms, he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

  Her mouth tasted of coffee and strawberries, and more. It tasted like heaven. He’d been waiting so long for this moment. He’d always wanted to kiss her, but hadn’t been aware of the deep, driving need she stirred in him. As their tongues danced, he knew he’d never be able to leave her on her own.

  He deepened the kiss and pulled her hips to his. He was desperate to feel every inch of her pressed against him. As if she was his drug and he was an addict, he drank in every bit of her.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck as he left a trail of kisses across her jaw and down her neck. He found that soft hollow right behind her ear and bit gently. She whispered his name while she fisted his hair. It was enough to push him over the edge. A wave of fierce possession washed over him as he claimed her mouth again in a fiery kiss.

  Undoing the buttons on her shirt with one hand, he continued to cup her ass with the other. He didn’t want any space between them. When he got to her bra, he pushed the strap down and dipped his head to suck her nipple.

  She moaned when his tongue swirled around the hard bud. She stroked her hands from his hair down his chest, then wandered on to his boxer briefs. When she touched the waistband, he took a quick breath. He was throbbing with need.

  He bent his head to suck her other nipple and then stopped dead. He gazed into her now open eyes. “Did I do this?” There was a cut on her breast. It wasn’t long, but it appeared deep and very sore.

  “Ah, the plastic cut me a bit. It’s fine now.”

  He swore.

  “Really, Logan, it’s fine.” She touched his cheek and then sunk her fingers into his hair again and brought his mouth back to hers. He tried to be gentle, but she wouldn’t let him. Her mouth was demanding. Her hands ran down his back, pulling him closer.

  When she finally touched him through the fabric of his underwear, he groaned. He couldn’t help it. He wanted her touch badly, but he knew if she started, he wouldn’t have the power to stop her. And he had so many things he wanted to do to her first.

  “You need to wait,” he said in between kisses and then grabbed her hands.

  “But I want to touch you,” she said as she strained against his grip.

  He dropped her hands and swept her up into his arms. He carried her into his bedroom and laid her softly on the bed. He positioned himself over her and slowly lowered himself. As he kissed her he pushed her top off. After she helped him unhook her bra, he dropped her clothes on the floor.

  She was so incredibly beautiful. He lowered his mouth to one nipple and then the other. Slowly, he left a trail of kisses down her stomach to her shorts. After he undid the button, she lifted her hips to help get them off. His breath caught at the sight of the tiny scrap of fabric that served as her underwear. He got harder still, if that was possible, as he ran his fingers across the lace.

  When he reached the middle, he let his fingers dip lower. “Logan,” she said, her voice breathy. The sound of his name on her lips drove him into a positively primal state. He curled his fingers around the lace and tugged. It gave very quickly, and he dropped it to the floor.

  He sucked her nipple and then moved lower. He hovered his mouth over her. He blew a cool breeze and she whispered his name again, straining her hips to reach him. He dropped a kiss on her core.

  “Oh, my God, Logan.” Her fingers fisted in his hair as he slid his hands under her hips to bring her to his mouth. He used his tongue to tease and suckle her, taking her to the brink before stopping again.

  “Say my name,” he demanded, his voice gravel. He’d never felt such a savage need to possess a woman before. She was his.

  “Logan,” she breathed. “Logan,” she said it again. “Logan, please don’t stop!” Her words came out as a moan. He smiled as he brought her to the brink once more, his tongue dancing over her sweet spot. He drove his fingers inside her in a steady rhythm, faster and faster until she crashed over the edge, yelling his name as she arched beneath him. He felt incredibly powerful and insanely possessive of her. It didn’t make sense, but he was beyond caring. She was amazing and incredible, and she was his.

  Lacy could scarcely breathe. She’d wanted Logan Callahan since the first moment she’d seen him in the courtroom. One look from him, and she was a quivering wreck. She’d done her damnedest to hide it, but she was sure he’d guessed when she and her best friend had been hiding out at Callahan Security because of the whole Drake fiasco. Being so close to him in the engine room of the ship had driven her to the very edge. She’d wanted to rip his clothes off then.

  Now, touching him didn’t seem real. His caress was better than she had ever imagined, and she’d imagined a lot. His body was hard and unyielding, and she loved it.

  She reached up and ran her hands down over his chest again and then around to his back. She brought his mouth down to hers and claimed it with a harshness she didn’t know she possessed. This man drove her to want things in a way she had never thought possible, and she wanted him. Inside her. Now.

  Their gazes locked as she reached down to rub him through his black boxer briefs. He swore as her hand stroked him. He was hard as rock. Power surged through her. He was hard for her. She stuck her fingers inside the waist band as he bent down to kiss her neck. She started pushing them off. He lifted his hips and helped her pull them down.

  “Wait,” he said as he shifted his weight and reached for the bedside table drawer. He reached in and brought out a condom.

  Her eyes narrowed. She hadn’t thought about condoms, but obviously he had. “Pretty confident, were you?”

  He shifted back so he was resting on his side. “No. A box came with the clothes and the toiletries.” Taking in her expression he said, “I swear, I didn’t plan this. If you want to stop, we stop.”

  She gazed into his eyes and then pushed off the bed with her left hand while she held him with her right. She had him flipped on his back with her on top. “No chance in hell are we stopping now.”

  She kissed him hard, her tongue stroking his. She broke off the kiss. “I want to feel you inside me,” she purred. His eyes darkened, and he reached for her, but she batted his hands away. “Now it’s my turn.”

  She rained kisses down his jaw and ran her hands across his chest. She sucked on his nipple and then blew on it. She did the same with the other nipple. He groaned. She loved that she had the power to drive him crazy with her touch. It was intoxicating.

  She shifted her weight until she was straddling his hips. She slowly rubbed her core across his cock. He flexed against her. His hands reached for her, but she shook her head. “Not yet.” She pushed his hands down onto the bed. “I’ll let you know when you can touch me.”


  She grabbed the condom from where it had fallen on the comforter. After ripping the package open with her teeth, she pulled the condom out and threw the package on the floor. Their eyes met as she took Logan’s cock in her hand and slowly rolled the condom down. His blue eyes turned indigo.

  Her core was hot and wet again. She raised her hips and moved over his cock. She lowered herself down onto him. First, she just let the tip enter her. Teasing him, she pulled back. He swore.

  Smiling, she started lowering herself again. This time, she took in more of him. She wanted to tease him longer, but she couldn’t handle it. She needed him now.

  He reached out and grabbed her hips. She didn’t deny him this time. Instead, she rode him, picking up the pace. The feel of him inside her, filling her up, was exquisite.

  Her breath puffed out in small, sharp gasps. She was going to come. She said his name and urged him on, her hips rushing to meet his rhythm, her fingernails raking across his chest as he pounded into her. Nothing had ever felt this good, this right. She was teetering on the brink and had to bite her lip to keep from screaming.

  He thrusted deep inside her, and she crashed over the edge, euphoria filling her every cell. Logan followed her, and her body kept squeezing him as wave after wave washed over her.

  She fell on top of his chest, sweaty and out of breath. Neither could move. What they shared was nothing like her experiences with other men. She wanted to feel this good all the time. Bliss settled around her as she clung to Logan. She closed her mind to all the thoughts that were trying to push their way in. She’d just had the best sex of her life. Reality was going to have to wait a bit longer.

  Chapter Ten

  As he stood in the shower, he wondered once again how the hell he had gotten here. His plan had been to come down to the islands for a few days and keep an eye on Lacy. See if she was a corporate spy.