“That sounds good, but it’ll just be me,” she insisted, giving Logan’s hand a squeeze before releasing it. “He’s not coming,” she said, pointing to Logan with her free hand. He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. “Logan has been through enough because of me.”
Trenthom looked at him for confirmation, but before any could be delivered, the door opened. “Mr. Trenthom? There is another gentleman here to see you,” said the girl from the front desk. Her professionalism didn’t conceal her obvious curiosity. It couldn’t be usual for him to have this many visitors at the club.
“Did he give you a name?” Trenthom asked.
“Omar Nazaryan.”
Lacy gaped at Trenthom. Oh shit. Had they made a mistake? Was Trenthom in on this whole thing? Logan touched her shoulder. She turned to him, and he gave a small shake of his head.
“Tell him I’ll be right there, Michelle.”
She nodded and closed the door.
Trenthom turned back to them. “I have no idea what this is about, but I doubt it’s good. I want you two to stay here a moment.” He got up to leave and turned back. “Just be prepared to run if this doesn’t go well.”
“What do you think?” she asked as soon as Trenthom closed the door behind him.
“We should do as the man suggested and get ready to run.”
He got up and hit the lights, then walked over to the window. There was a good view of the parking lot, and he could see Alexey and two of his cronies waiting by an SUV. He opened the window, hoping he might be able to hear what they were saying, and then moved back so he couldn’t be seen.
“Doesn’t look like they’re here for us. Maybe they’re just here to see what Trenthom knows. As head of the investigation into Markus’s death and your disappearance, he’d be the man to ask. What’s interesting to me is, where is your father? Why isn’t he here demanding to see Trenthom?”
“My father wouldn’t ever demand to see Trenthom. He has people in the police department who tell him what’s going on. You have to remember that outsiders see me as another one of my father’s employees. No matter how concerned he is personally about my disappearance, he can’t ask around about me.”
He watched her for a minute before looking back out the window. “This is really hard on you.” His hands clenched into fists. Here she was making excuses for her father after everything he’d put her through, intentional or not. He had to take a deep breath and grind his teeth to keep from telling her what he thought of Armand. The man was an ass. What kind of father treated his daughter like an employee in the name of protecting her? If he really wanted to protect her, he would keep her the hell away from his arms dealing business. Hell, if he really loved her, he wouldn’t be an arms dealer in the first place.
He kept watch out of the window until he had something to report. “Omar is back by the SUV with Trenthom,” he whispered. They both fell silent, waiting, listening, but they could only hear a few mumbled words now and then.
Finally, Omar threw down his cigarette and ground it out with his boot heel. He must have said something to Trenthom because Trenthom nodded and proffered his hand. Omar shook it before getting into the SUV and driving off.
Logan savored her sigh of relief. She came up to stand behind him, close enough that he could feel the heat of her body. Electricity danced across his skin whenever she was close. It made it hard for him to concentrate. Made other things hard, too.
The door opened, and Trenthom stood outlined in the light. “You two, come with me now.” He turned and walked away. Logan took her hand once more, and they followed Trenthom out to the parking lot. He kept his eyes open. He wasn’t completely convinced that Omar and his friends were gone.
Trenthom climbed into a sedan and gestured for them to follow. Logan got in the front seat. He wanted access to Trenthom just in case he tried anything. He made sure Lacy was in the back, as far from Trenthom as possible.
They left the parking lot and headed back the way they had come. “Where are we going?” Lacy asked from the back seat.
“That shack I was telling you about.”
“But Logan needs to leave,” she insisted. “Can we drop him off at the police station or somewhere safe first?”
Logan started to protest, but Trenthom beat him to it. “Unfortunately, there’s no way that can happen.” Trenthom’s statement was blunt and a bit of a shock, not that Logan disagreed with it, but he tensed in the front seat, ready to fight Trenthom if he whipped out a gun.
“Omar is looking for both of you. The assumption is that you two are a couple. If we drop Logan off now, they’ll just find him and take him again.” He glanced at Logan. “No offense, but I don’t think you’re really set up to fight them off.”
“I’ve held my own so far,” he challenged.
Trenthom glanced at him. “Yes, you have, but I have a feeling they’re more desperate at this point. We need to keep you both alive. I think going your separate ways will make things harder.”
He could see Trenthom’s point. He’d already decided it was too dangerous for them to go back to their original hotel to get their passports. He could go back to the company suite and try to wait it out, but chances were good they’d circle back around looking for him sooner rather than later. Besides, he didn’t trust Trenthom enough to leave Lacy with him.
“So, what’s the plan?” he asked quietly as he looked out the window. They were passing a small town. It had a few shops and a restaurant right on the highway.
“Like I said, I’ll drop you two off at the shack and make some calls. Miss Carmichael, you need to start thinking about the best way to reach your father and get the news to him.”
“Can’t you pay him a visit and manage to get the message across?” she asked. “Don’t you have a way of contacting one another?”
Trenthom shifted his gaze to the rearview mirror. “Omar knows we are in contact and have a mutually beneficial relationship. I’m not sure I can get word to Fontaine without him knowing.”
Something clicked in Logan’s head. “Wait, if Omar knows about your relationship with Fontaine, then he has to know how valuable Fontaine is to you. He approached you, didn’t he? It would only make sense he’d want to maintain the same deal with the CIA. He wouldn’t want the CIA to get nervous. You could stop him or take him out.”
Logan turned in his seat, preparing to tackle Trenthom.
“Is that true?” Lacy asked from the backseat. “Did you already know he was planning on killing me and my father?”
Trenthom hesitated. “Yes and no,” he finally answered. “Omar approached me about possibly taking over Fontaine’s business. I didn’t know whether Fontaine had decided to retire. He’s been making noises about it for a while, especially in light of his health issues. Yes”—he glanced in the rearview mirror at Lacy—“I know about your father’s diabetes. Not a death sentence, but he does have to be much more careful.
“Omar didn’t elaborate on how he was going to take over. You have to understand that from the CIA’s perspective, it doesn’t really matter who it is as long as the relationship is maintained.”
“You son-of-a-bitch,” she hissed. She started to move forward in her seat.
Logan’s hands curled into fists. He turned so he could see her over the back of the seat and shook his head slightly. His hatred of the CIA was proven once again. He didn’t trust Trenthom as far as he could throw him, but he couldn’t let Lacy get hurt. She needed to be calm and not do anything stupid. They were in a moving car, and currently the only thing he could see were trees and inky darkness.
“Wait. Hear me out,” Trenthom demanded. “I said that was true from the CIA’s perspective. I think Omar is a loose cannon and a hell of a lot more unstable. He’ll be very difficult to control.
“Your father is a reasonable man. Even when he does what he wants instead of what we ask, he always has a good reason. And nine times out of ten, it works out for the best. Your father is very smart and very cautiou
s. I pointed all this out to my superiors. They agreed to wait it out and see what happens.
“I told Omar that we would not support a takeover. But privately my bosses insisted I not fight him on it either. I don’t know if Omar has a mole on the inside, or if he simply realized we weren’t going to fight. Either way, he decided to move ahead with his plan. He didn’t tell me about Voloshyn, though, which is not surprising. He was smart enough to know we wouldn’t be pleased.”
Logan wasn’t sure he believed what he was hearing. It might be close to the truth, but he was sure there was some spin on it to make Trenthom appear like a good guy. CIA agents were rarely good guys as far as he was concerned.
Trenthom turned off the main road onto a dirt lane that was full of potholes. “Voloshyn has some pretty nasty friends, so it’s not in our best interest to arm him and his people.” He looked at her again in the mirror. “Your father has always known the risks. He knows exactly where he stands with us—and with everyone else for that matter. He is definitely an asset, one we’d like to keep, but he knows he’s not irreplaceable.
“I honestly tried to get a meeting so I could give Armand a heads up.” Trenthom paused for a moment as he navigated a large pothole that ran the width of the road. “I know you don’t believe me, but I consider your father a friend. We have helped each other out of a jam or two over the years, and I certainly don’t want to see him killed.
“We were supposed to meet on Friday, but it never happened. Your father canceled. I don’t know why. I’d like to think your father already knows what’s going on, but I really have no way of knowing for sure.”
Lacy said, “I arrived on Friday, and he wouldn’t see me either. He told me to come Monday and not before.”
All this information was making Logan’s brain hurt, and each time they rolled over a pothole, his ribs ached. It was hard to know what was real and what was a lie. The CIA excelled at lying. He did believe Trenthom about one thing—Armand Fontaine was a smart man. It was a safe bet he had known what was going on well before it started, which explained why he wouldn’t let Lacy come on Friday and why he canceled the meeting with Trenthom.
Trenthom said, “What I do know is this; apparently, your father’s health has deteriorated. Rumor has it he’s been in bed for the last week or so. His doctor comes and goes, but nobody knows much about the situation beyond that he doesn’t want to be disturbed.
“It’s hard to tell if it’s just a setup. Omar plays his role of right-hand man to a tee. When he asked about you tonight, it was with great concern. Went on about how he wants you to see your father since he is so sick. That has been his angle with me. He hasn’t admitted to being in the middle of a coup.”
“You think Omar is waiting to see what happens?” Logan asked. “If Fontaine has a lot of friends out there, then it would be better for him if Fontaine dies of natural causes… Or at least if it’s perceived that way.” He glanced back at Lacy. He couldn’t see her face, but he knew she was suffering.
“That’s certainly what I am hoping for. It’ll give Armand more time to work out whatever he’s planning.” He looked again at Lacy in the mirror. “I really don’t think your father’s ill. I think Armand has put some kind of plan in play, but for the life of me, I don’t know what it is, and I have no idea how to find out. I’ve tried calling, but he doesn’t answer. I’ve even tried to talk to Armand’s doctor, but he was called out of town rather suddenly after his last visit with your father. I have no idea where he went, but he’s no longer on the islands.”
They pulled off the dirt road onto a very narrow unpaved track that was only slightly wider than the car. The trees were surprisingly thick here, and the headlights barely pierced the darkness. Suddenly, a building appeared out of the trees.
Shack was a good word for it. It was hard to tell because of the lack of moon, but the building appeared crooked. Like a good wind could knock it down. To say it was a downgrade from where they’d been staying was a huge understatement.
Logan climbed out of the car and circled around to help Lacy. He took her hand and led her in the direction Trenthom had disappeared. He still wasn’t sure about Trenthom, however given their options, they had no choice but to trust him.
A light went on in the shack as he approached the door. He opened it cautiously, revealing a place that was as ramshackle inside as it was out. There was a cot against the right wall, and on the opposite one there was a kitchen area equipped with a tiny stove, a small fridge, a sink, and a water cooler. Between the cot and the kitchen area stood an old wooden table and four mismatched wooden chairs. There was one door on the back wall that presumably led to a bathroom, and that was it.
Trenthom was leaning against the stove. “It’s not much, but you’ll be safe here. No one knows about it, and it’s not easy to find.” He turned around and pulled a box off one of the shelves.
Logan couldn’t see what Trenthom was doing. He tensed up in case Trenthom was about to try something, but when Trenthom turned around, he handed Logan a burner phone.
“I’ll call you on this once I have a better idea of what your next step should be. There is some food in the fridge, and there’s water. Extra blankets are in the cabinet in the bathroom. I should be in touch in a few hours.” He reached back and removed a gun from his pants.
Logan jumped in front of Lacy, but Trenthom just smiled.
“Here. Just in case.” He moved around Logan and handed it to Lacy. She automatically checked the clip, sighted it, and then gave him a nod.
Way to go asshole. Nothing like being jumpy. No wonder Trenthom gave the gun to Lacy. Logan had no reason to be surprised she was familiar with guns. Hell, he’d seen her with one at the house where they’d squatted, but it still seemed wrong somehow. Not that he didn’t want her to know how to handle herself, just that he didn’t want her to have to handle herself that way. Another thing he would like to take up with her father.
Trenthom gave them a wave and disappeared out the door. Logan heard the car start, and then the sound of the engine faded away. Lacy still had the gun in her hand.
Chapter Fifteen
“Well,” she started as Logan walked around the shack, “I guess I owe you yet another apology. I really wanted you to walk away from my mess. Hopefully, we can get this sorted in short order. You can go back to your life, and I can go back to mine.”
Fat chance. He sighed. There was no going back for him. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to forget her just like that.
Somewhere between the hotel and the club, he had realized he wasn’t going to leave Lacy with Trenthom. Or with anyone. He could dress it up and say it was because he still had to find out the truth about Drake. He could tell himself he was staying because it was the right thing to do. But he knew the truth.
He was falling in love with Lacy Carmichael.
She had been talking for a while now, and he had no idea what she was saying. He had been so busy thinking about her, he had failed to listen to her. Not good. But he couldn’t help himself. He was scared for her. Scared of losing her.
He walked over to her, cupped her head, and captured her mouth with his. Pulling her against him, he deepened the kiss. And he didn’t stop kissing her until the icy fingers that had closed over his heart when Omar showed up had melted away.
When he finally pulled back, he gazed deep into her beautiful green eyes. “It will be fine. Everything will be OK.” She nodded a little breathlessly. He hugged her close and breathed in the smell of her, that unique citrusy fragrance that heightened all his senses. If only he could hold her this close constantly, protecting her from everyone who wished to hurt her.
He let her go more abruptly than he’d intended. He needed to get his head on straight if they were going to figure this out. And that wouldn’t happen if they started taking each other’s clothes off.
“I’ll go get some extra blankets. It’s a bit damp.” He walked into the bathroom and took a deep breath. He stared into the mirror and knew h
e didn’t have a choice. “You can do this.” He needed to keep it together even if it was only long enough to make sure Lacy was safe. “Focus,” he said aloud and then headed into the main room with the blankets he had found in the cupboard.
“I’m going to make up the cot. Why don’t you see if there’s any tea?” Logan started spreading out the blankets.
“Tea? I didn’t know you liked tea.”
“Sometimes.” Like now when I need time to get my shit together. He sighed as wrestled with the blankets, listening to her bustle around the kitchen. Within minutes, they were both finished with their tasks, so they sat down at the table to drink their tea and plan.
“Trenthom thinks your father is still at the house. What’s the best way to reach him?” Logan asked.
She took a sip of tea and stared at the far wall. She was trying to figure out a plan. “I think the best way forward is to pretend we don’t know about Omar. I walk straight up to the gate like I would at any other time and go in. I can apologize if I caused any distress. I can tell them someone killed Markus, then some man tried to kidnap me, and I didn’t know who to trust. It’s the truth. I should be able to see my father. No matter who is behind all of this, Omar is not going to immediately shoot me. He’s going to pretend everything is normal at first. We’ll just have to make sure that we have a way for my dad and I to escape.”
“And me,” Logan reminded her. “Don’t forget I’m going with you. You’re not going alone.” She scowled at him but he continued, “There is nothing you can say to change my mind on that. You are not walking into that trap without backup.” His voice was gruff, and there was steel in his gaze.
“Fine.” She gave in. Truthfully, she was glad he was going to be beside her. She was scared. “We’ll say we spent the weekend together recovering from the kidnapping. It will seem more real to them that I didn’t seek Omar out if we were together. They just have to believe we’re really into each other.”
Smash and Grab: Action-Packed Thrilling Romantic Suspense (Callahan Security Series Book 2) Page 16
