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

by Lori Matthews

  His voice was soft. “That shouldn’t be too hard.”

  Heat rushed up her cheeks. She cleared her throat. “So”—her voice sounded odd so she cleared her throat again—“how do we get my father out?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe figure out a way to get to the airport?”

  “The fastest way off the island is by water.”

  “Good point.” He nodded. “So airport is a second choice.”

  “The thing is,” she clarified, “my father has his own jet. I think if he could have left that way, he already would have. Maybe he couldn’t make the arrangements to fly out without Omar knowing.” She took a breath. “We should assume my father knows his people have turned on him. I think he’s faking the extent of his illness to buy himself time and privacy.” She took a sip of tea.

  “We could insist on taking your father to the hospital.” Logan leaned forward in his chair, warming to the idea. “Once we’re on the road, we can have Trenthom’s officers take us all in for questioning about Markus’s death. Armand can insist he has to come along. Omar knows you’re his daughter so that would seem normal to him. If he wants to have a cover story, Armand can make noise about how he’s already lost one employee and doesn’t trust Trenthom. And I have to go as your lawyer. Omar can’t shoot at the cops unless he wants to be hunted down by every law enforcement officer in the Bahamas.

  Logan stood up and got the teapot. He refilled his cup and offered more to Lacy. She shook her head.

  “Once Trenthom’s people get us away from Omar, I’m sure we can come up with a way off the island,” Logan said as he put the teapot back on the stove. He sat back down. Maybe your father or Trenthom will come up with something. Your dad can round up Omar and his pals later.” He tried to gauge her reception to his idea.

  When she didn’t say anything, he continued, “Might work, but we’ll have to take Omar with us. There’s no way he’ll leave us alone once we’re all together. I think there’s a good chance he’ll go for it. It would be the perfect opportunity for him to arrange for his friends to ambush us.”

  She tapped her finger on the table. “For not having much experience in the workings of the underworld, you’re pretty good.” He was better than good. If Logan Callahan ever decided to go rogue, he’d be a smashing success. It didn’t surprise her in the least. He was the best at everything he did.

  “Thanks. I think.”

  “You know, we do have a bullet-proof ambulance at the house.”

  He paused, his mouth gaping open. “Why do you have—” He stopped. “You know, I don’t think I want to know the answer to that question.”

  She smiled. “Once my father realized his health issues were somewhat serious, he bought the ambulance. The thing that worries me is if Voloshyn wants revenge, he must already have some sort of plan to exact it.”

  “I’m inclined to agree,” said a voice from behind them. Logan jumped up and placed himself in front of Lacy.

  “Relax. It’s just me.” Trenthom opened the screen door and walked in. “Sorry to sneak up on you, but I thought it was better to leave the car back on the dirt road than drive it down the path again. I don’t want to bring attention to you two being here.” He was wearing dark pants and a dark shirt. With no moonlight, it would have been very difficult to see him outside. “I agree with what you were saying. I think there is a plan in place. Whatever it is, they want both you and your father alive for it.” He leaned against the door jamb. .

  Logan relaxed and sat back down. “We were trying to figure out the best way to approach tomorrow.” He glanced at her and then said, “We think it would work if we go up to the gate like Lacy normally would. Pretend to have no clue that Omar is involved. Do a whole song and dance about being kidnapped.”

  Lacy piped up, “I can tell them that I thought the kidnappers were disgruntled would-be customers. They grabbed me to get my father to give them whatever arms they were trying to buy.”

  “Omar will ask why you didn’t come to him sooner,” Trenthom pointed out.

  “We tell him the truth. We were hiding out from the kidnappers. We did go to town to meet Omar, but we saw the kidnappers. There was no way to get to Omar without alerting them, so we went back into hiding.”

  “That works,” Trenthom said. “So, that should get you in, but how do you plan on getting out with your father?”

  Lacy swallowed some cold tea and grimaced. “We’re going to insist on taking Dad to the hospital. We thought you and your police officers could intercept us on the road under the guise of taking us in for questioning about Markus’s death. Omar won’t like it, but he isn’t going to try and stop the local cops from taking us in. We might need further help, though, to keep Omar distracted and get us off the island. We thought maybe your CIA people could help. I’m sure my father will want to deal with Omar in his own way at a different time, from a safer location.”

  “I see.” Trenthom looked back and forth between them. “It could work. The officers will follow my lead so that’s not a problem, but let me check about getting help with Omar and getting you all off the island. See what my contacts have to say. I’ll let you know first thing in the morning.”

  “Lacy, if I could have a few words with you…” Trenthom folded his arms across his chest and glanced at Logan.

  “Sure,” she said and then stared pointedly at Logan.

  “No problem. I’ve gotta call my brothers anyway.” He got up and went outside.

  Trenthom dropped his arms and leaned back against the stove. “You know, I’ve been keeping tabs on you for a while now. You are a very impressive young woman. Smart, quick-thinking, good under pressure, and you have backbone. Balls, if you will pardon the expression.”

  She had the distinct feeling he was buttering her up. What was he playing at? “I’m smart enough to recognize you’re blowing smoke up my ass, so why don’t you just come out with it?” She leaned forward and put on her best court-room face.

  “I said before I think your father is faking the extent of his illness, but he is ill. He needs to retire and take better care of himself.”

  She nodded. “Agreed.”

  “That would leave a large power vacuum in the arms-dealing world. It could”—he paused—“destabilize things. My bosses and I would like to avoid that. It would create too many difficult situations across the world.”

  “I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” Where was he going with this? She had an uneasy feeling in her stomach. Something told her she didn’t want to hear what he was about to say.

  “We already have.”

  Trenthom’s stare said volumes. She knew what was coming.

  “We want you to take over your father’s business.”

  She tried to school her features, but she knew Trenthom had caught the dread that had flitted across her face.

  “We need someone like your father to step into his shoes. Someone who will listen to reason and weigh all the available information before making any decisions on selling the weaponry. Someone who understands the bigger picture and isn’t just in it for the money. Someone who will not be corrupted by power. Yes, we could go with Omar, but Omar is not that person. You are that person.”

  “What makes you so sure?” She was puzzled and strangely flattered at the same time.

  “As I said, we have been watching you for a while. As Fontaine’s daughter, you are obviously a person of interest. But you distinguished yourself right away by exceling at school and then at your first law firm. You seem to have slowed down a bit at this new firm. Perhaps law isn’t your thing?” he asked and watched her for her reaction. She was determined to keep a calm face this time. No need to tell him he was correct.

  Trenthom continued. “You’re similar to your father, but you have your mother’s quickness of thought. Your father is sometimes a wee bit too methodical for our taste.”

  “In other words, you think you can influence me into making quicker decisions.”

  “As I said, you a
re very smart. And the added bonus is that many of the people who matter in your father’s world consider you the natural choice. They have worked with you when you set up delivery of their orders, so they know you and trust you. Some are aware you are his daughter. It would make the transition much smoother.”

  “Well,” she said as she stood up, “I hate to disappoint, but I think I’ll pass on the job offer. Although I enjoy logistics, selling arms is not my life-long dream. I mean, just look at the problems it’s currently causing, not to mention the fact that my mother died because of it. So, no, I’m not interested. I’m sure you’ll find someone suitable for the position after my father retires.” She turned to walk outside. She needed to see Logan.

  “I don’t think you understand.”

  His words stopped her in her tracks.

  “I’m not offering you the position. I’m telling you that you have to take it.”

  “You cannot force me to take over my father’s business. I’m not interested,” she said in an icy tone, turning back to face him.

  “Oh, but I can. Do you want to get your father out of this situation? Do you want him to live a long, healthy life after he does retire? Do you want to get yourself and Logan out safely?”

  Her jaw dropped open.

  “If you don’t agree to take over,” Trenthom continued, “you’ll be forcing us to go with Omar. Which means you’ll walk in there tomorrow without any backup and no way out. I will find out what contingency plans your father has in place and make sure they don’t happen. I have people working on it right now.”

  “You wouldn’t,” she hissed as she took several steps toward Trenthom. “You—you said my father was your friend.”

  “I said it because it’s true, but it is more important to have a sane, reasonable person in charge of the major arms deals that occur across the globe than it is to have a friend.”

  “You mean someone you can control.” Her knees were weak. She felt for the table, stepped back and sat heavily in her chair.

  “Yes. You’re starting to see the whole picture. Your father gets to retire and take care of his health while you run the business, consulting him as needed, but mostly doing our bidding. It’s a win-win. He’s been training you to take over anyway. Your father mentioned as much to me. This Omar-Voloshyn situation just sped the plan up a bit.”

  “But…but it wasn’t carved in stone. Now you’re telling me I don’t have a choice.”

  “I’m telling you the position you have been groomed for has just become available. Take it so you, your father, and Mr. Callahan can live long and prosper.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  The door opened, and Logan walked back into the room. He looked back and forth between Trenthom to Lacy. “Is everything OK?”

  “Yes. Fine.” Lacy tried to flatten out her already smooth chestnut hair.

  Her tell. She was lying. He knew it as sure as he was standing there. Trenthom’s face gave nothing away.

  “I’ll be on my way,” Trenthom said as he stood up. “Get some sleep, both of you. I’ll be back at dawn so we can go over our final plan.” He made his way to the door. “Be safe,” he said, “and think about what I said.” Then he was gone.

  “What did he mean by that?” Logan asked. Judging by the look on Lacy’s face, Trenthom was talking about her, and she didn’t like it.

  “He suggested my father should retire. I told him I agreed. He has some ideas about how to make that happen.”

  Whatever those ideas were, Lacy didn’t like it. There was a lot more to the story. She wouldn’t even meet his gaze. The knots in Logan’s gut tightened. Surprises made him nervous. This situation was untenable to him. He wanted to grill her, but he knew her well enough by now to know she wasn’t going to say anything she didn’t want to. Pressuring her would just piss her off. He sighed.

  “He’s right. We should get some sleep.” Logan glanced at the flimsy cot—smaller than a twin bed. “You sleep there. I’ll move the kitchen chairs around a bit and use them.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. We’ve been sleeping together for the last few nights. We’ll both sleep on the cot.”

  “Actually, we haven’t,” he said. He was having trouble keeping his voice normal.

  “We haven’t what?” she asked.

  “Slept together. We’ve done a lot of other things together, but we haven’t slept.”

  Her cheeks went pink. She cleared her throat. “Well, then tonight will be the first time.” She turned her back and pulled off her white tank. Then she shimmied out of her pants and crawled under the blankets on the cot in just her bra and matching thong.

  Her control was enviable. Logan sure as hell didn’t have it. He took his time getting undressed. He tried to marshal his thoughts to anything except the woman lying on the cot in front of him.

  After thirty seconds, Logan knew two things. One, he wasn’t going to get much sleep, and two, he was going to be hard as a rock all night. He put the heels of his palms on his eyes and tried to block out the images of Lacy naked from his mind. He went through the conversation he had with his brother again.

  Gage said Drake’s programmer was being followed and someone made a grab for her, or at least she thought someone tried to kidnap her. How does that work? Logan wasn’t sure how that was possible but after this little adventure he wasn’t ruling anything out. That meant Gage had to get over to Europe ASAP.

  He told Logan he would send a couple of the guys down tomorrow to help Logan and Lacy stay safe and figure a way off the island, but when Gage asked Logan where he wanted the guys or what he wanted them to do, Logan had no answers other than obtain new passports for him and Lacy. He added her father to the list, but he knew that would prove difficult. He wasn’t even sure what country’s passport her father held.

  Logan had no idea what was going to happen tomorrow, but the feeling of dread was so intense, he was having trouble breathing. He didn’t trust Trenthom. The CIA never did anybody any favors without a reason, and often their favors turned to shit. He’d seen it often enough in the navy.

  He must have made some sound because suddenly he was aware that Lacy was awake beside him, watching him.

  “What are you thinking about?” She rolled over to face Logan, who was lying on his back.

  “Nothing. Go back to sleep.”

  “Liar. Your whole body is tense, and you’re grinding your teeth. Are you worried about tomorrow? Logan, you don’t have to go with me.”

  He rolled onto his side to face her. “I’m not letting you go by yourself, so get that out of your head.”

  She wanted to weep when she gazed into those beautiful blue eyes. What the hell had she done? It was bad enough she was in this mess, but she had dragged Logan in with her. If she had just gone with Markus in the first place, Logan would be safe and sound in New York right now. Of course, she’d probably be dead, but there was a distinct possibility that would happen anyway. At least he would’ve been out of harm’s way. And she wouldn’t be in love with him at the worst possible time in her life.

  She had fallen for him the first time she’d seen him, but that had been lust. Now, it was different. It was real, not just a hot fantasy. She had hoped that after all this was over, they could go back to New York and try to build a real relationship. Go on dates like normal couples. Help each other pursue their dreams.

  But that was no longer in the cards. Trenthom had made it perfectly clear that if she didn’t agree to take over the family business, he would essentially let Voloshyn kill them. And if she tried to back out later, she didn’t doubt for one second he would have her father killed. Hell, he might even do it himself, friend or not.

  Maybe Logan could work with her? He certainly had a knack for it, and it wouldn’t take her long to bring him up to speed. There was no doubt he was a quick study. She mentally pictured them side by side, flying around the world, making deals.

  Then reality crashed her dreams. There was no way he was going to want to be with her once
she took over her father’s business. It was a miserable life with no break from fear. Body guards always around, no time to just be. It was a prison, a gilded one, but still a prison. She wouldn’t do that to him. She could barely make herself do it, and she had to take on the job to save her father.

  There was no future for them because her future had already been written for her without her input. The tears were building behind her eyes, but she tried to blink them back.

  “Hey! Please don’t cry. None of this is your fault.” He gathered her up in his arms, and she clung to him in desperation. “Look”—he pulled back and wiped her tears—“I’m here because I want to be here. There is nowhere on earth I’d rather be right now than here with you. And Lacy, we are going to be fine. I need you to believe that.”

  She stared at him as he stroked her cheek with his fingers. Needing to touch him, she put her arms around his neck and buried her face against his chest. Desire was building from her core, but her heart was also breaking.

  He claimed her lips in a swift kiss that he quickly deepened. God, he tasted so good. So right. She tangled her hands in his thick wavy hair and kissed him like she’d never kissed a man before. She poured her soul into that kiss. She wanted him to know what she was feeling. She wanted him to feel it, feel her love.

  He broke off the kiss and started to say something, but she claimed his mouth again in a bruising kiss. Words weren’t what she wanted or needed at the moment. She needed him inside of her. And she wanted it now. She rolled over onto her back and brought him on top of her. She moved her hands down over his shoulders to his back. She explored every ridge, every ripple of muscle, trying to memorize him so she could re-live this moment again and again. If this was their last moment together, she wanted to sear it into her memory.

  He sucked, nibbled, and stroked her tongue with his, eliciting moans of pleasure from her. His hands were on her breasts, first through the fabric, rubbing her nipples, and then his hands snaked behind her back and had her bra off in seconds. The cool air puckered her nipples. She shivered in anticipation.