Chapter 12
12
Vivian’s eyelids fluttered opened, and the world gradually seeped into her consciousness. It took her a moment to remember where she was. Always a deep sleeper, she lay for several minutes, enveloped in disorientation until the sunlight coming through the slit between the curtains and the sound of boots moving down the hall pierced through the mental fog.
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she pulled on her woolen socks as a desperate, primal urge for coffee overrode all other needs. She staggered out of her bedroom in a mindless quest for caffeine, barely noting Logan’s bedroom door was open. Shuffling into the kitchen, she rounded the corner and viewed the back of him.
Tall and sinewy. His tight, long-sleeved T-shirt pulled across his back and fit along his trim waist. His jeans hung just right on his ass, but she could tell he didn’t care about his clothes or how they looked on him. He exuded confidence just in his bearing.
She was still gawking when he looked over his shoulder, catching her standing there. His lips quirked slightly, sending a jolt of awareness coursing through her veins. Holy hell. It wasn’t much of a smile, but she wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle the force of his gorgeousness if he offered a full smile. Especially not without caffeine first.
“You’ve got a pillow crease on your cheek.”
“Huh?” She kept her gaze down, now focused on the mug of coffee he had in his hand.
“Viv? You awake?”
Her eyes jumped to his, and she shook her head. “Nuh-uh. Coffee.”
He filled another mug and set it down before placing the creamer and the sweetener packets on the counter.
She fixed her coffee and then glanced at the very black brew in his mug. “How’d you know how I liked my coffee?”
“Creamer was in the refrigerator, and the sweetener was on the counter.”
Wondering if she’d ever get used to his short way of speaking, she circled her hands around the warm mug, holding it close. Her eyes closed as she inhaled deeply. After taking a few sips while he stood at the stove fixing bacon and eggs, she finally asked, “When did you get in last night?”
“Late. You were already asleep.”
No response seemed necessary, so she continued slurping. He plated the bacon and eggs, then moved past her to set them on the table. She remained standing in the same position, her hip leaning against the counter as though it were holding her up.
“You gonna eat?” he asked, taking a seat.
“Uh-huh,” she mumbled as she shuffled to the table and sat down. Sniffing appreciatively, she nodded her thanks as she shoveled a forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth. “This is good.”
He eyed her carefully. “Are you always this much of a zombie in the morning?”
Blinking, she halted the fork on its path to her mouth. “I’m not a zombie.”
“Viv, you sleep like the dead. I checked on you last night, and you didn’t even stir. I checked on you this morning, and you were lying in the same position as though you hadn’t moved all night. Now, you can barely speak a sentence and look like you’re going to face-plant right into the middle of your eggs. I’d call that a zombie.”
Vivian opened and closed her mouth several times, but no response came. How did he do that? Reduce her to silence. And he calls me Viv. No one calls me Viv. Her parents sometimes called her Vivie, but that sounded too much like her teenage years. But Viv? Her lips curved up slowly as she turned her attention back to her plate. “I just need caffeine in the morning.”
As he finished his breakfast, he pushed his chair back, stretching his long legs in front of him. “Thanks for taking care of changing bedrooms last night. I need to be on that side to keep track of the house next door at night for any unusual noises or visitors.”
Realizing he was ready to talk business, she finished quickly and took their plates to the sink. Rinsing them, she left them for later and poured two more cups of coffee. She doctored hers and left his black before setting it in front of him. “Here’s your unsullied cup of coffee.” Taking her creamed and sweetened cup to the opposite side of the table, she sat down.
“Unsullied?” He chuckled.
Not having heard him chuckle before, she stared for a second. The rumble came from deep in his chest, wrapped around her like a hug, and her breath caught in her lungs. She looked down, trying to hide her grin. “Yeah…it’s unsullied with anything to make it remotely drinkable. But that’s the way you like it, right?” she asked, looking up to see him smile. And her breath caught once again.
After taking a sip of his brew, he nodded. “Okay, we need to talk about our plans.” He leaned a long arm over to the counter, snagging a folder and laying it out in front of them.
She slid her chair next to him so they could view it together.
“Were you given any details about the suspects?” he asked.
Shaking her head, she answered, “No.” Biting the corner of her lip, she altered her reply. “Other than they were suspected terrorists. But, honestly, that means little to me.”
His sharp gaze met hers, and she quickly added, “It’s not that I’m ignorant, but there are many terrorist sects, and the particulars weren’t shared with me. I’m just interested in the possible chemical and biological combinations and mixtures that can be made. Unlike explosives, the results can be easy to hide. They don’t have to be completely volatile.”
Turning to the first page of the notebook, she observed the pictures in front of her: one man and one woman. Tapping the two pictures, he said, “This is Akram Zaman. The house is rented in his name. The lease includes his wife, Farrah. Whether or not they are actually married, we can’t say for sure. We do know they didn’t come straight to Alaska. They immigrated to Chicago, and it appears they spent time in Denver as well. He’s been on the radar because of the past company he’s kept—members of other known ISIS cells. They moved to Fairbanks almost two years ago, where they leased an apartment near the university. Akram was active in the local mosque and began spending time at the university, hosting gatherings for other Muslims.” Snorting, he added, “That sounds good, except he was recruiting for his organization, not socializing with peace-loving students.”
She listened attentively, studying the photographs carefully so she could identify them when she saw them.
“They took out a lease on this house about two months ago.” Flipping to the next page of photographs, he continued, “And these people seem to be the most frequent visitors. Malik Jones, Rashad Smith, and Nafisa Fariq. All university students majoring in biology or chemistry. There have been other visitors since they’ve been under suspicion, but these are the most frequent.”
“How on earth do you already know all that?”
Logan looked up, his brows lowering. “I may have just been handed this mission a couple of days ago, but DHS has been gathering intel for a while.”
Eyes widening, she asked, “But if they know all that, then why are we needed?”
“Not all intel can be gathered by computers or satellites or?—”
“Satellites?” She leaned back in her chair, shaking her head. “But…but…that sounds like something out of a movie.”
“Movies are shit. I work in the real world.”
Vivian sucked in her lips, her mind swirling with questions.
He held her gaze. “What are you thinking?”
Her gaze jumped to his. “How did you know I was pondering something?”
“Viv, you’d better not play poker. Your face hides nothing. In fact…” His mouth pinched as he rubbed his jaw. Leaning back in his seat, he pinned her with a hard stare and sighed. “This whole thing may be a big mistake.”
She bristled. “Are you saying I’m a mistake?”
His gaze was piercing as he nodded slowly, but his voice was softer. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“I’ll have you know?—”
Throwing his hand up, he said, “Don’t get riled up. This isn’t personal. But why the hell did the DHS security think it was a good idea to put a woman with no investigative, security, or military experience out here? Viv, your face is an open book, easy for anyone to read.”
“I was sent to analyze the materials and compounds they’re using and creating. I can test what you find and let you know what it is.”
“And our cover? Jesus, it’s more than just us living in the same house. We’ll see them out in the yard…maybe at the store. Sure, you can act the part of my wife from a distance, but how will you ever shutter your face so they can’t see your suspicion when we’re close?”
Shoving her chair back, she stood quickly and entered the living room. Embarrassment and frustration moved through her. He might be a man of few words, but he sure knew how to make her feel inadequate with those words.
Logan sighed heavily, then she heard the sound of his chair scraping along the wooden floor. As she stood motionless in the middle of the room, his boot steps came closer until he placed his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around.
“Viv, I’m sorry,” he said. “I swear, I’m not trying to be a hard-ass. I’m just used to working either alone or with a trained team.”
Vivian’s eyes stayed on his chest, not trusting herself to look higher although his muscles right in front of her face were distracting. Nodding jerkily, she continued to stare straight ahead. She blinked while refusing to let him see the moisture in her eyes.
He lifted her chin with his finger, and for a long moment, the silence hung between them. Finally, he said, “Let’s get back to planning, okay?”
Shrugging, she lifted her gaze. “What’s the point? As far as you’re concerned, I’m not right for this job.”
Logan simply tugged on her arm, leading her to the sofa. Once seated, he twisted to face her. “I was a SEAL.”
A SEAL? At that pronouncement, Vivian’s gaze jumped to his as her mouth opened in stunned silence.
“Guess you know something about SEALs.”
Not wanting to admit she read SEAL romances, she snorted. “Not officially, but yeah, I know a little. Mostly from TV, movies, and…uh...books.” She thought about what she knew—they were some of the best of the best, could take on any mission, and were highly trained. Understanding dawned, and defeat filled her voice. “I’m so not what you’re used to. You’re right… this is a mistake.”
They sat quietly for a few minutes, and she tried to think how her superiors would react if she went home in disgrace. While she’d never had aspirations of espionage, she still hated to fail at anything.
Finally, Logan said, “Look, maybe we’re both thinking of this all wrong.” Her brows lifted in surprise, and he continued, “In a SEAL team, we each had our own strengths, our own particular jobs that we were to accomplish, but we worked as one—seamless. We spent so much time together that we could read each other’s faces and body language.”
A faraway expression filled his eyes for a few seconds, then he seemed to snap back to the present. “We knew the mission, planned it out, but could change on a dime and reassess what needed to be done. And this only came with intense, twenty-four-seven training over a long period. When I started taking on assignments by myself, I had no one else to consider in my decisions.”
She nodded, dejection still on her face. “What you’re saying only proves why we can’t make this work.”
“No, no,” he said, shaking his head. “It just means that I need to change what I’m used to. And so do you. I’m not on a SEAL team anymore, and you’re not stuck in a lab.”
“But how do we do this now…with no time for training together?”
He stared into her eyes and seemed lost.
“Logan?”
Blinking rapidly, he looked away, clearing his throat before turning his attention back to her. “We need to be clear on what our different roles are. We need to carefully review the information we have, but I’m not going to force you to learn anything outside your need to know. After all, if we were just newlyweds moving to the neighborhood, you wouldn’t know their names ahead of time. You’d stumble over their names. Hell, you might even get the names mixed up if you saw a different person over there.”
Nodding, she agreed. “Okay, so I need to review the information as to what you know and what you’ll be doing, but I need to keep to my role of just a neighbor until you bring over samples for me to analyze?”
“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Looking up suddenly, he ordered, “But I don’t want you over there by yourself. At all. Do you understand me?”
Crinkling her brow, she shook her head. “But why? What if we get invited over for…for…I don’t know. Maybe coffee?”
Incredulity hit him. “Jesus, Viv. You think a terrorist is going to invite you over for coffee?”
“No, I’m sure they won’t,” she floundered, feeling the blush heat her cheeks.
“You do not go inside that house by yourself. Ever. I won’t yield on this, Viv, so you’ve got to promise.”
“Okay,” she agreed hurriedly, hoping to reassure him.
“What do you need to do for your analysis?”
“I brought equipment with me, but honestly, I haven’t figured out where to set up?—”
“How big a space do you need?”
“A room about as big as one of our bedrooms, but not in this house. It could be potentially deadly materials?—”
“I found a shed.”
His constant interruptions would typically drive her crazy, but she quickly realized this was the way Logan worked. It appeared his mind was so efficient he was already ready with an answer halfway through a question.
Sighing, he said, “I’m sorry.”
“What for?”
“Just…just for…hell, being me, I guess.”
A smile slipped out, and she accepted his apology, knowing this situation was as difficult for him as it was for her. “No problem. And, yes, a shed would be good, but where can we find one that’d work?”
“On my run last night, I was doing a reconnaissance of the area?—”
“That’s why you were gone so long?” she asked, now the one interrupting.
“I had limited time to gain knowledge of this area before coming, so I wanted to check it out myself. Going on a run was the perfect way to explore the neighborhood and surrounding woods. My people looked into the area and discovered a shed at the back of the property, and I found it about fifty yards to the west in the woods. It’s abandoned. It hasn’t been used in years.”
“To the west…that’s away from their house, isn’t it?”
He nodded. “Makes it perfect for you to get to the shed without being seen.”
“So can we make this work?” She couldn’t hide the hesitation in her voice as her eyes searched his.
Rubbing his hand over the back of his neck, he said, “Truthfully? I have no idea. But I’ve never failed in a mission before, and I sure as hell don’t plan on failing this one either.”
Her smile widened as she took his words to heart. Slapping her hands on her legs, she said, “Okay then. Tell me what’s next.”