Chapter 28
28
Stumbling into the kitchen, taking the proffered cup of perfectly creamed and sugared coffee, Vivian managed to smile at Logan as he looked her up and down.
“I’ve told my boss that I’m not working the next couple of days, so we’ve got today for you to do some more digging into what the neighbors are cooking up and some digging into what you want to learn about me.”
“Hmm. Sounds like you’ve got the day planned.”
“Come on, zombie Viv. Have a seat, and let me get some food in you. You’re always a nicer zombie when your belly is full.”
Attempting to cast a glare in his direction, he had already turned his back, so she shuffled over and plopped down in a chair. She’d barely sat when Sakari jumped into her lap. Seeing Logan plate scrambled eggs, sausage, and pancakes perked her up.
“Pancakes? I love pancakes.” Her smile, wider now, beamed up at him.
“See what I mean? Get you interested in food, and my girl’s smile comes out of hiding.”
She felt the butterflies in her stomach as his words, my girl, slid over her. She watched as he laughed before sitting down next to her, and Sakari moved from her lap to his. He ate with one hand while petting the sweet cat with the other. Sucking in a deep breath, she turned her attention to her pancakes, finding them fluffy and light, just the way she liked them.
“How about we talk about you first before I start checking into next door,” she suggested as she trailed the last bite of pancake through the syrup before closing her lips over the fork in ecstasy. When he didn’t reply, she turned to look at him. His eyes were locked on her mouth as she licked the syrup off. “Logan?”
He blinked slowly before his gaze drifted back to hers. Letting his breath out slowly, he said, “Damn. That was sexy.”
“Me eating pancakes?”
“You. Your mouth around that fork. That syrup on your lips. And where I’d like to put that syrup on you so I can lick it off myself.”
She leaned forward until she was a breath away from his lips. “Talk first, sex later.”
Kissing her quickly, he shook his head as he took the plates to the sink. “You drive a hard bargain, woman.”
Having determined that the lab work was being accomplished when Malik, Rashad, or Nafisa were next door, they settled in the living room so they could talk while keeping an eye on the neighbor’s driveway.
“I feel like I should be taking notes on you.”
“So what do you need to know to feel like you’re a Logan expert?”
“I guess the same things we went over about me. Your family. Your career. And how you ended up here as a mechanic known as Logan Preacher.”
“Grew up in the middle of nowhere Kansas on a farm.”
“I can imagine you as a dark-headed little boy running around a farm.”
Chuckling, he said, “The farm has been in my family since my great-grandfather.” His voice softened as he shifted his eyes, focusing on a distant point on the wall. “Clean air. Crops. Cows. Hard work from sunup to sundown.”
She watched the play of emotions flit over his face. Understanding dawned, and she didn’t need to ask, instead stating, “And it wasn’t what you wanted to do.”
His gaze moved back to her, and his lips curved gently. “First time I saw a Navy commercial on TV, I was totally gone—gone off the farm in the middle of the country. I wanted water, boats, submarines… if it had to do with the Navy, I wanted it. By the time I graduated from high school, I had spent more time at the recruiter’s office than I had anywhere else. When I found out about SEALs, I knew.” The intensity in his stare seared through her. “Have you ever wanted something so bad it was all you thought about?”
Shifting on the sofa to get more comfortable, she felt a pang of envy—she loved her job but had never felt about it the way Logan described the Navy. She shook her head slowly. “I wish…but no…not so far.”
“My recruiter wanted me to join right away, but I wanted a college degree so I could be an officer. I went to Kansas State on an ROTC scholarship. I did four years, finished, and then headed to the Navy. I did basic training and officer school before being accepted for SEAL training.”
She sat, entranced at the emotion pouring from him in a way she’d never heard before.
“I still remember the first time I was out on a ship. I stood on deck and watched the shore recede into the background. Thought about what it must have been like for those sailors of centuries ago, not knowing what or who was out there.”
They were quiet for a moment as she gave him time for his memories to slide over him. Finally, with a head jerk, he said, “Anyway, I was accepted and made it through each level. Special Warfare Prep School, Basic Underwater Demolition, Parachute Jump, and SEAL Qualification. Hard as shit, but had the best team. I’d been flying my family’s crop-dusting plane since I was a teen, so I also did pilot training.”
“What happened?”
“I fuckin’ loved my job… best job and the greatest friends. But on the last mission, things got fucked. One of my team was shot and had gone down. Our rescue helicopter had arrived, and we had to get out of there. It was too hot…too much firepower getting rained down on us. The whole mission was fucked if we didn’t get out. I heard him shout and turned back to get him. Managed to pick him up and jog toward the bird.”
He was silent, his eyes stormy as they settled on the wall opposite him. “Almost fuckin’ made it.” He shook his head, almost in disbelief. “Managed to get close but then went down as an explosion hit nearby. We got into the bird, but I tore my knee to hell. Damn near shredded it.”
She winced in sympathy as she watched him rub his left knee absentmindedly. Reaching toward him, she placed her hand on his leg gently so as not to disturb his memories but to remind him that he was alive.
He looked over and smiled, placing his large hand over hers and squeezing. “It’s all good, Viv. No one can be a SEAL forever.”
“Did you have to get out?”
“Even after surgery, my knee was never going to be strong enough for me to jump outta planes anymore or even swim as long as I needed.”
“They kicked you out?” she cried with indignity.
“No, babe. I got out. I could have stayed in the Navy and worked a desk job. Even trained new SEALs. But the more I thought about it, the less I liked the idea.”
“And the farm?”
Shaking his head while chuckling, he said, “It was never for me. When I left for SEAL training, I told my parents that it needed to go to someone who loved it as much as they did. I have a younger sister, and she stayed there. She married a good man whose dad owned a farm nearby. They’ve got both farms now and kids, two boys and two girls. They’ll have someone to keep it going.”
“But it was your legacy?—”
“Nah,” he countered, conviction in his voice. “It was never my legacy. I loved the farm, loved growing up there, but farming’s not in my blood. It’s got to be inside you every second, and for me, that was being a SEAL.”
“Where did you go?”
Leaning back with a grin, he replied, “Montana. Cut Bank, Montana. Out in the boonies. I got acres out in the middle of nowhere. I built a house and a large hangar for my helicopters. I made a business out of flying tourists around and doing rescues.”
She heard all the words he spoke, but her mind was stuck back on Montana. Blinking, she tried to understand his reasoning. “Montana?”
Throwing his head back, he laughed. “Yeah, Viv. Montana.”
Kicking him softly with her leg, she said, “But why Montana? It’s not near the water…it’s not near anything.”
His mirth slowly faded, and his eyes held hers. She nodded slowly as understanding dawned. “You didn’t want to be near the water. You didn’t want to be near people.” She knew she’d hit the nail on the head when he nodded slowly.
“I was never very sociable. Figured seeing the ocean every day would always remind me of what I lost. So Bumfuck, Montana, seemed like a good idea.”
Sitting in silence, she considered his words. His downward turn of lips and dullness in his eyes made it obvious that flying tourists wasn’t his passion. “What about your company now? Where did you move to?”
“Still Montana. The original Lighthouse team is in Maine, and one is in California. That’s the West Coast group. And mine is in Montana.”
She remained quiet, wanting to know more but unsure if he would give her anything but the basics. A yearning deep inside grew, consuming her, but she forced the words to stay unspoken. Barely breathing, she felt the air leave her lungs when he finally continued.
“A man who had served in the Army Special Forces and then as a CIA special operator got out and started his own business. That’s the original Lighthouse Security Investigations. Located in Maine, they grew a respected reputation and work with the government and private requests for security work as well as taking on the investigations that stymied or overtaxed law enforcement. They’re known as Keepers, for the old lighthouse keepers who guided people to safety.”
She watched as the shine returned to his eyes, and his voice held pride. She leaned forward, eagerly awaiting more.
“Then he partnered with a fellow special forces man who had a security-to-the-stars business in California but was destined for so much more. He made the change to the LSI kind of security and investigations and built a team.”
“That’s the West Coast group, right?”
He grinned. “You remember.”
She just smiled and nodded. His smile slowly ended, a look of indecision crossing his face. She held her breath again, hoping whatever he was thinking, he would voice.
“While running tourists and doing rescues, I also took on a few covert jobs for DHS. Worked solo.” He shrugged. “I liked the planning. I liked just relying on myself, not having to worry if a teammate was injured or going to be killed on a mission.”
“As physically unsafe as it might be, you felt emotionally safe.”
His eyes widened as his gaze shot to hers, and he exhaled forcefully. “Damn, Viv. That’s exactly what it felt like.”
She tilted her head slightly, curiosity about the now Logan since she understood more of his past. “So your new company has people working with you, right? The ones you’ve been talking to. The one who flew here with your equipment.”
A deep chuckle erupted as he nodded. “Yeah… completely different change for me… again.”
“But more like the SEALs?”
“Yeah. Instead of solo, I’m leading a team again. But not constrained by the military brass above. We can take the assignments we want. We can run them how we want. We choose what to do, when to plan, and when to go, and then step back. Our investigations can get turned over to the FBI or Interpol, and we go home knowing we did our jobs.”
“If you’re the company leader, why did you take this job? Why not send one of your employees?”
When he grew quiet and his gaze dropped, she wondered if she had pushed too hard or in the wrong direction. “It’s okay, Logan. You don’t have to?—”
His head lifted his intense gaze on her. “This job is different. It came from the source who used to send me on solo missions. And my team is still new. We’re still learning about each other’s skills. This mission asked for something that I wouldn’t ask of my other employees. Something that I won’t do in the future. But the source who asked me to take it on thought I could handle it.” He hesitated, a battle of emotions crossing his normally stoic face.
Blowing out a breath, he said, “I talked to the other partners and told them what I was doing. They weren’t going to tell me not to take this assignment, but they understood why I chose to take it on myself.”
There was much she didn’t understand about his cryptic explanation, but knew he’d given what he could about the assignment. It also explained why he thought he was working solo and would just interact peripherally with the biologist. “And when it’s over?” Her words were spoken casually, but the air hung heavy between them as their gazes held.
Swallowing deeply, he said, “I guess I’ll go back to Montana.”
Her trembling lips curved tightly, the slight smile forced. He reached out and linked his fingers with hers. Vivian blinked, battling the desire to cry at how his fingers entangled with hers made her feel.
“I figure I’ll take a trip to Kansas first, though,” he added.
Her head nodded in jerks, her heart aching with an unknown pain. She felt his thumb caressing her palm and swallowed deeply.
“Figured I’d want to introduce you to my folks,” he continued, his eyes never leaving hers.
She blinked, but his words barely registered.
“Viv. Breathe,” Logan ordered gently but firmly, his fingers giving hers a squeeze.
Her breath left her in a whoosh, but she continued to stare. Swallowing deeply, she whispered, “You want me to meet your family?”
“I still don’t know what we’ve got here, Viv. But I know it feels like something real. Something that has fuckin’ roots that can grow. Fuckin’ wings that can fly.”
His words, so badass and poetic at the same time, caused her smile to slip through despite the enormity of his confession.
“I may be kinda out of practice, but I know what I feel,” he continued.
Licking her lips, she said, “We never even talked about any past…relationships.”
Sighing, he said, “A girl like you—gorgeous and smart. I know you’ve had men crawl over you since you were probably fourteen.”
Barking out a laugh, she shook her head. “Hardly. I had a high school boyfriend. In college, I dated a few guys, but no one ever sparked my interest. Since then, I’ve gone on dates… blind dates, men I met online. But other than a few relationships that lasted a couple of months at most, no one made the cut to something more substantive. Most of the men I work with are married or, if they’re single, we’d go out and talk about lab stuff. I work with it all day, so why the hell would I want to spend a date talking about it?”
She clutched his fingers, admitting, “I’d never met anyone who made me want more. Until you walked through that door, barking orders and being all pissy. You were larger than life. So handsome, it almost hurts my eyes to look at you. A body that wraps around me and makes me forget everything but you, protecting me from whatever is out there. It’s like I was waiting for some kind of a hero. I didn’t know it, but I was waitng for you.”
“I didn’t know it, but I was waiting for you.”
Those words scored straight through Logan’s heart and mind, stealing the oxygen from the room. It took a moment for his heart to settle to a less frantic pace, and as she continued to hold his gaze, he realized she was waiting for him to speak.
“I… I barely dated in high school…maybe one girl. Dated a few in college, and had one girlfriend who lasted a couple of months. She was too jealous of the time I spent on my studies and getting ready for my Navy commission, so it ended. I’ll admit, I’d occasionally go to the bars during my years as a SEAL, but that was nothing more than a scratch to an itch.”
Logan caught her minuscule wince and inwardly cursed his crude confession. “Babe,” he called, waiting until she lifted her eyes to his. “Honest to God, I rarely did that. Hence the name.”
Her brows furrowed. “Name?”
“Preacher.”
Biting the corner of her lip in concentration, she shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry, Logan. I don’t understand.”
“My call sign. We rarely used our real ones. Sometimes it was based on a physical characteristic or personality trait. My last name is Bishop, so someone initially called me Preacher as a play on the religious title of Bishop. But, as they got to know me, especially the way I stayed more sober than drunk, more alone than banging a FrogHog… Preacher stuck. When I took this mission, I decided to take that as my last name for our cover.”
The important conversation was halted by the sound of cars in the driveway. Looking out, they viewed Milak, Rashad, and Nafisa alighting from their vehicles and moving into the house.
“I’m sorry, Viv,” he began, “we’re having an important discussion and get interrupted.”
Smiling, she nodded as she patted his leg. Standing to walk over to the computers, she stopped and looked over her shoulder, grinning. “For the record, Logan, when this is over… I’d really like to meet your family. I still think I was just waiting to meet you. There’s nothing you’ve told me that’s changed that.”
He watched her sit down at the table, open the laptops and begin searching the views as she picked up a pen and scribbled notes. Scrubbing his hand over his face, his heart lurched, knowing the full mission. He wondered if she would feel the same if she knew what he was tasked to do once her part of the job was complete and he was left to eliminate the threat.