Billionaire Bodyguard (10 page)

“I’m not ready to face Logan yet.”
Or what will happen when he changes his mind about me
.
Her ex-husband had driven it into her like a stake through her chest that no man could tolerate her, except him. 

Devon sighed. “I’m not good at playing the go-between. I have too much of an opinion.”

“I respect that,” Allison said. “I’m not trying to put a wedge between you and Logan. I just need
time.”

“How much time?” Devon asked as she poured herself a glass of red wine.

“Until I have it figured out.”

“That may not happen.”

“I’ll be closer to the answer tomorrow.” She needed a buffer between Logan’s strong-willed
personality and her own uncertain stance. Why couldn’t he be a jerk, denied paternity and left her free and clear?

The warm white furball that was Devon’s little Yorkie put its head on Allison’s lap, staring up at her with big, dark, soulful eyes. He nudged her hand with his wet nose, then dozed blissfully as she petted him. “See? Peanut believes me.”

“Peanut’s loyalty lies with whoever has bacon or pets him.” Devon’s cell phone buzzed across her kitchen counter like a Mexican jumping bean. “It’s Logan again.”

“Don’t answer it.”

“I
have to before he wears out my charge. You know
how stubborn he is.”

“I’m well aware,” Allison said wearily.

“Then own up to it and make your own demands. He doesn’t have to call all the shots.”

“He
can’t help himself.”

“If you don’t talk to him, nothing will be solved.”

Allison clenched her hands in the fleece. “Fine, give me the phone.”

Devon tossed it to her like a hot potato. The second it buzzed in her hand, Allison flinched. Hesitantly, she answered. “Hello.”

“Do you have any idea how worried I am about you?” Logan stormed out of the gate. “Where have you been?”

“I’m hanging in there, thanks for asking.” Disdain dripped from her tone.
“It’s nice to hear from you, too.”

“You and I need to have a conversation. Now.”

“I don’t take well to commands,” she replied crisply.

“It’s a lot better than what’s coming.”

Rising stomach acid left a sting in her throat. “Don’t threaten me.”

“I meant I’m a better alternative than your ex-husband.”

“Sure you did.”

“Allison.” He exhaled. “Don’t you know by now I’m on your side?”

“That remains to be seen.” Didn’t
he
understand by now she failed at relationships?

“What the hell do you want from me?”

“Space.
Time.
Sorry, is that too much to ask?”

“You’ve had twenty-four hours to process this pregnancy bombshell, and you’re running scared. I’ve had two hours and
I’m totally fine with it.”

“You’re special.
Congratulations.”

He ignored the sarcasm. “Give me a chance, Allison. We can make this work.”

Tears collected behind her eyes. “How?”

“That’s what we have the next nine months to figure out.” A smile tinted his words. She didn’t share his amusement. Then he added, “Trust me.”

The absolute wrong thing to say. Her defenses shot up, a storm gathering inside her. “Trust you? After you sided with Rick against me? You threw me under the bus, Logan.
Like you did last night.” She swallowed hard. “You didn’t even talk to me before you took a Rototiller to my past and dragged out the skeletal remains of my marriage. It never occurred to you to ask?”

“Any time I did, you shut me out.” Logan’s temper was rising. “I made a mistake.
I didn’t know the whole story.”

He had a point. She was good at shutting down when a man came too close or meant too much. Her defenses didn’t care to debate the issue. “When I decide to trust someone, I’ll know that trust isn’t conditional.”

After a pause, Logan stated softly, “Stick around, and I’ll prove it to you.”

“We’ll see.”

He scoffed with disbelief. “So you won’t talk to me. You won’t give me a chance to figure things out with you.”

“Tonight? No.” Dead silence met her statement. The pause lengthened to the point of uncomfortable. “Logan?”

“Oh, I’m here.” He was
not
happy. “You know what? You go ahead. Take all the time in the world. I’ll just do what I have to do.”

“What does that mean—?”

Click
.
Dial tone.

Allison stared at the phone, then at Devon. “He hung up on me.”

Devon released a dramatic sigh. “I admit it’s frustrating to sit on the sidelines watching the game being played all wrong. On the other hand, people have to figure the rules out for themselves.

Allison nodded. “Thank you.”

Devon pushed away from her kitchen counter. “Now what? We sit around shoving our faces with popcorn and watching chick flicks all night?”

Nerves relaxing, Allison gave a cheeky grin. “Sounds perfect.”

Rolling her eyes, Devon set her wine on the coffee table and plopped down on the couch. “Can’t I sell you on an intergalactic space battle?”

“Nope.”

“What about a good down and dirty thriller?”

Allison cringed. “No way.”

“Chick flicks it is.” Devon grabbed the remote. A wink ruined her scowl. “The things I do for friends.”

*

The next morning, Allison shut her car door and stood before her apartment building. The pale November sunrise leaked through the clouds like puss from a bruise. A shaky feeling started in her gut and radiated to every limb. She shivered uncontrollably.

Something wasn’t right.

The knowing began when she woke an hour ago in unfamiliar surroundings. Even though Devon’s beautiful townhouse was a hundred times better than the sterile box Allison called home, she’d broken into a cold sweat when she’d jerked awake and couldn’t place where she was. In the darkness, it had all come flooding back. Her heart had pounded recklessly, recalling yesterday’s events. Her fears of Logan’s reaction to her pregnancy.
Her disbelief in his acceptance. Learning Rick had dragged her ex-husband back into her life, shredding the years of solitary confinement and vigilance she’d perfected. All so Rick could prove she was an imposter. And in a way, she was. Rick didn’t need to go digging. She’d faked normalcy for so long that living a lie was natural. She’d shoved down her own hopes and desires, waiting until she stepped off the plane in Paris to reinvent herself.

Now, there was no chance of starting over clean and safe and free.

Devon was right. Logan would never let her go.

Allison felt trapped all over again.

Staring up at the door of her apartment, she willed herself to move forward. Dread dragged her feet as she climbed the stairs. She wondered, could Trevor have located her by now?

Imagination taking over, she could almost see the shadows give way as she opened the door, revealing the cold dark eyes of true evil. Trevor’s form sitting on her couch, deceptively relaxed as she walked in and met his unholy grin, as
he said, “Welcome home, wife.”

A shiver trembled
across her shoulders. She paused on the landing. She wanted to call Logan, knowing if anything happened he’d move the Rocky Mountains to get between her and harm’s way.

The thought struck a chord of bravery inside her. She didn’t need a man to chase away her ghosts. This was
her
place,
she
was in control.

She marched up to the door. She unlocked the deadbolts and pushed inside, ready to confront the devil himself.

The scene before her was nothing like she’d pictured.
Her jaw dropped.

Her apartment was empty. Cleaned out. A few lazy specks of dust drifted in and out of the morning light. That was all.

“What the…?”

Immediately, she went to her security alarm. The system hummed along innocently, unaware of her shock and incomprehension.

“Hello?” she called out. Empty echoes returned to her.

Throwing her purse over her shoulder, she clutched it like a defensive weapon, prepared for whatever might leap out of the shadows. Nothing did. She confirmed her entire apartment was barren, devoid of any proof she’d ever been there at all.

A tiny crack edged its way up the center of her heart. Bereft of the few belongings she owned, she might as well have been wiped off the face of the earth.

Her arm dropped to her side, purse dragging on the floor. Her spirit deflated as if the wind of endurance had abandoned her sails. “Who could’ve done this?”

Instinct took her back to her security system. Absorbed with her dark worries, she hadn’t realized it wasn’t beeping when she walked in her door. Someone had tampered with it. That was the only explanation.

An edgy sensation came over her. Trevor didn’t have the skill to disarm a system as complex as one of Stone Security’s.
Only one person who could’ve pulled off this heist.
Without anyone knowing the wiser.

Logan
.

Allison didn’t lock the door behind her. There was nothing to keep in, and no one to keep out.

Frustrated tears stung her eyes. She hated that feeling, the regret that clenched inside like fists of rage.

How dare he?

Logan.
The one person she hoped wouldn’t behave like her ex had cast himself in a new light. Hell-bent and ruthless.

She dug out her phone and scrolled through the few numbers she had saved. Logan’s cell was number one. She swallowed that bitter pill of realization.

“Stone, here.”

“Logan, what have you done?” Her lungs grabbed for breath.

“Come to me. I’ll explain everything.”

CHAPTER 6

Sitting at his desk, Logan saw a New Message notification flash on his screen. He clicked from a report to his email. It was from Allison. No text in the message, only the subject line which read: Be in my office in thirty minutes.

Touché
.
A half-smile kicked up the corner of his mouth.

Without hesitation, he clicked the check mark to accept the invite. Then he went back to his project report.

Soon after, he lost the ability to concentrate on work. He knew what lay in store. Starting with Allison reaming him out, followed by…what, he wasn’t sure. He was confident he’d done the right thing, the only thing he could do—make sure the mother of his child was safe. The kind of protection only he could provide,
which included her living under his roof.

The words in the report blurred, the letters creating incoherent phrases. He caught himself tapping his foot. It didn’t help that meeting reminder messages kept flashing at him every five minutes like a bunker warning that screamed “fire in the hole!” He clicked
Dismiss All
.

He shoved his chair away from his desk, the casters rolling him back two feet. He stood and paced. He crossed his arms. Uncrossed them.
Stared at the view of the Denver skyline from his corner office.

Rolling his neck to ease his tight muscles, he thought back on that morning.
Before dawn, when he met the moving van outside her apartment, he’d had all his arguments in a row like a checklist he could mark off as he hit each rational point.

That he and Allison would have this argument at work, however, left a bad taste of uncertainty in his mouth. Maybe he could convince her to wait until the end of the day to have it out with him.
Yeah, and maybe the Cubs will win the World Series
.

An odd sensation hooked into his nerves, making his skin itch and his heart beat irregular. His palms were moist like he was about to show up for a first date with roses and champagne with a woman he knew would turn him down.

He stopped pacing and shook his head. “Don’t be an idiot,” he mocked himself.

When the hands of his titanium Rolex read nine-thirty, the sense of impending doom had not
disappeared.

This is stupid
. He’d go in, lay out the facts, and
field all the objections she lobbed at him. Like dodging mortar shells.

“Should be fun,” he muttered. He left his office for hers.
Along the way a stab of remorse gouged him for putting her through this same thing yesterday when he’d called her into his office.

The battalion of employees that rushed him when he emerged from his office was strangely absent. Usually they hovered around him, pelting him with questions only he could answer, shoving papers in his face only he could sign. But the hallway was empty.

Taking a deep, he approached Allison’s office door and knocked.

“Come in,” she said. He couldn’t gauge the tone of her voice.

Squaring his shoulders, he entered. He shut the door before she told him to, and stood his ground unapologetically.

Allison sat at her desk with her hands folded. The red sweater she wore was a little snug, clinging to her curves. An outfit she’d borrowed from Devon? He slid a lusty gaze over her, eyelids lowering halfway.

Honestly, he did try to focus, to rein in his distracted thoughts. When all he wanted to do was drag her over the desk, peel her out of that too-tight sweater, and slid his tongue through her cleavage.

“Logan,” she snapped, ripping him out of the fantasy. “Eyes up here.” He met her chilling stare.

Sliding his hands into his pockets, he offered an opaque smile. “How can I be of service?”

He’d like to “service” her six ways from Sunday. Right now that looked about as likely as the military finally giving him the honorable discharge he deserved.

“Return my things to my apartment. And maybe I won’t press charges for breaking and entering.” Each word was coated with contempt.

“Neither of those is a good idea.”

Her eyes skewered him. “Afraid your precious reputation in the security industry will be tarnished?”

“That’s a reason, but not the real one.”

“Oh?” She arched an eyebrow of disbelief.

It was time to take off the gloves. “I’ve done some investigating over the past twenty-four hours.” He held up his hands. “Before you get bent out of shape, I used my personal contacts in the military who ran air-tight background checks on what your ex-husband has been doing the past four years. You were right to get out when you did.”

Her eyes slitted. “I don’t need your absolution for my choices.”

He shrugged. “Maybe not, but Trevor’s suspicious activities
have left a bloody trail across continents. From what I know, I’d say that ugly path is heading
right here to you.”

Color drained from her face. “If he knows where I am, it’s your fault.”

“Cold comfort right about now.” Logan stepped toward her. She straightened, placing her rigid fingertips on her desk, imposing a hostile barrier between them that he ignored. “You’d really take a life of fear, on the run, over the security and protection I can give you and our child?”

“It’s not that simple.”

He shook his head. “It’s so simple you’re letting yourself get blinded by distractions.”

“Being pregnant is not something I’d call a distraction!”

“I agree,” he said calmly. “That’s why we’re having this conversation.”

The one he’d planned to have with her last night.

If he was going to be a father, he’d do it right. He’d slit his own throat before he missed his kid’s first cry, first steps, first words, first game of catch, first day of school. It seemed Allison wasn’t quite ready to digest the eventuality of having a baby—
his
baby. She needed his patience and the promise of protection first. So he’d pursue that angle.

At his pause, she laid into him. “When you took my things, you didn’t give me the respect of deciding what is or isn’t right for me.”

That struck his pride like a match. “
You
made a choice, Allison. Last night you shut me out. You hid at Devon’s, when you should’ve been talking to me about options for the future. So I made a choice, too.”

Her delicate nostrils flared. “I told you I needed time.”

“You’re carrying my baby. I have a say in that.” He glanced at her abdomen then held her gaze. “I take care of what’s mine.”

“That isn’t a free pass to raid my apartment and take over my life like you own me.”

“When I’m confronted with a situation, I take action. No one else is going to
ensure the mother of my child is safe. Not the way I can.”

“I’d be fine, if Rick hadn’t been so determined to pin a scarlet letter on me.”

“For all his faults, Rick can’t stand to see innocent people suffer. When he learned the truth and realized he’d screwed up—and you might suffer the consequences—he
didn’t go home last night, hasn’t slept since yesterday.”

“Rick doesn’t seem the type to lie awake with a guilty conscience.”

“You have a lot to learn about the way we work,” Logan pointed out evenly. “He and I have been gathering every piece of intel that exists on Trevor Hurtz.”

“I told you not to do that!”

“Avoiding the enemy doesn’t solve the problem. Perfect example, after your divorce you took out three restraining orders against Trevor. He violated every one of them.”

“You know about that?” she asked weakly.

“I know Trevor better than you think.”

Her bravado returned. “I’ve done everything to make sure we don’t cross paths. He’s stayed away for two years.”

“Not by choice, I can tell you that.” Leaning forward, he flattened his hands on her desk. “From what I’ve researched, Trevor operates with cash transactions, blood money from selling illegal weapons to war-torn African and Middle Eastern nations.”

Allison swallowed convulsively.

“Rick and I found a trail of suspicious loans and credit card transactions under an alias he’s been known to use. We tracked the purchases back to him.”

She folded her arms. “Why should I care about my ex-husband’s finances?”

“Trevor’s hired a slew of shady private investigators over the past two years. I made a few phone calls. After threats and bribery, I got the reluctant confessions I needed.” He knew she wasn’t going to like what he’d found.
“Trevor has never stopped looking for you, Allison.”

She turned white. “Tell me you’re making this up.”

Shaking his head, he revealed, “While Rick’s investigation may have alerted Trevor, it was only a matter of time before you ex showed up on your doorstep. And it wouldn’t be for coffee and conversation.”

“I know that.” She tried to put on a brave front, but Logan saw the fear in her eyes. “I know what he’s capable of. That’s why you should forget about this baby, forget you ever knew me, and I’ll move to France.”

“Yeah, Rick mentioned your insistence about France. Didn’t take me long to figure out why.”

Her lips parted. “Do personal boundaries mean anything to you?”

Logan hardened his posture and his tone. “Let me tell you something. If you think an inconvenient verdict would prevent Trevor from getting into the country, you’re dead wrong.”

It was harsh, but he needed to get it through her head what she was up against.

“I’ve tracked down spies, terrorists, and hit men into cities and towns and deserts where, according to law, they should’ve been shot on sight. People like Trevor don’t play by the rules.”

Anxiety twisted her features as she absorbed the hard truth.

“You’ve heard misery loves company? So does evil. Men like your ex have the kind of connections you’d never want to meet in a dark alley. They stick together like hyenas on the hunt for the next carcass to pick clean. Borders and legalities mean nothing to them.”

For a moment she shook like a
small porcelain teacup rocked by a 9.0 earthquake.  It took everything in him not to reach for her, reassure her.
But some facts needed to shake a person to the core.

She spoke through bloodless lips. “If you’re trying to scare me into staying in the states…it might be working.” The desolation in her eyes hit him hard. “I’m just so tired of being afraid all the time.”

“I know, sweetheart.” His quiet admission seemed to ease her dejectedness. “Do this my way, and you won’t have to anymore.”

Tears lined her lower lashes. “You can’t make promises like that, Logan. No matter how well-intentioned. You can’t prevent something beyond your control.” She lifted her chin. “I may be naïve about the way the criminal mind works, but I’m not stupid or helpless.”

“I agree.” He gave a firm nod. “You’re exceptionally intelligent, with the self-preservation instincts of a porcupine.” He sighed. “You’re a good person in a bad place. I’m offering you the best solution considering the circumstances.”

“Great,” she murmured despairingly. As if he’d driven a four-wheeler over a sandcastle she’d spent years building.

Still, he believed truth was more constructive than a wishful fantasy.

Then she straightened. Hard-eyed daring infused her. “I’ll give you my decision by the end of today.”

“Perfect. I’ll see you at dinner.”

“
Logan
.”

“Your choice, of course.” She seemed momentarily appeased as he headed for the door. Until he added a rascal remark, “I’m fine with chicken or steak. But, it’s your call.”

“You are impossible!” She stamped her foot.

“One of my countless charms.” He concealed a grin, hearing her mutters of frustration as he walked out of her office.

Allison never stopped giving him challenges, making his victories all the sweeter. He could almost taste this one. If he had his way, he’d taste her again, too. Soon enough she’d be with him, under his roof and his protection, and eventually in his bed.

*

“Which is worse?” Allison wondered aloud, white-knuckling her steering wheel as she navigated toward Logan’s suburban residence.  “Looking into the hell you’ve known, or facing the devil you don’t?”

Fact was, Logan—as Devon had annoyingly predicted—was
her best and only option when it came to fending off her ex. She knew Logan would protect her and the baby, but his high-handed attitude reminded her too much of her Trevor.

Unfortunately, facing an unknown future with a baby on the way, a sweet innocent being who deserved every good thing in life, made Logan’s option a foregone conclusion. There was still a part of her that hadn’t come to grips with the baby-reality. Old emotions from her disappointing childhood surfaced, things she hadn’t wanted to confront.

“No time like the present.” Her breath frosted in the air as she waited for her car to manufacture heat.