Logan's Redemption (17 page)

“I’ve got things under control, Dan,” Logan said.

Dan gave Logan a hard look. “Did you call the police?”

Logan shook his head. “The police won’t touch it unless the caller makes a direct threat.”

“I know the police commissioner,” Dan said. “He owes me. I’ll give him a call. But we need to do something now to protect my daughter and grandson.”

Logan turned to Doriana, a challenge in his eyes. He turned back to Dan. ‘I’m moving into her place tonight.”

Doriana stood up. “And I told him no. I can take care of myself. I’m careful and I always put the security alarm on, even when I’m home.”

Her father stared at her. She knew that expression. He was mulling over the idea. Dread washed over her.

“Doriana, I don’t want to tell you what to do,” Dan said.

She rolled her eyes and sat slowly down. “That’s a new one. You’re always trying to tell me what to do.”

He chuckled. “And you’re always fighting me.” His features turned serious. “Logan’s right. You can’t be alone. Either Logan moves into your house or you stay with your mother and me.”

Doriana’s secrets, past and present, were rapidly colliding. She wouldn’t give up yet. “Nonna’s staying with you. I’ll go to a hotel.”

“Your grandmother can go to a hotel,” her father said.

The rope of her deceit tightened. “I won’t send Nonna to a hotel.”

“Then it’s settled,” her father said. “Logan moves in with you and Josh for a while.”     

“Josh?” Logan said.

She turned to him. He sat very still, tension in every line of his body. Only the muscle working in his jaw hinted at strong emotions held in check.

She swallowed. “Josh is my son.”

“Your son.” The harshness in his voice could cut through cement. “I thought...”

The roaring in Doriana’s ears got louder as her world crashed around her. Her father only wanted to protect her and Josh. But she felt like a mouse cornered by one of the construction site cats.

Both men stared at her, waiting. Head high, she picked up her papers and left the room without a word. No way would Logan move in with her. It wouldn’t happen. The heaviness in her chest told her otherwise.

“Logan, stay,” she heard her father say. “I want to look over your notes.”

Doriana walked slowly toward the elevator. Her throat felt thick. She had to tell Josh he was meeting his father tonight. She couldn’t. What if Josh grew attached to Logan? Logan would leave. She could handle the hurt, but could her son?    

* * * *

The rushing noise in Logan’s head muffled Callahan’s words. Josh. Doriana’s son. She’d argued with her son on the phone, not a lover. He asked for money. Was on his way into town. Not a small child.

“Tanner, have you heard anything I’ve said?”

Callahan’s sharp voice snapped Logan from his thoughts. “Sorry. What were you saying?”

“You’ll move in with Doriana?”

Logan nodded. “I can better protect her and her son if I’m there all the time.”

“I agree.” Callahan smiled. “It will also save a bundle on your hotel expenses. Not that I care about that. The safety of my daughter and grandson is paramount.”

“They’ll be safe with me. It’s all part of my job.”

Callahan studied Logan. “My daughter is a beautiful woman. I trust you to maintain a professional relationship.”

Little too late for that
. “Doriana is beautiful. But I know my place.”

Dan nodded. “Now back to Devlin.”

Callahan sat at the conference table and tented his fingers in front of his face, lost in thought. Sighing, he pressed his palms on the table and looked at Logan.

“I want that casino job. It means a lot to the future strength of this company. I won’t take a chance on one of my competitors getting the bid.”

Logan pulled out his laptop and turned it on to the meeting notes. He scanned the screen. “It won’t be easy. We’ll have to figure out a way to give James another bid without his being the wiser. You’ll have to get the real bid to Devlin.”    

“You’re right about it not being easy.” Dan’s features tightened. “I hope you’re wrong about Bryce.”

“I hope I am, for your sake,” Logan said softly.

“Let’s brainstorm right now,” Callahan said. “I’ve got an hour before my next meeting.”

Logan glanced at the clock. He would have to use all his powers of concentration to focus on working with Callahan when his mind screamed Doriana. He had to get answers to the questions that gnawed him.

Thankfully the hour flew by. Logan put his laptop back in its case and headed out of the conference room. “Dan, can I ask a question?” he said, turning back.

“Shoot.”

“How old is Doriana’s son?”  Logan stood very still, afraid of the answer, but somehow knowing what it was.

Callahan threw him a surprised look. “Josh will be sixteen Christmas Eve.”

The breath knocked out of Logan.

“Tanner, are you okay?”  Callahan scowled at him.

“I’m fine.” Logan exited the office quickly.

Once out in the carpeted hallway, Logan leaned against the wall for support. His mind spun and his heart thumped wildly against his chest. He swallowed, trying for control.

He’d been under fire, afraid for his life, more times than he could count. But nothing had prepared him for this. He did the math in his head. It all added up. Why hadn’t she told him?

He was good enough to father her child but not to raise him. The old hurts and insecurities hit him like a knockout punch.

He had a son. He was a father. Straightening, he walked toward the stairs. Time for a showdown with Doriana.

~~~~

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Stay in the lobby, Josh. I’ll be right down.”

Doriana’s voice hit Logan like a fireball, fueling the anger and hurt he’d carried from Callahan’s meeting. He dropped his briefcase on the floor by his desk and marched into her office.

He grabbed the cell phone out of her hand, ignoring her startled cry.

“Josh,” he said into the phone. He kept his voice dead calm, not wanting to take his fury out on the boy. “This is Logan Tanner, your mother’s assistant. Come up to the office. I’d like to meet you.” He snapped the phone shut and tossed it onto her desk.   

“What are you doing?” Doriana shrieked.

Logan gripped her upper arms, pulling her close until only inches separated them. White-faced, she tried to jerk away. “When were you going to tell me, Doriana?” 

“Tell-tell you what?”  She shivered.

“The game’s up. I know.”

“I don’t understand.”    

“The hell you don’t.”

She twisted, trying to free herself. At the fear in her brown eyes he loosened his grip but still held her. He’d rather suffer physical wounds on the battlefield than this ache at her deceit.

“Tell me,” he said. “I want to hear it from you.”

She licked her lips. He wanted to shake her. And God help him, he wanted to kiss her until all the years and all the hurt dissolved.

“Please. Let me handle Josh. He’s my son.”

“And mine,” he said quietly.

Her porcelain face turned ashen. Tears gathered in her eyes. Her silence shouted the proof he demanded. Pain, mingled with joy, took his breath. Josh. His son.

“Get your hands off my mom.”

A teenage dynamo charged Logan, fists ready. Logan released Doriana and grabbed the boy by the shoulders, holding him at arm’s length. Anger and determination tightened Josh’s features, features so like his. The air in the room seemed to thicken.

Josh tried to kick, but Logan continued to hold him. He studied Josh’s face, the high cheekbones and hazel eyes. His son. His flesh and blood. Pride ripped through him, threatening his control.

“Calm down, son. Calm down. I wasn’t hurting your mother. I’d never hurt her. We were just having a discussion.”

Josh looked toward Doriana.

She nodded. “It’s okay, Josh. It really is.”

Josh’s shoulders sagged and Logan released him.

* * * *

Doriana swiped at tears. She had to pull herself together. For Josh. She watched the two males as they faced off. Except for Josh’s black hair, he was the mirror of Logan. Josh had the promise of Logan’s muscled body on his lean frame. She gasped at what she saw on Logan’s face. Awe softened his hard features. Did he want Josh? Guilt ran through her, twisting her gut. She’d deprived Logan of his son.

“Mom, who is this? What’s going on?”  Confusion marred Josh’s face. He looked close to tears.

Drawing a deep breath, she straightened, trying to hide her own fears. She touched Josh’s arm. His muscles tightened under the soft fabric of his shirt. “I’ll explain everything to you. Why don’t we go home and we can talk.”

Josh turned to Logan, studying him. Did he see the resemblance between himself and Logan? She hadn’t meant Josh to find out this way.

“I think it’s a good idea if you go home with your mom,” Logan said softly.

“You can’t tell me what to do,” Josh said.

Josh’s bravado shot Doriana with apprehension. Helping Josh through this would take all her parenting skills. She would handle it. She had to.

Logan turned to Doriana. Gold fire burned from his eyes.  “I’ll be at your place tonight.”  The tightness in his voice stopped any argument from her. He leaned closer. “We will talk.”

“Mom, what does he mean?”  The near panic in Josh’s voice sliced through Doriana like a stonecutter’s blade. She’d mishandled this whole affair. She’d only wanted to protect her son.

She pressed her hand around Josh’s arm. “Everything will be okay. Please believe me. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”  

Raising her chin, she swung her attention to Logan. “We’ll talk, but you are not moving in.”

“I will move in,” Logan said, very calmly, too calmly. “I have even more reason now to protect you.”

“Move in with us?” Josh said. “I don’t want him there.”

Logan flinched as if he’d been hit. “Go, Doriana. Take him home.”

As if watching herself in a dream, Doriana grabbed her purse and coat and pulled Josh out of the room.

“What’s going on, Mom? Who is he? Why does he look familiar?” 

Doriana resisted the urge to pound the elevator to make it move faster. “Wait, please, until we get home.”

“Why is he moving in with us?”  Josh stayed close on her heels as they entered the garage. She nodded to several coworkers whose curious glances followed them.  

“He’s the guy you were kissing last night,” Josh said as soon as he was in her car. “Is he your boyfriend? I don’t want him to be your boyfriend.”

Doriana put the key in the ignition with shaking fingers. “Please, Josh.” She backed too quickly out of her parking spot, venting the frustration she couldn’t voice.

“Is he my dad?”

Josh’s softly spoken words sucked the air out of her lungs. She slammed on the brakes. Swallowing, she looked at Josh. He stared at her with angry eyes.

“You lied,” he said. “You told me he left town before I was born.”

The pain and accusation in his voice tore at her insides. She had two forceful males furious with her. Like father, like son. And when her own father found out, she’d have three angry males to handle.

“No one lied to you, Josh. I’ll explain everything when we get home.”

The blaring of a car horn behind her propelled her forward. She eased out of the garage. Tension rode with her and Josh on the long drive out of the city.

Doriana entered her house on leaden feet. She shrugged off her coat, threw it on the nearest chair, and headed for the kitchen. She needed a drink, but she’d settle for a cup of tea.

Josh followed so closely she felt his breath on her neck, felt the anger and pain vibrating from him. Logan’s presence in their lives had already driven a wedge between her and her son. Their relations were troubled enough.

“Mom, you have to tell me about this Logan guy. Now.”

How could she tell him? If she only knew the right words things would be easier. “Let’s talk in the kitchen. I’ll fix some tea.”

“I don’t want tea.”

Doriana put on the kettle while a defiant Josh pulled a chair out from the high counter. The wooden legs of the chair scraped the tiled floor, grating her already tight nerves.

She lifted a mug from the cupboard, her movements slow and deliberate, as if she could force her anxiety away. Steaming cup of tea in hand, she took a seat facing her son. Part scared little boy and part rebellious teen, he glared at her with harsh features. Her insides shook. She loved Josh so. And he was hurting.

She cradled her mug of hot tea and locked her gaze with her son’s. She’d spent sixteen years hiding the truth. A strange kind of relief swept her. She drew deep, healing breaths and placed her hand over Josh’s on the table.