The Boys Club (12 page)

Sara’s lips curled upward into a large
smile for the first time since waking up in the strange room yesterday. After
having the men steal her away and hold her captive, the sun warming her skin
gave her hope that they would soon let her go, even if it was to hand her over
to the FBI.

Though her mind seemed to clear with her first breaths of
the pure morning air, her confusion built with every fall of her feet. Her
anger with Logan had subsided by the time she woke up, and allowing her out of
her room to run only made her believe that he told her the truth about her
father.

The idea terrified her. Her father had never been happy
about taking her in, but hiring someone to kill her took his restrained
annoyance with her to a whole new level. But if he had taken out a hit on her,
did Stephen know?

The question had plagued her since last night. Stephen
worked closely with her father. He seemed to know everything her father did,
but she couldn’t fathom he knew about the hit. They may not love each other,
but they did have some feelings, enough to sustain them spending their lives
together.

Stephen didn’t know, she decided. He
couldn’t
know. Just two days earlier, the same day Logan kidnapped
her, they had spent the morning in bed. Nothing in his touch signified that he
wanted her dead. If anything, he had been gentler, more attentive. He had told
her he loved her, several times, and she almost believed him.

But if he had lied about loving her, the same as she lied to
him, everything else in their relationship could also be a lie. Logan said that
the hit would have happened on their honeymoon, after he had married into her
family, the end game of their forced relationship. Maybe he didn’t need her
after the wedding.

Sara tightened her jaw and pressed forward, refusing to
believe Stephen knew about any of it. She struggled enough with the thought
that her father wanted her dead. If Logan told the truth, which she believed
more and more, then maybe Stephen could help her. She just needed to get back
to him.

She peeked over her shoulder. Jack’s lips moved in silent
conversation, but Logan held his eyes on her. Guilt overcame her and she
whipped her head back around. Her unfair words from last night echoed in her
ears. If she had given him half a chance, his explanation would have made sense
and she could have questioned him further. He had saved her life by taking her,
and she rewarded him by slicing open his arm with glass and going on an angry
tirade that downplayed everything he had done for her. Though natural reactions
in her situation, his kindness outweighed everything else.

She snuck another glance back at him and saw the men closing
in on her. She slowed her pace and waited for them to catch up.

“Ready to go back?” Logan asked.

She nodded and followed his lead to the right. She ran in
silence next to him, wishing Jack had stayed behind. She wanted to apologize to
Logan and tell him she believed him, but remembered he warned her against
trusting anyone but him. Jack seemed nice enough, much like Charlie, but she
didn’t know how much he knew about her situation. She would have to wait until
she caught Logan alone.

Back at the house, she propped her hands on her hips and
walked in a circle to wind down. The sight of Logan bent over with his hands on
his thighs caught her attention. She detoured toward him, hoping to ask him for
a moment alone. As she neared, he straightened up. With his back facing her, he
reached over his shoulders and tugged his damp shirt over his head.

Sara’s face reddened. Her legs shifted direction and she
averted her eyes, as Logan turned around to face her. Having experienced
Logan’s strength firsthand when he restrained her, she didn’t need to also see
it. Just the glimpse of his back and shoulders jolted her enough.

Jack walked up to her, saving her from further
embarrassment. “Do you like Jim Carrey?” he asked.

Sara’s brow furrowed. “Jim… Carrey? The comedian actor guy?”

“Yeah, that’s him.” A smile accompanied his jovial tone.

“Um… I suppose so.”

“There’s a marathon of his movies on today. Would you like
to join Charlie and me and watch them?”

Excitement coursed through her veins at the thought of being
out of her room all day. She didn’t care much whose movies played on the
television, as long as she didn’t have to pass time staring at the wall in a
locked room. Logan’s warnings about not trusting anyone floated through her
mind. Wondering if the question was a trick, she looked at Logan. As the man in
charge, she didn’t want to do anything without his permission.

Logan gave her a slight nod of approval.

She smiled at Jack. “That sounds great.”

“I guess we’ll see you after we’re all cleaned up.” He
opened the back door and entered the house.

“Thank you,” Logan said, as soon as the door shut.

“For what?”

“For checking with me about what Jack said.”

With her eyes lowered, she said, “I’m sorry I was rude to
you last night. I thought about it and I think you were telling the truth about
my dad.”

“I wish it wasn’t true,” he said, taking a step toward her.
“But I’ll do what I can to help you until we get you to the FBI.”

He reached in front of her to grab the doorknob. She
shuffled sideways to move away from him, but stepped on her shoelace as she
crossed her foot over the other. Logan reached out to grab her, but she
stumbled in the wrong direction and he missed her. Her palms cushioned the
painful fall onto the concrete patio.

Crouching in front of her, Logan asked, “Are you okay?”

She lifted her hands and brushed them against each other.
“Just clumsy, I guess. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of bruises later on.”

“Here,” Logan said. He stood up and held out his hand.
“Let’s get you up and make sure you’re okay.”

His hand swallowed hers and he pulled her to her feet. The
momentum brought her closer to him than she liked. The air thickened around her
and her heart crashed into her stomach. Her eyes landed on his and her lips
parted. She dropped her gaze and took a small step back, hand still in his.

“I, uh…” Although she felt like she needed to say something,
her mind blanked.

“You sure you’re okay? No twisted ankle or anything?”

Against her wishes, her eyes moved down his contoured body.
She gasped at the number of scars spread across his shoulders, chest, and
stomach. “Were you in a car accident?”

“No.” He let go of her hand. “I guess I’m a little too good
at my job sometimes.”

“I see.”

He opened the door and gestured for her to go in first. She
instinctively reached for her ring finger, her fingertips circling the naked
skin. Walking past Logan into the house, her forehead wrinkled, she could no
longer deny her attraction to him, as much as she wanted to, but the impossible
situation confused her. Grateful that she would spend the rest of her day with
Jack and Charlie, her feet picked up speed so she could go to her room to
shower and get as far away from Logan as she could.

“Any news on the leak?”

“Nothing that can tie it to one person,” Schaffer said.

Logan slouched over the kitchen counter. “What have you
found?”

“Everything seems to be in order. The intel was vetted as
much as it could be before it came to us. The feds found nothing out of the
ordinary on their second look-through.”

Logan narrowed his eyes. “As much as it could be?”

“The job was handed down to us an hour after it was
received. They had very little time with it before it came to me.”

“Why the shortened timeframe?”

“Because Sara’s life was on the line. They didn’t have a
choice but to rush it through, same as us.”

Logan straightened up and ran his hand over the stubble on
top of his head. “That’s just what they wanted.”

“What do you mean?”

Logan lowered his voice to make sure no one else heard.
“Whoever is working with Langston didn’t want us to have a lot of time to look
into the intel. They made it so we focused more on saving Sara’s life rather
than on where the intel came from.”

“The source was anonymous,” Schaffer said.

“Wait. Was the source on my last job also anonymous?”

“Yes, but that isn’t proof they’re related.”

“Not definitively,” Logan said. “One in five jobs come from
anonymous sources.”

“Two in a row could be a coincidence. Or maybe it isn’t.”

“That’s what I’m thinking. Have you traced the hit?”

“We don’t have enough info to do that.”

Logan closed his eyes and shook his head. “What if there is
no hit?”

“No hit?”

“What if this isn’t about Sara at all?”

“It’s possible they used her to get you out in the open. But
saying there’s a hit on her is pretty severe if there wasn’t one out there.
They took the chance we would find out the truth.”

“But they made sure we didn’t have enough time to do that.
Now I’m in the open with Langston’s daughter.”

Schaffer didn’t respond.

“We need to find out if this hit is real,” Logan said.
“Either way, Sara’s still in danger as long as she’s with me. The men coming
after me may not care about collateral damage.”

“I’ll focus everything on the hit. Do you have a back-up
plan yet? You need a way to get her out of there if someone comes after you.”

“I’ll get one ready now.”

After they ended the call, Logan walked over to the
breakfast bar and peered out into the living room. Sara sat between Jack and
Charlie, and occasional laughter tinkled out of her as they watched television.
She turned her head to Jack and exchanged inaudible conversation for a moment.
Her lips mesmerized him as she spoke and smiled. He hadn’t dreamed they would
be able to lift her spirits while she stayed with them, but Jack and Charlie
had managed to make her happy, if only for this afternoon.

Her head turned and she glanced at Logan, sharing her warm
smile with him. Logan tore his eyes away from her and walked back to the
refrigerator. He wanted to smile back, to share even one little moment with
her, but doing so was counterproductive to his job. The stress of protecting
her, the knowledge of a mole working against him, the lack of sleep… all of it
had already worn him down. Feeling something for her would make things worse,
especially when she had to leave with the FBI.

He fished a bottled water out of the refrigerator and walked
out of the kitchen. Sara’s eyes bore through him as he walked past the living
room, but he did not look over at her. He had a job to do.

As she watched Logan walk toward the
front door, Sara frowned at his blank, unreadable stare. She turned back around
to face forward on the couch and sighed.

Jack and Charlie had calmed and relaxed her for the past few
hours while they watched television. She worried at any time they might lock
her back in her room, but the unfounded concern didn’t stop her from enjoying
herself.

Except for when Logan looked at her.

Ever since they had spoken on the back patio after their
run, uneasiness plagued her chest. She didn’t think he posed a threat; rather,
his presence wrapped a blanket of security around her. Though she didn’t feel
as safe with the others as she did with Logan, that same comfort also caused
her fear and anxiety.

When she tried to smile at him, he dismissed her with an
indifferent glance before walking away. She didn’t think she had done anything
wrong, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he wanted nothing to do with
her.

“Does Logan hate me?” She posed the question to no one in
particular.

Both men turned to face her. “Hate you?” Charlie asked.
“What makes you think that?”

She stumbled on her words. She didn’t even know she felt
that way until now. “I don’t know exactly. He avoids me and it seems like he’s
angry with me for some reason.”

“Oh, yeah,” Jack said. “He doesn’t hate you. It’s just that
whole thing with Karen that bothers him.”

Sara flinched at the unfamiliar name. “Who’s Karen?”

“His wife—”

“Jack,” Charlie said.

The last thing Sara expected to hear, her eyes widened.
“Logan’s married?”

“We’re not supposed to talk about it,” Jack said.
“Especially in front of you.”

Charlie groaned. “Damn it, Jack. Stop.”

Sara turned to Jack, since Charlie seemed unwilling to
answer her questions. “What do you mean?”

“Does anyone want some water?” Charlie asked, standing up.
“I think it’s time for something to drink.” He walked off without waiting for a
response to his question.

Sara moved to the edge of the couch and turned to face Jack.
“What are you talking about? Why aren’t you supposed to talk about Logan’s wife
in front of me?”

“She died a couple of years ago, but it’s still an open
wound for Logan. We don’t talk about it in front of him.”

Logan’s behavior finally made sense to her. He went through
the motions of his job, of protecting Sara and doing what needed to be done,
but did so in a constant state of mourning. If she outlived Stephen it would be
hard enough to lose him, but she couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to go
through life if she lost someone she actually loved as much as Logan must have
loved his wife.

Jack’s words about not talking about it in front of her came
to mind. “Why aren’t you supposed to talk about it in front of me?” she asked.

“Because Langston—”

“Alright, that’s enough talk,” Charlie said, as he walked
back into the room with a glass of ice water. “I’m ready for the next movie and
then I’ll start working on tonight’s dinner feast.” He moved to the center of
the couch and sat his coffee cup down on the coffee table.

Sara scooted over to the end of the couch so Charlie could
sit between her and Jack. She wanted to ask more questions, especially with the
mention of her father, but Charlie’s deliberate separation of her from Jack warned
her against further discussion.