The Boys Club (9 page)

Logan stood over the sink, washing
the dried blood from the still stinging wound. Sara was barely 5’2, but she had
a hell of a swing and had cut him almost to the point that he needed stitches
again. He hadn’t prepared for her tenacity and needed exercise more caution
with her until she accepted the situation. She seemed to be coming to terms, he
thought when he caught her watching him. Maybe she understood that they would
not hurt her.

Her asthma attack had terrified him. Though Allie explained
Sara’s asthma to them, when the attack happened Logan had sudden flashes of her
not being able to breathe and passing out, possibly dying. As she got her
breathing under control, Logan realized he had been holding his own breath. She
was the key to bringing Hugh Langston to his knees. Logan couldn’t let anything
happen to her.

Logan surveyed the damage to the mirror. He’d have to get it
cleaned up before they left her alone again. With the nebulizer still running,
he left the room and went into the bathroom next to the guest room. He took a
first aid kit out from under the sink, applied an ointment to the wound, and
wrapped his arm in gauze. He then headed into the kitchen for a broom and trash
bag.

After he cleaned up the broken glass and removed the rest of
the glass from the mirror, he threw away the bag and retrieved a cold bottled
water from the refrigerator. When he returned to the room, Sara handed Charlie
the mouthpiece and turned off the nebulizer. Logan offered her the water, and
she thanked him. She took several small sips before replacing the cap.

Logan watched her for a few moments before saying, “Charlie,
we need to…” He gestured with his eyes to Sara.

Charlie nodded and turned to her. Removing the pulse
oximeter from her finger, he said, “Sara, before we explain why you’re here, we
need to take care of something. You’re not going to like it, but it’s for your
own safety, I promise.”

Fear flashed on her face and her chest heaved with deep
breaths.

“Just stay calm, we’re not going to hurt you,” Charlie said.
“But we do need to check you for wires. We’ll also need you to change into
another pair of clothes and we will have to burn what you’re wearing now, just
to be safe.”

Sara looked back and forth between both men, as if not
understanding what Charlie was saying.

“We can do this two ways,” Logan said. “It’s up to you as to
what will be easiest for you. We can pat you down, but it would be much more
invasive than you would get at the airport. Or you can remove your clothing
here, keeping your undergarments on, and we can do a quick visual inspection.
Then you can go in the bathroom and change.”

Sara crossed her arms over her chest, as if covering herself
even though still fully dressed. “No,” she said.

“We don’t want to do this either,” Charlie said. “It’s
necessary for your safety and for ours. We have to make sure there are no
wires.”

“Why didn’t you just check me while I slept?” she asked

“I wouldn’t do that to you,” Logan said. “But you do have to
make a choice.”

“Why do you have to burn my clothes?”

“In case there’s a bug or tracking device sewn into the
material,” Charlie said.

Sara looked away for a moment and shook her head. “I can’t,”
she said. She tightened her mouth and tears rolled down her cheek.

“Either you can comply,” Logan said, “or I have two more men
out there that will come in and hold you down while we cut off your clothing and
check. I don’t want to do things that way and I’m sure you don’t either.” He
wouldn’t do it, especially since Charlie was the only one who knew about the
possible leak, but he hoped the threat would spur her into action.

She climbed onto her knees and moved backwards on the bed,
her eyes darting between the two men.

“I’m really sorry, Sara,” Logan said. “I have to be sure
that we’ve not been set up.”

Her forehead wrinkled and eyes narrowed. “I haven’t set
anyone up. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She got off the bed on the
other side, her eyes making quick glances at the door. “I don’t even know who
you people are or why I’m here.”

Logan took a deep breath, remaining patient only because he
recognized her fear through her actions. She distanced herself by putting the
bed between them and kept looking at the door, as if she had some sort of
escape.

“I promise you,” he said, “we are not going to hurt you. If
we wanted to hurt you, we wouldn’t have let you do a breathing treatment and we
would have searched you while you slept. Go in the bathroom and strip off your
dress. Then wrap a towel around you, come back out, and we’ll make it very
quick.”

She stood still for a moment, and Logan braced himself in
case she tried to run out of the room. To his surprise, she turned around and
went into the bathroom.

As soon as the door shut, Charlie turned to him. “Do you
really believe we have a leak?”

“This job came around way too quick after this last one, and
it just happens to involve Langston’s daughter. I don’t know if that’s just
coincidence or if someone wants us to take her back to our camp. Either way,
I’m not going to take a chance.”

“She’s scared, Logan. I don’t think she knows anything.”

Logan stared at the closed bathroom door. “I don’t think so
either, but to keep her safe, we have to be careful.”

“Hello?” Sara called from behind the door.

“We’re here,” Logan said, as he walked toward the bathroom.

“I can’t do this with both of you in here.”

Logan looked at Charlie, who nodded. “I’ll go get her
suitcase.”

“Give us five minutes, but knock before you come in.” As
soon as Charlie left the room and shut the door, Logan said, “Sara, it’s just
you and me now. I sent Charlie out to get your clothes.”

The doorknob rotated and the door creaked open. Sara poked
her head out, as if making sure he had told the truth. She came out of the
bathroom, gripping a towel around her body.

Seeing her frightened broke down Logan’s defenses. More than
ever, he abhorred the idea of searching her, but knew of no other way to make
sure she wasn’t wired.

“Sara,” he said, “this is not something I want to do. We
have no intentions at all, other than making sure you’re not wearing a wire.”

She fixed her gaze to the floor. “Let’s just get it over
with, please.”

“Bring the opening of the towel to your front.”

She turned the towel until the knot was centered on the
front of her body.

“I just need to take a quick look and then you can cover
back up,” Logan said. “Then we’ll do the same for the back.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. Her fingers fumbled with the
knot, but managed to loosen it. Her cheeks turned pink and she opened the
towel.

Logan scanned his eyes over her exposed skin, skipping over
her bra and panties. He saw no wires and turned his attention back to her
undergarments. There were no unusual bumps that signaled a wire or bug
underneath the black material. He instructed her to close up the towel.

Sara turned around and moved the knot to her back. She
struggled with opening up the towel again and asked Logan to do it for her.
Logan hesitated, not wanting to touch her at all. He had not prepared himself
for a physical reaction to seeing her half-naked. While easy to admit that he
found her attractive, as the others in the house did, he needed to suppress any
thoughts about her outside of the job.

His fingers quickly opened up the towel on the back and his
eyes ran over the soft curves of her tanned skin. Seeing no indication of a
wire under her panties or bra strap, he covered her back up.

She latched onto the towel and opened her eyes. “I told
you,” she said. “I haven’t set anyone up.”

Her quiet voice wracked his heart, making him feel so much
worse for putting her through the inspection. “I have to check the bathroom to
make sure there’s nothing in there.” He checked every area of the bathroom,
including rifling through her black dress on the floor, but found no wire or
tracking device.

He exited the bathroom and she looked at him for the first
time. “Why would you think I had set you up to kidnap me?” she asked.

“It’s complicated,” Logan said. “In a minute, Charlie will
come back in here, you’ll get dressed, and then we’re going to tell you some
things that you won’t want to hear. You probably won’t even believe us, but I want
you to listen with an open mind. Beyond that, and this is the most important
thing that anyone will tell you today, I need you to trust me.”

Sara searched his eyes. “You kidnapped me. Why would I trust
you?”

“I get that I’m asking you to do something that is near
impossible for someone in your position, but there are reasons we took you and
I swear to you that it had to be done to save your life. The reason I tell you
to trust me is that I don’t know who else in this house you can trust. I
hand-picked this team to come here and protect you, but while I trust them, I
don’t want you to. If there’s anything you need to tell us, you tell me and
only me. If you have questions, only ask me. I’ll be spending most of my time
with you, but if I’m away and someone asks too many questions of you or you
feel like they are probing too much, let me know right away. Believe me when I
say that your life depends on it.”

“I don’t understand anything that’s going on here and I
don’t know how you think you saved my life by kidnapping me the night before my
wedding. For all I know, you’re all crazy and this is some kind of trick.”

“It’s not a trick. My only concern while you’re in my
custody is keeping you safe, no matter what it takes to do that. Your life and
safety means more to me than you could possibly know.” Logan closed his mouth
before he kept talking and gave away that her importance had everything to do
with getting back at Langston for killing Karen.

Sara held his eyes for a long moment without giving away her
thoughts. “I will keep an open mind. If what you and Charlie say makes sense
and I can believe that you did save my life, I promise I will trust only you.”

Logan breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Sara.” A knock
on the door interrupted. “Come in.”

Charlie walked through the door rolling the suitcase Allie
packed for Sara, with extra bath towels tucked under his arm. “I don’t know
what you women put in these things,” he said with a grunt. “I can go away for
two weeks with a small duffel bag.”

Sara gave a small smile, making Logan believe that she was
coming around. After what he just put her through and everything that they were
about to tell her, the smile was a sweet reward for a grueling task.

Sara surprised herself by smiling at
Charlie’s joke. She didn’t want to like anyone here, but if they were telling
the truth that they saved her life, then Charlie was easy to like. His quiet
voice and calm demeanor contrasted Logan’s serious nature.

She wasn’t sure what to think of Logan. She remembered back
to when she and Mary first saw him and they joked about how attractive they
found him. He still had those same physical qualities, but there was a much
darker side to him that she didn’t see before. She felt it when he had her in
his grip and forced her to let go of the glass. She saw it in the intensity in
his eyes when he pled with her to trust him. Something about him made her want
to believe his words, yet she was more apt to trust Charlie than him based on
instinct.

Gripping the towel tighter to her body, she turned her feet
inward so her left foot overlapped the right. The idea that Logan had seen her
almost naked embarrassed her and she wanted Charlie to see as little of her
exposed skin as possible.

Charlie wheeled the suitcase into the bathroom. He came out
with her dress in hand and placed it in a plastic bag. “I hate to ask you for
this,” he said, “but when you’re done dressing, I need the rest of what you’re
wearing to go into the bag, too.”

“We had another woman pick out your clothes and personal
effects for you,” Logan said. “She assured us that you’ll like everything and
that it will all fit.”

“I’m sure it’s fine.” She went into the bathroom and closed
the door behind her. Opening the suitcase, she smiled at the sight of the clean
clothes and personal items. She had never been so happy to see a toothbrush and
deodorant in her life, but she desperately wanted a shower and a hot meal.

She settled on a pair of jeans and a simple black top. After
doing her best to sponge bathe herself, she brushed her teeth. Once she had
dressed, she closed the suitcase and balled up her underwear and bra in her
hands. She didn’t want them on display in front of the men while she put them
in the bag.

Sara exited the bathroom and Charlie held out the plastic
bag. She deposited her undergarments, and he closed the bag.

“You’ll be able to keep your toothbrush and toothpaste, some
shampoo and conditioner, and a few personal items in the room with you, but the
rest of the things we’ll take out of here,” Logan said.

“Can I keep the inhalers?”

“Of course,” Charlie said. “Just choose the ones you
normally use and we’ll leave those with you. One of us will bring you the
nebulizer whenever you need a treatment.”

“We need you to remove your jewelry,” Logan said. “Earrings,
necklace, and ring.”

Sara touched the necklace around her neck. “I… I can’t give
these to you.”

“It’s not a request,” Logan said.

Hoping to make a compromise, she removed the earrings first
and handed them over to Charlie. “I can’t give you my engagement ring or the
necklace.”

“You don’t want that ring,” Logan said.

Sara frowned and studied her engagement ring. Stephen had
given it to her during a romantic night on the town a year ago. They had only
dated for a few months, but he had told her he knew she was the girl for him
the first time they met. The ambience of the night made her believe him then,
although she had never truly been sure about him being the man for her. Now she
didn’t know if he ever meant those words.

“I know you don’t love him,” Logan said in a low tone.

Her eyes flew up to his face. How could a stranger possibly
know how she felt about Stephen? First Mary mentioned it, and now Logan. Was it
that obvious?

Watching Logan’s face, she twisted the ring and pulled it
off her finger. She held it for a moment before handing it to Charlie. As soon
as he took it, a weight lifted off her shoulders, as if in that moment she made
the decision not to marry a man she didn’t love. When she returned to Stephen,
things would be different and she would end up spending her life with him. For
the moment, however, she was free from a life without love.

“The necklace, Sara,” Logan said.

She held her hand over the small locket. “I can’t,” she
said. “This necklace belonged to my mother. It’s all I have left of her.”

As he examined her, something shifted in Logan’s eyes. After
a tense moment, he said, “That’s fine. Keep the necklace. Why don’t you get
comfortable?” Logan gestured to the bed. “Are you hungry?”

“Famished.”

“Why don’t you eat before we talk?” Logan asked. “We want
you to be as comfortable as possible while you’re with us, so if there’s
anything you need, just let us know.”

“I have baked chicken breasts already prepared with broccoli
and rice on the side,” Charlie said. “Is that okay? If not, I can make
something else.”

“No, that’s fine,” Sara said.

After Charlie left the room, Sara lowered her eyes to the
floor so she didn’t have to look at Logan. The behavior of the men made no
sense. They gave her a breathing treatment, apologized for having to search
her, and now they asked her if chicken was okay for her meal. She supposed they
might be keeping her in good condition for a ransom demand, but what did they
mean that they saved her life? And why was Logan so interested in her trusting
only him?

As much as she didn’t love him, she missed Stephen. Living
with him for the past three months helped her grow into their relationship, and
she would give anything to hear his voice right now.

Sara’s face scrunched up and she leaned over, elbows on her
thighs, head resting in her hands to catch her tears. She didn’t know Logan had
left the room until the door shut. Her head shot up and the emptiness of the
room made her cry harder. The unknown terrified her, not knowing yet what these
men wanted with her. She only knew her life was in danger. Whether from these
men or someone else, someone wanted her dead.

The door opened again and Logan came in with a box of
Kleenex and a plate of food. She accepted both, and he moved back to the door.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“Giving you some time to adjust,” he said. “Are you okay
with water or do you want something else to drink?”

She glanced at the bottled water next to her. “Water’s
fine.”

“Feel free to eat, take a shower, whatever you need to do.”
He picked up the chair Charlie used and started toward the door.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice timid and strained.

He nodded and left the room. The clicking of the lock
shuddered through her body. She used the Kleenex to wipe her tears and picked
up her plate. They had given her a plastic fork and the chicken breast was
precut to small size, eliminating the need for a knife. Despite the sinking
feeling in her stomach, she stabbed a piece of chicken with the fork and set
about eating.