Chapter 13
Logan glanced sideways at Devon as he headed the truck up Seacliff Road. Her head was pressed back against the seat with eyes closed and fingers pressed against her temples. He’d bet all his money that she was fighting a motherfucker of a stress headache. And no wonder. Her whole life was turned upside down and she was in constant jeopardy. Today was the frosting on a rapidly deteriorating cake.
“You need to eat something,” he told her as he pulled into the garage.
“I don’t know if I can. Pardon the inelegance, but I feel like crap.” She rubbed her temples again.
“And with good reason.” He took one of her hands and brought it to his lips, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles.
“I keep thinking this is all a bad dream. That I’ll wake up any minute and it will all have gone away.”
“If only.” He climbed out and went around to her side of the truck. “Come on. I prescribe some of my famous chicken soup.”
“Okay,” she gave in. “I’ll try. I don’t think I could eat anything else.”
When they walked into the house, he watched her look around as if expecting to see blood still on the floor, the house in disarray, and God knows what else. He’d made sure they put everything back the way it was. He didn’t want her walking into chaos.
“Come sit down. I’m going to make you some tea to drink while I heat the soup.”
“You must have brought some big ass kettle of that soup.”
He was glad to hear the teasing note in her voice.
“Sure did.” He winked. “It’s my way to a woman’s heart.”
She gave him a serious look. “Are you working your way into my heart, Logan?”
Damn straight he was, despite his history and a truckload of misgivings.
“You know I am. And I hope to stay. But that’s a conversation for another day.” He took her small hands in his larger ones and gave them a gentle squeeze. “I’m pissed at myself for letting that guy escape today, Devon. He’s out there without our eyes on him. My bad. But I promise you, I will not let him get near you.”
He’d give his life for that if he had to.
“I know you won’t.” She turned and pressed herself against him, her arms going around his torso to hold him close to her. “I trust you and believe in you.”
“Good.” He kissed the top of her head.
He settled her at the table with a mug of tea, noticing how she wrapped her hands around it and leaned forward to let the steam heat her face. He was sure all the stress had made her chilled and tired.
He had just dumped the sweetener in the way she liked it when the landline rang. He looked at Devon but she just shrugged.
“I have no idea.”
“Well, the two assholes are definitely out of commission,” he said, “so it can’t be them.”
“Unless it’s the one who got away. Answer it and find out.”
Logan picked up the receiver and held it so they both could hear.
“Hello?”
“This is Cash Breeland.” The heavy drawl cut across the wires. “Can I speak to Devon?”
“It’s okay,” she whispered and took the phone, holding it so he could also hear. “Hi, Cash. What can I do for you?”
“Just checking on you, honey. With your dad missing and the boat being blown up, well, I wanted to make sure you were okay. And then I heard about a dustup at your house today. Something about someone breaking in.”
Devon’s eyes widened and he knew what she was thinking. Was it all over town already? Is that how he knew?
“It was really nothing,” she assured him. “Chief March took care of everything.”
“Still, a good reason why you shouldn’t be alone. Marian and I thought you might want to come stay with us.”
Logan frowned. “Are you that close to them?” he mouthed.
“No,” she whispered. “Not at all.”
“Devon? You there?”
“Yes, sorry, Cash. It’s been a rough couple of days.”
“All the more reason why you should come stay with us. You pack a bag and I’ll come out and pick you up myself.”
Devon frowned and looked at Logan. “Strange,” she whispered. “Cash, that’s very generous of you, but I have my bodyguard here with me and he’ll make sure I’m taken care of.”
“Now, Devon,” he drawled. “I don’t want to tell you your business, but what do you really know about this man? I mean, your daddy and I were best friends. I know he’d want me looking after you.”
Logan frowned and she mouthed, “Not no but hell no.”
“Cash? Again, that is very lovely and generous of you and Marian, and if I change my mind, I will be sure to let you know. Thanks so much for calling.”
“Oh, sure, sure, sure.” He cleared his throat. “We’re just checking up on you, is all.”
“Thanks for your concern. I need to go now. Bye.”
She replaced the receiver in the cradle gently but Logan saw how rigid her body was. He’d have smashed the damn thing if it were him.
Devon stared at him.
“That is just the strangest thing in the world. Best friends?” She shook her head. “Uh-uh. I’m not so sure about that.”
“Were they close?”
“Sure. And maybe he was closer to my dad than anyone else here, but my father still kept his distance.” She wrinkled her forehead. “And to tell you the truth, the few times I saw them together the last year or so, I got a feeling that relationship was strained.”
“Maybe Cash wanted your father to move some of the corporate money to his bank.”
“Why would he do that? It doesn’t offer near the advantages he got with the national bank.”
“Just sayin’. Hey, you’d better get to that tea before it’s stone cold.”
He saw her visibly relax, even gift him with a tiny smile. “And it’s just what I need.”
As soon as he had her seated with her tea again and the soup heating, he pulled his cell out of his pocket and began punching buttons.
“I’m texting Avery to run a profile on Cash. I don’t like the way he’s behaving. Let’s see if he’s hiding something.”
“I can’t see him involved in my father’s disappearance,” she protested.
“You’d be surprised at who gets involved in what. I don’t want to take any chances.” He finished typing and hit Send.
He had managed to get a bowl of the soup and some toast into her when his cell rang. He looked at the readout. “Avery. What’s up?” he asked, putting the phone to his ear.
“Del didn’t even need another couple of hours,” she told him. “He cracked the code not ten minutes after you left.”
“And?”
“Everything we found confirms what we thought. He’s in deep with the cartel. We even have names and numbers, although the numbers probably aren’t good anymore.”
“Damn.”
“Right. I’m going to e-mail all this information to you. If she can handle it, go through it with her, see if by some unbelievable chance anything rings a bell. Can she handle it?”
“She’s a trouper.” He looked at her sitting at the table, her body vibrating with tension. “She’ll do it. Can you send it to my laptop?”
“No problem. I’ll be sending it in just a few. Unfortunately, there’s not a damn thing on there that gives us a clue to Graham Cole’s current location.”
“Crap.”
“Indeed. Oh, and I got your text about Cash Breeland. What’s that all about?”
“Just crossing all the Ts.” He told her about the phone call. “So send me anything you find.”
“Will do.”
Devon pounced as soon as he hung up. “Tell me.”
He repeated his conversation with Avery.
“I can hardly believe all of this.”
He hated the look on her face, a mixture of hope and dread. “Whatever it is, we’ll handle it together. Okay?” He lifted one of her hands and kissed her knuckles.
“Okay,” she said at last in a weak voice.
He fixed another mug of tea for her and coffee for himself, then went to fetch his laptop from his room. By the time he had it set up on the table, the e-mail had arrived. He opened the attachment and moved next to her so they both could see it.
“It’s nothing different than we suspected,” he said after they’d skimmed through the first few pages.
“You’re right.” She sounded so depressed he wanted to push away the damn computer and haul her into his arms.
“It just confirms everything Avery told us earlier. Looking at the dates of calls and texts, I’d say your father started making his plans the moment he learned for sure who his ‘investor’ was and that there was no way out.”
Devon studied the screen as Logan scrolled through the report.
“I’m not very good with finances or financial charts. I don’t know what half of this stuff means.”
“I’m not much better.” Logan scrolled down to the last page again. “Here’s Avery’s analysis, though, based on the texts. This was all set in motion long before Cole International began to bleed red ink. Vince Pellegrino was put in place at CI and made himself your father’s right-hand man. And see here?” He pointed to a section on the page. “The dates when Bodine and Alford were hired. I’ll bet if we dig into CI’s employment files, we’ll discover they were recommended by our good friend Vince.”
“What are these documents? Is it possible to store documents on a cell?”
“Yes. These are spreadsheets. They look like duplicates but—” He leaned forward and studied them, switching from one to the other. “If I’m not mistaken, this is how the books were cooked to make your father think the company was bleeding red ink. They needed a way to get him on board.”
“But why CI?”
“Because Cole International is a company that operates internationally and provides the opportunity to ship drugs from country to country, and move money to international bank accounts.”
“I feel sick.” Devon leaned forward and dropped her head into her hands. “What a nightmare.”
“One thing’s missing from here.” He gestured toward the screen. “Moreno puts Vince in place to manipulate the books. Crisis arises. Vince says get an investor. SMX is the investor. But someone had to make the marriage between SMX and CI. That’s not part of Vince’s job. Did he still do his banking in Tampa?”
“I guess. He liked working with big international banks. Damn.” She rubbed her forehead. “I’m no help whatsoever.”
“I’m pretty sure a bank like that would not be working as a money launderer for Cruz Moreno.”
“You’re right. So what happens now?”
“Avery takes it from here. My guess is she’ll sit on this until we have a definitive answer about your father, one way or another.”
“If everything Avery’s found is true, and he really is in bed with the cartel, I can see why he’d do this. But Logan?” Tears rolled down her face.
The day was finally taking its toll on her.
“Hold on a sec. I have just what you need.” He hurried into the den where he’d spotted a fully stocked bar and grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. Back in the kitchen he poured two fingers into her mug of tea and nudged it toward her hand. “Drink up. You need it.”
She sipped, tentatively at first, then took a healthy swallow. In a moment color began to return to her face and her eyes weren’t quite so glazed over.
“This is better than putting milk in my tea.” Her mouth turned up in a ghost of a smile. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
As he sat and watched her, dredging up bravery to battle shock, he was overcome with a desire to just load her into his truck, drive south, maybe to the Keys, and hide her away until all this nastiness was over. Of course, as independent as she was, she’d probably fight him tooth and nail, but damn! It hurt his heart to see her going through all this.
As she lifted the mug to take another sip, the alarm in the house sounded. Her eyes widened and she gripped the mug even harder. Logan checked the laptop on the counter and saw a car moving slowly up the driveway. Now what? He waited as a man climbed slowly out of the car and walked up to the front door. Logan had no idea who he was.
“Anyone you know?” he asked Devon, showing her the camera shot on the laptop.
“Not me.”
“Stay in the kitchen,” Logan ordered. “Strangers make me nervous right now.”
He pulled his gun from the small of his back but held it down at his side as he headed for the doorway. Then he pressed the intercom button.
“Who’s there?” he asked. “Identify yourself.”
“Jesse Rogers, crime reporter for the Tampa paper.” He held up his wallet to show his credentials.
“What can we do for you, Mr. Rogers?” No way was he letting a stranger in the house, not with a killer on the loose.
“I wondered if I could have a few minutes of Miss Cole’s time. I want to do a personal interest story on her father.”
“Sorry. We’ve had all the personal interest we need for the moment. Thanks anyway.”
Logan kept his eye on the screen in the security panel. It also received a feed from the cameras.
“The newspapers are going to write the story anyway,” Rogers protested. “The television reporters will be here before you can blink. Doesn’t she want to get out ahead of all this? Tell her side?”
“Her side of what?” Logan had to restrain himself from opening the door and ripping this guy’s head off. “Good-bye, Rogers.”
The reporter’s face reddened. “I’ll get my story; you can’t stop me. And I’ll get it before the other—”
“Before what?” Logan snapped. “Is there another reporter from your paper here? You looking to scoop him and make your bones? Go on. When there’s something to tell, we’ll let you know.”
He watched as the reporter stormed off to his car, then drove off with tires squealing. Then he walked back into the kitchen.
“Are you sure I’m safe here?” Devon asked.
“We’re in a fortress, babe. Best security system around.” He grinned. “Including me. No one gets to you.”
“Thank you.” She blew out a breath. “I think I’d like to lie down for a while.”
“Sounds like a good idea. Today hasn’t been a lot of fun.”
“No kidding.” She carried her mug and soup bowl to the sink, then walked over to where he stood. “It would be great if you could lie down with me for a while and just hold me.”
He cupped her chin and studied her face, saw how drawn she looked, the troubled look in her eyes. He placed a light kiss on her lips. “I think that can be arranged.”
Her smile warmed his entire body. For that smile alone he’d slay dragons.
He walked into her bedroom with her. Watched while she tugged back the covers and slipped out of everything but her T-shirt. Then he put his gun on the nightstand where it would be in easy reach, kicked off his shoes, and lay down beside her.
“You’re not getting undressed?” she asked.
“In a while. I want to hear what Avery has to say after she gets to the hospital. Then I’ll check the entire security system again before crawling into bed with you.”
“Okay.” Her eyes were already closing, emotional fatigue laying heavy on her.
He slid his arm around her and pulled her against him, feeling her curves even through the covers. He knew he’d never be able to shut his own eyes, nor did he plan to. But if Devon could get just a little bit of sleep, she could recharge her batteries. After today she definitely needed it.
He lay there with her for a long time, just watching her sleep, the occasional flutter of her lashes and the rise and fall of her beautiful breasts. One thought was front and center in his mind.
I will not let any harm come to her, no matter what.