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He hadn’t quite figured out where he would go, but he was leaning toward a cabin deep in the mountains somewhere, at this point. Some place where it was just him and a case of Jack Daniels. Somewhere isolated where he couldn’t do any more damage. Because now he knew he was a danger to everyone around him. He didn’t care that the ATF had let him go after they realized the men he’d killed were hired guns, wanted in several countries.
Logan knew the truth. The minute he’d heard the alarm and known Sam was in trouble, he hadn’t given any thought to taking those guys out without deadly force. He hadn’t entertained a thought in the world for securing them until the police arrived.
He’d gone flat out to protect what was his, by any means necessary. The result had left three men dead. Sure, they weren’t good men by any stretch of the imagination, but that wasn’t what mattered.
Jack hired a lawyer to handle things for him. Monique Cain had been waiting with Jack and Sam at Logan’s house when the ATF released him. Apparently, when the Feds take you to an undisclosed location, they really mean undisclosed. Monique had been trying to pull strings and locate him when he pulled up.
Jack introduced the tougher-than-nails-looking woman in a no-nonsense suit. Logan had thanked her, but told her the Feds decided not to pursue charges, given the firepower the men were handling, the all-out attack on Samantha, and the men’s identities as wanted mercenaries.
Monique smiled just as politely and outlined the actions Eric Westbrook—a man with a political agenda a mile long, according to her—was taking.
Sure enough, the man had called a press conference today saying he was “looking into” bringing charges against Logan. Apparently, Westbrook planned to run for governor and he wanted to run on a campaign of states’ rights. When the FBI released a man in New Hampshire recently, over objections from state law enforcement, the man had gone on to kill three women before being caught. Westbrook was playing on that tragedy to form the cornerstone of his campaign.
Monique was sure the man’s tactic would backfire, since he was now going after a veteran of the armed forces, but Logan didn’t care about any of that. They could do whatever they wanted to him. Just as long as he could keep Sam safe. That’s all he cared about now.
So Logan sat in his car two rows down from Samantha’s place in her town house community. It was as close as he was willing to put himself to her, but also as far away as he was willing to go.
Despite that her family had been with her until this morning, and Chad and Zach were inside with her 24/7 right now, Logan needed eyes on her—or at least her house—himself. He watched as reporters stood outside, waiting to catch sight of her and hound her again.
The alert on his phone sounded, indicating Ernie had left him a message. Again.
Logan ignored it. Again.
What the hell?
Logan sat up and watched as the front door to Sam’s place opened and she came out, flanked on either side by Chad and Zach. The men scanned the area, as did Logan before letting his eyes come back to Sam. She raised a hand and said something to the reporters before handing them each what appeared to be some papers. Then she turned and walked straight for him.
Oh, what the hell are you doing, Sam?
Logan wanted to start the car and drive away. He needed to keep his distance from Sam, but hell if he could actually bring himself to turn the key and go. Chad and Zach stayed with her step-for-step, keeping the reporters mostly in check as they called out questions to her. To Sam’s credit, she looked straight ahead and kept moving. Apparently, she’d made her statement and she was finished.
Logan gripped the steering wheel as she opened the passenger door and slipped inside. Chad and Zach stood on either side of the car, keeping the press away from the doors, but cameras went off outside the windows, and Logan felt he had no choice but to start the car and pull away.
“What the hell are you doing, Sam?” He didn’t look at her and the words sounded strained, as though shoved through clenched teeth. He tried to loosen his jaw, to no avail. He was wired too tight right now. “What did you just give them?”
“Photos of my injuries and a statement about the attack,” she said so calmly he wanted to scream. She went on before he could respond. “I need you to come inside with me, Logan,” she said, looking back at her town house as he pulled out of the lot.
“That’s not gonna happen.” Logan glanced in the rearview mirror and saw that a few of the reporters were following. Others pulled out and went in the opposite direction, perhaps to act on whatever Sam had just given them.
“Why not?”
“I’m not coming in, Sam. Chad and Zach are perfectly capable of taking care of you. Although, I’m sure they’d prefer it if you didn’t run them all over town,” he said with a pointed look in the rearview mirror to where the two men were slipping in and out of traffic on the Merritt Parkway to get around the press and stay with Sam.
“I love Chad and Zach, and having them at the house helps, but I need you there.”
Logan glanced her way but brought his eyes back around to the road quickly.
“No, you don’t, Sam. I’m gonna circle back and you’re going to wait for Zach and Chad to get in place and then head back inside with them. Until we figure out who this is that’s coming after you, you’re going to stay inside with them.”
“Not going to happen, Logan.”
He struck the edge of the steering wheel with a hell of a lot more force than he intended to and probably put more bite in his words than he should. “Damn it, Sam! Stop fucking around. This isn’t a joke. Whoever sent those men, they mean business. Those guys weren’t carrying water guns and they sure as hell weren’t going to ask you nicely to come along with them.”
She flinched, but collected herself again quickly. “I’m not going back inside without you, Logan.”
There was a force behind her words. A strength he hadn’t expected, but that he respected the hell out of. It didn’t mean he’d let her convince him to stay. He wasn’t what she needed in her life. He wasn’t what any of them needed.
It had been an amazing thing for Jack to do. Giving him a job when he needed it. Getting him a lawyer. All of it had been more than he had a right to ask of anyone. But he couldn’t stay here now that he knew how dangerous he was. He’d settle this for Sam and then he needed to get the hell out of here.
