Page 19 of Logan

Now, he didn’t want to leave her vulnerable. Pulling out his phone, he called the night Keeper on duty.

“Hey, boss, it’s Dalton. What can I do for you?”

“I need security locks for this house. Didn’t think about it when it was just going to be me, but I want to make sure Ms. Sanders is safe when I’m not here.”

“You got it. Bert can stick them in the shipment he’s preparing with your new cameras. Anything else?”

“Yes, I’m going to get a list from Ms. Sanders as to what she’ll need for the makeshift lab. I’ll send it to Bert to include.”

“No problem. When it’s ready, Cole will fly it up.”

“Thanks. Appreciate it.”

After ending the call, he noticed the warm glow of a lamp illuminating the living room and the adjacent hallway. It was a thoughtful touch he silently appreciated.

Meticulously checking the back door in the kitchen, he turned off the lamp before heading to the bedroom. A quick glance inside his room satisfied him that she had completed the task of moving her things from that room. However, a handwritten note perched on the bed captured his attention. Curiosity had him immediately pick it up, and his gaze skimmed the words.

I didn’t want to touch your belongings, so I couldn’t change the sheets on your bed. They were clean when I slept on them last night, and I assure you I took a shower before I went to bed. See you in the morning, Vivian

He sighed heavily at the mix of emotions that her note sparked within him. He’d gone out to accomplish reconnaissance, as well as to actually run to drain the frustration from his body. Frustration he wasn’t used to feeling when on a mission. Vivian was a distraction he didn’t need. Or at least he didn’t want to need.

Glancing back at the note, he realized he’d been gone for a long time and hadn’t told her what he was doing or where he was going. When he worked alone, he didn’t have to worry about a partner or telling anyone his whereabouts. In a significant shift, he acknowledged that if he was going to be an example for the other Keepers, he needed to work and communicate with Vivian.

After chastising himself, he looked across the hall to where her door was closed. He moved to it, his hand on the doorknob before hesitating. The desire to open the door to see that she wassafe was unnervingly strong.I can’t just open her bedroom door. I can’t just peek in. What if—fuck it, I need to see that she’s safe.

He opened the door slowly, and his eyes quickly adjusted to the dark room. The soft moonlight peeked in through the slit in the closed curtains, revealing an unmoving lump in the bed. He stepped closer, allowing light from the hall to shine on the bed. Her dark hair flowed out behind her on the pillow as she lay on her side facing him. Her eyelashes made thick crescents on her cheeks, and her mouth, for once not talking, was slightly open, her breaths deep and even.

Nothing about the day had been what he’d expected. From her defiance to her melodious voice, he was caught off guard. When she’d laughed at his reticence over pretending to be a couple, he refused to admit he hadn’t been part of a couple in a long time and that his only experience with it was just a college romance that lasted a few months. When wanting company, it was easy enough to find a willing woman, usually a tourist passing through Cut Bank or the SEAL bunnies years earlier. Lately, it had been his hand he’d been wedded to.

Now, unwanted, unexpected, and unneeded ideas of what he’d like to do with Vivian slid through his mind. From the moment she announced who she was, he’d felt this assignment was a mistake. Comments about his gas-guzzling truck and then defiance in following orders had him recognize fully that this wouldn’t go easily. Used to those under him obeying without argument, her defiance had rubbed him the wrong way. But her willingness to work with him and eagerness to do what she could to make the situation better caused guilt over his earlier harshly spoken words.

The floorboards creaked underneath his weight, and he inwardly cursed, but Vivian never moved. Satisfied she was safe, he backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. A slight grin slid over his face as he thought about how deeply she slept.He was trained to sleep light, to be awake and aware in an instant. But her? She looked as though she could sleep through fireworks.

His cock stirred at the thought of her tucked into bed, but he tamped down any thoughts of sex with the pretty Viv. His frown now back firmly in place, he headed to wash up in the tiny-ass, shared bathroom. It didn’t miss his notice that it was neat, with no evidence of her personal items at all.

Glad for the hot water, he showered quickly. Back in his bedroom, dressed in cutoff sweatpants and a T-shirt, he set his bag off the bed after checking his weapons. The rooms were small, only fitting a twin-sized bed with a scuffed wooden headboard, a chest of drawers, and a wooden door that opened to a small closet. Vivian had closed the curtains, but he moved to the window, barely pulling them to the side once his light was out, and looked next door. Their lights were out as well now. His run in the dark included reconnaissance on the neighbor’s property.

And that was what led him to his next call. Glad to hear Donald answer sleepily, he hoped he woke up the fucker. “What the hell were you thinking?”

A heavy sigh met his ears. “Look, Logan. You were the best person for me to send. I know that your LSI team is involved, but I also knew you’d be the one to take this assignment. Ms. Sanders was chosen because she had the scientific knowledge you need and the appearance to fit in easily. I know I can trust you to take care of her, work with her, and figure out a way to make the mission successful.”

“And the end of the mission? If termination is necessary?”

“Then I also trust you to keep her out of it.”

Silence fell between the two, and Donald finally broke it. “Look, Logan. You’re making this more difficult than it has to be. If you’re going to lead a team for LSI, then you need to figure outhow to work with people in all kinds of situations again. Not just the ones who call you boss, but ones who will challenge you.”

“And you think little Ms. Sanders is the one to challenge me?”

A deep chuckle came across the line. “Logan, my man… I think she already has.”

Donald disconnected, leaving Logan to stare at his phone for a few minutes. Finally, giving up the pretense of wondering how the hell everything would work out with the aggravating woman, he tossed his phone to the nightstand.

Satisfied there was nothing else to be done tonight, he pulled back the covers and slid into bed. As his head hit the pillow, the soft floral scent of Vivian encircled him, filling his nostrils. For an instant, he thought that perhaps he should have changed the sheets. But as he relaxed into sleep, he liked that her scent surrounded him.

12

Vivian’s eyelids fluttered opened, and the world gradually seeped into her consciousness. It took her a moment to remember where she was. Always a deep sleeper, she lay for several minutes, enveloped in disorientation until the sunlight coming through the slit between the curtains and the sound of boots moving down the hall pierced through the mental fog.

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