Page 57 of Logan

He walked over and kissed the top of her head. “I need you to give me as much as you can, Viv, ’cause I have to get inside to find out what they’re working on. We have to have hard evidence that what they’re working on is illegal and dangerous and needs to be taken out.”

“Can’t they just be arrested on suspicion alone, and then we can search the area?”

Shaking his head, he said, “That’s not how it works. We need to know specifically what they’re working on. For all we know, this might not be their first batch of substances, and they might have tried them out somewhere.”

At that, Vivian gasped, her eyes widening in fear. “I never thought of that. They would have to test it out, wouldn’t they?”

“That’s why my people and DHS are searching their correspondence and emails, monitoring their phone calls, studying their talks in the house, and checking on their visitors. You name it, we’re on it. Until we know for sure what they’re working on, going in could set off a firestorm if we’re not right.”

“Okay.” She nodded, a look of determination settling on her face. “I realize my inexperience gives me no idea what all you need to do. So I’ll figure out what you can take from their lab the instant I can do so safely. And then, I’ll pray I can analyze it before the Zamans decide to test it on humans somewhere.”

Logan knew Vivian was at her wit’s end after a couple of long days sitting in the house, staring at the screen on one laptop, researching on another, and all the while agonizing over making a mistake.

Logan walked into the house after keeping up his cover by going to the airfield. When he’d accepted the assignment, he’d hoped it would last a couple of weeks at most. They were now almost into their third week with no end in sight. He’d talked to his Keepers that day, telling them he was going to stop the cover so he could spend more time helping Viv go over the camera views. He knew it might be overkill but hated her worrying over the cameras. He wanted to get the mission done so that he could get back to his life in Montana and figure out how to convince Viv to come with him.

He observed Vivian hunched over the kitchen table, her hair pulled up into a messy bun, two pencils somehow holding it in place, and her fingers tapping on her keyboard. It was the same position she had maintained for days, so he was stunned when she twisted around, her eyes bright as they landed on his.

Her smile illuminated her face as she pronounced, “I have it.”

Hurrying over, he gripped her shoulders as he peered over them, staring at the screen. She took a pen and pointed at Nafisa sitting at a table. “She’s the one. She’s the key. Malik and Rashad are there, but for the most part, they seem to be creating different solutions for her to actually do the experimenting. Everything, over here”—she pointed to one area of the room—“is just what they are working on. Basic solutions, basic compounds. There is nothing of interest there. But here,” she said, pointing at where Nafisa was sitting in the back corner, “is where the real work is going on. These vials contain different solutions, but they also hold whatever she’s working on. She is now taking what they have created and is using it. When she’s done, she sets everything here.”

He watched as she pointed one last time to the area of interest. He nodded slowly, memorizing the room and her explanation. “So when I get in, this is what I need to get.”

She sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly before she spoke. “Logan, we need to talk.”

He looked down at her, his eyes narrowing at her tone. “About what?”

She moved her chair slightly, indicating her intention, and he stepped back, his hands staying on her shoulders as she stood. She turned in his arms and said, “Can we sit down? Get comfortable first?”

After allowing her what she needed, he moved to the refrigerator and grabbed two beers before following her into the living room. He sat on one end of the sofa, but she was facing him with her legs tucked up underneath her.

“Okay, Viv, you’re making me nervous. What is this about?”

She played with the beer bottle label for a moment before she lifted her gaze to him. “Were you ever on missions where you had to change your perfect plans because things didn’t play out exactly the way you thought?”

Her question caught him off guard, and he stared at her for a moment, recognizing her nervous fiddling and the pleading for understanding in her eyes. Nodding, he said, “Yeah. Lots of times. Sometimes there were things we hadn’t planned on, other people around that we hadn’t anticipated, and incomplete or even inaccurate intel.”

She seemed to take this in as she thought for a moment before asking, “What about with personnel? Did you ever have to change up duties or responsibilities in the middle of a mission?”

Now, he was quiet as understanding dawned, and it hurt like a bitch. She was trying to tell him that she wasn’t able to handle the stress and needed to get out of the mission. The only thing he wondered about was if she also wanted away from him.

Sucking in a deep breath, he knew he owed her honesty. “Yes. Sometimes we had to change up personnel mid-mission for many different reasons. If someone became incapacitated and unable to complete their part of the task, others would step in to take over.”

He watched as she mulled over his answer, his heart pounding in a way he hadn’t felt in...well, he couldn’t think of a time he felt this way. Other than his family, his team, and now his Keepers, no one had ever meant something to him—not like this. “What are you thinking, Viv? You want out?”

He watched as she blinked twice—slowly—before scrunching her face in surprise. “Out? Out of what?”

Now, it was his turn to be surprised. Lifting his chin, he said, “I thought you were asking about new personnel because you wanted out.”

Shaking her head quickly, she threw her hands up and barked, “No! Why on earth would I want out?”

“I don’t know,” he responded in defense. “I know this isn’t exactly what you signed up for. I know Alaska’s not your favorite place to be. I know things have moved fast with us, and I know for a while that flipped you out. I know this is far more dangerous than you ever expected?—”

“Good grief, Logan. Stop with all the excuses for why you think I want out,” she argued, huffing before taking a long swig of her beer. “Geez, I can’t believe you thought that.”

Uncertain how to proceed given her obvious pique, he scrubbed his hand over his face before joining her, downing half his beer. Setting the bottle on the coffee table, he twisted his body back toward her. “Okay, babe, you’ve got to spell this out for me. Why the questions about changing missions midstream and changing personnel?”

Her face softened as her shoulders slumped. “Oh. Okay, wow. Hearing you put it that way, I can see why you thought I mightwant out. I’m sorry.” Heaving a huge sigh, she said, “The reason I wondered those things is because I want to present something to you… a change in how we make our next move. And I have compelling reasons, but I’m afraid you’ll shut me down before you even hear me out. So I wanted to know if you had any experiences you could fall back on.”

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