Page 10 of Logan

Two months ago

Logan’s lips quirked upward as he walked out onto his porch. “It’s good to see you again, Landon.”

He eschewed the handshake and offered a back-slapping man-hug to Landon Sommers, an FBI agent he’d met and worked with when he’d flown assistance for one of Carson’s missions. At the time, Landon had talked to Logan, expressing his interest in leaving the FBI and desiring to pursue a career without the constraints of the bureau.

Landon had made a trip out to Montana the previous year. The two of them spent time sipping whiskey while talking about the plans Logan was bringing to life. He’d told Landon then that he’d gotten used to being a loner, but the idea of leading a team again finally took hold, and making LSIMT functional was now his goal.

Landon confessed that as much as he enjoyed the camaraderie he experienced with Carson’s California Keepers,he felt he needed to start over somewhere new. He also talked of his pre-FBI career. Landon had been in the Air Force and then recruited for CIA special ops. After a couple of years of that, he’d come back home to a steadier job while helping elderly parents. Now, with them gone, he was looking to move into something else that gave him more freedom.

When Logan first met Landon, he didn’t think the button-up, suit-wearing FBI agent would settle easily in the wilds of Montana. But the more trips Landon made out, the more rugged he became until the straitlaced man was now in the background. A close bond formed as soon as Logan had seen how easily Landon also slid into a friendship with Sisco and Devil.

Logan offered Landon a job, and for the past few months, Landon had spent time with Carson’s best security system designer-installer team, Fred and Tricia Poole, learning everything he could about security systems designs. Logan didn’t fence in his entire acreage, but he’d fenced around the house, bunker, compound, and hangars. He used contractors that Mace and Carson vetted, but his Keepers, not willing to sit around, jumped in and provided much of the labor.

Poole and Tricia came to Montana to assist with the security installations on the perimeter of the fenced-in area, set up security around the entire acreage, and teach the other new Keepers about security systems.

Logan was reminded daily that when Mace and Carson wanted to partner with him, he truly benefited from the partnership.

“I’m fuckin’ glad to be here.” He jerked his head toward the bunkhouse. “It looks like more trucks and SUVs are here. Is everyone settling in?”

Logan had involved Landon in the decisions for hiring, valuing the other man’s insight. “Everyone is here full-time. Some are in the bunkhouse, and some are renting in town.”

“What do the locals think?”

“It’s no secret that I’ve started a security company and been building on my land. They don’t care as long as money comes their way. The town will welcome the newcomers, especially since only one bar gets our business.” Clapping Landon on the back, he said, “How about we head down where the others are?”

Logan led the way through the house to a hall along the side.

“The house looks good. Fuckin’ huge.”

“I have no idea why I agreed to build it so large. It was Mace and Carson’s idea, and I was eager for their input at the time.”

Landon laughed. “You know, now that they have wives and most of their employees are married, that’s where their minds go. They think everyone will find someone and need a fuckin’ huge house for kids.”

Logan shook his head. “’Fraid that’s not what’ll happen here. If some of my Keepers get married, that’s fine, but it’s not for me. I’ve been alone too long. I can’t even imagine sharing my space with someone.”

“I wouldn’t mind it,” Landon confessed, “but that’s not been in the plans for me.”

Logan stopped at a door where he flipped open a panel, entered a key code, then placed his hand on the fingerprint scanner. The door swung open, and as the two entered another hall, the door closed behind them. This hall led to stairs but had an elevator there as well.

Descending the stairs, they stopped outside another keypad and retina scanner.

“The outside entrance is secured?”

“Yes, and also one at the back that leads into a passage through the hills. We don’t anticipate needing it, but the entrances give us access to outlets in case we do.”

Through the next door, they entered the cavernous basement that extended beyond the foundation of the house and into the hill beyond.

“Fuck, Logan. Down here, I could easily imagine that I’m back at LSIWC.”

“I took all the assistance from Mace and Carson that I could get. We incorporated everything that worked for them here. And the things they learned they’d wished were different, I made sure to add them at the beginning. Our munitions and equipment rooms are here, but the gym is in a separate building just off to the south.”

They walked into the most significant room that housed all the computer equipment, large screens, and tables where the Keepers sat with their laptops in front of them.

The others had met Landon in person at one time or another, and they all stood to greet him before taking their seats again and looked at Logan. His gaze swept the group. Landon, Frazier, Dalton, Cole, Casper, Cory, Todd, Timothy, Sadie, Sisco, and Devil. Once seated, Logan was filled with a mixture of pride, awe, and a few emotions he’d rather not admit to—a trickle of fear of failure raced down his spine.

He was also struck with the realization that the success of this endeavor rested on all of them. So far, they’d worked well together, but they were untried. They had several small contracts and security assignments, and he could tell they were anxious to get started.

Glancing over at Bert, he grinned. “Everything ready?”

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