Page 22 of Logan

She nodded, dejection still on her face. “What you’re saying only proves why we can’t make this work.”

“No, no,” he said, shaking his head. “It just means that I need to change what I’m used to. And so do you. I’m not on a SEAL team anymore, and you’re not stuck in a lab.”

“But how do we do this now…with no time for training together?”

He stared into her eyes and seemed lost.

“Logan?”

Blinking rapidly, he looked away, clearing his throat before turning his attention back to her. “We need to be clear on what our different roles are. We need to carefully review the information we have, but I’m not going to force you to learn anything outside your need to know. After all, if we were just newlyweds moving to the neighborhood, you wouldn’t know their names ahead of time. You’d stumble over their names. Hell, you might even get the names mixed up if you saw a different person over there.”

Nodding, she agreed. “Okay, so I need to review the information as to what you know and what you’ll be doing, but I need to keep to my role of just a neighbor until you bring over samples for me to analyze?”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Looking up suddenly, he ordered, “But I don’t want you over there by yourself. At all. Do you understand me?”

Crinkling her brow, she shook her head. “But why? What if we get invited over for…for…I don’t know. Maybe coffee?”

Incredulity hit him. “Jesus, Viv. You think a terrorist is going to invite you over for coffee?”

“No, I’m sure they won’t,” she floundered, feeling the blush heat her cheeks.

“You do not go inside that house by yourself. Ever. I won’t yield on this, Viv, so you’ve got to promise.”

“Okay,” she agreed hurriedly, hoping to reassure him.

“What do you need to do for your analysis?”

“I brought equipment with me, but honestly, I haven’t figured out where to set up?—”

“How big a space do you need?”

“A room about as big as one of our bedrooms, but not in this house. It could be potentially deadly materials?—”

“I found a shed.”

His constant interruptions would typically drive her crazy, but she quickly realized this was the way Logan worked. It appeared his mind was so efficient he was already ready with an answer halfway through a question.

Sighing, he said, “I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“Just…just for…hell, being me, I guess.”

A smile slipped out, and she accepted his apology, knowing this situation was as difficult for him as it was for her. “No problem. And, yes, a shed would be good, but where can we find one that’d work?”

“On my run last night, I was doing a reconnaissance of the area?—”

“That’s why you were gone so long?” she asked, now the one interrupting.

“I had limited time to gain knowledge of this area before coming, so I wanted to check it out myself. Going on a run was the perfect way to explore the neighborhood and surrounding woods. My people looked into the area and discovered a shed at the back of the property, and I found it about fifty yards to the west in the woods. It’s abandoned. It hasn’t been used in years.”

“To the west…that’s away from their house, isn’t it?”

He nodded. “Makes it perfect for you to get to the shed without being seen.”

“So can we make this work?” She couldn’t hide the hesitation in her voice as her eyes searched his.

Rubbing his hand over the back of his neck, he said, “Truthfully? I have no idea. But I’ve never failed in a mission before, and I sure as hell don’t plan on failing this one either.”

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