Built for Power (5 page)

“Who’s that?” Elle asked, pointing at the entrance of the building.

“That is Mr. Ward,” Mallory told her.

Elle’s eyes went wide as Logan leapt through the flames protecting Bree with his body. “I thanked you before, Mr. Ward, but . . .” Elle gave up on fighting the tears and hugged Logan as they dripped onto his shoulder.

“Why do I feel as if I keep coming into the room at the wrong time?”

“Drake, he saved Bree. He . . . he fought flames for her and protected her,” Elle cried.

“Then it’s a pleasure to peel my fiancée off of you. I’m Drake Charles and I, too, can’t thank you enough for saving my almost sister-in-law.” Drake pulled Elle into his arms as she continued to shake with tears.

Logan shook his hand and even noticed Mallory turning away for a second to collect herself. But it was Bree who had his attention. She hadn’t moved. Her face was white and her eyes in a far-off place.

“Logan Ward,” he said absently to Drake as he moved to stand near the bed.

Bree turned slowly and looked up at him. “You risked your life for me? Why?”

“You’re worth fighting fire for,” he said seriously. “I saw you from my hotel window and I can’t explain it . . .”

“I think this is where we give you two a moment,” Drake smiled and gently pushed Elle from the room.

Mallory and the rest of Bree's family followed closely behind. With tears in her eyes, Margret rose on her toes and gave Logan a silent kiss on the cheek. The look in her eyes conveyed a bevy of emotions and Logan understood them all as he gave her a gentle smile. And then they were alone. Logan suddenly felt very self-conscious as Bree looked at him.

“I think it’s time we talked, Mr. Ward."

CHAPTER SEVEN

Bree looked up at Logan Ward in disbelief. She’d spent the last months thinking of him as the bad guy. Someone who did what he’d done wouldn’t be out to destroy her. She watched as he nervously stepped closer and took a seat on the chair next to the bed.

His dark hair was slightly wavy and pushed back. Stubble was starting to appear along his strong jawline and the bottom of an intricate tribal tattoo peeked out from under the sleeve of his borrowed scrubs. He was definitely not what she was expecting.

Bree took a deep breath and did something she hated more than her yearly Pap smear. “I’m sorry. I was wrong about you.” His gray-blue eyes widened a bit in amusement and he took her hand in his.

“I was wrong about you, too. Let’s start over, shall we?” His lips quirked and Bree stared at his mouth for a moment before realizing she needed to answer.

“I’m Bree Simpson. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ward.”

“I think you should call me Logan.” His eyes twinkled in amusement again before turning serious. They deepened then, turning grayer as his warm hand tightened slightly over hers. “Bree, what’s going on with this project?”

“I think someone is trying to take the job away from me. The threats made it clear he was in the construction business and wants me to step down and clean house when I go. When I refused, it started escalating. The police are brushing me off and that actually helped me. I was telling Marcus right before . . . before the explosion . . .,” Bree took a deep breath and tried to fight the tears back, “. . . that I had narrowed it down to four people who were strong and dirty enough to do these things. But with the intervention of the police, I have it narrowed down to two. Trevor Marion and Jeff Henderson. Have you heard of either of them?”

Logan shook his head. “But one thing I think we need to clear up is the delays. I submitted the final plans a week before they were due. What was with all the angry messages wanting the final prints?”

Bree snatched her hand from his and crossed her arms. “Final plans? I have six sets of final plans. I keep getting emails from your secretary about more plans coming.”

“Well, when you keep ordering changes, I have to keep sending revisions,” Logan shot back.

“But I’m
not
sending changes. It was perfect the first time.”

Logan leaned back and looked at Bree. “You’re not asking for the changes?”

“No.”

“Then who is?” Logan wondered aloud.

“Well, who is calling you asking for them?”

“No one. They are coming from my boss. He said he was friends with someone handling the corporate center project. I thought he meant you,” Logan said as his mind started racing.

“It’s not me. But you know these building types. I may own a large share, but I’m only one of around twenty people. However, in our contract I have total control over the build. So I was right—someone is trying to delay it. If I don’t meet the timeline, then I lose control of the build and the other owners would be able to pick who they want to head it up. It’s a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars,” Bree told him.

“It’s all about the money. The funny thing is these guys probably have more of it than they’d ever need.” Logan shook his head in wonder. He didn’t envy Bree or her family. If they were actually as nice as they seemed, even the sister who punched him, they probably struggled daily to maintain the power and money they had earned. He wondered if they thought it was worth it.

“Exactly. The thing is, I’ve been poor and I wouldn't mind being poor again. I’m not afraid of losing everything and that makes me very dangerous. I think it’s time to flex the power I’ve spent the past years accumulating. But first, I want to see Marcus. Do you think you can help me sneak over to see him?”

Logan turned around as Bree got out of bed and slipped into her hospital gown. Having spent the evening with her, he had already learned that it would be useless to tell her she needed to rest. Instead, he enjoyed the flash of bottom she gave him as she tried to clasp the back of her gown closed. When had hospital gowns turned so sexy?

“You don’t have to laugh,” Bree said with a blush to her cheeks as she used one hand to steady herself on Logan and the other to hold her gown closed.

“I’m not laughing. I’m appreciating the view,” Logan said in a rough voice as he slid his arm around her waist and led her from the room.

There was something about this woman that drew him to her. She wasn’t helpless by any means. He may have rescued her, but he had a feeling she was the one rescuing him.

The longer they walked, the more Bree leaned on him. He should have made her take a wheelchair to where Marcus was being monitored. He probably should have told her she was mooning the entire ICU and the security guards who were following at a discrete distance, but he was enjoying sneaking peeks of her cute, apple-shaped bottom.

Logan helped her into Marcus’s room and sat her down on the chair. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked at her site manager lying in bed with one leg amputated below the knee. Logan squeezed her shoulder gently and bent down to whisper in her ear.

“There’s a good chance he can hear you. You can fall apart as soon as I get you back into the hall, but for now you need to be strong for him.”

Bree gave a silent nod of her head and took some deep breaths as she tried to control the emotions wreaking havoc on her. Her stomach had turned to knots and then plummeted the second she saw Marcus. His face was pale but no longer covered with a breathing tube. His knee was wrapped and he was sedated from the surgery.

Bree reached a shaky hand out to cover Marcus’s. “Marcus, it’s Bree. You saved me, Marcus. You have to wake up so I can kiss you and my mom can smother you with love. Plus there are some really cute nurses here who have totally been checking you out.”

“What are you doing in here?” a nurse asked as she hurried into the room.

“He’s a friend of mine. I was just thanking him for saving my life,” Bree told her. She wasn’t going to apologize for sneaking in. Instead she leaned forward and whispered into Marcus’s ear. “Here’s a nurse now. I bet if you show her your dimples she’ll give you a sponge bath. I’ll be back again to check on you. Thank you, Marcus. You’ll always be my hero.”

Bree placed her lips on his cheek and pulled back. With a silent nod to Logan, he hurried her from the room as the nurse checked on Marcus. Bree made it ten feet down the hall before she lost it. Logan stopped walking and pulled her to him. She felt her legs go out as she buried her head in his shoulder and cried. She knew Logan wouldn’t let her fall. He didn’t say a thing. He just held her as she cried for Marcus, cried for herself, and cried because she felt that was all she could do.

She didn’t know how long Logan held her, but finally the tears stopped. The helpless feeling faded and a resolve unlike anything she’d ever felt filled her.

“Are you okay?”

“I am now. Thank you. Can I ask you a favor?”

“Anything.”

“I need a computer.” Bree stepped away from Logan’s embrace. She wasn’t going to be released until tomorrow. That gave her all night to work.

“For what?”

“Sometimes the only way to handle a bully is to fight back. I’m going to show him how much power I have and that I’m not afraid to use it.”

* * *

Bree tried to send Logan home, but the stubborn man wouldn’t leave. He’d fallen asleep hours ago in the chair beside her bed. How she could feel this close to someone she’d just met, she didn’t know. But she did. And even more, she trusted him.

"Mom, you can go home now," Bree whispered.

Bree's family had gone to her favorite fast food place and brought her back a snack. Her mother had stayed while the others left. Her mother wore a pained look as she sat in an uncomfortable chair by the bed.

"I have to know you're safe, honey."

"I am. I have two huge men guarding the door."

Margret stood and began to pace as she looked back and forth between Bree, the security guards, and a sleeping Logan. "I'll leave if you promise to get some sleep."

Bree loved her mom. Sleep and chicken soup could cure anything. "Yes, Mom."

Margret planted a kiss on her cheek and headed for the door with a sigh. "I'll be back first thing in the morning."

Bree flipped through the television channels. There was too much going on in her head to sleep. She replayed the events of the day. She eyed the laptop Logan had brought along with a stuffed bulldog. Bree laughed at the ugly toy but kept it by her all night. She’d also seen Logan fight to keep his temper under control when she received flowers from both Trevor and Jeff.

Logan was turning out to be full of surprises. She reached over and pulled his laptop onto her bed and got to work. Bree pulled up the local news and smiled. On the front page was a picture of her asleep in the hospital bed with gauze wrapped around her head. She’d had Logan take it and she’d used an anonymous email that Drake set up for her to send it to the media along with “insider” details on the way the cops behaved and what really happened at the construction site.

She pulled up her own email and sent a note to both Trevor and Jeff thanking them for the flowers and asking them for a meeting to “help her out with something.” She knew they wouldn’t be able to resist. By the time the sun was up, she had meetings set up for Monday. The next thing was a call to Mallory.

“Hey. Sorry to wake you so early. I need everything you have on Trevor Marion and Jeff Henderson. And I mean, everything—legal or not. Bank records, affairs, pictures, and anything else I can use.”

“What are you going to do with it?” Mallory asked.

“Use it to figure out who’s behind this and then destroy them,” Bree said simply.

“Be careful, Bree. Voltaire knew what he was talking about when he said, 'With great power comes great responsibility.’”

“I am being responsible. I’m ridding the world of these leeches. These are people who would lie, cheat, steal, and murder innocent people.”

“But if you lie, cheat, and steal to prove them wrong, aren’t you just as bad?” Mallory asked. “I’ll get you the information, but it will take some time. I know you, Bree. Don’t let them win by turning you into one of them.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Logan awoke to the sound of Bree on the phone. He rubbed his hands over his face and stretched his neck. So much for spending the night in the hospital to get rest. Bree finally hung up with someone named Noah and immediately started working on the laptop.

“Bree, have you been up all night?”

“Yes.”

She was so focused on her work that he knew it would be like talking to a wall if he mentioned she needed to sleep. He’d never seen a look of such sheer determination before. The doctor came in to look her over before he could ask her what she was doing.

“You look good. I want you to go home and rest for a couple days. Call if you’re having any headaches, blurry vision, or shooting light in your eyes. But, Miss Simpson,” he said, closing the laptop, “you need to get off that computer and rest.”

Bree smiled. “Yes, doctor.”

Logan almost laughed. It was clear she was going to do no such thing.

“And no driving. Can your boyfriend take you home?”

Bree shot a glance at Logan, and he realized neither of them jumped to correct the doctor.

“Yes, I can. Are there any care instructions besides tying her to the bed to make her rest?” Oh God, he shouldn’t have said that. The images going through his mind certainly did not involve resting.

“The nurse will go over them when you check out,” the doctor said before signing some papers and heading to the nurses’ station to begin the check-out process.

“You don’t have to take me home. I’m sure my mom will be here any minute. She’s an early riser.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind taking care of you. I rather like it actually,” Logan said with a slight upturn of his lips. He liked the way Bree blushed and wondered if there was anyone out there who did take care of her. She hadn’t mentioned a boyfriend and certainly one would have turned up by now if she had one.

“Good morning, dear. How are you feeling? I heard the good news that you’re able to go home. I have the car out front all ready to go.” Margaret sailed into the room with a smile as bright as the sun.

“I’m feeling much better,” Bree told her mother.

“Hmm. You’re up to something. I can see it written all over your face. A mother knows these things.” Margaret’s smile disappeared into a thin line as she shook her finger at her daughter.

“Just getting some work done before I have to go home and rest.”

Logan almost laughed. She was a horrible liar, and it was clear Margaret didn’t believe it for a second. Instead of pushing, though, Margaret just shook her head. “I’ll be here when you’re ready to tell me. Now, let’s get you dressed.”

Logan stood up to leave as Margaret came over to him and gave him a motherly hug. “Thank you for staying with her, Logan. I felt so much better knowing she wasn’t alone. You’re a brave boy.” She patted his arm and smiled up at him.

“Thank you, Mrs. Simpson.”

“I’ll take it from here. But I expect you at dinner the day after tomorrow at my house. Bree will call with all the details.”

“Mom!” Bree’s eyes widened and then rolled at her mother’s matchmaking. It was clear she thought Logan was Bree’s best bet for a boyfriend, and Margaret was going to bribe him with food to keep him around.

Logan’s deep chuckle filled the room. “I'll leave her in your more-than-capable hands, Mrs. Simpson. And I look forward to dinner.”

Logan turned to Bree and smiled at her. He wished he could kiss her, but their first kiss wouldn’t be a quick kiss on the lips with her mom in the room. No, it would be full of roaming hands as lips met and tongues battled for power.

“I’ll see you soon, Bree. Call me if you need anything.”

“I would if I didn’t need to go through your secretary,” Bree grinned back at him.

Logan shot her a lopsided grin and wrote down his number. “Now you have no excuse not to call me. I’ll talk to you soon.” He gave her a wink and then sauntered out the door.

* * *

Logan spent the rest of the day at his hotel working the phone. He was calling every contractor, architect, and builder he knew to find out everything he could about Trevor Marion and Jeff Henderson. So far he’d learned that both Trevor and Jeff were old-school contractors fighting for every ounce of business, using every dirty-handed tactic they could. They paid off inspectors, donated heavily to political campaigns, and made sure to rub elbows with every investment manager.

Both were known to use intimidation as a means to get the highest paying jobs: photos of decision-makers’ wives, tires slashed, windows broken with baseball bats, and so on. There had even been a couple stories of children coming home from school with messages for their daddies. The younger generation disapproved of these methods, but they were too afraid to stand up to the old-line power of Trevor and Jeff. Those who tried usually moved out of Georgia after their businesses collapsed. Typically, there had never been any direct evidence to link Trevor or Jeff. Until now, they were enjoying free rein to terrorize their competition.

Logan asked everyone he knew at Clarke Group about this “old friend” of his boss with no luck. No one knew who it was. Letting out a frustrated breath, Logan paced the room. He looked out at the construction site right in time to see a pink hard hat disappear into what was left of the corporate center.

“What the hell is she doing?” Logan cursed as he grabbed his room key and dashed out the door.

Bree had snuck out of her mother’s house. She was pretty proud of it actually. At thirty-one, she was impressed she could still jump out her window into the large maple tree and climb down just like she used to when she was a teenager.

Her mother was babying her so much she felt smothered. She had always been a doer, and sitting in her old bed, staring up at her canopy, thinking of all the things that needed to be done, had gotten to her. The urge to get her hands dirty and fix as much as she could drove her to literally jump out the window.

She had sneaked into her closet and made some phone calls before jumping. The men were going to meet her at the construction site in a bit, but first she wanted to get a look at the damage and formulate a plan of action.

Bree had been so focused on assessing the outer structure that she didn’t realize she had approached the site of the explosion. She and Marcus were lucky to be alive. She froze as she looked at the damage. In her mind, she wasn’t seeing the downed beam or the fire damage. She was seeing them walking around, looking at the vandalism. The two imaginary figures walked past her and she shouted for them to watch out, but her memories didn’t listen. The explosion sounded and she looked up to see the beam about to fall on her. The feel of Marcus’s hands shoving her in the back was so real she stepped forward as she watched herself being pushed. The ceiling collapsed and everything went dark.

“Bree! Come back to me, sweetheart.”

She blinked as the blackness receded and saw Logan’s chest come into view. His arms were wrapped around her and he was talking her down from the horrible memory.

“It’s not real, sweetheart. I’m real. I’m here and you’re safe,” he said softly as he stroked her back.

“I’m okay,” Bree mumbled as she tried to stop looking at the beam. She’d somehow let it sneak up on her. It was the surprise of seeing the site for the first time that sent her mind hurtling back to the event.

“What are you doing here?” Logan asked with a little censure to his voice.

Bree pulled back from him and prepared for a fight. “I’m taking care of my business. I have families who depend on me, and I’m not going to be intimidated.”

Logan shook his head and Bree was about to argue when she saw the way his lips quirked. “You’re one badass lady, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from someone who flew all the way to England to chew me out. What can I do to help?”

Bree let out a breath and smiled back to him. It felt good to have someone in her corner. “I need to assess what’s good and what needs to go. I think the foundation is fine, but the internal structure is shot. I have three months until my first milestone. If I don’t make it, then I lose the project.”

Logan looked around and hid his reaction to her news. He’d do everything he could, but there wasn’t much to be done except get the equipment in and start building again. However, he couldn't imagine hitting that timeline.

He watched as Bree walked around and took notes. She started talking to herself as she wrote in her notebook while Logan took a good look at what was left to work with. He could modify the plans to make the best use of what was still sound and save Bree some time and money.

“I have an idea . . .“ Bree muttered before pulling out her phone and walking outside. Logan trailed after her and found the site filling with trucks.

Big Al recognized him and wrapped Logan in a bear hug, lifting him off the ground. “It’s the guy who saved our Bree!”

Suddenly men who wanted to shake his hand and slap his back surrounded Logan.

“We never did find out your name,” Al said with one large hand clasping Logan’s shoulder.

“Logan Ward. And you?”

Al’s smile slid from his face. Suddenly Big Al looked ready to pummel him as his hand tightened painfully on Logan’s shoulder.

“You’re the architect who’s been screwing us over,” Al growled as the other men closed in angrily around him. “We’re going to miss our milestone and get laid off because of you.”

“Gentlemen!” Bree clapped her hands and then rolled her eyes at herself. She’d just sounded like her mother. “Big Al, could you put Logan down, please?”

Al loosened his grip and Logan realized he’d been standing on his tiptoes as Al pulled him up off the ground. The men reluctantly stepped away from him, so Logan took the chance to move next to Bree. He was man enough to admit when he could be taken in a fight. Right now the only thing standing between him and a pissed-off crew was Bree.

“It’s so good to see all of you. I can’t thank you enough for what you did to save Marcus and me.” Bree stepped forward and hugged the men. “I wouldn’t be here without your quick thinking.”

Logan watched in wonder as the men melted and blushed at Bree’s praise. He’d never seen a crew like this. Most of the time, women in this industry were either secretaries or site managers’ wives. But Bree somehow exuded both authority and camaraderie unlike anyone he’d ever seen before.

“We’re just sorry we couldn’t finish the project for you, Miss Bree,” Big Al said as his shoulders slumped.

“That’s why I called you here today. If we work like hell, we can meet the first milestone, then continue redoubled efforts to reach the second milestone early.” Logan watched the look of confusion wash over her crew. “We were only days from reaching the first milestone, and the second is scheduled for three months from now. I intend to hit both in the next two months.”

The crew erupted with questions and disbelief. Logan had never seen a more passionate crew, but they would need twice as many men if they wanted to accomplish that.

Bree held up a hand and the group quieted down. “First, there are some things you need to know.” Bree told them about the letters, about the possibility of Trevor or Jeff being behind the delays, and about how Logan hadn’t been the problem at all. That earned him another bear hug from Big Al.

“I know many of you could find new jobs to hold you over. And I know many of your families depend on this job for a living. I am going to poach the best workers from Trevor and Jeff and it’s going to piss them off something fierce. I’m going to use that bonus money to pay the extra workers. You’ll have your same salary, but no bonus. After we get caught up, all bonuses will be split among the whole crew. Simpson Construction won’t keep a dime of any further bonuses. What do you say?”

Big Al looked over the group and a big smile broke out across his leathered face. “I think the boys and I can help you with that. Let me make a list of men to contact.”