Logan's Redemption (20 page)

Dial tone replaced the crude voice. Anger rolled through Logan and he gripped the receiver. He forced himself to stand very still, calling on the coping skills he’d honed through countless dangerous missions. He had to be strong. For Josh. For Doriana. He slowly replaced the receiver.

“It was him, wasn’t it?”  Doriana asked.

He nodded. “The son of a bitch knows I’m here.” Logan moved to her side and gathered her into his arms, holding her close. “It will be all right, Dorie,” he said, kissing the top of her head. He pulled her tighter.

“I’m afraid, Logan.”

“He won’t hurt you or Josh. I’ll make sure of that.”

“I know.” She pulled away to look up at him. Tears glistened in her eyes.

Her trust filled him with longing for the life denied him all those years ago. Denied him by the accident of his birth to a man who loved the bottle more than his only child. Logan forced his mind from the past. Despite his dad he’d made something of himself. And he’d be a good father to Josh if only he got the chance. He was nothing like his old man.

“What will we do now?” Doriana asked.

He held her at arm’s length. “I’ve got a contact at police headquarters now, thanks to your father. Will you be okay for a few minutes?”

She smiled. “I’m no shrinking violet.”

“I know you’re not.” He kissed her temple. “Why don’t you go in the other room while I make my call.”

“I’ll make tea.” She turned to leave.

“Doriana.”

She looked at him.

“Your caller said something strange. He said he’d have you and then he said ‘I’ll have them both.’”

She paled. “You don’t think he means Josh?”

Logan shook his head. “No, it was clearly sexual and I had the definite sense he was talking about another woman.”

“What other woman?” she asked, frowning.

“I haven’t a clue, but we’ll figure it out.”

* * * *

Doriana grabbed her meeting notes and rushed out of her office, glancing at Logan’s empty desk as she hurried by. How long had he been gone on his break? She’d lost all track of time.    

Shaking off a vague sense of unease, she punched the elevator button, her mind on Logan. Since he’d moved into her house she felt more secure than she had in years. She didn’t want to acknowledge that, but she could no longer ignore her feelings. Even when Logan was a wild teen, she’d known he would protect her.

Despite the disturbing phone call last night, she’d felt safe, knowing Logan was by her side. Josh had come home early and the three of them watched TV together. Like a real family. Apprehension, mingled with hope, stirred a melancholy brew in her heart, a longing that they could be a real family.   

The soft whoosh of the elevator doors made her sigh with relief. She got in, feeling as if a benign monster had saved her from her own treacherous thoughts. She punched the number for the fifth floor. She needed to stop by the sales department to pick up some papers for the meeting.

She stepped off the elevator and froze. At the end of the long hallway, Logan and Candi stood talking. The intimacy of their expressions and the closeness of their bodies hit Doriana like a physical blow to her chest. Logan had said there was nothing between him and Candi. Had he lied?

The elevator doors started to close. Doriana slid back in, wanting to put the heart-wrenching sight of Logan and Candi out of her mind. Before the doors closed completely, she hit the open button. Damn it, she would not act like a weak-spined teen. She had every right to confront Logan and Candi. This was her company. And Logan was her man. Her man? She must be under more stress than she realized to give voice to irrational thoughts like that.

Squaring her shoulders, Doriana left the elevator and marched toward the couple. They turned at her approach. Candi looked down at the floor, but Logan’s intense gaze held Doriana’s.

“There you are, Logan,” she said in her best professional voice when she reached them.

“I’ll get back to the office in a few minutes,” he said.

Doriana waved a hand. “It’s okay.”

Forcing a smile, she turned to Candi. Her smile froze and she sucked in her breath. An ugly purple bruise on Candi’s jaw marred the woman’s fair complexion.

“My God, what happened?” The sadness and humiliation in the other woman’s eyes told Doriana all she needed to know. She reached out to touch Candi’s arm, as if through mere touch she could release the other woman from her personal hell.

Doriana had seen those kinds of bruises before. Her parent’s former housekeeper Lila had had a husband who regularly beat her. Doriana’s parents had tried to help, but it was too late. Lila’s husband killed her, then took his own life.

“Let me help you, Candi,” she said. “The company has programs. I’ll make some calls. We can get you to a shelter.”

Candi pulled away and looked at Doriana with a mixture of resentment and embarrassment in her blue eyes. “Logan’s helping me.”

Jealousy slammed into Doriana again, but she forced it away and looked at Logan.

He slanted Doriana a grim look. “It’s a tough situation.”   

His eyes challenged Doriana to trust him. The steel girders she’d erected around her heart began to slowly pull apart. Logan would help Candi, just as he helped her. But he had no romantic interest in the other woman. He’d told her that and she believed him. Doriana nodded. Relief softened Logan’s harsh features.

“If you need me, I’ll be here,” Doriana said softly.

Awareness passed between Logan and Doriana. Everything else—Candi, the long hallway, the opening and closing of the elevator doors—receded until only she and Logan existed. The hint of a smile played around Logan’s mouth. He reached out and touched a finger to Doriana’s lips. Her pulse jumped in response.

Voices at the other end of the hall brought her back to reality. She glanced at her watch. “I’m late for my meeting.”

She knew Logan watched her as she walked away. His gaze seared into her until she disappeared through the double doors of the sales department.    

* * * *

“That was interesting,” Candi said.

Logan turned to her. “Doriana meant what she said. She’ll help if you need it.”

Candi threw him a knowing smile. “I wasn’t talking about that.”

“Don’t go there. You called me down here because you’re in trouble. What are we going to do about you?”

Tears watered her eyes. “What can I do? He loves me. Something ticked him off last night. That was all. He’ll stop beating up on me once things work out for him. He’s had a rough life.”

Logan drew a deep breath, fighting frustration. “Lots of people have rough lives, but they don’t abuse others. He’s not going to stop. I know it and you know it.”

He traced his fingers over her swollen jaw. “What do you tell your co-workers?”

“I don’t say anything anymore. I used up all my excuses. They know, but they don’t ask questions. They don’t really care.” Bitterness edged her voice.

“I know people who can help,” Logan said.

Candi put her hand on his arm. “Only you can help me. You can save me.”

He smiled and placed his hand over hers. “I’m no knight in shining armor. You give me too much credit.”

“Meet me tonight,” she said. “I need to talk to someone.”

“I don’t know.” He couldn’t leave Doriana and Josh alone.

She reached out a small hand to touch his face. “Please. I need help. I’m scared. I can tell you stuff. About work.”

Doriana and Josh needed him. But Candi might have the information to crack this case. His suspicions grew stronger every day that Doriana’s caller was connected to the problems at Callahan’s. Helping Candi could also help Doriana.

He nodded. “You name the time and place and I’ll be there.”  

* * * *

Logan sat down to dinner with Doriana and Josh for the first time. But Doriana couldn’t concentrate on the food. Tension lay heavier on her stomach than the pizza they shared. Candi’s ravaged face and haunted eyes kept intruding, as they had all afternoon since she saw the woman with Logan.  Candi’s image brought the doubts. Could she believe Logan that there was only friendship between him and Candi?      

Doriana slid a glance at Logan. He and Josh were debating the merits of one racecar driver over another. She studied Logan’s strong profile, the straight nose and firm chin. She looked over at Josh, a mirror of Logan. The eagerness on Josh’s face as he talked to Logan made Doriana’s heart lurch. She’d thought she could keep the two apart. She was wrong.

Logan looked over at her, his gaze searching her face. Longing shadowed his eyes, as if he could read her mind. They’d been denied a family all those years ago. Was it too late?

The scraping of a chair over the wood floor drew her back to the present. She looked at Josh. He pushed away from the table and stood up.

“Going somewhere?” Doriana asked.

Reddening slightly, Josh shrugged. “Steven’s mom is picking me up. Steve and I are hanging out at his place tonight.”

Doriana frowned.

“It’s Friday, Mom.”

“I’m aware of that,” Doriana said. “But Mrs. Morelli usually calls me when you’re going to spend time there.”

“It’s not a big deal.” Josh slid his glance away. Alarm bells sounded in Doriana’s head, but she silenced them. Josh had never outright lied to her before. But she wasn’t sure. Maybe she was too trusting.

Logan swung his gaze to Josh. “I could drive you over to your friend’s.”

Josh tensed. “No, it’s okay. She’ll be here any minute.”

He left the room at a near-run.

Logan and Doriana stared at each other.

“Something’s up with him,” Logan said.

Doriana bristled. “You’ve only known him a few days and you think you can read him. I trust him. After all, I’m the one who raised him.”

Logan flinched. “I guess I know where I stand.”

Doriana’s face burned. She had sounded like such a shrew. “Logan, I didn’t mean...”

He put up a hand, stopping her. A muscle worked in his jaw. “Don’t.” He stood and dropped his napkin onto his plate. “I have to go out too, but I’ll help you clean up first.”

“I’ll take care of it. Are you going to see Candi?”  Jealousy threatened, but she tamped it down. The other woman was in trouble, serious trouble.

He nodded. “I don’t want to leave you alone, but Candi wants to talk. Maybe I can convince her to get help before it’s too late.”

Doriana pushed out of her chair and stood facing him. “I’ll go with you.”

Logan placed his hands on her shoulders. “Thanks, I’d like you with me, but Candi won’t talk with you there. You intimidate her.”

Doriana arched an eyebrow. “I intimidate her?”

His crooked smile sent shivers of excitement skittering up her spine. “Hell, you intimidate me.”

She returned his smile. “Now I know you’re lying.”     

He took her chin between his fingers. His eyes softened. “You do intimidate me. Beauty, sweetness, and strength.” He stroked her cheekbone. The feel of his calloused finger against her skin made heat pull low in her belly.

“Don’t do that,” she said in a husky whisper.   

Logan looked at her for long seconds before he turned and strode away.

Doriana stared at the empty doorway. The sound of a horn blasting, followed by the front door slamming, pulled her from the room.

She was too late. Josh was gone. Minutes later Logan came down the stairs, his leather jacket flung casually over one shoulder. His masculinity made her heart do a crazy somersault. His gaze, tortured and dark, reached out to an answering need in her. She bit her lip, keeping back the words that would ask him to stay.  

“Dorie, I don’t want to go, but I have to. There are things I can’t share with you now. All I ask is that you have a little faith in me.”

Confusion jumbled through her head. She sensed again the deep undercurrents in Logan. How could she have faith in what she didn’t understand?

She swallowed. “You’d better go.”

He brushed a hand over her arm. “Keep the doors locked and the security alarm on. I’ve hired someone to watch the house, a retired detective. He’s sitting outside in his car.”

“I don’t need a bodyguard,” she said. “And how can you afford it?”

He stiffened. “Don’t worry about it. And don’t argue. Call me on my cell if you need me. I won’t be long.” He gently squeezed her arm. Then he was gone.       

She set the dead bolt and leaned against the door. The silence in the house smothered her. Her arm tingled where Logan had touched, like a talisman protecting her. Lifting her head, she looked toward the dining room, at the dirty dishes, open pizza box and wadded-up napkins. She headed to the room and the clean-up that would keep her too busy to think.

Josh should arrive at Steven’s shortly. She’d clean up, then give Mrs. Morelli a call in a little while, just to be sure. She wanted to believe her son, but doubt chewed at her resolve.

Doriana picked up the plates belonging to Josh and Logan. Each had left a pizza slice with one identical bite taken out. They were alike in so many ways. A chill ran over her. Had Josh lied and could she believe Logan that he only wanted to help Candi?