Tara shot him a glance filled with quiet plea. Logan understood her need to impress her new boss, but he wasn’t going to compromise her safety. “Not quite. I haven’t had the chance to put her through all the exercises she’ll likely need. There’s still some hesitation and fear.”
Back ramrod straight, Tara settled into the far side of her chair, away from him. Oh yeah, she wasn’t happy with that response.
Nodding, Bocelli appeared to mull his reply. “Couldn’t she pass as a slightly bratty sub in need of a firm hand?”
“Maybe, but even if you could find York, like I’ve been saying for two days, he couldn’t handle her. Tara isn’t ready to face unknown Doms. Her trust is . . . fragile.”
“Your demonstration tonight proves aptly that she trusts you.”
The fact that even an outsider could sense that thrilled Logan, but he knew there were chinks in their armor. “We’re getting there.”
“Why the twenty questions?” Tara demanded. “Clearly, you’re not thinking of aborting the mission, given this verbal fishing expedition about my readiness. But if Robert is gone, we have to devise another plan. I understand our options are limited. I’ll do whatever needs to be done.”
“Axel, Logan, and I have had a few conference calls since Logan assumed your training,” Thorpe admitted. “We’ve suspected for some time that Agent York wasn’t going to be successful in the role of your Dom, so we’ve been devising a plan B.”
Tara blinked. Something in her manner made Logan think that she couldn’t decide whether she was happy that the mission to rescue her friend would move forward despite York’s absence or furious that no one had kept her apprised. Probably a bit of both.
She licked her lips. “And that would be?”
“Me,” Logan confessed.
“At least that was the idea,” Thorpe said.
“Was?” Logan glared at the club owner. With York’s disappearance, didn’t that make their backup plan more the most viable option.
“You don’t work for the FBI,” she pointed out.
To Logan’s relief, she didn’t seem pissed about the idea, just hung up on procedure.
“It’s taken some jumping through hoops, but I’ve got the brass to approve using Edgington as a military contractor to assist with this mission,” Bocelli assured. “He’s got the unique skill set necessary, and I think that bond brewing between you two will allow you to submit as needed and create a more convincing cover.”
Tara flushed, but looked a bit relieved; Logan relaxed.
“I understand, sir,” she said. “And I agree.”
“Just don’t let your feelings interfere with this case. If you want to fuck him in your spare time, that’s on you. But once you hit that resort, you keep your eye on the mission.”
Logan could see Tara both flushing and restraining her temper. In truth, he wanted to rip Bocelli a new one, too, but that wouldn’t do Tara a damn bit of good.
Instead, he leaned forward and met her boss’s stare straight on. “We’ll get the job done, but whatever happens between us will contribute to our ‘convincing cover,’ so don’t knock it.”
Tara thanked him with a silent stare, and Logan nodded, happy to defend her in whatever way he could.
“Your role on this mission has become more complicated. I have something you need to see.” Thorpe reached for the envelope on his desk. He toyed with it between his long fingers, as if considering, then held it out to Logan. “A man wearing shades and a dark hoodie paid Misty to give this to you just after Tara’s public submission. When she couldn’t find you because you were . . . busy, she found Xander, who found me. She said this dude gave her the creeps. By the time I got it, too many people had touched it to bother dusting it for prints, so you can touch it. None of the security cameras got a good look at the guy’s face. We already checked. Do you know what the hell this is about?”
With a frown, Logan took the envelope and ripped it open. Clearly, Thorpe had already been into it himself. For the moment, Logan shoved down his irritation and withdrew the piece of paper inside.
Have you forgotten my warning? Stay away from Tara. Or she dies.
Horror froze Logan’s entire body. His mother’s killer was still keeping tabs on him a dozen years later?
He sucked in a breath, then turned to look at his Cherry, who watched him expectantly. This was a complication they fucking didn’t need. Thorpe’s and Bocelli’s silent gazes settled on him. They were leaving the next move to him, allowing him to bow out if he wanted.
No way was he making the same mistake he’d made a dozen years ago. At sixteen, he couldn’t begin to protect Tara. At twentyeight? Bring it on. This time, he’d handle everything differently. Whoever this motherfucker was, Logan couldn’t wait to take him apart.
He handed the note to Tara. Quickly, her eyes scanned the page, then she gasped.
“Your mother’s killer is back?”
Logan nodded, feeling his back teeth grind. “This reads like his work, yeah.”
“What do you mean, ‘back’? You’ve received notes like this one before?” Bocelli asked.
“Not since high school.” Logan grabbed Tara’s hand because he needed to feel her, then met her boss’s gaze and told him about his mother’s murder and the subsequent fallout. “It’s a complication, but not a problem. I’ll handle it.”
“We may have to rethink this, Edgington. This is someone determined, who’s followed you for years and watched your scene with Tara tonight. He may follow you to Florida.”
“From everything you’ve told me, Fantasy Key isn’t easy to get into,” Logan argued. No way was his involvement in this mission going to unravel now. He couldn’t send Tara in without an experienced Dom to protect her—and he refused to let this asshole come between him and the woman he loved a second time.
“It’s not,” Bocelli conceded. “We had to pull a lot of strings to bypass the six month waiting list.”
“We may have another alternative.” Thorpe rose and crossed the room, opening the door, only to stop short. “Eavesdropping?”
“Sorry. I couldn’t make myself stop.”
Xander. Thorpe was going to suggest that his best friend replace him? Oh, hell no.
Thorpe led him in, and Xander leaned against the wall, brow raised.
“You assisted Edgington during the scene,” Bocelli said.
“Yes.”
The Fed extended a hand and introduced himself. After the pleasantries, Bocelli briefed Xander on the base facts of their mission to Fantasy Key. Xander listened without expression or comment.
“I could definitely help. I worked there off and on for three years.”
No shit? Logan stared at his pal. He didn’t talk much about his past. He’d grown up in L.A. and left home young—and refused to say why. Logan knew a few things about Xander’s past, like the fact that he’d worked at a BDSM resort, but details had been nonexistent.
“The private resort you topped at . . . that was Fantasy Key?”
“Yeah.” Xander turned to Bocelli. “I still have friends there. They’re good people. If there’s something bad going down, I’d like to help.”
Thorpe turned to Bocelli. “That’s a plus. And your agent needs a strong, experienced Dom she can trust to lead her through the resort’s activities and hopefully attract the notice of the scumbags behind the illegal activity. Xander can do that. And he doesn’t bring an extra threat to the table, like Edgington.”
Logan’s first response was towering rage. After angling for nearly two days solid to accompany Tara on this mission, no way was he backing down in favor of his buddy.
But nothing Thorpe said was incorrect. In his shoes, Logan figured he’d be making the same suggestion. It still pissed him off, but he had to think about Cherry. Did he want what was most advantageous for his future with her or what was best for her safety?
“Since Xander has already touched her,” Thorpe added, “she’s familiar with him on some level. You saw she responded well to him during her public submission. In fact, he got her off. So they could make their way convincingly enough through sex, if necessary.”
Xander and Cherry? Oh, fuck no! Logan wanted to rip the club owner in two. Beside him, Tara tried to school her expression, but a flush crept up her face.
Xander cleared his throat. “My first thought was simply to ask some of my friends to help you. But you might be right, Thorpe. I know most everyone there, not to mention each nook and cranny of the place. I know how to manipulate the security.” He turned to Tara. “But . . . I think I could be pretty good with you, and we don’t have any history to overcome.”
Logan couldn’t refute any of Xander’s words, having topped others at Fantasy Key and knowing the people inside would lend credibility to their cover. No one would think it odd that Xander showed up with a sub. Hell, he might even get a discount.
“Any military or law enforcement in your background?” Bocelli barked.
“No, but I’m a black belt and I’m good with a gun. I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.” Xander sent a reassuring glance at Cherry, who bit her lip, clearly thinking things through.
This situation was killing Logan, but he had to put Tara first. “My role is to support Agent Jacobs. She doesn’t need my military background to do her job, but if Xander will prove more useful and bring less complication—”
“I’ll do whatever necessary, but I’m more likely to maintain my cover at this resort if I feel really comfortable. If Xander can help us with information or inside connections, great. But I’ve trained with Logan. Despite everything else, going with him makes more sense.”
Logan’s heart melted. Underneath all the complexities of their past and this case, she truly trusted him to keep her safe, even in the face of a threat. That thrilled him to death and gave him a foundation to build on, but none of that mattered if she didn’t come home alive.
“Cherry, the guy who killed my mother is a smart psychopath. I see Thorpe’s point about not borrowing more trouble now.”
“Maybe so, but he probably lacks the clout necessary to get into the resort at the last minute,” Tara argued. “And since Fantasy Key has such tight security, this killer won’t be sneaking on the grounds while we’re undercover. Being on this mission will probably be the safest place for me.”
Thorpe shrugged, glancing at Bocelli. “SEALs aren’t exactly pussies, and Edgington is a tough bastard. He’s capable of doing whatever necessary to keep your agent safe. But you knew that or you wouldn’t have run him up the FBI’s internal flagpole.”
Still, Bocelli remained wordless, his face giving nothing away.
“My life for Tara’s.” Logan stood and braced his hands on Thorpe’s desk, leveling a grave stare at the Fed. “I swear it. I’ll come home in a pine box before I let anything happen to her.”
Behind him, Tara gasped. He couldn’t turn his attention to her now, not when he had a point to make.
“This is my job, Logan. Not yours. If there’s danger, I’ll face it.”
“Like hell. If you’re in it, I’m in it, too, Cherry. I’ll protect you with my dying breath.”
Her gaze skittered away, and he couldn’t tell if she was touched or horrified. Probably both.
Bocelli didn’t like the situation, Logan could tell. He paced Thorpe’s office in silence, clearly running scenarios in his head. Finally, he turned back. “Getting my superiors to approve Xander as her partner would be a harder sell, since he’s neither law enforcement nor military. And a change now would delay the mission.”
Tara’s face reflected the relief that Logan felt.
“All right, Edgington, you stay. But there are parameters. First, I’m going to put a few agents nearby, as close as I can get them. They’ll be invisible to you, but will serve as backup and be armed to the teeth.”
Logan cast a glance at Tara, who nodded. “We’re okay with that.”
Bocelli turned. “Xander, can you help us decide where the agents are best placed and how to get management to insert them there without tipping anyone off?”
“Absolutely.”
“Great. I’ll be in touch. You’re excused.”
It wasn’t a subtle dismissal, but Xander let himself out.
Bocelli looked back at Logan. “Now, we discuss your behavior.”
Swallowing back what he really wanted to say, Logan merely raised a brow.
“It’s obvious you have feelings for my agent that run deep. I don’t give a shit about the details. And if you’re mentally prepping a denial, don’t. I’m not stupid. But you’re going to have to shelve those feelings during this mission. Agent Jacobs can’t be a target for these people unless they believe she’s going to be easy to pluck away from you. You’ll pose as a new couple, and you’ll seem less than committed to her. Have a roving eye, wander off to chase other subs—whatever. The kidnappers have to believe that you won’t move heaven and earth to find her if she disappears.”
