Christmas Conspiracy

Never gave him the chance to offer his kids something different.

Never gave him a chance to be something different …

Kat kept looking at him, waiting for him to speak and suddenly Logan didn’t trust himself to say a word. If he opened his mouth he’d tear into her for the grief and betrayal she’d bubbled to the surface.

Women left men. They even left kids. He knew that.

Hell, it seemed to be a Carmichael family tradition to be walked out on.

He turned away from Kat, and a sharp pain sliced through his right shoulder. He hissed in a breath as the cloth rubbed across the bullet wound. Logan could feel it starting to bleed again. At least the dark leather would hide most of the blood.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m great.” Logan rubbed the back of his neck and shifted again so Kat wouldn’t see the bullet tear just above his shoulder blade. The wound wasn’t bad, and he welcomed the pain. Better the one in his body than the one ripping through his heart.

“Logan—” she began.

“Don’t, Kat. Not yet.” He didn’t know what to feel except that he had two kids out there who could be in danger and their mother had lied to him for three years. It’s not like he’d kept his identity a secret. He’d told her about his ranch. She could have found him any time she wanted. Lived like the princess she apparently was in real life.

Kat straightened up when Rafe turned the car into an older neighborhood. The homes were well kept, though outdated, but his babies deserved better than this.

Logan’s temper flared as he readied his Glock. Stupid blood loss was making him crazy, that was the problem. It was time to shape up and concentrate on the situation at hand. Volatile emotions weren’t helping now. He had to remain cool, calm and rational.

The SUV pulled up to a small, wood-sided house.

Kat clutched at the door handle but Logan gripped the latch to keep her from opening it. “I’ll go in first and make sure it’s clear.” He turned to Rafe. “Go around back and check things out.”

“Got it.” Rafe hopped from the vehicle.

Kat glared at Logan. “I’m going in. They’re my kids.”

“Get this straight, princess.” He bit the words, holding a tight rein on his temper. “Those are my kids, too, and we’re going to have one helluva talk about that once everyone’s out and safe.”

Kat’s face paled, but Logan ignored it. Okay, so he’d blown cool and calm. Maybe he still stood a chance with rational.

He slipped out of the vehicle and took another deep breath. He had to maintain control, but dread churned in his gut. The house was dark and ominously still, with no sign that two active toddlers lived there. He didn’t want to look at Kat right now. How could he forgive himself—or her—if something had happened to the twins?

He scanned the area, and when Rafe gave Logan a thumbs-up, indicating that the back of the house was clear, Logan opened the car door. “You can get out now, but stay with me.”

She didn’t argue, just hurried across the yard.

Logan kept vigilant as they reached the door. “It won’t take long for the king to discover your address. He and his men are probably on their way.”

She tugged keys from her jeans pocket and Logan took them from her.

“I go in first,” he repeated as he unlocked the door. “I’ll check the house, then you’ll pack what the kids will need for a couple of days and go. Fast.”

He pushed the door open and stepped into the small hallway. His stomach roiled. A sparsely decorated Christmas tree lay on its side, the homemade ornaments broken and scattered across the scarred wooden floor.

“What’s the matter? Why are you stopping?” Kat shoved in beside him.

“Stay back.”

“Oh, no.” She clutched his arm. “Logan, where are my babies?”

He held her and she clawed at him, trying to get past.

“Be quiet. If they’re still here, they’ll hear you.”

Tears of terror filled her eyes. Logan flicked his earpiece, signaling Rafe. “We have trouble. I need you inside.”

In seconds, Rafe appeared behind them, his movements stealthy.

“Guard her,” Logan said. “Don’t let her follow me.”

Despite her protests, Rafe firmly took Kat’s arm. Logan turned away, his Glock ready. Slow and easy, he entered the house, his movements silent and careful. They were safe. Nothing was wrong. He repeated it like a mantra. Life couldn’t be so cruel to take away the innocent children he hadn’t met yet.

Kat moaned softly. “Hayden. Lanie.”

Logan whipped his head around and held his finger to his lips.

She nodded, tears streaming down her face.

His entire body on alert, Logan rounded a corner and scanned the tiny kitchen. The remains of two tiny bowls of soup and a nearly finished grilled cheese sat on the table. Two small glasses of milk were half empty. He opened a sliding closet containing a stackable washer and dryer. Nothing. He eased down the hall checking out a small bathroom—clean and vacant. Only two more doors, both closed.

Logan put his ear to one. A grunt and sniffles sounded from behind it. His movements cautious, Logan eased it open, trigger finger ready.

A grandmotherly Hispanic woman sat in a rocker, her eyes closed, toys scattered all around the nursery. In a crib, a small girl lay sleeping, snuggled in a pink blanket. A towheaded boy hung over the edge of the crib, dangling. Before Logan could even speak the little one dropped to the floor, turned and stared up at Logan.

His eyes grew wide and serious. “Are you a bad guy?”

Logan blinked. “No.”

“Why do you look scawy?”

Flummoxed, Logan scanned the closet, trying to concentrate on finishing the security check and not grabbing his son and holding him tight. “I’m looking for bad guys. Have you seen any?”

“No. Just you.”

Logan turned back to find the kid holding a toy gun on him.

“Reach for the sky!”

Logan couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing and lowered his weapon.

Paulina’s eyelids flew open and she screamed, struggling to get out of the rocker.

So much for keeping things quiet.

“Clear,” Logan called into the other room. “I’m not here to hurt you,” he said softly to Paulina. “Kat’s with me.”

She raced into the room.

“Mommy!” The little boy leaped at Kat and she hugged him tight.

“How’s my big boy?”

“I caught the bad guy—” he pointed to Logan “—wif my gun.”

“Hayden, he’s not a bad guy.”

“He’s not?” The little boy stared at Logan, a little disappointed. “He’s on my side?”

Logan froze, his gaze meeting Kat’s. “You bet. I’m definitely on your side.”

“Hayden.” Kat swept his blond hair off his forehead. “He’s a very special man. He’s your daddy.”

Hayden turned around and glared at Logan. “Bad Daddy. Where’d you go? You’re s’posta live with us.”

KAT COULDN’T GET Logan’s devastated expression out of her mind. Hurriedly, she zipped up her son’s puffy blue coat while Hayden squirmed in her lap. Lanie, on the other hand, stood quietly, staring at Logan, her thumb in her mouth. Kat’s daughter had an old soul. She watched everything. Unlike her brother who found trouble no matter how safe Kat tried to make things.

While Rafe patrolled outside, Logan stood guard at the window, his hand near his gun, his entire body alert and stiff. Tension vibrated in the room. Every look he gave her shot daggers, even while his expression softened and a smile tilted his lips when his gaze lingered on Hayden and Lanie.

“I’m so sorry, Katerina,” Paulina repeated for the tenth time. “They’re so … lively. They chased each other and Hayden rammed his fire truck into the tree. It just toppled over. I had hoped a nap would calm them. And me. The only time to rest is when they do.”

“Believe me, I understand, Paulina. They’re a handful.” Kat pulled out her last twenty and placed it in the woman’s hand. “Thank you for watching them. We’ll be away for a few days.”

“Longer.” Logan strode over to Paulina. “Do you have someone you could visit out of town?”

The babysitter looked surprised. “I have a sister … in Mexico. Why?”

“It might not be safe in this neighborhood for a while.” Kat didn’t know what else to say without explaining too much.

“I cannot afford a visit,” Paulina said, her look uncertain. “Do not worry. I’ll be fine.”

“Go see her.” Logan handed her a thick envelope. “This will help. I never meant to scare you, and, after today, you could use a vacation. Merry Christmas.”

Paulina opened the packet, shocked as she thumbed through the bills. She looked to Kat, who smiled and nodded her agreement. “Thank you,” the woman said quietly. “I have missed mi hermana. It will be a good surprise to see her.”

“Leave today.” He gave Paulina a serious look and she agreed nervously. Logan picked up the kids’ bags. “We need to hurry, Kat.”

At his deep voice, Hayden twisted around. The boy couldn’t stop looking at Logan. Kat understood. His intensity commanded attention, and despite their lives being in danger, Logan’s presence made her feel protected and safe. But every cool glance flayed another layer of her heart open.

Kat grabbed a diaper bag from the floor and quickly added the three small stockings hung on the wall near the tree. Three. Not four. Would that change this year?

The babysitter hugged Lanie, then Hayden ran over and Paulina kissed the top of his head. “Goodbye, niño. Be good if you can.”

She hugged Kat and hobbled out the door.

Hayden grabbed his white-and-red engine from next to the fallen Christmas tree. He raced over to Logan, stared at him, then offered him his treasured toy.

“I can’t cawwy it to the car. You do it. Don’t let the bad guys get it.”

Kat’s heart jolted at the gesture. “Logan, I think you’ve been forgiven.”

She recognized the wonder in Logan’s eyes as he whispered into his earpiece that they’d be out in a minute. Slowly he knelt to take the fire truck from his son. His movements were hesitant, wary, so very different from the certain, decisive moves he’d used against the men who’d attacked them.

“I’ll make sure it gets to the car, Hayden.”

“Me, too?”

“Yeah, buddy. You, too.”

She’d known Logan as a sensual man and she’d seen him as a warrior today, but she’d never seen him like this … open … vulnerable … awed by a little boy’s trust. He ran a trembling hand over her son’s blond head. She’d never imagined Logan’s touch could be so achingly tender. Kat swallowed back tears. She hadn’t expected Logan to connect with Hayden so quickly—or to be so cautious with and amazed by Lanie.

Logan looked up and she pretended not to notice the sheen in his eyes, but she lost part of her heart to him then and there.

Or was that the part that had always been his?

“We need to leave now.” His voice broke a bit.

She lifted the diaper bag with the stockings, then remembered the kids’ presents. “Will we return in time for Christmas?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then I’ll be right back.” Kat handed Lanie over to Logan and raced into her bedroom.

She tugged a small bag from her closet, filled with a few toys and clothes she’d collected at yard sales over the summer. It wasn’t much, but at least they’d have something for Christmas. She hurried back to the living room where a panicked Logan held their screaming daughter, tears raining down her face. Hayden ran in circles around them.

Logan tried rocking Lanie, his movements awkward, but she just wailed louder. “She won’t stop.”

Rafe knocked on the door, then stepped inside. “Hunter called. Sergei and three men are heading this way. ETA fifteen minutes.”

“Take the bags and put them in the SUV,” Logan ordered Rafe.

His certain tone stopped Lanie’s tears. She blinked up at him.

Logan stroked her cheek. “You like your men more decisive, huh? Okay, we’re out of here.”

She cocked her head sideways and plopped her thumb in her mouth.

He held out the baby to Kat, who had grabbed a kicking Hayden. “Trade you.”

“Gladly.” She took Lanie, and they ran out the door. “We need car seats.”

“Done. Rafe put them in the backseat.” An identical SUV idled behind the black monstrosity Rafe had driven.

She sent him a questioning glance.

“Decoy.” He put Hayden into the backseat, nearly smacking his son’s head on the underside of the roof in his rush, then fumbled with the latches. “These are not meant for fast getaways, and we’re out of time.”

Kat shoved him aside. “Give Hayden his toy. I’ll do it.”

She settled the kids and slid into the front seat. Her heart raced. “How far away are the king’s men now?”

“Ten minutes.”

Logan quickly pulled out and took an indirect route back to the highway. He glanced at the kids. Hayden’s eyes had closed almost as soon as they started driving.

“He’s already asleep?”

“Hayden has two speeds. Dangerous and comatose.”

Lanie snuggled with her blanket and stared out the window at the passing winter landscape. Eventually, her head started to nod, too.

Logan turned the SUV north on a secondary road, leaving the heavy Houston area traffic behind. Despite frequent mirror checks, he became increasingly edgy.

After a few miles of silence, his knuckles had turned white. “Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?” he asked. “I could have been here to help you before this. I could have protected the twins and you.”

“Don’t put that on me, Logan,” she whispered, the past hurt peeling away at her heart. “You sent me away.”

He shook his head. “That’s not the way I remember it. You left a note at the hotel! A damn note—” Logan looked over his shoulder at the kids.

Lanie stared back, her eyes bright with tears.

He lowered his voice. “A note that said nothing. You vanished, Kat. I tried to find you. I tracked down where you used to live. You’d quit your job, left your apartment. You went into hiding. What was I supposed to think? Please, Logan, keep looking for me?”

Lanie reacted to the tension in the car and whimpered, her bottom lip quivering.

Kat glanced back at their children. “Logan, please, we can’t do this now.”

“You’re right,” he said, staring into the rearview mirror. “We have company.”

“What?” She whipped around. A large SUV barreled up behind them.

Logan sped up, but the other vehicle matched their speed then slammed into the back with a jolt. Hayden and Lanie cried out in fear. Logan held the steering wheel tight and somehow managed to keep them on the road.

Everything in Kat called to comfort her kids, but saving their lives came first. She squinted through the back windshield. “I can’t see who it is,” she said. “Their windows are tinted.”

Her entire body shook with anger. Her children were innocent. She gripped Logan’s arm. “What can I do?”

He looked at her, a flash of approval in his eyes. “A van just cut them off. Switch places with me before they catch up again. I’ll try to take them out from the backseat.”

Logan shoved the center console up so they could maneuver across the bench seat. He scooted from behind the wheel. Kat unhooked her seat belt, scrambled over him and took control.

“Floor it,” he said, lifting his foot from the accelerator. He bent down and pulled a military-looking rifle from beneath the seat. He shoved a clip into it and pocketed a second.

The truck rammed them again. The kids screamed louder.

“Hayden, Lanie, there’s going to be some loud noise and bangs so we’re going to hide. Okay?” Kat said.

Hayden curled over his truck, then looked at his sister. “We playing seek and go hide,” he whispered. Lanie put her thumb in her mouth and curled down like him.

“They’re amazing,” Logan said as he reached over her to flip a switch. The back window rolled down partway while Logan crawled over the second seat and into the back.

Hayden popped his head up to watch his father. “Daddy gots a big gun!”

Kat’s stomach dropped at her son’s curiosity. She struggled to keep the vehicle on the road and maintain her cool—for the kids’ sake.

“Hide, Hayden. Hide for Mommy.”

Hayden rolled up into a small ball. “Daddy ‘tect you, Lanie. Don’t be ascared.”

Kat wanted to hold them in her arms, but she couldn’t. Her gaze swept back to the road and she gasped. She bore down on a slow-moving station wagon and swerved around it. A semi barreled toward them. Her heart lurched and she screeched back into her lane. The truck blared its horn.

“Keep it steady,” Logan yelled over the icy winter wind whistling through the vehicle. “They’re coming up fast.”

Bullets sprayed from his rifle. The kids cried out in terror. Smoke billowed from the engine of the car chasing them and it whirled off the side of the road.

“You did it.” Kat eased her foot off the gas. “We escaped.”

“Temporary reprieve,” Logan said. “Roll up the window.”

He climbed into the backseat. With gentle hands he comforted his screaming children. “You’re okay now. I’m sorry for the bad noise. It’s gone.” He hugged them close and closed his eyes, rocking them until only hiccups and sniffles remained. “It’s okay. Don’t be scared. Daddy’s got you.”

Kat swallowed back a tumult of emotions.

Finally, after a few minutes, Hayden squirmed. “Too much hugging.”

“Sorry, little buddy.”

“I like it,” Lanie said, and buried her face into Logan’s chest.

He kissed their cheeks and adjusted them in the car seats. His jaw tight, he snagged his phone from his pocket and tapped it. “Rafe, I left you a mess on highway 34. Take care of it.”

Logan drummed his fingers on the seat back while he listened to Rafe’s response. “We’re being tracked somehow, and if that wasn’t the king’s men, things are worse. I’m dumping the vehicle. I’ll be in touch when I can. Find the leak that’s making it possible for these people to find us.”

Kat brushed the tears of relief from her eyes and swallowed as this new reality hit her. She met Logan’s gaze as he closed the phone. “Is this latest leak in the king’s camp or yours?”

“I don’t know,” he acknowledged, “but until I find out, we’re on our own.”

PAULINA PEERED OUT the curtain and stared at the black SUV and the terrifying man with the patch over one eye. He hadn’t moved from in front of Katerina’s house. Why was he staying there? La familia was gone with the other man with the gun. So many scary people. She wouldn’t babysit in that house anymore. She was even afraid in her own house now. What if someone learned what she’d done?

Paulina’s hands trembled and she twisted her shawl, unraveling the stitches. A chilling fear had gone through her when the big man warned her of danger and demanded she leave today. She still couldn’t get warm. Maybe she should go to her sister’s house. They wouldn’t follow her across the border. Would they?

She hurried toward her bedroom to pack, but she’d only made it partway when the back door slammed open.

Paulina trembled with fright.

A huge man entered her living room, his face red with anger, blood staining his right shoulder.

“Who are you? Please go. I have no money,” she lied.

“You should. I paid you, but you failed me.”

Paulina gasped. She recognized the voice. The phone call she hadn’t been able to ignore. “But I … I … did what you wanted. You said you would leave me alone.”

“Well, they escaped. And someone has to pay.”

“Please, don’t hurt me.” She glanced at the bloody shirt. “I’ll take care of your wound. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Sorry, but I’ve been shot and the family got away. They will die, and you’re the only one who can tie me to them.”

Paulina backed toward the window, and the giant smiled, his expression evil. He pulled a huge, serrated knife from a leather sheath wrapped around his leg. He slid his thumb along the shiny blade.

Paulina gulped, her heart galloped, skipping beats. Her head swam and she swayed. “Please, no,” she whimpered. “I’ll be silent.”

“Yes,” he said softly and raised the blade. “You will.”

Chapter Three

Logan stayed in the backseat with the kids, his rifle loaded in case of another ambush. He hadn’t recognized the other SUV or the shooters, but they’d been out to kill the entire family. And they’d been tailed too easily. Only one possibility. There had to be a tracking device.

Hayden clung to one arm, Lanie to the other, their small bodies pressed up against Logan. His heart swelled with an all-encompassing need to care for and protect them. He smiled down at them, and they blinked up, their tear-streaked faces caging his soul. They had him. He’d do anything for them.

He studied the terrain. Before the vehicle went much farther, he needed to do a sweep. He hated to risk stopping, but he didn’t think their attackers would quit after one attempt. He wouldn’t make it easy for whoever followed them.

Several miles passed before he identified a relatively safe stopping point.

“Pull over,” he ordered Kat.

“Here?” She gave him a shocked look.

“Now,” Logan insisted. “Take us behind those birch trees. Out of sight of the highway.”

She turned down a dirt road, gripped the wheel tightly and guided them over the bumps and deep ruts.

Logan hated to move. He’d been in heaven, holding his children against him. He hadn’t known what to expect, but even though they’d known him only a few hours, they burrowed against him. They apparently trusted him a lot more than their mother ever had.

He met Kat’s gaze in the rearview mirror briefly. Every second with his children raised his frustration with her. It shouldn’t be this way.

Lanie stirred beside him as Kat eased the car into a hidden spot. The little girl was a strange creature, so delicate. He’d felt like an oaf holding her. He was a guy. He understood Hayden and his daredevil instincts, but this fragile baby? He worried he’d break her. Maybe if he’d been there from the start it would be different, but he’d missed everything. He’d make it up to the twins, though. That, he promised.

He didn’t know what to do with Kat, except save her life. Trusting her wasn’t going to come easy.

The SUV rolled to a bumpy stop, startling Lanie from sleep. Her wide eyes met his gaze in panic. “It’s okay, sweetie. Daddy’s got you.”

She patted him. “Daddy,” she whispered.

Hayden, on the other hand, looked like he’d had enough.

“Down,” he ordered, his expression mutinous.

His kid was right. Logan had to move quickly.

“Why are we stopping?” Kat asked, shifting in her seat.

“I’m checking the SUV for bugs. Get them out of their car seats.”

He passed Lanie to Kat then lifted Hayden. As he did, he caught the whiff of a distinctly toxic odor. “Whoa.” Logan stared at Hayden as recognition hit. “You wear diapers?”

“Good thing for us or we’d be stopping every ten minutes. They’re not potty trained,” Kat said, biting her lip, but humor danced in her eyes. “They’re considering it.”

Logan clutched his squirmy son. The imp just grinned at him, tugged at the waist of his small jeans and started pushing them down his legs.

“Uh, Kat. He’s taking his clothes off.” Logan fought to keep his son from undressing but within seconds Logan had clearly lost the battle. As much as he wanted to ignore Kat’s laughter, he was way out of his league here. Give him a bomb that needed disarming, a grenade launcher or room full of terrorists any day over these two.

He shot her an exasperated look. “Take him. I’ll learn the intricacies of diaper changing later. For now, I need to check out the SUV’s rear end, not Hayden’s.”

Logan leaped out of the car and sucked in a breath of fresh air. Man, the kid was ripe. Logan yanked the tailgate, but it wouldn’t budge. He moved to the front and turned the key, rolling down the back window as far as the damaged back allowed.