The Billionaire's Practice Kiss - Tamie Dearen Page 0,56

shave—no doubt Mack, the always prompt head of E-Force Security, was already waiting for him at the breakfast table.

There were decisions to be made. Josiah had called four days ago, crowing about Ellery’s participation in the upcoming Limitless fundraiser. He suspected Josiah had been purposefully goading him, enticing him to attend.

And Josiah’s plan was working.

Since then, Logan had been itching to go, arguing that the highly publicized function was an unlikely place to be targeted. Mack, however, countered that Logan wouldn’t be able to resist speaking to Ellery, and such a conversation could destroy the protection of her anonymity. Stubbornly resisting Mack’s advice, Logan had continued the debate on a daily basis.

Bleary-eyed, Logan stumbled down the hallway into the kitchen, and Mack entered from the family room, the whites of his bloodshot eyes accented with dark circles that testified of a similarly rough night.

“Good morning,” Mack said in a loud, cheery voice that belied his appearance. He grabbed a piece of paper from the counter, hastily jotted something on it, and slid the paper in front of Logan.

His heart skipped a beat.

Don’t say anything. Your house is bugged.

He jerked his head toward Mack, who pressed a finger to his lips and shook his head.

How had someone gotten in to bug the house? Since Chester’s revelation, Logan hadn’t allowed any strangers on the grounds, taking deliveries at the gate.

“I’ll make us some coffee.” Mack moved to turn the water on in the sink. “I like to let the water get hot before I put it in the coffeemaker. Makes it faster.”

Jake, the youngest of Mack’s three brothers, strode into the kitchen and whispered something in Mack’s ear before disappearing down the hallway.

Mack, who had a body about the same size and hardness as the truck that was his namesake, and Jake had been Logan’s almost constant companions for the last ten days. Always wearing a brooding expression, Jake was practically a clone of Mack, but much more intense and introverted. A glimpse of the darkness lurking behind Jake’s severe gaze was like looking in a mirror, and Logan suspected he’d had trauma in his past.

With the water running full-force in the sink, Mack came back to whisper in his ear. “We put a secret detail on your stepdad. Last night we caught this on camera.” He whipped out his phone and showed him a series of pictures. Even in the dim light, he could clearly see Chester’s face. He didn’t recognize the other two men, but one had a gun in his hand.

“Dimitri?” Logan whispered, as all the implications whirled in his mind and dread settled in his chest.

“We’re running them through facial recognition,” Mack said. Then he turned off the water and announced in a regular voice, “That’s hot enough.”

“I’ve got some dark-roasted beans,” Logan said, rising from the table to grab the coffee beans from the freezer. “Let’s have fresh grounds.”

Soon the grinder was making plenty of noise to cover their conversation.

“We swept the house this morning and found bugs in every common room. No cameras. Just listening devices. Very sophisticated. Frequency switchers.” Mack’s thick eyebrows furrowed. “Didn’t find them the first time.”

“They probably weren’t here the first time,” Logan murmured. “Chester could’ve done it when he spent the night here a few days after you set up shop.”

“That’s our guess.” Mack balled his fingers into fists, his knuckles blanching. “Why did I let him keep using his own security guys?”

Logan turned off the grinder, which had gone longer than the recommended time. The coffee might be bitter, but he didn’t care. Anything with caffeine would do. Mack finished making the coffee while rambling on about a college football game for the benefit of whomever might be listening. Whatever he was saying wasn’t registering in Logan’s mind. He was too busy replaying the conversations with his stepfather. No wonder Chester had been urging him to make the payment into the offshore account, his pleas escalating over the last few days.

“There’s no way to catch Dimitri,” Chester had said. “He’s too smart. I think you should just pay him off.”

“You’re to blame for all this,” Logan had retorted. “Why don’t you come up with a hundred million dollars?”

“I would if I had it,” Chester declared. “I’d sell everything I own to save my family.”

Maybe his wife and kids, Logan had thought to himself, but I doubt he suddenly gives a flip about Mom and me.

“If you pay, I guarantee that won’t be the last demand,” Jake had argued. “I think