Chapter 5 Logan

Chapter 5 Logan
It takes us about an hour and a half to get to the safe house, or as I like to call it my winter retreat and new training compound. It is a twelve-acre property I purchased spring of this year in the town of Friendsville, MD. I chose it because it was close to Wisp Resort in the Deep Creek Lake area. Now it will be used as our safe house for the time being until I can get a better handle on what we are dealing with.

The train of four large black SUVs pulled through the security gates and rambled their way up the long tree-lined driveway up to the three-story lodge mansion. I had just finished construction on this and was going to surprise Vivian with it next month, my how times have changed. Now I couldn’t even think of having her here in our space, and I have a feeling I will be having Sunny and our future children here as much as I can. I look down at the sleeping beauty in my lap as we pull up to the side door, and Justin stops the car and hops out to have the guys do a quick perimeter sweep.

“Hey, sweets, we’re here,” I whisper as I run my finger slowly along her jawline. “Time to wake up for just a bit, and then I will put you in our bed.” She stirs just enough for me to slide out of the car and scoop her into my arms. She snuggles in, and I follow Justin in. I know that I haven't told her that we will be married as soon as I can. I figure that is a chat for tomorrow or even later tonight. 

I carry her up the stairs and straight into the master bedroom and lay her down on the king-size bed and tuck her in. I am finding it difficult to leave her, but I know I need to so Justin and I can come up with a plan, and so I can meet with Chet to see what we can do. “Sleep, dear, and I will be back soon,” I whisper into her forehead as I plant a soft kiss and then quietly exit the room.

Once I reach the bottom step, Chet is striding through the front door. “Glad you made it.” I clasp him on the shoulder with a smile.

“Yeah, me too. Your ex is a piece of work.” He huffs out and hands me a stack of papers. “She is counter suing, saying that you have no grounds to claim adultery.” He chuckles. “I have not sent the video over, nor have I said anything about it, I am waiting until we are before the judge. By the way, that is tomorrow at 1:30 pm.”

“Now that is great news because as soon as that ink is dry, I am marrying Sunny,” I say quickly.

“Woah, that is quick.” His eyebrows in his hairline, “You sure?”

I nod, and I know I have a goofy grin on my face. “Yes, I just can’t believe how protective I feel of Sunny, I've never once felt like this,” I say with a sigh of contentment. “I can’t wait for you to meet her, trust me, you will understand.” I smile, but also give him a stern look and point my finger at him and say, “But remember, she is mine, and I will kill anyone who touches her.”

Chet just shakes his head and laughs with his hands up in surrender.

“Oh, and did you pick up what I texted about on the way here?” I ask him with a bit of worry that he couldn’t get what I needed.

Chet grins and pulls out a small robins-egg blue ring box and hands it to me. “Why do you think I was late getting here. I had to make sure the bank let me into your box to fetch it. I'm just surprised that you never gave this to Viv?” he says with a hint of awe.

I open the box and look down, and a stunning two-carat cushion-cut yellow diamond surrounded by smaller round blue sapphires. “Nah, it never felt right.” I sigh and run my thumb over the center stone. “It was Gran’s, and she and Viv never got along, so I knew it would go to either a son for his wife or a daughter. So, I never told Viv I had it.” I close the box and put it into my front pocket for later. Then I look at Chet again and grin, “Come on, let’s go to the war room and check on Justin and the gang.” I tell him as I walk away to the back of the house and through the kitchen to the war room hidden behind the sidewall of the panty.

The war room is down a small set of stairs and is a sizable four-room bunker type area that takes up the entire underside of the home, and it is what most people would call the basement. However, in this compound, it is our war room. Down here, we have a fully functioning underground armory with shooting rage for up to 200 yards. Yes, we dug out that much. I wanted to give my men a place to practice without alerting the neighbors as to what it is, we are truly doing here. We have what I call the screen room, and it houses all the security feeds from all the cameras located throughout the house and the land. A small pantry that houses our rations just in case we ever have to hunker down and stay on-site for any length of time. In other words, this compound can be a self-sustaining little community. We have a large greenhouse where we grow most of the food needed for meals here; we only outsource our meat and eggs from a local farmer. However, that might change in the future.

I also had some barracks built on the property to house up to 200 men or women, that one day we will have on a constant rotation. I bought this property to be able to expand my securities business into armed guards and black ops teams. Currently, my team is fifty men and women strong, and I want to get this area up and running within the next five years or so. Right now, my current order of business is to protect my future, and she is asleep upstairs, utterly unaware of all of this. I look around the Monitor room and step up behind Justin and watch as his fingers fly across the keyboard, looking for any hits on my girl and her family.

Chet steps out when his phone rings, and I try to pay attention to what he is saying, but just then, Justin gets my attention and shows me his update by pointing at the screen in front of him. I take a closer look, and I am livid. Sunny’s family has stated that she is missing, and they fear that drugs and trafficking are involved and now have the FBI trying to track her down to get her into a treatment facility where she escaped. WTF! That is not at all what I wanted to see.

“Justin, can you get ahold of Agent Tibbs and see what you can find out?” I ask him through gritted teeth. He just nods and grabs his phone and dials our friend at the FBI. I need to get ahead of this and figure out how to keep her safe; she is my top priority. Who knew that I would end one long relationship only to jump headfirst into a new one, I was not looking for anything but a few days of escape and found an angel.

At that moment, Justin comes striding back into the room with a massive grin on his face and says, “So Tibbs is the Agent assigned to her case and is on his way here.”

“And how is this good news?” I ask with skepticism.

“He thinks the family is lying and that he has a file a mile long with their shading dealings and is hoping he can turn the daughter to his side and take down not only her family but Mr. Brighton as well.” He answers with a smug smile on his face. I know he has had dealings with Mr. Brighton and his men before, so he is all too happy to strike at him in any way he can.

I know my smile gives me away, and I don’t give two shits about it. “Now, that is great news,” I say to Justin and stride toward the door. “Let me just go and check on Sunny and give her a bit of a heads up before he arrives.” Justin nods and retakes his post in front of the monitors.

I smile as I climb the stairs and make quick work of the distance to the master bedroom where Sunny is still sleeping soundly. I look at her in my bed and wonder when the last time was, she felt safe enough to sleep. I quietly slide in next to her and cuddle for a moment. I am taking in her scent and the way her body presses against me. She sighs and snuggles in deeper, and I can’t help the groan that escapes me. I brush a lock of hair away from her eyes and kiss her cheek and say, “Sunny, Sweets, I need you to wake up for me.”

She stirs slightly, and her eyes slowly open; when she sees me, her eyes light up, and her smile lights up my world. “Wow, I don’t remember the last time I slept so deep.” She stretches and then snuggles back into me, and I hold her tighter. “I could get used to this.” She says in a soft voice.

I grin and kiss her check again and say, “I certainly hope so, I plan on having you in my bed every night from here on out.” I reach into my pocket and take out the ring box and slide the ring onto her finger.

She giggles and says, “Wow, it is stunning,” she looks at the ring and then at me, “However, I would still like to hear the words that go with such a gesture. I mean, it is extremely sudden, don't you think?”

“Is that so?” I say as I climb on top of her. “Sunny,” I kiss her nose, “Will you,” I kiss each of her cheeks and continue, “Do me the honor of marrying me?” I watch her eyes close, and her breath hitches as I kiss down her neck.

“Yes,” She says with a breathy moan.

I chuckle and kiss her sweet, soft full lips in a gentle yet commanding kiss that lets her know she is now mine, and soon I will be claiming everything. I break the kiss and look deep into her eyes and smile. “Thank you, and I will always take care of you. You know that, right?” I ask her softly.

She nods and leans up and gives me a quick kiss before she says, “As crazy as it sounds, yes, I do.”

I smiled and let out the breath I did not know I was holding. “We need to get back downstairs; I have someone from the FBI coming to see you.” I say as calmly as I can and feel her tense up under me, so I continue quickly, “He is a friend of mine, and it seems that your family is claiming you are a druggy and a runaway.”

“What?” she screeches and tries to scramble away from me. I let her up, and she starts to pace the room before she continues. “How can they do this? I am a grown adult.”

I slowly rise from the bed and stroll over to her and take her hands into mine, “I don’t know sweetheart, I just know that this is good news.” I say to her, and she gives me a quizzical look, so I continue. “They think you are just going to roll over and come back to them. I won’t let that happen.” I grit out and pull her to me.

She lets out a small sigh and snuggles in deeper. “I just want to be rid of them at this point.” She whispers. “I just want to feel safe and not have to look over my shoulder anymore.”

“I know, sweets, I know,” I say and kiss the top of her head. There is a knock on the door, and Justin pops his head in.

“Hey boss, Agent Tibbs is here.” He says firmly, yet still gentle in tone.

I nod, and with that, he's gone. I turn back to the lovely creature in my arms and give her a tight squeeze. “We should head down there, dear.”

She nods, and we both make our way downstairs, about halfway down, she looks at me and stops. “What does he wish me to do for him?” she asks in a tentative voice.

“He is going to ask if you would help him put not only your parents behind bars for the crimes they have committed but also to help put away Mr. Brighton as well,” I answer her with as nice a tone as I can muster when talking about those asshats.

She just nods and continues down the stairs.

I follow close behind, trying to think of anything, but what the sight of her swaying ass makes me want to do to her. I am this close to saying screw it and pull her into the nearest closed space and claim her as my own. When we reach the bottom of the stairs, Justin is waiting for us.

~~~

Sunny

Once I reach the bottom step, I stop and take a deep breath and say to myself, ‘This is it. Hopefully, this Agent can help’. I nod to Justin as I pass and enter the large understated comfy looking living room with Logan on my heels. I look around and see a giant of a man standing by the oversized old-world fireplace, and he makes it look small, that is how huge this man is. From the back, I can see his dark hair close crew style haircut and broad shoulders, and I shudder to think if ever I should get on his wrong side because I would be dead before I could even blink. Then he turns around and OH MY GOSH!!! This man is stunning, he has the face of a Greek god just like Logan, and if I didn’t know better, I would say they have to be related in some way, because of the eyes and shape of the nose and overall face now that I am closer. Logan strides right up to him and gives him a big manly bear hug and lifts him slightly off the ground.

“Hey now,” The big bad FBI Agent Tibbs chuckles as Logan sets him back down. “You’ll make me look bad in front of the girl.” He smirks and gives Logan a slight shoulder shove.

To which Logan just laughs and says, “I highly doubt that little bro, but I could tell her your childhood stories if you wish.” Agent Tibbs blanches and shakes his head with a laugh.

He turns to me and puts an outstretched hand and says huskily, “Agent Tibbs, and…” he points at Logan and continues, “This old guy's younger half-brother. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sunny.”

I shake his hand and smile.

“So, we have a lot to discuss, and time is of the issue.” He says as he glides me over to one of the many large comfy couches, and we sit facing each other.

Logan sits down so close to me our legs touch. He gently places his hand on my knee and squeezes. Agent Tibbs sees this and raises his eyebrows a bit and then is back to all business. He takes out two folders brimming with papers and sets them down onto the end table in front of us. He grabs the orange one with my family's name on it and opens it up onto his lap.

“So, this is what I have so far, and what I need from you is confirmation that you have seen this or know maybe a way we can get more on them.” He says with a hint of disdain and hands me several papers to look at, I take the documents, and some are of my father’s financials’ that I recognize; only they have been altered from what I had input into the system. Yet my name is still on the file as the last one to handle them. WTF!!!! I look at the next four pages, and it is the same as the first.

I look up at Agent Tibbs and ask with a shaky voice, “Am I in trouble? Because these are not what I put into the system.” I go back to the first page and point to line five and tell him, “For example, this line was twice the amount it is now, and this one, it was half of what I had input.” I say, pointing two lines down at the loss revenue section. “My father made so much money last quarter that I had to question him if my numbers were correct, and he said yes.” I look at Logan and then Back at Agent Tibbs.

“You’re sure? Can you, by any chance, prove that this was changed?” He asks, hopefully.

“I am not sure; it looks like they changed this using my ID. It looks like I did this, yet I know I did not.” I say again with a soft voice.

Logan looks at Justin and says, “Can you go and see how many times and what time her access was used without being seen. I know that they use our software, so in theory, we should be able to back door in.” Justin nods and hightails it out of the living room and through the kitchen and disappears.

“Okay, so this is good if Logan can get me the information on this case that will help.” Agent Tibbs says and then takes the papers and closes the file and asks, “Are you, or will you be willing to testify against your father if it came to that?”

I look at him and take a deep breath, and I am not sure how I feel about all this. On the one hand, I am hurt and upset with my parents about what they have done to me. But on the other hand, they are still my parents, and I do love them. Ugg…what do I do? I look at Agent Tibbs then at Logan, and both are waiting patiently for my answer. I take one more deep breath and nod. “Yes, I would,” I say with a sigh. “He has to know that there are consciences to his actions, and it seems to me that he is trying to set me up.” I look at Agent Tibbs and continue. “I am not going to allow that, I may seem weak to most, but I am not.”

“Nobody sees you as weak, my dear,” Logan coos from his seat beside me as he twines his fingers in mine. “We will keep you safe and figure out what to do about them using your login.” He says with such a sharp tone that I shiver. “Are you cold? I can get you a blanket or a sweater.” He hops up and is gone before I can say anything.

Agent Tibbs watches him leave and chuckles, “I have never seen him like this, even with his soon to be ex-wife. He must really like you.” He turns back to me and smiles. “I hope he is not scaring you any.” He asks thoughtfully.

I chuckle myself and shake my head before I answer with, “No, he has not scared me yet. Surprisingly enough, he comforts me in a way I have never been. Is that weird, or wrong? I mean, we just met today, and I already feel so connected to him.” I look down at my hands and shrug.

He looks at me and sighs, “Not at all, and I can’t wait for the lightning to hit me.” He says on an airy sigh that you would not expect from a giant of a man such as him. “He is a good man and loves with all his heart and soul. He is also fiercely protective of what he cares about.” He continues and then looks down the hallway before he says, “And I can tell that he truly does care about you. Also, I feel that time is irrelevant if you both feel the same, then go for it.” He grins and places his large hand on top of mine.

I look up at him and give him a shy smile, right as a growl comes from behind me. Agent Tibbs quickly removes his hand and says, “Wow, did you just growl at me?” he is all but laughing as Logan steps in front of me with what looks to be one of his sweatshirts.

Not giving me the option of whether I want to put it on or not, he just slides it onto my head, and I put my arms through the sleeves. I take a deep breath, and it smells like him, I sigh and snuggle into it more. Suddenly I am being lifted, and Logan takes my seat, and I am pulled onto his lap and wrapped up in his arms. Agent Tibbs just chuckles again and shakes his head, but reaches for the next folder, which is red, that can’t be good. He just hands the envelope to me, and I open it to see a picture of me and a note saying the future Mrs. with a date of one year ago on it. WTF!!!

The FBI has known about my dad’s agreement with Mr. Brighten for a year, and I only just found out a few weeks ago. Holy Cow, my family is… fudge, I can’t even wrap my head around all of this. Yet I turn the page and see all the planning with my mother and Mr. Brightens’ team. I take a deep breath and look up at Agent Tibbs and ask, “So what is all this?” I try with all my might to sound confident, but I know I don’t. Because in truth, this scares the crap out of me. It appears that my parents did indeed sell me off to the highest bidder to pay their debts or, at the very least, to pay the man they seem to be laundering money for. Well, Poo on Toast, my life just sucks right now at this realization. The only bright spot is the man under me.

“We have known for a few years now that your parents had intended to have you marry Mr. Brighten, it hit our radar about the time you turned sixteen.” Agent Tibbs says sheepishly as he rubs the back of his neck. Logan’s arms tighten around me, and I hear a low growl again come from him. To this, Agent Tibbs just shakes his head and says, “We had no proof that you did not want this, so we could not act on anything. When Mr. Brightens' office contacted our office asking us to help locate you our suspicions were raised.”

“So, Agent Tibbs,” I start to ask when he cuts in with—

“Please call me Garrett,” he says quickly and looks at Logan for confirmation and continues, “I am sure the growly beast behind you won’t mind too much since you will be family soon enough.”

Logan answers quickly, “This growly beast will allow it this once.” With a chuckle and then he says softer, “If you are okay with that, sweets.”

I swoon every time he calls me sweets or any term of endearment. I nod and continue, “So, Garrett, what can I do, and when do we start all this?” I ask firmly, pulling strength from Logan.

Justin re-enters the living room with a laptop and sets it down on the coffee table and turns the screen for us to see what he is looking at before he says, “It looks like the logins were days apart.” He taps a couple of keys, and the screen changes to show my logins.

“Hey, wait, that one is two days after I left the house,” I say, leaning forward and pointing at the screen. “I was in the middle of the woods and had no access to any electronics.” I look at Logan, and his brows knit together tightly.

“You’re sure?” He asks and I nod. Then he looks at Justin and asks him, “Can you see which IP address they used and where it's located in terms of her location to my property?”

Justin nods and replies, “Already did,” and with a couple more clicks another screen comes up along with an email from my father to someone in Mr. Brighten’s office with all my login information and which lines will need correction. As well as making sure that it looks like she was not at home when she changed the figures to make sure if anything happened, she would take the fall. WTF!!!

I just stare at the screen in horror, my dad was actively trying to set me up, but why, what could, or would he gain out of all of this? I take a deep, shaky breath and shake my head as the tears roll down my cheeks. How could they be so cruel? I thought he loved me, I guess I was just a pawn to them all, and I think that realization hurts the worst. Logan holds me closer, and Garrett hands me a tissue. I just feel like my world is once again on fire with no water in sight to put it out.

Justin has a look of anger and disgust, and I know it's not meant me, but at my family and for that, I understand. He sighs and closes the laptop then looks at me and says, “There is more, but I don’t want to show you. But, know this, you are worth a million of them and in the short time that I have been looking into all that is you, I can tell that you are nothing like them.” He pats my leg and stands and looks at Logan for instruction.

All I can do is just nod. I turn around in Logan’s arm and rest my head into the crook of his neck and sob while he rubs circles on my back. Next thing I know he lifts yet again, and I instinctively wrap my legs around his waist and hold on.

“I am going to take her upstairs, and I will be back once she is better, and then we will make a plan of action,” Logan says to guys, and all I hear is water because my blood is rushing through my veins as I continue to sob into his neck. I don’t hear anything after that as Logan carries me up the stairs and back to his master bedroom.