The Boys Club (10 page)

“How’s she doing?” Jack asked when
Logan walked back into the living room and sat on the couch.

“She’s struggling, like we thought,” he said.

Charlie came into the room. “Just heard from Kyle. They got
a call from the other team and all is good there.”

“How’s Mary?” Logan asked.

“Surprisingly well,” Charlie said. “Then again, she’s been
awake for about half a day longer than Sara. They explained everything to her
and she seems to understand what’s going on. She’s worried about Sara, of
course.”

“Of course,” Jack said. He turned to Logan. “How much more
time do you think we should give her before we’re ready to move her?”

“As much time as she needs,” Logan said.

“Staying out in the open for too much longer isn’t good for
any of us,” Jack said. “We should just go in there now and—”

“No,” Logan said. “We’re going to give her time to adapt
before Charlie and I approach her again.”

“Are you sure you don’t need help?” Jack asked.

Logan glanced at his friend. He knew he was trying to help,
much as Charlie had been earlier, but it still bothered him that Jack was so
eager to talk to Sara. He was glad that he chose Charlie to speak with her.
Jack was much too blunt to be in there with him. There was one thing, however,
with which Jack could assist.

“I may need your help, actually,” Logan said. “Sara likes to
run, so if she’s doing better tomorrow morning, maybe we can take her out
around the property.”

“I’m sure not going to volunteer for that,” Charlie said.
“Les might want to go, though.”

Logan realized he hadn’t seen Lester most of the afternoon.
“Where is Les?”

“He slept for a few hours and then went outside to tinker
around with the cars in the barn,” Jack said. “You know he can’t sit still for
long.”

Part of the appeal of the safe house for Logan had been the
extra two cars in the barn. He had chosen the location partly because of the
additional means to get away if needed and he was glad to hear Lester worked to
keep them in good condition.

“Hungry?”

Logan turned around to see Charlie holding out a plate of
food. “Not right now. Thanks, though.” He pushed off from the couch and moved
down the hallway back to Sara’s door. He stared at the door for a moment, and
then dug in his jeans pocket for the key to the room. Only he and Charlie
possessed keys to her room and he intended to keep it that way.

He slid the key into the lock and rotated it until it click.
Taking it out of the door, he put his hand on the doorknob, but hesitated
before entering. He knew it was too soon to go back in and talk to her, but he
also had a desperate need to put her at ease and not let her sit too long
thinking they had kidnapped her for malicious reasons.

Instead of entering her room, he left the door unlocked.
Leaning against the wall, he sat on the carpet next to the closet door. It
wouldn’t be long before she decided to come out and talk.

Sara had consumed almost all of her
plate of food when she heard the click of the lock. She watched the door for a
moment, but no one came through.

She set her plate down on the floor and cautiously rose from
the bed and crept over to the door. She stood still for a moment before putting
her ear to the door. No noises penetrated the wood, piquing her curiosity.

She moved back to the bed and finished her meal, keeping her
eyes on the door. No one entered, not while she ate and not while she sat
still, waiting for someone to turn the knob. She wondered if Logan was testing
her to see if she would try to escape.

Sara decided to take her mind off the unlocked door by
taking a shower. Seeing the missing shower curtain and no lock on the bathroom
door dismayed her, but she had to shower at some point. Logan seemed genuine
about not wanting to search her and she had no reason to think he would
embarrass her by barging through a closed bathroom door. With him in charge of
the others, she figured he’d keep everyone else in line as well.

The only question she had, besides why they kidnapped her
was why there was a mattress on the floor by the door. She imagined they took
turns sitting there while she slept, but she felt a bit awkward about someone
being in the room while she rested.

In the bathroom, Sara turned the showerhead toward the wall
so the water wouldn’t soak the floor too much. She stripped her clothes and
laid them on top of the vanity countertop. After she climbed into the shower,
she regretted breaking the mirror in the bathroom. She thought having a weapon
would better her position, but she only ended up hurting Logan. She had never
done anything like that to another person, and though remorse tugged at her
heart over doing it, at least they knew she would fight back if pushed.

Sara finished her shower while wondering where Stephen was
and if he was looking for her. Surely he knew she was missing, but did he miss
her as much as she missed him? She wished she could see him now, but Logan’s
words about her not loving Stephen plagued her heart. Logan had also said that
she didn’t want to marry Stephen, as if he knew Stephen and didn’t approve of
him. Yet out of all of Stephen’s friends, she had never met Logan before, or
even Charlie. Maybe she would recognize one of the other two men in the house
as an acquaintance of Stephen’s.

Dressed in the clothing she had on before, she contemplated
asking one of the men to bring the suitcase back so she could find something
else to wear. It would be a good excuse for opening the door. They might even
let her out a bit, giving her a glimpse of the rest of the house. If she could
map out the rest of her location, she might be able to find a way out.

First things first, she thought. She walked over to the
boarded up window and examined it. Screws held the board into the wall on all
sides. Though she knew it wouldn’t open, she pressed her fingers into the right
side of the board and tugged. Nothing.

Sara leaned over and squinted as she studied one of the
screws. They had used screws that required a funny shaped screwdriver, one that
looked like a hexagon, she determined by counting the number of sides inside
the little hole. She only knew about flatheads and Phillips screwdrivers from
helping her mom fix things around the house as a kid. If they had used one of
those types of screws, she could have figured out a way to open it, using a
nail file, a pair of tweezers, or a knife, if she could get access to them.

She moved away from the window. Her escape would not be
through there. She stared at the doorknob, inching closer to it. Just one
little, quick turn of the knob and she could leave the room and find someone,
hopefully Charlie.

She sealed her hand over the knob and opened the door before
she lost her courage. She lifted a leg to walk out, but froze when she saw the
wall in front of her. Turning left, she took careful steps down the small
hallway. Only when she reached the light at the end of the hall and saw Logan
sitting against the wall in another bedroom did she realize her room was hidden
behind a closet. She sucked in her breath, worried he would get mad at her for
leaving her room.

“Hi, Sara,” he said, as he got to his feet. “How was your
meal?”

She hesitated before answering, wondering if his warm tone
and question were a trick. “Um, good.”

“What can I help you with?”

She looked around the bedroom and every plan she had thought
up for escape quickly left her mind. There was no getting through this maze and
into the main house without someone noticing.

“Sara?”

She stumbled a bit on her words before asking, “Is Charlie
here?”

“I can get him for you.”

“I think I’m ready to listen to what you have to say.”
Though deceiving him with her words, she didn’t know what else to tell him
except what he wanted to hear.

“Why don’t you take a seat in your room and I’ll grab
Charlie?”

Her nerves shot up with his words. She wanted to find a way
to escape, instead of listening to some fanatical tale they probably made up to
make her think they were good people, but she had no way out. If she tried to
run, Logan would catch her before she got more than a couple feet away. Best to
go back into the room and listen to them. If she could convince them that she
trusted them, maybe that trust would go both ways. Once she earned their trust,
they would afford her more leniency and allow her to freely move around the
house. Then she’d escape.

Logan shut the door behind Sara and
locked it. She had lied to him when she said she was ready to talk. She only
opened the door to push her boundaries, but had to come up with a viable excuse
when she saw him sitting there. He wasn’t about to take a chance that she would
attempt an escape if he left the door unlocked with no guard.

He found Charlie in the living room with Lester watching a
national news station that had on information about Sara’s kidnapping.

“Any news of importance?” Logan asked.

“Nothin’,” Lester said.

“They have no leads and no ransom demand has been made,”
Charlie said. “Which we already knew. Oh, they’ve issued a reward for her safe
return.”

“How much?” Logan asked.

“Two hundred grand,” Charlie said. “Langston and Mathers
each contributed to the pot.”

Logan laughed and shook his head. “They’re billionaires and
that’s the value they assigned her life?”

“Are you gonna tell her?” Lester asked.

“No,” Logan said. “It’s better not to say anything to her
that she might construe as positive, even if we know it’s a measly amount.”

“Good point,” Charlie said.

“Speaking of which,” Logan said, “she’s ready for us.”

“Already?” Charlie asked, as he stood up.

“I tricked her into it. She’s still looking for a way to
escape, so we need to watch her closely. Just ease her into this. Let’s not hit
her with everything all at once.”

“Got it,” Charlie said.

After grabbing a chair from the kitchen, Logan followed
Charlie into her room, where Sara sat cross-legged in the middle of her bed.
She seemed to relax at the sight of Charlie, but tensed when she laid eyes on
Logan. Her body language convinced Logan he needed to stay in the background of
the conversation and contribute as little as possible to it.

He set the chair down for Charlie. Moving to the wall behind
him, he stood off to the side so he could study Sara as she spoke. With Charlie
guiding the conversation, it gave Logan a chance to watch Sara and determine
where she was in terms of accepting the truth. He didn’t expect it to happen
today, but he hoped she was at least a little closer by the end of their
conversation.

“Why did you kidnap me?” she asked Charlie.

“What do you know about your father?” he asked.

Her gaze wavered. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“How much do you know about what he does?”

“I don’t understand. What does he have to do with kidnapping
me?”

Logan picked up on the frustration in her voice. “You do
accounting for him, right?” he asked.

“I try.”

“Try?” Charlie asked.

“I mean… yes, I do. For one of his smaller companies.”

“Have you ever noticed anything out of sorts?”

Logan almost stopped Charlie from asking the question.
Sara’s furrowed brow and constant fiddling with her necklace not only gave him
the answer, but revealed her discomfort with the topic.

“I don’t understand what this has to do with you kidnapping
me.”

Logan stepped up to the bed, unable to keep out of the
conversation like he wanted. He knelt at the side of the bed, diagonal to her,
in order to keep her at ease and not feel threatened. Softening his voice, he
said, “You’ve noticed some discrepancies, right? Things you can’t figure out or
explain?”

She turned to him, fear flooding her eyes alongside her
tears. “Is that why you kidnapped me? Did I do something wrong? I won’t ask
about it anymore if that’s what you want.” Her chin quivered and she rubbed her
forehead. “I just want to go home.”

Logan wanted to put her at ease, but didn’t know how.
“Charlie, this isn’t working. Can you give me a minute with her?”

Sara lifted her head and her chest heaved with deep, frantic
breaths, as if he had asked Charlie to leave so he could kill her.

He placed his hand on her knee and caught her eyes. “Sara, I
am not going to hurt you.”

Charlie stood up. “Let me know when you need me.”

Logan nodded at him and waited for him to leave. He took a
seat in the chair and pulled it up so he sat inches in front of Sara. “I’m not
going to hurt you. I meant what I said earlier. My job is to protect you. I
need you unharmed and in one piece.”

Her tears slowed and her tongue darted across her lips.
“Okay,” she said with a shaky voice.

“There’s no easy way to tell you this, so I’m just going to
tell you and whatever happens, happens. The reason Charlie asked about your
father and your job is that those discrepancies are why you’re here. I don’t
work for your father, but I think you understand that he’s not on the level.
You wouldn’t be so frightened if you didn’t know at least that much.”

“I’m starting to learn that.”

“Good,” he said. “It’s important you know that so you
understand why we took you.”

“How did you save my life?”

Her innocent question squeezed his heart. He wished he had
told Schaffer to leave it up to the feds to talk to her about Langston and
Mathers, but the situation left Logan little choice but to convince her of the
truth and do the job the feds couldn’t.

“If you had married Mathers today and gone on your
honeymoon, you would not have come home alive.”

Her expression cleared and her lips parted. “Why not?”

“Because your father hired someone to kill you.”

Sara pulled her head back and her eyes widened. “What?”

“Your father hired someone to kill you because of the
questions you were asking about the discrepancies in the accounts. We kidnapped
you so that wouldn’t happen.”

Her hands clasped the back of her neck. She rocked back and
forth, her face contorting as she digested his words.

“The organization I work for needs you alive,” he said. “I
need you alive. So does the FBI.”

Her eyes turned to him at his last words. “FBI?”

Logan recognized from her change of tone that he went too
far. He never should have pursued the direct route and he should have left the
conversation in Charlie’s capable hands. Instead, he backed himself into a
corner with the mention of the FBI. Anything short of a full confession could
make the situation worse.

“What does the FBI have to do with this?” she asked.

“They want to put you into WITSEC so you can testify against
your father.”

“What’s WITSEC?”

“The Witness Security Program.”

“You mean witness protection?” She dropped her hands and
smiled. “Witness protection?”

Her laugh set Logan back on all the progress he thought he
had made. “Sara, this isn’t a joke. It’s very serious and your life is at
stake.”

“Witness protection,” she said again, as if not hearing him.
“I guess I should give you credit for coming up with an interesting explanation
for kidnapping me.”

“It’s the truth.”

“Yeah, because the FBI goes around kidnapping people to
place them in witness protection.”

“I’m not with the FBI. I was hired to take you to them.”

She threw her arms to the side. “Then where are they? I’ve
not met one FBI agent during the entire time you’ve held me against my will.”

“They couldn’t approach you in your daily life without your
father knowing about it.”

“Why not? What organization are you with that advocates
kidnapping?”

Logan held his breath and bit back any words he might
regret. Her questions were becoming more sarcastic and thinning his patience.
“The organization I work for helps with things that fall outside the parameters
of the law.”

She watched him for a moment. “So you’re a criminal.”

“Not exactly—”

“The FBI hired some criminals with a criminal organization
to kidnap me and keep me captive so that my father, who they call a criminal,
couldn’t have me killed on my honeymoon. That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve
ever heard.”

Logan pushed his chair back and stood up. He held up his
hand, but closed his mouth before he could say anything. Picking up the chair,
he left the room and locked it behind him. There was no reasoning with her. The
information needed to sit with her for a bit, where it could hopefully
penetrate her resistant attitude.

He had told Charlie not to hit her with everything at once
and then he did it himself. He should have listened to his instincts instead of
taking the direct path. She needed an hour, maybe longer. That was if he
decided to go back in there before she fell asleep. He didn’t have much
tolerance left.

In the living room, he greeted Jack and Charlie. Before they
could ask any questions, he made his way down the main hall to the front door.
A cool breeze met him, as he stepped off the front porch and into the large
yard. He moved to the shady oak tree and leaned against the bark. Looking up
into the night sky, he stared at the full moon. He pulled in a deep breath,
letting the air open his lungs and calm him.

The moon called to him, hypnotizing him with its memories.
Karen always loved full moons, one of the many wonders of nature in which she
found delight. Whenever the sky granted them one, she would stay up late just
to see it among the stars. He couldn’t count the number of times she had
dragged him outside to take a look with her. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind
that she watched it with him now.

His chest swelled with the pain that accompanied thoughts of
her and he closed his eyes. He had only spoken with Sara a handful of times and
already the job had taken its toll. He wondered if he was being hard on Sara
because of the things her father had done, though he couldn’t blame her for her
lineage.

Schaffer was right to put Logan on the job, but he may have
been wrong to put him in charge. Logan wasn’t able to protect Sara any more
than he could save Karen, not just because of who was after him, but because of
how Sara’s indirect association with Karen affected him. He turned to go back
inside the house so he could call Schaffer for guidance.

Walking into the living room, he noticed on Charlie on the
couch. “Where’s Jack?” he asked.

“He just went to bed.”

“Do you mind going to check on Sara? See if she needs
anything, food or water, a breathing treatment, whatever.”

Charlie nodded. “I’ll make sure she’s okay.”

“Don’t mention anything else to her,” Logan said. “She’s had
enough for one night.”

Charlie disappeared down the hallway, leaving Logan alone to
use the phone. He spoke briefly to Kyle before Schaffer came on the line.

“I need you to put someone else in charge,” Logan told him
after they exchanged greetings.

“And why is that?”

“I’m no longer effective.”

After a long pause, Schaffer blew out his breath into the
phone. “Sorry, Logan. I’m not reassigning the job.”

Logan hesitated. Schaffer would never leave someone in a
position if they couldn’t do the job, but Logan no longer believed he could
perform as expected. “I need you to. Jack is just as capable—”

“Jack doesn’t have your experience. You’re also vested in
seeing this job through to the end and making sure it’s a success.”

“That’s precisely why I need you to put Jack in charge. I’m
too vested. I made a mistake tonight and I don’t want to be in the position to
make another one.”

“What mistake?”

“I gave Sara too much information at once. She wasn’t ready
and I tried forcing it. Now she thinks we’re all crazy. She won’t listen to the
truth, especially coming from me.”

“Yes, that was a mistake, but you’re the one who came to me
and hinted that there’s a leak. If for no other reason than that, I need you in
charge. I wouldn’t put you in this position if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.
There’s no one else who can—”

“There has to be.”

“There isn’t. I know how hard this is, but Sara had nothing
to do with Karen’s death. She has nothing to do with anything that Langston or
Mathers or anyone else has done.”

“I know.”

“Then quit blaming her. You need to see her as a person,
separate from Langston and Mathers. Get to know her. Recognize she’s someone
who needs our help. Your help.”

Logan knew pushing the subject would end with another
admonishment. If there was a leak, no one else could ensure Sara’s safety.
Passing her off to someone else could get her killed.

“Can you handle that?” Schaffer asked.

“Yeah,” Logan said. “I thought about taking her out in the
morning to run with me and Jack.”

“That’s a start.”

“Any news on the leak?”

“I’ve been examining your recent jobs to look at your teams.
I’ve also reviewed all of the debriefs.”

“And?”

“And nothing. You consistently use the same teams on your
jobs. Nothing stood out as being odd in the debriefs.”

“Who knew about my jobs?”

“Jack, Les, Charlie, Kyle, Doctor Connors, and myself.
Occasionally you use Austin or Phil.”

“I trust all of them, which is why I use them all the time.
What about the intel from this job? Is there anything unusual about that
besides the amount of it?”

“I have a friend at the bureau looking into that.”

“When will they be ready for us to bring her in?”

“Three more days. Can you manage?”

“Yeah, but this is it for me. I’m taking time off after
we’re done here.”

“Take as much time as you need, but when you come back, I’m
taking you out of the field except for a job here and there. Time for me to
start thinking about retirement and time for you to take over. If you still
want to, that is.”

“I do,” Logan said. “You saved my life and gave me a second
chance. We need to continue that work for others like me.”

“Good. I don’t want anyone other than you in this position.
Karen would have wanted that for you, too.”

Logan didn’t respond directly to the statement, but instead
ended the call. He didn’t want to think about his future, but Karen did want
him to be happy with everything he did. She reminded him every second of the
three years he spent rebuilding roads with a construction crew of how much he
needed to go back to The Boys Club and do what he loved. The problem with
pursuing that path presented itself when Langston had a bomb planted in his
car. Now that Logan was alone without his wife, spending his remaining working
years heading up The Boys Club wasn’t such a bad idea.