by Katie Knight
The sound of bare branches rustling in the wind brought him to attention, and he scanned the bank of the frozen river. The footprints ended right where he was standing. A trickle of unease, cold as ice, penetrated him. If the footprints stopped at the river, someone was purposely hiding their tracks, but why, when they’d been left so carelessly by the house? The bomber wouldn’t be oblivious enough to make his presence known and then evaporate into thin air unless he was luring someone away.
Shit. He prayed he was wrong, but he knew in his heart he’d fallen right into a trap and had left Logan and Meg vulnerable.
He had been so caught up in his own head, he hadn’t even considered the idea that the tracks were bait, meant to lure him away. While he’d been distracted, working through the possible scenarios in his head, he’d wandered much farther than he’d intended.
In the distance there was a rumble. It was getting louder, but it sounded like it was off to the side where the cabin was located—and it didn’t sound like a helicopter. He drew in a sharp breath and started to run. What the hell was wrong with him? He should’ve picked up on the fact that he was being separated from the group so the fuckers could apprehend Meg and Logan without his interference. All he could do as he stumbled through the forest was hope Meg had locked the door like he asked, and stayed put inside.
I’m coming for you, Sweetheart.
Chapter Nineteen
Megan sat with Logan as he scarfed down his third pancake, and despite her frustration toward Ben, her heart swelled. It felt good to watch the little boy she loved with her whole heart fill his belly. It had been gut-wrenching over the past few days to hear his stomach grumble when the chips and cookies just weren’t enough. She wanted to get him home, watch his parents surround him with love, and tuck him into his own cozy bed. But until then, she was glad she could give him a good breakfast, and see his happy smile ramp back up to full beam.
“When is Benny comin’ back?” Logan looked up at her, a maple syrup mustache surrounding his chapped lips. They’d done their best to shelter him from the elements, but it was difficult mid-winter. She made a mental note to check the bathroom for something that might help.
“Soon.” She offered her brightest smile, even though inside, she was hollow. She didn’t need a crystal ball to tell her why Ben had left the house. He regretted sleeping with her, and couldn’t face his actions when he woke up this morning beside her. The extreme situation might’ve made him think he had feelings for her when in reality, he didn’t. His rejection stung, and a little voice in her mind whispered, Told you so. She clenched her jaw. What was it about her that made Ben want to shut her out of his life and run?
Logan gasped, dragging her out of her thoughts. “I hear a twain.” His smile widened, and she grinned back.
“I’m not sure about a train, but maybe a helicopter.” She was racing toward the front door, heart bumping inside her chest. Finally, their rescue had arrived. They had survived, and now they could go home. After unlocking the door, she grasped the doorknob and twisted it, but instead of flinging the door open, the dense wood was shoved back directly at her, slamming her against the wall. Her head took a hard hit, and stars danced in her line of sight. Her soul trembled at the sight of a burly man in fatigues who used the opening to shove his way into the house, stalking toward the kitchen table where Logan sat slack-jawed and silent. Ignoring the pounding in her head, she regained her footing, cursing herself with every movement. How stupid could she be? She hadn’t even hesitated to unlock the door, practically inviting the man who wanted to harm them into the safe haven they’d discovered. Logan’s high-pitched scream tore through the house, and she drew in a sharp breath.
Logan was backed up against the wall, and with each menacing step the man took, the little boy cowered until he slid down the plaster and hugged his knees against his chest. The sight of his terror, filled Megan with a fury like nothing she’d ever known before. No one would harm Logan while she was still breathing. No one. She let out a scream—more of a battle cry—and ignored the sharp pain in her head as she ran toward the man. He turned to face her, slashing out with a steel knife. Megan put all her strength into a jumping front kick and her foot connected with his chin with a satisfying crack. Her opponent stumbled back but didn’t go down. Still, it gave her time to regain her footing. She rushed at him again, except this time he faked a move to his left, and when she shielded her side, his colossal fist came around in a right hook, slugging her in the temple.
She fought with everything she had to stay awake, stay moving, fight her way back to the little boy who was screaming her name…but none of it was enough as unconsciousness rose up and swallowed her whole.
Megan groaned and rolled to her side. Her stomach lurched with the movement, and her head throbbed. She sat up slowly, trying to recall how she had ended up on the kitchen floor. When the memory of the attacker walking toward Logan came to mind, she jumped to her feet. The room swayed and pain, bright and blinding, assaulted her. She gripped a kitchen chair and took a few steadying breaths before surveying the room. There was no one here but her. Using the countertops and walls for support, she paced to the open front door in time to see a man riding off with a small bundle in his lap.
She couldn’t have blacked out for more than a minute, but it was long enough for everything to fall apart.
Logan cried out when he noticed her, but the sound faded into the vast air. She sobbed out a breath and ran forward on shaky legs. Something tripped her, and she landed roughly in the snow as the machines disappeared into the distance.
The shriek that tore from her lips was unrecognizable. Her heart was in her throat as she pounded the snow bank with her fists. They’d taken him! The movement sent a bolt of blinding pain careening through her head. Stars flickered in her vision and then everything went black.
“Meg, Meg! Come on, sweetheart. Wake up. Look at me!” Megan lifted her head, which felt utterly numb from being in contact with the snow for who knew how long. Ben was kneeling beside her, both hands on her shoulders.
“They took Logan,” she groaned.
“We’ll get him back, but first we need to get you inside. Do you think you can move? Does your spine hurt?” His brows drew together, and a frown line burrowed deep on his forehead.
“Screw my spine, Ben. Did you hear me?” Her control was slipping, and desperation threaded through her voice. “Logan. Was. Taken,” she panted. “We need to get to him. By some miracle, they didn’t kill him right off the bat, but I’m not going to waste another second.”
“I know, but we have to be smart about—”
She pushed his hand away. “Smart,” she said bitterly. “Like it was smart to leave us vulnerable while you…what? Ran away from your feelings?”
“I found footprints. I thought I could track them back to wherever they were hiding, and I decided to try to get to them before they got to us.” His jaw clenched tightly.
“You should’ve let me know you were going beyond the scope of a ten-minute perimeter check.” She barely recognized the harsh voice ripping from her throat. Of course, she was responsible for Logan’s abduction, too. She’d unlocked the damn door, but she was also angry that Ben let them down. That he allowed his personal feelings to negate his promise to ensure their safety.
“Shit. Meg…I know I screwed up.” He released her and raked both hands through his hair. “But we need to get inside, check your vitals, contact the authorities, and strategize a plan.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “The man had a knife! He was pointing it at Logan. We can’t just mull around waiting.”
“And we can’t run into this blindly,” he shot back.
“Yeah? Tell that to a scared-out-of-his-mind toddler.” She took a step back, out of Ben’s reach. “I’m going after him.”
“Damn it, Meg. You’re going to get yourself killed. How much use will you be to Logan then?” He took a step toward her, then another, and she was afraid he was going to thr
ow her over his shoulder and march her right into the house.
“I can be a distraction until you’re done with your strategizing.” She turned on her heel and began walking in the direction of the tracks. A hand gripped her arm, and she turned sharply to face Ben head on.
“Listen to me,” he said, his voice filled with authority. “I agree we’re going to need to follow the tracks before a rescue team might be able to step in, but if we go off now, without letting anyone else know about it, and we die, Logan won’t have a single chance of being found.” His words were steady, a stark contrast to his intense stare.
She hated that his words made sense.
“And you were right,” Ben continued. “Part of me was running from my feelings when I followed those tracks today. With a birth mom who left me to fend for myself at the ripe age of two and shitty foster parents who constantly bickered about throwing me back into the system, feelings just aren’t my forte.” He let out a long breath and continued. “I grew up believing you can’t trust love. That’s why I mess up with relationships. Not only that, but being with a SEAL isn’t exactly an easy lifestyle. Staying detached always seemed safest for everyone involved—but I couldn’t stay detached from you, and I didn’t know how to handle it. I’m sorry I didn’t protect you and Logan. Sorry I failed.”
Megan schooled her features. Ben had never told her much about his childhood, and she ached for the abandoned little boy he once was. She lowered her gaze to the snow, and her chin quivered. Maybe Ben shouldn’t have let his feelings cloud his judgment, but she had no right to put all the blame on his shoulders. “No one can control everything. We need to stick together for Logan’s sake.”
Ben opened his mouth as if to speak, closed it again, and cleared his throat. “Do you think you can walk?”
“Yeah.” Stars burst behind her eyelids as she took the first step. Not like she’d ever admit that to Ben, because he’d never let her go after Logan if he learned how badly her temples throbbed. The walk to the house was slow, but she made it there without help. Once inside, Ben phoned the authorities as he wore down the kitchen tile with seemingly endless pacing. Watching him, she could see how much he cared for Logan too. It had been wrong of her to make him feel completely at fault.
She just couldn’t stand the fact that she was losing him for the second time. Forcing herself to be useful so they could leave immediately once Ben was off the phone, she started packing a backpack with water and added some first aid supplies she’d discovered in the closet. By Ben’s tense tone, she assumed help was still delayed due to the weather, and they were going to be on their own for a while longer. Megan walked into the kitchen and stashed some non-perishables in the knapsack.
Ben was just ending the call, and Megan paused, one hand still on the cabinet handle.
“The skies are still too unpredictable. The police think it’s best if we stay here.” His words were terse, and she could tell he wasn’t thrilled by the news.
“And is that what you want?” she said in a quiet voice that might as well have been a scream.
“Hell no. I’m going after him. I can’t sit by and wait for sunshine and clear skies.” He walked over to her and smoothed his hand down the back of her head. She savored the simple touch. Any could be their last. “It would give me peace of mind to know you’re here, out of harm’s way.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I can’t wait for sunshine and clear skies any better than you.”
“If you have a concussion, you need to take it easy,” he said, peering inside the open knapsack. “Thank you for packing supplies,” he murmured.
She wished she could dismiss him as some chauvinist who thought her place was packing care packages instead of going out and fighting, but that wasn’t him at all. Although Ben would stand and protect anyone who needed it without question, he’d never been sexist about women in the military or even serving in combat zones. He valued the perspective of women and knew they could be just as lethal on the battlefield as their male counterparts. In college, he’d written a paper on female roles in the armed forces, and she’d helped him by reviewing it. No, his concern had nothing to do with the fact that she was female, and everything to do with that fact that he cared for her, even if he was unwilling to admit it.
Once upon a time, she believed her love could heal his wounded heart. That was before he told her about his family, before she understood how deeply rooted his issues were. She was foolish to think she could be enough to fill up that empty space inside his heart.
Ben wasn’t ready to love or to let himself be loved. Maybe he never would be. Ben had decided being a SEAL was all he could commit to. She wasn’t enough to change his mind or to chase away his demons, he needed to do that for himself.
She couldn’t blame him for being who he was—and now wasn’t the time to nurse her wounded heart. Ben might never be the lover and husband she’d hoped he could be…but he was still her partner when it came to taking care of Logan, just as he had been since he’d talked her through how to handle a plane crash. She could trust that Ben would do everything in his power to get Logan out of danger, and she would do everything she could to help.
In this, if in nothing else, they were united.
Chapter Twenty
“Charles and Susan need to hear this from me. They need to know we’re going after Logan now.” Megan paced, trying to work off some of the anxiety that was clutching at her chest. Her fingers tingled, and her throat was tight. She’d only had one panic attack in her life, following the mugging incident, but now her skin was crawling, and a wave of heat was working its way up her back and around her neck.
“Breathe,” Ben crossed the room and put both hands on her shoulders. “You’re going to make yourself sick—sicker than you already are after that blow to the head. If you were to stay here while I go after Logan, you could inform the police of what happened when they arrive.”
“There’s no way I’m staying behind.” She needed to get to Logan and see with her own eyes that he was still unharmed. After planting a bomb inside an aircraft, it made no sense that Slocum would decide not to kill Logan. “I keep wondering why they didn’t harm him, and what they have planned for him that could be worse.” She bit her bottom lip, tasted blood. She wasn’t naïve. Some monsters would delight in torturing an innocent child.
“Maybe when push came to shove, he couldn’t go through with it. It’s one thing to talk about taking revenge—but it’s another to kill a scared, crying kid who’s standing in front of you.” Ben ran his hands up and down her arms.
If only she could lean into his embrace and take the comfort he was trying to offer. Instead, she froze and took a step back. She couldn’t let herself lean on Ben—not when he wouldn’t be there at her side for much longer. “I’m going to call Logan’s parents.” She lifted the phone to her ear, then turned her back to him. The phone rang once, then twice, and her stomach hardened into a painful knot. For a moment, she expected the call to go to voicemail, but then she heard Susan’s voice on the line.
“Oh, Megan, I’m so sorry the rescue team has been delayed again.” Susan’s voice broke. “Please know Charles and I are doing everything in our power to get them to come, but so far it’s been fruitless. There’s no sum of money they’d accept. They say there are protocols and—”
“There’s something I need to tell you.” Her breath left her lungs in a whoosh, as she gathered her composure.
“Oh, God. What is it? Meg, tell me.” Her voice hardened, and Megan choked down the lump in her throat.
“Mark Slocum has Logan,” she said softly, and the knife in her chest twisted when Susan’s ragged sobs echoed on the other end of the line. “I’m so sorry. I thought the noise outside was the helicopter…I opened the door.” She whispered the last words, still in complete disbelief that she’d been so stupid. If she hadn’t unlatched the lock, maybe the door would have been enough of an obstacle for Ben to have time to circle back and take control of
the situation.
Ben sidled up to her, rested a comforting hand on her shoulder, and whispered in her ear. “Do you want me to talk her down?”
All she could do was nod. She passed over the phone and hugged her arms around her waist tuning out Ben’s murmuring voice as he spoke to Susan. She’d thought she was helpless after the plane crashed when she couldn’t provide Logan with enough food to eat. That was nothing compared to this feeling of helplessness. This raw wound growing each moment they stayed in this house. What was happening to Logan? Were they hurting him? An image of his little chin wobbling very nearly broke her.
“Come here,” Ben’s steady voice penetrated her awful, racing thoughts. He sat next to her, then lifted her onto his lap. There was nothing sexual about his embrace. He was acting as a human fortress to shelter her as she sobbed, and she leaned into him. She’d regret it later, but right now she’d accept anything that would help her pull herself together so they could do what needed to be done. They had to find Logan at all costs. She was unsure how much time had passed, but when she finally caught her breath, she was exhausted and fell limply against Ben’s chest.
“We’re going to get through this. Logan is going to get through this,” he said with such conviction in his voice, she actually believed him.
She nodded. “There’s no alternative I’ll accept.”
“You know I’ll do anything in my power to give Logan the best possible outcome.” He was smoothing his hand over her back in circular motions.