Christmas Conspiracy

by Robin Perini

  “How do you survive?”

  “A bit of horse breeding, and my investigative and security work.”

  She arched a brow. “I thought most investigators worked out of a bad neighborhood and barely made ends meet.”

  “I deal in international security,” Logan said. “My interests are more…complex than your standard P.I.”

  “You mean dangerous,” Kat said. “How did you come to work for the king?”

  “I met him through your half brother, Prince Stefan,” Logan said quietly.

  Kat’s eyes dimmed. “You knew my brother?”

  “Yeah.” Logan thought of the last time he’d seen Stefan. Across the ballroom. Minutes before the bomb blew the royal court to smithereens.

  The scar on his cheek burned, a reminder of how he’d fought to find Stefan, but hadn’t been able to find him in the burning wreckage. The only reason he and Leopold were alive was they’d stepped out into the hallway for yet another argument seconds before the blast.

  Forensic teams were still trying to identify the bodies from the area where Stefan had been. What a tragic waste.

  A loud whinny sounded from a barn and Tim raced out of the red building into the attached paddock, followed by a very angry horse.

  Tim vaulted over the fence and Prancer rose and batted the air with his hooves.

  “Tim!” the foreman yelled. “What the hell is going on?”

  The man came to a halt and let out a sigh. “Apparently Prancer isn’t in the mood to donate and ensure his future bloodline.”

  “Amateur,” the foreman muttered. “Lucky the damn horse didn’t get hurt.”

  Tim bowed his head.

  Hayden put his fists on his hips and glared at the foremen. “You said a bad word. You’re not s’posta do that.”

  Logan snorted. “You tell him, Hayden.”

  “Great. Even the boss’s kid is a boss.” The foreman strode into the pen, but the stallion backed away, rising up. Within a few minutes, it was clear the man was getting nowhere with the riled horse.

  Before Logan could say a word, Kat strode across the dirt and straight to the pen. He followed, but didn’t stop her when she shoved through the gate.

  “Let me try.”

  The man hesitated to give up his ground. “He’s an awful big horse for a little girl like you.”

  She gave the foreman a sharp look, and he met Logan’s gaze in supplication.

  “Let her do it,” Logan said. Heck, he would’ve given Kat her way in a heartbeat if she’d given him that kind of glare.

  The foreman picked up his Stetson, dusted it off and set it back on his head. “He’s all yours. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Kat eased toward the wild-eyed stallion. At first, he paced back and forth nervously, bolting once when she got too near. But slowly, her voice falling to a whisper, she gentled the animal.

  The horse’s flanks quivered as she came closer.

  “Easy boy. Everything is going to be just fine. They were just trying to rush things a little, weren’t they.” She held out her hand and moved within a few feet.

  The horse’s ears twitched, but he stayed still as Kat closed the distance between them. “That’s right. You don’t have to be afraid of me. I’ll take care of you.”

  Prancer flicked his head, then nudged her with his nose and she rubbed the velvety softness.

  “Yeah, those men don’t know how to take care of a big boy like you, do they?” she murmured, her hand slipping to his back. “No appreciation for the subtleties, hmm, you handsome animal?”

  The horse snorted and Logan grinned as his foreman’s mouth dropped open. Kat had the horse practically purring in a matter of seconds.

  “Me, too, Mommy!” Hayden called out. “I do it!”

  Logan’s gaze whipped to his son. Everyone had been so focused on the out-of-control horse they’d lost sight of Hayden. He’d toddled too close to the bull pen.

  The Triple C’s prized breeding bull, Sweetness, his red eyes narrowed, stared at Hayden. The bull was over twenty-five hundred pounds of mean. The animal snorted and pawed at the dirt.

  Logan’s heart sank into his belly.

  He raced toward his son.

  Hayden just smiled up at the bull and stepped closer. “Hi, han’som manimal.”

  Chapter Five

  Logan scooped Hayden up in one arm and darted safely away from the bull. Logan’s knees shook as he carried the boy to the steps, sat him down and knelt in front of him. “Don’t…” Logan started, his heart still pounding wildly. “Don’t ever do that again. You never go near the animals like that, son. Do you understand?”

  Hayden stuck out his lower lip. “Mommy did.”

  “Mommy has training. And she’s an adult.”

  Kat came and stood by Logan’s side, visibly shaking as she confronted Hayden. “What did we tell you when we came out here? Stay with a grown-up. Time out. Now.”

  Hayden crossed his little arms in front of him. “Lanie’s not with a gwown-up. She’s with a kitty.”

  Logan looked around, searching for his daughter. “Where is Lanie?” His heart stuttered. He scanned the pens, the outside of the barn, the yard. No pink coat. His little girl was nowhere in sight.

  “Logan, I don’t see her. She was here a second ago!”

  “Find Lanie!” he shouted to his men, who split off to look.

  “Logan, where would she go?” Kat cried. “Where’s the kitten?”

  Gretchen came out on the porch. “What’s going on?”

  “Lanie is missing.” Kat carried Hayden up the stairs. “Gretchen, please take him in the house and put him under lock and key while we look for Lanie.”

  Gretchen took Hayden and turned toward the door.

  “Gretchen, wait!” Logan shouted. “Do you know where the orange barn cat had her litter? Lanie was playing with one of the kittens a few minutes ago.”

  Fear crossed the housekeeper’s face and she glanced over at the construction zone, with its huge piles of broken wood and old, rusty nails. “She always had her litters in the barn you tore down.”

  Cursing, Logan headed for the yellow construction tape. He’d recently had the oldest barn on the property torn down and there was still debris everywhere. During their tour of the ranch, this had been the one area Logan had absolutely forbidden the kids to go.

  Except the stacks of lumber would be a perfect place for a mother cat to hide her kittens.

  Lanie had behaved so much more passively than her brother, Logan had been more afraid that Hayden would cross the barrier.

  One by one, his hands came out from inside and behind buildings shaking their heads. This was a nightmare. How had he ever thought he could be a good father? He couldn’t even keep track of two little kids. If anything happened…

  Logan cupped his hands. “Lanie!”

  Kat joined him, calling her daughter’s name.

  “Mommmmmy,” a little girl’s voice cried faintly.

  Logan spun around. “Wait! I heard something!”

  The sound had come from behind the construction tape.

  “Lanie!” he called again. He ducked under the tape and stomped through the rubble. “Where are you, baby?”

  “Logan,” Kat shouted, heading toward the farthest corner. “I think she’s that way.”

  He twisted back around a stack of corrugated roofing tin in the direction she pointed. The other ranch hands followed him into the area and spread out, periodically calling his daughter’s name.

  He headed for the biggest pile and peered under the debris, desperation rising in the back of his throat. He had to find her.

  “Daaddddyyyy…” Her tiny wail echoed eerily. “I fall down. I stuck!”

  “She’s nearby. Search for a hole!” he called out to his hands.

  Rafe and Zane, his computer expert, appeared by his side. “Gretchen called us. What’s happening?”

  “Lanie’s disappeared out here somewhere,” Logan said, his voice gritty and dete
rmined.

  “We’ll find her.” Rafe stood by his side.

  “Lanie, keep calling out, honey,” Kat called.

  His baby girl whimpered. “I hurt, Daddy. Mommmmmy. Help me.”

  Every cry shredded Logan’s soul. He’d seen men die—his men. He’d regretted every lost life, but nothing had prepared him for his child being hurt and afraid.

  “I falling!” She screamed louder.

  He and Kat raced past the old barn’s foundation toward the pasture. Surely she hadn’t gone this far. “Yell, Lanie,” he shouted. “Daddy will find you.”

  The men had quieted, straining to listen.

  There was no sound.

  Chills prickled down Logan’s back.

  “Lanie!”

  He turned back and looked at Kat, the desperation in her eyes nearly crippling him.

  He scanned the area. Where could she be? There was one last dump site. The hairs on the back of his neck tingled. He didn’t ignore his instincts. Ever. He shoved at another of the twisted remains of the barn’s metal roof and reeled back in horror at a pile of rubble.

  The old stone well.

  No telling how deep.

  The planking had broken through.

  “Lanie?” He cleared some boards and peered into the dark depths. He gasped. Lanie rested on a thin ledge of earth and rock, blood trickling down her cheek. Unmoving. Her eyes closed.

  “I found her! Get Doc.”

  Logan reached in, but his little girl was too far away. Kat hovered beside him, choking back sobs.

  His men raced over, Logan cursed as more stones and debris shook loose inside the well. Logan studied the precarious situation. The earth movers had made the entire area around the well unstable. He had to get her out of there fast. “I need a rope.”

  Rafe stopped behind him. “You going in?”

  “Yeah, the ledge is crumbling.”

  A ranch hand ran up, bearing a rope. Logan wrapped part of it around his waist, then leaned into the well. “Hang on to this in case the well collapses.”

  The men grabbed the rope and Rafe guided Logan down. He eased the five feet to where his daughter lay. Dirt sifted alongside of him.

  “Get her now, Logan,” Rafe said. “It’s starting to cave.”

  One hand gripping her coat, Logan swiftly checked her arms and legs. She didn’t look hurt, but there was no real oxygen down there. Her face was freezing, her lips tinged blue. He got a grip under her arms and pulled her to him.

  “Get us out of here,” he called.

  As the men tugged Logan and Lanie toward the top, she blinked her eyes and those baby blues opened to him. She looked startled, then sniffed. “I’m c-cold.”

  “I know, baby. We’re going inside by the fire. Right now.”

  She nodded and reached her arms around his neck.

  Within seconds, the men helped them out.

  “Lanie!” Kat cried, running, hugging her child. Tears stained both of their cheeks. “Baby girl, don’t scare Mommy again like that. Please.”

  Logan drew Kat in close and the three of them just stood together for a minute. “Doc will check her out. I think we’ve all had enough fun for one day.”

  As he carried Lanie toward the house, Logan started to shake. His first morning on the job as a father and both kids had nearly died. He had a lot to learn about toddlers. They weren’t even three and they’d already locked on to danger like heat-seeking missiles. He couldn’t wait for their teenage years.

  * * *

  THE FIRE ROARED in the fireplace, and the chill finally left Kat’s hands. The ranch hands had gone back outside after hovering over Lanie while Doc checked her out and declared her bruised but okay.

  Rafe and Zane had disappeared down the stairs. The family was alone. Sort of.

  Kat settled in the leather sofa, spreading a soft blanket over her and her daughter. “You okay, sweetie?”

  “I want Cinderella Band-Aids. They gots the wrong kind.”

  “We don’t have any here, honey.”

  Lanie frowned, looking like a tantrum might ensue.

  Hayden came over to his sister. “You got lots of owies.”

  The admiration in his voice seemed to perk Lanie up.

  Logan poured two fingers of whiskey and gave Kat a questioning glance. She shook her head. She didn’t need anything else to make her feel like a rotten mother but was sorely tempted after the morning.

  Gretchen came in bearing a tray with milk and chocolate chip cookies. “Who wants a treat?”

  The cavalry, thank goodness. The question distracted Lanie and she pushed off the couch as Gretchen placed the cookies on the large coffee table.

  “That produced a quick recovery,” Kat said to Gretchen as the kids leaned over the tray.

  “Never underestimate the curative powers of chocolate chip cookies.”

  Hayden’s hand hovered over the cookie and he gave his mother a pleading glance. “Please, Mommy.”

  “Have you been a good boy today?”

  His head dropped and he shook it. “No. I’m naughty.”

  Kat couldn’t help but smile. If nothing else, her son told the truth.

  “Are you sorry for not minding me and Daddy?”

  He nodded and turned to her. “I sorry, Mommy.”

  She smiled. “Then I think one cookie is okay.”

  Hayden grinned and threw himself into her arms and gave her a big kiss before bouncing back to the table. “You get two cookies, Lanie. Cause you have owies.”

  He gave his sister two cookies. “Here’s the big ones.”

  Kat blinked back her tears. What had she done to deserve them?

  Seeing them safe, Kat finally relaxed, weariness settling deep into her bones. Post-adrenaline crash. She rubbed her aching forehead. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep it together.

  As if he could read her mind, Logan placed his untouched drink on the mantel.

  “Is the door locked, Gretchen?”

  “Dead bolted,” she said meaningfully. “All of them.”

  “Great. Could you watch the kids for a few minutes?”

  “Like a hawk,” she said, kneeling next to the coffee table. “I’m on to these two now.” She gathered a tote bag from nearby and pulled out crayons, coloring books and several animated movies. “Go on. I’ve got it covered.” She winked. “I’ll handcuff them to the cookie tray if I get desperate.”

  Logan took Kat’s hand and led her into the hallway. He pulled her into his arms. She sank into the hard planes of his body and hugged him around the waist. She shivered. “That was too close.”

  He kissed her hair. “How did you do it alone?” he asked.

  “I didn’t have wells and bulls in the backyard,” she said quietly, “though they find ways to endanger themselves wherever they go. Usually, it’s just Hayden, though.”

  “Baby-proofing takes on a whole new meaning after this morning,” Logan said, guilt obviously weighing heavily on him.

  The slam of a door pulled them apart. Rafe crossed the foyer. “One of the sensors at the edge of the property went off,” he said. “Zane’s tracking the video feedback now, plus double-checking the rest of the perimeter.”

  “What happened?”

  “The camera just went dark.”

  “Take a couple of men and find out what’s going on,” Logan said. “With all the people hunting us, we need to make sure we haven’t been compromised. Find out.”

  Kat’s entire body froze in fear. She’d felt safe from the assassins here. What if they weren’t safe anywhere?

  Logan took her hand. “Come on.” He turned to the living room. “Gretchen, we’re taking the kids downstairs. Now.”

  Gretchen’s smile vanished and she grabbed the cookies, crayons and movies. “Come along, munchkins. We’re going to a special place. It will be fun.”

  Logan led them all down the stairs into the lowest level of his home and through a heavy steel door. They crossed a large conference room, with a wall
of computer monitors and television screens, phones and gadgets straight from a spy movie. Zane sat at a station, his fingers flying over a keyboard.

  From his hulking size, Kat would have expected to see him lifting weights all day, not holding reign over a dozen computer screens with sets of data she couldn’t identify.

  “Find anything?” Logan asked, his voice tense and serious.

  “Other than that sensor, the rest are all clear,” Zane said. “I’m checking the property, but haven’t seen any sign of intruders.”

  “I’m taking them in until we know,” Logan said. “Is Kat set up to access the room?”

  Zane pounded a few more keys. “She can now. You’re good to go. Just do the final match at the scanner unit.”

  “Scanner unit?” she asked.

  “You’ll see.” Logan led her to the other side of the room.

  The lights and sounds mesmerized the kids, but she and Gretchen shooed them toward the back wall where Logan stopped.

  “Give me your hand.”

  A wooden mantel encircled the room, and Logan guided her to search beneath the section in front of them. His warm hand cupped hers and he shifted their fingers until she felt a small button.

  “Press it,” he said. “We’ve entered your index fingerprint into the system so you have access to the room behind here.”

  A panic room? Was that what he was talking about? She shifted her finger and pressed the button. A whirr sounded as the paneling in front of them slid open, revealing a large room, half living quarters, half storage.

  Hayden ran inside ahead of Gretchen and bounced on the bed in the corner. Kat followed him, peering around.

  “There’s another communication center here,” Logan said, opening a second door. “A computer, phone and a screen showing the area in front of the ranch house. It’s reinforced concrete, and has its own back-up generator. Unless your fingerprint is in the system, you can’t get in or out.”

  “Was this a bomb shelter?”

  “Originally it was a food storage cellar and a tornado shelter,” Logan said. “I just upped the security a bit.” He turned Kat in his arms. “If you’re ever scared, come here. You can call me from there,” he said, indicating a phone surrounded by high-tech equipment. “You don’t have to worry about anyone being able to break in.”