"Being pregnant is not something I'd call a distraction!"
"I agree," he said calmly. "That's why we're having this conversation."
The one he'd planned to have with her last night.
If he was going to be a father, he'd do it right. He'd slit his own throat before he missed his kid's first cry, first steps, first words, first game of catch, first day of school. It seemed Allison wasn't quite ready to digest the eventuality of having a baby- his baby. She needed his patience and the promise of protection first. So he'd pursue that angle.
At his pause, she laid into him. "When you took my things, you didn't give me the respect of deciding what is or isn't right for me."
That struck his pride like a match. " You made a choice, Allison. Last night you shut me out. You hid at Devon's, when you should've been talking to me about options for the future. So I made a choice, too."
Her delicate nostrils flared. "I told you I needed time."
"You're carrying my baby. I have a say in that." He glanced at her abdomen then held her gaze. "I take care of what's mine."
"That isn't a free pass to raid my apartment and take over my life like you own me."
"When I'm confronted with a situation, I take action. No one else is going to ensure the mother of my child is safe. Not the way I can."
"I'd be fine, if Rick hadn't been so determined to pin a scarlet letter on me."
"For all his faults, Rick can't stand to see innocent people suffer. When he learned the truth and realized he'd screwed up-and you might suffer the consequences-he didn't go home last night, hasn't slept since yesterday."
"Rick doesn't seem the type to lie awake with a guilty conscience."
"You have a lot to learn about the way we work," Logan pointed out evenly. "He and I have been gathering every piece of intel that exists on Trevor Hurtz."
"I told you not to do that!"
"Avoiding the enemy doesn't solve the problem. Perfect example, after your divorce you took out three restraining orders against Trevor. He violated every one of them."
"You know about that?" she asked weakly.
"I know Trevor better than you think."
Her bravado returned. "I've done everything to make sure we don't cross paths. He's stayed away for two years."
"Not by choice, I can tell you that." Leaning forward, he flattened his hands on her desk. "From what I've researched, Trevor operates with cash transactions, blood money from selling illegal weapons to war-torn African and Middle Eastern nations."
Allison swallowed convulsively.
"Rick and I found a trail of suspicious loans and credit card transactions under an alias he's been known to use. We tracked the purchases back to him."
She folded her arms. "Why should I care about my ex-husband's finances?"
"Trevor's hired a slew of shady private investigators over the past two years. I made a few phone calls. After threats and bribery, I got the reluctant confessions I needed." He knew she wasn't going to like what he'd found. "Trevor has never stopped looking for you, Allison."
She turned white. "Tell me you're making this up."
Shaking his head, he revealed, "While Rick's investigation may have alerted Trevor, it was only a matter of time before you ex showed up on your doorstep. And it wouldn't be for coffee and conversation."
"I know that." She tried to put on a brave front, but Logan saw the fear in her eyes. "I know what he's capable of. That's why you should forget about this baby, forget you ever knew me, and I'll move to France."
"Yeah, Rick mentioned your insistence about France. Didn't take me long to figure out why."
Her lips parted. "Do personal boundaries mean anything to you?"
Logan hardened his posture and his tone. "Let me tell you something. If you think an inconvenient verdict would prevent Trevor from getting into the country, you're dead wrong."
It was harsh, but he needed to get it through her head what she was up against.
"I've tracked down spies, terrorists, and hit men into cities and towns and deserts where, according to law, they should've been shot on sight. People like Trevor don't play by the rules."
Anxiety twisted her features as she absorbed the hard truth.
"You've heard misery loves company? So does evil. Men like your ex have the kind of connections you'd never want to meet in a dark alley. They stick together like hyenas on the hunt for the next carcass to pick clean. Borders and legalities mean nothing to them."
For a moment she shook like a small porcelain teacup rocked by a 9.0 earthquake. It took everything in him not to reach for her, reassure her. But some facts needed to shake a person to the core.