“Dani, you can’t—”
“I know what you’re going to say, but I can’t help feeling sorry for him. Doesn’t mean I’m going to invite him in for tea and crumpets.” His fingers drummed hard on the tabletop, and she covered his hand with hers. “I understand how serious this is. I do. Just because my heart goes out to a little boy separated from his twin doesn’t mean I’m going to welcome him with open arms.”
“That relieves my mind.” He held her gaze for a few more seconds before turning to Jake. “Do we know how many members there are in the cult?”
“As far as we can tell, fifty, give or take. The closest person I could think of to do some recon was Andre Decourdeau. He called this morning to report back. The compound is fenced in and heavily guarded. Dogs, regular patrols with rifles slung over their backs walking the fence line, that kind of thing. This is no little church on the corner your grandma goes to, boss.”
“Decourdeau’s a good man to have watching them,” Logan said. “Can he get vacation time and hang out there? Tell him he’ll be well compensated.”
“Already done. Andre said he was getting bored anyway, wrestling alligators and catching water moccasins for dinner.”
“Wrestling alligators, eating snakes?” Dani asked.
Logan grinned. “He’s not bullshitting. Dude lives in some swamp in the bayou somewhere. Served on Team Three. Man was spooky the way he could disappear right in front of your eyes.”
“Sounds like you should hire him,” she said.
“Believe me, I’ve tried. Said he’s had enough of being ordered around, but if I ever needed him for something special, he was my man.”
“Ken’s getting us satellite pictures. Should have them before you leave,” Maria said.
“Good,” Logan replied. “It seems we have you to thank for getting us this far.”
Logan’s sister blushed, making Dani glad he had complimented her. The girl adored her brother, but unlike in most families, he’d been not only her handsome big brother, but her father and mother, too.
“Really?” Dani asked, wanting to keep the spotlight on Maria for a few more minutes. “How did you do it?”
“It wasn’t hard.” She held up her fingers and wriggled them. “Just these and this,” she said, pointing to her head.
“Impressive,” Dani said, returning Maria’s pleased smile.
“We needed to follow the trail of the dummy companies. The fastest way to do that was to put her in front of a computer, put her fingers on the keys, and then get out of her way,” Jake said in obvious admiration.
Dani noted three things happening at once. Maria gave Jake a pleased smile, Jake’s eyes softened, and Logan’s eyes narrowed. She put her hand over Logan’s and squeezed. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. The poor man still struggled with the idea of Maria and Jake together, but he’d get over it. Eventually.
“Anything else?” Logan asked. “Dani and I have a plane to catch.”
“Just this,” Jake said. “I talked to a buddy of mine, an FBI profiler. If it turns out Eli’s not acting alone—that if the cult is involved—it’s possible Eli’s been brainwashed by this Ballard dude. He said since Eli’s been with him since the age of two, it would be an easy thing for Ballard to have done.”
“If so, that changes everything,” Dani said. She couldn’t help but think that Evan had avoided a life with Herbert Ballard by a simple toss of a coin. Poor Eli.
“It changes nothing,” Logan replied, glaring at her. “Go see if those satellite pictures are ready, Buchanan. I want to take a copy of them with me.”
Dani carried Regan onto the chartered Learjet, every bone in her body wanting to grab Logan’s hand and drag him back to the car, demanding that Jake take them back to Logan’s house. It was safe there. Logan had worshipped her body and loved her there.
Her time in Pensacola had been the best days she’d had since Evan died. She and Logan had played in the gulf with Regan, had taken long walks on the beach, and one night, roasted marshmallows and smashed them between graham crackers and bars of chocolate.
Amazed he’d never had s’mores, she’d insisted he couldn’t go through life without tasting the decadent treats. They’d eaten the damn things until they were sick, and then made love on the cool sand next to the fire. Like everything else he took a mind to, Logan was becoming quite an expert at the business of making love.
She watched the buildings below grow small beneath them as the Lear lifted. What was awaiting them back home? She couldn’t rid herself of the unsettling feeling that they’d angered Eli by leaving like they had. What Evan’s twin wanted and why he was focused on her, she couldn’t imagine.