Protecting His Heart (A James Family Novel Book 1) Read online

  "My mother. I couldn't protect my own mother."

  "Who or what did she need protecting from?" Lucy cocked her head to the side, studying him intently as she waited for him to answer.

  "That rotten bastard that she was married to."

  "Her husband?" Understanding flashed in her eyes. Her next words were little more than a whisper. "Oh. Your father."

  "Yes. He took pleasure in causing her pain. It started small with a hard pinch or slap. Eventually, it evolved to punches and beatings. The night she died, he used my baseball bat to beat her to death."

  "Oh, Logan. I am so sorry. What a horrible thing for you to have gone through." Her eyes were warm with sympathy.

  "I could have stopped him, I was strong. I could have protected her if he hadn't gotten to the bat first. He used it to break my arm and give me a concussion before he turned on her."

  Lucy sat quiet for a moment, the fingers of her free hand working the threads in the sofa before she looked up and reached to touch his cheek. The soft feel of her fingers on his cold skin were more comforting than anything he ever remembered experiencing. The pain in his hand, and in his heart, began to ebb ever so slightly.

  "You were a child, weren't you?"

  "She died on my twelfth birthday. The bat was a birthday present. I wanted that bat in the worst way. Baseball was my life at that age. It was a year before I could even look at a baseball bat again. I played through high school but my heart was never really in it the same way. Every time I swung at a ball I remembered him swinging at her face."

  "And my story about the women being abused brought all those angry feelings back again. I am so sorry, Logan, for what happened to you and your mother. Somehow, I managed to drag you into the made for television movie that has become my life and you've had more than enough drama of your own. You really didn't need to get involved with someone like me."

  Logan slumped back against the couch cushions dropping the nearly defrosted bag of vegetables on the coffee table. He flexed his injured hand, pleased to be able to open and close his fist with little trouble. It didn't appear anything was broken thankfully.

  "It's not your fault, Lucy. The memories haunt me day and night. Why do you think I went into police work? Every day I work to avenge her death. Every rotten bastard who hurts a woman or a child that I lock away is one step closer to vindication for the way I failed her."

  "You don't need vindication. You were a child. Your parents were supposed to protect you, not the other way around."

  "Not so easy to convince my damaged psyche of such things. Years of counseling did nothing except teach me how to keep it all bottled up. And mostly I'm successful."

  Lucy smiled gently. "Except on rare occasions. Like when a woman you have just met tells you she's in witness protection because she broke up a human trafficking ring."

  Logan smiled back. "Exactly. I'm sorry I lost it. I didn't mean to scare you."

  "A little hole in the wall won't frighten me. I'm a New York City cop, remember? At least, I was…" There was a note of sadness in her voice as her words faded away and her eyes became distant.

  "You miss being on the job?"

  "I really do. Being a cop was all I ever wanted. Much to the dismay of my socialite mother. She fully expected her little girl would grow up and marry a wealthy Italian businessman and make lots of little bambinos for her."

  Logan laughed. "Your mother actually wants to be a grandmother? My mom used to talk about it like it was a fate worse than death."

  "I broke her heart when I let those 'heathens' pin a badge on my shirt. No little girl of hers was going to be with all those 'dirty' people all the time. She thought I would spend my days surrounded by addicts, dealers, hookers, and johns. She never considered all the other things I would be doing. All the good I could do as a cop. She swooned for weeks about how her baby girl was dead to her."

  "Swooned?" Logan chuckled. "Does anyone actually use that word anymore?"

  "My mother always fancied herself a southern belle despite the fact that she was born and raised in Queens. In her mind I think our townhouse was a southern plantation house right before the start of the civil war."

  "How did you end up so level headed with a mother like that?"

  "She wasn't all bad. Despite the teas and cotillions she forced on me, Mom insisted I get educated, learn to cook, and take care of myself. Her only daughter was going to be headstrong and independent, not ever forced to rely on any man for anything ever. I guess I just took that to a level she never imagined."

  "Sounds to me like your mother had some skeletons of her own in her closet that haunted her."

  Lucy looked at him pointedly. "Don't we all?"

  Logan nodded with a smile. "Point taken. I am assuming you know who the Riccis do business with?"

  "Far from everyone but Salvatore Senior has some of the best hit men in the business working for the family, if one of them wants me gone, they will get their way for certain."

  "Not if I have anything to say about it."

  Lucy patted the back of his uninjured hand the way a mother would reassure her young child. "I appreciate what you have done for me so far but I don't want you getting any deeper in this than you already are. I couldn't bear to see you hurt and besides, don't you have some kind of undercover gig to get back to at the school?"

  Logan had completely forgotten about the undercover work he was supposed to be doing. Red flags would go up all over town if both he and Lucy were absent from work the next morning. He could be in real trouble for ignoring his assignment. But there was no way he was leaving Lucy at the mercy of crazed hit men.

  "Don't worry about that. I'll give my lieutenant a call, have them call me in sick for a few days. If I spin it like you are part of the case he won't even question me a bit."

  Lucy eyed him suspiciously. "Am I part of the case?"

  "Of course not! Whatever gave you that idea?"

  "Well, you don't have to be so full of yourself. How would I know what you were investigating if you just happened to be passing by after my car was run off the road?"

  "You think I was following you?" Logan asked.

  "Weren't you?"

  "I don't think there was room for me with the guy right behind you trying to kill you."

  "How did you find me then?"

  "I got lost on my way to my new apartment, made a wrong turn, and happened upon some skid marks."

  Lucy seemed to consider his explanation for a moment.

  "Well," she finally spoke again, "I am very grateful that you happened by. I'd still be lying on the bottom of the ravine if you hadn't. So, thank you for finding me."

  "I'm glad I got lost. I can't imagine you spending the night down there."

  Lucy shivered and then hugged herself. "Yeah, and me without my gun."

  "I should call Jack. Let him know where I am. May I use your phone?"

  "Who's Jack? Your husband?"

  "Jack is my handler with witsec. He called this afternoon to give me a heads up right before that truck ran me off the road."

  "He knew that someone was going to try to kill you? Shouldn't he have come to your rescue? Maybe give you some place safe to go?"

  "I didn't think I needed any help. Besides, I just got used to being Lucy Taylor. There was no way I could learn a whole new identity again, so soon. I didn't really believe Salvatore had found me anyway."

  "Oh." He could understand that. It was in his cop's nature to believe he could handle anything. It would make sense if Angelina would believe the same. He glanced at his watch.

  "It's way past midnight. Your Jack is probably sound asleep. Why don't you catch a few winks yourself? When you get up in the morning, we can figure out what to do."

  As if on cue, Lucy let out a long yawn. "I am pretty tired. Jack does have a wife and kids. I don't want to disturb his whole house. You sure this place is really safe and off the radar?"

  Jack had a wife and kids… even better. Logan nodded Lucy seemed to
relax instantly. "As snug as a bug in a rug. Besides, you have your own personal bodyguard. I won't let anything happen to you on my watch."

  "You're going to stay up all night?"

  "If that's what I have to do to make you feel safe."

  "I don't think you have to stay awake all night. Maybe just until I fall asleep?"

  Logan rose from the sofa pulling Lucy with him. He turned her toward the bedroom. "It's a deal. You go ahead and go to sleep. I'll be right here on the couch if you need me."

  Halfway across the room she turned and smiled at him over her shoulder. "Thank you, Logan. For the first time in a long time I actually feel safe enough to go to sleep."

  He gave a mock half bow in response. "Glad to be of service, my lady."

  He heard her chuckle as the door closed softly behind her. Logan sat back down on the sofa and took out his cell phone. It was time to check in and get the L.T. to call him out of work in the morning. He wouldn't be happy to hear from Logan this late but there was nothing to be done about that. This entire situation was completely out of his control.

  The phone only rang twice.

  "George." The sleepy yet irritated voice mumbled into Logan's ear. "This better be important!"

  Logan kept his voice low so as not to disturb his house guest. "Hey, L.T., it's me, Logan James."

  "James! What the hell? Do you know what time it is?"

  "Sorry, L.T. Really, I am. Apologize to the Mrs. L.T. for me. I couldn't wait 'til morning to call. I need you to call me out of my job at the school for the next three days." That would bring them to the weekend. If he didn't put a stop to the hit on Lucy or get her holed up somewhere else safe through witness protection by then, he was losing his touch.

  "Well, why the hell are you calling me in the middle of the night? You couldn't wait 'til morning? You just started that job. There better be a damned good reason."

  "There is, sir."

  "Sir? You never call me sir. What are you up to?"

  "I can't tell you over the phone but I'm working something."

  "Something part of the case I assigned you to?"

  "It could be. I don't know yet. All I know is I won't be able to return to the school until at least Monday."

  "I don't what you are up to, James, but it better be on the up and up. You aren't the only one on the line with the chief here, you know."

  "I know, L.T., and I will fill you in as soon as I can. Can you call me out for the rest of the week? Tell them I have the flu or the plague or something. Don't teachers get sick all the time? All those nasty germs in a school…?"

  "I got it, James. Consider yourself deathly ill 'til Monday. By then I expect to know what's going on. Got it?"

  "Got it. Thanks, Lieutenant."

  "Just stay out of trouble, James. The department can't handle a scandal." The line went dead before Logan could respond. He clicked his phone shut and leaned back against the sofa cushions. His arms and upper back were beginning to ache a little from his rappelling expedition. How was it that less than twenty-four hours into his undercover job he fell into such a complicated mess?

  12

  Logan

  A heavy yawn escaped his lips. Logan jumped up and paced the living room trying to shake off the overwhelming feeling of exhaustion that had just settled over him. He had promised Lucy he'd stay awake and watch over things. It wouldn't do for him to pass out barely thirty minutes after she went to bed.

  "No! Salvatore, no!" Lucy's panicked voice screamed from the bedroom. A series of thumps followed by a loud crash echoed through the tiny cabin. Logan sprinted to the bedroom and threw the door open, oblivious to what he might find on the other side. Had the assassin found her? Was Salvatore Ricci exacting his revenge right under Logan's nose?

  As the door slammed against the wall, Logan had his gun drawn, expecting the shadowy figure of a man to greet him. Instead he saw an empty bed, the lamp on the nightstand turned over, and a small figure curled up on the wood floor next to the bed whimpering.

  He rushed to where she lay. "Lucy! Are you okay? What happened?"

  When she didn't answer, he grew worried, gently shaking the trembling figure to get her attention. Eyes glazed, fear locked deep inside them, Lucy looked right through him as she slowly began to stop trembling.

  She glanced around, noting her position on the floor and then looked up. "How did I end up on the floor?"

  "You were dreaming."

  A haunted look passed over her features. Lucy hugged herself against an involuntary shiver. "A nightmare, more likely. I remember that Salvatore was in it. Nothing dreamlike about that."

  "You called out to him right before you landed here."

  Logan offered her a little smile as he leaned over and scooped her into his arms. No sense in letting Salvatore Ricci have all the excitement that evening. Her small, warm body felt way too good in his arms and despite the situation, he couldn't deny it.

  "I wasn't calling out to him. I was begging him not to hurt me. There is a big difference, you know."

  Logan smiled at the sharply defensive tone she used. It was obvious she didn't want him to think she still harbored feelings towards the man she had been supposed to take down, not fall in love with. He liked the idea of her being a little defensive because he found himself just a little bit jealous of the dirt bag mafia man that had once won Lucy's heart over.

  He placed Lucy down on the bed and carefully arranged the patchwork quilt around her petite form. She had stopped shaking but he still felt the irrepressible need to protect her.

  "There now. It was just a dream. No one is going to hurt you while I am here. Why don't you try and sleep again? We are going to have a long, busy day ahead of us."

  She looked up at him with big, wide eyes. It took him a moment before he noticed the difference. "You took your contacts out."

  Lucy suddenly seemed shy. "Yeah. I can't sleep in them. They irritate my eyes. Different from the blue, huh?"

  "Different meaning better? Then absolutely, hands down. Green is definitely your color."

  She smiled slightly in the dim light. "Just like everything else from my former life, they are different. It's like looking at a stranger in the mirror every day. That and this ridiculous blonde hair."

  She fingered one of her curls. The look was in stark contrast to the pin straight locks of earlier in the day.

  "Well, I like your natural look. The tousled curls look kinda sexy." Logan grinned at her sheepishly, a little embarrassed that he had blurted out his true feelings.

  Lucy flushed a deep crimson as she tried to smooth her wild hair into a knot. "You would think that after a year the nightmares would finally stop but they just seem to get worse. I can't remember the last time I actually slept through the night."

  "My guess is it was the last time you felt safe."

  "That's a good guess."

  "Well, you are safe tonight so you should take advantage of it." He smiled at her from the doorway of the bedroom. "I will be out here just a few feet away if you need anything. Try to get back to sleep for a few hours."

  He turned to leave but stopped when she called softly. "Will you stay? Please?" She sounded so wistful it nearly broke his heart.

  "I'm not going anywhere. I already told you I'll be right out here."

  "I know. That's not what I meant." She patted the comforter beside her. "I want to know if you will stay here. With me. I don't want to be alone."

  She wanted him to stay in the bed with her. Lucy peered up at him from her own green eyes, big and round and vulnerable, and there was absolutely no way he could say no.

  "If it will help you sleep better then I'll stay."

  "It will," she whispered.

  Logan closed the distance to the bed as she shifted over to one side. Kicking off his boots, he settled down next to her stretched out on his back. His hand brushed her side briefly sending intense sparks of electricity up his arm that made him lightheaded.

  Calm down, man. It's not like y
ou never spent the night next to a woman before.

  Truth be told, he hadn't spent quite as many nights as others might think. Despite his flirty bachelor persona, Logan avoided love and relationships. It terrified him to think that he might one day be like his father. What if anger and abuse were genetic and he had inherited all the best that his father had to offer? No way was that ever going to happen. So, why was it that the quiet sound of Lucy breathing in the dark had his entire body aflame with something like desire?

  "Thank you, Logan," Lucy whispered. "Thank you again for finding me tonight and thank you for staying with me now. This is the safest I have felt in over a year."

  She rolled over to face him, big green eyes, so much prettier than the blue contacts she wore, glistening with unshed tears. He got the feeling that she didn't cry much despite how much she had to cry over.

  Logan rolled to face her. Unable to resist even if he had wanted to, he reached up and pushed a curl away from her face, tucking it gently behind her ear. He was really starting to enjoy doing that.

  "Lucy?"

  "Hmmm?"

  "I'd rather call you Angelina, if that is all right with you. It suits you much better than Lucy."

  She was quiet for so long that Logan feared she had fallen asleep. Just when he was about to drift off himself, she spoke softly. "I would like that."

  "Angelina it is then."

  She smiled at him sleepily. "It's been so long since I have heard someone else say my name. It's a little like music to my ears. The powers that be chose Lucy Taylor for me. So generic."

  "Generic like Logan Smith?" He laughed. “At least my blond is natural."

  She laughed. "I know, right? It's hideous, isn't it? But they made me do it. The Ricci family is very powerful with contacts around the world. Witsec wanted to disguise me as much as possible. A loud New York Italian girl with wild curls would stand out like a sore thumb in a place like this. Of course," she sighed wistfully, "all the disguises in the world didn't work or we wouldn't be here now."