he listened to Rafe’s response. “We’re being tracked somehow, and if that wasn’t the king’s men, things are worse. I’m dumping the vehicle. I’ll be in touch when I can. Find the leak that’s making it possible for these people to find us.”
Kat brushed the tears of relief from her eyes and swallowed as this new reality hit her. She met Logan’s gaze as he closed the phone. “Is this latest leak in the king’s camp or yours?”
“I don’t know,” he acknowledged, “but until I find out, we’re on our own.”
PAULINA PEERED OUT the curtain and stared at the black SUV and the terrifying man with the patch over one eye. He hadn’t moved from in front of Katerina’s house. Why was he staying there? La familia was gone with the other man with the gun. So many scary people. She wouldn’t babysit in that house anymore. She was even afraid in her own house now. What if someone learned what she’d done?
Paulina’s hands trembled and she twisted her shawl, unraveling the stitches. A chilling fear had gone through her when the big man warned her of danger and demanded she leave today. She still couldn’t get warm. Maybe she should go to her sister’s house. They wouldn’t follow her across the border. Would they?
She hurried toward her bedroom to pack, but she’d only made it partway when the back door slammed open.
Paulina trembled with fright.
A huge man entered her living room, his face red with anger, blood staining his right shoulder.
“Who are you? Please go. I have no money,” she lied.
“You should. I paid you, but you failed me.”
Paulina gasped. She recognized the voice. The phone call she hadn’t been able to ignore. “But I … I … did what you wanted. You said you would leave me alone.”
“Well, they escaped. And someone has to pay.”
“Please, don’t hurt me.” She glanced at the bloody shirt. “I’ll take care of your wound. I won’t tell anyone.”
“Sorry, but I’ve been shot and the family got away. They will die, and you’re the only one who can tie me to them.”
Paulina backed toward the window, and the giant smiled, his expression evil. He pulled a huge, serrated knife from a leather sheath wrapped around his leg. He slid his thumb along the shiny blade.
Paulina gulped, her heart galloped, skipping beats. Her head swam and she swayed. “Please, no,” she whimpered. “I’ll be silent.”
“Yes,” he said softly and raised the blade. “You will.”
Chapter Three
Logan stayed in the backseat with the kids, his rifle loaded in case of another ambush. He hadn’t recognized the other SUV or the shooters, but they’d been out to kill the entire family. And they’d been tailed too easily. Only one possibility. There had to be a tracking device.
Hayden clung to one arm, Lanie to the other, their small bodies pressed up against Logan. His heart swelled with an all-encompassing need to care for and protect them. He smiled down at them, and they blinked up, their tear-streaked faces caging his soul. They had him. He’d do anything for them.
He studied the terrain. Before the vehicle went much farther, he needed to do a sweep. He hated to risk stopping, but he didn’t think their attackers would quit after one attempt. He wouldn’t make it easy for whoever followed them.
Several miles passed before he identified a relatively safe stopping point.
“Pull over,” he ordered Kat.
“Here?” She gave him a shocked look.
“Now,” Logan insisted. “Take us behind those birch trees. Out of sight of the highway.”
She turned down a dirt road, gripped the wheel tightly and guided them over the bumps and deep ruts.
Logan hated to move. He’d been in heaven, holding his children against him. He hadn’t known what to expect, but even though they’d known him only a few hours, they burrowed against him. They apparently trusted him a lot more than their mother ever had.
He met Kat’s gaze in the rearview mirror briefly. Every second with his children raised his frustration with her. It shouldn’t be this way.
Lanie stirred beside him as Kat eased the car into a hidden spot. The little girl was a strange creature, so delicate. He’d felt like an oaf holding her. He was a guy. He understood Hayden and his daredevil instincts, but this fragile baby? He worried he’d break her. Maybe if he’d been there from the start it would be different, but he’d missed everything. He’d make it up to the twins, though. That, he promised.
He didn’t know what to do with Kat, except save her life. Trusting her wasn’t going to come easy.
The SUV rolled to a bumpy stop, startling Lanie from sleep. Her wide eyes met his gaze in panic. “It’s okay, sweetie. Daddy’s got you.”
She patted him. “Daddy,” she whispered.
Hayden, on the other hand, looked like he’d had enough.
“Down,” he ordered, his expression mutinous.
His kid was right. Logan had to move quickly.
“Why are we stopping?” Kat asked, shifting in her seat.
“I’m checking the SUV for bugs. Get them out of their car seats.”
He passed Lanie to Kat then lifted Hayden. As he did, he caught the whiff of a distinctly toxic odor. “Whoa.” Logan stared at Hayden as recognition hit. “You wear diapers?”
“Good thing for us or we’d be stopping every ten minutes. They’re not potty trained,” Kat said, biting her lip, but humor danced in her eyes. “They’re considering it.”
Logan clutched his squirmy son. The imp just grinned at him, tugged at the waist of his small jeans and started pushing them down his legs.
“Uh, Kat. He’s taking his clothes off.” Logan fought to keep his son from undressing but within seconds Logan had clearly lost the battle. As much as he wanted to ignore Kat’s laughter, he was way out of his league here. Give him a bomb that needed disarming, a grenade launcher or room full of terrorists any day over these two.
He shot her an exasperated look. “Take him. I’ll learn the intricacies of diaper changing later. For now, I need to check out the SUV’s rear end, not Hayden’s.”
Logan leaped out of the car and sucked in a breath of fresh air. Man, the kid was ripe. Logan yanked the tailgate, but it wouldn’t budge. He moved to the front and turned the key, rolling down the back window as far as the damaged back allowed.
“What are you looking for?” she asked, as she quickly changed both kids, then sat them down on a blanket with juice boxes and a snack.
“My equipment bag. I have a bug sweeper in there. Those men knew where we were,” he said. “I
