Read Online Christmas Conspiracy by Robin Perini - Free Book Online Page A

frustrated little boy. They both stared at the damaged toy. Kat could scarcely breathe, knowing it could just as easily have been Hayden lying there.
    He wriggled and got down, then crawled to the fire engine. The ladder and one set of wheels had come off. “Broken, Daddy. Fix it,” he pleaded, tears in his eyes, as he walked back and put the remains in his father’s hands.
    Kat stood beside them, now with a tearful Lanie in her arms.
    Logan turned the fire truck over, then stilled as he saw gouge marks on the metal near one of the seams that the now-missing ladder had covered. He grabbed a knife from the table, slipped it into the seam and popped a compartment open.
    Cursing, he grabbed Hayden and then their bags. “Come on, let’s go.”
    “What’s wrong?”
    He threw some bills on the table. “I found another transmitter. Somehow they planted it in Hayden’s toy. That means they know we’re here.”
    Kat’s heart pounded as they raced out the door. They quickly latched the kids into the car seats Logan had placed in the back of the station wagon, then jumped into the front. Logan screeched out of the diner’s parking lot and got on the road. Once on the highway, he looked for a truck stop with an easy-on, easy-off access.
    He pulled up to some construction vehicles and bent underneath the rear fender of the cement mixer.
    “What are you doing and why are we heading back toward Houston?”
    “We’re not. But this transmitter is going the opposite way from where we are headed. The gunmen will know we’re not all in this cement mixer, so the driver should be safe.”
    He hopped back in the car and drove away. A half hour later, he stopped again and dialed a number on one of the new disposable phones. After it connected, he punched in another series of numbers, then waited.
    “Rafe, it’s me. Where’s Sergei? Did he ever show up?” Logan was silent as he listened, then his knuckles went white.
    Kat trembled. Something was very wrong.
    “They’ve gone too far. We’re headed back to the ranch. Call everyone in. We’ll pool our resources and end this thing.”
    He threw the phone on the seat and took several deep breaths. The acid in Kat’s stomach churned. The anger pulsing off him was palpable. The warrior was back. Cold. Ruthless. Determined.
    Frightening.
    “What happened?” Kat could hear the terror in her own voice. Whatever it was, it had to be awful to put this deadly look in Logan’s eyes.
    “It’s Paulina.” Logan turned, his expression sad and regretful. “Someone got to her first. They hurt her. Bad.”
    “But she was leaving,” Kat insisted. “Going to her sister’s house. Is she okay?”
    “I’m sorry, Kat. She’s dead.”

Chapter Four
    Moonlight danced along the blacktop as Logan pulled up to the electronic gate leading to his family’s ranch house. He keyed in his override code and rubbed his burning eyes as the gate swung open. He tried to imagine Kat standing here, pregnant and afraid, feeling that he’d rejected her, didn’t want anything to do with her. That couldn’t have been further from the truth.
    He put the station wagon in gear and started down the long winding road to his house. He looked up at the imposing edifice, comparing it to where Kat and the kids had been living. Would the massive ranch house scare her all over again, or did the hitmen coming after her make his place look like a haven now?
    He eased the car to a stop in front of the porch. The seven-hour drive had taken closer to ten, and all his muscles were stiff. The gunshot wound across his shoulder ached, but the bleeding had stopped.
    He slid a sidelong glance at Kat. She was still sound asleep, the shadows under her eyes having grown dark, the worry pulling at the corners of her mouth. His hand hovered over her cheek. She was so damn beautiful.
    He couldn’t believe he’d told her he missed her. He’d never meant to say it out loud, but it just spilled out. He didn’t want to be a fool for