Page 38 of Fire Dragon Lover

“Are you taking a charter?” Sloan asked, letting himself in.

He shook his head and bolted the door securely behind his guest. “It’s too high profile. We’re flying under different names, for now, just in case they have informants. I don’t know how deep their influence runs. Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

“You know I’d do anything for you, Logan.” He seemed troubled. “But you haven’t had any assassination scares in a while. I’m surprised you’re just now deciding to lay low.”

“I think it’s only a brief reprieve,” he said, waving for Sloan to follow him into his office. “After they kidnapped Gretchen-”

“Which time?”

Logan glared at Sloan, though it wasn’t his fault. “Thesecondtime.” He took a seat behind his desk with a groan and signaled for his guest to sit as well. “It seems they’ve backed off, but I don’t think they’re going to stay that way. Whoever the informant is, they’re still around, and until we can get a clue who it is, we’re safer in Colorado. I have...family there.”

Sloan accepted the seat across from him, his movements deliberate. “You’re going to stay with your brother,” he said, no question in his tone.

“For now.” Logan considered it with distaste. “We haven’t always gotten along but it’s better than dealing with all the heat in the limelight. They’ll get bold again, and when they do, I want to be ready.”

Sloan nodded, throwing a hand through his hair. “Where’s is she, anyway? You guys have been inseparable since your bonding ceremony. I’m surprised she left without you.”

“She’s safe,” Logan said, burning with the memory of her parting kiss. “But I want to get to the heart of the matter with you.”

Sloan waited for him to continue in silence.

“Since you’re the only one I can trust,” Logan said, making sure he chose his words with care. “-I’d hoped you’d be the temporary curator of my estates, at least while we’re away.”

“But- that includes your business…”

Logan nodded.

“And the townhouse. Your villa,” Sloan continued as he counted them out. “What of your philanthropic endeavors? I like you but I don’t want yourjob.”

“It won’t be forever,” he said in turn as he allayed his friend’s concerns. “It’ll just be for a little while, while we figure out who in Draconis Fire is selling us out.” He slid a pile of papers across the desk for Sloan to look over. “It’s all here. Most of it can be delegated to some of my partners as well as the CFO. You’ll just have to pop in once in a while to make sure things haven’t gone to hell. And I’m only a phone call away.”

Sloan refused to touch the paperwork. “It’s too much.”

“You’ll get the pay while I’m gone. I’ve already arranged it.”

He seemed to relinquish and took the pile and glancing at the cover sheet, then flipped through it. “Doesn’t this take lawyers and judges and- how the hell did you get my social security number?”

“I have my ways,” Logan said with a smirk. “And besides, I needed it for billing purposes. You do want to get paid, don’t you?”

Sloan pursed his lips.

“If you follow the plan,” he continued. “-you’ll be reaping all the benefits without having to set foot in the office.”

He seemed to grumble over it, then hunkered down and flipped through the paperwork in earnest. “You’re serious about this.”

“Deadly.”

“There isn’tanyoneelse?”

“Not a soul,” Logan said as he pulled out a keyring and tossed it to Sloan. “Here’s everything you’ll need. The building keys, keys to the cars, my estates. Everything. I’m trusting you with this. All you have to do is sign, and it’s yours until I’m back in town. My lawyers will uphold my wishes. They underwrote it, after all.”

The silence between them lengthened, interrupted by the quiet sweep of paper as Sloan looked it over more thoroughly. The answer came almost inaudibly. “Okay.”

A weight came off Logan’s chest. “You’ll do it?”

“I will.” The lines of his face deepened. “But you have to promise you’ll come back.”

“Of course.” They stood together, and he offered his hand to shake. “It’s still my shit.”

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