Their Deadly Obsession

Chapter 6

Logan

Andrea's cries cut through the heavy silence as two empty caskets are lowered into the ground. My hands curl into fists at my sides. I can't let myself focus on her grief right now. I have to focus on the caskets. Two of them. Both empty.

From the corner of my eye, Killian pulls her closer, pressing her face gently against his chest to quiet her broken sobs. A sharp frustration moves through me. The pilot and co-pilot were recovered. Dorathy and Cade weren't. Two weeks, and the FBI has nothing. Austin and I agreed not to tell Andrea. She has a way of building hope out of things that don't deserve it, and I tell myself this is the better choice. The safer one. For her.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. Of all days.

Ryder: Need to meet ASAP. My office?

Logan: My house. One hour.

I don't take orders. Things happen on my terms.

I glance toward the car where Killian, Drew, and Reid have gathered around Andrea, all of their attention on her. It's always her. Whether they realize it or not, everything in this family orbits Andrea. Killian catches my eye and nods — she's ready to go. I exhale quietly and follow them to the car.

The drive back is short. Dorathy and Cade planned everything, including this — their final resting place on the property, close to the people they loved. As dark as it sounds, I understand it. Their love for each other was total. I can't imagine them anywhere apart, even now.

But I can't stop seeing those caskets. Cold. Empty. Where are they? How do two of the most precise, calculated people I've ever known simply disappear? No remains. No leads. No. I refuse to grieve an empty grave. I need answers.

My history with Dorathy and Cade runs deep. They adopted me at sixteen, pulling me out of the place that called itself an orphanage. It wasn't a typical home for unwanted kids. It was a faith-based front for something far darker — an underground facility that bought infants from desperate families and raised us to serve their agenda. Trained from childhood to be controlled. Efficient. Emotionless. A weapon with a name.

I cut the thought off before it can go further. Not today.

Back at the house, the others settle into the living room. I go straight to the kitchen and keep my hands moving — it's the only thing that helps. I find what I'm looking for in the cabinets: crackers, the round ones, because Andrea refuses the square ones, and a block of cheese. I cut it into small squares the way she likes and fill her blue water bottle with ice and water.

I carry it all into the living room. She's curled up on the couch, face buried in her phone, eyes red and swollen. She's biting her bottom lip the way she always does when she's holding something in. I set the plate and bottle on the table beside her. She glances up and her lips move into something that almost reaches a smile but doesn't quite get there.

I look over her head at Killian. He's sitting close enough that their shoulders touch. He meets my eyes and I tilt my head toward the hallway. He nods, leans over to say something to Drew, and follows me out.

We head down to the basement office. I text Austin to let Ryder in and meet us there.

"What's going on?" Killian asks as we take our seats at the mahogany table.

"Ryder texted. Said it was urgent. I told him to come here — we can't leave her right now." I actually respect Ryder. He's one of the few people I trust. But demanding a meeting today? It took everything I had not to tell him where to go.

"Couldn't it wait until tomorrow?" Killian's brow furrows.

The door opens before I can answer. Ryder steps in with Austin behind him, takes in the room, and sits across from me with an apologetic expression. I'm not in the mood for it.

"I do apologize for the timing. I understand this is—"

"Skip it, Ryder." My voice is flat. "Tell me why you insisted on meeting today."

He clears his throat. "Right. It was important that I address the will without delay."

"Go ahead then."

"Of course. Dorathy and Cade left a very detailed will, but there are two matters requiring immediate attention, The Atlas Holdings, and Andrea's guardianship."

The air in the room shifts. My shoulders tighten. Beside me, Killian goes still. Austin's expression doesn't change, but I know him well enough to see him brace.

"Their intentions were explicit. The Atlas Holdings and the remainder of their assets are to be divided equally among the five of you. A separate trust has been established for Andrea, accessible to her at twenty-one." Ryder lays the documents across the table as he speaks.

The Atlas Holdings isn't just an organization. It's everything Dorathy and Cade built, a legacy constructed with ruthless precision, designed not just to remove the world's worst people but to dismantle the systems they built. They succeeded where others failed. And now, without them, I'm watching the foundation shift.

"Who did they name as Andrea's guardian?" Killian asks, jaw tight, leaning forward.

Ryder's eyes move to me before he speaks. I already know.

"Logan is named as Andrea's sole legal guardian."

The words land harder than I expect. Me. A guardian. The idea is almost laughable.. I was built to protect, to eliminate threats, not to raise a sixteen-year-old girl who treats me like something solid to hold onto.

"I'm sorry?" My voice comes out sharper than I mean it to. "No. Absolutely not."

Killian kicks me under the table, his glare sharp. "Would you rather she go to a stranger?" he says, low and tight.

"In case it hasn't occurred to you, we have an enormous mess to clean up. If you think we have the bandwidth to properly look after a teenager right now, you're not thinking clearly," I snap, keeping my voice down with effort.

"I don't care about the mess." Killian's voice cracks slightly at the edges. His hands press flat against the table, knuckles pale. "Andrea has no one else. She has us. That's it."

He's scared for her. More than he'll say. And it gets to me more than I'd like.

I look at Austin. He's been quiet through all of it, watching, weighing. He'll side with Killian, he always does. But with Austin it's never just loyalty to his twin. He has a soft spot for Andrea that he'd never put into words.

He speaks, finally. Low and certain. "She's safer with us."

Of course he says that.

"If I may," Ryder cuts in, "they were very deliberate in naming you specifically. I think their wishes deserve to be honored."

I exhale slowly, the weight of it pressing down on every side. "Fine," I say. The word tastes bitter. "Is that everything?"

Ryder nods, packs his briefcase, and leaves.

"Between the five of us, we can manage it," Killian says, once the door clicks shut.

"This is a disaster," I mutter, pressing a hand to my temple. The beginning of a migraine sits behind my eyes.

My mind moves to the obvious option... boarding school. Three years, quality institution, she'd be looked after. She'd be furious. But she'd adjust. I sit with the thought and it turns sour almost immediately.

My phone rings before I can follow it further. Natalie, head of our media division at The Atlas Holdings.

"Natalie." I answer sharp. "Tell me you have something."

"No update yet," she says quickly, her voice strained. "But the FBI has decided not to pursue Blackwell. They're saying there's no relevant connection."

I grip the edge of the table. "So two of the most careful, intelligent operatives we have go down in flames, their bodies disappear without a trace, and the FBI sees no connection to a man who escaped federal custody two months ago." My voice is quiet. The sarcasm in it is not. "Is that what you're telling me?"

"Yes, sir," she says, barely.

"I don't care what the FBI thinks." I drop my voice lower. "Put our people on it. I want results. If you can't deliver them, I'll step in personally. And you don't want that."

A sharp inhale on her end. "Sir, President Will hasn't authorized—"

"Leave Will to me. Get it done."

I hang up.

The room is heavier for a moment. Then Drew's voice drifts in from the doorway as he lets himself in, hands in his pockets, reading the room without breaking stride.

"Note to self, don't end up on your bad side." He leans against the doorframe. "Drea's asleep upstairs with Reid. So. What are we doing?"

I look between Killian and Austin before answering. "I have an idea. You won't like it."

Killian is the one I'm most concerned about. Andrea has him completely... one look from her and he'd give her whatever she asked for. But I have something now that I didn't have before. Legal authority. What I decide, goes.

Drew tilts his head, a half-smile forming. "Does it involve someone bleeding?"

"Not yet," I say. "But it puts us in a better position to find out what happened to them."