The Wildcat that Tamed the Tycoon (10 page)

“Who do you think is behind these
fires?  The spreading of the fire to the Petrobel-run platform could not have
been natural.  We had the fire nearly under control at that point.”

Logan continued drying Madison’s hair,
his face pensive.

“I have been racking my mind for days
and I can’t come up with anyone that could wish us harm.  Except if it is one
of the opposition that is trying to drive our backs against the wall.  Keep our
attention on the fires and then dama  …”

He glanced at Shane as realization hit
them at the same time.

“They’re planning to hit the offshore
rig.  That is the only thing that makes sense.  Everyone in the industry knows
we are hands on and would be at every fire.  Lord knows how far they could have
progressed with their plans by now.”

“You think they mean to blow up the
rig in the Gulf?  Or one of the others?”

“I am relatively sure the one in the
Gulf is what they or whoever is after.  I am not so sure however, if it is to
blow it up, or to take it away from us.”

“You’re right.  There was major opposition
when we bought that rig from the Mexican Government. We are still in the
probation period before the final handover can take place.  If anyone wants to
take it from us, they won’t blow it up, they’re planning a hostile takeover.”

“Gmphf.  Let them try.  Get on the
phone right away and talk to the OIM at the rig, Gary Oelofson.  Ask him to
send you a list of all the new employees for the past six months, as well as
any visitors or maintenance subcontractors that set foot on the rig.  I want to
know who is behind this sooner rather than later!”

“No problem, I’m on it.  You have not
had a wink of sleep in over a week.  Please sleep, otherwise you would be no
good to us, and we need your sharp intuition.”

“Yeah … I am tired.  Thank you for all
your support, little bro.  I couldn’t have achieved any of this without you by
my side.  Wake me in the morning if I’m not up by myself.”

He nodded with burning eyes and headed
to the door.  Logan never praised, so this was another first for him.

“And Shane, when you come to wake me
in the morning and the sheet does not cover her anymore, you better make sure
not to ogle her, you close your eyes!”

Shane burst out laughing and left the
door, his dry comment loud enough for Logan to hear.

“Yeah … yeah … and he claims it is
only possessiveness!”

Logan
took a quick shower and got into the bed, drew Madison’s warm body close
against his before he pulled the sheet over both of them.  He fell asleep the
moment his head hit the pillow and for the first time in his life, with a woman
in his arms.

Shane
stood staring down at the couple on the bed.  He never thought to see the day
when his brother would actually sleep with a woman in his arms. 

He had a lot of socialites on his arm
all the time, but Shane also knew he was not the rake the tabloids made him out
to be that slept with one and all of them or as often as they claimed.  He only
took a woman to bed when his need had to be fed and then he was very particular
about whom he chose.  Shane for the life of him could not remember that Logan
has ever had sex with the same woman more than twice.  One thing he knew for a
fact was that Logan never spent more than an hour or two with any woman.  He
left and found his own bed to sleep in.

He shook his head and smiled.  He
prayed that this was the first step in Logan opening his heart to love.

Logan moved as if to turn on his right
side and realized there was a weight bearing him down.  He frowned and opened
his eyes. The moment they came to rest on the woman sleeping deeply in his arm
with her head on his shoulder, he relaxed and turned on his left side, drawing
her even closer.

“Harumphf … morning big bro.  Sorry to
be a spoiler of your bliss, but you asked me to wake you.”

Logan stiffened and quickly pulled the
sheet higher to cover Madison completely, but he made no move to extricate him
from her arms that wrapped around his back the moment he pulled her against
him.

“What time is it?”  He asked in a
sleepy voice, gently stroking Madison’s back.

Shane glanced at his watch.  “Just
after nine.”

“Hmm … give me another hour.”

“No can do.  I managed to get hold of
Gary Oelofson last night and he just arrived.  He has serious concerns and flew
in early this morning.”

“I’ll be down in thirty minutes.”

Logan sighed, his body relaxed for the
first time in over a week.  Madison’s breathing was slow and deep, which
indicated she was still sleeping soundly, to his regret.  His body screamed
with need after being pressed naked against her the whole night.

Reluctantly he loosened her arms from
around him and she moaned softly and turned on her back.  Logan pushed up and
sat on the side of the bed, least he could not tear himself away from her if he
stayed any longer.

Jonathan
was also present by the time Logan joined them in the study.  They elected to
meet at the ranch seeing as it was Saturday.  It was also more private in case
someone on their staff was involved with the current sabotage.

“Morning Dad, Gary.  Thank you for
joining us at such short notice.  Anyone joining me for breakfast?  I am
starving.”

Everyone agreed and Shane went to ask
Thomas, their chef, to whip up some breakfast.  He walked back shaking his head
and Logan lifted his eyebrow questioningly.

“He is already nearly finished with
breakfast.  Actually, he was quite affronted that I thought it necessary to
come and ask!”

“Shane told me about what Madison
did.  How is she?”  Jonathan wanted to know.

“She’ll be fine.  Doc gave her a
sedative and she is still sleeping.  She has to rest for the rest of the
weekend, so we brought her here to keep an eye on her.”

“I’d like to say hello before I
leave.  She did something amazing. Even the people at Keller are talking about
it.”

“More like she did something stupid
and reckless!”  Logan’s anger bubbled to the surface again. 

Shane shook his head unobtrusively at
his Dad and he realized it was a tender point therefore refrained from saying
anything further.

After breakfast they retreated to the
study.  It was a large room with two big executive desks on the one side and comfortable
couches on the other.  It was set up to be a fully operational office as Logan
sometimes chose to work from home.

“Shane mentioned that you have
concerns, Gary.  Why don’t we start with that?”

Gary shuffled uncomfortably in his
chair and glanced at Jonathan.  Logan frowned and looked at Shane who shrugged
his shoulders.

“I …eh … this is somewhat awkward and
I do not want to upset any of you.  We had an unexpected visit three months
ago.  No appointments were made, they just arrived by chopper.”

“Who were they?”

He glanced briefly at Jonathan.

“Your wife and some of her Business
Associates.”

“My wife!  Stella?”

Logan’s jaw turned rigid, his face
expressionless.  He looked at his father.

“I thought you divorced her?”

Jonathan rose and stood in front of
the big windows overlooking the swimming pool.  He rubbed his neck wearily.

“At first I was so angry and hurt I
did not even think about it.  The longer I waited, the less important it became
and then I just didn’t care anymore.  I thought she would start the proceedings
from her side.”

Logan could not believe his ears. 
Through his whole life all his father filled his head with was how his mother
betrayed him, how she threw his love back in his face and left with another man
who meant more to her than him and her sons.  To hear twenty five years later
that she was still married to him and never married her lover was a shock; 
even more so, the fact that his father never severed his ties with her.

“Who were her Business Associates?”  
Logan’s face was expressionless and his voice hard.

“They never said, but she demanded to
be taken through the whole plant.  I could not get hold of any of you.  It was
during the week you were all at the Oil Summit in Europe.  Soon after that we
had resignations, lots of them and not just from Rougnecks.  Drillers, Tool men
and even two of our Subsea Engineers.”

“Why have you never brought that visit
and these staffing issues under our attention?  The summit was three months
ago!”

“We were dealing with numerous small
problems since then.  If not labor related, it was maintenance or small blow
outs.  Nothing big to justify your attention, but because I was so busy dealing
with them, it totally slipped my mind.  I am sorry.”

Logan pulled his hands through his
hair and sighed.  He looked at Shane.

“You have been visiting and talking to
her.  What business is she in?”

Shane paled and shook his head.

“God no!  She couldn’t be the one! 
She’s our mother, Logan!”

“She has never been a mother to either
one of us, Shane!  Even before she left, she always left us to our own
devises!  You were perhaps too young to remember.  The only thing that was
important to her was to socialize, to be seen as one of the elite!  She did not
give one iota for us!”

Jonathan paled and realized for the
first time how deep Logan’s hate ran for his mother.  Shane sat down dejectedly
on the couch with his head between his hands.

“How could I have been so stupid? 
That was why she was so interested in what we do.  She wanted to know about all
our projects, our equity, liquidity … and I … Lord Logan!  I gave her all the
information!  It was me!  I am the one responsible for this!”

Logan expression did not change. 
“What does she do, Shane?”

“She … owns a small oil refinery in
Florida.”

“Which one?”

“Starlight Oil.”

Logan stiffened and glared at him. 
She owns Starlight Oil and you never thought to tell me?”

“I did research on it, Logan.  It is a
small refinery.”

“Small yes, but with a growth of 65%
over the past two years and with someone at the helm that has a direct
association to us and very clearly been using it!”

He jumped up and walked around the
room like a caged animal.  Jonathan watched him and realized he was livid and
very worried.

“What are you concerned about, Logan?”

“All the replacements on the rig are
very clearly from Starlight or in a way associated with them.  They now have
all the inside information on the rig to either sabotage it or to turn all the
staff against us.  If the latter, it would be their way to overturn management
and the easiest way for a hostile take-over.  We could lose billions.”

Something triggered at the back of his
mind and he cursed.  He swung to Jonathan.

“Were you also so kind to “forget” to
void the Dalton Oil shares that you ceded to her, Dad?”

Jonathan paled and sank down on a
chair.  “I can’t remember.  That first year after … I … no, I did!  I
remember.  I instructed Devlon, our attorney to void them.  The ceding document
was set up in such a way, that if we broke up it could be done without any
court involvement.  But it is easy enough to check.”

He quickly phoned Devlon and after a
short discussion sighed in relief.  “It was done.  Thank God.  She can’t lay
her hands on any of it.”

“The other side of it is that she
thinks she could get her hand on shares through Shane or even all of us.  Since
you told her how much we’re worth, she clearly wants to enrich herself.  Maybe
her aim is for you to take her back, Dad?”

Jonathan shook his head.  “No, I will
never take her back.  Not after everything she cost me, cost you.  That was
never what I intended when I said I was going to find her.  I only wanted to
close the chapter.  Besides, Logan, you are the one with the most Liquidity. 
You own the most shares, made all those investments.  Shane and I together down
have a pittance of what you’re worth.”

“Maybe, but she does not know that.” 
He walked back and forth in front of the window, his face pensive.

“Shane, I want you and Gary to head up
the investigation into each and every one of those replacement staff.  Look for
qualification fraud, any link to Starlight or … Stella Dalton.  Gary, I want
you to get hold of Marcus White, he heads up a forensic team in the Gulf.  I
want him to review all the video streams of the rig for the past four months. 
As well as dig deeper into those new employees and Starlight Oil.  Give him the
background; he will know what to look for.”

Logan turned to his father and glanced
back at Shane.

“I want you to go ahead and … search …
for your wife and find her.  Do whatever your intention was when you decided to
look for her.  Shane, contact her and arrange for a meeting in Dallas.  It is
time I reconnect with Stella Dalton again.”

Shane and Jonathan looked at each
other worriedly.  Logan’s face was rigid as if cast in stone.  His green eyes
were hard as the gem they represented.  His hands were fisted on his hips.  He
turned and his voice was stern and hoarse.

“Neither one of you let on that we
know what she is busy with.”  He hesitated for a moment and then asked Shane
directly.

“What has she come to mean to you,
Shane?  If this is going to be too difficult for you, tell me know and I will
leave you out of it.”

Shane looked at his brother and his
heart swelled with pride.  Pride in the man that Logan has become, in the man
he made out of him.  Pride to be his younger brother, who he looked out for
better than any parent, could have, even at the age of ten.  He would always
have first loyalty to him, no matter what.  He had tears in his eyes when their
eyes met and he glanced briefly at Jonathan then back at Logan.

“I’m sorry, Dad, but this is the
truth.  You were the one that brought me up, big bro.  You made me the man I am
today.  A man I am damn proud to be and I am so angry that I did not see
through her deceit!  I will see this through with you.”

Logan yanked him into his arms and
they hugged each other fiercely.  He slapped him on the shoulder and looked at
his father, watching them with tears in his eyes.

He caught a slight movement out of the
corner of his eye and stood frozen for a moment, staring in disbelief at the
slight woman staggering down the pathway in the direction of her cottage.

“God damn, bloody females!”

He stormed out of the room and the
three men watched him run outside and down the patio stairs.  Shane noticed
Madison in one of Logan’s tee-shirts walking in the direction of the pilot’s
cottage and laughed.

Logan reached her and without a word
lifted her over his shoulder, turned and started back to the house. He totally
ignored her failing arms hitting him on his back and her loud shrieks demanding
to be put down.  Even over the distance they could see the anger on his face
and Shane pitied her that she was the one to bear the brunt of his anger. 

Logan carried her into the kitchen and
dumped her unceremoniously on one of the high breakfast chairs next to the
breakfast nook.  Madison immediately opened her mouth to shout at him until she
saw the fury in his eyes and she closed it.

“I am glad to see you do have some
sense at least!  Thomas, please prepare something for Madison to eat.  I am
still in a meeting.  Don’t. Move.  Not until I come and get you.”

She nodded and sat subdued on the
chair with her hands folded on her lap.

“I’ve had it with women!  They are
nothing more than a bloody irritation! Lord … enough is enough!” 

He grumbled as he walked away and she
frowned.  His fury was definitely not only because he caught her trying to
sneak back to her cottage or her reckless behavior the day before.  There was
much more to his highly strung body than there were the night before.

She introduced herself to Thomas, who
told her he has been the Dalton’s chef since the day Logan bought the Ranch and
moved in.  She was surprised to hear he bought it.  She always assumed it
belonged to his father and they all lived together.

“No, only the two boys live here. 
Shane always jokes that once he gets married he will have to build a house on
the furthest corner of the ranch for him and his bride.  He would not want his
wife to be around Logan all the time!  They joke around a lot those two.”

“And what if Logan gets married?”

“That one?  No, that will never
happen.  He has never even brought any woman home with him, and he always
sleeps in his own bed, even if he arrives in the early hours of the morning. 
No, Logan Dalton has no intention of ever falling trap to the holy matrimony.”

“So does the Ranch belong to both of
them?”

“No, it’s Logan’s.  But he has always
maintained that it is and will always be Shane’s home as well.  He bought this
place when he was twenty five years old.  It is home to them and they are very
close.  He will never chase his little brother away.”

She nodded and her heart shriveled a
little further.  How would she get past his hate that was ingrained so deep in
his heart? Not just for his mother, but for all women, because of his mother.  He
would never learn to trust.  Without trust, there could be no love.

She finished her food and he took the
plate away.  Her mind wandered back to when she woke to find her in Logan’s
bed.  She knew immediately it was his room.  It was as if his essence engulfed
her.  She was immediately angry, especially when she realized she was naked. 
How dared he take her to his bed and undress her.  Worse, he must have bathed
her too.  She distinctly remembered how filthy she was from soot and oil.  It was
also very clear that he slept next to her the whole night and she blushed, just
thinking about it.  What would Shane think?

Stop being a hypocrite, Madison.  The
way you have been carrying on with Logan, Shane knew long ago something
happened between the two of you. 
The little red devil on her shoulder
berated her.