Suits & Aces (#3)

50 // Dotted Lines

“I think you were set up. Someone wanted you guys here, together, at the same time.”

MJ paced back and forth, unable to process her feelings and thoughts as her mind replayed Kyle’s words like a song on repeat.

How could this have happened?

She could not believe she fell for a trap, what was she hoping to achieve by running out to meet Logan without second thought? She could not help but wonder what would have happened if she had been the only one there, she could have blown up to death because of her impulsive decisions where Logan Parker was involved.

MJ had no doubt in her mind that Samantha was involved, but she did not understand how she could have pulled this off alone, she obviously had help. But from who?

MJ made a mental note to follow up on how Sasha’s rescue mission went, maybe her sister knew something.

She was pulled back to life when she crashed into Logan. “Watch where you are going!” She snapped. She had not forgotten about how he attacked her earlier.

"These messages were sent from the same number, but they were not sent at the same time. MJ's was sent first, and Logan, yours was sent thirty minutes later," Cameron said.

"It means they knew our exact locations and they did their calculations. They wanted me to get there first so that it would look like I did it, and clearly, they were not wrong," she jabbed, giving Logan a pointed look.

Logan scoffed, folding his arms. "Oh, please! For f**k's sake, stop acting like a victim here, we both know who did this!" He spat. "You brought that woman into my life when you cooked up a lie and pretended to be someone you were not."

She was not going to deny that, but she did not send Samantha on a killing spree. "Blame me all you want if it makes you feel better, but we both know that you brought this on yourself. I warned you against poking Samantha."

"Poking her?" Logan laughed incredulously, sending the room into a tremor. "She tried to kill me first!" He yelled.

Her eyes involuntarily moved to Kyle, and she gave him an apologetic look. Samantha tried to kill Logan in order to get back at her, and Kyle got caught in the middle, and now she almost succeeded in killing them both in order to get her way.

"You are right, Logan, it is my fault. And yes, I brought her into your life and she tried to kill you the first chance she got. But she just tried it for the second time, and God knows she won't miss the third time!"

Logan seemed to be calm and understanding for a minute, but his coldness resumed, and the look in his eyes sent a shiver of fear down MJ's spine.

"Not if I kill her first," he said in a low, calculated voice, his eyes swirling with darkness. "You are going to take me to her, and we are going to put an end to this madness once and for all!" He stormed out of the house and slammed the door shut.

MJ sighed heavily, but it was not enough to get rid of the apprehension she felt.

"Logan is right, MJ. Who knows what this woman is going to do next? What if she goes after our families next? What then?" Kyle asked.

She had even forgotten that he was in the room, he had not said a single word since they got back from the harbour.

MJ finally joined Cameron and Kyle on the couch. "You are right, he is right. But don't forget who we are talking about here, this is Samantha Grayson, and she knows way too much."

"That's an even more reason to get rid of her. I can't believe I thought she was a nice person," Cameron said, sounding exasperated.

Kyle scoffed. "She's nice when it is convenient for her." He tilted his head and faced her. "MJ, what are you going to do? Logan is determined to find her."

"We can't kill her–"

"MJ, have you gone crazy? She just tried to kill you!" Cameron yelled.

"I know that, but like I said, she knows too much. Just in case you guys have forgotten, do I need to remind you about what we did in London three years ago?" That got them both to calm down, and MJ was glad she finally had their attention. "I need to know who else knows our secret, Samantha must have a confidante. If something happens to her, it might come back to bite us."

"You have a point," Kyle said, in deep thought.

"It's just... ever since I've known Samantha, she has always kept to herself. Yes, she has a way of getting people to do her dirty work, but she does not have any close friends."

Cameron exhaled loudly. "I get everything you are saying, but what about Logan?"

MJ turned to Kyle, unable to hide the fear in her eyes. "Guys, we don't need any more blood on our hands. Logan is furious right now, he is not thinking straight, if he goes ahead with this, he is going to lose everything, and we can't let that happen. Kyle, you have to help me."

Kyle hesitated. MJ knew she was putting him in an awkward position, he was not really interested in doing dodgy stuff. "Okay, what do you need me to do?" He asked.

She sighed in relief. "I'll call you so that we can iron out the details later, but I'll need you to go back to the house." He looked at her in confusion before his eyes widened as he registered her words, and MJ nodded in reassurance. "I'm going to change into warmer clothes, and then I'll go and speak to Logan."

MJ stood up and went upstairs, changing into her sleepwear and her gown, and then she went out to join Logan at the beach, grabbing a blanket on the way out.

Kyle was already gone when she came downstairs, and Cameron had gone to bed.

She had no idea what was keeping Logan there, of course, except for the fact that he wanted to keep an eye on her so that she would not back out of taking him to Samantha.

The moonlight shined on the water, highlighting his shadow. He was sitting on the sand with his knees to his chest.

His white shirt brightened up, moving against the gist of wind. He looked angelic, almost at peace, but MJ could feel he was tense from a mile.

Still, she wished she could stand like this and just watch him, it was a sight to behold. It made her wonder, what if things could be different? What if they were just Logan and MJ on a weekend away at their getaway beach house? What if there was no thirteen years of pain and suffering between them? What if they could be happy?

As if sending that she was watching him, he looked over his shoulder and then continued looking ahead like she was not there.

MJ let out a deep sigh and walked over to where he was, and she hesitated before draping the blanket over his shoulders, surprising both of them. There was something in the air, and it made it difficult to breathe. She pulled up her gown and sat down besides him, pulling her knees to her chest like he did.

"I'm sorry," she said after a minute of silence, and when Logan did not say anything, she continued, "You were right, none of this would have happened if I hadn't brought Samantha into your life. I... I'm truly sorry about your yacht too. I know you are not worried about the rest because you can easily replace everything. That yacht meant the world to you, it was your very first design, it was your vision, and it is not something you can easily replace."

"I was there with Kyle this afternoon, I still can't believe it's no more, but that's all there is to it, MJ. It's not about who is right or wrong, it's no use arguing over that. Do you realise that we almost died?" Logan asked, looking at her. "We almost died in that explosion. Everything happened so fast, but the one thing I remember clearly is that I was thinking about you when it happened, I desperately wanted to get to you and it felt like I couldn't reach you fast enough."

She remembered the look on his face when he came running towards her before he tackled her into the water. She could never have anticipated everything that happened within those split seconds.

"Logan, what happened in there?"

"Don't worry yourself about that. Are you okay?"

MJ could not believe what she was hearing, it did not matter that he had abruptly changed the topic or the fact that she knew for sure that he was hiding something from her and everyone else, the genuine concern in his voice shuttered her to the core, and she did not know how to respond to that except nodding her head with a little hymn.

After sometime, she regained her senses and quickly cleared her throat. "Uhm, yeah... I'm okay!" She said hastily, her voice a little higher than she wanted. "I never thanked you for saving my life. Thank you."

"If I had the chance to do it again. I'm sorry for attacking you earlier, my behaviour is inexcusable. You are right, I can replace everything there, even the yacht, although it's going to take a while and cost a lot too. But you know, money is not an issue," he joked, and MJ found herself laughing, leaving a permanent smile on her face. "I always imagined what it would be like if I saw you again after so many years, the pain of losing you sent me on a spiral. I get back everything I lost in that fire, but no amount of money could ever bring you back. I know there are a lot of things we need to work through, but I want you to know that despite everything, I care about you. I love you, and I will always love you."

Her heart soared as if she had been longing to hear those whose for a long time. Had she? She wondered.

Their fingers touched, sending a wave of electricity through their bodies, forcing them to cling onto each other as their lips moved in sync, dancing to the beat of their hearts.

Logan lowered her onto the sand, his body on hers as he continued devouring her lips. This felt all too familiar, except, this time it felt like there was less baggage holding them down.

His hands roamed her body, leaving a trail of warmth in its wake. But he was too careful, and she did not mind. When he broke the kiss, his lips immediately touching the skin around her neck, she groaned loudly as she tried to grab onto his hair, only to realise that as much as he looked great with his new haircut, perhaps it was not such a great choice removing all his hair.

When she finally caught her breath, she wanted to tell him that she loved him too, but the words died in her throat, and she wondered if he would still love her after what she was planning on doing tomorrow.