Suits & Aces (#3)

11 // Even

He shut his eyes and listened as her steps faded into the crowd outside the cafe, and then stood up abruptly, pushing Lorraine off his lap.

He walked around his desk and slammed the door shut, and turned to the woman in anger. "Don't ever barge into my office like that, do you understand?" He seethed.

He had no idea what possessed him in the first place, one minute he wished they could stay together in silence without dwelling on the past or arguing about their mistakes, but the moment Lorraine arrived, that thought was broken.

He was hoping that it would affect her, that she would be jealous, but she just remained impassive and left.

"But, Logan..." Lorraine looked confused. "You just..." She pointed at the chair and shook her head in question. "You were the one who... wait, was all that just for show?" She asked. Dammit! Logan thought. "Did you use me to make that lady jealous?" He gulped and looked way. Lorraine snickered, "Who the hell is that woman? I feel like I have seen her somewhere, I just can't remember where." She snapped her fingers in thought. "Ah! Now I remember. It is a same woman you were with that night! I can't believe I was so stupid, why did I ever think that you would be interested in me?"

He did not have the energy for this, he had to get rid of her, but how? "I am interested in you. It's just that there's a lot going on right now that you're not aware of, and I don't want to put you at risk."

She folded her arms and look away with teary eyes.

The biggest mistake he made was bringing her back into his life. Well, technically, he barged into her life and gave her false hope, and now he had to deal with the consequences.

If he kept this up he would only continue hurting her over and over again, and yet he could not find it in himself to break her heart right now. It seemed better to do it occasionally.

"Listen," he sighed and walked towards her, taking her hands in his. "Let's make it dinner at the restaurant. I will reserve a table for us. I have a lot of places to stop at, so I'll meet you there, okay?" She nodded her head. Logan kissed her hands. "Good." He took a notebook and wrote a number on a piece of paper, and then tore out the page and took out one of his cards and handed it to her. "Get yourself something nice to wear and anything else you want."

She stared at him in wonder, and guilt tickled at his senses. "Are you sure?" She asked, and he nodded. She flung her arms around him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you so much."

Logan let out a long breath as soon as she left. What did he get himself into? He wondered but he did not stick around to dwell on the matter, he grabbed his car keys and jacket and left the office.

Mrs dos Santos was busy with the customers. She looked good and happy. "Hey, Koki. Please look out for Mrs dos Santos, keep an eye on her. I will be back in a few hours," he ordered.

Koki gave a firm nod. "Sure thing, boss."

He left the cafe and drove to the hospital.

The first thing he did upon arrival was to visit Jorge, he stood outside the door and looked through the window. He was connected to machines and tubes, and had a bandage around his head. He did not look at all alive.

Logan still could not believe that he almost told MJ the truth behind Jorge's attack, she could never know that he was not only responsible for endangering Jorge's life now, but the first time around too.

He felt a presence next to him. "The swelling on his head has gone down," Sonya said, sounding tired and hopeless. "They are going to remove the bandage later, but I don't know whether to be relieved or not. If he wakes up, chances are he will lose his memory, and he is the only person who can confirm how severe it is. What if he doesn't remember me?"

It would probably be for the best. Logan thought. "Jorge is a fighter, he's going to beat anything that comes his way," he said, uncertain. He turned to look at Sonya, and she looked exhausted like she was not sleeping at all.

"I hope so," she muttered. "Aren't you going to go in?"

Logan froze. Okay, that was not part of the plan, he would feel worse than he already did if he entered that room. "Uhm...no. I am actually here on business, I'll come back later."

Sonya gave him a small smile. "Thank you for taking a second to come and see him, it truly means a lot." Logan nodded and turned to walk away. "Logan!" Her voice stopped him on his tracks. "If by any chance you see her, please tell her that there is hope."

There was no need to ask or guess who she was talking about. He would never promise her that, he was not even sure he was going to see MJ again. He looked over his shoulder. "Take care, Sonya," he said firmly and went towards where Samantha was residing.

She was busy reading a magazine when he arrived. "Came to admire your work?" She asked.

"I am simply a concerned citizen," he said and came to stand next to her bed. "We are used to the violence in our city, but it is of great concern when tourists are also affected."

"I take it your girlfriend came to see you. It must be really sad being in love with the person you hate the most in this world, especially when that someone doesn't feel the same way," she said smoothly.

Logan gave her a brittle smile. "You would know that better, maybe you can tell me." All the playfulness vanished from her face, and Logan knew he hit the nail straight to the heart, that was if she had one. "I warned Jorge that his womanising ways would come to haunt him one day, and here you are," he said bitterly, venom laced in his words.

He did not understand where all the hatred he had for this woman came from, but she rubbed him off the wrong way.

"You are not going to get away with this," she seethed, keeping her voice down as if she was afraid that someone would hear her.

Logan narrowed his eyes at her, she was smart. She knew MJ was going to go and see him, and that in turn, Logan would pay her a visit at the hospital.

He shrugged. "What? I'm just stating facts. I know women like you. I have had my own share of problems. There's a great deal of women out there who will do anything to end up with my last name. I know you probably blame me for what happened to you because I don't know, maybe rumour on the street is that I run the streets." She shook her head furiously. "And you feel that I failed you, but trust me, it won't happen again. I'll make sure that the police find whoever did this to you."

"You, pig!" She yelled and tried to get up, but Logan took a step back.

"Whoa! Why are you angry?"

"You did this to me, you sent those guys after me!"

"That's a very bold accusation, Miss." He flattened the wrinkles on her bed. "Do you know that people who go around accusing people are usually the ones with something to hide?" He asked in a low cold tone and watched her eyes turn darker. "Hey, Zoe! Tell me something," He shouted, causing Samantha to jump. "How far are you with the poisoning case?" The bathroom door creaked open, and Zoe came out looking like a thief caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "You look a bit green over there, is everything okay?"

Zoe looked at Samantha then at Logan and forced a smile. "Uhm... I had a leftover uhm...pie last night."

"Hmm... you probably shouldn't be working in that condition."

"I'll be sure to remember that in the future, Logan."

"Well, I hope you find the people responsible for this," he said.

"Thank you, Logan," Zoe said. She was not exactly happy about his presence, probably because she had hoped he would confess to a crime he obviously committed.

But he was not going to give her the satisfaction. "I also hope you find Jorge's attackers, oh, as well as the people responsible for Kyle's poisoning." He could see that he was working on both their nerves, and he enjoyed it. "Zoe, I realise that I'm a jerk."

Zoe scoffed. "Took you long enough."

He smirked and scratched his nose, trying to muffle his laughter. "Look, I need a favour." Zoe folded her arms, raising an eyebrow at him, but Logan did not back down. "I know it is none of my business, but could you please assign officers outside Jorge's room."

She rolled her eyes. "We already have some officers patrolling the hospital. Besides, Sonya is always in the room, I don't think he is in much danger."

Logan placed his hand on his chest and gasped dramatically. "Zoe! What example are you setting for our guest? Do you want her to think our police are incompetent?"

He knew that Samantha was going to take every chance she got to see Jorge. He knew she would never hurt him, but it would hurt her not being able to get to him.

"I'll get two officers from outside," Zoe said and left the room.

The moment the door closed, Samantha looked at him with all the hatred she could master. "You are going to pay for this, Logan Parker," she said. "I'm going to torture you to death, and I'll enjoy every second of it."

Logan snorted and bent over so that they were head to head. "Not if I kill you first."