The shop owner had been moving quickly, folding the brown paper around the jade piece with the practiced hands of someone who wanted a transaction finished before anything changed. But the moment Richard Bao walked out of the shop, the man stopped moving.He stood behind the counter with both hands flat on the surface and looked at the parcel he had just been wrapping. Then he looked at Logan. Then he looked at Richard Bao's retreating figure through the shop window.Nobody spoke for a moment.Then Alan Dawn pulled the parcel back across the counter toward himself.Logan looked at him. "We had a deal.""I am reconsidering," Alan said. His voice had changed. The tired, indifferent tone from earlier was gone completely. "I did not know what that piece was when I priced it. Now I do.""The price was agreed before you wrapped it," Logan said. "I already paid.""Then I am giving you your money back." Alan reached under the counter, produced five dollars, and pushed it across the surface to

Richard Bao had not left the shop.He had stepped to the side when Ava and Mia walked out, moving toward the shelves nearest the window like a man browsing, but he had not gone anywhere. He stood with his hands behind his back and his eyes moving between Alan and Logan with the quiet attention of someone watching something unfold that he did not want to miss.Alan had not noticed him. His eyes were on the three figures coming down the corridor through the glass.Logan watched Alan's face as the man recognized who was approaching. Something changed in Alan's expression. The confidence that had been sitting there since he pulled the parcel back across the counter began to loosen at the edges. His arms, which had been crossed, dropped to his sides."Those are my people," Alan said, but his voice had lost the steadiness it carried before. "Not yours.""We will see," Logan said.The shop door opened. Marcus Flynn walked in first. He was a broad man, unhurried, with the kind of stillness th

The Cooper family home was decorated simply but deliberately. Streamers ran along the hallway ceiling, a banner had been hung above the living room entrance, and the dining table had been extended and set with more chairs than usual. The smell of food came from the kitchen and someone had put music on low in the background.Kyle Cooper sat in the center of the living room looking mildly embarrassed by the fuss, the way people do when they genuinely did not want a party but are too fond of their family to say so. He stood when Logan and Ava walked in with Mia and opened his arms for his granddaughter first."There she is," Kyle said, lifting Mia up. "Look how big you have gotten.""I am very big now," Mia agreed seriously.Kyle laughed and kissed her cheek and set her down. He shook Logan's hand with both of his. "Logan. Good to see you.""Happy birthday, sir," Logan said. "You look well.""I feel well," Kyle said. "Come in, come in."Leslie appeared from the kitchen direction with a d

Leslie turned to Logan with the particular smile she used when she wanted something from him that she did not want to ask for directly. "Logan, Raymond did a wonderful thing for Ava. You should thank him properly. As her husband, it is the right thing to do."Logan set his fork down and looked at Leslie. Then he looked at Raymond.Raymond met his eyes briefly and then looked at his glass."I will thank him," Logan said pleasantly. "But first I have a question for him."Leslie's smile stayed in place. "What question?"Logan looked at Raymond directly. "Which company did your father contact? The client's company or Synergy Corp?"Raymond took a small sip from his glass. "I am not sure of the exact details. My father handles these things quietly. He does not always tell me the specifics.""I see," Logan said. "And when did you ask him? Before the contract was signed or after?""Before," Raymond said, then caught himself slightly. "Around that time, I think.""You think," Logan said.Stac

The dinner table was full and loud in the best way. Food had been passed around twice already and the conversations running across the table had loosened into the comfortable noise of people who had eaten well and were no longer trying to impress anyone.Kyle sat at the head of the table looking genuinely content. He had loosened the top button of his shirt and was listening to something his brother was telling him with the easy attention of a man who had nowhere else to be.Raymond tapped the side of his glass lightly to get the table's attention. The conversations around him settled."I wanted to take a moment," Raymond said, "to present my gift to Uncle Kyle properly." He reached to the side and lifted the glossy gift bag from where it had been sitting against his chair. He carried it around the table and set it in front of Kyle with both hands. "From me and my family. Happy birthday, sir."Kyle accepted it with a warm smile and opened it carefully. Inside was a watch box, and insi