Adrianna raised the number one more time, her voice taking on a sharper edge."I'm not playing games with you, Logan. That amount can change your life. All you have to do is make one phone call."Logan looked at her with the same calm expression he had been wearing since she first crossed the parking lot. "I already told you my answer.""Your answer is wrong.""That's fine."Adrianna stared at him, her composure fraying visibly now. The careful, measured version of herself she had arrived with was almost entirely gone. Her jaw was tight and her eyes had lost their patience."You're really going to stand there and turn this down.""I really am.""For what? What principle is worth that kind of money to you?"Logan shifted Mia slightly in his arm and looked at Adrianna without any heat behind it. "It's not about principle. I just don't want to help you, those are different things."She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. Whatever she had planned to say didn't come out. She

The ballroom was loud and warm, the kind of noise that came from too many people trying to make a good impression at the same time. Logan and Ava had been inside for less than ten minutes and already the room had rearranged itself around them.It started small. A former classmate who had never once acknowledged Logan during their school years appeared at his elbow with a wide smile and an outstretched hand. Then a woman Ava hadn't spoken to since graduation materialized beside her with compliments about her dress and questions about her work. The attention came in waves, each one a little less subtle than the last.Ava handled it with easy grace, responding warmly without giving too much away. Logan accepted handshakes and exchanged brief pleasantries, but his eyes moved through the room at their own pace, taking stock.He spotted Ruth Adams near the far side of the ballroom. She was standing close to her boyfriend, speaking into his ear while glancing in their direction. Whatever s

The restroom was empty when they walked in, which was lucky. Logan checked the stalls out of habit, found them clear, and moved to the far end near the window ledge where the noise from the ballroom was just a muffled pulse through the wall.Alvin followed and stopped near the sink. He set his glass on the ledge, pressed both hands against the counter, and looked at his own reflection for a moment. He slid down against the cool tiles until he was sitting on the floor, his back against the cabinet beneath the sink, his arms resting loosely on his knees. He didn't make any sound. The tears came silently, tracing slow lines down his face, and he didn't wipe them away.Logan stood a few feet away and said nothing.He didn't crouch down or move closer. He just stayed where he was, giving Alvin the room to feel what he was feeling without anyone rushing him through it. The restroom was quiet. Somewhere outside a door opened and closed, and footsteps passed without stopping.Alvin breathed

Logan scanned the room out of habit and found it largely unchanged, the same clusters of people, the same band playing at the same modest volume, the same careful social performances happening at every table.But something had shifted while they were gone.Alex Smith was back. He had changed outfits at some point in the evening, which was the kind of move that only made sense if you had planned it, a deliberate reset, a second entrance. The new outfit was darker, sharper, and considerably more expensive than what he had worn earlier. He was moving through the room with the easy confidence of someone who understood exactly how much his presence was worth in a space like this.People gravitated toward him. They always did. His political profile gave him a gravitational pull that money alone couldn't replicate.Ruth Adams was near the edge of his orbit, her boyfriend beside her, her expression doing several things at once. She was watching Alex with the focused attention of someone tryin

He glanced at Logan. "Can I ask you something?""Go ahead.""Alex Smith." Alvin kept his voice even, but there was something careful behind it. "He noticed you tonight. More than once. And the way he looked when you were seated up front." He paused. "Do you think he'll leave it alone?"Logan turned his head and looked at Alvin with a faint expression of disbelief. Not offense exactly. More like mild surprise that the question needed to be asked."You think I can't handle Alex Smith?"Alvin raised both hands slightly. "That's not what I said. I just..." He stopped, choosing his words. "I don't want tonight to create a problem for you. That's all. You've done a lot for me and I'd feel terrible if it brought trouble back to your door."Logan opened his mouth to respond, but Ava spoke first."He has a point." She glanced at Logan from his other side, her tone matter of fact. "I know Alex. We went to school with him for years. He presents well and he's polite when it suits him, but underne