Suits & Aces (#3)

Her mind was running wild like cricketers on a dark night. She stared at the fire, seeing herself in the red of the flames and the rage of the sparks. 

She was looking for answers only she knew the questions to.

Day in, day out, there was always something new nibbling at her mind, twisting, turning, tormenting, and burning. It set her mind alight, taking her to places without a trail, dark places with no way home. Or as the world likes to say, a place of no return.

However, she liked it there, it was her happy place, it was the only time she was in control, and she loved control. Samantha Grayson loved having the world at the tip of her fingertips. 

"What is your story with Logan Parker and MJ Billings?" She tilted her head slowly against the couch, her dark eyes landing on her new companion, the girl with the cervical collar. The young woman was like a pest, constantly poking and asking questions. Her curiosity was unnerving.

"What's your name again?" Samantha asked, intentionally provoking her.

"Carmen," the girl gritted.

Samantha smiled cynically. "Carmen," she repeated as if tasting the name at the tip of her tongue. "Tell me something, Carmen, do you like the place?" 

She watched as Carmen's eyes wandered around the ceiling and the fireplace, her lips twisting into a snarl. "Well, it is quite fancy."

"Fancy as your fiancé's place?" Samantha poked.

"Not even close," Carmen said confidently.

Luxury. That was Carmen's weakness, she was driven by her quest for the high life, money, cars, fashion, and the spotlight. Girls like her were easy to lure and easy to use, and just as simple to dispose of. That was the first impression Samantha got of her, and it was probably the reason she was an easy bait for MJ.

MJ Billings preyed on people's weaknesses, she drew power by convincing them that they were in full control of a situation.

"Tell me something, how did you end up in this situation?" She already knew that the money lured her, but obviously it did not magically land on her doorstep.

"A man approached me, he said he was working for MJ Billings." Liam, Samantha thought. He never shied away from doing her dirty laundry. "He said MJ Billings would be back in town soon, and when that happens, then I would lose Logan forever. He convinced me that he was trying to keep Logan and MJ apart. "

"Oh, trust me, he could have. Love is such a dangerous game, Carmencita."

Carmen cringed at her new name. "He told me that he had a plan to make Logan fall in love with me. He said that Logan desperately wanted to have a child to fill a void in his past."

A void? Did Liam know things about Logan than MJ did not know about? When MJ sends someone to do her dirty work, quite often, she does not n't give them a user manual to succeed in their plans, she just simply gave them an idea. She told Liam to bribe Carmen, and he made it look like he was sponsoring her.

Liam was deliberately trying to cause conflict between MJ Billings and Logan Parker, by now, they both had twisted versions of the truth.

"You sneaky bastard," Samantha muttered thoughtfully. "Has Logan lost a child before?" Carmen's forehead creased and she scratched her nose in thought. "Do you perhaps know if Logan had a child in the past? Lost a child."

She opened and closed her mouth like a fish, looking uncertain.

Of course, she did not! The only thing she's been looking at since she met him was his pocket. She did not care about him, she did not care enough to find out or know about his past; his pain or his trials and tribulations. She only cared about his money, about his status and the places it would take her in this world, he was her golden ticket. 

She did not love him, she only loved herself.

"Not that I know of," she said after some hesitation. "I mean, he was with Lola before MJ, and I don't know if they had a child or not, but I know that something happened between the two of them and that Logan was never the same after that. It changed them, it changed him."

But of course, it had to be Lola! Logan and Lola might have had a child, and then Lola lost his child and left him with a void in his heart, and now he was trying to fill that gap.

Liam knew exactly where to press. But how?How could Liam have known about this, how did he find out that Logan and Lola would have had a kid together?

There was someone else playing games, there was someone else who did not want Logan and MJ to be together.

There was a mastermind behind this game, someone who wanted to keep them apart. Liam and Carmen were just pawns in this game. This mastermind wanted to keep Logan and MJ apart by making them both believe that they were in control of what was happening, while in reality he or she was driving a wedge between them. But who was it? Who could have been whispering in Liam's ear?

This only made her mission more interesting. She had to find out who this saint was, perhaps they could find a way to work together. She had no business in keeping MJ and her man apart, but she needed them to be distracted while she continued on her own mission, and if jeopardizing their relationship would help her achieve her goals, then so be it.

"Is there anyone who could possibly know about this?" Samantha asked.

Demi arrived just in time to answer her question. "Jorge Billings," she said, depositing herself next to Carmen. "He is Logan's best friend, he knows everything there is to know about Logan Parker."

Her heart skipped a beat at the mention of Jorge, but she knew he could not have betrayed his best friend. Although he was probably the one person who wanted to separate MJ and Logan, he did not like Carmen and would never put Logan through the pain he went through all over again. That was not Jorge.

She would not be able to find answers while sitting here, Demi and Carmen would be useful in the future, just not in this case.