Page 44 of Twisted Empire

I couldn’t help perking up a little even though concern still gripped my gut. “Even though they’re from back in the ‘80s?”

“A lot of older records get digitized over time, especially in fields where quick access could mean life or death. It’s a good thing, because we can’t be sure even the photocopies would have convinced the cops. Now we can cross-reference to the actual files right in the hospital databases.”

“That’s great,” I had to admit.

Logan nodded in a sluggish motion. “Having the extra data has let me turn up a bunch of other transplant records from all the hospitals we have access to now that are suspect. I think Doom’s Seed must have had a few different doctors helping with the forgeries, because there are some repetitions that aren’t in any of Evancho’s files, but it’s still a huge step toward proving our case.”

“We’re almost there.” I glanced from the screen to him again, taking in all the signs of exhaustion etched in his face and his posture. “You didn’t answer me before.”

“About what?” Logan said in a way that told me he knew exactly what I meant and was only dodging. We hadn’t been best friends for years for nothing.

“Did you sleep last night?” I pressed.

He continued looking at his screen, but his eyes stopped moving for a moment, dropping to his keyboard before rising again. “I don’t see why it matters.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You need a break, Logan. This whole case isn’t on your shoulders alone.”

He sighed and tipped his head against the back of the chair. “There’s too much that needs to be done. I need to pull these last pieces together so we can end this before someone else gets hurt. Beckett managed to call all his people to safety last night, but they can’t lay low forever. They have lives. Some of them have partners, kids… And now they can’t go anywhere without worrying about being shot.”

The anguish running through his voice made my stomach knot. Logan put on a solid front of being impervious, but I knew that a lot of things got to him more than he typically let show. And the last few days in particular had been brutal.

“Like I said, it’s not all on you.” I extended my hand toward the computer. “Tell me what to type in for the searches, and I’ll pull some more files while you crash. This isn’t worth losing your sanity over. You can’t help anyone if you burn yourself out.”

Logan groaned. “If I teach you what to do, we’ll only be losing more time.” He closed his eyes for a few seconds, and his voice dropped even lower. “This whole situation has gotten so much more intense than I was ready for. Maddie’s lost her house—our family is in hiding… It’s like my worst nightmare coming true. The last thing I want to do issleep.”

What the hell could I say to him that would be any comfort? I knew exactly what he meant, even if it didn’t hit me quite as hard because it wasn’t my family or a house I’d actually lived in.

I rested my hand on his shoulder with a firm grip. “All of that is true. I’m not going to deny it. But Maddie decided to be a part of this as much as you did. Neither of you made these decisions without thinking them through. She has a right to take those risks if she wants to.”

“It’s my fucking fault for starting all of this in the first place. I have to end it.”

I let out a soft snort. “If we’re getting technical, it was Maddie’s dad who got all of us wrapped up in this case to begin with. If he hadn’t poked his nose into it, we’d never have realized. So if you want to blame someone, you might as well blame him, not yourself.”

“I insisted on digging into it more instead of just letting it lie,” Logan grumbled.

“And if you hadn’t, Maddie would never have gotten closure. She’d have kept blaming herself for her dad’s death, and more people would have died from this illegal organ transplant shit.”

“But at least I wouldn’t have to worry about someone gunning her down.”

I squeezed his shoulder again. “You know she wouldn’t have been any safer if you’d kept it from her. She wouldn’t have known she needed to be wary or protect herself. Hell, for all we know, Doom’s Seed would have gone after her no matter what we did as soon as he realized she was going into the same field as her father.”

Logan let out a sigh, but I heard resigned acceptance in it now. “Everything has become such a clusterfuck.”

“Yeah, but we’re going to unfuck it.” I gave him a crooked grin. “Youare. I’ve seen time and time again how hard you work to make things okay for everyone around you. That crazy dedication is part of the reason we’re best friends. But it also sometimes works against you. You can’t be at your best, giving this your all, when you’re running on fumes. It’s my job as your friend to tell you when I can see you’ve hit your limit.”

“Yeah,” Logan muttered, but he sat straighter to close his laptop and set it on the coffee table. Then he glanced up at me.

“I appreciate the kick in the butt, you know, even when I’m grumbling about it. I know you’ve always got my back. I have no idea how I’d have made it through the last couple of months—hell, the last couple ofyears—without you and Dex at my side. But you in particular… No matter where my temper’s at, highs and lows, you’re always there to balance it out and help me get my head on straight.”

My smile softened. “Right back at you. And hey, I’m pretty sure my main job around here is cheerleader. I take my duty seriously.”

Logan rolled his eyes. “You’re a lot more than that. Don’t sell yourself short.” He paused, his gaze drifting toward the door that led to the hall. “I appreciate that you’re here for Maddie too, you know.”

My chest tightened just for a second. It wasn’t a secret that Logan had struggled with the idea of sharing her affections at first—he’d said some pretty awful things to me a couple of times out of obvious jealousy. But I hadn’t let his harsh comments faze me, since I’d known the place they were coming from, and we’d seemed to find an arrangement we were all satisfied with.

I hadn’t expected him to outright say he was happy with the situation, though.

“You never have to thank me for loving her,” I said lightly. “It’s awfully hard not to.”

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