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“Outside, I think,” Bea said. “With Jag.”
Logan sighed and dropped his head into his hands. “Another person who deserves a fucking apology.”
Bea turned away from the island and opened one of the upper cabinets. When she returned to the island, she was holding a bottle of good bourbon.
“I was going to offer you tea, but that just seems stupid under the circumstances,” she said.
He eyed the bottle. “I would never call you stupid, but I might call you smart if you give me some of that.”
She removed two glasses from another cupboard and poured two inches of bourbon into each. She pushed one toward Logan and picked up the other, then raised it toward him in a toast.
“To bringing Leo home,” she said.
“Amen,” Logan said, downing his drink.
“And to finding the motherfuckers who took him,” Bea finished.
Logan almost choked on the bourbon.
She downed the drink like it was water. “What?”
Logan coughed. “Nothing. Just unexpected that’s all.”
“Don’t be fooled by the Mary Poppins demeanor,” she said.
Logan raised his eyebrows. “I pity anyone who thinks of you as innocuous as Mary Poppins.”
Silence settled between them. Logan was relieved when Bea finally spoke.
Silence wasn’t his friend right now.
“You okay?” she asked.
“I feel like shit. I can’t say that to Gabriella. This isn’t about me. But it is my fault, and the fact that Gabriella blames herself is second on the shit list only after the fact that those monsters have Leo.”
Bea lowered herself into one of the chairs at the island. “I’m of the mind that this is one of those cases where blame needs to take a holiday.”
“It’s not the most important part of the situation,” Logan said. “But it matters. Especially for us, for Imperium. And for me. It matters.”
Bea stared at him. “I don’t know that I agree. You could spend forever debating the issue. You told Gabriella Leo shouldn’t go. She wanted him to go because he wanted to go. You planned the security surrounding the field trip, but Mauz and Jag were there when he was taken. I don’t know Jag very well, and I don’t know Mauz at all, but I know Jag is good at his job. I’ve watched him with Leo, seen how carefully Jag watches him, how seriously he takes that duty. And no one who’s seen you with Leo could doubt how much you care about him, how much you prioritize his safety.”
“Thank you,” he said. “But none of that changes the fact that Leo is gone.”
“True, but maybe it will change the focus a bit. Seems to me that it’s a waste of time to stand around, pointing fingers every which way, when our boy is missing.” She sighed. “Maybe it’s just time to admit it was a big clusterfuck.”
Logan barked out a laugh, surprised he had the capacity under the circumstances. “I won’t argue with that.”
Bea seemed to weigh her words. “I watched Gabriella shut herself off from the world after her divorce. Oh, she acted like she was getting on with it. Like going to work and taking care of Leo meant she was living. But those things are just excuses — first to avoid looking at her marriage to Nathan and then to avoid dealing with the aftermath of it.” She shook her head. “I don’t want you to think I have loose lips. In my five years with Gabriella, I’ve never said a word about her situation, to her or anyone, not even my own children. But it’s a damn shame for her to waste her life doing penance for a mistaken marriage, for a divorce.”
“What are you saying?” Logan asked.
“I’m saying the woman I’ve seen since you got here isn’t the same woman I thought I knew before you got here.” She reached out and squeezed Logan’s hand. “She’s been so afraid of making another mistake, she’s been paralyzed. You’ve beengoodfor her. You got her moving again. Living again. Don’t forget that in all this.”
Logan swallowed the lump in his throat. Was it true? He didn’t know. But it felt damn good to hear it.
“Thanks,” he said.
A commotion erupted from the front yard, and Logan looked at Bea before both of them got to their feet.
