Of Loss & Betrayal (Madison & Logan 2)

I was gratified by Mack’s look of surprise. “This is news to me. Obviously, Logan didn’t tell me about any engagement.”

“When did you see him at the hospital? Was it before or after Kristina visited him?”

Mack grimaced. “It was before. I had to leave before Kristina showed up because I got a call from my grandmother’s nurse that she was demanding to leave the house. She has Alzheimer’s and goes through spells where she’s convinced she’s still a young woman and being held in her house against her will.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, sympathetically. It reminded me that I knew little about Mack, while he knew so much about me and my past. “How long has she been sick?”

He sighed, looking tired. “She was in the beginning stages about five years ago, but this past year it’s gotten progressively worse at a fast pace.” He paused before continuing. “My grandmother was the one who raised me, after my parents died. I was lucky to have her. She’s an amazing woman. She had more energy that most people ten years her junior, and she devoted her life to making sure I had the happiest childhood possible.” His mouth twisted. “Alzheimer’s is such a heinous disease. The first time she didn’t recognize who I was killed me.”

“It must be so hard to see her go through that. It makes Logan’s memory loss pale in comparison.” I frowned. “I was so upset about what happened with Logan, and you were the one to help me through it all. Yet I didn’t even realize that all this must be a trigger for you, not only with your parents passing away in a car accident, but with Logan losing his memory.” I sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so selfish.”

Mack shook his head. “You weren’t being selfish. I was happy to be there for you.” He put his hand on my arm and squeezed lightly. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ve been through a lot.”

Before I could respond, Logan came back into the living room with the glasses of wine. He glanced down and Mack quickly removed his hand from my arm, leaning back into his armchair. Logan’s expression was enigmatic and he didn’t comment as he handed us our wine. He sat down next to me, but he was looking at Mack.

“I hear that Chinese food is on the way,” Mack said a little too cheerfully. His touch had been innocent but it almost seemed like he felt guilty. “Good choice.”

Logan nodded, his gaze remaining on him as he took a sip of his wine. “What were you guys talking about?”

“His grandmother,” I answered quickly. Logan was close enough that I could feel the tension in his body. I wanted to make sure he realized that our conversation, and Mack’s touch, had been innocent. “She, unfortunately, has Alzheimer’s and he was telling me about it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Logan replied, but his expression remained unreadable. “That must be hard.”

Mack nodded. “It can be difficult but she has days where her memory is crystal clear.” He smiled. “Enough talk about depressing things. Any progress on the memory front?”

That wasn’t exactly a cheerful topic but I went with it, especially since I wanted to discuss Kristina’s allegation.

“Not really, but Kristina came over today unexpectedly.” I hadn’t discussed with Logan whether or not we were going to mention what happened today to Mack, so I didn’t want him to know I had already told him. “She wants us to believe that in the span of her visiting Logan at the hospital in L.A. and him leaving the next day, he confessed his love for her, proposed to her, and bought her an engagement ring.”

Mack shook his head disbelievingly. “Logan, you never mentioned any of this to me and we talked on the phone after you had gotten back to Chicago. I seriously doubt Kristina’s telling the truth.”

“Were you there when she visited me at the hospital?” Logan asked.

Mack frowned. “No. I had to leave before Kristina got to the hospital because of my grandmother. I didn’t get a chance to see you again before you left, but I’m sure you would have mentioned getting engaged when I talked to you later if it had actually happened.”

I took a deep breath, revealing the one damning piece of evidence. “She has a picture of her and Logan together. It’s dated the day Logan left for Chicago. She’s wearing the engagement ring and they both look pretty happy in it.”

Mack looked surprised by my revelation. “Are you sure she didn’t doctor up the photo somehow?”

“That’s what I said, but Logan’s convinced it’s real.” I pressed my lips together in dismay.

“I’ve seen my fair share of photoshopped images since I’ve been involved in some digital fraud cases,” Logan said. “I’m pretty sure that picture was the real thing.”

“So, you think it’s true that you and Kristina are engaged?” Mack asked incredulously. “I find that highly unlikely considering what you told me.” He glanced at me before looking back at Logan. “You were kind of out of it while I was at the hospital, but you were lucid enough to tell me that Kristina was badgering you to visit, but you didn’t want to deal with her. I can’t imagine that changing so quickly that you would be professing your love to her.”

“No, I don’t believe Kristina and I are engaged. Even with my memory gaps, I know that can’t possibly be true. I just think there’s some other explanation for the picture.”

Logan’s assertion should have reassured me, but what other possible explanation could there be for the picture? It was obviously a picture of a happy couple beaming about their recent engagement. Kristina’s ring-adorned hand was in obvious display in the picture.

We were interrupted by the Chinese food arriving, and we abandoned the topic as we ate dinner, although it was still in the forefront of my mind. I couldn’t help bringing up the topic again once we were done eating, and working on another bottle of wine.

“What are you going to do about her insistence that you guys are engaged?” I asked Logan. “She said she was expecting to hear from you by the end of the day.”

Logan sighed heavily. “I don’t want to be cruel. I’m not sure how to handle the situation without hurting her.”

That was absolutely the wrong thing to say. I felt my temper ignite. “She’s the one lying to you and you’re worried about her feelings?” I said, not bothering to hide the anger in my voice. “It’s not cruel to tell her that she has no chance with you. That’s just being honest.” I narrowed my eyes. “Unless you’re trying to string both of us along until you figure out who you like better.” I laughed but the sound was ugly. “Sometimes I forget that you’re not the Logan that I knew. He would have never entertained her manipulations.”

I knew I was being unfair. I couldn’