Kendall's P.O.V.
"If you honestly think that the Raiders have any chance of going far this year because they've won three games you are dumb, kid." I glanced into the rearview mirror of my truck as I parked in the all too familiar parking lot and looked at my kid. He had his mouth hanging open as he looked at his Uncle who was casually drinking his water.
"You're going to sit there and tell me Derek Carr isn't one of the strongest new quarterbacks out there?"
"Sure, he's good…" I put my truck in park and glanced to my best friend who unbuckled his seat belt and turned to me smiling big. "But he's no Tom Brady."
"Get the fuck out of here with that Tom Brady shit!" James laughed as he slid out of the truck, taking the two bags of food with him. "If my side didn't hurt I would beat you up." I also slid out of the truck and locked it, pocketing my keys. I clutched onto the tea bottle in my hand and took my sunglasses off my face walking slowly to the sort of modern looking building, two stories high. I could see from the huge double glass doors, Juliet standing behind the front desk, holding a corded phone between her ear as she looked at a piece of fabric in her hands. I frowned as I pulled the door open and moved out of the way letting Max in first, James following fast. "Hey mom. We brought salad and your favorite dish from Olive Garden." I stepped in the sort of cold room and gently let the door shut behind me. Juliet quickly hung her phone up and set her fabric down, smiling wide.
"Hi baby! How do you feel?" I walked around James who stood behind Max who quickly raised his shirt showing off his scar to his mother. She gasped quietly putting a few fingers on his skin. "Did it hurt?"
"No. James was pretty gentle. He also bought lunch, so I got a lot of stuff." Max turned slightly and took the food bags from James making him shake his head. "Where are we eating?"
"My office is fine. Just don't spill please." Max nodded walking past his mom who turned her attention to James and I. "No Logan?" Before I could say he was busy James laughed and started to walk towards Juliet's office.
"Let me guess. He already bitched me out to you." Juliet sighed raising an eyebrow at me making me smirk. I finally walked to her, letting her wrap her arms around my waist as I brushed hair off her shoulders and kissed her forehead.
"He did bitch to me. Something about James is being too mean to Emily considering her broken foot. I didn't have the heart to tell Loges I agreed with James." I nodded gently rubbing her back up and down looking into her office seeing James and Max sitting on the leather couch in Juliet's office. They were looking at one of their phones, making them both laugh loudly. "Did he end up telling you why he was so cute and clingy this morning?" I pulled away a little and smirked but quickly grabbed her hand and started to lead us to her office.
"I'll tell you later." I saw her nod as I let her walk in her office first and followed, shamelessly staring at her ass. "Did you two eat my food?" Both Max and James looked at me, Max slurping a noddle, while James shoved a forkful of chicken in his mouth. I let Juliet sit in the huge armchair cornered with the couch and went to her desk. I rolled over her desk chair and sat down hard yawning. I watched as Max handed his mother her food and waited patiently as James got mine out for me. Once I had it, I sat forward and started to stuff my face.
"How is Emily doing?" After a few minutes of us all eating quietly Juliet finally spoke, making James give her a dirty look before looking back down at his own food. "Logan said you guys found out she's missed a lot of school. And her grades are dropping. Is it because of Austin?" I turned to my son to see him look down fast at his bowl of spaghetti. Jules reached out and touched his knee rubbing it.
"I'm pretty sure of it. And by now Emily thinks she has gotten away with fucking murder because Logan is babying her over her foot." Jules nodded glancing over to me and I smirked taking a sip of my iced tea. "I know you won't like hearing this Jules, but I can't wait for Max to go back to school and kick that kids ass. We all know he wants too." I smiled big seeing Max look up, his phone in front of his face, smile appearing. Juliet sighed shaking her head and I chuckled.
"He is my son." Juliet chuckled standing up, just as my phone started to ring in my jean pockets. Juliet quietly said she was going to use the restroom and bent down, kissing me softly as she walked out. I pulled my phone out and waited a second seeing Carlos's stupid picture come up on my phone. He was either calling to make plans for this Sunday which was a small party we were having while football played all day. Or he was calling about work. As I answered it, I hoped it was the latter. "Hello?"
"Where are you right now? Is James with you?" Carlos sounded slightly panicked and I sat up setting my black plastic bowl on the table in front of me.
"Yeah why?"
"You need to come to the hospital. Someone attacked Logan." I stood up fast and looked down at my oldest friend giving me an odd look. "I have a few uniformed officers with me, but Logan is unconscious right now. I asked security to pull the footage outside his office and inside it, where he was attacked but both cameras were black."
"NO one saw or heard anything in that place?" I pulled my car keys out of my pocket and motioned James to get up.
"That's the weird thing. A nurse…the one who found him lying in the middle of his destroyed office, said she saw Logan go in there and then for a solid 45 minutes it was quiet. That's when she went in to check on him. As far as she knows, no one was in or out of that office in that time."
"Alright. I'll be right there. I'll bring James." James stood up fast hearing that and I hung up hearing Carlos say goodbye. "Max, you need to stay here with your mother. I'll come get you later." I started to turn just as Juliet walked in all smiles. "I gotta cut this short baby girl." I put both hands on her sides and leaned down kissing softly.
"Why can't I go?" I pulled away getting a worried look from Juliet. I swallowed hard and turned to look at James and Max, both glaring me down.
"Someone attacked Logan in his office."
"What?" James took a step forward and I raised my hand. "Who? Is he okay?"
"I'll explain on the way over. I'm going to leave Max here. I'll pick him up if I'm done before you get off work." Juliet only nodded, looking scared and I gave her one last kiss before I headed for the front door.
"Call me when you see Logan." I only nodded pulling my keys out of my jean pockets and walked quickly out of Juliet's work.
"Is he okay Kendall?" I unlocked my truck and got in it quick waiting for James to do the same. As he slammed his door shut hard behind him, I slid the key into the ignition and turned slightly looking at the pale face of my best friend.
"Carlos said he was found unconscious in the middle of his destroyed office." James closed his mouth fast as I backed out of the parking spot and turned my head to make sure no one was behind me. "Both cameras going into his office and in his office, were blacked out. No one saw or heard anything. It was by the grace of God a nurse went in when she did."
"Shit…" I quickly put my truck in drive as soon as I was out of the parking spot and sped off.
James stayed relatively quiet the short drive to the hospital. I had no idea what to say to him. Until I saw Logan, and the crime scene, I had no idea what to think. Carlos said someone destroyed his office. So, this was personal. He also said Logan was attacked and out, but what kind of injuries did he have? I really wished I had asked Carlos before we got to the hospital and James pulled his 'I'm a top surgeon here' card. Because as soon as the nurse at the front desk realized who he was, she nodded and led us down to the same hallway we were down just before we left for lunch with James. We asked Logan to join us, but he said he was too busy, which in my head, meant he was still pissed at James. And we left his office, on the first-floor mind you, in a busy ER, not even thinking about when we'd see him next and if he would be okay. The nurse led us past a few closed off rooms and down at the end where Logan's office was. My heart dropped into my toes seeing yellow police tape blocking the entry way and slowed down, as James went into a room, closed off by a curtain. I cautiously stepped forward to the edge of his office and let out a shaky breath. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and quickly turned my flashlight on, shinning it inside the dark office. No lights were on, and the sky outside was too overcast to bring in any extra light. The first thing I noticed was Logan's desk. It was completely blank. His computer was knocked over on the floor, a huge crack in the monitor. All his papers, usually in a neat organized stack where everywhere. All the picture frames of his beautiful family were smashed on the ground. The two plants he had in two of the corners of the room were knocked over, soil spilling out. Just as I started to lower my phone and turn off my light a hand clapped my shoulder, raising the police tape. "I already had the team sweep for prints." I looked over to Carlos who nodded me inside and I did. "Nothing man. No prints, except for Logan's, we assume. Whoever did this was very careful." Carlos raised his long black flashlight and shined it on a pile of broken glass towards a huge bookcase, completely untouched. "This was the oddest thing to me." He pulled a red handkerchief out of his pocket and bent slightly picking up a broken picture frame. When he raised it eye level to me I stepped forward frowning.
"No picture?" Carlos shook his head looking back down around us and I sighed out hard. "The nurse who found him…she didn't see anyone come in or out of this place?"
"Well she would get up from her seat every now and then." He gently threw the broken frame back on the ground and walked back to the door. He pointed out it and I walked to him still frowning. I looked to where he was pointing and stood up a little straighter. The nurses station looked directly into Logan's office. "She feels horrible. She said Logan usually always, always has his door open. Unless he's on the phone with a patient or family member." I nodded walking back under the yellow tape following Carlos to the closed off room James was probably in with Logan. "She thought to check on him, but she got busy. She is blaming herself." I shook my head and started to push the curtain a side to step in.
"Unless she did it to him, it's not her fault." I walked in slowly and couldn't help the smile on my face seeing the two bodies lying on the bed before me. James was on his back, with Logan basically lying on top of him. James had one arm wrapped around Logan's back, while the other was interlocked with one of Logan's hands. Logan's head was on James's chest but tilted so he could look up at his face. "How you feeling kid?" Logan slowly moved his head to me and grinned big. As I got closer I could see his eyes very dilated and a small gash on his forehead, covered by a white bandage. I tensed up looking closer at the gash and could tell it was deep.
"Someone told me I get to have ice cream for dinner." I sat down in the chair by the bed and gave James a stupid look. He laughed raising the arm on his back and ran his fingers through Logan's hair. "And I think for desert I'll have more ice cream!" James laughed as Logan pushed up and both his laugh, and my smile, left us. A long red mark was around Logan's neck. Someone choked him out. "I'm gonna use the restroom. And then we are going home so we can screw." Carlos laughed beside me, pulling a chair up, while Logan gripped onto the wall right by the small bathroom in the room. As soon as he was inside, slamming the door shut hard behind him, I turned to Carlos.
"He was choked?" In the corner of my eyes I saw James sit up both of us giving our undivided attention to Carlos who nodded leaning back.
"Looks that way. The doctor thinks that's why he was unconscious. The cut on his head was bad, but not deep enough to need stiches. He was either thrown or had something hit him upside his head." I glanced to James seeing him looking down at his hands in his lap, not saying a word. "I'm going to go to the station and look over the finger prints and all the statements. I'll keep you informed dude." James nodded still not looking up and Carlos gently gripped the back of his neck, squeezing gently.
"I think I need to tell you guys something." Carlos stood still, and I tensed up. "I may have an idea of who could have done this." I scooted to the edge of my chair and James looked right at me. "About a week ago…when Logan and Juliet went to Costco to get grocery's…and we went to the batting cages…you remember?" I nodded slowly remembering the phone call her and I had, in which I told I was going to change my ways and she sounded the happiest I had heard her in a while. "Well Jules told me they ran into an intern who…" Before he could finish the bathroom door swung open and a grinning, child looking Logan ran out of it, jumping on the bed. He shoved under James arm and clung onto him grinning back up at Carlos.
"What you guys talking about?" I saw James swallow hard just as Carlos turned to me.
"Well Kendall and I were just about to leave to find out who hurt you. James was gonna come walk us out and then take you home." Logan nodded slowly pulling away from James and laid back on the bed pulling his legs up to his chest. I stood up, and so did James but before I could walk away, James grabbed my upper right arm and pulled me closer to him.
"Look into an intern named Shawn Smith." I pulled away quick and he nodded sitting back down putting a hand on Logan's knee. "Ask Jules about it." I felt my stomach twist thinking about the fact that she hid something from me but Carlos's movement beside me made me nod and turn to the doors.
"You aren't going to walk them out?"
"No baby. I'm gonna stay with you." I smiled and waved goodbye to Logan who grinned even bigger back to me and waved softly. As I turned to the door Carlos already walking out of it, my phone started ringing in my back pocket. I pulled it out and felt my whole body tensing up. It was Juliet. Perfect.