Chapter One
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“I know what I’m doing. If I can get the proof, there is no way I’ll be denied the promotion.” Cordelia Sparks had spent the last year researching. She knew the Henderson family was rich, powerful, and dangerous to play with when she’d decided to do this. Time wasn’t going to change anything. Following through with her plan would bring them to their knees. That’s what made staging the story even more valuable. “Not many people are willing to go to this length.”
“Exactly, Cori. That should be the red flag that you need to stop. If they find out—”
“They haven’t yet. Sorry Sis, but I’ve got to go. Someone is calling on the other line.”
“Cori, I really think that—”
“Sarah, it’s work. I have to take this.”
“Okay, love you.”
“Love you, too.” Cori hated lying to Sarah, but if she didn’t, it was going to be a replay of every other conversation they’d had. The lecture would last at least an hour and accomplish nothing but make her feel alone. If no one else believes me, I hoped you would, Sarah.
Cori regretted letting Sarah in on what she was doing. What was I thinking? This is what big sisters do. Worry. Nag. It was foolish for Cori to think that just because they’d both crossed the good old age of thirty Sarah would consider her old enough to take care of herself. Sarah could only see things one way: hers. Her sister would never understand what it was like for her. Cori had been working at the news station for two years, and each time a position opened for an investigative news reporter, she was bypassed. She asked why and they made it clear. If she wanted it, she needed to fight for it. That’s exactly what she was doing.
She was going to use her secret passion to obtain the truth, which in turn should facilitate getting a new position. It was perfect. If she couldn’t get proof of what James had done to her grandpa, then she’d make his children pay. I know what they’re really like. What they’re capable of. They might be able to fool the rest of the world, but not me.
Their father, James Henderson, had been a snake. Cruel wasn’t a strong enough word to describe him. What he’d done to her grandfather Joe’s business was uncalled for. Grandpa Joe came to the United States from Madeira in his late teens. It hadn’t been easy for him in the beginning, but he’d saved every cent he’d earned until one day he’d purchased land to start his very own vineyard. No one knew why, but Grandpa Joe had refused to do business with James. She remembered hearing him tell her grandma it was because James was unethical. Untrustworthy. He believed it was an inherited bad-seed gene, and therefore, no Henderson would ever be a good person.
She was young when a fire had broken out during the night. The flames had roared, and people screamed to save the crops. She and Sarah were sent away with their mother and grandma while the men struggled to put it out. Not only was the entire vineyard destroyed, but that was the day that changed her life. Grandpa Joe took his last breath trying to save it.
At first, the family had tried to get the police to look at possible arson. Yet each avenue her parents took seemed to return the same results. It was the neglect of proper chemical storage that caused the fire.
Cori knew that hadn’t been the case. She’d walked those fields almost every day with Grandpa Joe, and he’d told her repeatedly how important it was to take care of the crop, the land, and the equipment, and then it would take care of you. They might have called it an accident, but I’ll never believe it. Grandpa wasn’t careless.
There was nothing she could do back then, but she was an adult now. Several years ago, she’d gone to the police and tried to get the investigation reopened. She hadn’t had any proof, but a nagging feeling remained that James was behind it. To no avail, she tried to get them to look into James as a viable suspect. After months of trying, she had to face the fact that she wasn’t any closer to answers than before. The police wouldn’t even admit the fire was set, let alone entertain James as, in her eyes, a murderer. He might be dead now, but that didn’t lessen the need for the truth. I promised I’d get justice for my grandpa. And that is what I will do.
She looked at her watch and knew it was time for her appointment. It was risky using her real name, but one couldn’t make an appointment with a neurosurgeon without proper identification and health insurance. Cori had faked it with her primary care physician and asked for a referral to the one and only Dr. Logan Henderson.
She turned the engine off and got out of her car. She was nervous about meeting with Dr. Henderson, as she had no valid reason for being there. Making up a fake head injury was against the law if she tried to use health insurance to pay for the consultation. But if she paid for it herself, no preauthorization was needed. Taking funds out of her retirement to cover the tests and appointments was risky. Not as risky as committing insurance fraud.
She made her way to his office, gave the receptionist her name, and waited. His wall was covered with prestigious awards and degrees, making it clear he was one of the top neurosurgeons in the US, possibly in the world. That didn’t mean he was a good person. James had been a successful businessman and a complete scumbag.
This wasn’t the first Henderson she’d arranged to meet. She’d worked in the records room for Poly-Shyn for two weeks when she crossed paths with the youngest, Dean. She’d chosen to meet him first since he’d taken over his father’s company. The guy was gruff and hard as nails, but she’d found him to be a fair businessman. That had surprised her. Success of such magnitude came with a price. Usually the lack of kindness and compassion.
Dean wasn’t totally crossed off the list, but she didn’t thnk she was going to get him to open up about the family. It was going to take talking to someone about her pretend past and getting them to open up about their childhood life as a Henderson. Since Logan was not only in the medical field but also single, she hoped he’d be easier to unravel.
“Cordelia Sparks.”
She looked up at the nurse holding her chart, stood up, and said, “That’s me.”
Once inside the exam room, they reviewed her medical history. “Is there a hearing disorder?”
That was an odd question. “No.” The nurse shrugged. “Is there a reason you asked?”
“We called your name several times, and you didn’t respond until I came and stood in front of you. If it weren’t for the fact we obtained your photo when you arrived, I would’ve thought you’d left.”
Cori was about to tell the nurse she was in deep thought, but realized this was just what she needed. Another symptom. “I’m sorry. That’s something that’s only been occurring since I hit my head. I guess I should’ve mentioned it before.”
The nurse wrote that down in her notes. “Anything that is different should be mentioned. Would you like me to add anything else?”
“No. That’s it, thank you.”
The nurse left, and Cori sat on the exam table, waiting. She was happy this one didn’t require her to take her clothes off. She’d taken a picture of the gorgeous doc jogging on the beach early one morning. She told herself it was purely for research, but his rock-hard abs weren’t getting her any answers. At least none of any importance. If he hadn’t decided to dedicate his life to saving lives, he would’ve made one heck of an underwear model.
There was a brief knock and the door opened. The stunning Dr. Henderson entered. He wasn’t dressed in his swim trunks this time, but that didn’t take away from his good looks. If anything, he looked better. The camera hadn’t captured how dark his eyes were. Concentrate. You don’t need him thinking you have high blood pressure from a racing heart.
He walked over to shake her hand. “Ms. Sparks, I’ve read your file. There’s a lot missing here, so maybe you can start by telling me what brings you in today.”
“I thought my primary doctor sent you the file.” She knew there wasn’t much to send, as she was the one who’d requested the referral. Since she was a private-pay patient, there was no preauthorization needed. Hence the missing labs.
Logan flipped through the file again. “I can reach out to him to see if something is missing. I actually prefer to run my own tests anyway. Although I’m not questioning him, I just know my equipment and staff. I hope you understand.” She nodded. “So tell me more about your injury.”
She’d practiced this so many times she should know it by heart. Yet now, in front of incredibly gorgeous him, she stammered as she tried to recall each detail. “I hit my head.”
“Where, with what, and when?”
Cori rubbed the crown of her head and pretended to wince as though it was sensitive to the touch. “I was in my basement. I’d recently put up new shelves, and when I stood, my head hit the support crossbeam.”
“When did this happen?”
She’d purposely left that part out. Cori didn’t want to sound too rehearsed like a robot. “Three weeks ago.”
Logan nodded and felt her head in the area she mentioned. Once again she pretended it was tender. “It still hurts to the touch?”
She was worried she was overdoing it. Back in school, her theater coach had often said she put too much drama in drama. Cori couldn’t afford to get an A for effort yet fail at this. Tone it down. “I guess I just anticipate the pain. It’s much better than before.”
“That’s a good sign. Yet you’re here, so I assume there’s something other than the pain concerning you.”
“I’ve had headaches since that hit. I know it might be nothing, but if it is I thought—”
“You’re never wrong for having a head injury checked out. I sometimes can’t help the people who wait. Where are you getting your headaches?”
Cori struggled with that question. Wasn’t a headache a headache? Given she wasn’t prone to suffer them often, she wasn’t sure what to answer that would be consistent with her other symptoms. Think, Cori. “Um, well . . . mostly at the back of my head?”
“Okay. Are they always in the same spot? Consistent times? If you take painkillers for them, do they make a difference?”
Oh God. Why hadn’t I thought about any of this? “Sometimes I’m so used to them that I don’t consider taking medication, to be honest. I figure everyone gets headaches every once in a while.”
He smiled. He had a really nice smile. “Headaches come in many shapes and sizes. They’re basically in one of two categories: primary or secondary headaches. My assumption is that yours are secondary, possibly injury related, which is not unusual. So, in the neck or head. The brain itself doesn’t have pain receptors, however, several areas of the head and neck do. I’d like to look into this a little more so we can find the root of the problem. That would mean tracking when they occur, where they occur, and for how long, and whether a general pain killer like acetaminophen improves your pain. Does that sound okay?”
“Yes, Dr. Henderson, that sounds great.”
Apart from that small oversight, Cori felt so far it was all going as planned. Now was the time to open up a bit about family and see if she could get him to talk even a bit.
“I haven’t told any of my family about this.”
“Why is that?” Logan asked, arching a brow.
“Do you have any siblings?” He responded with a nod only. “So you know how it is, right?”
“All families are different,” Logan said flatly.
Cori hoped he was more of a talker than that. “I’m sure you’re close to yours.”
He shined a light in both eyes before changing the subject. “Besides headaches, are there any other abnormal behaviors or issues that you’re experiencing?”
“Could it affect my hearing?”
“Has your hearing changed?” Logan asked.
Cori shrugged. “Not that I’ve noticed, but your nurse suggested it might have.” She felt bad throwing the nurse under the bus like that, but she wanted it to be an issue picked up by someone else. Who better than his own staff?
“I see that in the notes. My suggestion is to do a CT-scan of your brain. From there I’ll determine what other tests I might require.”
“Do you think there is anything wrong?” She knew darn well there wasn’t a single thing wrong with her, so there was no worry about what the results were going to be.
“Nothing obvious shows, yet I function on facts only. Once I have the results from the test, I’ll feel more comfortable making my diagnosis. I’ll have my receptionist call you to schedule the test. I’d like to have it done as soon as possible if that’s okay with you.”
“What’s the rush? I thought you said there wasn’t anything to be concerned about.”
He shook his head. “I believe my words were no apparent damage could be seen. But with your symptoms, I’d like to make sure.”
“Could it be dangerous? Could I die?” She forced her voice to sound panicked.
“Ms. Sparks—”
“Call me Cori. And it’s really a simple question.” She was trying a different tactic. Instead of laid-back and passive, she was going to push harder.
He looked at her file again. “Ms. Sparks, is there someone I can call who could wait with you while we have the test performed?”
Cori had left out an emergency contact. The last thing she needed was Logan or anyone else reaching out to Sarah. I’d really need a doctor if she knew what I was doing right now. Looking at her hands folded in her lap, she said softly, “I have no one that I’m close with. It’d be better that I wait . . . alone.” She sounded so darn pathetic she wished her old drama teacher were there to grade her. I’d finally earn that A.
Logan’s voice softened for the first time as well. “I’m sorry. It must be difficult going through this alone. Let me make a call, and I’ll get this scheduled for you for later today. This will reduce the amount of wait time, which hopefully will help somewhat.”
She would be happy if the CT-scan was actually what she required. All that meant was an expense, and she wouldn’t need to see him again. She needed to think of something fast. “Thank you. I really appreciate that.” Getting off the exam table, she pretended to sway as though losing her balance. Reaching out, she grabbed his arm and fell toward him then went limp in his arms. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. She counted, knowing she didn’t want to appear to be unconscious, just passed out briefly.
As he scooped her into his arms her eyelids fluttered open, and she asked, “What . . . what happened?” Besides making my way into your arms.
Logan didn’t let go of her as he reached out and pressed a buzzer. “Call 911.”
That wasn’t what she’d wanted to happen. She expected him to take her pulse or blood pressure. There was no way she was going to the hospital. “I’m okay I just—”
“Lie down. You fainted.”
“No, I was just a little dizzy.”
“Ms. Sparks, you need to go the hospital to be assessed. I can’t, in good conscience, send you home after fainting. You could have a—”
She sat up. “I’m not going to the hospital. I know my rights. I can refuse treatment, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.” If they took her, they’d run a bunch of tests and might even keep her a few days. This entire plan was quickly unraveling. “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want the CT-scan.” When she got off the table this time, she made sure she was steady on her feet. If he took her BP now, he might find it elevated from sheer panic. I need to get out of here.
Logan reached his hand out and held her by the elbow. “I can’t stress enough that you’re making a huge mistake by doing this.”
“Don’t worry, Dr. Henderson. I’m fully aware of the risk I’m taking.”
Cori tugged her arm from his and walked out of the exam room, and he followed close by. She stopped at the receptionist and pulled out money for her office visit. “Would you like a receipt, Miss Sparks?”
Cori shook her head and left Dr. Henderson’s office. She wasn’t sure she exhaled until she was in her car again. That was too close.
Logan sat at the bar waiting for his older brother Brice to arrive. He had no idea what was so darn important that they couldn’t discuss it on the phone. After the day he had, he didn’t want any more bullshit. That’s usually what it was, too. His family came to him, telling him what was going to be done without asking him what action they should take.
He respected his sibling’s independence. It’s the way they all were by necessity. Until recently, they’d never met to discuss issues any of them were facing. It was more like every man for themselves. Now at least, they had an inkling there was a crisis amongst them. Maybe someday I’ll share my shit with them.
What he faced was so different from any of them, so how could he share things with his family? He’d lost patients on the operating table. It wasn’t as simple as saying you’d save the next one. There’d been a human life he couldn’t save. Logan knew patients came to him because they were high-risk cases, and at times he knew the odds were stacked against them. None of that made a bit of difference when he had to call a time of death. The next step would be breaking the news to the loved ones who’d been waiting.
His mind couldn’t help but wander to the beautiful woman who’d fainted in his arms earlier. Logan was concerned there really could be something serious, but she was right. No one could force her to go for testing if she didn’t want to. Normally he could separate the two, patient and woman, but somehow she’d been different. He wanted to know she was going to be okay, and he knew it was more than the physician in him that was concerned. The physician would turn it over to his nurse to reach out. He thought back to her file and tried to picture the referring doctor’s name. He drew a blank. That meant he’d need to wait till morning and have his secretary pull the file for him. Logan knew he was going to reach out to his colleague and give him a courtesy heads-up. There was a fine line concerning patient confidentiality, but the referring physician should be kept in the loop. Not that I’m in it at all.
He was glad when Brice eventually showed up. Although he’d spent many hours sitting at a bar alone, tonight wasn’t one of the times he wanted that. “About time.”
Brice took the vacant seat near him. “I wanted to make sure the kids were asleep before I came. I figured you had no one waiting for you.”
He didn’t miss the dig about being single. Everyone else may have found someone that fit with them, but that wasn’t the case for Logan. He was frequently called into surgery at all hours of the night. Not just here, but he’d been flown out of the country on several occasions to operate on high-level dignitaries around the globe. They all felt they were his most important patient. A person’s wallet meant nothing to Logan. He was there to save lives. Not just the rich or famous either.
He remembered one thing Cordelia Sparks’s file said. She didn’t have any insurance. It was possible she left the office out of fear of payment. Damn it. I should’ve tried harder to stop her. Why did I let her leave? He knew why. He had no legal right to stop her. She wasn’t the first person who’d ever walked out. Yet, something about her felt different. He didn’t know what, but he sensed she was holding something major back from him. He really hoped she sought help for whatever it was.
“You seem to have a lot on your mind. Is everything okay?”
Logan turned to Brice who didn’t normally ask. Is it that obvious? He’d never shared anything about his other patients, and if he brought up Cordelia, it would sound odd. Hell, it sounds weird to me. “Just one of those days.”
Brice nodded. “That it is. I wanted to talk to you about Tabiq.”
That was one subject he was interested in. It’d been almost a year since Alex uncovered the truth about their father’s so-called business affairs in Tabiq. His other brothers had all traveled there. Everyone had located their mother except Logan and Shaun. He knew it was going to take time. He understood that if they found them, it was important to ensure they were safe going forward. No matter what they seemed to do, the people of Tabiq were leery of the Henderson name. It was with good reason, but Logan was tired of being held accountable for his father’s actions.
“What’s going on now?” Guessing wasn’t even worth his time. Things were so volatile he didn’t even want his siblings going there. They could hire people to go and gather information. It made absolutely no sense to him for any of them to be physically there. One of these times one of you will be returning in a box.
“Bennett has been working closely with the Turchettas, and everyone believes they are close to locating Shaun’s mother.”
Logan continued to sit face-forward as he sipped his beer. “That’s good.”
“I thought you might want to travel with him since you haven’t been there yet.”
He downed his beer and waved to the bartender for another. “My schedule is booked solid.”
“I don’t get it, Logan. You’re the one I thought would’ve gone first, setting up hospitals and treatment centers. Yet, when we talk about it, you show no emotion. That’s not like you.”
There were damn good reasons for that. He wasn’t going to share why with anyone until they confirmed Shaun’s mother had been found and was well. If they knew the truth about his mother, the joy and hope that had enveloped and unified them all might disappear.
“What do you want from me, Brice? Should I jump up and down and scream to the entire world that another brother found his mother? What does this all really mean anyway? Have any of them chosen to come here? No, they haven’t. They’re all in Tabiq. Have you asked yourself why?” Logan and Brice glared at each other. “I’ll tell you why. Because they don’t want a Henderson as a son any more than we want to be one.”
“You really can’t believe that bullshit, Logan,” Brice said gruffly.
“How many times have you gone, Brice? Between you, Bennett, and Alex, there is almost always someone there. Yet, are they coming forward seeking you out?” He could tell by Brice’s expression he’d considered that himself. “Exactly. It’s like we have a billboard saying ‘We’re looking for you, Mom. Where are you?’ And no one raises her hand.”
“Logan, there are reasons why they don’t. If you’d just go one time, you might understand.”
“I’ve traveled to enough countries like that to treat patients.”
“Logan, this isn’t just another country. Whether you like it or not, this is where we’re from. If our father hadn’t brought out mothers here to have us, we wouldn’t even be US citizens.”
“Do you hear yourself, Brice? You’re talking like you’ve accepted what happened. I don’t know about you, but I’m not thrilled about how I came into this world. It’s fucked up.” And so am I.
He normally was the one in control, yet here he was snapping at Brice over something he had no more ability to change than Logan did. Growing up with James as a father was horrible, and he never thought it could get any worse. That’s why he’d distanced himself, even when his father was sick. Yet, now with these developments, it was like his father was still tormenting them from the grave. Damn you, Dad.
“We can’t change how we got here, but what we’re doing in Tabiq is trying to make up for what was done.”
Logan shook his head. “Do you seriously believe that can ever happen? Dad took a poor but somewhat peaceful country and crushed every beautiful thing about it.” Just like he tried doing with us. “No matter how you try to fix it, it’s like putting makeup on to cover a scar. You can hide it, but it doesn’t change the fact that it will always be there.” No different than the ones we hide.
Brice stared at him. Ordinarily, he was the hard-ass that told everyone what they should or shouldn’t do. It came with the role of being the oldest, but Brice did neither at that moment. Instead, he turned the tables on him. “Logan, have you ever gone into surgery knowing the person would never be the same but tried anyway?”
Just about every time. He loved his brother, but this new version of Brice was going to take some getting used to. Logan had noticed slight changes in him since he married Lena. She was good for Brice. He wasn’t such an asshole anymore. That didn’t mean he knew everything.
“Brice, don’t you have work to do in your lab? I heard you were looking at a new formula to enhance the flexibility of body armor while increasing the penetration levels.”
“Logan, is this your way of saying you’re done talking about—”
“Yes. So talk about you and your work or even the weather, but I’m done talking about Dad and Tabiq.”
Brice nodded. “I’ve submitted the latest prototype. Now all I can do is wait, but I have faith this is ready for production.”
“Are Bennett and his team still working closely with you on that?”
“They’re actually wearing it now in . . . the field.”
No matter how they tried, everything came back to Tabiq. The only place he could escape it was at work. Maybe that’s why he was working longer hours than ever before. If he had his way, he’d be there right now. “Testing on your brother-in-law doesn’t seem like a wise decision.”
“I wouldn’t test on anyone if I wasn’t confident it was ready.”
Logan laughed. “It wasn’t that long ago that Bennett needed it to protect himself from you.”
Brice snorted. “Don’t even pretend that you didn’t want to knock him out when he walked into that party and announced he was with Zoey.”
“Between you and Dean, I’m not sure there would’ve been anything left of him. He’s either brave or crazy for wearing armor that you developed. I hear you two still butt heads quite often.”
“He’s an arrogant ass,” Brice said plainly.
“And that’s why he fits in with us so nicely.” Logan finished his second beer and threw some bills on the counter to cover both of their tabs. “I’ve got to head out. I have surgery scheduled early tomorrow, and I need to review some notes.”
“Which hospital?”
“One in Bellisae.”
“I take it you’re still working with Jon Vinchi?”
“It’s up and running. Now I spend a few hours a day training or supervising other surgeons to utilize the surgical robotic devices. He continues to enhance it based on new types of procedures that require such precision and accuracy.”
“That could be endless.”
“The biggest thing we encounter is doctors accepting that they do not need to be hands-on in the physical location to be able to perform these procedures.”
Brice chuckled. “Nothing like helping him put you out of work.”
Logan arched a brow. Brice was a scientist like Jon. He was the last person he expected to side with the opposition.
“Hey, the guy’s brilliant, but you’re not going to be needed if the machine can do it.”
“The machine only does what we tell it. It does not diagnose or operate on its own. Each laser cut is made through our commands. It’s like the most advanced video game ever created. I can be sitting at the controls in my office while the surgical robotic devices are on the other side of the world. I’m not being put out of business. I’m expanding it. There’s no place I can’t practice now.”
Brice got up from his seat and said, “Good. Tell Jon that Tabiq could use one.” He didn’t wait for a response and headed out the door.
I walked right into that one. He didn’t want to go home where he was going to think about anything they’d just discussed. It was time for him to escape, and that meant only one place. His office.