AN Sidebar: Anyone watch Bones? Its currently taking over my life and all my free time.
"Well now, this is such a site. Those two are so sweet together." Nurse Amy gushed the following morning when she found the couple asleep, Logan still holding Veronica firmly to his side, and Veronica's arm over the top of Logan, just as unwilling to let him go.
"Sick, I always told him she was rich dude kryptonite." Dick said shaking his head when he walked past the open bedroom door. "At least you'll be here this time around to talk so sense into him, when she rips his heart out and shreds it with a butter knife."
"Rather descriptive, don't you think?" Amy asked.
"Dude, you haven't been through one of their break ups yet." Dick shook his head at the woman. "Trust me I phrased it nicely, cause even in her sleep, Ronnie can hear me."'
"Shut up Dick." Veronica and Logan both shouted at the same time, neither one of them appearing to move.
"See, told you." Dick pointed. "It's creepy."
"It's sweet." Amy rolled his eyes. "You two wake up, I'll order some breakfast." She told the couple before closing the bedroom door, and leaving them in peace.
The two could still hear Amy and Dick talking, even with the door closed.
Veronica rolled away from Logan, stretching out before looking over at him. "Hi."
"Good morning." Logan smiled at her. He liked seeing her first thing in the morning.
"How are you feeling?" she asked. She didn't remember waking up once to get him any pain killers, so she knew he must be hurting.
"Hard." Logan laughed and looked down his body. "Wanna take care of it for me?" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.
"In your dreams." Veronica rolled her eyes at him.
"Actually, you were in my dreams." Logan smiled and let out of content sigh. "Only you were a lot more willing and a lot less clothed."
"I believe even in your dreams I would put up a fight." Veronica laughed and got out of the bed.
"I love starting off my mornings with a hot, snarky, blonde."
"Me too." Veronica smiled.
"I'm not blonde."
"Or hot." Veronica added.
"Oh you mean we can turn this into a threesome?" he asked.
"You can have a threesome anytime you please." Veronica looked around the room for her coat, locating a hair tie before disappearing into his bathroom.
"I wouldn't dream of having one without you." Logan shouted after her. "You, me, and Jessica Alba, that would be fun."
"She's not blonde." Veronica shouted back at him before turning on the water, drowning out whatever else he said. When she was done washing her face and brushing her teeth she came out and found Dick had helped him into his chair.
"It's a pretty sweet car too." Dick nodded. "But she doesn't think she needs one since nothing is really wrong with her other one, just the fact that someone broke into it."
"Normal people only have one car Dick." Veronica rolled her eyes. "And when did you even see Mac, I talked to her last night, and she was home with her parents."
"I texted her the car I think she should get, and really Ronnie? I bet your dad isn't going to let you drive around in yours anymore." Dick shot at her, not realizing the information he had shared.
"What?" Logan asked, looking up at Veronica. "Why wouldn't your car be safe?"
"The night you came home from the hospital, someone broke into her car in the hotel parking lot." Dick told him like it was old news. And in a way it was, it had been almost two weeks since it happened. But that didn't mean she had shared that with Logan yet.
"Someone broke into your car, and Dick is telling me?" Logan shouted up at her. "Why is Dick telling me?"
"Because I wasn't going to." Veronica said before hitting dick upside the head. "Thanks for that, really."
"Hey, how was I supposed to know it was top secret?" Dick asked.
"Fear me Dick, just fear me." Veronica told him before turning her attention back to Logan. "It was nothing, they slim jimmed their way in, nothing was taken.
"Somehow, with you involved, I find that hard to believe." Logan told her shaking his head.
"I know, but sometimes you've just got to trust me." Veronica sighed. "Look I've got some things I need to take care of today, some phone calls to make." She gave him a knowing look, one that would convey her meaning. "Since you are in the more than capable hands of Amy, I won't worry."
"Will you be by later?" he asked.
"If everything is settled, yeah, I'll stop by." She smiled at him. "You want anything special from outside the Grand?"
"Just you." He winked at her.
"Oh stop, you'll make me blush." She rolled her eyes at him before leaving the bedroom. She stopped in the living room to chat with Amy for a minute, and exchanging pleasantries.
Amy reminded Veronica that Logan was going to start physical therapy this week, depending on doctor's appointment the following day, to see how we was healing.
"Nurse Amy, I'm ready for my sponge bath." Logan laughed from his bedroom.
"Good, Dick lost at call of duty, so it's his turn." Amy beamed at the group, making Veronica laugh and both boys shake their heads in protest.
"He's in a mood today, enjoy." Veronica laughed before leaving the hotel all together.
Veronica knew what she needed to do today. She needed to deal with the Piz situation. But that was easier said than done. She had tried before, and he had beat her to the punch, telling them they would talk when he got back. But she didn't feel right, not when she knew, not when she had told Logan that she loved him.
The whole drive back to her apartment was taken over by the worrisome thoughts of what to say, how to make him understand. Piz was such a good guy, she didn't want to hurt him, but she was hurting him even more by not ending things.
When she arrived home she was quick to change her clothes into something more comfortable. She grabbed Back Up's leashed and headed for the beach with her dog. That would help clear her head, and figure out what to say.
With Back Up resting at her feet, tired from chasing the birds on the beach, she took out her phone and called.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Hey Piz, it's me."
"Veronica, hi." She could hear the nervousness in his voice already. " How's Neptune?"
"Piz-"
"No, I already told you, we'd talk when I get back."
"I love him Piz." Veronica blurted out quickly, knowing that he would try and shut her down again. "I'm sorry."
"Oh." Was all he could say.
"I'm sorry, I really and truly am." Veronica whispered, feelings the tears well in the bottom of her eyes. She looked up and down the beach, trying to keep them away. "I can't keep this up, I can't do this to you, or to him. It's not fair."
"Okay."
"I am sorry, I hope you know that." Veronica added before she heard his line shut off. With a sigh she looked down at her own phone and knew he better forewarn Wallace.
Worry not young one, the deed has been done.
I tried to talk to Piz, I tried to do it gently. But I don't think I have any gentle bones in my body?
I'm sorry. I wish you were here to help with this, I feel like a horrible person. Am I a horrible person?
Her email was short, it needed to be short. She needed her best friend at that moment, because she felt so lost right now, and hurt. She had hurt Piz and she hadn't meant to. He had been nothing but kind and sweet to her. But she wanted to kiss Logan. She wanted not to feel guilt when he held her, and she liked it when he held her. There was one thing she knew, breaking up, no matter the reason was never easy. It had nearly destroyed her when Duncan had broken up with her, and she wouldn't lie, she was hurt when things ended with Tory, but maybe that was because of the way things ended. She had cried more times during her break ups with Logan than ever in her life, and even with Leo, it had been hard to tell him. The word break means to hurt, and that was what she was doing now, hurting.
But she couldn't wallow for too long, she had other things to do, to take care of. She needed to talk to Nish, and needed to find a way to stop which ever Castle member was bothering them.
Nish had readily agreed to meet with Veronica again, but this time at father's business. Veronica explained that someone else would be there, because there appeared to be a lot more going on than what she had originally told her.
It had only taken an hour or two for the three girls to arrive at Mars Investigation, each bringing something Veronica had requested. Nish has the list of names, and Mac had the coffee.
"We're all connected, because of this?" Nish asked looking at the list Veronica had given her months ago.
"Yeah, we're the only three that even know about the Castle outside of the Castle." Veronica sighed. "We don't know who is breaking in, but we've got it narrowed down to someone on this list." She sighed, looking over the long list of names.
"They go way back though, remember how far back those files went?" Mac asked, remembering the audio files they saw.
"Yeah, so it'll be easy to cross the dead off the list, but that would still leave a good chunk of people." Nish sighed.
"That's what I thought, at first." Veronica told them with a smile. "But then I got to thinking, it would have to be someone that even knows we have the list, that I stole the hard drive, that Mac was able to hack it, and that you have a list of names."
"What are you saying?" Nish asked.
"It's got to be someone that we've told." Mac was quick to follow her line of thought. "But I haven't told anyone, and not even Max."
"You can't point at me, I didn't tell anyone." Nish crossed her arms in front of her.
"Yes you did." Veronica stated, pulling out the list. "You told the lawyers in LA." She added. "You told them you had a list of all the names of a secret society, one that excluded females. And I'm going to assume you told them how you came about the list." She motioned at herself and then Mac.
"Yes, but I've been working with them for years on this." Nish sighed. "It wasn't anything new."
"No, it was proof." Veronica sighed, reading over the names. "Here it is." She highlighted the name and handed it over to Nish.
"Nell Throne?" Nish asked, looking at the name then back at Veronica. "I don't know any Nell's."
"No, but you know his granddaughter, Sam McFee." Veronica turned the computer on her desk to face the other two girls, showing a picture of the law firm Nish had been working with. "She works for her grandfather's firm. Nell is a part of the Castle, and he is the only person that would even know that we have this list. Other than Jake Kane, he's the only one that knows I know."
"Okay, so what are you going to do?" Nish asked.
"Me? No, you can drop the lawsuit." Veronica suggested. "Or you can call them on it, and see what's next on their list. Although I'm pretty sure they are smart enough not to leave a trail, even the smallest of ones."
"I'm not dropping any suit, what they are doing isn't fair or right. The people on the list, it proves dirty Politian's, scandals, everything." Nish told them shocked that they would never think she would give any of that up. "It's sexiest, and the perfect story. Two birds one stone."
"Well then, we find out Thorne's secret, and pray that's enough to leave us alone, and you find yourself a new lawyer, someone that isn't connected to this list of people."
"But what's to stop him from telling anyone else?" Mac asked. "What's to stop the next lawyer from being bought out? What's the stop them from finding a way to shut us up?"
"That's my point." Veronica said pointing to her friend. "There is no way of stopping them. This whole thing, the Caste, it's bigger than us Nish, bigger than we thought it was. I can't tell you what to do, but I can suggest that for all of our safety, you think about it, all of it. And in the mean time, I'll be keeping this." Veronica took back the list of Castle members, the same one she had given to her.
"How do you know I don't have copies?" Nish asked.
"Because you told me this was your only copy." Veronica shrugged. "So unless you've got a better idea, on how to put a stop to Nell Thorne, I think we're done here."
"You sure do like to boss people around, is it a size complex?"
"I'd prefer to think of it as a job perk." Veronica smiled. "Of course if you're unhappy with me, you can always take your business elsewhere."
"Fine Mars, I'll think about it." Nish rolled her eyes before leaving the office building.
"Do you really think she is going to call it off?" Mac asked.
"No, but it doesn't matter now, because I've got a copy of the members, and the guy we're looking for." Veronica informed Mac, as she came around to look at the computer screen.
"So you've got a plan?"
"Bond always has a plan." Veronica nodded.