Part 2

She slammed the car door shut after getting off without waiting for the driver that Connor had assigned to her to open the door. Veronica made her way towards the seat that had Connor's name printed at the back. She sat down and turned to where the lights were focused, and where Connor Larkin, bronzed to golden Greek god perfection, stood in a pair of trunks.

Sometimes Veronica wondered how corporate America came up with the marketing strategy that they did. Here was her fiancé in a bathing suit, staring intently into the camera that rapidly shot different poses and expressions on his face. In two weeks she would find the best of those shots in a magazine spread, advertising the newest female scent. The disconnect was too big to comprehend.

Veronica waited until the photographers began to dim the lights. Then about four people converged around Connor to dab off some makeup, to confirm his schedule, to thank him for his participation and to pitch a new movie. Briefly Connor glanced up to meet her eyes, then nodded. He pushed away from the four and walked over to her, kissed her on the cheek, and asked, "How are you, baby?"

Veronica gave him a small smile. "I'm fine. When can I pull you away?" The soft distinct sound of a camera clicking did not escape her. She leaned closer to give the discreet photographer better, more expensive pictures.

"I'll finish up, put on some clothes, then we'll go, alright?"

Veronica nodded. She followed with her eyes as Connor returned to the center of the four women who had approached him earlier. Connor kept glancing back at her to give her brief smiles. She saw the women surreptitiously look at her, weighing her, some nodding in acknowledgment and some screwing their lips in disgust at finding her lacking. Veronica memorized each woman's face, observed the movement of their hands, studied the way they looked at Connor. She fished for a pad from her purse and scribbled down the pertinent information.

After each short conversation, one of the women walked away from the group. Connor was down to the last. As Connor spoke with his agent about the new movie role, Veronica saw a glint of light that appeared to be a camera lens. It was likely the same photographer as earlier. When Connor sent the agent on her way, Veronica called out Connor's name and blew him a kiss. This kiss he caught and closed his hand over to bring to his lips.

A series of mad clicking. Veronica was satisfied.

"I'll be waiting in the car," she told him. Connor nodded and walked to the trailer to take a quick shower and get dressed.

By the time Connor opened the car door and took the seat beside Veronica, Veronica had already marked off her list until nothing was left. She turned to the gorgeous actor who was frowning as he looked down at her notes.

"Nothing still?" he prompted.

Veronica sighed and shook her head. "It doesn't look like it's anyone from those four, but let me dig a little deeper."

"You've got to make this a little faster," Connor said. "They've already killed Leila."

Veronica blinked away the tears. "I'm trying, Connor. And I swear to God I will find out who killed your cousin. But there's only so much people are willing to reveal to Connor Larkin's fiancé."

"Where were you, Veronica?"

She stiffened. "Well you probably already know."

"You weren't looking into anything, Veronica. You were with Logan Echolls, weren't you?"

"I'm not slacking off."

"You agreed to be part of this investigation, Veronica. How is it going to look if my fiancé's found hanging out with another actor?"

Veronica often marveled at how calm Connor always was, no matter what he said or how charged the situation. He had always been pleasant to speak with, and that was why she had agreed to help him out when he contacted her that first time, after she had broken up with Logan, to find out who was threatening his life.

"Think of it this way, Connor—your fiancé is meeting up with your cousin's boyfriend to check on him during this trying time," she answered curtly.

Connor closed his eyes, then released a held breath. "I'm sorry."

"I understand that you're upset, Connor."

"But I shouldn't be taking it out on you," Connor finished. "Veronica, I don't want to have to take up more of your time than I need to. I know we have to hurry this up."

Her hand drifted to her nonexistent belly. "I'll make sure we find out who's doing this, Connor."

iVeronica opened her eyes and blinked up at the sleeping face of Logan. She smiled and touched his cheek gently, running her fingers down his cheek.

Leila would freak out if she found out how Veronica took care of her problem.

Connor would probably understand, of course. Veronica knew the first time she met Connor after he called her, he tried to make a bet with her that eventually, she and Logan would end up together.

She should really give Connor a crystal ball in honor of his fortunetelling gift.

Veronica lifted Logan's arm off of her stomach and sat up in the bed, reaching for her blouse that had been haphazardly thrown over the lamp. She shrugged into it. Veronica reached for the remote control and turned on the television.

A cold chill crept up her spine at the sight of her own bed drenched in blood.

"The young blonde woman in her early twenties found murdered early this morning by the building security has been confirmed to be Leila Larkin. The apartment was being rented out by actor Connor Larkin for his publicly acknowledged girlfriend Veronica Mars."

Veronica flew out of the bed, waking Logan in the process.

"Veronica, what's going on?" he asked.

When she looked up at him with tear-streaked cheeks, Logan's breath caught in his throat. She could not regret the night that much.

"I need to go home, Logan," she choked out.

"What's wrong? Veronica, we need to talk."

"Just… I have to go, Logan!" /i

Connor's vehicle stopped outside the new apartment building that Connor had found for Veronica. After the murder there was no way Veronica would stay in the same bedroom where Leila had been killed.

"Will you be okay?" he asked right before she stepped out of the car.

Veronica nodded. Leila's murder had made it clear to all of the people guarding Connor that this threat was real and that anyone could just get to Veronica because of her connection to Connor. It also made them take drastic measures to protect Veronica. They were fairly certain that no one would find out where she was.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Connor told her.

The driver helped her out of the car and walked her to the door. Veronica smiled and nodded her farewell to the driver, before being escorted into the building.

"There's someone waiting for you in the lobby, Ms Mars," informed the receptionist.

Veronica looked up in surprise, because nobody apart from Connor's security, not even her father, knew about her new apartment. If someone was able to track her down here, then it meant a member of Connor's security team was the leak. She took her phone from her purse and was on the verge of dialing Connor's number when someone stood in the lobby.

Even from that distance, she would recognize his figure.

"Logan?" she said in wonder. "What are you doing here?"

It was night time, and she had last seen him getting drunk off his ass in a bar. Yet here he was, and as she stepped closer the unmistakable scent of soap and baby powder hit her. He had taken a bath obviously, and his puffy eyes told her about a man trying to stave off his alcohol craving by drowning himself in caffeine. A quick glance at the table before him revealed a triple espresso shot and a pile of books.

"You're two months along," he began.

"Well you didn't need to track me down to tell me that."

"It wasn't that hard. For an outsourced team of elite security, Connor's guards are surprisingly inept."

"Definitely more sober than I thought," Veronica muttered. She took a seat in front of Logan. "Can I help you?"

"I was just in the neighborhood—" Veronica arched her brow at that. "Fine. I wasn't. But I did go to the bookstore to read up and got all these."

Veronica turned the pile so that the spine faced her. Logan had bought himself a virtual library of maternity books. "The New Daddy. What to Expect When You're Expecting. First Baby. Idiot's Guide to Pregnancy. The Pregnancy Book. The Power of Positive Childbearing. Pregnancy and Nutrition. Good Housekeeping Book of Pregnancy and Baby Care. " She looked up at him. "How much did you spend, Logan?"

"Not much."

"And not much means how many hundreds?" she prodded.

"Never mind that." He took the top book and handed it to her.

"I can get my own books if I wanted them."

Logan shook his head. "You're not going to get ones as helpful as the ones I'll give you."

Curious, Veronica reached for the book and noticed the colored Post it page tabs. The first one was orange and labeled morning sickness. She turned to the page and saw the highlighted sentences.

"I'm pre screening the books and indexing them for your reference. That way you won't need to muddle through. I'm highlighting those that will apply to you, and the lines I think you really need."

Veronica's heart dropped. "You finished one book in the last four hours since we talked?"

She met his eyes, and his were filled with hope and sadness. "I haven't touched a drop since."

"That's good," she whispered. Veronica clutched the book to her chest. "I'll start on this tonight."

Logan nodded, then packed up the rest of the books in the bag he brought with him. Veronica spied the Post it pack and the highlighter, which he dropped into the bag as well. "All right!" Logan exclaimed. "I'd better get cracking on the rest of these."

She grabbed his arm and asked, "Don't you want to have dinner first?"

Logan stared at the hand that lay on his. For the longest time he did not respond. Finally, he nodded.

"Great! This pregnancy is giving me so much appetite. I'm eating for two!" Veronica joked.

Logan smirked at her and slung his bag over his shoulder. "That actually doesn't start for a couple more weeks. It's got the green tab under appetite and cravings."

Veronica gazed at him, then shook her head with a chuckle.

"Don't worry about the cravings period," he told her with a pat on the back. "I'll be right on top of that. All I need you to do is tell me what you want to eat and no matter what time of the night, you'll get it."

"You're going to drive around town looking for it?"

"No, I've hired a nice delivery service to do it for me," he answered back. "Hollywood is great, isn't it?"

Tomorrow… tomorrow she'll tell him why she won't take the offer. Connor Larkin's fiancé's pregnancy cravings can't be answered by a service paid for by Logan Echolls.

That's tomorrow though.

Tonight, she's going to enjoy a sober Logan Echolls. She hadn't seen him long before their relationship ended.

tbc