Logan pulled Veronica to him and kissed her, slipping his arms around her waist and held her closer to him, pressing her against the door. He explored her mouth hungrily and he was rewarded by a little moan as she glided her fingers into his hair.
"Hey…" he whispered as he cupped her face.
"Where's Dick?" she asked softly. It wasn't exactly the most appropriate response given everything that was going on, but he pulled her body against him so she could feel him straining against his jeans, and flashed his eyebrows. Humour and sarcasm was his go to coping mechanism, he smoothed her blond hair from her face to look at her better.
"He's in the living room" he answered finally, his brown eyes bore into hers, there was a sadness there that she prayed she would never have to understand. The grief of someone who had lost their parent. She pulled him tighter to her and rested her head against his chest, they had to get to the bottom of this. She didn't want to lose anyone else.
"I called Duncan on the way over, he's getting his Dad's head of security to um get in contact with the Sheriff's office and assist with the investigation… because Cassidy is still a minor, I think they are trying to find out who counts as the guardian… I think they are trying to vet a few law firms for Cassidy" she said quietly. This was really beyond her usual capabilities; she didn't have much experience with funeral directors or how to find lawyers. This was stuff that parents usually dealt with… she realised just how much Logan had been dealing with in recent months and her heart ached at her naivety. His father was in prison, his mother was dead. Logan had had to organize his mother's funeral service and deal with the press during the reception, he had had to find his own lawyers after his arrest the first time for the Felix Toomes murder, he had had to navigate how to re-staff his home and deal with how to pay all the bills and school. She hadn't heard him complain about it any of it once. She felt terrible that she had been right there, but he had dealt with all of it alone. He was much more grown up than her in ways that she didn't fully understand just yet.
"You okay?" he asked as she got lost in her thoughts.
"I just didn't get it before… you are a much stronger person than I realized" she smiled sadly. How many more parts of the life of the man she loved had she been blind to?
He gave her a quizzical look and she reached up and kissed him again. It was tender and almost the balm he needed to soothe the echoes of Duncan's words from earlier.
"She's going to die because of you… you should have just stayed away…"
Logan didn't want to admit it, but after the shootings tonight… he couldn't shake the doubts that Duncan was right. The ankle monitor was heavy around his leg and it was a constant reminder that he was at war with the PCHers, his father and the Balboa County Sheriff's Department.
"We are a team now Logan… from now on, we do this together… all of it" she swore as she wrapped her arms around his hands and stood on her tip toes to kiss him again.
"You are going to end up dragging her down with you… Another mess you get yourself into and she comes to the rescue to bail you out…" Duncan's voice tormented him.
He traced his thumb over her lower lip and looked into her bright blue eyes, she was his, the look in her gaze was one of pure trust and adoration. She loved him… he knew how deep her loyalties went for those that she truly loved.
He would never be able to live with himself if he was the reason she was killed.
"If you really loved her you would set her free"
Logan knew now that Duncan was probably right… but he didn't have the strength to let her go now.
"If we do this again… I am not letting you go this time" he had told her a few nights ago before they had made love for the first time. He thought back to this morning, when she had been making breakfast, his hands on this very dress. No… he couldn't let her go. Memories of her straddling him as she cradled him against her breasts and he felt her body clenched tightly around him while he gasped her name filtered into his thoughts. No… He wouldn't.
Did that make him the most selfish bastard that he knew?
"Yeah… we are a team.." he told her emphatically, swallowing against the hard lump in his throat, she smiled and gave his hand a little squeeze as she turned from him and walked slowly into the living room to see Dick.
Logan felt like such a coward… he should be doing the right thing… he should be walking away.
"Dick?" she said softly as she wrapped her arms around Dick Casablanca's whom was been sitting at the Kitchen counter and pulled him closer.
"Ronnie… what am I going to do?" he sobbed and the pain in his voice stabbed Logan in the heart.
"I'm so sorry…" she said as she rubbed his back. Her cell phone rang and she put her bag onto the counter, reaching inside, it was a call from Duncan Kane, her ex-boyfriend.
"Hey… what's the latest?" she asked quickly.
"I'm here with Cassidy… that Lawyer Logan sent is here now too, we are just about to go in and talk to Sheriff Lamb… apparently Dick's dad was involved in some kind of real estate fraud… Cassidy had asked Mr Pope for advice about some pictures… and then he showed up ranting and raving at the house and pulled a gun. Cassidy didn't get to his dads revolver in time before both Kendall and Mr Casablanca's were dead. He had to turn the gun on Mr Pope or he would have been dead himself" Duncan told her.
"Oh my god…" Veronica swore. It had been well known amongst the FBLA club that Mr Pope had invested heavily in Casablanca's enterprises for his 401K this year.
"Yeah I know… listen… tell Dick I'll see him soon, Sheriff Lamb wants to talk to him so he's sending a car up to the Echolls house to get him" he replied.
"Okay.. thanks Duncan" she answered before she hung up.
"Duncan?" Logan asked as he poured a cup of coffee, biting back his jealousy. Her White Knight strikes again… he thought bitterly. He was frustrated at feeling so incapacitated right now because of this ankle monitor.
"Yeah… Cassidy took those pictures to Mr Pope.. seems he turned up at the house looking for answers… he had a gun… Cassidy had to put him down, but he didn't get there on time" she said carefully, mindful not to give away too many details, she didn't want Dick having to overhear too much. "Lamb is sending a car to pick you up" she told him gently.
Dick nodded and took the black coffee that Logan gave him, he had sobered a lot in the last half hour.
"Is that your door?" Veronica asked as she heard something pounding coming from down the hallway.
Logan frowned and looked at the clock, it usually took about forty minutes for the Sheriff's Department to make it to his house. He wandered into the hallway and opened the door, taken by surprise when he was greeted by Keith Mars' fist cracking him across the face, he staggered a few feet and Keith followed him inside.
"I thought I told you to stay away from her?" he snapped. "It's like you don't respect authority"
"Dad?" Veronica called as she heard his voice, running past the kitchen island to look down the hallway.
Logan was wiping blood from his nose and trying to get back onto his feet, her father had grabbed him by the collar.
"Daddy no!" she screamed, running and putting herself between them. Logan was still recovering from his altercation with Duncan at school, he probably had a few broken ribs, but he hadn't been to get them checked out yet.
"Get out of the way Veronica.." Keith warned.
"NO! You get out of the way…" she snapped firmly.
"What?" he spluttered, finally looking at her as she shielded Logan.
"Listen.. Mr Mars… I'm sorry…" Logan told him as he cradled his busted lip.
"You don't have to be Sorry… my father was just leaving" Veronica corrected, standing her ground like a territorial pit-bull. She may have been petite, but she was not moving.
"No.. we are leaving" Keith snapped.
"No.. I am not" she snarled right back.
"I am your father Veronica… you will do as you are told" he scolded.
"And I am 18 now! If I decide I am staying… then I am staying… don't make me choose daddy.. because right now… it won't end well" she warned and her father's face fell.
"You don't mean that.." Keith retorted. Veronica felt like she was being torn in two.
"I do.. now I don't know how you found me… actually I can probably guess.. I should have used a disposable right?" she commented sarcastically. The guilty look in her fathers eyes confirmed it. He had snooped through her telephone records, he had spied on her.
"Honey…" Keith pleaded.
"Good bye dad" she snapped pointing towards the door.
"Look Veronica… I don't want to come between you and your dad.." Logan protested as he watched the argument helplessly.
"You should have thought of that before you started sneaking around with my daughter behind my back" Keith snapped at him. "I told you to stay away from her!"
"There is a lot more to this than you understand dad… now go!" she spat as she shoved him backwards towards the door. They stood like that for several minutes and Logan watched helplessly as Veronica squared off in a battle of wills against her dad.
"I won't tell you again.." Veronica snapped fiercely. She didn't want to have to choose… but she knew now she wasn't going to let anything come between her and Logan again.. not even her relationship with her father.
"Veronica.. maybe you two should…" Logan offered.
"I am not leaving" she said through gritted teeth and Logan watched as Keith slowly nodded and turned on his heels to go back to his car.
Logan's heart was racing, and his jaw ached, he was ruining her life… Veronica's relationship with Keith Mars was the stuff of legends, even when the entire world had turned on Keith Mars, Veronica had stayed faithful, stayed loyal, she had gone through whatever hell the 09ers could concoct to stay with her dad. Logan knew how much that was.. because he had been the main cause of it. Now here she was turning her back on the most important person in her life.. to be with him.
"Veronica…" Logan pleaded, he couldn't be responsible for this.
"I am NOT leaving…" she promised stubbornly as she turned and kissed him. "I am not letting you go this time"