They rode in silence, each them lost in the events that had just transpired. Kat wished she had taken his advice now and just stayed in the car. The horrors of his life were almost too much for her to digest. She hadn't known things were that bad for him. He told her once that his stepfather was a jackass. She thought he was just saying the man was strict, like her father. Or maybe harder than him than he deserved. She had no idea it was so awful.

She couldn't help but reach her hand out and place it on his leg. It was the only comfort she could offer him while they drove along and she desperately wished she could do more for him. She wanted to help him. She wanted to make everything alright with him. The whole thing at his house was the most awful thing she'd every witnessed and it broke her heart to know that he had to put up with that kind of thing on a daily basis.

He dropped his hand from the wheel and covered hers with it, giving it a squeeze before glancing at her with a rueful smile. " I'm sorry about all that." He told her.

" You have nothing to be sorry for." She assured him. " I wish there was something I could do to help. No one should have to put with all that."

He picked her hand up and brought it to his lip. His lips brushed her palm before he settled it back on his leg. " You do help. You help all the time."

" How ? All I do is make your life even more miserable." She argued, immediately regretting every harsh word and misplaced assumption she had ever made about him.

" Now that's not true. It helps to know that someone like you is obsessed with me." He chuckled. "And you offered my dog a place to stay. That's something."

She glanced behind them at the mutt currently drooling on her seat. How the hell was she ever going to explain that to her father ? She pushed the thought aside. He would just have to understand. She hadn't had a choice. She couldn't leave the dog there to be killed. She couldn't leave something important to Patrick behind in that house.

" I still think we should talk to my father. He'll know what to do." She told him, once again trying to think of anything to get them out of their current dilemma.

" I'm not okay with being banned from your life. Remember I'm a little obsessed with you, too. Besides, I doubt the convent allows visitation and there's that whole vow of abstinence that you are definitely not allowed to take."

She laughed. " It's okay. I wouldn't really do it. I'd cross my fingers the whole time."

He laughed with her. " You are so going to hell."

She shrugged. " I didn't want you to be lonely there all by yourself."

" Wow, you'd follow me to hell. Now that is undying devotion." He teased.

She felt the smile drop from her face as she realized just how much she really cared about him. It was like a heavy weight sitting in the pit of her stomach and she squeezed his leg and lowered her voice. "I'd follow you anywhere, I think."

" I love you." He told her in way of an answer after he spent a few minutes just looking from her to the road in front of them.

" I love you, too." She replied, before finally taking her eyes away from him and putting them on their surroundings. " Where are we going ? This isn't anywhere near the park."

" I told you, we're going to my grandfather's."

" Do we have time for this ?" She glanced at her watch quickly.

" We're here. He can help. The question is, will he." Patrick answered as he slowed down and began to turn the car into a driveway that was blocked by an iron gate intricately molded with fancy scroll work.

A man stepped out of a booth off to the side, a big man wearing a suit and tie and looking very menacing as he approached the car.

" Can I help you kids ? Are you lost ?" He asked, leaning into the window and making sure they both saw the gun bulging under his arm.

Who the hell was his grandfather that he needed iron gated security and men with guns to protect him ?

" We're here to see Mr. Verona. I'm his grandson, Patrick." Patrick told the man.

James, or so his security badge deemed him, stepped back from the car and spoke into a two way radio he pulled from his hip. There was something of a back and forth conversation that lasted for a few moments before James stuck his head back in the window. " Is Mr. Verona expecting you ?" He asked.

" No, but it's an emergency. I need to speak to him now." Patrick answered.

" And you said your name is Patrick ?" He asked one more time.

" Yeah."

Obviously Patrick wasn't a frequent visitor to the rolling complex that stretched out in front of them. The man didn't recognize him at all so unless he was new, Patrick didn't come here often.

" Who is your grandfather ?" Kat asked finally, her curiosity getting the better of her.

She was interrupted by James before she got an answer. " Go on straight through. Someone will meet you out front."

" Just don't say anything unless someone asks you something and then just answer them quickly and for God's sake, Kat, please be nice." He told her with a grimace that said he thought she was incapable of any such thing.

" I can be nice." She shrugged. " Who exactly am I being nice to again ?"

" Don't ask questions you don't really want to know the answer to." He told her evasively as they drove down a twisting driveway, past a lush landscaped yard with a fountain in the center of the drive.

Patrick pulled the car to the front steps and gave her a look. " He knows people. He can help us. Just go with it."

" You said he might not help us. Why wouldn't he help ? He's your grandfather." She asked, taking off her seat belt.

" He aren't really close. He's my father's father. We don't talk much." Patrick explained cryptically as he opened his door and got out of the car.

He waited for her to join him. When she did, he took her hand firmly in his and started up the white stairs that lead to a huge porch surrounding the massive, three story, white house. White columns rose majestically into the air with balconies towering over them at both of the upper tiers.

Kat felt her hand begin to sweat and she tried to pull it out of Patrick's grip but he held it steady, refusing to let her pull away.

" Patrick Verona ?" A beautiful, thirty-something woman with a tight bun of honey colored hair and a tailored blue business suit asked as soon as one of the double front doors opened.

He nodded to her without actually answering.

" You can have five minutes." She told them as they were swiftly hustled across a grand foyer and got ushered through one of the archways to the left. " Your grandfather" She said the word as if she didn't believe for a moment that it was actually true, " is a very busy man and it's a little late for a social call."

" I won't keep him." Patrick assured her as they entered what appeared to be a study.

A sturdy looking dark wood desk set in the middle of the room with a comfortable looking, black padded office chair behind it and two Queen Anne style, red upholstered chairs in front of it. Massive bookcases, filled to overflowing with more volumes than Kat could possibly take in towered nearly to the ceiling and covered the entire wall behind the desk. Under their feet, a red and gold patterned Oriental rug covered the hard wood that laid underneath it.

The man sitting behind the desk looked exactly like the kind of man you'd expect to find in such a room. Salt and pepper colored, thinning hair, a carefully, well-kept goatee, the beginnings of a good size paunch falling over the waistband of his black dress pants. His skin tone was an olive color that made the starchy whiteness of his dress shirt nearly sparkled where it was rolled up neatly around his elbows. A red and blue striped tie hung lazily around his neck, having been pulled loose from what probably started out as a tight knot. His suit jacket was draped around the back of his chair and when they entered he glanced up from the papers he held in his hands with bright, alert, blue eyes that seemed to take everything in in an instant. There was an intelligence behind the eyes, a wisdom only accomplished from years of living a not so easy life.

" My boy." He addressed his grandson as he sat back in his chair and gauged them both a touch more carefully. " It's been ages."

" Yes, it has." Patrick agreed as he waited patiently by the desk.

" Have a seat." The older man told them gesturing to the chairs. " Tell me what's brought you here after so much time."

His gaze had hardened around the edges and there seemed to be a sharpness to his tone when he mentioned the amount of time that had past between visits. Kat tried to hide her nervousness as she took the chair beside Patrick and folded her hands in her lap. Patrick was stilling by her side, his leg shaking almost imperceptibly. But it was clear that he was not at all comfortable and that fact only served to heighten Kat's anxiety.

" I came here because I didn't know where else to go." Patrick began.

His grandfather let his gaze fall to Kat for a handful of minutes and she shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny. Then he finally put his attention back on his grandson. " Let me guess," The man stated with a touch of sarcasm lacing his words. " You're in trouble and you need my help."

Patrick nodded silently.

" I thought we talked about this last time you were here." His grandfather answered. " I told you if you left this house that day, you wouldn't get any more help from me."

His tone was harsh and bitter and Kat found herself glancing between the two of them, feeling like someone that had just walked in on a movie that had already started. She felt as if she were trying to catch up.

Patrick sat up a little straighter and laced his hands together in his lap. Then he finally raised his eyes to the old man. " You know why I had to leave. I didn't have a choice."

" Oh, we always have a choice, Son. We may not like our options but there are always choices. The problem comes from having to live with the decisions that we make."

" You were asking me to abandoned her. To cut her out of my life completely. That wasn't a choice I could have lived with." Patrick answered without near as much emotion as the words sounded like they should carry.

" And now things are different ? You've changed your mind ?" His grandfather asked, sitting back further in his chair and eying him expectantly.

" Nothing's changed. I can't turn my back on her. She's my mother." Patrick told him and there was just a hint of the fire Kat was expecting this time.

The old man looked like he was about to say more, but instead he turned his attention back to Kat.

" Is this part of the trouble you've found yourself in ?" He nodded towards her.

" This is Kat. She's my girlfriend. And no she doesn't have anything to do with what's happened." Patrick told him, sitting forward a little as if he hoped the movement would bring the man's eyes back to him and away from her.

" Then why is she here ? You know I value my privacy."

" Again, I didn't have any other acceptable option."

" You show up here damn near in the middle of the night, your clothes are ripped and your lip is swollen and her's is bleeding and you both look like you've been in one hell of a fight and you haven't so much as spoken to me in nearly two years and you want my help." His grandfather summarized quickly.

" Yes, Sir. That about sums it up." Patrick nodded. " Like I said, we didn't have anywhere else to go."

She didn't think he was going to say anything else. The silence seemed to stretch out for an eternity as the man weighed his own options and thought through the situation carefully. Kat found herself praying he would at least hear them out. She had no idea who this man was or what he could possibly do to help, but there was something about him that said he was capable and resourceful. She understood exactly why Patrick had come here. But the dialog that had passed between them and his reluctance to give them his assistance also made her understand exactly why he hadn't wanted to come.

" Alright." His grandfather finally said, breaking the silence that was weighing heavily in the room. "Tell me what's happened and I'll see what I can do."

Patrick sat up a little straighter, shifting in the leather covered chair and began to tell him all about their night.

When he was done with his tale, leaving hardly anything out, including the fact that his dog was sitting in Kat's backseat, the old man narrowed at his eyes and sat forward in his chair, lacing his hands together on the desk in front of him.

" I know the men you're talking about. I've had dealing with them myself. You understand that if it wasn't for the fact that you were both just innocent bystanders to all this I wouldn't be helping you at all?" He asked and Patrick nodded solemnly. " You also understand that this is a one time offer ? You can't pretend that I don't exists until something comes up that you need my help with. It doesn't work that way, My Boy."

Patrick nodded again and Kat watched him swallow hard. " I understand. And I promise this is the last time you'll hear from me. I wouldn't ever ask you for anything again."

" I wish you'd reconsider my offer. You could have everything you ever want." He sighed in disappointment.

" I guess the price is just too high for me to afford, Sir." Patrick told him.

" In other words, you won't be bought." His grandfather rolled his eyes. " Your father was the same way. I guess you got that from him. Too many ideals and principals."

Patrick glanced at Kat and willed her with his eyes not to say anything. And for once in her life, she listened and bit her tongue. She wanted to ask the old man what he meant. She wanted to know exactly what kind of deal Patrick was turning down. She wanted to know what his grandfather was trying to buy from Patrick and what his price was. It was driving her crazy feeling like she was only hearing half of a conversation.

The old man behind the desk glanced at the diamond encrusted Rolex on his wrist and shook his head. "You don't have much time."

" I know." Patrick said.

He picked up the phone at his elbow and talked into the receiver for a moment. Kat thought it was odd that he hadn't dialed any numbers or even waited for the other party to answer. It was like whoever was on the other line was always there, just waiting to be talked to.

" Randolph and Maurice are two of my top men. They'll be following you back to the beach. Give them the bag and let them handle the rest." His grandfather announced as soon as he hung up the phone.

Patrick just nodded and stood from his chair.

" It was a pleasure to at least get to meet you, Kat. I truly hope Patrick will bring you around more often." He gave her a smile and it looked odd on his stern features.

Kat nodded back. " It was a pleasure to meet you, too, Mr. Verona."

The old man got to his feet a little stiffly and came around the desk. Patrick didn't look like he knew what to do as he approached him. His hands were stuffed into his pockets and he was shifting from foot to foot restlessly.

" Try to stay out of trouble, Patrick." His grandfather said, laying a hand to the younger man's shoulder. " And think about my offer. She's too far gone to save at this point. Don't let her pull you down with her."

" I'll think about it." Patrick told him, but it was clearly a lie and Kat and his grandfather both knew it.

" Go on. You're running out of time." He said giving him a little push towards the door.

Randolph and Maurice were waiting for them on the front steps, looking exactly like two goons dressed up in business suits and not liking it one bit. They were big, and muscled and terrifying. Kat immediately took Patrick's hand at seeing them and purposefully let him walk just a little bit in front of her.

" Mr. Verona said you have a package that needs to be delivered along with a message." One of them said, stepping forward.

Patrick grabbed the bag from his pocket and handed it over without saying a word. Then he walked past them, pulling her along behind him and went to the passenger side of the car. He held her door open for her and waited until she got in before shutting it and coming around to the driver's side.

Kat jumped at the feel of a cold nose pressing into her shoulder and nearly squealed in surprise, having forgotten Spock was waiting for them.

Patrick reached back and patted the dog's head quickly before tugging his seat belt on and starting the car.

" What the hell was all that ?" She exclaimed as soon as the engine started and they pulled away from the house, unable to contain herself any longer.

" That was my grandfather." He shrugged.

" Who is he ?" She pushed trying to get a straight answer out of him.

" Nobody you want to know." He muttered as he pulled out of the drive and turned towards the beach.

" Patrick," She reached her hand out and put it on his leg. " Tell me what's going on." She purposefully softened her tone, hoping the change in tactics might gain her more than she had gotten so far.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his eyes stayed glued to the road in front of him. She watched as his tongue came out to wet his dry lips. " You know the rumor about how my mother is a Mexican drug lord ?" He asked her.

Obviously it wasn't true. She had met his mother. But she nodded to keep him talking.

" Well it's almost true. Only it isn't my mother and he isn't Mexican." he admitted reluctantly.

" He's a drug lord ? Your grandfather is a drug lord !" She exclaimed trying to sit up but being hindered by her seat belt.

" They say that there's a grain of truth in almost every rumor." He shrugged.

Her eyes widened and she smiled at him suddenly. " What about the one that says you know the taste of human flesh ?" She asked him, sitting back in her seat.

He laughed and grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips and nipping at the back of it playfully. " I know how you taste, doesn't that count ?"