Ω Ω Ω

Veronica watched the cameras and as the majority of the men in the house ran for the front, she went in through the back. She stood in the kitchen, feeling rage boil up in her. The Kanes had made her life miserable every step of the way, whether directly or indirectly in the form of henchmen like Clarence Weidman. Celeste Kane had been the devil incarnate when Veronica was once the frequent visitor at the mansion, Duncan had destroyed her heart in high school and tromped on it again not 72 hours ago, and Jake Kane was threatening the life she and her father had built. She wanted to make them pay. Pay hard. She eyed the stove with its gas lit burners. She could kill two birds with one stone – get the cops here and burn down Jake Kane's home. It had some risks but what plan didn't?

Deciding, she pulled her switchblade from her bag and slipped behind the stove. Manoeuvring a bit, she was able to saw a small hole in the gas line. A thin dribble started down the wall. Then she moved off through the house.

She made it upstairs easily and quietly tried each door, praying no one else was upstairs.

The third opened into a child's room... Lily's room. It had been converted to a younger version for her successor, Duncan's daughter. The little girl in question was sitting quietly, drawing. When the door opened, she looked up and beamed. "'Ronica," she squealed and Veronica's heart nearly stopped. How would Lily remember her? How could she? Unless... Her heart squeezed. Unless Duncan had told her... "Hey Lily." A few tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes as she crouched and held her arms out and let the little blond leap into her arms. "Hey you."

"Daddy says you're mad at him." Lilly said, grabbing a fistful of Veronica's hair and letting it sift through her fingers.

"He- He told you about that?" Veronica choked out.

"Yeah, he was really sad." Her face fell then lit up. "But you're here now. You can work on it."

Veronica cradled the little girl, grateful for the weight. "Sure sweetie. I'm going to go visit him right now and I'll be back to see you, okay?"

The little girl nodded and scampered back to her drawings.

Veronica paused to look at her then left the room quietly. She found nothing in the next two rooms but the next door opened to a study where Logan sat, tied to a chair. His body, covered in bruises, cuts, and dried blood, sagged in its restraints, his head bowed as if sleeping. "Logan?" Her voice was a half whisper and she wondered if he even heard her.

His head raised weakly and he surveyed her through slitted eyes. "Veronica?" he croaked.

She approached him warily, eyes searching for a trap. Finding nothing, she pulled her knife again and sawed through the ropes holding him. "C'mon, Logan. Stay with me."

"Veronica, how'd you get here?"

"You shouldn't talk. Your ribs are probably broken."

"Yeah, I heard them."

"What?" She couldn't figure out whether he was serious or not. "Nevermind. We have to get you out of here."

He sagged back into the chair. "Not without a quick fix-up," he groaned. "There's a first aid kit in the back of the room."

She eyed him critically. "Fine." She helped him stagger to the couch. "Don't move."

He attempted a smirk. "Well, I was about to hop up and take a tour of the grounds but you've showed me the light..."

She shook her head. "At least torture hasn't dulled your sense of humour."

"And the years haven't dulled your bitchiness," he replied before shutting his eyes tiredly.

She rolled her eyes and went to search for the first aid kit. When she came back, he was watching her every move. "Did you see his kid?"

"Lily. Yeah, she's beautiful." She started digging through the kit and pulling out the things she needed.

"Yeah, I bet he's real careful with the people he loves. I remember his overprotectiveness," he snarked bitterly. After all these years, she was still in love with Duncan.

Her face hardened. "People change."

He shrugged, covering a wince. "Not everyone."

She stiffened and stopped rooting through the kit. "What's that supposed to mean Logan?"

He debated with himself momentarily before shaking his head. "Nothing. Just bad memories. S'okay. Let's just patch me up, get Lily, and get the hell out of here."

She nodded, turning back. "Take off your shirt."

He was looking her over, seeing what had changed and what hadn't. She was still gorgeous, still slight and lithe. His mind drifted to thoughts of her in bed under him, above him, around him. Then her voice filtered in. "What?"

"Your shirt. Take it off. I need to check your ribs." She stood over him, hands on her hips.

"Okay." He slowly sat up and tried unsuccessfully to tug the shirt off.

"Here." She took pity and grabbed the hem of his t-shirt. "We might as well burn this for all the help it'll be for you after." It was stained with his blood and torn in places. "What did they do to you?" She surveyed his chest. A makeshift bandage was wrapped carelessly around his ribs where a few bruises peeked out. He had cuts and scrapes, fading yellow bruises and fresh ones. Angry red scratches ran up the side of his face and it looked like his nose was broken. One eye was freshly black and the other was more faded. She reached out and lightly touched his forehead.

He closed his eyes and leaned into it.

"You don't have a fever." But her fingers lingered on their own accord. She traced the scratches, careful to avoid his nose and stopped at his chin. "Let me see your mouth. Did they break any teeth?"

He grinned at her, showing off thousands of dollars' worth of orthodontic work. "Still got the money makers..."

"It's not funny, Logan. They could have killed you." She was undoing the bandage around his chest and accidentally tore a crust of dried blood from his side. He winced but didn't say anything. His eyes remained trained on her face.

She looked back at him for a few seconds, the bandages hanging from her hands limply before finally asking him quietly. "Why didn't they kill you?"

"We don't have time for this, Veronica. We have to go." His eyes had dropped to the floor and he was mumbling.

His tells, she remembered.

"Logan?"

He shifted restlessly. "My second trust fund kicks in when I turn 21."

"Next month."

His eyes flickered up to hers. "Next month."

"That's insane Logan. They have thousands of trust funds waiting to be donated from alumni. Who cares about you? And wouldn't it arouse suspicion?"

" All my dad's money? It's alot, Veronica, and it'll keep them in business for quite a while and nobody will be around to ask any questions about what they're doing with it. And no one will care if they charge a room in St. Tropez in my name and then I wash up on the beach with a high alcohol percentage in my body. And I think Gory hates me to the point that it's worth having my corpse around to beat..."

She lightly touched his ribs. "Hurt?"

He winced and she saw the muscle in his jaw jump. "I can survive. Just bind them tight."

She started to bind them and as she reached around to take the bandage from behind his back, her face was inches from his. She breathed in, smelling his aftershave, then looked at him quizzically.

"They're not barbarians, Ronnie," he replied to her unspoken question.

She started on his fingers. "Yeah, well, the jury's still out on that one." She finished spreading Polysporen on his face then quickly kissed his cheek. "There. All better."

He caught her hand as she turned away. "I'm gonna need more than that to make it better."

She could hear the smirk in his voice and wanted to hit him. Except she couldn't. So she retorted, "I really don't think you're able. And," she added before he could protest, "we don't have time." She detached herself from his grip and stood up. "C'mon, big guy. Let's go. I'll find you a shirt." She searched the closet and came up with a slightly large collared blue button-up. When she turned back, he was towering over her.

"Dammit Veronica. You didn't think I wouldn't know?" He pushed her against the frame. "You didn't think he wouldn't tell me?"

She stared at him in shock. "What are you talking about?"

He clenched his teeth. "You and Duncan having sex while I was three rooms away. He came to gloat after. Do you know how much that hurt? Out of everything that was the most painful to endure." He kissed her hard. "You're mine, Veronica Mars. You've always been and always will be."

She kissed him back, trying to put her arms around his neck. "Logan, we can't... we have to..."

He met her gaze fiercely, pinning her arms against the wall. "We are."

She swallowed hard then met his angry gaze. "He loved me."

"I loved you. I still love you. He was never there. I loved you and I still do." His head dropped into her shoulder and he murmured it over and over.

She felt his hot tears and her hands came up and stroked his head. "It's okay Logan... it's okay..."

He was hugging her as he lifted his face. "How did this happen?"

"You got kidnapped," she replied, trying to be light.

"I never should have let you walk out."

She slid to the floor and realized where they were. "We'll talk about it later, okay? We have to go."

He wiped his face, realizing.

They got ready and left the room quietly, moving down the hallway to Lily's room. Veronica opened the door and turned back to Logan to motion for him to wait.

"Going somewhere?"

She looked back. Duncan was standing at one end with his daughter in his arms, flanked by his father and Weidman. She drew a sharp intake of breath and it felt like she was breathing ice crystals.

"Hello Veronica." Jake Kane said, smirking. "Nice of you to come by and see how we were doing."

Duncan stared guiltily at the floor.

Logan stepped in front of her, pushing her behind him. "Leave her alone."

Duncan's eyes snapped up, burning into his. "Get away from her."

Logan's jaw tightened. "Fuck you Duncan," he said steely. "You're not going near her and you're never touching her again."

"You're in no position to make threats, Mr. Echolls," Weidman said evenly.

Ω Ω Ω