A/N: This chapter is a tad bit dark and has more foul language than the other chapters. Sensitive subject matter also included.

Chapter Eight

"Uh uh. Not so fast. I don't think you do understand, Georgie." Moving in front of her, he blocked her path and had to grasp her elbow to keep her from sliding around him.

"What's there to explain, Logan? We kissed. Now I want to go change. Like you said earlier, we have to leave early." Keeping her eyes focused on the carpet, she went to walk away again but stopped short when he kept his grip firm on her arm. "Logan."

"Don't do this, Georgie. Would you please just look at me?"

Hesitantly making eye contact, she could see that he was struggling to control his emotions. His eyes were almost grey as they latched onto her own and held. "Just let it drop. We made a mistake. There is no need to discuss it, Logan. Just forget about it."

"Mistake? Is that really what you think just happened between us? Because I sure as hell don't. Damn it. You can't honestly believe that!" Releasing her, he shoved his hands through his hair, but stayed in position so that he was blocking her path to the bathroom.

"I don't know what to think anymore," she admitted, her voice wavering. "I don't play games, Logan, and I knew exactly what I was doing." Sitting on the bed, she turned her attention to her hands, twisting the rings on her fingers nervously. "But evidently you weren't so sure. Let's just write it off as a reaction to the circumstances that we are in."

Kneeling in front of her, Logan sighed. "Trust me, this is not a game or even the result of anything except for the fact that I am very attracted to you." Caressing her hands, he stilled her nervous movements. "Georgie, I just don't want to ruin what is developing here. I didn't mean that I was not interested. Because I am, hell, have been for awhile." Relieved when she blinked and looked up, he leaned closer to her. "You are the not the problem, baby girl, I am. I tend to mess everything up, and I don't want to do that to you."

"No one is perfect. I am far from it, Logan. And you aren't the messed up person that you seem to think you are." Licking her lips, Georgie smiled sadly. "I guess our timing is just wrong."

"No, our timing just complicates things a bit." The doubt that flashed across her face ate at him. "Georgie, I am not walking away from this, from you. I wasted enough time trying to convince myself that you deserved better, more than I could offer." Standing and bringing her up with him, Logan kissed her softly. "Go change, baby. We'll figure it out as we go, but no more shutting down on me. I won't let you shove me away, especially now that I know I am not alone in this."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Sleep evaded her. Even being so exhausted, her brain would not shut down. Lying on her side with one of Logan's arms slung around her waist, she concentrated on his breathing, hoping that the rythemic pattern would lull her to sleep. Studying his strong profile, she thought over all that he had said earlier.

The attraction between them was electric and had been building for some time. Being in such close contact with him had only strengthened the feelings that she had pushed aside for so long. Then hearing him admit that he had been doing the same had eased the hurt and uncertainly that she had experienced when he had stopped them before things could quickly spiral out of control.

Trying to hold back the tears, she swallowed hard. While he cared now, she knew that it was only a matter of time before he realized that she was nothing more than a damaged mess. She prayed that the truth was never revealed, but deep inside she knew that it would be. This entire situation that had pushed her and Logan together only made it a game of when. And she was so tired of all the secrets that her head ached.

Easing from the bed, she padded her way to the large window and moved the curtain aside. The dark sky was lit with millions of stars that only saddened her more. She had once had the innocence that had made her believe that you could wish on stars and dreams did come true. Now she knew the truth. Nothing good ever lasted. It was a lesson that she had learned the hard way and had never forgot, no matter how much she tried to. Resting her forehead on the cool glass, she sighed. Her dreams were getting worse, bringing memories that she had blocked out back to the surface. Tears slid unnoticed down her face as she shivered. Something bad was coming, she could feel it.

Not hearing him approach, she jumped as he touched the small of her back. Whirling around, she was breathing rapidly. "Y-you startled me."

Recognizing the haunted expression, he bit back a curse as something that he remembered her say suddenly clicked and rushed back to him. Gently thumbing away the tears on her face, he watched as she closed her eyes. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Just thinking. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine. I am a light sleeper. I felt you get out of bed. You wanna talk about whatever is making you cry?"

"It's nothing, just lost in thought."

"Hmm." Taking her hand and leading her back to bed, Logan waited until she was situated before climbing in beside her. When she immediately rolled so that she was facing him and snuggled into his arms, he kissed her forehead. "Georgie, we really need to talk about something."

"Okay," she agreed with reluctantly.

Hoping that he wasn't making a huge error, Logan played with a lock of her hair while watching her eyes. He wanted answers after different things that he had heard her murmur in her sleep had come into sharp focus. It made him physically ill to even think about it, but he knew that she needed to talk whether she wanted to or not. Holding in all the pain that she was, was not good for a person, that much he knew without a doubt. "Do you trust me, baby doll?"

Biting her lip, she looked at him questioningly. "You know I do. I am here with you, aren't I. To be honest, I had doubts at first. Not that you would mess it up, but that we wouldn't be able to get along. But yes, I trust you, Logan."

Smirking, he chuckled. "I can see why you thought that we might argue. We certainly have had our fair share of spats before. But we were both fighting to avoid this from developing." Pressing a light kiss on her lips, he groaned before pulling away. "But now you should know that I am not planning on going anywhere. I wanna explore this, see what it leads to."

Relaxing, she laid her head on the pillow. "I want that too."

"Good. But I want no secrets standing in the way." Feeling her start to stiffen, he gave her a knowing look that had her eyes flashing with panic. "Georgie, you tell me what you are fighting so hard to keep locked up."

"There is nothing," she muttered.

"You can lie and avoid questions better than most. But you talk in your sleep, Georgie." Tightening his arm around her when tried to sit up, he sighed. "Diego..."

"Shut up!" she begged, her voice almost hysterical. "You have no idea what you are talking about!"

"Don't I? You've told me enough in your sleep each night that we have shared a room. Your reaction to just his name speaks louder than any words ever could." Caressing her back as she shook, he looked into her devastated face and could see the heartbreak. Holding back is own fury was one the hardest things that he had done, but he didn't want her thinking that it was directed at her. "He hurt you. That much is apparent. Did he..." Her nod was so slight that he barely caught it, but his eyes narrowed as she buried her face into his chest and sobbed, her small body shaking violently. Holding her tight, his own eyes closed. "Shh. He will never hurt you again, Georgie. I promise you that, baby."

"Three days," she whispered brokenly. "Three days of hell I spent with that monster."

Trying his best to keep his tone soft and steady, Logan kissed the top of her head. "Wasn't anyone looking for you?"

"I was supose to be a college, looking at the campus. No one ever knew that I was missing," she admitted. "And I never told anyone." Wiping the tears from her eyes, she heard her own voice taking on a vacant quality. "It was only because Lorenzo came home from a trip early that I got to escape, to get help. He was planning on forcing me to go to Luis' estate in South America with him. But Lorenzo heard the guards talking about a girl being held there. He waited until D-Diego was out and freed me, called someone that he knew would be able to help me."

So that is why Alcazar turned on his son, took all protection that the Alcazar name held away from him, Logan thought. It had been an unanswered question that still had those connected to the mob confused by. But Logan believed that Lorenzo should have killed him, not just left him to his own devises.

"When he supposively died after Sam shot him, I was so relieved. I thought that I was safe. That it was finally over." Her voice cracked. "But it will never be over, Logan."

"It will end this time," he vowed darkly. "No matter what else happens, Diego will never be able to hurt you again."

Tired of the secrets, Georgie lifted her head and looked into his concerned face with red eyes. "There is more, Lo. You'll hate me, but I can't keep it inside anymore."

"I could never hate you for anything that he did, Georgie. It wasn't your fault." The doubt on her face made him sick inside. Her pain was so strong that he could practically taste it. "Nothing, absolutely nothing you could say would make me hate you. You survived something that no one should have to go through, especially alone. Talk to me, sweetie."

Her features twisted, but Georgie nodded and averted her eyes. She didn't want to see the look of disgust on his face that she was sure would come. "I got pregnant," she whispered. "But I couldn't have that constant reminded of what he had done. It was bad enough that I have the scars on my back from the beatings that I got."

Jerking, he closed his eyes, but not in disgust. His heart ached for the young woman that he knew he was falling in love with. To finally hear that his suspicions had been right was hard, but to hear that he had beat her enough to leave lasting scars and that she had been pregnant by those circumstances told him that he only had just reached the edge of the hell that she lived with. "I'm so sorry, baby girl, that you had to go through that. No one could blame you for having an abortion though."

"I killed that baby, a baby that was part of me. All because I couldn't even think of it's father without wanting to kill myself."

Placing his hands under her chin, he eased her face up so that he was looking at her tear stained face. "Georgie, that was your choice and yours alone to make. You made the only decision that you could live with at the time. I know you. I know that you had to have struggled with it. I know that it was not an easy thing for you to even consider, let alone go through with. You have nothing to be ashamed about, nothing! I just wish that you had not went through it alone. I know that you never told your family anyway."

"No. Mac and Maxie would have not been able to handle it. And I didn't want their pity. But I wasn't alone. The person that Lorenzo called, and took a huge chance in doing so, was the best person to help me. Elizabeth was there through it all. She was my rock, my support. She stood by all my choices."

Relieved that she had someone to talk to, Logan mentally thanked Elizabeth for her support. But he had heard the whispers about her past and knew that was why Lorenzo had called her. And while he was thankful, it still left him speechless that he had called a woman that could have went to Morgan with everything that she knew. But he realized that Elizabeth would have never done anything that Georgie didn't want. "Having someone to confide in had to have helped some, and I am glad that you had her. But Georgie, you cannot keep living in fear and shame. You did what you had to. No one can judge you for that. And I don't hate you, baby. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for. And I am not walking away from you, from us."

Fresh tears blurred her vision. The relief that coursed through her was enough to make her realize that she had been terrified that he would never be able to look her the same. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner. With you risking your life for me, you should have known the whole truth."

"Honey, I would have never let him touched even not knowing. But now, there is no way in hell that Diego will get near you." Kissing her neck, he murmured soothingly in her ear. "You are the best person that I have ever met, baby girl."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Jason stood with his arms crossed in front of him, glaring at his wife. "No way! You are not going with me, Elizabeth."

Ignoring the irate look that he giving her, she returned the glare and propped her hands on her hips. "Jason, I don't expect to go with you and Johnny when you move in on Diego. I want to check in on Georgie."

"Then call her!"

"You are impossible!" she snapped. "Do you honestly think that she is going to tell me that she is anything but fine. I know Georgie! She will keep it all bottled up and pretend that she is dealing just fine."

Pinching his nose, he blew out a frustrated breath. "You are the one that said Hayes would protect her at all costs. Now you are saying that you need to check on her. Do you not trust him?"

"What? No! Logan is the best person to be with her. He cares for her, Jason. It's on his face everytime that they are near one another. All of you are blind not see that!" Moving over to the couch, she played with the edge of the blanket that laid over the back of it. "I just think that being able to talk to someone that understands and has been there from the beginning will help. She is my friend, Jason. And she is living her own personal hell, her worst nightmare."

Sighing, he threw his hands up in the air. "They have a phone, Elizabeth. Call her. But we have two kids here that need you. I won't risk your life by taking you anywhere near what is happening over there. If I had my way, Georgie wouldn't be anywhere near that bastard either. But unfortunately, Diego seems to always know where they are headed. I am hoping that we caught him off guard and get a freaking step ahead of him by sending them away from France once Johnny heard that he was heading there."

Defeated, she sat on the cushions and leaned forward. "I still cannot believe that Brenda has been feeding him info on Georgie all this time. Did she finally crack up or what?"

The dark look on his face was normally reserved for enemies that he was face to face with. "I don't know. Julia wants to think so, but I have to wonder. It isn't like she is loyal anyway. She wore a wire on Sonny, played him and Jax against one another for years until they were both fed up. The only reason that she is where she is because of Julia. I don't think that she would forgive Johnny if Brenda just disappeared."

"It's sad, you know. Robin and Brenda were close, best friends. But Georgie is Robin's family. Nothing will excuse her behavior, or should. But it will kill Robin if she finds out. I just can't comprehend being that far gone that you can justify helping a madman go after Georgie." Her sapphire eyes became moist. "He hurt enough in the past already. Brenda deserves more than a padded room."

Uncomfortable with the sadness in her eyes, Jason sat beside her and pulled her to him. "I know she does. But Julia is her sister, and Johnny's fiance. I won't place him in that position. And while I despise what she has done, maybe Brenda just thought that he was looking for an old friend. Georgie and Diego were friends at one point in the past, before Sage died."

"Bullshit! She knew exactly what he did to her!" Immedaitely shutting her mouth as Jason lifted an eyebrow, Elizabeth winced. Her anger had made her say more than she should have and she would not betray Georgie's trust. But the thought that Brenda was helping Diego made Elizabeth's skin crawl. Having helped take care of an almost unconscious Georgie, she could only imagine the hell that Diego had put her through before Lorenzo had returned home and found out.

The man had been broken and enraged at the same time. He had sent O'Brien to retrieve Elizabeth and ask for her help. The only reason that she had went was because she knew that Johnny would never place her in danger. But having seen Georgie in that shape, it was something that Elizabeth would never forget. Johnny had made her promise never to reveal that he had been the one to take her back to Elizabeth's studio where she had stayed until she was healed enough to go home. He knew that the young woman would be mortified that he had seen her so vulnerable, and Elizabeth agreed. Wishing that Sam had done something right when she had shot the bastard, Elizabeth blinked and came back to the present to see Jason watching her.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just thinking." Sighing, she looked at the photos on the mantle of the boys. "Okay. I will stay here. But I want you make sure that Georgie knows to call me if she wants to talk. I'm worried about her, emotionally and mentally, Jason."

Even if she wouldn't say it, Jason was sharp enough to know that Elizabeth knew exactly what Diego had done to the youngest Jones sister. The only thing that he was uncertain of was when. Their close friendship now made perfect sense. Both had been through a hell that no one could ever fully imagine. "I will. But I think that you are underestimating Hayes. If what you think is there really is, he will support her and get her to talk. He could be the best thing for her right now, Elizabeth."

"I hope that you are right, that he got her to open up, Jason. She needs it and he needs it too." Snuggling into his side, she kissed his cheek and grinned when he turned to catch her lips. "Thought you had to leave?"

Pushing her back into the cushions of the couch, he gave her a wicked grin. "Private plane, mine, remember?"

They both groaned when the phone rang. Shoving a hand through his hair, he reluctantly set up and reached for the offending object while she remained frowning. Seeing the number for O'Brien, he snapped it open and growled. "This had better be important, O'Brien."

"I lost Diego, Jason. He must have made me or one of the other guys. Half of his guys are gone too. I am heading to where Logan last was when he called. We gotta find them, now!"

I had a difficult time writing that, but it is important in the grand scheme of the story. By the way, Lorenzo may have not killed Diego, but he is his father. He did get Georgie help and took away all assistance that he gave him. The reason that he has been so standoffish with her after that happened was not because of Sage's death, it was because of Diego's actions. He was ashamed that his child would do anything like that. I never saw Lorenzo as a villian, a bit of a bad boy, yes. Evil...no.

The next chapter will start the turning events for everyone.