Sorry for the delay, to apologize, I'm giving you two chapters in one . If you're interested I've posted a new LoVe story :)

Chapter 19

"Jake, what brings you here?"

"I just wanted to ask you something."

"Well come in then, Veronica isn't home."

"Yeah, I was standing behind the bushes, I was waiting for her to be gone so we could talk." He said, not mentioning how hurt he had been when he heard their conversation and realized how close they were. He was beginning to understand how close Veronica was to her father, and he could not change that by telling Keith the truth. "I need your help."

"Is it some kind of sick joke? Because if you really need help, you should ask to the sheriff you put in my place, I'm sure Lamb can help you better than me."

"Please Keith, we both know you're better than him."

"I'm sure, that's why people voted for him. Listen, I don't know why you're here but I think you should leave before Veronica comes back."

"Keith I know I'm not your favorite person, but I really need your help, Duncan is missing."

"Like I said go to Lamb."

"You don't understand, you know my son better than Lamb, he is Veronica's best friend, I just want him to come home unharmed."

"This is more a case for the sheriff than me, he will have more access to some information."

Jake looked around the living room and saw countless pictures of Veronica and some of her with Lilly and Duncan. He picked up one and gave it to Keith.

"This is my son, I've already lost a child and I don't want to lose another one, if it's money, I can give you as much as you want to find him."

"I don't care about money, if I wanted money, I would have moved somewhere else and made lots of money. I will see what I can, but I don't make any promise, I will try to find him but I'm warning you, if it gets too complicated or forces me to go out of town or the country too many times, I drop the case. My daughter is in town for the holidays and I want to spend time with her before she has to go back to San Diego and I also have to make sure she isn't spending too much time with her boyfriend and also to make sure everything is fine."

"She has a new boyfriend?" He asked innocently, as if he did not already know.

"Yeah, she is dating Logan again."

"I though they had broken up, well that's what Duncan told me."

"Until five weeks ago they were, but you know what it's like with teenagers, they are in love but they don't know what to do with their feelings so they hurt each other but now they're done. As much as I hate to say it, Logan makes my daughter happy so I promised her not to do anything to make them break up."

"I don't know what I would have done if it were my daughter."

"Veronica is my daughter but sometimes I have trouble understanding her." Keith said with a smile. "She knows what she wants and how to get it, she is the sweetest kid but she is also the smartest one, she drives me crazy."

"It was the same thing with Lilly, but she was different from Veronica. Lilly loved to drive me crazy by dating boys I never approved and bringing a different one every week." he said with a sad smile, even though Lilly was far from being perfect, she was his daughter and he loved her.

"Yeah, but they looked like each other more than you think, you should have seen them together or heard some of their conversations, it was worst when Duncan was involved. They used to tease him and use him to cover them when they went out and didn't want us to know."

"Really?"

"Oh yes and that's exactly what Lilly and Duncan did on Homecoming's night. Lilly told me Veronica was spending the night at her house but it was a lie, she was with Logan, no need to tell you what happened." Keith said with a smile. He offered Jake a drink and made him sat on the couch. "So can you tell me what may have pushed Duncan to run away?"

"Last night, one of his friends came over to talk to him and he kind of got angry and did something bad." Jake said, knowing he could not tell him the truth.

"Who and what was said?"

"Just a friend."

"Okay, I get it, you don't want to tell me but can you at least tell me what his friend told him and what Duncan did."

"Just that she was back with her boyfriend and he kind of tried to strangle her."

"What do mean by kind of? He either did it or not, because there is no middle in this."

"He did it."

"Okay then can you tell me who was his friend so I can question her?" he asked him, but when he saw that he was not going to answer, he repeated his question. "If you want me to find your son, you should tell me who it was."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Keith, I just can't, if you want to ask her questions then give them to me and I will ask them myself. I'm sure she doesn't want to get involved in this."

"Do you really want me to find you son, because I need to talk to that girl to know what really happened between her and Duncan."

"Like I said, she told Duncan that she was dating again her ex-boyfriend and he didn't take it well."

"It's Veronica isn't it." Keith said, knowing that his daughter is the only girl who could get Duncan to act like he did and she also fits the description since she recently got back with Logan. "So was it my daughter?"

"Yes." he answered, knowing it was no use to lie to a man like Keith Mars. "She is the one he attacked."

"Why? Why did he attack my daughter?"

"I told you, he didn't really liked it when she told him she was dating Logan again."

"He's his best friend, I don't understand, something must have happened."

"Nothing else happened, he is just over protective, he wants to protect her."

"It's my job to protect her, not Duncan's. Why did he do that to my daughter."

"He's sick."

"I already know that, what kind of guy tries to strangle his friend because he doesn't aprove of her boyfriend. Is he in love with her, or is he jealous of Log..."

"Keith you don't understand, when I say he is sick, I mean he has epilepsy. I don't know what happened, he always takes his pills, you have to find him, he didn't take his pills with him when he ran away."

"I'm sorry Jake, but this is different now, he tried to strangle my daughter, this changes many things."

"Please Keith, I really need you to find Duncan before he does something."

"I will think about it, talk with Veronica and I will call you to tell you if I take the case or not. »

"Keith, I wouldn't have come here if it weren't that important, I've already lost a child." He said, not adding that if he lost his son too, he would have only a child left, and it was Veronica. The girl, Keith thinks of as his daughter.

Veronica was waiting for Logan in his living room when Lynn walked into the room, she smiled when she saw her and asked her to sit down so they could talk a little.

"So how are you today, we haven't really talked since you and Logan got together."

"I know, it's just that I've been busy since I came back, you know."

"Logan, you two spend a lot of time together."

"Yeah." She said, blushing.

"You've made the right choice, even thought he hurt you a lot, my son loves you and you make him happy. You're the perfect girlfriend for Logan, he will never find someone who loves him as much as you do, you're meant to be even if you might not see it right now. I know it, I'm ready to bet that you two will tie the knot someday."

" I think it's too soon to say that, we got back together only 5 weeks ago, I don't even know if we are going to last past high school as much as I love him."

"Believe me, Veronica you will make it, you love each other. I know my son and I know you as well, you make each other happy and I know nothing will break your relation."

"Thanks." Veronica replied , not knowing what else to say. "I should go, Logan is probably waiting for me in the pool house."

"Of course, go." She said with a smile, watching Veronica also run out of the house towards the pool. She knew she was right, because Veronica and Logan were going to get married someday, whatever they realized it or not. Lynn smiled to herself and left the house, knowing that her son was happy and there was nothing that could change that, not even Aaron.

"Hey!" Logan said when he saw Veronica, he dropped his control and went to hug her. "What are you doing here, I thought you wanted to spend time with your father."

"I spent time with him but then we had this serious conversation about love."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, by the way, you should know that my father knows that we are sleeping together. In fact, he knew that last year, we lied to him about Homecoming, he knows where I spent the night."

"No."

"Yes."

"No, otherwise I wouldn't be alive right now."

"He knows it, but he said something about us loving each other so much and he even reassured me, because it scares me to love someone as much as I love you."

"Are you breaking up with me again or are you running away?" he said, hoping she would not realize how afraid he was to lose her again.

"No, your mother also told me something, according to her, we're going to get married someday. I don't know what's wrong with our parents today, but they decided to give us, or more precisely to give me a long speech about love."

"Poor baby, don't worry next time I will be there, just give me a call to tell me you're about to have a conversation about love, you would use a moral support, someone to hold your hand. You know." He said with a smile. Veronica returned his smile and sat on the bed next to him.

"What do you want to do today?"

"I don't know, but I wouldn't mind spending the day here."

"Okay, I'm dating a real pervert! We're going out, I want to surf today!"

"I'm not a pervert, I'm just a 17 year old boy with the hottest girlfriend ever! But you don't know how to surf."

"That's why you're going to teach me, I still haven't used that board you got me for my birthday, I think it's time for me to take it out of the garage."

"Will you wear a bikini?"

"Of course, under my wetsuit."

"That's mean! I was hoping to see it."

"Another day, now move your lazy ass, I want to go to the beach before it's to late and I have to go home to take my bikini and wetsuit." She said, helping him on his feet. "I'm going home and when I come back, I want to find you ready."

"I will join you at the Dog's beach, I'll ring my board along with yours."

"Thanks." She kissed him quickly before leaving the room.

"I'm home!" Veronica said, walking into her house. "But I'm here to grab my swimsuit, I'm going to surf with Logan."

"Veronica, come here, we need to talk." Keith said from where he was sitting.

"What's wrong?"

"Where were you last night?"

"At Logan's, you know that, why are you asking?"

"Jake Kane came over, Duncan is missing and according to his father, he tried to strangle you, I want to know what's going on Veronica."

"Dad…"

"No, I trust you Veronica but you have to tell me the truth. I want to know it now."

"I don't know what happened myself, I went over to tell him I was back with Logan and he tried to strangle me. I swear that's all." She said lying through her teeth, she couldn't really tell him the truth, it would kill him. "Listen, I don't want to think about it anymore, Logan is coming soon to pick me up."

"Okay, but I want to know if you would mind if I took the case, Jake wants me to find Duncan."

"Of course, I want you to find Duncan, take the case, please do. You're the only one who can find him, Lamb wouldn't be able to find him even if he was right under his nose."

"If you're sure then I will. But if he ever contacts you or Logan, you have to tell me. I'm going to call Jake to tell him I'm taking the case."

"I'm going to get ready, I don't want to make him wait." She said softly before leaving the room.