Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry for the delay on this. I hit a major plot issue and then had a few more minor issues that had to be dealt with before we could move forward. Thank you for your patience and I hope you like it :)

After escaping the restaurant, Ratner, Veronica, Logan and Mac returned to Veronica and Logan's house and sat around the breakfast table. "Vinnie was right, wasn't he? You have a second source," Ratner said.

Veronica avoided eye contact and swirled her glass of wine.

"Come on, Veronica. What's going on? What aren't you telling us?" Logan pushed.

"Ratner, you still do regular sweeps of our place, right?" Veronica asked.

"Sure, and Mac just did an update on all your electronics."

Veronica nodded and took a deep sip of her wine. "This can't leave this room." Everyone nodded. "I do have another source; he's undercover for the federal version of internal affairs. He gave me more names. He was hoping that my article would shake things up enough to reveal more of their operation." Veronica reached over for Logan's hand. "You know about the tax evasion and import of illegal goods. What you don't know is that they are also suspected of being a part of a larger network of human traffickers. That's what my other source was hoping to discover more about. The plan is—was, anyway—that he would continue to feed me information, and over the next few months I would put together another article while he built his case."

Ratner's eyes narrowed. "That is against protocol. He shouldn't have been speaking to you at all."

Veronica nodded. "He said as much. He also said he was concerned that there were people within the ATF, customs, maybe even the Justice Department who were on the take. He didn't want to risk nothing being done."

Logan was nervously bouncing his leg and rubbing her hand. Mac looked lost at sea, and Ratner had on his professional face, serious and thoughtful. Veronica leaned into Logan and waited for Ratner's assessment.

"Okay, I think we need a new plan. They must not know you're onto more than what was in the article. If they did, I don't think we'd all be sitting here so comfortably. But from what Gorya said, they are curious about how you found the cousins. Your source was obviously playing it safe if he only gave you the lowest of the low in the family."

Veronica nodded. "Yeah, the two cousins mostly seem to have been courier types from what I could tell. They arranged and sometimes drove the trucks that moved the goods out of the port before inspections. I would guess that they were in contact with the Lambs though I never found proof of it, though I didn't really try. My source said he'd divulge just enough to shake things up and he did, so I didn't pursue it further."

"You need a plausible alternative narrative for how you found these guys." Ratner said, a concerned expression on his face.

"Duh." Everyone turned disbelieving looks at her. "I already have one. It's what I gave out in all the evidence packets to the different agencies. I watched a deal go down and saw the two cousins. I took pictures and identified them that way." Veronica smiled.

Logan looked upset. "You were doing surveillance by yourself?"

Veronica reached up and touched his cheek. "Of course not. I wasn't the one doing the surveillance, my source was; he just passed the photos on to me. But there is no way for them to know the difference."

"Where were you when the pictures were actually taken?" Mac asked, surprising them all when she spoke up for the first time since they'd sat down.

"Um…" Veronica thought hard and pulled out her cell phone to check dates. "I'm pretty sure we were here at home. I guess we could check our phone records and bank accounts to make sure."

"You should. Right now, in case we need to come up with something else," Mac pushed.

Veronica quickly pulled up the appropriate records. "No incoming or outgoing calls for me."

"It doesn't look like we ordered takeout that night," Logan confirmed. "We almost never pay with cash, so we probably cooked that night."

Ratner looked satisfied. "All right, I think that'll work. Veronica, can you explain again how you found out about the ICE and ATF agents? I want to make sure I've got everything straight."

"Well, Catherine…er, Yelena, directed me to them. Originally, she said they were hassling the family and demanding bribes. Though after more investigating, turns out, they were doing a lot more than that. It was more like they were on the payroll. I accepted that she didn't realize how involved in the organization they were because of who I thought she was. But in light of who she really is, clearly the Sorokins wanted rid of them." Veronica pulled her tablet out of her bag and started searching for the files she had on them.

Logan leaned over her shoulder, "So your planted source fed them to you? And your government source gave you the cousins?" Veronica nodded absently, "Did he know you would be exposing the Lambs?" Logan asked.

Veronica had finally found the file she wanted, "Um…no I don't think so. He didn't preview the article and didn't ask me many questions about Catherine, he seemed to know everything already." She set the tablet out showing both of the Lamb's basic bio information.

Don Lamb, 37 – ATF 13 years, assigned to Port of San Francisco 5 years

Dan Lamb, 35 – ICE 10 years, assigned to Port of San Francisco 8 years

"Veronica do you think there's a chance that he knew Catherine was a plant?" Ratner asked.

"I wouldn't have thought so but…I really just don't know. I can try to contact him–"

"Not yet. Not until we know more. Come on, Mac, let's go get some sleep. I have a feeling we're all going to have a long day tomorrow."

"Why?" Mac asked getting up from the table.

Logan gave her a grim smile. "Because I went all Rocky on that guy. When it hits the tabloids and they identify all of us, you are going to start getting hounded by the media, too. Sorry. I shouldn't have hit him."

"Eh, he deserved it," Mac replied and followed Jeff out of the house.

The door shut and Logan turned upset eyes to Veronica, "I…um…I'm not even sure what I want to say," he sighed unhappily.

Veronica got up and crawled in his lap, hoping the physical contact would help him find his words, or distract him, she didn't really care which direction her actions took them. "It's okay you know." She played with the hair at the back of his neck and pressed a kiss to his temple.

"But it's not okay. These people—the Sorokins—now they're going to think you were the one doing surveillance. What if they come after you with more than a sex tape?"

Veronica leaned her head to rest against Logan's, his arms wrapped tightly around her. She really hadn't considered that and it was a foolish mistake. If there was someone besides the ATF and ICE agents on the Sorokin payroll they now most likely had access to the report Veronica had provided to the FBI.

"Crap," Veronica said vehemently.

"I would have gone with fuck, but yes, my dear."

"I really don't think they are going to be interested in me beyond this, though. I really don't know anything."

"But they don't know that. And now they may think that you do know more. I wish you'd told me, we could have come up with a better way you got the information." Logan rubbed his cheek against Veronica's.

"Like what, hot-shot mystery writer? What would Vivian have done?" Veronica teased.

"Well, Vivian would have said she got them in an anonymous email or maybe a thumb drive arrived by courier. Something like that. So she couldn't have known the source and wasn't responsible for acquiring the raw information."

Dammit, that is a good idea. Veronica sighed, defeated, "You're right, that is a better idea. And I wouldn't have needed anything special to pull off an anonymous email. I could have had Mac send it."

"I'm not saying your idea didn't have merit but maybe in the future you could include me. I'm very good at keeping secrets and unlike your mystery source, I care about you." He punctuated his words with a quick kiss to her cheek. "You don't have to tell me everything but maybe you could just include me when things might be questionable or if you need another rapier wit added into the mix," he teased.

"I'm pretty sure I can do that. But I'm also pretty sure I have enough wit for the both of us."

"There is no such thing as too much wit, Bobcat. No such thing."

Before heading to bed, Logan had received an email from Parker requesting his presence the next morning. Apparently, she was flying up first thing in the morning along with Harvey and Bernie, Aaron's agent and the family lawyer, respectively.

The meeting went about as well as could be expected. Bernie just shook his head. Harvey ranted.

"Getting in a fight in a public place! You aren't in high school anymore.
How could you be so stupid, Logan?"

Much to Logan's surprise, Parker had actually been the one to keep things from escalating further.

"He looked like a hero standing up for the honor of his love.
I thought it was romantic. And anyway, Sorokin isn't pressing charges and
the restaurant found the generous tip you left to be sufficient."

Logan chuckled to himself. When he'd checked later, he was sure that he had; he'd left a little more than three hundred dollars on the table.

After returning home and parking in the garage, Logan trudged up the stairs to the main floor. All things considered, this meeting had gone better than the last one with his father had. This time not only had he been able to actually eat the food, but the group had decided that the best thing was for Logan and Veronica to get out of the city…on Aaron's dime. Logan had given Parker Jake's business card and Ratner's contact info to set up security, in return she'd promised to email him everything they'd need within the hour.

Entering the living room, Logan's ears were assaulted by the sound of 90's pop. Veronica and Mariah Carey were belting out 'Fantasy'. Logan slipped off his shoes, and as stealthily as possible, followed the sound of Veronica's voice.

He found her in the kitchen wearing a pair of his boxers and a bright pink tank top. She was shaking her hips to the beat of the music while she rolled something through a bowl and then placed it on a cookie sheet. She's baking. Logan grinned and continued to watch her for a few more moments before he approached her from behind. When he reached her, he took hold of her hips and started to dance along with her.

"I'm in heaven, with my girlfriend…" he sang softly into her ear with his own little twist on the lyrics.

The song ended, and Logan reached into his pocket and took control of the house's surround sound to turn the volume down. "So, beautiful girlfriend. Just what is it you're doing?"

Veronica smiled up at him. "Baking snickerdoodles." She held a bit of cinnamon and sugar coated dough up to his mouth.

He greedily stole the dough off her finger and then reached behind her for another bite, which earned him a smack on his hand.

"You won't get any if you keep that up, mister," she scolded, her hands on her hips and her eyes full of laughter.

"Any? Hmmm…I don't believe you," Logan purred into her ear. Veronica shifted so that her neck was easily accessible to his lips, and Logan dove in to take advantage. "Yum, you're all the sugar I need." He sucked on her pulse as it fluttered rapidly. Just as he reached up to cup one of her breasts, a loud timer went off.

Veronica giggled and pulled out of Logan's arms. "Tease!" Logan called as she skipped over to pull a tray of cookies out of the oven.

"Don't worry, you're the only one allowed to eat my cookie." She winked at him. Logan was ready to take that as an invitation to continue what they'd started, but Veronica held up her hand. "Before we get distracted, tell me how the meeting went. I had to turn my cell off completely after I called to fill dad and Alicia in on yesterday's goings-on."

Logan swallowed. "Right. How much does your dad hate me now? Am I still welcome in their home for Thanksgiving?"

"Of course. Dad wasn't pleased, but Alicia insisted that he isn't mad at us so much as at Piz and the SFPD. He actually seemed to calm down when I told him you were already working on a lawsuit against them."

Logan smiled conspiratorially; he was going to make sure that every person complicit in the leaking of that video was fired. And then he was planning to sue each of them for every penny they had. Logan didn't like to think of himself as litigious, but these were special circumstances.

"You're avoiding telling me how your meeting went." She frowned at him. "Was it really that bad?"

Logan shook his head. "No, it went fine. We'll be taking Jake up on his offer. At least for the next few days, that is. Why don't you call your boss and make sure that it will be okay to leave town for a few days. If there's a problem, we'll need to make other arrangements. Apparently Aaron will be footing the bill, so I was thinking we'd spend the next week in St. Helena."

Veronica looked at him, confused.

"That's the name of the town where Jake's house and that resort are; it's just a bit north of Napa. And, it just so happens to be the home of the roadside burger place you insisted that I prove exists."

Her demeanor immediately changed. "Gott's is there?"

"Yes, ma'am. And, if memory serves, it's less than five minutes from where we'll be staying."

"Sold! When do we leave?" Veronica asked, prepping the next cookie sheet to go in the oven.

Logan laughed at her enthusiasm. "Late this afternoon. I already invited Mac and Ratner. I have a feeling we're going to be spending a decent amount of time doing research, and I thought it might be handy to have a tech genius and a bodyguard/criminal mastermind with us. On that note, Ratner is already working with Parker to, how did he put it? Keep our visibility low." Logan smiled. "And if this all dies down more quickly than anticipated, we have friends to go do stuff with, paranoid friends, but friends none-the-less."

Veronica popped the cookie sheet she'd just loaded into the oven and came back around the island. "Please tell me the walls at this place are thick and that there's room service."

"We'll have one of their Lodges, it has four bedrooms that are actually these little bungalows and are separate from the main living space. There is room service, but we'll also have a full sized kitchen." Logan wrapped his arms around Veronica's waist and pulled her closer so he could kiss her on the nose. "Mmm…cinnamon." He licked his lips and leaned in to steal a kiss when the doorbell rang.

"What's the deal!?" Veronica exclaimed. She gave him a rushed kiss, grabbed her stun gun off the kitchen island and headed for the front door. "I'm going to give who ever this is a taste of Mr. Sparky!"

Logan chuckled at her anger. She was a ferocious little bobcat. He then followed behind her to make sure she didn't actually tase anyone.

As Logan reached the door, he found Veronica pulling Heather through it as two paparazzi snapped pictures from across the street.

"Heather! What brings you to our humble abode?" Logan asked, holding his hand out for her coat.

"Well, I tried to call, but I'm guessing you have all the phones shut off."

"You guessed correctly," Veronica confirmed, heading back to the kitchen.

Heather held out a tabloid that had a picture of Logan just moments before he'd landed a punch in Gory Sorokin's face. Her finger pointed at Gory. "I recognize him."

"Excuse me? You recognize the nephew of the head of the Russian mob's west coast…um…Veronica?" Logan asked, not knowing what to call them.

"Syndicate? Or maybe collective? I'm not sure they have a name for it. It's not like they hand out badges or have retirement plans." Veronica shrugged, putting a few cookies on a plate and holding it out to Heather. "Cookie?"

"Don't mind if I do." Heather smiled. "Anyway, yes I more than recognize him, actually. I've met him a few times with Dick. He's a real assh—jerk. I think he might have been in the same fraternity as Dick, or at least he hung out there a lot," Heather explained, taking a seat at the island and munching her cookie. "These are really good, Veronica."

"Thanks."

Logan tuned out the rest of her and Veronica's conversation about the merits of superfine sugar, and turned his attention to the tabloid Heather had brought.

He really looked at Gory. Have I met this guy? Logan had hung out at Dick's fraternity plenty during college, but the guy did not look familiar at all. He turned to the article inside and skimmed the rehash of how the video of him and Veronica came to exist. There were even a few shots of Logan, Veronica, and Piz being brought out of her apartment. He stared at the one with Piz on a gurney in handcuffs.

"Hey, I recognize him, too," Heather said, pulling the magazine closer to her. "Isn't that Chip Diller?"

Veronica rushed around the island and looked at the picture with them. "Yes, he was one of the first officers on site when Piz held me hostage." Veronica turned her face to Logan.

Logan could tell that she wondered if he recognized Diller as well. He shook his head. "I don't remember him. I remember Veronica complained about him, but that's all. How do you know him?"

"He was definitely in the fraternity with Dick. Mindy hated him. You remember that creepy sex score thing they did every spring?" Logan nodded. "Chip made them take off points because of Mindy's toes."

Logan couldn't help but laugh. Once he finally got himself under control, he explained. "Dick married Heather's sister Melinda during a drunken weekend in Vegas and then decided he wanted to divorce her because he thought her toes were weird. As you can imagine, it's been a bit of a sore subject for Mindy every since."

Even Veronica laughed at that. "But what was the scoring thing? Some fraternity game?"

Logan was certain his face reflected the same disgust as Heather's. "Yeah, fifty points for a blonde, fifty more if it's natural. You get it?"

Veronica nodded. "Please tell me you never played this game."

"Never. They actually had a sister sorority that played the game, too. Did you know that being famous was worth an extra hundred points?" Logan answered sarcastically, flinching at the memory of being shown the scoreboard and seeing his value. He felt a little sick when he thought back on the night he'd learned about that little gem. Veronica's arm wrapped around his waist, and her cheek rested against his bicep. She was so great at offering support and comfort right when he needed it. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Thank you," he whispered against her silky hair and she squeezed him tighter.

In just a few months, and a lot of conversations, Veronica really had gotten good at spotting his emotional baggage. At the top of that list was pretty much anything to do with his dad, especially when people treated him a certain way—good or bad—just because of who Aaron was. Logan had tried therapy a few years back, but one of the office staff had photocopied his file and sold it. Luckily, it had been after only two sessions, and they'd only gotten as far as Logan's decision to move to San Francisco for a new start. It was one of the few times that he was truly glad he didn't open up easily. The therapist had apologized, refunded his money, and fired the person responsible. It was the best he could have hoped for under the circumstances.

"So you really don't remember Chip? He was older than you and Dick, but he left a lasting impression in my mind." Heather's words brought Logan back to the present.

"I really don't remember him. Before we found out about some issues with Veronica's source, she suggested Diller could have been behind leaking the video. And now you're telling us that both he and this Gory guy know Dick?"

Heather nodded.

"Seems like too much to be a coincidence," Veronica said, still holding him tightly.

"Dick is kind of a douche, but I trust him implicitly in regard to my privacy." Heather nodded her agreement. "But I agree that, if Dick knows them both, they may know each other. If we can link them together more than circumstantially, we may be able to prove Diller is the one who took the video," Logan said. "Thank you Heather. This could end up being very helpful. I should probably go call Dick and see what I can find out from him. You're welcome to stay." He smiled at her while heading back to the office to call Dick.

"Hey man! Heard you're going to be up by Jake's." Dick had a tendency to just jump into conversations when he answered the phone.

"Hi, Dick. How do you know that? Please don't tell me it was on TMZ." Logan groaned; if it was, they'd have to change plans.

"Naw, ran into your dad. Got me thinking."

"I hope that didn't hurt too much."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I was thinking I'd come up while you're there. We could see if there are any rich divorcees looking for a good time."

"Um…you know I'm with Veronica; I'm not exactly shopping for a sugar mama. But if you want to come up, I'd really like you to meet her. Our place for the week has extra rooms."

"Right, Ver-on-i-ca. Sure. I'd like to meet your lady friend whom I'm sure I'll approve of whole-heartedly and without reservation."

"Gee thanks, Dick. Hey, you remember a guy named Chip Diller?" Logan asked.

"Sure, he was a Pi Sig with me…year or two ahead I think."

"Did he hang around with a guy named Gorya Sorokin?"

"Gory? Maybe. I think they might have been the same year, but Gory wasn't one of the brothers; he just liked to party with us."

"Any chance you'd have some pictures of them together?"

"Wow, that's a weird request. If they partied together at all then there are pics. I can bring my laptop and we can check; I've got all five years of house party pics saved."

"That'd be great. I'd really appreciate it."

"Anything for you, Brother. Even if it is weird," he added under his breath. "I'll probably see you tomorrow night." And with that, the line disconnected. Dick was as abrupt with his sign offs as his greetings.

"So, where are we going again?" Mac asked from the backseat of the rented SUV as they crossed over a river and some kind of marsh and then drove past the strangest cows she'd ever seen—they looked like brown and white Oreos.

"I rented out the Hillside Terrace Lodge at Meadowood for the next week. St. Helena is a little less crowded than Napa. And we can get a level of privacy and security there that will be much more pleasant for all of us. Trust me," Logan replied as he navigated the Sunday evening traffic heading inland from the bay.

Mac pulled out her replacement phone, Jeff had insisted they all leave their actual phones at home, and Mac had setup call forwarding for all of them. She quickly searched for the place Logan had mentioned. When the web page opened, her jaw dropped and she sputtered a bit before flashing her phone to Jeff, who simply smirked.

Mac had known that Logan was wealthy. Even though she had never been included in the ridiculous 09er scene, she knew that Aaron Echolls made eight figures for each of those crappy action movies he starred in. What didn't make sense to her was how Logan could afford to drop thirty thousand dollars on a weeklong getaway.

Though apparently asking wasn't necessary. Mac met Logan's eyes in the rearview mirror. "Come on, Mac. You've known me since seventh grade. Obviously Daddy is footing the bill. He wants Veronica and I safely cloistered away but close enough that if they need us we can quickly get back to the city. Hell, he'll probably write it off as a business expense for promoting his current crap pile. Um…I think it's a Hair Trigger sequel." Logan made a little gun with his hand and fired it a few times: pop pop.

"I've known who you are since seventh grade. I didn't have the displeasure of getting to know you until senior year of high school…" At Logan's look she continued, "I get it, you really aren't that guy, or weren't ever that guy. It just…"

"I know. Sorry. Why don't we focus on all the fun we're going to have? You and Ratner can explore the many and sundry wine-tasting opportunities while Veronica and I stay holed up in our little love nest. On that note, Ratner, when you guys come across good wine, buy lots. I'm getting reimbursed for this whole venture."

Mac couldn't help but laugh at Logan's maniacal smile. She wished she'd known this Logan back when they all still lived in Neptune. He was a pretty great guy. Obnoxious, clearly, but funny and actually pretty sweet.

In the first weeks after their ordeal with Piz, Mac and Logan had had several conversations about their complicated past. They had tiptoed around each other, and finally one night they'd both gotten drunk enough to get it all out there.

Flashback

"It was your fault!" Mac shrieked at Logan.

"My fault? How do you figure that? Did I make him do all those things? I'm not the one who hurt him, Mac," Logan answered harshly.

"You all knew, and you treated him like that. He needed help." Mac felt the first tears slip out of her eyes.

"Shit Mac. Don't cry. And for the record, I had no idea that Bea…Cass had been..." Mac looked up into Logan's face when she heard his voice tremble on Cassidy's name. His eyes were glassy and haunted. "I didn't know. And I know you don't think much of Dick, but he loved Cassidy. If he'd known, I know he would have done something. The guy's an ass, granted. But, when it comes to the people he loves, he'd rather die than let them down. Trust me, I know." He wiped away the tears that had spilled over onto his cheeks.

Mac watched Logan deflate and slide down to the floor to sit cross-legged. Mac walked closer and joined him on the floor; she handed him the bottle of bourbon that had gotten them to this place and they'd begun to share memories of the happier times. As the first light of dawn broke through the night sky, Mac shared her grief over a night she wished she could forget. She found that she wasn't alone; she wasn't the only one who still thought of Cassidy as more than just a killer.

End Flashback

That following morning Mac's head had felt like it had been hit with a sledgehammer, and she'd realized that she hadn't known Logan at all. The evildoer bully she'd categorized him as in her mind didn't align with the man who had shed tears for the messed up boy who had been Mac's first boyfriend. It had been a turning point for them.

Mac felt Jeff's hand squeeze her knee. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked softly when she looked up at him.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just thinking about shower curtains," Mac answered sadly, meeting Logan's eyes in the rearview mirror. A troubled look flitted across Logan's face, and he let go of the wheel with his right hand and reached his arm over the center console and into the backseat. Mac took his hand immediately and sighed as he rubbed his thumb over her hand for a moment before he met her eyes in the mirror again. With one quick squeeze, he nodded and released her hand.

In all the years since Cassidy had been arrested, Mac had never told anyone about what had happened to her until that night with Logan. It had all just spilled out: the failed attempt at having sex, being left naked and alone with nothing to cover herself with but the shower curtain, the maid finding her the next morning. After her confession, Logan had told her his part in that night. Finding Cassidy on the roof of the Neptune Grand, stopping him from jumping off the roof, and finally turning himself in.

"Are you okay?" Veronica's asked Logan, her voice barely above a whisper. Mac saw Logan nod as he turned the radio up, cutting off any conversation. Veronica's hand reached out and entwined their fingers, Logan then pulling her hand to his lips for a kiss.

At the sight of their intimacy, Mac scooted to the middle seat and leaned into Jeff, who, to his credit, didn't ask any questions. He just wrapped his arm around her and kissed her temple. Mac relaxed into his touch and pushed away the bad memories of home, ready to focus on making some new ones.

The drive hadn't taken as long as Veronica had expected. Just a little over an hour and a half had passed before they had turned onto a little lane that served as the entrance to Meadowood. Fifteen more minutes and they were settling into their private Hillside Terrace Lodge. Mac and Jeff had headed off to pick which bungalow they wanted to use so Veronica decided to check out the shared living space.

The main room was open and bright with a large stone fireplace as its focus. Just beyond from the fireplace was a full kitchen that could be seen clearly from the seating around the fireplace. Veronica set her things down and decided to see what the stocked kitchen boasted. It was, as promised, fully appointed with granite and gas appliances; it was a smaller version of their kitchen at home. She walked to the refrigerator and inspected its contents. Prominently displayed were two lobster tails, a plate of mini crab cakes, and a cocktail shrimp platter. Veronica slammed the door shut, fury tinting her vision red.

"Hey babe, what'd that poor little refrigerator ever do to you?" Logan teased, his arms coming around her waist.

"Um…nothing, let's go look at the room service menu, or, better yet, why don't you call and see if we can get a table at the restaurant?" Veronica evaded.

"Sure…I think we can probably just walk up to The Grill; it doesn't require a reservation or have a dress code. But I thought they said there were groceries already stocked in here. It's been a long day, but I could just cook in here." Logan shifted her so she was no longer blocking the refrigerator and reached for the door.

Veronica tried to stop him but it was to late.

"Wow, I knew my dad was a sadistic bastard, but I didn't realize he wanted me dead, too," Logan said, stepping away from the shellfish filled refrigerator. "The Grill? Or room service?"

"The Grill. And I'll call the concierge and have them come clear all of this out while we go eat. And wash your hands. All the food was wrapped in plastic, but I'd rather you not get hives if we can help it." Veronica shooed him to the sink. "Do you think this is his payback for you storming out of the restaurant, the sex tape or for punching Gory?"

"Eh, from experience he never needed a reason for any of the things he did, so why start now?"

After an uneventful dinner with Mac and Ratner, Logan led them back into their home for the next week. Before they'd left, Veronica had explained about Logan's allergy and that the food in the fridge needed to be removed and the kitchen thoroughly cleaned. Truly it was overkill, but Logan loved that she was concerned enough to be that insistent.

He threw himself across the bed and looked out the skylight at the starry night, appreciating how nice the little 'Lodge' was. At the sound of the bathroom door opening, he looked down and saw Veronica walking toward him in one of the resort's plush robes. I am the luckiest man alive, he thought as she climbed onto the bed with him.

Logan sat up as Veronica flung herself back against the pillows. Her skin was a little flushed from the hot shower she'd just taken, and she had a contented look on her face. Logan loved her. Her smart mouth and her mind. He couldn't resist leaning down and kissing her.

The moment their lips met, Veronica's small hands wrapped around his neck and pulled him to her, deepening the kiss. Her moans and little gasps had Logan hard faster than he thought possible. Months of being together and not only was this feeling not getting old, but if anything, being together was getting to be more exciting, more intense…just more.

He reached down and untied the belt of her robe and slipped his hand in, tickling his fingers along the curve of her waist and down to her hips. Logan trailed a line of kisses down her neck until he found himself in the valley between her breasts, he looked up into her eyes, lidded and dark, watching him, and his heart beat faster.

"You're amazing. You know that, right?" Logan whispered.

"I do when you look at me like that." Her small hands cupped his face and he let her guide him back up to her. "Kiss me."

Logan closed the distance until he felt her petal soft lips against his. A little moan opened her mouth to him and he deepened the kiss briefly before pulling back. He brushed his thumb across her cheek and down her jaw. "I love you so much." Then his lips followed the path his thumb had taken, pausing every time Veronica made little noises. After a moment of his attentions, she pushed him away and rose up on her knees, looking down at him.

She moved to him on her knees and swung a leg over his hips while she pushed his shoulder to put him flat on his back. Logan stretched out his arms to take hold of her hips briefly, then pushed the robe off her shoulders. Logan groaned at the sight of her tight pink nipples, and with how she was straddling him he could see that she was wet. When she shifted her position slightly, he could feel how wet she was, too. "Mmmm…I want to touch you."

Veronica leaned down and kissed him, a slow meeting of their lips. Logan rolled them to their sides so that they remained facing each other, and then, with his hand on her ass, pulled her tightly against him. She was soft and firm in all the right places and he wanted nothing more than to be inside of her. Needed to be inside of her.

Logan urged her leg over his hip, and to his surprise, she reached down and fisted his cock, guiding it into her. She felt so good. Logan held her close and kissed her deeply, letting their bodies gently rock into each other.

Pulling away to catch his breath, Logan looked into Veronica's lust-glazed eyes and laughed. "I love you so much."

Her eyes crinkled just a little as she smiled and laughed her reply, "I love you, too." Her laugher caused her walls to flutter against Logan and his laughs turned to moans of pleasure.

"Oh, god, that feels so good." He tenderly cupped her face with one hand and used the other to anchor her hips to his. Logan started rocking his hips, setting a slow but deep roll that had them both panting and clinging to each other. He didn't want to rush, he just wanted to feel her, be in this space with her and she seemed more than willing.

Twice, Logan had to still his body to stop from coming. He used every ounce of self-control in his possession to stop himself until he had calmed before he resumed the languid pace. Finally, he reached a point where he knew there would be no more stopping—not for him, and not for her either.

"I'm getting close babe," Logan panted, trying to keep a rhythm.

"Roll onto your back," Veronica gasped.

"Yes, ma'am." Logan smirked and holding her waist rolled so she was straddling him. "Mmmm…you are so beautiful." He stared up at her now bouncing breasts as she moved up and down his length. His watched mesmerized as she reached down to touch herself; he came at the sight. She continued to touch herself and rock on him until she came a few seconds later, her clinching muscles almost painful on his now too sensitive self.

"Wow," Veronica mumbled, collapsing onto his chest.

Logan carefully pulled out and held her snugly to him. "You can say that again."

"Wow." Her laugher vibrated through Logan's chest, and he joined her until they both calmed. Logan shifted Veronica so she was tucked into his side and they both looked up at the stars through the skylights.

After a few minutes, Logan sat up and smiled sheepishly down at Veronica, who was still gazing, a little unfocused, up at the stars. "I may have done something stupid."

"What kind of stupid? Like get us kicked out of this great resort or like get you kicked out of our bed?" She laughed.

"Actually, it could be both, depending on how it goes." That got Veronica's attention.

"You'd better start explaining."

"So you remember when I called Dick earlier?" She nodded. "Well, he ran into my dad and knew we were going to be staying here and he sort of invited himself along. And then I may have offered one of our extra rooms."

"Well I would have appreciated you letting me know sooner. But Logan, I don't see what the problem is; he's been your friend for most of your life. Why would I have a problem with…oh."

"Now she gets it. I'm pretty sure Mac is going to kill me when he gets here." Logan let out a long breath.

"Why didn't you tell her? They don't get along, right? When was the last time they saw each other?" she asked, little creases showing on her forehead.

"I'm not sure when they saw each other last. It's probably been years. Get along? No, saying they don't get along is an understatement. I'm pretty sure she loathes him, and I have no idea what Dick actually thinks about her since he adamantly refuses to discuss anything Bea-Cassidy related." Logan dragged his hands down his face. "Which brings me to why I didn't tell her. You remember the little break through she and I had?"

"Yeah," Veronica replied softly, taking Logan's hand in hers. The gesture was comforting and steadying.

"She told me she's never really talked to anyone about what happened. I know Dick hasn't either. And honestly, neither had I. She told me some things I had no idea about, and I told her some things she didn't know. I guess I'm hoping, if we can get them in the same place, that maybe they could get some closure, or make peace…something."

"Well, I won't be kicking you out of our bed, but Mac may kill you. And hopefully when Dick gets here the explosion that is sure to occur—"

Logan couldn't help but cringe at her use of the word explosion.

"What?" Veronica asked.

"Cassidy used car bombs," he said simply.

"Shit."

"Yeah." Logan nodded solemnly.

"Okay, clearly, I should have asked more questions of both of you. I only remember you saying he hurt people. Maybe it's time you told me what happened."

Logan took a deep breath, pulled Veronica in close until her head was resting on his chest, and covered them with the heavy down comforter. He kissed her temple and searched for how to begin.

"So Dick was one of my best friends after my family moved to Neptune. Dick is…well, you'll see."

"He couldn't be too bad if you're friends with him, and Heather has said nice things," Veronica said, her fingers tracing patterns on Logan's chest.

"Yeah, well…he is a great guy, or at least he can be; he just takes some getting used to. Anyway, Cassidy was—is his little brother. I don't know why I always want to speak about him in the past tense. Being in jail certainly isn't the same as being dead." Logan let out a frustrated sigh. "We all teased him a lot. He had this terrible nickname. I'm not even sure how it got started, but we all called him Beaver. So they were Dick and Beaver…"

"Ew, really? That has got to be the worst nickname ever."

Logan let his hand drift up and down Veronica's arm. "He hated it, but you know how cruel teenagers can be." She nodded, she still hadn't told Logan much but he knew something bad had happened to her in high school, too. "Turns out the coach was molesting Cassidy the whole time he played little league. None of use knew and we were—God Veronica—we were so horrible to him. We teased him about everything. He's not a big guy and we'd call him a pussy and stuff. I really hate myself for all the things we did to him."

"You didn't know."

"No, but that's not an excuse. I was so caught up in my own misery and pain that I never considered what being cruel to him meant. It doesn't matter that he'd been abused; I shouldn't have treated him like that. The worst part, though, isn't how Dick or any of us treated him, but how their dad treated him. Dick Sr.—'Big Dick'—was just that…a real dick. Just to give you an idea of the kind of bastard this guy was, he and Aaron were real buddy-buddy until Big Dick had to flee to a non-extradition country after he was linked to a real estate ponzi scheme. Think Bernie Madoff but, you know, smaller scale."

"Did anyone have decent parents in Neptune?"

"I don't think so. Maybe Mac? You'd have to ask." He shrugged. "Big Dick tormented Cassidy. And he encouraged us to as well. Big Dick fled the country our senior year, which incidentally worked out well for me since I ended up living in their pool house off and on after I left home. So after he left, Dick and Cassidy were on their own with their step-mommy who I'll tell you about some other time." Logan couldn't help but wince at the memory of that bitch. "At the time, I thought that was when things started going wrong, but in hindsight things had been bad for a long time. A couple of the guys we went to school with were killed in a really weird explosion, and then the mayor, who was the little league coach, was killed by a car bomb on his way home from our graduation—his daughter was in my class. So that night we were having a big party at a hotel and Dick left his phone with me. I checked Dick's texts when they came in and saw that he got this really weird text from Cassidy about wanting to meet on the roof. I didn't see Dick nearby, so I decided to go up there to make sure everything was all right." Logan stopped.

That night had haunted his dreams for a long time: Cassidy standing on the roof with a gun in his hand. The surprised look on his face when he realized that it was Logan who'd joined him on the roof and not Dick.

"I'm not sure what Cassidy originally had in mind, but he ended up breaking down and admitting to killing all those people while—" pointing a gun at me, "—he tried to jump off the roof, but I tackled him and, well, he ended up turning himself in and got some kind of deal. He's still in some rich-person version of psychiatric prison. I'm not really sure what you'd call it. It's not regular prison, but I don't think he can ever leave." He sighed, regretting the loss of not only the people Cassidy had killed but also the loss of Cassidy's life—his innocence. "There's more. Involving Mac. It's not my story to tell, but you may have picked up from our conversation in the car on the way up here that she's about as fucked up as I am about the whole thing."

"Poor Mac," Veronica said sadly.

"I didn't know about Mac's involvement at all at the time. Cassidy was a minor, so everything was kept out of the media. I really think both her and Dick would benefit from hearing each other's experiences, but…"

"Yeah, I get the feeling it's not going to be easy to get them to talk to each other."

"Easy? No. But worth it? I think so. Will you still love me if your best friend hates me after this week?"

"Yes."

A/N: Thank you to everyone reading and all the new follows/subscriptions. Thanks are due to Bondopoulos and Marshmallowtasha! Getting this chapter out was tricky and prepping the future one. I really can't thank them enough for all their help getting me through this tricky plot block I've been up against. I think I'm back in business now and the plan is to work out the next few chapters before I post next so it may be just a little bit of a wait.

If you're interested, the places mentioned are real. You can find Meadowood online (see AO3 for links) and there are pictures of the Lodge. If you're in St. Helena The Grill is great for a burger and has a really pretty view of the golf course, croquet lawn, and a little pond. If I can ever find them, I have pictures of me at age 5 or 6 in my croquet whites at Meadowood. If I find any I'll put them on Tumblr ;) In upcoming chapters I'll be including some of my favorite wineries, places to eat, and more.