A/N: If you don't like a little smut, I suggest skipping the beginning half of this chapter.

Chapter 9: Like Toy Soldiers

“They want you to what?” Veronica yelped. “Are they nuts?”

‘Yeah that went over as good as I thought it probably would.’ Logan wasn’t feeling real optimistic about this plan himself, so he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to convince her that it was a good idea. “They think I need to confront him. I have questions I want, no need, to have answered and he’s the only one who can give me resolution.”

Logan wrapped his left arm behind her back; fingers entwined, and brushed wisps of hair fighting to escape her ponytail back from her face with his right. He could feel her tremble slightly. He hated that the mere mention of seeing Aaron had caused her body to shake and her face to visibly pale. If there was anything within his power to remove that fear, he would without a second thought.

“Couldn’t you just write him a letter?” she rationalized. “And why does the district attorney need you to talk with him? It’s not like you have any evidence to give them about Lilly and Aaron…do you?”

“Somehow I don’t think Aaron’s going to become my pen pal. Can you really see him sitting down to write a letter to me? I can see it now ‘Dear Son, You worthless little bastard. I always knew you were nothing but trouble and would be the ruination of me. It’s entirely your fault that a worthless slut forced me to kill her. Love, Dad’. Now maybe if I were a fan stroking his ego, telling him how wonderful he is and how I know he couldn’t have possibly done this without good reason,” he finished snarkily. “No. I don’t have any evidence about Lilly and Aaron. You know more about that situation than I do. According to the D.A., my statement will add to the character assessment of Aaron. In order to convict him, the jury is going to have to believe he was capable of the crime. His public persona is the one of a good father who adored his children…people are going to have a tough time translating that image into a man capable of cold-blooded murder.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t trying to accuse you. I know you don’t know anything more about Lilly and Aaron. But what else do you have to tell the D.A.? You already gave them a statement once. I remember hearing parts of it at the arraignment.”

He gazed up at the stars and puffed out his cheeks before releasing a breath. “I gave them a very brief statement. It was…not very detailed. I glossed over a lot of the finer points I didn’t want them to know.” His knees felt a little weak just thinking about it. He wasn’t sure if the increased shaking he felt was coming from her or his own body.

“And now suddenly your ready to tell them everything?” she asked skeptically. “Somehow I just don’t see you and the D.A. being all chatty.”

“Yeah, the D.A. and I, we’re real tight, as a matter of fact he and I go golfing every Saturday,” he snarked. “I don’t want to talk to him but I want to ensure Aaron never gets out of prison more.” Sighing, he pressed his lips to her forehead and pulled her tighter into his body. He wished that they could stay there under the stars, the smell of the ocean drifting over them.

“When do you go?”

“Next Friday,” he lied. He wondered how bad of a sign it was that he was able to lie so easily about it. He knew she would try to talk him into letting her be there and he didn’t want her anywhere near this. As much strength as he receives from her presence, this was one time drawing on it did not feel right. Protecting her was all he wanted to do and this was one instance in which he could actually do that.

“I want to be there. I don’t mean I want to go in with you, I’m not confident that I’m up to that, but I want to be there for you when you’re finished.”

“No V. I would rather you weren’t there.”

“I want to be there for you,” she insisted. As she spoke she ran one hand gently up and down the back of his neck. The sensation made him shiver.

“I appreciate that but it would be a lot of sitting and waiting in lobbies all day. That’s not fun for anyone,” he said hoping to convince her to drop the idea.

“At least I could be there when you are finished. I could pick you up and we could come home and I would cook dinner for you again,” she persuaded.

“I don’t know. We’ll talk about it next week,” he stalled. Arguing wouldn’t serve any purpose; he knew she would do what she wanted anyway. The fact that he lied to her about the day made the whole argument moot anyway. By the time she figured out he lied, it would be too late for her to do anything. “Let’s not ruin what’s left of this night talking about Aaron and the district attorney. Why don’t we go back inside? I bought you a present, it’s up in my room,” he cajoled.

She looked like she wanted to argue some more but apparently decided to let it rest. At the mention of a present, she bit her lip and tried not to look too eager. “A present huh? Girls always like presents.”

Seeing her wide-eyed excitement at the thought of a present, he felt bad that he didn’t have a nice gift for her, just the joke from last week’s stop at the bookstore. Maybe it hadn’t been such a terrific plan after all. “It’s nothing special,” he advised her. Holding her hand, he led her to the bed so she could sit while he got it from his closet. He had taken care to hide it so Mrs. Navarro wouldn’t come across it.

Back in the room, he offered her the neatly wrapped box before sitting down next to her. Nervously wiping his hands on his jeans he could only hope that she saw the humor in it. ‘Oh man, she’s one of those people that examine the package before opening it. Open the damn thing already!’

“There’s no way you wrapped this yourself. It’s way too neat of a job. Did you get Mrs. Navarro to do it?”

“For your information, I wrapped it myself. I’m perfectly capable of wrapping a present.” She gave him her ‘yeah right’ look. “Seriously! The store didn’t have gift-wrapping services and Mrs. Navarro wouldn’t do it...believe me I tried to talk her into it,” he replied indignantly. “And no just ripping the paper to shreds, it took me 7 tries, with Mrs. N. laughing over my shoulder, to get it right.”

Her lips were twitching as he finished his rant. “You did a very nice job, honey. You’re learning so much you’ll even be able to do your own laundry soon,” she teased.

He knew the look he threw her was one of horror. ‘Do laundry? Is she out of her mind? Cooking is bad enough; I’m not doing laundry too. I’m starting to feel a little less guilty about the gift now.’ Irritably he said, “Would you just open it already?”

She gently unwrapped the present to reveal a plain cardboard box. Glancing at him curiously, she lifted the lid and gasped. “You pig!” She smacked him on the arm. “Is this what you bought at the adult bookstore last week?”

Ducking away before she could hit him again, he tried to control his amusement. Tears of laughter filled his eyes as he watched the horror in her expression grow with each item she pulled out of the box. “I-I thought you-you deserved…some kind of p-p-present for having to f-follow me…” he gasped.

“And you thought handcuffs were a good choice?” she asked dangling them from one finger.

“In your line of work, I thought they might be useful,” he reasoned. ‘She seems more embarrassed than pissed. I think that’s a good sign.’

“PINK FURRY HANDCUFFS? Am I going to laugh them into surrendering?”

“It was that or the zebra stripe but I thought the pink was more you.”

Pulling out the other items in the box, she read off, “A pink Love Mask, oh goody it matches the cuffs, chocolate body paint, strawberry whipped cream, a gummy whip, and to top it off…massage oil. Thanks you jerk.” By this point, her face was tomato red with embarrassment.

‘She’s glaring but it’s not a death glare. She can’t be too angry.’ Deciding he was safe from further bodily harm, he approached the bed to sit back down. “I’m sorry. When I saw you following me, I couldn’t resist teasing you a little. Then I went inside and saw the cuffs and one thing led to another. I couldn’t help myself.”

“Yeah, well the next time you get the urge…control it. You’re an obnoxious ass. You know that right?”

“I do,” he smirked. “But that’s why you love me.” He grabbed her hand before she could smack him again and pulled her to him. Using the time he had while she was off-guard he undid her ponytail and pulled her across his lap so she was straddling him.

Anchoring his hands in her hair, he pulled her closer for a kiss. Her tongue darted out seeking entrance to his mouth. His hands slipped under her green t-shirt so he could run his fingers over her bare skin. When she moaned into his mouth, his hands crept higher until they teased the edge of her bra. Tearing his mouth away from hers, his lips slid along her jaw before moving to her neck.

One of her hands lay on his shoulder while the other sought the flesh beneath his own t-shirt. “Logannn…”

As if his hands are somehow controlled by the sound of her voice, they shifted up to cup her breasts, squeezing gently. Unfastening her bra he used both hands to push the offending material aside so he could run his hands over her bare breasts, fingers teasing her nipples to hardened tips. “Oh God Veronica. You’re so soft.” His lips traveled back to hers for another long kiss. This kiss was even wetter and hotter than the one in the foyer.

She tugged at his shirt so she could run her small hands over the planes of his chest. Panting she pulled back to stare in his eyes. After a brief hesitation during which she seemed to make a decision, she reached down and pulled her t-shirt over her head and flung it to the side. Her bra followed right behind. Reaching down, she grasped the edge of his t-shirt to pull it up and tossed it over with hers. “I love your body,” she gasped. “It’s amazing since you’ve started lifting weights.”

His hands traced over her reverently as he stared at her breasts before looking up into her eyes. “Yours isn’t bad either. You are so damn beautiful.” Her skin felt like silk against his rough fingers, he imagined he could bruise it by just barely touching her. Leaning forward, his mouth replaced one of his hands on her breast, gently sucking the nipple, batting it with his tongue. He heard her cry out hoarsely and arch her back as if to give him better access. Her movement caused her lower half to rock gently against him, her body seeking the release it knew Logan could grant. Pulling away from her breast he quickly moved to the other one to give it the same treatment. His hands roamed down her back to shape her butt, drawing her as close to him as he could. His hips moved almost of their own volition to grind against her. His mouth moved from her breast down her torso as she bent back in pleasure.

Pulling her back up, he roughly kissed her lips before turning so they were both lying on the bed. One hand traced a line down the center of her torso until it reached the button on her jeans where it hesitated until her hips shifted in invitation. Quickly he unfastened her pants and his hand slid down underneath the scrap of lace she wore, her legs parting to grant him better access. He pulled back to look into her eyes as he moved closer to her heat. He wanted to make certain that she felt pleasure not panic or pain, to make sure this was what she really wanted. His fingers parted her to find she was already wet. Using her moisture to wet his fingers, he moved them to her clit, circling it, pressing against it with his thumb. He watched as her eyes drifted shut and her neck tilted back, her breath was coming in short, ragged gasps. Assured she was enjoying his attentions, he leaned back over to suckle her breasts.

Her hands were roaming over his shoulders, back, and through his hair, clutching his head closer. She moaned his name and he moved to kiss her again while her hands went to work removing his belt and unfastening his pants. When her hand touched him, he felt as though his brain was exploding from the pleasure. He got to his feet abruptly and leaned over to finish removing her jeans and panties. He stood there for a moment just staring at her; he couldn’t believe she was finally there in his bed, naked. He removed his pants and was about to remove his boxers when he could have sworn Billy was there screaming in his ear ‘She’s practically a virgin.’ He started as if someone had smacked him.

“Logan is something wrong?”

“No baby I was just admiring how beautiful you are.”

‘Shit! I wasn’t expecting that. God, look at her lying there turning pink in embarrassment. She’s so hot. My boxers are going to have to stay on or this will be over before it begins.’ He crawled back up beside her and kissed her lips before trailing down her neck to suck on the spot he knew drove her insane.

As he thought about the virgin bit he remembered his own loss of virginity. What a fumbling nightmare that was. He’d been all of fourteen and snuck off to Aaron’s trailer with a seventeen-year-old movie extra on whatever crap pile Aaron was filming. It had been quick, embarrassing and meant absolutely nothing. He didn’t want that for Veronica. She deserved more and he was determined to give her a special memory.

“What about your boxers?” she whispered.

“They need to stay on right now. I’ll take them off soon.” Now knowing Aaron’s proclivity for underage girls, he wondered if Aaron had also been with the extra. The thought of Aaron having sex with yet another girl Logan had been with was enough to dampen his ardor. ‘Now is not the time to be thinking about that Echolls! You have a beautiful, naked girl you love just waiting for you to make love to her and you’re imagining your therapist yelling in your ear and Aaron screwing the girl with whom you lost your virginity.’ He continued sucking on her neck, running his hands over her body.

Her own hands were all over his body too, cupping him through his boxers, squeezing his butt, tracing the scars on his back. The longer this went on the more his mind would not shut up. He kept hearing Billy and seeing Aaron screwing the seventeen-year-old extra and Lilly. He realized that he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t make love to her tonight. He didn’t want to make things worse, but both emotionally and physically he was not capable. He stopped and lay next to her trying to figure out what to do next.

“Logan?”

He looked into her eyes and pushed the hair away from her face. “What baby?”

“Do you have a…I meant I’m not on…I don’t take…” He thought she was adorable, as she turned pink, stumbling over her words.

Grasping what she was trying to say he smiled at her and kissed her forehead. He knew now what to do. “It’s alright. We aren’t going to do anything that requires any of that.”

“We aren’t? But…”

“Do you trust me?” He waited until she nodded before smiling again and kissing her. “I’m going to take care of you; I just need you to trust me for a few minutes.” Again she nodded. He kissed her and moved his hands back between her legs. Feeling her desire return, his mouth trailed down her body until he reached her thighs. He got off the bed and kneeled next to it; grabbing her legs he parted them and pulled her towards him until her butt was just barely on the bed. He placed a kiss on the inside of each leg before draping them over his shoulders and sliding his hands under her butt to lift her and bring her closer.

“Logan. What are you…?”

Grinning wickedly at her, “Shhh, baby. Trust me.” Leaning forward he placed his mouth on her and felt her body jump in surprise. He remembered everything he learned from the extra, Lilly, and a few others to bring her as much pleasure as he could. Using his tongue, his fingers, his nose…he kissed her, sucked her, and licked her until she screamed. When she had calmed down to small tremors, he kissed his way back up her body until he could see her face eyes closed, smile tilting her mouth. He kissed her as he pulled her body against his, sliding his hands soothingly up and down her back.

He moved so he could look at her face, pushing his hands through her hair. “Hi,” he said with a grin when she opened her eyes.

She turned a deep shade of pink before burying her face in his neck. “Hi yourself,” she muttered against him. “I wasn’t expecting to feel like that. It was a little scary.”

‘She wasn’t supposed to be scared. That isn’t what I wanted to happen.’ Worriedly he said, “I scared you? I sorry I never meant--.”

“No, no. I don’t mean scared of you.” She paused. “I meant the way I felt was kind of scary. I didn’t know what to expect. It was like spinning out of control with no way to stop yourself but at the same time not wanting to stop yourself. Does that make sense?”

“It makes sense. I’m glad you were able to have an orgasm,” he whispered.

“Logan. Do you want me to…I could…for you…”

He groaned a little at the suggestion. If he took her up on it though, he’s pretty sure that’s cheating and he’s trying to do the right thing. “No. I’m alright.”

“I mean you gave me my first orgasm. It doesn’t seem fair for you not to have one.”

“Giving you pleasure, gives me pleasure. And for tonight that’s enough for me. If you touch me, I’m not sure I could stop.”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For giving me a really great memory.”

“My pleasure,” he smirked as he kissed the top of her hair.

They lay there in silence for some time sliding their fingers over each other’s flesh. After awhile, she propped herself up on her hand to stare down at him. “Not that I’m complaining, because I’m not, but why didn’t we…?” Again she trailed off unable to complete the question.

“Make love?” he asked. “I really, really want to make love to you, but neither of us is ready for that yet. In all the ways that matter, you are still a virgin. You deserve more than a rushed first time on my bed when your dad is probably home waiting for you. Believe me, when I finally make love to you, once is not going to be enough…I want to be able to hold you all night and wake up next to you so we can make love again.”

“You think you’re pretty smart. Did you come up with this all by yourself?”

He laughed heartily at that. “I wish I could take credit but without Billy’s assistance I would probably have ripped my pants off and made love to you 10 seconds after we started kissing.” She joined him in laughing before she sat up and started looking around. “What are you looking for?”

“My shirt. I’m the only one completely nude here and it’s a little embarrassing.”

He rolled over and grabbed his shirt from the floor and helped her slip it on. Lying back down, he coaxed her to rest her head on his chest. “What time do you have to be home?”

“Since I think my dad is staying at our place tonight instead of Alicia’s, sometime around midnight.”

Craning his neck to see the clock, “its 10:43 now. We have a little time before we have to go.”

“What do you mean ‘we’? I don’t need an escort,” she replied testily.

“Probably not but A, I do need to go get my SUV and B, I am not letting the woman I love drive herself home alone at midnight. You can drop me off at my SUV and then I’ll follow you home, walk you to your door, and give you a chaste kiss before leaving like a good little boy.”

“Hmm. You don’t have to follow me home but I guess if you must kiss me goodnight, I can deal with it. But a chaste kiss?” she inquired.

“Strictly for your dad’s benefit as I’m sure he’ll be sitting on the couch waiting for you to get home. If I kissed you like I’ll want to, your dad will probably come out and shoot me. I’ll give you the kiss I want before we go upstairs,” he whispered in her ear.

“Like I said, you think you’re smart…but in this case you’re probably right. Oh no, what about my ‘gift’? I can guarantee if I take that home and my dad finds it, it won’t be pretty.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to leave it here and come over when you want to use any of it.” He gave her a wicked grin when she smacked him again. This led to another round of making out but it was cut short, as she needed to go home. As promised, he gave her a steamy kiss next to her Escape and a properly chaste kiss at the door.

Saturday Logan called Veronica to ask her out on a real date. When he came to pick her up, he brought a bouquet of flowers composed of purple asters and white daisies. He gave them to her and whispered in her ear that these were a real gift, one that she could show her dad. She blushed and turned away to hide her smile.

She was dressed in one of her killer skirts and a v-neck blouse with a cardigan. ‘I wonder if she’s wearing the sweater to hide the bruises on her arm.’ When he had helped her dress the night before, he noticed the bruises on her left arm in the shape of fingers. He was going to apologize when he realized they were not fresh. He was about to demand she tell him who did it when he remembered Duncan grabbing her on Monday. He wanted to ask her why she hid them but realized she was protecting him from freaking out and beating the shit out of Duncan. Not wanting to spoil the evening, nor upset her, he didn’t let her know he had seen them.

However, that morning he’d gone over to the Kanes’ house and as soon as Celeste and Jake left for the club he knocked on the door. Before Duncan could say a word, Logan laid him out flat with one punch. He then warned Duncan that if he touched Veronica again, much less left a mark on her, he’d be back and do a hell of a lot worse. Duncan had just lain there and stared at Logan in shock as he turned and left.

Shaking off the memory, he led her out for their first official date. They went to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner and for a walk on the beach. With Veronica sitting between his legs, leaning back against his chest, they sat on the beach and talked. She asked about how he could afford to live in his house when most of Aaron’s assets were frozen. He explained about the accounts in his name and how the lawyer had convinced the judge that someone should stay on the property. He had thought about finding a new place but decided he wouldn’t give the Kanes or Aaron the satisfaction of seeing him displaced. Also, it reminded him of his mother and he wasn’t ready to leave those memories behind. He asked her about her mother and if she liked Alicia. Around midnight, after a steamy encounter in his back seat, he dropped her off at the door again with a chaste kiss.

Wednesday Veronica brought up joining him on Friday. He was stunned that she’d made it that long without bringing it up. Again, he vehemently refused. He told her Cliff was going with him on both trips and explained that there was no need for her to come along, he wouldn’t be alone. She still wanted to go and they ended up having a big fight in the parking lot after school until he finally got in his SUV and left. He was not surprised when she showed up at his place after dinner. He’d given her the gate code so she just let herself in and she found him in the gym. Before they picked up where they had left off at school she agreed to drop the possibility of going if he agreed to call her on his way home so she could come over.

Later, when she was getting ready to leave he told her, “I won’t be at school in the morning. I have a few appointments, including one with Billy. I should probably be in sometime after lunch.” He hoped that would cover him not being there for a few hours before she got suspicious. By the time she figured out that he lied, his visit would be over and he might even be home. She was going to be mad as hell at him but he could deal with that easier than he could her presence all day.

That night he worked out until he was exhausted, hoping he would fall into bed and not dream. Unfortunately, he was only asleep about an hour when the nightmares began. All of his nightmares seemed to converge into one. He dreamt about Lilly dead by her pool, Veronica trapped in the freezer, and his father telling him he was worthless. They changed and he was in the freezer and the flames were consuming it when he finally jerked awake. Laying there his breath ragged as he gasped for air, he could feel the sweat trickle down his back, the clamminess of his wet sheets soaked in sweat. As he climbed out of the bed, he could hear the grandfather clock striking 1 AM. ‘I hate that stupid clock. I would like to shove it up Aaron’s ass. Maybe they would let me put it in his cell so he can hear it chime and be constantly reminded of time slipping away.’

Arriving at the district attorney’s office, Logan felt nauseous and wanted to turn and run. Had Cliff not been standing there, he might very well have turned tail like the wimp Aaron always accused him of being. As Cliff and the D.A. laid down ground rules, the sound was like a buzzing in the background. He had no idea what was said. He nodded when prompted by Cliff but all he could think was how much he wished he were drunk. It would be a hell of a lot easier to relive the memories if he had a few sips from his flask. He almost told them to get him good and drunk and then he’d tell them anything they want to hear about Aaron. But being drunk wasn’t an option; neither was having a soft, tiny hand tucked in his.

He had told her not to come and he didn’t want her to hear everything he had to say, but for a moment, he wished he could feel her hand in his, feel some of her strength flowing through to his heart. It was distressing enough that she knew that Aaron had abused him; he didn’t want her haunted with the graphic details. It was hard enough for him to live with what happened.

For two and a half hours, he answered the D.A.’s questions. He told the story of the first beating with a belt that he remembered (age four - he spilt red Kool-Aid on the white living room carpet), the time his father held his hand against a hot burner (age nine he tried to cook himself breakfast and burned the counter with a hot pan), being locked in a closet for three hours (age five - he had hidden from the nanny at bath time), being kicked down the stairs which ended in a broken arm and a concussion (age eight - he saw his father kissing another woman upstairs during a party). The stories continued of beatings too numerous to count and too many other punishments that a child should never even know about much less experience.

He told of being taken to different doctors and hospitals so they weren’t suspicious of his injuries, his mother sitting in the living room listening to Aaron beat him with the belt Logan was made to pick out himself. He learned early not to cry for it only gave Aaron more satisfaction. The first time Aaron made him pick a belt (at age seven) he’d been so scared, he wretched in the hallway. Aaron had laughed and made him clean it up after the beating.

The D.A. asked him why he never told anyone. He laughed bitterly. “I tried to tell Trina once and she accused me of being a liar and told Aaron what I said. He threw a knife at me and told me next time he wouldn’t miss. The housekeepers and nannies knew but they weren’t going to go against him. Nobody was going to believe Aaron Echolls, famous actor and devoted family man, was capable of such acts.”

By the time he left the D.A., it was almost eleven and he hadn’t eaten but he was anything but hungry. He had felt the bile building all morning so there was no way he could keep food down, he could barely stomach the water Cliff forced on him. He wondered vaguely if Veronica was getting suspicious about his absence yet.

The buzzing would not leave his ears; he could vaguely hear Cliff saying something about having to check in with his secretary. He told Logan to get some lunch and meet him at the prison at 1:30. The sun was cheery and bright, shining down on him in direct contrast to the darkness and evil he felt moving through his body. Remembrance of the abuse was like a poison flowing through his body coating the good parts with its evil. He tried desperately to think of Veronica, her smile, her laugh, her moaning while he touched her…anything good to grasp onto so the dark would not overtake him.

He got to the prison by 12:55 and sat in his car waiting for Cliff to arrive. Part of him desperately wanted to turn and leave and part of him wanted to go in there and kill the bastard. He picked up his cell phone while waiting and called Veronica. He knew it was safe as her phone would be off while she was in class. “Hey V,” he paused as he took a breath and tried to steady his voice, “I’m not feeling well so I won’t be in today. My stomach is killing me; maybe it’s my cooking. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I love you V.” To his surprise, hearing her voice on her message steadied him a little…like she had reached out and squeezed his hand. Seeing Cliff pull into the parking lot he drew a deep breath and got out of his car.

They checked in and were shown to the waiting room. While sitting there Logan turned to Cliff, “Will he be in cuffs? Will he be allowed to touch me?”

“He will be in handcuffs. He won’t be able to touch you. If he tries to come near you, the guards have been instructed to stop him. I don’t think you need to worry about him trying to attack you Logan.” Cliff shot him a look filled with sympathy tinged with worry.

“I’m not worried about him trying to attack me. I just don’t want him touching me. If he comes near me, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop myself from trying to kill him.” In his eyes was a deadly calm Cliff had seen too many times in his defendants.

He wondered for the thousandth time if they had done the right thing convincing Logan to come visit. He knew the boy needed this confrontation in the long run but he worried that it was too soon; the boy didn’t seem as stable as he would have liked him to be. Maybe waiting a few more months would have been better. Before he could reflect on it anymore, the guards were leading Aaron into the room.

“Logan. God it’s so good to see you. I’ve missed you son.” Aaron raised his hands to wave at Logan as he entered. He started across the room making as if to hug Logan but the guards grabbed him and shoved him in a chair across the table from Logan.

“Sit down. You were told, no touching Echolls,” the deep voiced guard reminded him.

“I just wanted to hug my son; it’s been months since I’ve seen him. How have you been son? How is school?” Aaron spoke like their meeting in prison was a common, everyday occurrence, like he had just been away on vacation for a few days.

Logan didn’t think anything Aaron said could surprise him but he had been wrong. “How have I been? How is school? How in the fuck do you think I’ve been? School is an endless joy, nothing like having a family member turn out to be a psychotic murderer to really up your popularity quotient.” He all but spit the words at Aaron. He could feel all the anger and hatred he’d felt over the last eighteen years flow through him.

“Now son, calm down. I’ve tolerated your attitude these last few months but I have my limits. I didn’t do it son. I know I shouldn’t have had an affair with Lilly, and I’m sorry that it hurt you, but I didn’t kill her.” He reached across the table to grab one of Logan’s hands but Logan jerked them back before contact was made.

“Don’t even say her name. You don’t have that right. So your story is that you fucked her but didn’t kill her. Geez Aaron, I would think you and your lawyers could come up with something better than that by now,” he snarked. “But hey I guess this is prison and everyone’s innocent here, right? You were just framed? I suppose Veronica, her dad, and the other guy all made up the story of you locking her in a freezer and setting it on fire.”

“I understand you’re mad but I won’t tolerate this attitude. Veronica. That little cu-.”

“Shut up Aaron! Don’t you say another word about her! If you say her name or anything about her again, I swear I will kill you,” he gritted out between his teeth. Logan was trying desperately to keep in mind everything Billy had told him about disassociating and remaining calm. But Aaron talking about Lilly and Veronica was making it almost impossible for him to remain even vaguely composed.

“You’re fucking the little bitch aren’t you? I should have known the little slut would spread her legs and you’d turn your back on your father. I realize you think you love her, like you thought you loved Lilly, but they’re users. I love you and you’ll soon realize that family is what’s important. I was trying to protect you by not telling you about Lilly.” Aaron sounded so sincere when he talked about loving Logan. The only thing keeping Logan from leaping across the table and going for Aaron was Cliff’s grip on his jacket and the fact he still wanted answers.

Clapping his hands as if in appreciation, “Really Aaron you should almost win an Oscar for that performance as the caring, loving father. But your actions to the contrary over the years make that performance a little unbelievable. I mean does a loving father really beat his son, kick him down the stairs, and lock him in closets?”

“You were always an ungrateful little brat,” Aaron spat. “You were always a handful. I did everything for you that I possibly could and you didn’t appreciate any of it. I gave you nice things and you ruined or broke them. I had to teach you lessons when you misbehaved. I didn’t do anything to you that you didn’t deserve.”

As Logan looked at Aaron, he could swear he saw the madness deep in his eyes. He had always known there was something wrong with his father but he’d never grasped the depth of the insanity. Aaron’s statement answered his question about whether his father had ever loved him or felt guilty. He wanted to walk out then but he still had questions to ask. “Did Mom know about you and Lilly? Did she know that you killed Lilly?”

“Your mother did find out about the relationship with Lilly. She threw it in my face the night before she…died. She accused me of hurting Lilly but I swear I didn’t do it. You have to believe me Logan. I would never hurt you like that.”

Logan wondered how long Aaron had rehearsed to sound so remorseful and sincere. Someone who didn’t know better might actually believe him. The thought of a jury buying that line of crap gave him the chills. He would be damned if Aaron got away with murder.

“Do you need anything son? Barry hasn’t said much other than the fact you were still living in the house. How are you surviving? Has Barry set you up with an allowance?”

Realizing Aaron didn’t know about the accounts gave Logan a certain amount of joy. He leaned back in his chair, a grin tilting his lips for the first time that day. “Well Aaron, it turns out there was quite a chunk of money in accounts with my name on them. It was a shocker; let me tell you, I didn’t know I was that much of a saver? But since it is my money I moved it from around the world to Neptune for my expenses. I mean with all your assets frozen I would have been broke, but now I’m set.”

Aaron’s face went past red to purple as he realized Logan had found the money and taken it. He felt his last possible hope of controlling him slipping away. He also knew he’d never get that money back even if he got out of prison.

To turn the knife a little more Logan continued, “Oh yeah. It turns out Trina was quite a saver herself. Of course, she took hers and left the country. According to the tabloids she’s having a gay old time with her latest boy toy in the Caribbean. I’m sure she misses and thinks of you often,” he finished on a smirk.

Aaron finally lost all grip on his demeanor. Standing up he started screaming. “You little bastard! I knew I should have made your mother get an abortion. I used to wish you would walk in while I was fucking Lilly. You would have realized what a whore the worthless little bitch was. She laughed about the fact she was screwing around on you. She thought it was funny. Too bad I didn’t have more time with Veronica. Maybe I could have gotten her out in the pool ho-.”

The mention of Aaron touching Veronica ripped away his rationality. Before the guards or Cliff realized what was happening, he leaped across the table and started choking Aaron. He could hear chairs being flung aside and felt hands trying to pull him off Aaron. It took both guards and Cliff to pull him off Aaron who was now gasping on the floor.

“You are never getting out of here you bastard. I’m going to watch them slide that needle in and I’ll laugh. Do you hear me, you bastard? I’ll be front row to catch that performance. If they ever think of letting you out of here I will kill you. Either way, I’m going to watch you die.” Logan was dragged kicking and screaming out of the room by the guards who had been watching from the outside.