CHAPTER FORTY NINE – THE PREPERATIONS FOR WHAT IS TO COME

The bar was dimly lit, the air thick with smoke and the low murmur of conversation. Logan sat hunched over the bar, nursing his third - or was it fourth? - whiskey. Beside him, his friend Karan watched with growing concern. "Maybe you should slow down, man," Karan suggested gently. Logan shook his head, taking another swig. "Can't. If I slow down, I'll start thinking again." Karan sighed. "Look, I get that you're in a tough spot, but drinking yourself into oblivion isn't going to solve anything." Logan turned to his friend, his eyes bloodshot. "What would you do, Karan? If you were in my shoes?" Karan considered for a moment. "Honestly? I don't know. It's a hell of a choice your old man's given you." "Some choice," Logan scoffed. "Marry Deonna and be my father's puppet, or lose everything I've ever known." "Is marrying Deonna really such a bad option?" Karan asked carefully. "I mean, she seems like a great girl. And you're having a kid together." Logan's expression softened sli