Chapter Two
The sun was waving its final goodbye as Jason wondered aimlessly around the Port Charles Park, in search of his daughter and her nanny. He had a pretty good idea who sent the note and if anything happened to either Lil or Elizabeth, the man would never take another breath.
Brushing aside a branch, the enforcer reached an opening and sighed heavily. He had been searching for them for nearly an hour. The rest of the men were out as well scanning the park. He had contacted Max and left more than one threatening voicemail to call him back, yet he received no answer. It was as if they had disappeared off the planet. Clenching his fists, Jason glared at the ground, growing frustrated with every second that passed.
Where were they?
Shaking his head, Jason attempted to clear his mind. He had checked the picnic area of the park. They weren't there. He had checked the pond area. No luck there either. They weren't at the zoo area, he knew that for sure. They only visited the zoo when Lil demanded it and today she had agreed to a picnic. Johnny had stopped by Kelly's to inspect the diner and found the place full of the usual lunch patrons, but not the brunette and four year old. He could have gotten help from the park security, but he didn't want to risk informing anyone involved with the note he had received. Shouting their names could have helped, but once again he wasn't willing to take the chance.
Kicking away a rock that appeared in his path, the enforcer gave his head another good jerk to get it started. He hated when his life touched the people he loved, especially his daughter. Lil was born into the life and he had accepted that, but time-to-time when a new threat surfaced or an old one reappeared, he hated himself for the danger that surrounded her. Now, not only was his own flesh and blood in harms way, but an innocent woman was as well. Sometimes he wondered why Elizabeth even stayed.
Moving fluidly under the cover of thick elm trees, Jason's eyes traveled over a structure that immediately had him wanting to smack himself. The gazebo. It was beautiful at all times and both his nanny and child enjoyed spending time there. As he moved closer he heard muffled voices that he recognized at once.
"Which flower do you want kid?" the youngest member of the three stooges asked, standing beside a newly blossomed tree.
"I want that one," he heard his daughter squeal. He inched closer hoping not to alert any of the members of the ensemble beside the park gazebo. Soon Max and Lil came into view. His daughter danced around pointing at a flower high up on the branches. She clapped her hands in joy as the tall guard kneeled to place the flower in her pale blonde hair. As the guard looked over the child's head, Jason caught his eyes and Max became fully alert.
Lil twirled besides her now stiff guard. Jason inched closer, crouching he waited for Lil to look away. Once he was sure his daughter was fully distracted, Jason ordered the guard in a low commanding voice. "Get Lil out of here."
When Max's questioning, yet concerned green-eyes reached his and then jerked his head slightly to the side, Jason looked up and found himself staring at the lone figure in the gazebo. "I'll take care of that."
The guarded nodded his head vaguely and straightened to his full height. Jason's steady gaze remained on Max, as the young man moved towards the four year-old. Instantly, the guard had the young child's attention by easily striking up a conversation that he knew would have the girl chatting away. Jason released a deep breath he wasn't aware he was holding as Max took Lil's small hand into his and led her towards the park exit. Once, Lil was safely out of sight, Jason's steeled blue eyes swung to the slender silhouette before him.
The sun was barely visible now, allowing for Jason to move undetected in the darkness. As he creeped closer to the white gazebo, a distinct, but familiar sound clicked in the distance. There was someone else nearby. An unwelcomed stranger.
Jason frowned, immediately reaching behind him, beneath his white t-shirt for the waistband of his deep blue jeans. He had discarded his leather jacket in the car. The jacket produced noise among leaves. His leather-gloved hand tightened around the cold metal handle of his glock. Moving lithely on his feet, Jason neared the gazebo. If there was someone else among them, he didn't want to alert the person to possibly open fire.
Crouching by the side of the gazebo, the enforcer made it to the steps of the gazebo occupied by one petite figure. She stood staring out at the conglomerate of colors that adorned the sky from the departure of the afternoon sun. Her skin glowed in the deep red and orange hue of the sky. She stood with her chin titled towards the sky and her shoulders relaxed. The wind blew, brushing away the curtain of dark hair that hid her face. She looked dazed. Silently, Jason strode up the gazebo steps, remaining bent at the waist to remain out of sight from the lurker in the bushes.
"Elizabeth," he whispered urgently.
She pivoted, her jean skirt rustling at the surprised movement. Her brows furrowed in confusion at the sight of him. She opened her mouth to speak, but Jason placed a long, leather clad finger to his lips. Immediately, her mouth closed. Leaves rustled once again, sending a shiver of fear down Jason's spine.
As he motioned for Elizabeth, he saw it. The glint of a silver barrel appeared among the leaves that he was directly across from a few moments ago. An ear-deafening roar combined with Elizabeth's frightened scream filled the quiet late afternoon.
Everything blurred before his eyes as he dashed for Elizabeth. His grip on the glock tightened as he brought it before him and aimed straight ahead with steady hands. He fired off one round after another as Elizabeth fell into his arms. The bullets whizzed by them as Jason pulled Elizabeth down with him to the wooden floor of the gazebo. Keeping one arm wrapped securely around her midsection, Jason used the siding of the gazebo as a shield as the gunman fired at them. The enforcer matched each round of bullets with silver bullets of his own.
Finally, Jason fired off a shower of bullets without a second of delay until only the echoes of his shots were heard. Lowering his silver glock, he ducked with his arm tightening around the quiet brunette in his arms and waited for the cloud of smoke that surrounded them to clear before moving. The smoke slowly drifted away and looking over the railing towards the trees that was directly opposite them, Jason's narrowed eyes sought out the gunman. The tension in his body seeped away at the sight of the gray suited man sprawled on the grass. Placing his gun back in its place, Jason stared at their attacker with questions running through his mind.
Tearing his eyes away from the attacker that laid dead, Jason focused on the brunette in his arms. Brushing away the silky locks that covered her face, he found her staring at him through hooded eyelids. Her cheek rested against his chest. One of her fists was clenched loosely in his white t-shirt. Something tugged at his heart as Elizabeth remained limp in his arms. Gently nudging her, Jason waited. He grew worried with each passing second that her eyelids didn't flutter open completely. Kindly, he moved her head to the crook of his arm and shook her.
"Elizabeth," he whispered urgently, shaking her harder. "Wake up."
Her face filled with pain as a whimper slipped from her unpainted lips.
Tearing off his leather glove with his teeth, Jason moved his left hand over her arm. That was when he felt it.
Liquid.
Hot moist liquid.
Bringing his hand to his eye level, the air was knocked out of his lungs.
Blood.
Crimson red blood covered his hand.
Elizabeth's blood.
Frantically, Jason shifted the woman in his arms, pressing her closer to his solid body as he checked for her wound. It was one gunshot wound. A bullet that had pierced her soft pale skin and left a gashing laceration in her arm. Placing pressure on the wound, Jason thought madly for anything to speak to her about that could keep her talking to him and alert.
"Elizabeth," he said, reaching for his cell phone. "Do you remember when I joined you and Lil at the petting zoo?"
Her face wrinkled as she fought to open her eyes.
"We went to the area with the goats. Lil was a little scared
and wouldn't let go of my leg." Keeping pressure on her wound,
he flipped his phone open. "You didn't like the goats either,
but you went up to one with treats anyway."
She groaned as she attempted to move her body.
"You didn't want Lil to be scared and then followed you when she saw the goat was nice." He pressed down on one number and brought it to his ear. The phone rang, but Jason's sole attention was on his nanny. "Then, when you weren't paying attention and one of the goats snagged onto the corner of your skirt."
Her fist tightened in his white shirt.
He half paid attention to the person on the other end of the line. "Jason?"
"Have the car ready, Elizabeth is hurt."
Her faced distorted even further as her eyelids slowly parted. Her eyes barely visible were dark with pain. She groaned as Jason cupped her cheek, gently stroking his thumb against her skin comfortingly.
"Hey."
Her eyes rolled back.
"Hey, hey," he murmured, anxiously sweeping her hair away from her face, streaking a speck of blood across her pale blemish-less cheek. "Stay with me," he whispered, moving her body carefully until her head laid on his thigh and the rest of her upper body in his lap.
Her warm blood began to spread. Seeping down her arm. Leaving a dark stain on her red cami and drops of blood on the wooden floor of the white gazebo.
"Do you remember the zoo Elizabeth?"
She shifted her head.
"You were wearing a white skirt with blue polka dots. The goat wouldn't let go of it. He was really enjoying it," he continued his story as he slipped his white shirt off his body, all the while balancing her on his lap. He removed his remaining glove and tucked them away. Sloppily folding up the shirt using one hand, Jason wrapped it securely around Elizabeth's upper right arm while he carried on about the zoo incident. "You jumped around a little. Everyone, but you found it funny. You glared at me."
His white shirt instantly stained with Elizabeth's warm, deep red blood. "It took a while to get that goat to let go." He persisted with his story with some hope that she would pick up the story for him. "A huge junk of your skirt was missing. You were upset, but that quickly changed when you saw how much the scene had amused Lil." With quick movement, Jason brought the two ends of his folded shirt together to form a firm knot.
She cringed from the pain.
"Sorry," he mumbled to her barely conscious body. He was now shirtless, but it didn't matter to him. His shirt was being used for a greater purpose than covering his body. It placed enough pressure on Elizabeth's gunshot wound to keep the blood at bay for the time being. It would hold up until the bullet could be removed and she could be patched up.
Taking one last look at her blanched face, Jason hooked one arm under her knees and another under her neck. Lifting her effortlessly into his arms, Jason rose to his feet with Elizabeth cradled against his chest. He took care to make sure she was comfortable. Her face was pressed against his chest and her injured arm lay over her body. Taking stable strides, Jason treaded away from the gazebo with Elizabeth fading in and out. Walking down the steps, he stopped in his tracks as her nails scraped his chest and her audible cry reached his ear.
"Jason…"
"Shh," he whispered, placing a soft kiss against her chestnut locks. He resumed his steps away from the gazebo. "Just hang on and I'll take care of you."
