Chapter 4 – Closing the Deal

Claudia was only a few paces behind her fuming brother and caught the door as he tried to shut it behind him. This was ridiculous. Trevor's plan was foolproof and he was just going to take his chances and possibly end up behind bars for the rest of his life?

Not on her watch.

"Tell me that you're not this stupid, John…" Claudia said, closing the door to his bedroom behind her.

"I'm not marrying that girl…" Johnny growled as he flopped down onto his bed.

Claudia let out an exasperated sigh and sat down beside her brother. Johnny was more like Anthony that Claudia cared to admit. He was just as stubborn as their old man and on his way to being just as callous.

"Johnny… come on… this is a no brainer… you marry Lulu, she doesn't testify against you and then when this thing blows over, you divorce her! It's foolproof!" she cried.

"No," he said flatly.

Claudia went silent for a few moments and Johnny looked up and saw the horror on her face. His sister was many things but emotional… never. Emotions were for the weak. He saw her bite her trembling bottom lip and the tears well up in her eyes.

"Come on, Claudia… don't do that…" he muttered, turning away from her.

"I can't help it! I can't watch you be fed to the wolves for protecting me, Johnny!" she cried.

"Hey… I'm going to be alright… everything is going to be fine, Claudia…" he said, putting his hands on his sister's narrow shoulders.

She exhaled shakily, believing his words, and she managed to pull herself together. Johnny had always been resourceful and he was never the one to show panic unless if the situation deserved his worry. He was surprisingly nonchalant about this entire thing and as much as it comforted her that he wasn't worried… it scared the hell out of her too…

However, he was a Zacchara… and Zaccharas were cunning, sharp, and ready for whatever was thrown at them. She had to have some faith in the fact that maybe he knew what he was doing.

"I'm—I'm just worried about you that's all, baby brother…" she said softly.

"I know… I know you mean well, but I'm not a little kid anymore… I can clean up my own messes…" he said, flashing one of his oh so charming smiles.

"But John… this is murder…" she said, the tension was clear in her voice.

"I know… I'll—I'll think about marrying Lulu… I won't make you any promises though… I'll think about it…" he said, emphasizing the "thinking" portion of his phrase.

Claudia sighed a sigh of relief. So, it wasn't a definite but at least he would consider it. Those words seemed to take some weight off Claudia's shoulders and she breathed easier.

"You worry too much…" Johnny said.

"I don't think you worry enough… this is your life, John…" Claudia said.

"Exactly… my life… I know you mean well but I don't need your protection all the time… I can take care of myself…" he said. He then sat up and walked over to his desk and swept up his car keys.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"For a drive… I need some time to think…" he said.

Marriage.

The words sent a cold shiver down Lulu's spine. She wasn't a typical girl that dreamt about her wedding day, leafed through the pages of various bridal magazines and fawned over the ornate dresses, or melted at the sight of a gorgeously set diamond on an engagement ring. The thought almost made her want to gag. She was cynical about the entire idea of marriage and with good reason. Her mother had the dreams of a huge wedding, the ridiculous princess dress, the perfect ring, and the perfect man.

But having the perfect wedding didn't lead to a perfect life.

Laura did everything right… supposedly. She had the dress, had the wedding planner, had the flowers, had the huge guest list and she had her perfect man. Nothing should've gone wrong.

But now her mother was sitting in Shadybrook, in a rocking chair, staring at the wall. Lulu didn't understand how everything could just go so horribly wrong.

"Lulu?"

Lulu snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at Logan.

"Yes?" Lulu answered.

"Are you alright?" he asked and Lulu rolled her eyes at him, clearly irritated.

"I'm fine…" she said, standing up and walking into the kitchen.

"You're—you're not seriously thinking about Trevor Lansing's offer, right?" Logan asked.

"Of course not!" she cried, defensively, and Logan easily picked up on it.

"Lulu… you can't be serious… marrying Johnny Zacchara would be a death sentence!" he shrieked.

She always knew that Logan had a short fuse but this was completely uncalled for. There was no way that she would even consider marrying Johnny Zacchara. If she did get married, which would be highly unlikely, she would have to be so in love with the guy that she threw all common sense out the window and there was no way that Johnny Zacchara would ever make her feel that way… she didn't even think that Logan could turn her from her cynicism about matrimony.

"First of all… I'm not marrying Johnny Zacchara… you're picking a fight when there's nothing to argue about!" she yelled.

"Really? So I shouldn't be worried that you're going to cut some deal with Trevor?" Logan asked bitterly.

"I can't believe that you're doing this…" she muttered.

"And I can't believe that you would consider marrying that piece of garbage!" he fired back.

Lulu looked at Logan, completely stunned. She couldn't understand where this paranoia was coming from. She'd only seen Johnny twice and he was already feeling threatened. She would've found it to be hysterically funny if she wasn't so disturbed by his rage.

"What is this really about Logan?" she asked calmly.

"Trevor—Trevor wouldn't have proposed a marriage between you and Johnny if we were already married!" he spat.

"So this is my fault? Because I didn't marry you the second that you asked me? That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, Logan Hayes!" she screamed.

"It's true…" he grumbled.

"I can't believe you…" she said and she walked right past him. She picked up her jacket that was strewn across the sofa and headed to the door.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I need to get away from you before we both say things that we'll regret…" she said and she slammed the door behind her.

Johnny felt at peace behind the wheel of his car. His problems, fears, and doubts seemed to just fall away as he sped down the highway. It was just him, the car, and the road. There was no strategy planning, no scheming… just him and the black asphalt. The car couldn't tell him what to do or what choice to make… the car obeyed him. If he wanted to drive all the way to Canada, it had to oblige and if he wanted to go off a cliff, it had to. He quickly swerved into a nearby parking lot near the docks and walked along the waterfront. The air was calm and quiet. Johnny enjoyed the silence as he walked.

"Are you stalking me or something?"

He looked up at the angry voice and saw that it was Lulu, leaning against the railing that kept people from falling into the harbor below. He groaned and rolled his eyes. He wanted peace and quiet so he could possibly stomach the idea of marrying her but surely all she was going to do was piss him off even more and then he wouldn't be able to think of one redeeming quality about this blonde standing before him.

"My life doesn't revolve around you, Spencer…" he muttered.

"You don't even live in Port Charles…" she snapped back.

"Ok, I don't know why the hell you're so angry at me… I was just walking through… I didn't even see you there…" he said.

"I don't have to be nice to you… I don't like you… I might even hate you…" she spat.

"Hate's a strong word, Lulu…" he said, clearly mocking her.

"Want to know why I hate you? Because you ruin everything… one visit from your lawyer and one little marriage proposal just made my boyfriend flip out on me! He thinks that I'm seriously considering marrying you and he's pissed because I didn't marry him…" she ranted.

"That's neither my fault nor my problem…" Johnny chuckled.

"Yes! Yes it is! This whole domino effect started because of you and your love of violence! You shot that man in cold blood! I saw you!" she shrieked.

"You have no idea what you're talking about… you don't know me at all…" he said, gritting his teeth.

For how angry he was at Lulu for implying that he was some sociopathic murderer, his voice was ice cold. Who did this girl think she was? She hadn't spent more than an hour with him and he was already a cold-blooded killer.

"You're not even denying that you were wrong…" she said.

"I don't need to explain myself to you…" he scoffed.

"Well if I married you, I'd need the whole story, right?" she asked.

Lulu couldn't believe what had just come out of her mouth. Her words had shocked both of them. She looked at him, reading his expression. His eyes were wide, silently asking her to explain what she meant. Could she really do this? Marry Johnny Zacchara to save him from going to prison for the rest of his life or possibly saving him from the lethal injection? She didn't love him. That was a given but she wouldn't have to be married to him for long, just until the cops closed the case. After that, she could walk away. There wouldn't be any messy emotional feelings to deal with. He'd get his freedom and she'd get a check. She knew that it must've sounded horrible but they would be doing each other a favor. It'd be a fair exchange.

"Are—are you saying that you—you're ok with this?" he asked. The shock hadn't worn off yet.

"I'm—I'm not sure… I'd—I'd have to think it over some more…" she stammered.

He looked away from her, clearly at a loss for words. She couldn't believe what she was considering: marrying someone that she didn't love. It went against everything that she knew and had grown up with. Her parents had been Port Charles' greatest love story and her older brothers' relationships were slowly climbing through the ranks of greatness as well. However, all of those relationships had ended badly. Lucky had married and divorced his childhood sweetheart, Elizabeth Webber all before Lulu turned eighteen and Nikolas married, divorced, and then reunited with his long time love, Emily Quartermaine only to lose her to a serial killer earlier this year.

Surely Johnny Zacchara wouldn't be the cause of her future heartaches…

"I've got to go… Logan is probably worried about me… I—I guess I'll see you around…" she said softly.

"See you," he said in a low voice.

Lulu hesitated as she stood on her doorstep with her hand on the doorknob. She had no energy to argue with Logan again after that encounter with Johnny on the docks. She inhaled sharply and opened the door. Logan was sitting at the table and sitting across from him was Trevor Lansing.

"Trevor…." She exhaled and he stood up and walked over to Lulu.

"Logan told me that you had just stepped out… I hope that nothing we discussed earlier today upset you…" he said and she heard Logan scoff behind him.

"I—I just went for a walk… to clear my head and to think…" she said, folding her arms.

"About my offer, I hope…" Trevor said, smirking.

"Yes and…" she started but she was cut off by the lawyer.

"I have this for you…" he said, pulling an envelope out of his coat pocket and handing it to her.

She looked to the envelope and to Trevor and back to the envelope. Her hands shook as she tore it open and she gasped when she saw what was in it. She was holding a check for three million dollars. She looked up at Trevor sharply, completely dumbfounded by the six zeros on the check. It would take her a lifetime to make this amount of money working at the MetroCourt. With this money, they could pay off the loan that they had for Logan's garage, buy a house, and have some money left over for Logan's tuition. This check could change their lives.

"Lulu can't be bought!" Logan growled.

"Logan… the check is for three million dollars…" she said, completely out of breath.

Logan's eyes widened and he immediately came behind her and examined the check for himself. It wasn't a joke, it was really a check for three million dollars.

"And that's just the upfront… depending on the relationship at the end of the marriage, you may even receive more money as a part of the divorce settlement…" Trevor said.

They needed this money. They were barely making do with what they were doing right now and Logan was extremely proud and wouldn't let Nikolas or Carly loan them any money. If Lulu just played house with Johnny for a few months, all of their financial woes could just disappear. Lulu swallowed hard and nodded.

"Ok… I'll do it…"