Chapter 7: Stuck With Me

Kate walked out to her car that morning to head to the office when she noticed something different about the vehicle. It didn't strike her at first and then her eyes narrowed and zeroed in on the lines scratched into the side of her gray Cadillac. She cursed as she ran her thumb over the scarred, jagged metal. She had barely had it five months and someone had gone and ruined it. Dammit.

She immediately opened her Kate Spade red crushed velvet handbag and started to dial. "911. What's your emergency?"

"Someone keyed my car and –" she looked at the hood of the car – "and stole my hood ornament!"

XoXoXo

"Brenda?" Jax said, eyes widening like he couldn't quite believe what – or who – he was seeing. "What are you doing here?"

"Just passing through," Brenda said with a little shrug. "How are you, Jax?"

"He's fine, now go, Bren-duh," Carly hissed.

"Carly –" Jason started but she waved him off.

"Go, Brenda, no one wants you here."

"I do," Sonny said. "I want her here and I am sure Michael would want her here too, supporting him and encouraging him. He needs all the good thoughts he can get."

"Sonny, do you not remember how Brenda nearly destroyed our marriage? Or you just don't care?" Carly demanded.

Sonny shook his head. "Me and you – we destroyed it ourselves."

"What about Jax?" Carly spat, seeming unable to stop her verbal onslaught. Or maybe she just didn't want to. All Brenda knew was that she was making a huge scene.

"What about how she made Jax feel?" Carly asked.

"What about how Jax made her feel? Humiliating her in public at what was supposed to be their wedding," Sonny shot back.

Jax finally spoke again, looking at Sonny like he wanted to seriously maim him. "You know nothing about that so just shut your mouth."

"I would rather shut yours – permanently," Sonny said.

"Oh yes. When things aren't going your way, resort to violence, Sonny. That always makes things better," Jax scoffed.

Brenda threw up her hands. "Can we not do this in front of Michael? This cannot be good for him or any of us actually."

Carly glared at her. "Well aren't you self-righteous?" She sneered. "I won't ask you again to leave. If you don't, I'll drag you out by your hair."

Brenda rolled her eyes and started for the door. Behind her, she heard Sonny say, "He's my son too. I can decide who comes to visit him."

"No, Sonny, you lost the right to have anything to do with Michael, my son, when you got him shot protecting your latest squeeze toy," Carly screeched.

Brenda heard a hiss of breath and then silence descended inside the room. She peeked back inside to see Sonny grabbing his coat and striding towards the door.

He brushed past her and instinctively, she called after him. "Sonny … Sonny!"

He didn't turn around, just kept walking and she instinctively followed him. She knew him well enough to know that he wanted to be alone at a time like this, but she also knew herself and knew that she just couldn't let him walk away and stew by himself. He needed someone and she wanted to be that someone. Even if just for a moment …

XoXoXo

A police cruiser pulled up in front of Kate's condo and right away she started to bark at whoever was driving. She couldn't see them inside the tinted windows but she would make sure they heard her. "What the hell took so long? I'm a very busy woman and I don't take lightly to being –"

She stopped her rant for a moment as she noticed Detective Harper, or Detective Ass, as she secretly thought of him, climb out of the cruiser. "Well it would be you of all people," she snapped. "You just take your sweet time coming and going as you please."

"I was busy," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh I'm sorry, detective, did I interrupt your donut break?" she asked, her voice laced with sarcasm.

He just smirked and pulled a little notepad out of his jacket pocket. "Where's your car?"

"Right there," she said, pointing just a few feet away where the car door was obviously opened. "Are you sure you're a cop?"

"I prefer police officer," he said dryly.

"I prefer you found out who did this to me," Kate said, stomping her foot a bit.

He rolled his eyes at her as he slipped on gloves he pulled from his pocket and closed the door so he could get a better look. "It's been keyed," he pronounced.

"No, you don't say," Kate snarked. "I already reported that when I called 911."

"Yeah about that, Kate –"

"Its Ms. Howard to you."

"Kate," he went on, purposefully pissing her off even more. "You can't call 911 every time someone pisses you off. I mean, we are solving murders and real crimes."

Kate scoffed. "Real crimes? Please. This is a real crime. Just like my stolen designs."

"Did you ever find them by the way?"

"No, I did not. Because someone took them and probably they'll show up in the competition's spring issue."

"Well then we'll actually have a lead," Harper said, leaning over and running his gloved thumb across the damaged car door.

"At least tell me you're going to take prints this time," she said.

"I take it you want me to."

He smirked. She hated that smirk, she decided. "Yes, that would be just swell, Deputy Fife."

He chuckled. "Where did this disdain for police officers come from? Did you get it from being the local mob kingpin's latest kept woman?"

Kate wanted to kick the hell out of him for that but somehow resisted, simply saying, "I never disliked cops until I met you. Now hurry up. I have to get to work. And you'd better find out who is doing these things to me or I'll call your superior and have you relieved off your badge."

He just laughed out loud in response.

XoXoXo

"Sonny! Sonny!" Brenda said, running after him as he slid into his limo. He started to shut the door but she slipped her leg inside before he could. It stung a bit but she managed not to show it.

"Brenda, what do you want?" He asked with a sigh.

"Not for you to be alone when you obviously need someone." She said. "Now scoot over."

To her surprise, he actually moved over on the backseat and she climbed in beside him, shutting the door, careful not to bang her fingers too. "Where are we going?" She asked, buckling her seatbelt.

"I was going back to my place," Sonny said.

"Great! I'd love to see the new place," she said, trying to sound chipper. "I heard you moved to a stylin' neighborhood."

He sighed. "You're not going to leave me alone, are you?"

Brenda shook her head resolutely. "Nope. You're stuck with me. For now anyway ..."