My beta must have heard that you wanted another chapter because she sent me this today. Those of you in the path of the storm stay safe!
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Chapter 10
Almost two weeks of wedded bliss had gone by. He'd never been happier. Elizabeth had two more shifts to complete and then he was surprising her with the trip to Italy. He knew that she was going to ecstatic when he told her. It would also be a shock because she actually believed that he agreed that they didn't need to go on a honeymoon. A few conversations about how things were really busy right now had also helped to make her think that he couldn't get away at the moment. Going to Italy was her dream and he was going to make it happen.
What had surprised him the most so far however was their sex life. He had expected to need to take things slow. He would have been happy to do so, whatever it took for her to be comfortable with him. Boy had she stomped all over that assumption. In bed, his girl was very open and willing to try anything that he suggested. She was also highly vocal, something that really turned him on. Hearing her scream his name as she came was the best thing ever. So far, she hadn't been bold enough to initiate anything between them but she was more than happy to follow his lead when he did.
After their ride to nowhere, things seemed to really gel with them. It made him feel good to be able to share that with her. Without that secret between them, he felt lighter. Sharing things about business would not become a habit, but knowing that he could talk to her if he needed to made him feel like they were truly partners in their relationship. Best of all however was that Elizabeth seemed to have lost her nervousness. However, she still had some odd habits.
For one thing, she still asked permission to go places and do things. Despite being told, she didn't have to. She also continued to give him a receipt any time she spent money. He could care less how much money she spent. If she shopped every day for the rest of her life, she wouldn't be able to spend all the money he had. So far, she'd bought things for the house, for Cam and for him but she hadn't bought a single thing for herself. Not even any art supplies. When he asked her when she was going to start putting her studio together, she had said when she was done working. Then there was the cooking. Since they'd gotten married, she hadn't let him cook one meal. The other night he'd wanted burgers for dinner so that's what she made. When his burger came out under cooked, she'd had a small meltdown. When he came into the kitchen to make sure she was all right she'd instantly backed up a step. He didn't even think she was aware she'd done it.
However, what was sticking in his mind the most out of everything were the scars. He knew every inch of his wife's body in detail and she had several scars on her. There were two on her back, one on her knee, another on her shoulder and a final one on her ankle. Most were faded as if they were older you would need to be up close to see them. The one on her ankle and the one on her lower back though looked more recent. When he asked about them, Elizabeth had said that she was pretty clumsy. No one was that clumsy. He really didn't like where his mind was going.
It was the silence in the room that finally made him look up. Sonny, Francis, Johnny and Max were all looking at him. All of them seemed to be fighting grins. Normally Francis would be with Elizabeth but Sonny requested him at the meeting. Since Max was, also sitting in Cody was at the hospital keeping a look out. "What?"
That was all it took to make Johnny and Max start laughing. Sonny just sighed and shook his head. He had told Jason to take off some time after the wedding. His enforcer had said since he was going away for a month he would work until they left. Sonny pointed out that his last vacation had been for three months but Jason wouldn't be swayed. "Nothing Max will handle it."
Jason just rolled his eyes. Sitting in a meeting was not the time to mull over his wife's idiosyncrasies still he couldn't let it go. "Francis."
"Yes." The older man was surprised. Jason didn't usually talk in meetings unless directly address.
"What do you know about Elizabeth's time in California?" She and Jason had not been speaking during that period.
"Same as you. She left, got married not to long after moving. Divorced a couple of years later. Emily introduced her to Zander and when Liz got pregnant she came home." Francis summed up what he knew.
"But she called you every week right?" Jason asked. The other three men in the room were wondering where this conversation was going.
"Not at first." Francis corrected his boss. "She'd been there a couple of years when she first called me."
"What did she say, when she first talked to you." Jason leaned forward awaiting Francis's answer.
"That she was sorry she had been a bad friend. She asked my forgiveness and asked if we could be friends again. She asked me if she could call me once a week to just talk." Francis recalled the conversation like it was yesterday. It had been a bit odd, but he was just happy to hear from his young friend. "She sounded tired. I remember that."
"What do you know about her ex-husband?" Jason asked quietly.
"Not much, she didn't talk about him. Still doesn't." It was unusual because she talked about everything else that happened during her time away, but he respected her boundaries. "Why?" Francis had also noticed some odd new behaviors in his favorite charge. He'd been mulling over whether to say anything to Jason.
Jason sat back in his chair. He trusted every man in this room, not only with himself but also with his family. "This does not leave this room." He waited until each man nodded. "I think he was abusing her." That of course went over like a bomb.
"Are you fucking serious?" Johnny asked his accent coming out since he was angry.
"As much as I hate to say it, I think you may be right." Francis said voicing what he'd been thinking. "During the time when she was calling me I know she was tight with Emily."
After a moment's hesitation Jason pulled out his phone and called his sister. "Quartermaine." Came the chipper voice.
"Em. It's Jason." He said grinning in spite of why he called. "Are you busy?"
"Nope, but that could change at any moment. How is the husband of my favorite sister?" She asked. She and Liz had talked a few times since the wedding. Her friend sounded happy. "Lucky is working on the proofs, so you should get them soon."
"Good. Emily I need to ask you something." Jason paused trying to figure out how to phrase what he wanted. "I need you to not tell Elizabeth I called."
"Um, okay." Emily said slowly. "What's up?"
"What can you tell me about Elizabeth's ex?" Jason asked and was greeted by a lot of silence.
"Zander?" Emily asked knowing full well that was not who her brother meant.
"No, Ric." Jason knew his name and that was about it. By this time tomorrow, he planned on knowing everything else.
"Nothing." Emily responded.
"You never met him?" Jason said thinking that would be odd.
"I met him several times I just can't tell you anything about him. You need to ask Elizabeth." Emily told her brother glad she wasn't on Skype; one look and he would know something was up.
"She won't talk about him." Jason admitted on a frustrated breath.
"Make her." Emily said calmly. Elizabeth would never forgive her if she told what she knew. Emily didn't like keeping things from her brother, but this was not her story to tell. "Don't let her avoid the topic. It's how I get information out of her."
Jason paused for a moment. "What did he do to her Emily?" He was tired of skirting the issue.
"Talk to Elizabeth. I have to go Jase. You are right, we never had this conversation, I'm not going to lose my best friend. I love you; give Cam a hug for me." Then she was gone.
"Shit." Sonny said. They were all keenly aware that Emily had given them the confirmation they were seeking by refusing to answer their question. "How do you want to handle this?" It was Jason's call.
"Max, run a file on Richard Lansing." Jason ordered in a flat tone. That fucker was going to pay for hurting his girl. Since his phone was out, he called Cody.
"Paul." Came the greeting.
"She okay?" Jason didn't bother to identify himself.
"Yeah, she's eating farewell cake." The guard's voice dropped. "She had a run in earlier with her Grandmother. Mrs. Morgan stood her ground she went in to the locker room after and cried for about twenty minutes. Mrs. Johnson and Dr. Monica were in there with her. She threatened me with a very painful medical procedure if I called you." Honestly, the guards didn't have to report something like that.
Jason grinned. "You're telling me now." He pointed out.
"Yeah, but I didn't call you." Cody said happy that a way around the threat had been found. He felt his boss needed to know.
"It was nice knowing you Cody." Francis called out making everyone laugh which helped to break up the tension in the room.
"I'll be there to pick her up. Stay until you see me." Jason instructed but it wasn't necessary. Cody was very good at his job.
"Sure thing boss." The younger guard hung up.
"How are you going to get her to tell you if what you suspect is true?" Johnny wanted to know. If it were true, he'd be the first one to volunteer to go to California.
"I'm going to ask." Jason answered.
He couldn't ask her that night because she went out for a Girls Night Out/farewell party at Jakes. The next morning she was up bright and early for work but upsetting her before her shift wasn't fair so he backed off. By the time, he got to the warehouse Jason was in a pissy mood due to his frustration at not being able to talk with his wife. His mood was only made worse when Max handed him the report he'd gathered. Money talked and it also got you what you wanted rather quickly.
Sonny and Johnny joined a silent Max watching as Jason read through the reports. No one else had read it yet they would wait instead for their friend to tell them what he wanted them to know.
Jason skipped the report on Lansing for the moment. What he was interested in were the complied medical reports. Elizabeth had visited fifteen different hospitals during the course of her marriage. It only made him wonder how many times she'd been injured and didn't seek medical help. She was a nurse and a very good one she'd probably treated most of her injuries herself. The more he read the angrier he became. Her life had been a living hell for two fucking years.
If he hadn't been such an idiot, she never would have left Port Charles. She never would have married that asshole Lansing. It ate at him that his stupidity had cost her so much. Yes, they'd had trouble getting on the same page before that last fight. But it was his behavior after that fight that drove her away. Seeing him with another woman had been the breaking point.
Picking up the file on Elizabeth's ex, he read about the privileged lifestyle that Lansing had been brought up in. The best schools, the best clothes and the best cars. He was a self-important prick who thought that he could do whatever he wanted to whomever he wanted. There were multiple police reports from women who complained of various acts of abuse yet somehow the charges always were dropped. In one case, the woman filing the complaint simply disappeared.
"I need you to fuel the jet I want to be in California by the end of the day." Jason would be only too happy to show that fucker what happens to people who hurt Elizabeth.
"You want back up?" Johnny asked ready to break some bones.
"No one is leaving." Sonny said amazed that he would have to be the voice of reason for once. "Elizabeth just married you Jason if her ex-husband disappears now what do you think is going to happen. You'll be the first person they suspect. If you are arrested it will be in the papers, everyone will know what he did to her. You really want to put her through that?"
"Am I just supposed to let it go? That isn't going to happen. He needs to pay. He needs to die." Jason was turning red as his rage flowed through him. He wanted to hear Lansing beg for mercy. "HE PUT HIS HANDS ON HER! HE HURT HER! NO ONE FUCKING HURTS HER!" Jason yelled so loud his voice bounced off the walls.
"No I don't expect you to ignore it. If she was my girl, I wouldn't be able to rest until he was dead. I think we need to call someone in to handle this. He doesn't deserve the status that dying at your hands will bring him." Sonny watched as Jason struggled for control. Right now, a possible arrest was not what was in everyone's best interests. Right now Jason needed to be here focusing on his wife.
Lansing's days of abusing women where soon going to be over. He had a type of woman he preferred. Short with dark hair. That would work out well. "Call Sam and see if she's interested in doing a job for us." Jason said through gritted teeth. He wanted to handle this personally, but Sonny was right. Sam McCall was one of the best hitters in the business. She had no tolerance for men who abused women.
"I'll handle it." Johnny said to the guys.
"An accident would be best." Sonny said thinking aloud. "It's been long enough that Elizabeth won't automatically be a suspect, but we don't want to take any chances." Johnny nodded before stepping out of Jason's office. Max followed giving his bosses some privacy. "Did you talk to her?"
"No yet." Was all Jason said.
Recognizing that his partner was done talking Sonny also walked out of the office.
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