Lulu had to admit that she needed the respite away from the hospital. Between Dante getting beaten up by her brothers, getting hit by a car saving Morgan's life, and her being thawed out after the hours they both spent in the freezing cold water, the last thing she wanted to see for a good long while was the hospital. But now, here they both were, taking up residence again in this damn hospital, Dante with a bullet in his chest and she with a heart so full of love and concern that it was consuming her. It occurred to her humorously that maybe they just needed to move into the hospital, now that they all knew Sonny was Dante's father. Dante was in danger more so now than when he was undercover – not only did Jason want him dead, but so did all of Sonny's enemies. She knew her boyfriend was a wanted man more and more everyday. His job and his parentage would see to it that they wouldn't have much rest.
So, though she hated to be away from his side, she was also thankful for the peace and quiet. It only touched her more that he arranged for all this for her, too. But, there was something about it that she couldn't quite put her finger on. He did take care of her but she also knew him well enough now that she knew when something was up with him. It'd been subtle until Lucky showed up with this impromptu little trip. Lulu knew Dante wanted her out of the way for something he knew she wouldn't approve of...and possibly to protect her. What it could be was lost on her though as he was still recovering from a bullet wound and had no chance to continue in his police work to take Sonny down.
She turned her attention from trying to figure out her boyfriend's motivation to enjoying the relaxing body massage while thinking how Dante would love to be the one with his hands all over her. But the sexy thought passed as she heard her name come from the television screen. "Only daughter of infamous drifter Luke Spencer has been reported missing. Port Charles Police Department is not giving details to the disappear of Lulu Spencer but have confirmed that she is indeed missing. We'll keep you posted on this story as more information comes available. In World News..." the reporter continued.
"What?" Lulu yelled at the TV as she sat up on her table half naked. Hurriedly, she pulled the sheet around her and stared at the screen.
"Isn't that you?" her massage therapist asked.
"Yes, I think there's been a big mistake," Lulu responded, still staring at the television.
"Unless you're here under forceful means then I'd say someone has the wrong information," the masseuse commented.
"Yeah, you're telling me," Lulu said. "Can I have my phone?"
"I'll go get it for you," she said.
"Thanks, I have to call someone," Lulu said with slightly gritted teeth.
Lucky was on his way back to the Salon when he heard the radio report. He cussed to himself when he realized that the time was all wrong. He hoped that Lulu hadn't heard it or seen anything on television. Did he not understand the words, "don't do anything until I tell you to?" Obviously, something wasn't right but Lucky couldn't worry about it now. He had to get to Lulu before she found out. It was just too early for her to know.
Lucky was pulling up to the salon when his phone beckoned him. He looked at the screen: Lulu. Damn, he thought, she's already seen it! He was pissed at his friend's mistake but he couldn't do anything about it now. He had some fancy footwork to do with Lulu – and there she was right in front of him as he entered the salons main doors.
"Uh, so my little spa day wasn't just for me, was it? What's going on, Lucky?" Lulu said through slightly gritted teeth.
"We can't talk here. Go change and we'll go someplace where we can be alone," he said, pointing toward the back of the salon.
"Way ahead of you. I'm dressed enough and the rest of my clothes are in this bag. Let's go. I'll finish in the car," she stated, walking past him. Lucky noticed she was wearing a full-length robe and heels, her hair tied back in a ponytail, no makeup and she did seem to have everything else stuffed in her bag – as much as would fit – the rest was hanging out of it. Uh, oh. He knew this wasn't going to be easy.
As she slammed her door, Lucky opened his and slid in as calmly as he could. His sister was definitely mad – Spencer mad – and Spencer mad was hard to circumvent.
"Okay, so Lucky, start talking," Lulu said as he started the car.
"I'm not going to argue with you while I'm driving. Let me get us to where we need to go and then I'll tell you everything," Lucky responded level-headed and calmly.
Oh, how she hated when he did this – stayed calm even with her ranting at him. She wanted to hit him for whatever he got her into. And wondered what his plan was – or worse yet – what Dante's plan was. She was seriously hoping he was not behind all this but something within her just couldn't shake the feeling that this was all his idea. For what purpose, she didn't know but was determined to find out.
"You can talk and drive. So start talking," Lulu demanded.
Lucky stayed silent. He didn't even look her way and his face stayed calm.
"I hate when you do this. Tell me what's going on," Lulu demanded again.
Lucky wasn't swayed by his sister's commands. She was, after all, his sister and he knew how to ignore her if he needed to. It's what was fun about having a sister – he had a lot of practice in shutting out the opposite sex when the drama started to roll. He would thank Lulu for that gift someday – but today was not that day.
"Fine. This place better be close," Lulu gave up making demands on Lucky, knowing that as a brother he was just as annoying as being a good cop sometimes. She respected him for what he did but she hated how he was so good at it that she couldn't even get past his armor. They drove for another 25 minutes before Lucky turned off the highway on a frontage road then turned left onto a dirt road about a mile down. Lulu noticed that they were driving into a heavily forested area. The more they ventured into the woods the more she became uneasy and less angry. Where were they going? And why were they going there?
Lucky looked over at her sister about two miles into their dirt road detour and noticed her face had turned from anger to worry. "Don't worry. This place is safe and should keep you out of harm's way for now."
"For now? Lucky, what is going on? You are starting to scare me now," Lulu said, much calmer than their previous conversation.
"We're almost there. I'll tell you once we're inside," he said. As if on cue, a small cottage appeared before her eyes. Lucky pushed the garage button and parked in the one car garage, then closed it behind them.
"Welcome to your home – at least for a few days," he said.
Lulu got out of the car and started to open the door but Lucky yelled, "No, don't touch that yet. Hold on." He ran around the car to the door and pressed some buttons on the keypad to the right. The door automatically popped open a jar and he pushed it the rest of the way open. He motioned for Lulu to step through. "It's okay. You can go in now."
As she entered, she asked, "Lucky, what is this place?"
"It's a safe house. Actually, it's kind of a safe house. Only three people know about it -until now."
"Whose is it? The PCPD's?"
"No it's Dad's. Up till now only him, Mac and I knew of it's existence. And now, you and Dante. But no one else can know, okay?" Lucky said with a little emphasis.
"Okay," Lulu said almost oblivious to the urgency in Lucky's voice as she looked at her surroundings. Then as if being snapped out of a dream, she said, "Dad's? Dante knows? What?"
"Yeah, okay, so let's have a seat. There's a lot that I need to explain to you. And it starts first with the fact that you are technically kidnapped..." Lucky started.
