Chapter 12-The Ambush
Liz took a deep breath. "I was planning on running away and going into hiding."
"You were going to give up your art?"
"Yes. He wouldn't let me go and I felt like I was drowning. I had everything set up so I could run and I didn't plan on looking back until I met you."
He gently pushed a lock of hair off her face. "Go on."
"I lied to him and took self defense and shooting lessons. I planned everything for months and was using the trip to slip away, but you came back and used some kind of voodoo to distract me."
Milo snickered.
"You think I need voodoo?"
Liz grinned.
Her behavior made a lot more sense now. Emily was certainly right about Liz having a secret side to her. Jason kind of liked that she is a bit of a hard ass. Milo drove towards the pier. Unfortunately, when Milo & Liz had come to the pier earlier, they were being watched. Benny had checked out different points of departure in the area and had hacked into the surveillance cameras. They knew about Jack and had visited him after Milo and Liz had left. They let him live, but told him that if he helped Liz, they'd kill his wife and her sister.
Milo pulled up to the pier and Jack's boat was nowhere in sight.
"Something's not right here."
Liz slid off Jason's lap and put her backpack on. She got her gun ready and they all got out of the car. They unpacked everything and went down to the end of the dock. There is a little building there so they ducked behind it and waited.
"Maybe they got to him," Jason said quietly.
Liz's heart is beating so fast. It is 7:05 p.m. and no Jack. Just when they were about to go back to the car, they heard the boat. Jack came around the corner and quickly stopped at the dock. Jason and Milo threw the bags in and they scrambled inside. As soon as Jack started to steer back where he came from, a car drove up and gunshots rang out. Jack continued to drive the boat as the rest returned fire until they cleared the corner. They were all breathing a sigh of relief when suddenly, Jack collapsed. Milo sprang to his feet and started to steer as Liz tended to Jack.
"Jack," Liz cried, "please hold on."
Jack stared at her, noting that Liz is a mess and she still looks like an angel. He reached up and touched her hair.
"Don't cry lass, I've had a good life. They came to me and threatened me after you left and said that they will kill Kate if I helped you." He winced from the pain.
'Oh my God."
"She died this afternoon. I sent her sister on her way and I left to get you," he said smiling through his tears.
"I'm so sorry Jack." Liz starts to sob, knowing he's not going to make it.
"It's okay. Now, I can go be with her."
Liz put her head on his stomach and cried. She felt like she was losing a piece of her heart.
"You there," he said to Jason, "I can tell by the way you look at her that you care for my Lizzie. Take good care of her."
Jason's face softens. "I will, sir."
Jack smiled and then said, "Promise me that when I die you'll roll me into the water. It will be my burial at sea. I always wanted that. It was my life."
Liz jerked her head up. "No, Jack. Please don't leave me."
"It's what I want. You two get away from here and go have a life together. I will always be watching over you and in your heart." His voice had settled to a whisper.
He had lost a lot of blood and couldn't talk anymore. He shut his eyes and tried to relax through the pain.
"I love you, Jack."
His head tilted and Liz knows he is gone. She flopped back away from his body and brought her knees to her chest as she rocked, feeling immeasurable guilt that he had died because of her.
"Liz." Jason said pulling her up. "I need you to steer the boat."
She cringes, understanding why and realizing that he doesn't want her to watch. Solemnly, she takes over from Milo and the men reverently lifted Jack and dropped him in the ocean. When she hears the splash, her knees start to wobble and Jason grabbed her and Milo took the wheel. He told Milo where to go and then Jason placed her on his lap and let her cry until she fell asleep.
Milo pulled up to a dock and tied up the boat. Jason handed Liz to him and got out and then he grabbed some luggage and bags and strode towards the house. He used Liz's flash light to see and they broke into the back of the house and slipped inside. Milo placed Liz on the couch and searched for some candles and then started a fire and then went back to get the rest of their stuff.
Jason gazed at the picture of Lila on the mantle. The house had been in the Quartermaine family since he could remember, but Tracy had sold it about five years back because no one was using it. She had recently re-purchased it when Lila had started to become ill and decorated it like it was before and put Lila's pictures around as a present to her father. She wanted to bring them here, but Lila hasn't been healthy enough to make the trip. No one really knew that she had bought it again, so he felt as though it would take a few days or so before Sonny or the Escobar's would be able to track them down.
Milo entered the room. "I'm going to go find a bedroom upstairs and take a shower. There is some canned food in the pantry and bottled water." He grabbed a candle and left them alone.
Liz woke up and started looking around. "Where are we?"
He sat beside her. "It's my grandfather's vacation home."
Liz nodded and got up and stood in front of the fireplace. The boat ride was cold, so the heat felt really good as it warmed her skin. She noticed all the pictures of Jason's grandparents and family.
"They look happy."
"They are still very much in love. I'm sorry about Jack, but it wasn't your fault, Elizabeth."
She knows they don't have time for her to have a pity party. Taking a deep breath, she decides that she is just going to have to suck it up until they got out of this mess and then she can mourn.
"What do we do now?" she said before plopping next to him.
"Are you hungry?"
"Not really, but I'm sure you are. Let's raid the kitchen."
They lit some more candles and scrounged around. There is some peanut butter in the cabinet and crackers. Liz hopes they aren't stale and pulls them out, checking the date.
"Still has a few more months."
He smiled at her and opened the box. She prepared the crackers and they sat down to munch.
Milo ran into the room, "Foooooddddd," he yelled before attacking the cracker sandwiches.
They laughed. Jason found a bottle of wine and they sipped it as they ate.
An hour later, they said goodnight and Milo went upstairs. Jason put a few more logs on the fire and lay back on the couch. Liz crawled between his legs and snuggled into him as he pulled the blanket over them.
"I feel like I've been running so long." Exhaustion is setting in and she feels like she could sleep for days.
He put his arms around her tighter.
"Why didn't you tell Sonny how you felt?"
"Whenever I brought the subject up, he'd get really angry and would say that we were done when he said we were done."
'I'm sorry."
"It wasn't always bad, but the last 6 months or so, I started feeling like a prisoner there. I couldn't go anywhere without a guard. I just felt like all the fighting and stress just sucked all the creativity out of me. So, I started going to self defense class and the gun range. It made me feel like I had control and then I planned my escape. I think part of me just turned off at some point, especially when I knew he was cheating. It made me feel like I wasn't enough. All of it just made feel hard and disconnected and I dreaded my life. Sonny went from vibrant to unpredictable and angry." She turned so she can gaze into his eyes. "But you made me lose control and feel again." Tears trickle down her cheeks. "You scare me."
"I'm not going to do anything to hurt you, Elizabeth, you mean so much to me. We can slow this down if that is what you need, but I'm not going anywhere."
She lay back down on his chest. "Thank You. I never wanted to hurt Sonny, and I certainly didn't want to get you involved in all this mess."
"Elizabeth, let me take care of you. This is not all your fault."
He held her tightly and soon she fell asleep nestled safely in his arms. After all the bad things he had done in the last few years, he couldn't imagine why he even deserved her. His world had tainted her and hardened her to an extent and he hated thinking about it. He knows it has taken a terrible toll on her and this is not the life she was meant to lead. He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes.
That is how Milo found them in the morning.