The Fallout

Chapter Twelve

Emily hadn't thought Zander could get any paler but whatever color that had been left in his face drained away upon her admission. She clamped her hands over her mouth. She could not believe she had just said that. She had been planning on telling him, but not like this. Not in the middle of an argument over him pushing her away. She had wanted to break it to him as gently as possible. Oh God, why had she done that?

Well, she knew why she'd done it. She'd done it because she knew she could use her own experiences, her own decisions—and how wrong they were—to show Zander why they couldn't push each other away anymore.

"Wh-wha-what?" Zander stammered, his eyes huge, completely and totally stunned.

Emily put her face in her hands and took deep, soothing breaths, trying to gather her thoughts. This was so hard. "You know how I kept pushing you away? And how you kept saying there was more going on? Well, there was. Those drugs you found—they weren't what you thought they were. They were an experimental treatment. I'm not—I wasn't—I never had a relapse. I just let you believe I did."

Zander's eyes searched hers wildly. "Why?"

"Because I wanted to protect you. Because I love you. I didn't—I didn't want you to watch me die."

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Penny walked around the counter, placing her basin of dirty dishes in the sink. She glanced at the door, noting the gathering darkness outside, and then the clock on the wall. Courtney was very late and getting later by the second. She couldn't recall Courtney ever being this late. A few minutes maybe, no more than ten, and usually it did not bother her. Elizabeth was the one who was irritated by Courtney's lateness, not Penny.

Even now, after forty-five minutes of extra work, Penny was not annoyed. She was worried. Courtney was responsible. She would have called if she was going to be this late. Something was wrong. She could feel it.

Making up her mind, she got Bobbie's address book from under the counter and began flipping through to the M section. Courtney's name was the first listed.

Courtney had done a lot of moving since she had started working at Kelly's. Two addresses and numbers had been crossed out—first the apartment she had shared with her wacko ex-husband AJ, and then the loft. Courtney's number was now the same as her fiance Jason Morgan's. Penny smiled. She had long ago met her man; in fact, she was supposed to be meeting him for a special dinner at the Port Charles Grill right now. She was glad Courtney had finally found someone worthy of her.

She picked up the phone and tapped in the number.

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Jason answered on the first ring, plucking the phone off the coffee table and never removing his gaze from the paperwork laid out in front of him. "Yeah?"

"Hi, Jason. It's Penny from Kelly's."

Jason frowned. Penny. Why would Penny be calling him? She only called when Courtney was around, and Courtney wasn't.

"I was just wondering if Courtney was with you?"

"She's not there?" Jason sat up straighter.

"No. She hasn't shown up for her shift yet, and that's not like her. I wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"I'll find her."

"Thank you, and please have her call me when you do."

"I will."

Jason hung up before Penny and sat with the phone in his hand. Something was definitely wrong. Courtney would never not show up at work without calling. Something had happened. He could feel it. He went to the closet to get his gun from the lockbox on the top shelf. Once it was safely tucked into the waistband of his jeans, he grabbed his leather jacket and shrugged into it to cover up the gun's presence. He didn't have a permit to carried concealed. He wasn't going to risk the idiot Baldwin arresting him over it while he was out looking for Courtney. She might need him. He wasn't going to let her down.

The phone rang again just as he reached for the doorknob.

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Ric stepped into the panic room after his father, clicking the remote. The panel slid smoothly closed behind him.

"Everything's in order," Trevor said, watching the monitors carefully. Elizabeth stowed some luggage in the closet and then headed out of the room to get more. They could hear the muffled rustlings as she put things away. Video, audio...everything was functioning perfectly.

Ric took a seat at the foot of the bed, reached out, touched Elizabeth petite form rushing around on the monitor. "Soon we'll have our revenge for what he took from us," he said to his wife.

"It is well past time for your brother to pay," Trevor said quietly, watching Elizabeth just as attentively as his son. He should have dealt with Sonny long ago. Instead, he'd waited. Waited for Ric to grow up, then left Ric to deal with the problem. If he had not waited, Ric and innocent Elizabeth would not have been hurt. But he had waited. And that was his mistake. But the past did not mattered. What mattered was that he was here now, and he would be able to see Adele's son's demise firsthand, not live it vicariously through his son.

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Elizabeth had been making trips up and down the stairs to stow their now empty luggage bags and suitcases in the downstairs closet. She had just set down the final load and was getting ready to heft them onto a high shelf when the phone rang.

"Ric?" she called in the direction of the stairs. "Trevor?"

Frowning when she got no response, she went to answer the phone herself. "Hello?"

"Hi, Elizabeth. It's Penny."

"Oh, Penny. Hi." Elizabeth tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder and shoved the bags in place. She'd called Bobbie earlier and left a message on her answering machining, giving her the new address and phone number. Bobbie must have relayed the information to Penny.

"I'm so sorry about your baby," Penny offered sympathetically.

Elizabeth smiled sadly. The word must have gotten out to her co-workers that she had been pregnant and lost the child. "Thanks."

"I know it's awfully soon, and I totally understand if you don't feel up to it, but Courtney hasn't shown up for her shift—"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Courtney had been having trouble showing up on time ever since she first moved into the loft with Jason. "What else is new?"

Penny overlooked her dig. "—and I was supposed to meet Mark twenty minutes ago."

That's right. Penny and her boyfriend had been together for three years now. This was their anniversary. How could Courtney be late on such an important day? Well, there was an easy answer to that question. Courtney never thought about anyone but herself. "Have you tried calling Courtney?"

"I'm really worried about her. I spoke to Jason, and he thought she was here. Then he said something about 'finding her.'"

Little Miss All Brave and Courageous had gotten herself in trouble. Elizabeth couldn't bring herself to care.

"I feel really bad asking you to do this, but—"

"No, don't worry about it. I know this is a special day for you. I'll be right over." Elizabeth paused. "I think it'll be good—to get back to work," she admitted. While they were packing and unpacking, she hadn't thought about the baby. But as soon as she stopped moving, thoughts of what it might have looked like, whether it was a boy or a girl, which parent would it resemble most closely in personality invaded her mind. Only painting and working could keep those pointless thoughts away.

"Thank you, Elizabeth." Penny sounded so relieved and grateful that it made Elizabeth smile.

"I'll see you soon." She hung up and returned the phone to the cradle.

"Ric!" she shouted. She got no answer. Frowning, she stuck he head out the front door. "Ric?" Still no answer. Where had her husband disappeared to? She headed out back to holler up the stairs. Maybe he couldn't hear her from up there.

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As soon as Elizabeth rounded the corner, Ric hit the button and he and Trevor raced out of the room. The panel had hardly closed when Elizabeth reemerged. She took a step back, startled.

"Hey, where have you guys been? I looked all over for you."

"I'm sorry. We went out in the woods. It's this weird thing my dad and I share—we're both fascinated by trees. New York has some of the best," Ric lied swiftly, wondering at the same time why the panic room had been connected to the living room. It would have made more sense to have it down in the cellar, but he was just a lawyer. He didn't design houses. Maybe he should change careers.

Elizabeth looked at them strangely. "That's...interesting?" Ric could tell she was really trying, but she just couldn't come off sounding convincing.

Trevor laughed easily. "I know. It is in fact quite dull, my dear, as my wife has so often told me. I do not understand what it is that interests me about them so much, but it does appear the gene has been passed on to my son."

"Well, that's good. You have something in common," Elizabeth said with a smile. "Besides, I like art museums, and not everyone finds those interesting." She looked up at Ric. "Ric, honey, Penny just called. Courtney hasn't shown up for her shift. Yeah, I know, big surprise. I'm going to have to go in to work."

"You should be staying at home, resting." Ric didn't want to come across as too agreeable. He didn't want her to suspect anything.

"You heard Dr. Meadows. There's no reason to stay in bed. Besides, I think it'll feel better to be doing something. When I stop moving it's too easy to dwell on what could have been and what didn't happen. I just want to keep busy, okay?"

Ric made it look like he was thinking about it. Finally, he let out a dramatic sigh. This was just what he wanted. "All right, but don't overtax yourself."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and gave his cheek a pinch. "I'll be fine. It's not like I've never worked a shift before, okay?"

"Okay." He kissed her swiftly.

"I'll see you later," she said, grabbing her purse from the coffee table, smiling over her shoulder as she left. "Bye, Trevor."

"Farewell, my dear."

As soon as the door closed, Ric and Trevor pulled gloves from their pockets, checking to make sure their guns were properly loaded.

"Let's go," Ric said, and the both headed for the door. They final stage of their plan was about to be enacted.

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A male voice came across the line, muffled and distorted by a mechanical device, making it impossible to identify the caller. "We have your girlfriend."

"Who is this? Hello?" Jason said very calmly, his voice perfectly even. His mind raced. Someone had Courtney. Courtney was in danger. Courtney was pregnant, so the baby was also in danger.

"Abandoned Warehouse, Pier 52, ten minutes, alone. If you ever want to see her alive again."

"Who is this?" Jason repeated in the same dead tone, revealing none of his emotions, but the line went dead. He stood there holding the phone for a long moment, contemplating his next move. It had to be Alcazar. He was the only one who had motive. He'd want to trade Courtney in exchange for Sonny to allow drugs through he secure transport system.

Jason headed across the hall. He had to see how Sonny wanted to handle this. Drugs were off-limits, but they had to get Courtney back. They couldn't risk leaving her with Alcazar, especially not with her pregnant. They did not know Alcazar motivations. There was no telling what he would do to Courtney.

"Sonny here?" he asked.

Johnny shook his head. "He left with Mrs. Corinthos."

Jason blew out a breath. Damn. He was going to have to go after Courtney without consulting Sonny. There was no one else he could trust on this; Courtney was his sister, he wouldn't do anything to endanger her. Jason had promised to protect her. He wouldn't let anything happen to her either.

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Her head hurt.

That was the first thing Courtney was aware of when she regained consciousness. God, she hadn't know chloroform could give such killer headaches. She kept her shut closed for a long moment, feeling the light burning her eyes even with them closed.

She opened them with a start. What effect would chloroform have on the baby? Wasn't it a chemical? Wasn't it dangerous? What had she been thinking, walking to work without a bodyguard?

Just as she had expected, the room was lit brightly from overhead. She looked around, taking in the assortment of crates and cement floor and walls. It looked like a warehouse, but one that hadn't been used for anything for awhile. She took in every detail. She had to escape.

As far as she could tell, she was alone. She couldn't see behind her, being bound tightly to a chair. There was no gag keeping her from screaming. These kidnappers were either dumb, knew no one could hear her, or had abandoned her. She decided to take the chance.

"Help! Somebody help! I've been kidnapped! Help!"

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Lorenzo Alcazar stared out at the water as small waves lapped the docks of Port Charles. Javier was only a few feet behind him, talking into a cell phone. They were awaiting the arrival of a shipment, disguised as a ferry. To use one of their usual barges was insanity, not to mention suicide. Corinthos had men monitoring the docks. If they so much as suspected the cargo onboard one of him ships, then his boat would be sunk, quite literally, along with his millions worth of product.

Fog billowed around him. It was a good night for this. Corinthos's lookouts would not be able to see that the ferry he was using was not one of the ones that chugged between Port Charles and Spoon Island.

The first time he heard it, it sounded very far away. He frowned and listened closer. Was it possible the steady wind was carrying voices from Spoon Island? No, sound could not carry that far.

It came more clearly now that he was listening for it. Someone was calling for help.

"Did you hear that?" he asked Javier softly.

His man nodded slowly. "I think it's coming from over there."

He pointed toward a building a few doors down. The windows were open and a soft light leaked through. The calls continued.

"See that the shipment lands," he ordered Javier, and headed for the alley. Something called him to this building.

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He loved her. More than anything. He knew what had to be done. Any other time, he would have stood beside her, held her hand all the way through this, been her rock, her anchor, as she'd always been for him. But not now. Not when he could not stand, walk, run, even crawl. He had to let her go. She was going through enough as it was. The last thing she needed was a paralyzed boyfriend whom she had to look after, take care of. What she needed was to focus on was her own recovery. She needed to put all her energy into getting well, not helping him to adjust to his newly rocked world. Maybe when she was well again, maybe then they could be together. God knew his feelings for her would never change, that this connection between them would never go away. But here and now, they weren't meant to be.

He didn't want to hurt her, but he didn't see any other way. He couldn't calmly explain why she had to leave him. Then she'd never let go.

God, I'm sorry, Em, he thought. "How could you do this!" he shouted at her.

She drew in a deep, shuddering breath. "I was trying to protect you. I didn't want you to watch me d—"

"So you made up my mind for me? Do you have any idea what you've done?"

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Sonny played with the food on his plate, poking at it with the fork. Finally, he gave up, putting the piece of silverware down. He wasn't hungry. If he wasn't alone, if Michael and Carly were at the table, he might eat something just so they wouldn't have any excuse not to eat their vegetables. But they weren't.

He wondered if Michael was having fun. He loved visiting Bobbie. Whenever he got home, he could go on for hours about what he and Grandma had done. The change of scenery was good for Michael. It'd take his mind off the car explosion a little. Michael felt safe with Bobbie, and he was. Nothing would happen to him when he was with her.

Maybe he should have gone with Carly. She'd driven him crazy all day long, but he was secretly grateful for that. It'd kept him from thinking. There was nothing to do here alone but think. He was tired of thinking. It always came back to the same thing, the same event, the same person. Elizabeth. So far he'd avoided talking about it with Carly, but it wasn't so easy to evade himself. He'd either done it or he hadn't, and it was like his mind was split in two, each side warring with the other, screaming at the other, trying to convince the other that what it said was true. But neither side ever came out on top, succeeding in convincing all of him of what had really gone down.

He closed his eyes and rubbed them roughly with one hand. If he didn't find the answer soon, the truth, it was going to drive him crazy.

The phone rang. For once he was grateful for the interruption. He stood up and went to get it, leaning against the desk and putting it between his ear and shoulder so he could cross his arms. "Yeah?"

"I want to end this once and for all."

It was Ric.

"I want the truth," Ric continued.

"I want that, too," Sonny said very quietly.

"Meet me at Rice Plaza in ten minutes."

Rice Plaza? The place where Elizabeth had fallen, been pushed, slipped? Why Rice Plaza? Ric hang up. Sonny did the same.

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Ric pressed the END button on his cell phone and glanced back at his father.

"Now we wait," Trevor said, adjusting his gloves.

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Sonny sighed. He didn't want to do this. He'd had enough of Ric. He wasn't convinced that Ric had extended this invitation for the reason he'd made it sound like he had. Ric was working an agenda, like always. But Ric had a big mouth. He probably just wanted to see Sonny to run it off. Ric had made a mistake by calling him right after Elizabeth's miscarriage. You did not warn your enemy when and what your next move was going to be. Ric was stupid. It was worth the inconvenience if he let something slip about his next move.

This was no reason not to exercise caution, however. Sonny picked his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the right-hand drawer of his desk. He pulled it open and stared down at his gun. He picked it up, turned it over, thinking back on the first time he'd ever held a gun. He'd been surprised at how something so small could be so heavy. Now he liked the weight. This gun was different from the first one he'd held. This one was unregistered, had no numbers on it, no way to trace it back to him. He checked the magazine. Fully loaded. He slid it back and tucked the gun into the inside pocket of his jacket. You never knew; he might need it sooner rather than later.

He headed out the door. The click resonated throughout the hall as he closed it behind him.

Johnny took a step back. "Mr. Corinthos." Sonny was vaguely aware of his surprised tone, but he was preoccupied. Whatever Johnny was surprised about, he could ask him later.

"Jason around?"

The bodyguard shook his head. "Left about fifteen minutes ago. I thought you—"

Sonny cut him off. "I don't have time for this right now. Let's go."

Johnny knew better than to ask him where to.

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"I don't what you're—"

"Don't give me that! You know exactly what I'm talking about! I can't trust you, Em."

"No..."

"You've destroyed our trust. Every time I look at you, I'm going to see this lie."

Emily was shaking her head, her eyes wide in shock and disbelief. It killed him to see her like this, but he couldn't let on.

"I will not be with someone I can't trust."

"Zander, I'm so sorry—"

"I don't wanna hear it!" he screamed. "Get out." He looked away.

She continued shaking her head, that same heartbreaking expression on her face. "You don't mean that. You can't mean that."

He refused to look at her. "I want you gone."

Emily sat there, her chin trembling as tears streamed down her beautiful face. She abruptly jumped up and ran—not walked—out of the room, away from him, sobs bursting from her throat as she went. She left the door open in her rush to get away.

Zander closed his eyes and tried to convince himself that this was for the best.

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Carly practically flew off the elevator. She noted Johnny wasn't at his usual place but didn't think much of it, getting out her key and unlocking the door.

"Sonny!" she called. "I made that appointment for Courtney!" She laughed to herself. She loved driving him crazy. She threw her pocketbook in the chair and went over to the table. She picked up an uneaten piece of meat and chewed on it thoughtfully. She shrugged with her mouth. Not bad. Didn't hold a candle to frozen pizza. "I see you finally ate something!" she added.

She got no answer.

Frowning, she stuck her head in the kitchen. "Sonny?" Seeing he wasn't there, she went over the stairs and chugged on up them. "Sonny?" Once she'd assured herself he wasn't upstairs, she came back, pausing halfway down. Her husband wasn't home. The question was, where had he gone and when would he be back?

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It was a short walk. He drew his gun out before strolling into the building. With her back to him, a young woman with long blond hair streaming down her back was tied to a chair.

"Hello," he said, walking over, keeping an eye out.

"Thank God! Help me. I've been kidnapped."

Lorenzo walked around and saw the woman's face. She met his gaze and recoiled. He smiled. Courtney Matthews, Morgan's girlfriend, Corinthos's sister. If he hadn't had his men take photos, he would never have known they were related. Biology was such a tricky thing. He preferred history.

"Ms. Matthews, is it? A pleasure to meet you."

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Jason raced into the warehouse, arms stiff, gun out in front of him. He did a quick visual search of the room. No Courtney. There was a wooden chair in the middle of the warehouse. Ropes still dangled from the arms. He checked the end of one of them. Cut. He looked at the cement floor. No scuff marks. No signs of struggle. No sign of Courtney.

He raced out of the warehouse.

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Ric stood with his back to the pillar. He risked a peak around the corner when he heard footsteps below. His leather-gloved fingers tightened around the butt of his semiautomatic when he realized their error.

His brother wasn't alone.

Damn. How could they have forgotten to count the bodyguard variable into the equation? They thought they'd covered all their bases—they'd considered everything, worked out all the details meticulously. They'd made sure Carly had an appointment and that Michael was away, which therefore ensured Leticia would not be around, which meant there would be no one for Sonny to tell where he had gone. They'd had Coleman and a buddy kidnap Courtney, but only after they'd made sure Penny had a previous engagement. Then she would not be tempted to take on Courtney's shift herself. Elizabeth had to pick up the slack, keeping her far from the house. And the Courtney kidnapping combined with Greg's lying to Johnny—whose rounds they had observed carefully to make sure he would not see Carly leave alone—had served yet another purpose: preventing Jason from accompanying Sonny. Jason had gone after Courtney himself, just as planned because a mistaken Johnny had told him Sonny had left with Carly.

And then, once he was sure everything else had gone smoothly, Ric had called Sonny, positive that his brother, with no other options, would have no choice but to show up alone without telling anyone where he had gone.

Except he wasn't alone. He'd taken Johnny. Ric couldn't believe their stupidity. They'd hinged the plan partly on Johnny, so why hadn't it occurred to them he might be a problem?

Ric risked a glance at his father, who stood the same way behind the pillar across from him. Trevor's forehead was creased in a frown, and his gloved hand was as tight around his gun as Ric's. He could tell his father was thinking.

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This was a problem. They could not have any witnesses, and they could not handle another person besides Sonny. Ric had told Trevor that Adele's son was one hell of a fighter.

That left them only one other option. With his free hand, he pointed to himself and then formed a gun with his thumb and index finger. He made as if to shoot. Click, boom, he thought. Ric tilted his head back a bit, letting Trevor knew he understood.

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It'd be better if no one had to die, but they could not risk a witness. Johnny had to die.

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"Don't look like anybody's here," Sonny said, more to himself than to Johnny, looking around the plaza from the top of the stairs. The closest building was dark, no light coming through the glass doors. No one stood, gazing at the stars, watching the water, the harbor, checking out the eyesore known more commonly as the Quartermaine Crane.

He hadn't felt good about this from the start. But that bad feeling in the pit of his stomach just kept growing even though it appeared that nobody was here. He took a step away from Johnny, scanning the rooftops for a possible sniper. It wouldn't be the first time someone had tried to pick him off from such a locale.

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Trevor trained his gun on Johnny, lining up the targeting hole with Johnny's chest. He'd have to pick him off with one shot. He met Ric's gaze one last time. Ric nodded. They were in understanding.

Trevor pulled the trigger.

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Sonny jerked his head toward Johnny when he saw him start to fall. The bodyguard went down before he even heard the gunshot.

Shit.

He barely had time to have that single thought before something slammed into him. He didn't have the chance to reach for his gun.

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As soon as he heard the gunshot, Ric charge forward, crashing right into an unprepared Sonny, who had been looking down at the fallen Johnny. Ric angled himself so he'd remain on the deck but Sonny would go tumbling down the stairs, just like his mother had when he pushed her.

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There was nothing to grab onto. Just air. You couldn't hold onto air.

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Ric scrambled to his feet, aided by Trevor who grabbed his arm to keep him steady. Ric laughed, seeing Sonny at the bottom of the stairs. It'd been priceless, watching him fall, trying to grab onto something but finding nothing there, hitting the stairs one by one and finally rolling to a stop.

Ric swaggered down the stairs, glowing with victory. Sonny finally knew what their mother had felt like, what Elizabeth had felt like.

Sonny stirred and started to get up. Ric could hardly believe it. The fall had to have hurt like hell. Sonny should be unconscious, but, obviously, he wasn't. But couldn't he at least be stunned? Ric guessed he'd underestimated how much of a fighter Sonny really was. Oh, well. Sonny had underestimated him all together. They could deal with this.

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Try as he might, Sonny couldn't get his thoughts together. He knew he had to get out of there, but he was too dizzy and could hardly see as it was. He kept trying to breathe but he couldn't without getting a sharp pain in his chest. Getting shot had burned. But at least it'd been localized. This was a whole different kind of pain.

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Sonny fell back against the wall, coughing up blood. Maybe he wasn't going to be too much trouble after all. Ric and Trevor went to either side of him and jerked him roughly to his feet.

"Feel like going for a walk, big brother?" Ric asked with a sneering laugh. Revenge...ever so sweet for the one who doled it out, a bitch for the recipient. He smiled to himself. What went around was finally coming back to someone who deserved to get it, all thanks to him.

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Emily didn't know how long she'd run for. Everything was a blur. She'd torn from the hospital, blinded by pain and tears. It had been for nothing. She'd tried so hard to protect Zander, and in the end she had been the one who had gotten hurt.

She hauled herself up the stairs by the railing. It was awfully cold out for late spring, she noted. She hadn't grabbed her jacket on the way out. Shaking and not just from the cold, she stumbled across the expanse of deck before her. She could hardly see.

Choking on her sobs and tears she made it to the other side. She reached for the railing and moved her right foot.

There was something in her way. She plunged headfirst down the stairs, letting out a strangled scream as she fell into thin air.

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