"I'll be there in a few minutes. Don't open the door, and stay away from the windows." Snapping his phone shut, Philip shot a venomous look at Victor "Was that the plan? Keep me here arguing with you so he could try to grab Chloe?"

"Grab her?" Victor chuckled, "Such melodramatic posturing. He just wants to persuade the little bitch to tell the truth."

"By pretending to be a delivery guy?" Philip shook his head disdainfully, "I know the doctors said that your ability to reason was unaffected, but I think they're wrong. You have to know that he's sick and dangerous."

"I know that Chloe has managed to destroy the life of every man she could get her claws into, I'm just trying to spare you the same fate." Victor's face softened, "You may not believe it, but I want what's best for you."

"I do believe it." He shook his head, "But what you think is best for me isn't...this is my life Dad. Chloe didn't wreck my life or Brady's. And if anyone has tried to wreck Lucas' life? That is Sami's whole reason for existing."

"How can you say that?" Slamming his hand down on the desk Victor snarled, "You almost died, Brady got hooked on drugs, even Lucas the poor bastard he ran right back to that trainwreck he calls an ex-wife. She's trying to ruin Daniel's life now with these phony charges."

"I almost died because I decided to go to war rather than stay here and face my problems. Brady's addiction was his decision, Chloe didn't force him to start using any more than she forced him to keep using." Philip walked toward the door, "As for Lucas, you and I both know that he can't stay away from Sami. None of this is Chloe's fault. You know that deep down. Do you really want her to get hurt?"

"I want her to go away." Victor held out a hand, "You cannot truly believe that Daniel is capable of these crimes. You must see that the accusations are lies."

"Lies told by who? Sebastian found the evidence in her apartment, after Max noticed her getting the calls. Bo and the Salem PD did their own investigating. Chloe was with me this weekend while Daniel was hiding from the cops." He took a deep breath as he opened the door, "Call Bo, ask him to show you what he found, talk to Sebastian's men. Do some investigating of your own. The man I used to respect was so much more than a puppet on a string for some freak trading on old ties."

Before Victor could formulate a response Philip left, slamming the door behind him. Alone in the foyer he growled, "I'm no one's puppet" before stalking into his study to make some calls.

Outside Philip wasn't surprised to see Sebastian in the driver's seat of an already running vehicle. He climbed into the car quickly, saying "I thought you had someone at the condo." as he buckled his seat belt.

"I do." Speeding out of the driveway he added, "He's not responding to my calls."

"Shit." Philip pulled out his phone, dialing quickly only to slam it shut in frustration a moment later "Chloe just called me, but now it's telling me that her phone is off."

"I suspect Jonas took steps to keep her from calling the police. A mobile jamming device would not be difficult to obtain." Sebastian's calm tone was at odds with his driving, he wove the car through traffic at a speed that had Philip bracing himself while he asked, "Did you instruct Ms. Lane to stay inside? And tell her to avoid the windows?"

"Of course." Philip grimaced, "I should never have wasted so much time arguing with my father."

"Your efforts on that front may still bear fruit." Sebastian's smile was grim as they pulled up in front of the building, "For now, let us focus on ascertaining what has happened to Nathaniel and making sure that Ms Lane is unharmed."

Scanning the surrounding area for any signs of movement, Philip and Sebastian got out of the car slowly just as a Jeep on massive tires pulled up behind their vehicle. The lights mounted on the roof were blinding and Sebastian's hand crept into his jacket as he tried to get in front of his employer. The engine and lights switched off and they heard "Sebastian, it's Brady Black. Max is with me."

"Brady." Philip let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, "That's a...subtle ride you got there man."

"It's not mine. I borrowed it from Pete." Max replied as he hopped down from the cab, "He needed my car to take his new girlfriend to some fancy restaurant in Chicago tonight."

"Oh." Frowning Philip asked, "Why are you here?"

"Chelsea called and asked me to pick her up. I guess Nicole was mixing the drinks and no one is in any shape to drive. Brady decided to tag along when I mentioned where I was going." He glanced at Sebastian's stance, "Something wrong?"

"Chloe called, they ordered pizza and the delivery driver's behavior was suspicious." Philip hurried toward the door calling over his shoulder, "We were on our way to check on them when you pulled up."

Max scrambled to follow Philip up the stairs, Brady hot on his heels "Suspicious? How is a delivery driver..." He broke off at the sight of the food splattered in the doorway, "Well that's no way to get a tip. Do you think it was Daniel?"

Sebastian's whisper drifted up the steps "I'm going to look for Nathaniel if you're sure the three of you can handle things here sir."

"I'll watch his back Sebastian." Brady replied, turning to face the parking lot while Philip punched in the code.

Philip inserted the key, turning it as he murmured to Max, "Chloe thought so, and now I can't get her on the phone."

"Chelsea didn't answer when I called to tell her I was on my way." Rolling his shoulders backward Max added, "If Daniel got inside..."

"He didn't." A voice called from inside the dimly lit apartment as Philip opened the door, "He tried. He threw something at the windows, and he climbed onto the balcony and tried to break the lock, but he didn't get in."

"Nicole, is that you?" Spinning on his heel Brady pushed past Philip and Max, pulling Nicole close as they closed and locked the door behind him, "Are you okay?"

"I've had better days." She glanced toward the back of the apartment, "Chelsea is borderline hysterical, Chloe's in there trying to calm her down."

"I'm not hysterical!" Chelsea sobbed as she dashed into the room and hurled herself into Max's arms, "I just got a little freaked out. You didn't see his face. It was like he didn't even see me. He just kept throwing himself at the door and bellowing her name."

Going to the doorway of the bedroom Philip leaned in and called gruffly, "What are you doing in there woman? Now is not the time to stage a grand entrance. Come here."

"I'm coming. Good grief, you'd think you were worried about me." Chloe's voice shook, as she walked stiffly toward him "It's not like anything big happened."

"You are a terrible liar." Wrapping his arms around her Philip murmured, "I'm sorry I wasn't here."

"It wouldn't have made any difference." Nicole offered dryly, "He's totally lost it. It was like that old movie where the guy stands outside screaming "Stella" over and over again until it turned into one of those specials about animal attacks."

"I need to go outside and find Sebastian." Pressing a kiss to Chloe's head, Philip stepped away slightly as he said, "Will you be okay for a few minutes?"

"We should just call the police." Chelsea sniffed, "I tried to call my dad, but my phone is acting up."

"Daniel has a signal blocker." Philip met Brady's eye "We can't call the police. And Sebastian is out there alone."

"Not for long." Brady glanced at Max, "Who's staying here with the girls?"

"We're all staying inside." Chloe replied firmly, "Daniel could have anything, do you realize he could have a gun?"

Philip smiled down at her ruefully, "Well, he won't be the only one. Sebastian's probably carrying two or three."

"So then why do you need to go out there?" Chelsea asked plaintively, "It's not like you guys have guns."

"Phil?" Brady arched one eyebrow, "Are we stuck in here with no weapons?"

"Not so much." He shot a wary look at Chloe as he went to the closet. Pulling out the lockbox, he whipped out a key and opened it to reveal a small automatic weapon, "I thought it best to be prepared, there's a 9 mm in a lock box in the kitchen, and another one under the bed."

"You hid guns all over this house and you never told me?!"

"You can yell at me about it later. Right now, I need to go find Sebastian." He tossed the key to Brady as he walked out of the kitchen carrying another box, "Max can stay in here with you guys. It'll be fine."

"Like Hell." Kissing Chelsea on the forehead Max nudged her toward the couch, "I'm coming with you guys. This ends tonight."

"You're all insane. Why don't we all just get in the car, go find Sebastian and get the hell out of here?" Nicole snapped, "Playing cops and robbers with a lunatic can't end well."

"And give Daniel the chance to do this again?" Philip shook his head, "Not a chance. He got very close this time. Next time he might actually be able to do some damage. Now, with the doors locked you guys are safe in here. Just wait, hopefully we'll be able to find the jammer and then one of you can call the cops."

Chloe said wearily, "If any of you get hurt I'm never going to forgive you. Never."

"Well, if you're pissed at me I know I'm breathing." Philip smiled, "I'll be back and this will all be over. Trust me."