Alexis opened the door after Julian had pulled his handgun out and palmed it out of sight. They flashed each other that look and then both turned their attention to the door. She opened it cautiously after seeing the top of red hair piled up on a woman's head.

She didn't recognize her so Alexis 's guard went up and she could sense that Julian's own body had tensed at the unfamiliar sight.

"Hi….I'm Cinder…I know you might not know me but I sell beauty products door to door…like Avon."

Julian and Alexis looked at one another. Alexis folded her arms at Cinder who appeared in front of her dressed in casual dark slacks and a white print blouse. Her hair looked like it had originally been dark brown judging from the roots.

"You're who?"

Cinder just smiled.

"I'm a friend of Spinelli's and Joey's…they told me that you were on one of their live stream broadcasts."

Alexis tilted her face.

"How do you know them?"

Cinder ignored Alexis's watchful posture and moved into the living room admiring the décor while both Julian and Alexis just watched her carefully.

"We hung out at the coffee shop together…back when we were in NYC living it up.," Cinder said, "Of course that was a while ago and this venture of ours was in its inspiration stage."

"Neither mentioned you."

Julian slipped a hand on Alexis 's shoulder still standing behind her as they both looked at Cinder who didn't seem too flustered by their inquiries.

Cinder just walked over to a chair and sat right down.

"They told me all about your situation."

Alexis just looked at her.

"What do you mean my situation?"

Cinder leaned backward in the chair obviously enjoying herself.

"You were going to marry some jet set businessman who really knows how to fill out Armani… and he turned out to be some kind of professional hit man. Next thing, you take off in a hail of gunfire with some guy presumably this one and the rest is a story waiting to unfold."

Julian rubbed his chin watching Cinder weave out some sort of narrative of Alexis 's relationship with the man she'd just jilted.

"When did you find out anyway he's a hired assassin," Cinder asked, "Just before you met this lowlife in Armani at the altar?"

Alexis sighed despite herself.

"Something like that."

Cinder nodded knowingly.

"I know the type…I don't know if Joey or Spinelli told you but I almost had a fatal romance."

Alexis furrowed her brow.

"They didn't tell us anything about you so how would we know that?"

Cinder shrugged, as Alexis and Julian went to sit down on the couch opposite from where she lounged.

"So you know about Shawn and Carly and Ava and the rest of them," Alexis asked, "What do you know about that crowd?"

Cinder sighed.

"I read about them in the trades…you know Carly had ambitions to break into Hollywood when she was younger. Her trailer trash family promised to pull strings if it'd make her happy but it never worked out. Shawn wanted to really help her with some new business she was planning and I'm not talking about the Metro Court. She wanted to buy a building in the historic district of PC to turn into a huge art gallery for some…painter who used to be a serial killer or something like that."

Alexis' eyes flashed.

"He terrorized my family and Carly's. The difference is that I'm not changing my view of him being a reformed rapist and serial killer based on some brain tumor. Been here done that…"

"Oh I see…well Carly needed some major capital to help this new painter of hers and so Shawn was going to help her get it since Sonny cut off her allowance after all his assets and accounts were frozen by the feds."

That didn't surprise Alexis all that much including about the aborted acting career. Carly had a histrionic bent to her personality that had already manifested itself on several occasions not to mention a huge narcissist streak. Not to mention that Shawn would do what it took to please his sister just like she had done for him by promising to be Alexis's bridesmaid at the almost wedding.

"I don't doubt that."

Julian leaned forward.

"So why are you here?"

Cinder leaned forward too and smiled broadly.

"To help you of course…looks like you need some serious help about now."

Julian and Alexis looked at each other again and then at her.

"How so…?"

Cinder just rolled her eyes at Alexis.

"This coming from the woman who nearly married the hired help of one of the top Five Families…and had to be rescued by Romeo the Mafioso who thought he'd topple Sonny over here…"

Alexis frowned.

"He's not Romeo…he's my…"

"Don't tell me, he's your best…platonic male friend from way back."

Alexis rubbed her forehead.

"Look…Cinder I'm sure that you mean well but Julian and I…we've got work to do here and I really don't think…"

Cinder's eyes narrowed.

"No you really don't think do you," she said, "Joey told me all about you, how you got your law degree at some fancy high fluting school back East but you don't know a thing about enjoying yourself. Grew up repressed in some high falutin' family that called itself royalty or something."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean don't get me wrong he thought you weren't a bad lawyer at all, but you just seemed so very serious."

Cinder just kept talking about someone she knew nothing about…after all, Alexis hadn't really gotten to know Joey all that well. For one thing, she didn't need anyone certainly not a man rescuing her from anything…well except breaking her out of her own wedding to another man. But as for Julian, she'd handle him herself, this time armed with the information she didn't have earlier. No more him using what she told him thinking he was Derek Wells to go after his enemies.

He just stood there looking amused like he did about most everything in situations where he either had the upper hand or didn't need to flex it.

"I had to be professional…he was looking at potential murder charges," Alexis said, "which carried the death penalty or at least a very long prison sentence."

Cinder nodded.

"Yes but even at the engagement party when he toasted to all the new changes he said he'd made in his life as born again businessman you showed up in that dreary grey knit dress…"

"Hey that's one of my favorites."

Julian chimed in.

"Mine too…though not for the same reasons."

Alexis just shot him a look and he arched a brow at her.

"That party got a little wild when Ava and Carly showed up and threatened to break crystal mostly at each other."

Julian sighed and that attracted Cinder's attention.

"I'm sure there's a story here…."

Julian rubbed the bridge of his nose not wanting to revisit that night when he'd been about to blow up something that was still left in PC's harbor and had seen the party from afar. Not knowing at the time until Ava spilled it later on, that Alexis had gotten engaged to Shawn.

The wedding date followed quickly after. It was as they called it a whirlwind engagement.

Alexis sighed.

"Just one of Julian's ex flames and his sister showing up to liven up a party," she said, "Insurance paid for the damage."

"Sounds like both of you need to come with good insurance and anyone that hangs around with you."

Alexis shrugged.

"It's not that bad…anyway how do you plan to help us," she said, "I think we've got it all under control."

Cinder smirked.

"You do…yeah right…I heard there was gunfire in the rose garden and they were contemplating explosives when you bolted from that wedding."

Alexis hadn't been too sure about the explosives but both she and Julian had come close to adding themselves as casualties of another PC wedding gone bad.

"Joey really wants to help you get this Shawn guy," Cinder said, "and I'm a bit soft on Joey…not in the romantic sense of course but I do like to see him happy so I'm offering my assistance."

Alexis believed that Cinder sounded sincere enough, she just didn't know how much Joey's friend could handle especially if the pyrotechnics began shooting off again in earnest. Julian heard his phone buzz and looked at it.

"It's Coleman…I'll take it in the kitchen."

Alexis nodded and watched Julian walk with his phone out of the room leaving the two women alone. She turned to look at Cinder who had also watched Julian leave.

"He's quite a hot looking guy," Cinder mused, "No wonder you left Shawn high and dry."

"I didn't do that because of Julian…I did it for me. Once I found out what he did for a living, no way was I going to marry him."

Cinder leaned forward.

"Then why did you hook up with him in the first place…if he's such a bad boy or was it because of that?"

Alexis shook her head.

"No…I'm not deliberately into bad guys, it just happens that way…I just needed a change after a few things…happened and Shawn claimed he'd turned his entire life around."

"So what's the story then with Julian here," Cinder continued, "Are you into him too?"

Alexis just stared at the woman for a moment.

Coleman had told him immediately that Shawn and Carly had continued their forays on the talk show circuit selling the image of him as the wronged party, the man who had truly loved the lady lawyer who had jilted him at the altar in an onslaught of violence.

Julian just listened disgusted. The only violence that interested him was in breaking Shawn's face over a hard unyielding surface…because when he thought about what could have happened to Alexis it made his heart drop. What would Shawn have done if he knew that she had discovered the truth about him starting with the photos she discovered?

Love and romance would have gone out the window, replaced by the realization that he'd have to find a way to keep her silent. Alexis might not think too kindly of him now but he didn't take too kindly with thugs even in Armani messing with his family.

His hand not holding the phone clenched at his side.

"So Coleman, you dropping by later," he asked.

"Sure…you want me to bring some takeout from this Thai restaurant that Dianne and I discovered?"

Coleman and Dianne had hit it off at Alexis' and Shawn's engagement party and apparently were an item now. Still Coleman had fond memories of more than one woman.

"You treating her well?"

"Who…you mean Alexis?"

"Damn straight. Look I'm willing to help you but you mess her up and I'll break more than a pool cue over your head. Got it?"

Julian smiled on his side of the phone. Coleman had nothing to worry about because on that, he was talking to a kindred spirit.

"Got you…so anything new?"

Coleman sounded cryptic.

"I'll let you know when we meet up."

"Sure…but we've got to come up with the next stage of our plan to bust Shawn," Julian said, "so that we can get our lives back to normal."

"You mean like things were before Alexis got engaged to that cretin?"

Julian sighed.

"No I mean the way life was before I got so buried up in my business I forgot what's really important in life."

Coleman paused.

"I think that's what the two of you need to do…to spend time with each other as long as you don't hurt her…because she's a fine woman as long as you don't play pool with her for cash. Or clothes."

Julian had to smile at that. Oh, his baby mama had proven to be filled with surprises.

"That's what I want to do," Julian said, "But first I…we got business to take care of here."

"I'll do my part," Coleman said, "and we'll put Shawn, and all the rest of those sorry excuse for mobsters away. Haven't had this much fun since my brief stint in the WSB."

Julian realized that but once they got Shawn out of the picture, then maybe life could go back to normal for him and his family. Maybe even better than it had been before…everything had changed…at least that's what he hoped. The feds and their sweeping probe loomed over their heads but he'd find a way to deal with that.

Still, he and the woman in the other room had a lot to talk about first just like they had been doing. About their past together, their present and most importantly their future.