A/N – Thanks for the commemnts! Glad you enjoyed the chapter and Tracy! Next one's the reveal.
Chapter 36 – Calm Before the Storm
Jason watched Elizabeth walk into the room. She had to change because of the shaving cream. "Matt just stopped by the penthouse to see you."
She frowned. "Really? What's he doing in town?"
"He's visiting his brother apparently."
"Do you still suspect him?"
"No. He was in surgery when Sarah was attacked. I just didn't get the crazy vibe from him. In fact, he told me that if I hurt you…" Jason's voice trailed off.
Liz smiled. "He did?"
"Yeah, when we went sledding."
Jason's phone rang. "Morgan."
"Mr. Morgan, my name is Katie Campbell. I'm with the FAA. I'm hoping that you can meet me at the Metro Court tomorrow afternoon. We want to talk to you and Elizabeth before we release the results of the black box to the media."
"Um, I'm recovering from a head injury right now."
"I understand. But, we can't hold onto this information any longer. It's going live on the evening news."
Jason sighed. "What time?"
"Is 2:00 p.m. okay?"
"I'll be there."
"Great, I just have to let Elizabeth know now."
Jason ended the call. "You have your phone on you?"
She nodded. It rang and she picked it up and agreed to the meeting. "What do you think that's all about?"
"I'm not sure, but I'd like to know what caused the crash."
"Me too."
Emily came back into the room. "You're in trouble too."
"Why?" Jason asked.
"Because you could have warned me."
"I was sleeping too."
"Uh huh," Emily said rolling her eyes as Jason smiled. "You don't sleep through anything."
"You staying for dinner?" Jason asked.
"I guess and then I'm going to go home and sleep for the next twenty hours."
Jason smiled. "That's a long time."
"You'll have some serious bed head," AJ added.
"You are going down," Emily said pointing at AJ as he laughed.
Lila smiled. "Make sure you take pictures dear. I would love for AJ to get a taste of his own medicine."
AJ's mouth dropped open. "Grandmother, you're siding with her?"
"I heard what you did; up to your old tricks again," she said.
AJ smiled. "I have such a bad rep."
"And you earned every minute of it," Emily said grinning.
They all went into the dining room and ate dinner.
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There was a knock on the door and Logan opened it and let Carly in.
"Oh God…," Brenda muttered.
"Obviously, I'm not here to see you," Carly said before looking at Johnny. "Can we talk?"
He nodded and walked towards the kitchen and Carly followed him. "What's up?"
"I just heard Ric talking on the phone. I was headed towards Sonny's office and he didn't hear me as I came around the corner."
"Carly, you have to be careful. Ric is dangerous."
"I know. I stepped back and hid until he was gone. Anyway, he was telling someone to get everything prepared; that things were moving faster than he thought they would and she would be his soon."
Johnny green eyes darkened. "Son of a bitch. I really didn't think he had anything to do with all of this but now I'm not so sure."
"I'm meeting Gina at Jake's in a half hour."
Johnny frowned. "Why?"
"I thought we could maybe talk and she'd admit what she's up to."
"She's never going to do that, Carly, because she knows you'll tell Jason."
"It's worth a try. I feel like I have to do something to help."
"And I appreciate that, but I need you to be careful and make sure your guard is with you okay?" Johnny said.
Carly smiled. "I will. If she spills anything, I'll text you later."
"Okay."
They went back to the living room and Carly and Brenda glared at each other as she left.
"What did the she-devil want?" Brenda asked.
"She's trying to help the situation just like you are Brenda. You two really need to stop this petty bullshit. It's beneath the both of you. I'm going upstairs to check on my girl."
"I don't think me and Carly will ever get along," she said to Diane.
"It does take two."
"Carly holds a grudge like no one that I know."
"You did kiss her man," Diane said before pursing her lips. Johnny had told her the story.
"He was my man first."
Diane gave her a look and Brenda chuckled.
"I know I was wrong, but Sonny and I have this pull. We end up being toxic to each other and it never works, but when it's good, it's so good that you want to feel like that again and forget all the bad until it's too late. I so have to admit that Carly seems to be able to tolerate the business better than I can, but, I seriously don't know how he tolerates her. She does love him though. I just wish I could get him out of my system."
"So, you're saying if Sonny walked through that door and said he wanted you, you'd jump into his arms."
"See your missing all the painful details. I would fight it for a week or two and immerse myself into Jax to try to forget Sonny. And yes, I love Jax, but he could give me everything I want so why in the world would I want that?"
Diane chuckled.
"And then I'd destroy what I have with Jax and sleep with Sonny and when it's time to really seal the deal, one of us will leave the other raw and in pain. Like I said, it's crazy and dysfunctional. I'm a complete idiot for even still wanting him a little bit."
"You need therapy."
"I'd be a therapist's wet dream."
Both women looked at each other and started laughing.
"We need some wine," Diane said getting up. "Your insanity would be even more amusing if I was buzzed."
"I like you Diane," Brenda said following her.
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Jason answered his phone. "Yeah," he whispered.
"Sorry to call you so late," Johnny said, "but Carly overheard Ric talking on the docs."
Jason sighed. "Go on."
Johnny told him everything and then waited to see what Jason wanted to do.
"Put another guard on him. Tomorrow, we have to go to a meeting with the FAA. I can't risk anything happening."
"You got it."
"In the morning, we need to talk and go over the security measures. The meeting is at the Metro Court at 2:00."
"Okay, I'll start giving it some thought. Good night."
"Good night," Jason said softly. He didn't know what Ric was up to, but he was quickly losing his patience.
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Carly watched Gina swirl the wine in her wine glass and wondered why she wasn't drinking. "What's going on with you? You look like you're a million miles away."
Gina sighed. Ric had been acting really weird earlier and it kind of freaked her out. She wondered if it was a mistake to even be around him. As much as she wanted Jason back, whatever Ric had planned would probably end up hurting him and she didn't want to be an accomplice to that. "I just befriended someone I shouldn't have and now I'm having second thoughts."
Carly studied her a moment before answering. "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's time I ended the friendship. I've just been so depressed about Jason and this person distracted me from that and made me forget what I had lost for a little while. I know it's stupid, but Jason is a hard man to get over."
Carly nodded. "You know, if you need my help, all you have to do is ask."
"Carly, if Jason ever told you that he wasn't comfortable with you being friends with me, would you stop talking to me?"
"Jason would never ask me to do that. He never wanted to hurt you Gina. You know the situation. Don't do something you'll regret later with this friend, because some things can't be undone. You have to ask yourself, if being friends with this person is worth the consequences."
Gina nodded. "Carly, I need to go, but I want you to know that I heard everything that you said."
Carly stood up and hugged her and watched the troubled woman walk away. She just hoped that Gina hadn't bitten off more than she could chew with Ric, because if Elizabeth was hurt by his hand or something the other woman did, Jason wouldn't hesitate to kill her.
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Later that night, Jason watched Elizabeth walk towards him and climb into bed. He laid on his side facing her and ran his fingers over her exposed leg making Liz shiver. He leaned over and kissed her and then traced his thumb over her nipple. She moaned into his mouth. "You still have another day to get through before you're allowed extracurricular activities."
"I know, but there is nothing wrong with my hands," he said wickedly as he pushed her panties aside.
Liz gasped and her hips bucked as his thumb found her clit. "Jason," she whispered as he pleasured her. It didn't take long for her to dissolve into a million pieces as his mouth muffled her whimpers.
He pulled her into him and Liz looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you."
Jason kissed her forehead. "Sleep baby."
They had a long day the next day and he couldn't get his mind off the crash and whatever news they would receive.
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The next morning, Cooper walked into the penthouse. "Is she ready?"
Johnny nodded and Cooper frowned when he saw Brenda walk around the corner. She looked like a street hooker with a blonde wig, thigh high boots, a mini skirt, and a short wasted jacket over god knows what. "Seriously?"
Johnny chuckled. "Hold her hand while we're in the elevator and while we're walking to the car. Just put on your sunglasses and they won't know it's you. We cleared the garage so hopefully, all of this is for nothing. When you get about a block away, Brenda can change clothes in the back seat."
She walked towards Cooper and he held the door open for her. Sarah joined them and they got on the elevator and the doors opened again on the fifth floor and an older lady got in. She looked Brenda up and down and then glared at Cooper. "Shame on you," she said shaking her finger.
Cooper groaned and Brenda and Sarah started to giggle as Johnny grinned. Thankfully, they reached the lobby and she got out and then they went to the parking garage and headed for the car. Sarah and Brenda got in the back and the guys got in the front and they headed out.
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The hospital visit went well and Sarah was doing fine. Her ribs would still be sore, but the scans showed no swelling and all the other tests were fine.
Johnny breathed a sigh of relief knowing they had gotten really lucky. Matt walked up to them right before they were about to leave.
"Hi, did you give Liz my message?" he asked.
"I did. She's been a little under the weather, so she told me to tell you that she'll call you in a few days," Johnny said.
"Thanks," he said clearly disappointed. "How are you doing Sarah?"
She smiled. "I just got a clean bill of health."
He smiled back. "That's good. I'm glad you're going to be okay."
"When are you going back?"
"Tonight."
"Well, we'll have to plan a get together and you can come visit us."
"Are you staying here for now?"
"I took a leave of absence at the hospital. I'll probably go back in a few weeks. I want to be around my sister for a while."
Matt nodded. "I understand. Well, take care. My brother wants me to do a consult."
"Bye."
They all went to the elevator and went back to the penthouse. Johnny figured he'd head over to the mansion in a few hours which would make it appear that Brenda had returned and then he could pick up Elizabeth and take her back to the penthouse since Jason and her would have to arrive at the meeting separately.
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Lorenzo drank some orange juice and looked out the window. He hated to have to go out but he received a very good business proposition and needed to meet someone at the Metro Court to discuss it. It seemed like every time he left his house, he was being shot at and they were no closer in finding out who was doing it. Today would probably be no different, so he had increased the number of guards and everyone was on high alert. At first, he thought it was Sonny, but he had no proof of that and the man didn't seem like he gave a shit about Lorenzo anyway. He was a nervous wreck. Whoever was doing this had made it perfectly clear that it was personal and not business and he had no idea who had it out for him.
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Jason kissed Elizabeth one more time before they had to go downstairs. "I love you," he said softly before dipping his tongue back into her mouth.
"I love you too. Let's get this over with."
Jason nodded and they headed to the car.