Anna and Duke took the elevator up to the penthouse level of 122 Harbor View Drive, riding hand in hand but in tense silence. On the top floor of the building, the doors slid open, and they stepped out into the low-lit, lushly decorated hallway-and straight into Jason Morgan.

"Oh no," Jason mumbled, blinking. "Anna." He stared. "You're back." Another blink, and then he stared at the man at her side. "And you're Lavery, right? Sonny said..." He stared back at Anna and accused, "I thought I told you to keep him out of Port Charles."

Duke was immediately on the offensive. "Excuse me?"

Jason continued to speak to Anna, as if Duke weren't there. He wished the guy were not there-this complicated things. "Sonny's on the warpath. He knows Duke's back. He saw him at GH, with Robin. And he doesn't like it. He thinks it's not gonna be good for business. Look, I told you all this already. So why is he here?"

Anna began to speak: "Jason...," but Duke gently guided her off to one side and stood directly in front of Morgan, forcing the younger man to face him.

"You tell your boss," Duke said slowly, "that if he has something to say to me, he should come out and do it. Himself. Man to man."

"Duke, no," Anna insisted quietly.

"I'll handle this, Anna."

Just then, one of the penthouse doors opened, and out lurched Damian Spinelli, jabbering, "Stone Cold, I…. Oh! You are here with the exceedingly lovely Mistress of Secrecy! It is most surprising-and, and, and pleasant...a most pleasant surprise-to see you again, Oh Covert One."

"Spinelli." Jason tried to cut him off.

Spin forged on, oblivious. "Did you succeed in your quest to vanquish the Most Sinister Cesar Faison?"

"Who the hell is this, now?!" Duke spat, and Anna cringed. "And what is he talking about, Anna? Did you go looking for Faison? You wanted to find him?"

"You must be the Martyred Scotsman, stepfather of Fair Doctor Robin," Spinelli surmised. "Maximista has told me the tale of your storied return from beyond the grave. The Jackal is most honored to meet you."

"Um, we've got to go," Anna said, seizing the diversionary opening that Spinelli had inadvertently provided with his rambling. She pulled Duke toward the door opposite the one from which Spinelli had emerged, taking the penthouse key from Duke's hand, where he'd held it since just before they'd left the elevator.

"Anna," Jason called after her, ready to issue another warning.

"No, we've got to go," Anna reiterated, opening the door and shoving Duke through before slamming it behind them.

"What the bloody hell is going on, Anna?" Duke yelled at her. "What's all this about?"

"I told you, Morgan is dangerous. Corinthos is dangerous. Sonny Corinthos has run the mob in Port Charles for...I don't know-going on 20 years now, probably. He knows about you, about us-what you did to take down the Jeromes, and the Sister Island gang before that. He thinks-he's convinced himself-that you're here to take over his territory...or put an end to his business."

The strange encounter with Sonny in the hospital cafeteria suddenly made sense to Duke. "That's ridiculous. I want nothing to do with the mob. I don't care what they do-I don't want any part of it. I'm only here for you, Anna. To be with you."

"I know that. But Corinthos doesn't. He wants you gone. Or he wants you dead. I don't think he cares which, really, so long as his little empire isn't threatened. So, do you see why we can't stay here? Not here."

"What's Robert been doing during all of this?" Duke had sudden flickers of memory about the way Scorpio had hounded him, persecuted him, for his past mob involvement, even after he'd tried so hard to leave it behind and start a new life with Anna. "Why hasn't he done something about this Corinthos?" he asked with bitter irony.

"Robert has only recently been made commissioner again. It's a point of contention, believe me. His brother, Mac, has been police chief for a number of years, but the PCPD has been completely ineffectual. It's a strain between them. Mac resents working for Robert, and being passed over for him, and Robert is disgusted that the mob has run rampant on Mac's watch."

"I...I...I really don't care about Robert and his sibling rivalries, Anna," Duke said with impatient disdain. "But in any case, I'm not about to let this thug, this Corinthos, dictate where I can and cannot live."

"But he's threatened you, Duke." Anna thought that she could not do this again-she could not stand by and wait while someone plotted to take him away from her.

"That's what these people do, Anna. If we give in to them, if we let them get away with it, we give them their power. We'll take care of ourselves." He reached beneath his jacket and pulled out a semi-automatic pistol. Anna realized that's what had taken him so long, back at Shadybrook, when he'd gone back to the car boot to load her small suitcase-he must've retrieved and holstered the gun.

Duke laid the weapon on the coffee table, and Anna approached him, slowly. She embraced him and stroked his cheek, looking into his face. "I don't want to risk it." She shook her head. "Haven't we been through enough already? Why take this chance?"

Duke softened, needing a break from fighting with her-and remembering how delicate she still was. "Let's sleep on it. Okay? Just for tonight. We'll stay here tonight, at least, and talk about it some more in the morning. You must be tired. You look exhausted. Let me make us some tea. Something to eat."

Anna sighed, suddenly realizing that he was right: She was weary to her very bones. "Okay. Yes. I am tired. One night won't hurt anything, I suppose."

"Here you are," Sonny snapped impatiently as Jason entered his office. "What the hell took you so long?"

"I ran into them."

"Them?"

"Anna Devane and Lavery. In my building. You were right: Lavery's back."

"I know I'm right. You don't need to tell me that," Sonny said, annoyed. "So what happened?"

"I tried to warn them off."

"That's it?"

"What did you want me to do, Sonny? Take them out right there in the hallway? Where I live? Even the PCPD would probably be able to solve that case. And besides, they're still Robin's parents, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what are we gonna do, then? Can you tell me that?"

"Well, I was thinking..."

"Yeah?"

"What's that they say about 'Keep your friends close-and your enemies closer'? I mean, they're pretty close, Sonny. They're right across the hall. It won't be hard for me to keep an eye on them. See what they're up to. I can get Spinelli to help-I think he's got some kind of a thing for Robin's mom, anyway. He's given her two of those nickname things he does, already, you know? And Sam, too-she can watch them."

"Hmm." Sonny scratched his head, considering.

"We already have something on Anna: the drugs. She just got out of rehab. She looks like she's still pretty messed up. I think Lavery's pretty focused on her. He seems like he doesn't scare easy-he said you should talk to him yourself if you have something to say-but I get the feeling he's just trying to protect Anna."

"Hmm," Sonny said again. "Maybe. We could use that. Use her, to control Lavery, if we need to."

"That's what I'm thinking," Jason confirmed.

Sonny walked over to the bar, poured a drink, took a sip, contemplated. Staring into the liquor, he finally said, "Alright. That's what we'll do." He looked at his right-hand man. "For now. You keep tabs on him. Watch everything he does. Make sure he stays away from our interests. Make sure he doesn't cozy up to the Zaccharas. But if he makes one false move..." He pointed at Jason.

"Yeah, I know."