A/N – Thanks to everyone who took time to give me feedback! I have to go somewhere so you get an early chapter. The Ric and Gina love is heartwarming lol. * lol CandyHearts – Sorry, I'm taking a Lucky break with this fic. * Virgy15 – Ric still wouldn't want anyone else to have her.

Chapter 38–Getting to Elizabeth

Sean went into the panic room and was astounded to see the arsenal this man had collected. They weren't just dealing with some normal stalker. This man was lethal. There was a map on the wall of the property where the cabin sat Sean took time to study. There were some marks on it and he realized that the area around them weren't safe. Ripping it off the wall, he called Logan.

"Logan."

"It's Sean."

Logan put him on speaker.

"The area around the cabin is booby-trapped. I have a map where he marked off some places, but I have a feeling this is only the tip of the iceberg. He's using some incendiary devices, landmines, and god knows whatever else. The whole cabin could be rigged to blow."

"Fuck," Johnny said under his breath. "What should we do?"

"I'm headed there. You should have someone take Spinelli to their house. I left a guard there. He needs to destroy all the video evidence so it never gets out. I checked his email and he had a video set to be sent, but I deleted it. I have a bad feeling about that, but hopefully, Spinelli can make sure there are no cloud accounts that he saved the information too."

"I just texted Francis to ask Edward if they could put Spinelli on a helicopter."

"We should have thought of that," Jason said.

"We're about forty minutes away."

Ric listened from his seat beside Jason. This was some serious shit and he couldn't believe Carl was this crazy. The man had been in the military and went to war. So, it made sense that he would know about explosives.

"Alright, I'll meet you at the last turn before the road that leads to the cabin."

Sean ended the call and Ric spoke. "He was in the military, so that is how he's going to think. He has built a defensive bunker and it's going to be hard to infiltrate."

"We could use Edward's helicopter, but then that would take the element of surprise away," Johnny said.

Logan made a call. "Stan, I just texted you an address, find out if there are any other cabins around that area and call me back."

"What are you thinking?" Ric asked.

"We need a safe place to park the cars. Jason won't be able to walk that far."

Jason took off his mask. "If I'm not capable of making it, then I won't go. I'm not going to risk Elizabeth's life because of my ego. It will kill me, but I'll do it."

The thought of not being there to confront Carl was killing him, but in whatever condition Elizabeth was in, she would need him to be there for her. He didn't have the strength to be able to fight off an attacker. His body felt like it was devoid of strength and that would only slow them down and prevent them from getting to her in time. It was the hardest thing he ever had to do when he said he'd back away, but saving Elizabeth was his main priority.

Logan nodded just as his phone rang. "Stan?"

"Yeah, there's a cabin about a city block length beyond the address you gave me on the same road."

"Perfect."

Logan filled him in on what was going on so that Stan could help him.

"Sean was a merc so he's our best chance at getting into that cabin," Johnny said. "Logan did a tour as well so I think we have a fighting chance."

Jason closed his eyes. He just prayed that Elizabeth would survive this. Just thinking about how scared she must be right now made his stomach turn. If she didn't make it out of this, he didn't think he could go on.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

Elizabeth had fallen asleep again. The drugs were still coursing through her body as Carl watched her. She was so beautiful and he finally had her all to himself. He used the sharp knife he had in his hand to cut into an apple and then flicked the slice into his mouth. There were so many things he wanted to do to her body and he knew eventually she would come around, but he was also prepared if she didn't. He had enough drugs to make her more than a willing partner even though he really wanted her to come to him on her own. He disposed of the rind as he crunched on the last slice. She'd be awake soon and then he would start making her fall in love with him.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

Everyone else met back at the Quartermaine mansion. Francis filled them in on what was going on and everyone was very quiet as they worried about what was going to happen.

"Lila, why don't you lead us in a prayer?" Tracy suggested.

Lila was surprised, but she closed her eyes and began to talk and when she had finished, there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

Sarah looked around the room at all the people rooting for her sister and Jason to come through this unscathed and she felt a peace come over. After everything they had been through, she wasn't going to allow herself to go to all the bad places in the back of her mind. They would be fine. They had to be because they deserved some freaking happiness. She'd kill Carl herself if he hurt them.

Emily reached over and grabbed her hand and squeezed. It was going to be a long night.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

Lorenzo stared at Luis. "Why are you waiting to kill me?"

Luis smiled. "Oh brother, I'm not the one who is going to take your life. Someone far more interesting will do those honors."

There was a knock on the door.

"He's ready," Luis walked over to the door and slowly opened it. A young man walked inside and his eyes met with Lorenzo whose eyes went from dark and stormy to complete shock.

"Hello father. Are you surprised to see your bastard son?"

"Diego?" Lorenzo asked in shocked. He looked so much like his mother.

"That's right, I'm the kid you threw away and never visited or acknowledged."

Lorenzo looked over at Luis. "What did you tell him?"

"The truth brother. He knows that his mother was your dirty little secret and that you didn't want him."

"That's not true," Lorenzo yelled.

"Don't you dare try to deny it!" Diego yelled. "I know what you did." He raised his gun and pointed it at Lorenzo's head.

Luis smiled. "That's right. Shoot him Diego. Make him hurt like you hurt."

Tears started to run down Diego's face. He had waited so long for this moment.

"Where is your mother?" Lorenzo asked. He never knew she was pregnant and he had loved her, but his father had hidden her away from him. He had only found out a few months before that Diego had been born, but he couldn't find them.

"Dead because she had no protection. She was raped and tortured shortly after my birth. I'm sure that makes you happy."

"I loved her."

"No you didn't. You left us."

'I didn't know where she was. My father sent her away without my knowledge and I had no idea she was pregnant. You have to believe me Diego. I didn't know."

"Liar!"

"Pull the trigger Diego. You know he's just trying to save himself."

Diego turned and looked at Luis. "Regardless of how this turns out, you will face the same ending." He pulled the trigger and watch Luis drop to the floor. The man was insane and Diego knew he'd just be trouble. Turning back to Lorenzo, he lined up his shot. "Even in this moment before your death, you're willing to lie to me?"

"I'm not lying Diego. I loved her with all of my heart. My father didn't agree with my choice. She was poor and he had other plans for me, so he sent her away and would never tell me where she was. I didn't leave my room for months. I was devastated. If I had known about you, I would have come for you," he said as tears flowed down his face.

Diego lowered the gun. He was stunned. Had Luis just filled him with hatred the last 6 months in order to get rid of his father? "Do you have anyone who could verify your story?"

Lorenzo nodded. "I do."

Diego sat in the chair across from him broken and completely exhausted.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

Elizabeth opened her eyes.

"Welcome back. I was just going to make us some dinner."

She didn't say anything and wasn't sure how to play this. If she was too nice, then he might try to rape her and if she was mean, he might try other means.

"Not speaking to me?"

She still remained silent.

"You need to eat to keep up your strength, Elizabeth, but I won't let you eat or drink until you start talking to me. It's your choice."

"Fine," she muttered.

"That's better. I'll be back soon."

She studied the room. It looked like he had converted it from a regular bedroom. There was one window and she guessed the other door was a bathroom. Something she'd probably have to use sooner or later. She wondered if he would be willing to let her get up. There was no way out and she had no idea how Jason would possibly find her. Biting her lip, she fought back the tears. She didn't want to die or be forced to be with another man when all she wanted to do was be with Jason. Closing her eyes, she pictured him in her mind and drew from his strength so she could hold on to her hope.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

Jason and Sean pulled up to the other cabin and parked. "They are in there. His truck was in the driveway."

Johnny got out and checked on Jason. "How are you feeling?"

Jason sat up and everything started to spin. Johnny grabbed him and steadied him. "I'm sorry man. I'll break into the cabin. I'll leave you with a gun."

Johnny couldn't even imagine how Jason was feeling, but he was going to hold him to his word.

"I understand," Jason said softly. He was pissed because he couldn't fight for his girl. And while he did trust the men around him with his life, he still felt like he was failing her miserably.

Logan broke into the cabin and between him and Johnny, they got Jason inside and sat him down on a couch.

Sean handed him a bottle of water and the oxygen unit and then Johnny handed him a gun.

The rest of the men sat around a table going over the layout around the cabin. "The driveway is our safest bet in."

"Did you hear that?" Jason asked.

Johnny ran outside and pulled out some night vision binoculars and stepped out onto the roadway. He swore Jason had bionic hearing. If he ever had kids, they'd never be able to sneak out of the house. It appeared that Carl had left the cabin for some reason. He ran back inside. "He's gone."

"There was a store about a mile away," Jason said. "He might have gone to pick up supplies."

"Then we need to hurry," Johnny said jumping up. "Jason, if we're not back in a half hour, call for backup."

Jason nodded. "Bring her back safely," he said softly. He waited until they were gone until he finally let the tears escape his eyes. "Please be okay."

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

Johnny ran outside with the rest of them and they got some guns out of the car and quickly made their way to the house via the road. When they got to the driveway, they stopped.

"He probably has some remote devices that he set, so the driveway probably isn't safe."

"The lawn will be no better," Logan said.

Ric looked at the ledge that decorated the side of the driveway. "What if we walk on those?"

Johnny studied it. "It will probably work but the porch could be a problem."

Ric studied it. "I don't think he thinks anyone could get to the porch. Carl is cocky."

"Are you sure?"

Ric looked over at Johnny. "I wouldn't endanger Elizabeth's life like that."

Logan sighed. "I'll go first."

"No. I will," Sean said. He tucked his gun into the back of his pants and carefully walked over the bricks. The porch light was on so he could see what was in front of him. He made it to the last one and then leapt from there to the porch steps as everyone held their breath and then he carefully walked up the steps and then pulled out his lock kit and began picking the lock.

"You're next," Johnny said to Ric.

He watched him almost fall as his arms flailed around and then he made it to the end and jumped successfully. The rest of them followed suit and then Sean opened the front door, his gun held out in front of him. Something was cooking on the stove and he made his way to the bedroom and was stunned to see Elizabeth looking back at him. "Elizabeth are you okay?"

Ric followed him and she was even more surprised. "Ric?"

"Are you okay?" he asked rushing to her side.

"Did you have anything to do with this?"

She had no idea who Sean was and figured he was helping Ric.

"No, it wasn't me. We found out that it was Carl and came to save you."

Logan walked into the room and Liz breathed a sigh of relief as Ric and Sean worked to get her restraints off.

"Where's Jason?" she asked as Logan picked the lock on her ankle restraints.

"He's in the cabin next door. He was too weak to come."

"What happened?" she asked, completely alarmed as she held her breath.

"It was the gas in the room," Logan said.

Liz nodded. He quickly undid the other one and then rubbed her ankles. They were a little bruised, but there were no open wounds.

Sean got one of her arms free and then helped Ric with the other one.

Johnny ran into the room. "He's coming. Get Elizabeth into the bathroom."'

Logan scooped her up and then ran inside the bathroom with Ric.