It's Not Over

"Mendez, calm down! It's me!" Vincent turned AJ around, pinning her against the wall, "I'm not gonna hurt you." He let go of her as AJ punched him across the face, watching him double over, holding his nose.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" AJ yelled.

"Shh." Vincent stood back up, "I'm not gonna hurt you." He made clear, holding his hand up whilst his other hand held his nose, "Jesus Christ, I think you've burst my nose open." He groaned, "Here I was thinking you'd changed." He smiled a little.

"Why are you… pulling me down side alleys like that?!" AJ spat, "And what the hell do you have to do with all of this? Why are you in the mix? Are you hiding something from the cops? Because I'll find out-"

"No, look… I didn't know anything about your daughter getting attacked. I got a letter from Rio about two months ago, just after he'd gone to prison, asking for me to come see him." He said as AJ nodded.

"And?" AJ said.

"Well I went. I was curious." Vincent said, "Showed up at prison and he told me his son was getting released in a couple weeks and he'd appreciate it if I put him up until he found a place." He said, "Said that I owed him one from back in the day, when I borrowed some money from him… which I know I did." He said, "So I agreed to let his son stay with me for a little while."

"Ok." AJ said, "Where is this going?"

"He said he was coming for you." Vincent said.

"Who?" AJ questioned.

"Rio." Vincent said, "Look, I think he thinks I'm on side. That he can trust me." He said.

"Vincent, he's in prison. He isn't coming for me." AJ shook her head.

"He's got people still working for him and running his business." Vincent said, "Look, I never thought anything of it. I put his son up in my house and then he left. I went to my mom's for Christmas and didn't think anything would happen and then I got pulled back by the cops to find out all of this is going on." Vincent said.

"Who is coming for me?" AJ asked.

"I think the people who work for him. He said this all started with you and it's gonna end with you." Vincent said as AJ looked at him.

"When was this?" AJ asked.

"About two months ago." Vincent said, "You and I both know how dangerous he can be, even when he's not around." He said, "All I'm saying is… be careful, and if you need any help… I still run with some of the boys from back in the day."

"No thank you." AJ laughed to herself.

"No, I'm serious. We're all good now. We moved on." Vincent nodded, "Learned our lessons." He said as AJ looked at him, "Like you and Phil."

"Why do you want to help me? I got you put in prison just like I did Phil." AJ said, "You should hate me."

"Going to prison turned my life around, actually." Vincent assured her, "I don't hate you. I'm grateful you did what you did." He said as AJ raised her eyebrows, "And I'm worried you and your family are in danger."

"Do you know anything about who is working for Rio? We had a run in with him and some of his guys months ago but… I never got any information."

"They're south side based, I know that." Vincent nodded, "But I can find out more for you." He said, "You can't be walking around on your own-"

"Oh, well clearly. You nearly pulled my arm out of the socket." AJ complained.

"Sorry." Vincent said, "I didn't want anyone to see." He said.

"What's your big plan? How do I know when these people are coming?" AJ asked, "Is it just one big waiting game?"

"Pretty much." Vincent said, "But we gotta make sure when they come, there's more of us-"

"Us? Who the hell is us?" AJ shook her head.

"Look, he was just defending Thea. He had to do something." Punk said, standing in the police station with Karen, "You gotta let him go."

"Just calm down." Karen nodded, "I just want to ask Dominic some questions, then I'm gonna want to talk to Thea too. Did you hear me arrest him for anything?" She questioned as Punk looked at her.

"Look… I know there are a ton of you in there who wanna see me or my family get arrested for something. It's like a fun game for you all." Punk said, "But Dominic doesn't deserve this. He was defending Thea, I mean he was defending Jude too… and any other girls who could end up being in danger of that prick-"

"Mister Brooks." Karen said sternly as Punk looked at her, "We are not your enemy." She made clear as Punk looked at her, "Let me do my job." She said as Punk looked at her, "I'll be questioning Dominic right now-"

"And what about Rio?" Punk asked.

"I have two police officers on their way to cook county jail right now." Karen said, "Right now you have to get Thea out of here. I could be a while with Dominic and I don't want her out here waiting with her son." She said, looking over at Thea who was sitting in the waiting area with James in her arms.

"Ok." Punk understood, "Ok." He said calmly.

"We're on your side, Mister Brooks." Karen assured him, "I'll be in touch over the next twenty four hours." She said, walking away into the back of the station as Punk sighed to himself, placing his hands on his hips as he watched Hamilton appear through some swing doors.

"Hey, you." Punk called on him as Hamilton looked over and rolled his eyes, walking over to him.

"What do you want?" Hamilton asked.

"I want you to make sure Dominic goes free." Punk said.

"Who?" Hamilton shook his head.

"My son-in-law. Go do your homework on it, go read about the hell my family are going through right now and then remember the times you spat on me and yelled to my wife and three year old daughter to go back to where they came from whilst they walked down the street." Punk said as Hamilton looked at him, "Dominic goes free." He said as Hamilton nodded slowly.

"I'll go see what's going on." Hamilton backed away slowly as Punk nodded, turning around and looking over at Thea who was sitting holding James, rocking him back and forth as she sat with dried in tears.

He walked over to her as she immediately stood up.

"Is he done? Are they letting him go?" Thea asked.

"They're gonna be talking to him for a little while. Karen is just asking some questions." Punk said, "But… he should be free to go once they're done." He said as Thea sighed, "I'm gonna take you to Sam's."

"No, I'm gonna wait here." Thea shook her head, sitting back down on the chair as Punk crouched down in front of her.

"This little guy needs a place to crash." Punk nodded to her.

"You can take him to Sam's then and I'll wait here on Dominic." Thea nodded.

"No." Punk shook his head, "One, I don't trust Sam with a child, and two… you can't sit here all night." He said, "I'm taking you to Sam's."

"What if they don't let him go? What if they arrest him?" Thea asked.

"They won't." Punk said, "Take a deep breath and pull yourself together." Punk said as Thea looked at him, "We're going to Sam's." He nodded.

Punk managed to get Thea out of the police station with James and drove her to his mother's house, grateful that she was actually home and sober.

"Keep an eye on her." Punk told Sam.

"What the hell happened? Are you gonna tell me?" Sam asked him.

"Dominic killed Jackson." Punk said. They were sticking to that story. All three of them had decided.

"Excuse me?" Sam shook her head, "What? Elaborate, please."

"Jackson got out of prison about a month ago. He's the one who attacked Jude." Punk said, "He came to Thea's house, cornered her, Dominic killed him." He said.

"I swear I only took a five hour nap." Sam shook her head with confusion.

"Yeah well things happen fast." Punk nodded.

"So they've arrested Dominic?" Sam asked.

"Not quite. They've got him in for questioning. But it.. it was self-defence." Punk said, "They've gotta let him go. Plus, are we all that upset about one less rapist in the world?" He shook his head.

"Well…" Sam nodded in agreement, "Where is Jude? Is she ok? Does she know it was Jackson?"

"She knows." Punk nodded, "She's with Sean and April at Sean's place. Cassie is with Dean and Renee." He said, "They got cops going to cook county to speak to Rio and see who has been paying him visits." He said.

"I swear that man has gotta get what is coming to him at some point." Sam sighed, "He's ruined so many lives. Including his own damn son's. Turned him into a mini me psychopath." She shook her head.

"Yeah well he's dead now." Punk said as Sam nodded slowly, "She's shaken up big time in there so keep your eye on her and… if you got any booze lying around, use your brain and put it away." He nodded.

"Where are you going now?" Sam questioned.

"To go see how Jude is." Punk said as Sam nodded.

"Ok, well… she's safe here." Sam assured him as Punk nodded slowly. Deep down, he knew he could trust his mother in a crisis, even if they had virtually no relationship what so ever.

"Yeah, well… call me if you need anything." Punk nodded, leaving the house and getting into his car, taking a deep breath a minute to himself to regain composure. It was then he took his phone out, looking at all the missed calls from AJ and from Dean. He then saw a text message from AJ telling him to come to Vincent's house right away.

Punk sped away to Vincent's house, worried and concerned for his wife, from one heart palpitation to the next. He parked up outside the house, locking his car over and running up the steps to the house.

He couldn't understand why AJ would be here, it worried him, he felt like things weren't safe around him. He had a feeling his family just weren't safe. If there was one thing he knew from his younger days, it was that Rio always had a back-up plan for a back-up plan.

He walked into the house, not bothering to knock, pausing for a second as he heard chatter, as if it was coming from many people in the living room.

He slowly opened up the living room door, opening it up wide and pausing as he looked on. There was many things he was expecting. This was not it.

He looked over at AJ and Dean who were standing by the window, and then he saw Marina's family, he saw Vincent and some guys he remembered from when he was younger and foolish.

"W-What the hell is going on?" Punk shook his head, walking over to AJ and Dean.

"We wanna help." Vincent said as Punk turned to him.

"So do we." Marina's sister spoke up as she stood with her family.

"Help with what?" Punk looked at them, turning to AJ and Dean with confusion.

"I don't think this is over yet." AJ shook her head.