"So, now we know what happened to the mortician," Bo Brady said in conclusion to his recap of the events at the cemetery.

Steve, sitting on the couch beside Kayla, his arms draped loosely on the sofa back behind her, reached up his other hand to rub his forehead as if to sooth the tension in his brow. "Who didn't see that coming?" he asked, quietly.

"Yeah," Bo agreed solemnly. "Roman was hoping it would be empty, but we all knew this was a strong possibility. If not a probability."

Kayla, as always, felt the loss of life in a profound way. "I know he shouldn't have gotten caught up in this mess to begin with, but it's a shame he didn't just leave town, like everyone thought. Do we know why he agreed to help those people?"

Bo shook his head. "Not yet. There are many ways to lure people into doing things they wouldn't ordinarily do. They could have offered him money, or they might have blackmailed him by digging up some dirt on him, or threatening his family, if he had one."

"I was going to ask if he had family," Kayla said.

"Hopefully, that's one of the questions we'll have answered once we arrest these guys. We'd sure like to talk to them if he does, to see if they can shed some light on his activities leading up to his disappearance."

"Where do we go from here?" Steve asked.

Bo gave a shrug, indicating that no decisions had been made. "At this point, I'm afraid we're in a holding pattern. We know so little about these people or what they're after. We know they're probably here in Salem, but we have no idea where to look for them. Except for Vaughn, we don't even know who they are. We do know that Vaughn is not the mastermind of this operation, but we don't know who this person is or specifically what it is they're after. We suspect he's working with Alamain, given the fact that a man using one of his aliases purchased your house, but how did they meet up, and what is in it for them to form this alliance?"

"Whatever it is, it must be huge," Steve said. "Otherwise, it would not have been practical for them to hold me all that time. Not that they spent that much money on me personally, but that's a long time to keep guards employed. So, this all means that my family and I are stuck here until we learn more," he concluded.

Behind him, sitting on the staircase, no one heard Stephanie's quiet sigh. She had been listening to the conversation from partway up the staircase, her forehead pressed against the decorative supports. The supports reminded her of jail bars, which seemed an irony to her youthful mind. She was old enough to understand that until the situation was resolved, she would be staying in that tiny cottage with her parents, safely tucked away from whoever the people were who had kidnapped her father, but young enough to feel resentment about the inconvenience of it.

"I'm afraid so," Bo confirmed, answering Steve's question.

Kayla, as always, tried to put on a good face. "Well, it isn't exactly how I would have planned a reunion, but at least we're all together now, and we're safe. That's the important thing."

Steve pressed his lips to the side of her head, allowing them to linger there a few moments, before withdrawing. "We'll get through it," he promised.

They heard the buzz of the intercom, announcing that it was being activated, and a moment later they heard a voice say, "Agent Donovan is at the gate. He says it's urgent."

Bo exchanged glances with Steve. "We didn't expect to hear from him until later this afternoon. Maybe he's learned something." Raising his voice, he said, "Let him in."

"I wonder what's up," Steve said as Bo went to the window and parted the drape with his hand to watch for the agent.

When Shane's rental car entered the clearing a few moments later, Bo punched the security code into the alarm, then opened the door, surprised to see someone in the passenger seat. "He has someone with him," he announced over his shoulder.

A scowl crossed Steve's brow. "Not one of those I.S.A. agents, I hope."

"No, it's Kim," he announced as the woman stepped out of the car.

"Kim?" Kayla responded, surprised, exchanging a glance with Steve, then both of them stood up to greet their guests. "What's she doing here?"

"They had dinner together last night, along with Jeannie," he told her, then fell silent as the couple approached the porch.

"What's up?" Bo asked as the Englishman and his ex-wife slipped through the door. "The guard said it was urgent."

"Complications," Shane said, glancing briefly at him before his attention went to Steve. "A major complication, I'm afraid, one that will probably change everything in the way we handle this case."

Bo secured the door behind him, and Kim went forward, with outstretched arms, to greet her brother in law. "Steve, Shane told me what happened to you. I'm so happy you've come back."

He embraced her warmly. "It's good to be back," he told her.

Releasing him, Kim hugged her sister, sharing her joy, then they and Steve sank onto the sofa again. Bo and Shane sat down in the wing chairs.

"It's bad news, isn't it?" Kayla asked, observing Shane's troubled expression. "You look worried."

Shane nodded. "It isn't something we had expected, but I suppose we should have suspected might happen. Steve, I got a call a few minutes ago from Vaughn. He says he has your sister."

Kayla felt Steve's body flinch in reaction to the news. "He has Adrienne?" he asked, hoarsely.

"He says he has her," Shane repeated, then glanced at his wrist watch. "He's going to call me back in about 40 minutes, and we'll ask for proof, which obviously will be a demand to speak to her. What we need to do until then is figure out how we plan to handle this."

"If he hurts her-" Steve began.

"He assured me that she's fine, but we'll get some insight into her physical and mental state when we talk to her."

"Could it be a bluff?" Bo asked.

"I think he's telling the truth," Shane admitted. "Finding out where she lives would be a simple matter for him. I was thinking about it on the way over here. The man I had watching Kayla reported that the perp who was also watching her disappeared yesterday morning and hasn't been seen since. I thought he had realized he had been spotted and abandoned his surveillance, but now I suspect he was pulled off Kayla and sent to Adrienne instead. She was an easier target because she was not being watched." He turned his attention to the one-eyed man, his expression one of regret. "I'm sorry, Steve. Because of the distance, I never considered her a target."

"If he kidnapped her that fast, they must have had a plane waiting just in case," Kayla said. "I mean, Adrienne lives in Dallas. That's not exactly a hop, skip, and a jump from here."

"That makes sense," Bo agreed. "I doubt he flew commercial, so they must have had a contingency plan already in place to avoid possible airline delays and security checkpoints. Did Vaughn make any demands when he contacted you?"

"He had only one demand," Shane said. "He wants Steve in exchange for Adrienne."

"No!" Kayla protested. "He can't have him!"

"Kayla -" Steve began, only to be cut off by his wife's objection.

"That isn't an option. We have to think of some other way!"

"Vaughn clearly thinks that Steve will react exactly as he did when Adrienne shot and killed her father. Steve, you were stubbornly determined to go to prison rather than let Adrienne be investigated, an investigation that no doubt would have exonerated her, but I have to caution you that turning yourself over to them is no guaranteed that they will free her."

Kayla placed her hand urgently on Steve's shoulder, a gesture intended to remind him of her and Stephanie. "You can't go along with their demands," she said fearfully.

A long, tense moment of silence followed her pleas, during which time all eyes fell upon Steve Johnson, remembering his habit of insisting on doing things his own way, usually as a lone maverick. Steve was looking directly at Shane, and Kayla sensed that a silent communication had passed between them, as if the time they had spent together during their departure from England and their flight had heightened their mutual respect and understanding.

"It's your call, Steve," Shane prompted. "But I think you know what the best option is."

Steve nodded, slowly. "Yeah. I've matured past the point of thinking I can handle this on my own and it turn out in a positive way. Like you said, they might not release her anyway. Obviously, we're going to have to think of a plan that will make them think I'm willing to hand myself over to them while the cops spring a trap."

Shane nodded. "I agree."

"We can't risk Adrienne, though," he cautioned. "They must absolutely believe that I'm agreeing to their terms."

"Bait?" Kayla asked, horrified. "You're going to use yourself as bait? What if-" She almost gulped at the thought. "I just got you back. What is something goes wrong?"

"That's why we're going to plan this very carefully," Shane told her. "First and foremost, agreeing to the exchange buys us some time. When Vaughn calls back, we must have an answer for him. We'll have to negotiate a time and a place, and with any luck, we'll be able to get some security measures in place."

"And won't they be doing exactly the same thing?" Kayla challenged.

Shane nodded. "Yes, I'm sure they will. I called Roman on the way over here and apprized him of the situation. He's on his way now, and should be here before the call comes in. We're going to do everything possible to protect Steve, I assure you."

Kayla understood, but was not comforted by his assurances. "There's no way to guarantee that everything will go as planned. I couldn't bear losing you again."

"I know, baby," Steve said affectionately. "Shane really saved my bacon back in England. I had no one else to turn to, but he came through for me, even risking himself to get me home. He's earned my trust."

Kayla recognized the significance of that. Steve did not bestow his trust casually on anyone. It was awarded slowly, with great caution. Her eyes sought out her former brother in law, who watched somberly, also understanding the value of Steve's comment, and she felt compelled to explain her concern. "I trust him too. It's Vaughn and his men that I don't trust. I remember what he did to Marlena."

"He didn't hurt her," Shane reminded her. "He just used her to force Roman to go to Stockholm after the bonds. For what it's worth, I don't think Vaughn was involved in the killing of that mortician. He's a bitter, angry man, but he has never been a murderer."

"You don't know that for certain," Kayla insisted. "Desperate people are capable of desperate things. After all those years in prison, there's no telling what he's capable of. You don't know who murdered that mortician."

"I know, but I'm pretty sure it was probably one of Alamain's people. We know that family is not above murder to get what they want, and they're certainly capable of killing someone to keep him silent." He glanced pointedly at his watch, indicating that time was passing, and they must have a plan in motion before the phone call came in.

Kim noticed the gesture and recognized her ex-husband's frustration in using valuble time to reassure Kayla. She placed an arm around her sister's shoulder. "Tell you what. Why don't you and I go make some coffee? This looks like it's going to be a pretty intense meeting, and I'm sure everyone could use it."

"That's a wonderful idea," Shane said, looking at his ex-wife with a mixture of gratitude and admiration for her perception. Kayla's objections were made out of her strong emotions on the subject, and it would be easier to discuss the details if she was not in the room.

Kayla looked from Kim to Shane, and was not fooled for a moment. "I know what you're trying to do," she accused, resentfully. "I have a vested interest in this!"

"Please, Kay," Kim prodded, gently, reaching out to take her sister's hand as she stood up. "I'm not trying to undermine your concern for what is happening here, but I think you and I can help more by getting out of the way for a while."

Kayla's first instinct was to resist, but Kim maintained a firm hold on her hand.

"We'll just be in the next room," Kim urged.

Reluctantly, she submitted to her sister's tug on her hand, and the two women went into the kitchen.

"I was not being unreasonable," Kayla said defiantly as she removed the coffee container from the cupboard and thumped it down on the counter top with more force than necessary.

"No one said you were unreasonable," Kim said soothingly, hoping to calm her down. "All of your concerns are valid, and you have every right to be worried. He's your husband, and a terrible injustice was done to him and to his family, but I think we just need to give them a little space and let them work out some details before Vaughn calls back." She gave a disbelieving shake of her head. "Who would have ever thought we would be dealing with Vaughn again."

"I don't care about him. I only care about what they're planning to do with Steve."

"I know, but they need everything to be prepared before they put Steve into a position that could be dangerous."

"I don't like the idea of putting him in danger in the first place," Kayla said. "And I know Adrienne won't like it either." She reached for the coffee pot, and gripped the handle tightly in her hand. "Damn them for everything they've done to us. Damn them all to hell!" The strength of the outburst was unusual for the typically mild mannered Kayla.

"I think I'd better take that," Kim said, grasping the delicate glass pot and carefully removing it from her sister's hand. "You just sit down over there, and let me make the coffee."

"Maybe you're right," Kayla agreed. Retreating to the table, she sat down and watched while her older sister made the coffee.

Several moments of uncomfortable silence passed as Kim made the coffee. Kayla calmed herself by pondering the unexpected fact that Kim had accompanied Shane to the safe house.

"So, is something going on with you and Shane?" she asked, breaking the silence

Kim's hesitation was brief, almost imperceptible, but Kayla noticed it. "I'm not really sure anything is going on. We got together for supper with Jeannie as a family last night, and I think we all had a good time, but that's all it was. We met for breakfast for the same reason, and he did suggest we do it again tonight, but . . ." Her voice trailed, and she gave a shrug, unwilling to read more into his attention than a favor for their daughter.

"Sounds to me like he may be testing the water," Kayla suggested.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Kim said with a rather embarrassed smile. "He's missed so much of Jeannie's life. I think he just wants to give her some special family time while we're all in town together." When she finished getting the coffee started, she pulled out a chair and sat down across from her sister. "I'm really happy that you and Steve are getting a second chance, but I'm not sure it'll happen with Shane and me."

As Kayla observed her sister's expression, she suspected that Kim wanted to talk about it, but was uncertain how or where to being. "How would you feel if it did?" she prompted.

The question seemed to catch Kim off guard, and she reached for the salt shaker on the center of the table just to have something in her hand, to have something to look at besides her sister's face, as if fearful that Kayla might see into her heart. "I don't know," she admitted with a shrug. "We had some really great times together, but we had some really bad times too, especially at the last. After Jeannie was born and we learned that Shane really was the father, I hoped maybe we might work things out, but it just didn't happen. Shane was hurt, I was hurt. It just wasn't there anymore." She sighed with bitter regret. "I should have used more restraint where Cal was concerned."

"You were vulnerable," Kayla reminded her. "You thought Shane was dead. I, of all people, can understand the pain of that."

"Yeah, but . . . . Shane saw us, you know? Cal and me. I feel mortified just thinking about that." After a moment or contemplative silence, she said, "I think my past will always be a stumbling block for us. The thought that Jeannie might not be his was just too much, especially when the same thing happened with Andrew. What he must think of me. I can't really blame him for giving up on me. I used some really bad judgment at some very important times. He's being more civil to me than I really deserve."

"It's obvious he still cares," Kayla pointed out. "Even Steve mentioned it."

Kim looked up, and Kayla saw a glimmer of something that might have been hope or interest in her eyes. Then it faded. "I'm sure he's just being polite. You know Shane. I am enjoying his being here, and if he's interested in going out and seeing how things are, testing the water as you put it, I might be open to that. But I'm not going to set myself up for disappointment."

Kayla's expression was sympathetic and understanding. "You still love him, don't you?"

Kim seemed reluctant to admit it, but her avoidance of a definitive answer was confirmation enough. "It's been too many years to get my hopes up, you know? It's up to him to make the first move, and even if he does, I'm not going to read too much into it."

"I can understand that," Kayla said, backing away from the questions. She was known as being relentlessly pushy when she was passionate on a particular topic, but she did not want to badger her sister. " I think it's great that you and Shane can get along well. It's good for the kids when both parents are civil."

"Yeah, it is."

Before they could say any more, the buzz of the intercom preceded the announcement of another visitor, and both women automatically turned toward it.

"Must be Roman," Kayla said. Irresistibly drawn back to the crisis at hand, she stood up and found a serving tray in the cupboard. "The coffee's ready," she noted, glancing at the full pot. "If you'll take that, I'll get the mugs."

After placing the mugs on the tray, Kayla returned to the front room. Kim followed with the coffee pot.