A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 18: Too generous to trifle with me

"We're here."

After hours of driving, Taylor finally pulled into a seedy-looking motel on the side of the highway; it had a very creepy, decrepit look to it, right down to the peeling brown paint on the side of the building and the blinking red letters of the neon MOTEL sign. Only about three or four cars were in the parking lot, and Christian saw one of them had Oregon license plates.

"That's their car," Christian said, undoing his seatbelt. "You stay here and I'll find the room they're in."

"Sir, that's really not advisable," Taylor said seriously. "We don't know the situation we're walking into. For all you know, Jack could have a weapon on him."

"I know Jack. He's never owned a weapon in his life - he'd rather flatter and charm his way out of a bad situation," Christian stated. "If I need help, I'll call you. Otherwise, I think it's best if I do this alone."

Taylor hesitated a moment before reluctantly nodding. "If you say so, sir."

Christian got out of the car and walked across the parking lot toward the front office, where he saw a fat balding man standing and leaning against a desk while idly thumbing through a magazine.

"Good afternoon, sir. How can I help you?" the guy asked in a bored voice when Christian approached.

"Hi, I'm looking for a couple who just checked in. A blonde guy and a brown-haired girl," Christian explained. "Their names are Jack and Leila, could you tell me - ?"

"I'm sorry sir, I can't reveal private guest information," the guy interrupted, turning back to his magazine. "You'll have to check into your own room or leave."

Christian stared at the guy for a moment before reaching into his pocket for his wallet. He pulled out a hundred dollar bill and tossed it onto the desk, right in the guy's line of sight. "I just need their room number."

The guy picked up the bill and folded it, tucking it into the front pocket of his Tommy Bahama shirt. "Room 201. Down the hall, up the stairs, second door you see."

"Thanks," Christian said, turning around and heading back out the door.

Since this was a dingy motel, all the rooms led outside onto a long balcony. Christian headed down the first floor walkway before reaching the staircase, which was basically a rickety fire escape. Once he was on the second floor, Christian spotted room 201, and he walked right up to the door before knocking.

There were a few moments of silence before he knocked again, and he heard a scuffling sound of footsteps from behind the door. The person on the other side hesitated, as if nervous.

"Who is it?" a muffled female voice sounded from behind the door.

"Leila? It's Christian," he said. "Can you open the door?"

There was another brief silence before he heard the lock unclick and Leila crack open the door. She peered out at Christian, frowning in confusion.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked, opening the door wider and glancing down the walkway to see if anyone else was with him. "Did my family send you?"

"No, they don't know I'm here," Christian said. "But I'm going to bring you back to them."

"What?" Leila looked up at him, eyes wide. "No, I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Where's Jack?" Christian asked, changing tack.

"None of your business," Leila snapped.

Christian ignored her as he pushed his way through the door and into the motel room, gazing around. It was an ugly room with dark wood-paneled walls, brown carpeting, and an old television set that looked like it was from the eighties. The sheets on the bed were messed up, but aside from that no one else was here.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Leila screeched as Christian strode over to the closed door on the opposite side of the room. "Get out!"

Christian ignored her as he opened the door, which led to the bathroom. He flicked on the lights and glanced around, seeing it was empty. "You're here by yourself?"

"Obviously," Leila snapped. "What is your problem?"

"Did he hurt you?" Christian asked, turning the bathroom lights off before facing Leila again. "Jack?"

"No!" Leila insisted.

"Are you pregnant?"

Leila blanched. "What? No, of course not!"

"Then why are you two going to Las Vegas to get married?"

Leila blinked, clearly shocked that he knew about that. "I don't have to explain myself to you," she stated.

"Leila?"

Jack now appeared in the doorway, a crease in his brow as his eyes darted between Leila and Christian. He was wearing a simple white t-shirt and jeans, and in his hands he held two cans of Coke and a small bag of chips, clearly from the downstairs vending machine.

"Jack!" Leila cried, and she rushed toward him and practically tackled him in a hug, holding him around his waist. "He just barged in, I couldn't stop him."

Jack ignored her as he stared right at Christian, and Christian stared right back. It had been over a year since Christian laid eyes on this piece of shit - his hair was a bit shaggier and he had lost a bit of weight, but apart from that he didn't look any different.

"Christian," Jack greeted him, his voice cold.

"Jack," Christian said indifferently, glancing at Leila who was still clinging to him like a barnacle. "Still up to old habits, I see. Does she have an inheritance too?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jack said smoothly, stepping away from Leila and moving over to the TV stand to set down his chips and soda. He then walked back over to Leila and cupped her face in one of his hands, brushing her cheek with his thumb. "Are you alright, baby?"

"Yeah," Leila nodded.

"Jesus Christ, Jack. She's seventeen," Christian growled. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Our relationship is none of your business," Jack said casually, turning back to Christian while wrapping an arm around Leila's waist, holding her to his side. "What's it to you?"

"Her family is worried sick about her," Christian countered. "They're scared something seriously bad has happened to her."

"Well, you can see right now that she's perfectly fine," Jack said smarmily. "So you can go fuck off."

"Are you sure my family doesn't know we're here?" Leila suddenly asked, and Christian looked at her.

"Yes, I'm sure," he said.

Jack raised his eyebrows at Christian in amusement before laughing. "Oh I see… you're playing the hero! Mr. Hero Christian Grey, what the hell would any of us do without you?"

"Shut the fuck up," Christian snapped at him. "I'm taking Leila back with me to Portland, end of story."

"No!" Leila snapped. "Jack and I are in love, and we're going to Vegas to get married! You can't stop us!"

"Leila, come on," Christian said, his voice almost chastising. "You must see how idiotic this is! You're underage and you've willingly abandoned your family to cross state lines with this asshole."

"Why did you come here, huh?" Jack asked Christian before Leila could respond; he released her waist before taking a step forward, glaring at Christian. "Was it really only because of Leila, or was it because of something else?"

"I don't need to explain anything to you," Christian glared at him. "But getting you the hell out of my life once and for all is a good enough motivation to be here."

"Me getting hitched to Leila has nothing to do with you," Jack said, raising his eyebrows at Christian with a knowing smirk. "Or does it? Her family certainly does… or more accurately, Ana does."

"Shut up," Christian growled.

"The way she always talked about you… she hated your guts, dude," Jack chuckled, unrelenting. "Then all of a sudden she stopped talking shit about you and started being nicer. I should have realized there must've been something going on between the two of you. I'm sure it really cut you up inside knowing that she had a thing for me…"

"Fucking hell Jack, her sister is right there," Christian interrupted, gesturing toward Leila. "Will you give it a rest?"

"Not until you leave," Jack snapped back. "Why the hell did you even come here in the first place?"

"I told you, I'm here to bring Leila back to her family," Christian insisted. "Whatever it takes to get her to go back home and away from you, I will do it."

"Oh really?" Jack asked skeptically, crossing his arms. "And what on earth would possibly convince me to just leave her?"

Christian raised his chin slightly and squared his shoulders. "I'll give you my penthouse apartment in New York City."

There was a brief moment of stunned silence before Leila let out an incredulous laugh. "Oh my God, seriously? You're bribing him with a stupid apartment? How shallow do you think he is?"

Jack didn't seem to share Leila's incredulity as he stared at Christian, as if trying to assess how serious he was. "Your New York penthouse? The one on Fifth Avenue?" he asked after a moment.

"Yes," Christian nodded.

"Rent-free?"

"Rent-free."

Jack narrowed his eyes at him. "You're lying," he stated. "What's the catch?"

"The catch is that you leave Leila right now and let her go back home to her family," Christian said. "You'll stay in New York and never come back to Portland or Seattle, and you'll never contact Leila, the Steele's, or my family ever again."

Jack raised his eyebrows before letting out a snort, reaching out a hand. "You've got yourself a deal."

"Wait, Jack," Leila said, staring at him in shock and disbelief. "Wh-what are you doing…?"

"It's just business, sweetheart," Jack said to her callously, still holding his hand out to Christian. Christian didn't take it, however.

"If you break any part of the deal, or if I get even a whiff of you fucking around my company while you're over there, you will be kicked out of that apartment before you even blink," Christian growled. "And you will pay me back every cent of rent money you owe me. Do you understand?"

"Crystal clear," Jack said without hesitation. "Don't worry, I don't want anything to do with you and your stupid company anymore. Shake my hand and I'll be out of your hair forever."

Christian glared at him for a moment or two, trying to see if he was being sincere or not, before finally grasping his hand and giving it a firm shake, sealing the deal.

"Jack, what the hell?!" Leila sobbed from behind him. "Why are you doing this to me?"

Jack ignored her as he walked over to the bed to grab his empty duffel bag, beginning to toss his things in.

"I'll purchase you a plane ticket," Christian said, but Jack shook his head.

"Don't trouble yourself. I'll find my own way," he said, grabbing his jacket from the armchair and pulling it on. "Maybe I'll drive there," he added thoughtfully.

Christian gave him an incredulous look. "You're going to drive across the country to New York City?"

"Yeah, why not? It's not like I'm on a time crunch or anything," Jack said, zipping up his duffel bag. "And my car is really the only thing I have that's worth bringing with me. It's not like I own a house or have rent to pay or anything."

He finished packing up his few possessions before hoisting the duffel bag over his shoulder and grabbing one of the cans of Coke from the TV stand. He stopped and looked over at Leila, who was still crying.

"Oh lighten up, sweetheart. It never would've worked out between the two of us anyway," Jack said without remorse. And with that, he strode to the door, opened it, and walked out without so much as a goodbye.

There was a brief silence after the door closed behind him.

"YOU ASSHOLE!"

Leila, still with tears in her eyes, charged up to Christian and began pounding him on the chest with her fists, sobbing. Christian tried to grab her by the wrists, and once he did she began flailing madly.

"Let go of me!" she cried, now trying to stomp on his feet. "You've ruined everything! Why would you do this to me?!"

"Leila," Christian said calmly, still trying to hold onto her struggling wrists. "Leila, please calm down."

"I love him, you asshole!" Leila cried. She managed to yank her wrists free from his grasp and make a run for the door, but Christian quickly caught her around the waist.

"He's gone Leila. He's not coming back," he insisted as she struggled against him. "He was going to leave whether I suggested it or not. There's nothing you can do."

Leila finally slumped against him, still crying in despair. Christian gently released her, and she dropped to her hands and knees, weeping. Christian knelt there, silent as he watched her.

"He loved me," Leila sobbed, sniffling as she wiped her eyes with her wrist. "He said he loved me."

Christian looked down at the floor. "Yeah… he said that to my sister a few months ago before abandoning her too."

That finally seemed to catch Leila's attention. She stopped crying and finished wiping her eyes before looking up at Christian. "Really?" she asked quietly

Christian nodded. "Yeah. I've known Jack my whole life, Leila. Trust me when I say that he's bad news."

Leila stared at him for a moment before looking away. "God, I'm such an idiot," she muttered after a moment. "I should have known he was taking advantage of me. How could I be so stupid?"

"Jack tends to do that to people," Christian said coldly. "It's not your fault, Leila."

"He made me feel loved," she sniffled, still wiping the tears from her eyes. "No one's ever made me feel loved before."

"I'm sure that's not true," Christian said, frowning slightly. "Your family loves you… your parents and your sisters."

"No," Leila immediately shook her head. "They don't love me."

"What are you talking about?" Christian said, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "Of course they love you."

"No, they don't," Leila said, sounding like she was on the verge of tears again. "They hate me. I've treated them like garbage for months, and so they act like I'm this ticking time bomb that's about to go off at any second. My parents and I fight all the time, and my sisters and I used to get along, but now they never have time for me anymore…"

"Just because you fight with your parents sometimes and your sisters have busy schedules doesn't mean they don't love you," Christian argued. "Your family does love you - they always will. I was actually with Ana in Seattle when she got the news about you running away, and she was very upset. She had been really looking forward to spending your birthday with you."

Leila looked up at Christian, tears still shining in her eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah," Christian said. "Ana loves you, and you will always be her family, no matter how busy she is. And that goes for Kate and your parents too."

Leila sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her wrist once again. "I don't know how I'm ever going to face them again."

"You can do it. All they want is for you to come home," Christian assured her. He hesitated a moment before going on: "I can fly you back to Portland, but you need to call your parents yourself. Don't tell them I was here... tell them after Jack left you, you used what little money you had to take a bus back to Portland."

Leila frowned at him in confusion. "What? Why would I lie?"

"Your family doesn't know that I'm here," Christian explained. "And I'm kind of overstepping my bounds being here right now. It's best if they don't know of my involvement in getting you back home."

"But why get involved in the first place?" Leila asked. "Is it just because you hate Jack?"

Christian was quiet a moment or two, unsure of how to answer. "I mentioned before that I was with Ana when she got the news of you running away, and she was very upset by it. I wanted to help any way that I could, even if she won't know what I did."

Leila gave him a small smile. "You really like her, huh?"

Christian smiled slightly, but didn't respond. "Are you ready to come back with me now?"

Leila nodded, wiping the last tear from her eye. "Yeah," she muttered, pushing herself to her feet. "I'm ready."

"Then let's go," Christian said, getting to his feet as well.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! Next up, Leila comes home to Portland and reunites with her family.

If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you thought :)