Jason stepped out of Alexis's penthouse, surprised to find Sonny waiting in the hallway for him.
"Carly's in there," Sonny said, jerking his thumb towards Penthouse 4. "We can talk out here."
"Does she know about Elizabeth staying in the building?"
Sonny smirked. "If she knew Elizabeth was staying in the same building, do you think it would be this quiet?"
"She can't know about this right now, Sonny. Elizabeth is going through a lot right now, and I don't want her to have to worry about Carly on top of-"
"I know, I know," Sonny said, holding his hand up to stop Jason. "My main concern right now is making sure Elizabeth is comfortable and safe. For now, Carly doesn't need to know."
Sighing, Jason ran his hands over his face. "We need to find this person, Sonny. He needs to pay for doing this to her."
"We will, Jason."
"She's scared, Sonny… she tried to act like it doesn't bother her, but I can see that she's lying." He sighed, leaning against the hallway wall. "I want this over. I don't want her to have to lie anymore."
"She-"
"Sonny?"
Both Sonny and Jason jumped at the sound of Carly's voice. Shaking his head, Jason looked down. He was getting distracted. He hadn't even heard her open the penthouse door and step outside.
Carly smiled at Jason as she walked up, wrapping her arm around Sonny's waist. "What are the two of you doing here, talking in the hallway?" Her voice was teasing as she grinned up at both men. "Talking about me?"
Sonny and Jason shared a look over Carly's head. "Business."
Frowning, Carly rolled her eyes playfully. " I KNOW you're lying, Sonny. I heard you say something about a woman. You said 'she,' I heard you. And I know you don't involve women in you business." Her last statement had a bit of resentment in it and Sonny leaned his head back, letting out a sigh.
"Carly… I thought you learned not to eavesdrop."
She glared, punching him lightly in the stomach. "I wasn't eavesdropping, I was walking out of my HOME into the hallway and I happened to walk in on a conversation between my husband, and my best friend… and I KNOW they were talking about me."
The door to he elevator slid open and all three looked towards it as Johnny stepped off, a small black bag in his had. "Boss, I brought more of Miss-"
Johnny froze when he saw Carly. His eyes darted over to Sonny and then Jason, before landing on Carly, who looked up at him curiously.
"I…" He looked at Sonny for help but the man was just shaking his head to the ceiling. "I have Ms… Davis's papers. Right…" Holding up the bag, he tried shrugged.
"Why does Alexis keep papers in a duffel bag?" Carly asked, shaking her head. "Sonny why do you keep a lawyer who obviously don't know how to do her job."
Sonny sighed, running his hands over his face. "Alexis is a good attorney."
"But Sonny-"
"You know what?" Jason asked, cutting in as he grabbed the bag from Johnny's hands. "I'm going to take this into… Alexis. I need to talk to her."
Sonny nodded pulling on Carly's hand to take her to the door. Carly's eyes lingered after Jason and when she looked back at her husband, she was frowning. "What is that about? Since when is Jason spending time with Alexis Davis?"
"Carly…"
Carly's eyes widened. "Oh no, Sonny… tell me it's not true. I told him not to fall for Elizabeth Webber and I was hoping he'd listen but…" She walked into the penthouse and waited for the door to close before she turned towards her husband.
"Don't tell me Jason likes Alexis!"
Jason stood in front of the guestroom door in Alexis's penthouse. He leaned against it for a second before straightening and giving a small knock. The door opened a moment later and Elizabeth stepped back, wordlessly letting him in.
There were papers crumpled up haphazardly around the room and her sketchbook lay on the middle of the floor. "Is everything ok?"
Blushing, Elizabeth rushed past Jason, leaning over to pick up the papers. She hastily threw them in the garbage before turning back towards him. "Everything's fine… fine…" She looked down at his hands and noticed the bag. "Are those my things? Johnny said he was going to bring some more stuff and…"
She trailed off when Jason grabbed her hand and her eyes immediately went up to his. His blue gaze burned into her.
"Elizabeth…"
"I'm working on a new painting," she said, stepping away from him. His gaze was too intense and she needed to step back. "I'm trying to work on the sketches but it's not going very well. It's just been so hard, you know? I haven't been having any ideas lately, and I can't force them or anything and… it's just frustrating."
Jason caught her arm again and once more, she found herself gazing into his eyes, and this time, she couldn't pull away, even if she had wanted to. "Elizabeth…"
"I'm trying to be strong here, Jason," she whispered, unable to take her eyes off of his.
"You don't have to be strong around me."
"I keep thinking about… who would do this to me? Does someone hate me that much?"
Jason's hand moved to the back of her head and he pulled her closer until she was in his arms, her head tucked under his chin. "We'll figure this out."
He felt her shake in his arms and her voice trembled when she spoke. "I can't be strong much longer. I can't…"
Rocking slightly, Jason held her, feeling the wetness of her tears on his chest. "You don't have to be strong anymore, Elizabeth… I can be strong enough for the both of us."
He felt her shoulders shake violently as a sob escaped her and he held her as she cried. Her legs gave out from under her and caught her, the two of them slowly sliding to the floor a second later. He moved back and forth, his hand running through her hair in an attempt to comfort her as she cried.
When her sobbed quieted, Jason pulled back, cupping her face with both hands. His thumbs ran over his cheeks to wipe her tears, his eyes following their movement. Without a word, he picked her up, placing her in the bed and wrapping the blankets around her. Elizabeth snuggled into the warmth of the bed, closing her eyes lightly.
When she felt Jason pull away, she reached out, grabbing his hand with her own. Her eyes opened and she looked up at him, her eyes still shimmering from her tears. "Don't leave me…"
Jason nodded, reaching to pull the desk chair towards the bed. Sitting down, he scooted the chair closer to the bed and he waited for Elizabeth to close her eyes before he leaned back.
Reaching out, he grabbed her hands with his own. He felt her squeeze it gently before he shifted, letting their fingers intertwine as their arms dangled between the two of them.
Jeremy whistled softly to himself as he walked down he docks away from Kelly's. Elizabeth hadn't been there that night, but he was sure he'd see her tomorrow.
He was counting on it.
Jogging up the stairs, he had just turned the corner when a pair of hands came out from behind, pulling him off into an alleyway. A hand clamped over his mouth and another one pushed hard into his stomach.
The hands let him go and Jeremy straightened, glaring when he saw the person in front of him. "What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to scare the crap out of me?"
The man frowned, shaking his head. "I've got a message for you, Barker… from Mr. Sorel."