This, my friends, is what's called "cutting to the chase". :-) And for all those who are faint-of-heart, you best avoid it. This is the good stuff. It's not rated R for no reason, you know. Thanks for the 'good luck's on my finals! I love your guys' comments! You're the sweetest.
And I know I promised no Sonny/Jax but I'm all about realism (well, as much as one can be in the world of GH) and we all know they wouldn't disappear from Brenda's life completely so I have to add them in every now and then. No worries; I'm Brazen all the way. :-) So get on with the show.
I'm With You
Jason held the curtain slightly aside as he peered down at the street below. Brenda entered the living room with her plate of food that room service had brought up. Abandoning the horrible television, she had decided Jason would be better entertainment than that programming.
"Something's wrong," she stated, folding into the chair at the small table. "Don't you think? It's been nearly two days and Sonny hasn't called."
Jason hadn't moved as he observed the surroundings of the busy street.
"Maybe he went after Luis?" Brenda went on. "Maybe he found him but had to track him down somewhere."
Jason knew something was askew but he wasn't sure what. Alcazar was definitely not in Port Charles. He was close.
She noticed he wasn't responding to her. She knew he was listening, though; even when he pretended he wasn't, he always heard her.
"And I think maybe Carly was abducted by aliens and Sonny revealed himself to be a government official who was undercover the whole time and who was just trying to scout a human to be taken."
Jason's brow furrowed slightly at her comments but he didn't take his eyes off of whatever was on the street.
"All right," she sighed as she stood. "What is it?"
"There's a guy that's surveying the place," he murmured. "He was here before we were."
"What does that mean?"
"It means Alcazar probably has men at all the major hotels, reporting in to him if they see us."
Brenda sighed with resignation. Jason turned to meet her eyes as she said, "So we're running again."
"Not yet," he replied. "We'll wait one more day for Sonny. If he doesn't call… We'll have to find somewhere else to hide."
"We could get lost in Europe," Brenda noted, picking up a deck of cards and settling into the couch.
"Yeah, I thought about it," he said, taking one last glance at the guy below then going to the coffee table as well. "He may just follow us, though. The airports are probably being monitored just like the hotels."
Brenda dealt the cards through the silence. She laughed to herself for a moment and he gave her a curious look.
"What?" he inquired.
"I still can't believe sometimes that we got married in Vegas," she grinned. Jason smiled gently and she went on. "I mean, what do you think we would have said if someone told us five or six years ago that we would elope – that the first marriage we ever had would be to each other?"
Jason's smile grew as he observed his cards.
"Still," she quietly continued. "It's not as bad as I thought it would be."
He allowed himself to glance at her and she was watching her cards. "Yeah," he agreed.
They played the cards in silence for a long while until she spoke suddenly.
"I can't do this much longer."
He looked up at her, knowing she wasn't talking about the cards.
"Hiding in random hotels from goons. Do you think I want to spend the rest of my coherent years running from Luis?"
"It will be over soon," he promised. "I'll make sure of it."
"You can't guarantee that," she stated. "Besides, Luis will kill you just as easily as he will Jax or Sonny; if you're in his way, he'll just remove you."
"He won't kill me-"
"What if he does?" she snapped and he heard her throat beginning to close. She nervously rubbed her forehead saying, "What if he catches us off guard and kills you…"
"Brenda," he quietly stopped her with his hand settling on hers upon her. She gazed into him.
"You're all I have now… You're the only one. You promised you wouldn't leave but what if you can't keep that promise – what if he kills you? I can't do this without you. You're the only one."
Jason felt his heart fall from his chest at her words. She spoke the truth but he could see in her eyes she wasn't talking about being the only one who could protect her; she meant he was the only one for her. And he couldn't think of anything to say to comfort her.
Her hand turned in his to grasp it, begging for reassurance. He had to prove to her that he was there and always would be there for her. He wouldn't rather be anywhere else.
Brenda saw the nearly desperate longing in his eyes to do something. She knew him; knew his self-control was stronger than anyone's; and that he would never do anything, no matter how much he wanted to.
She cautiously leaned closer in what felt like an eternity before she was near his lips. He felt him incline to her the slightest bit and their lips touched in the softest of caress. Her heart was pounding and she prayed he would take her lips like he had that night. But he only teased with his hot mouth and she pressed into him more.
It was then that his senses came back to him and Jason pulled away instantly. He stood almost as quickly and she followed, baffled by his immediate withdraw.
"I can't," he murmured, his head lowered as if he could not look her in the eye.
Brenda glared at him for a long moment, then realized what he was saying. She turned on heel in angry retreat. Jason grabbed her arm to stop her and the motion pulled her close into him as he went on with explanation.
"Listen," he started quietly as she gazed aimlessly. "I couldn't do that to Sonny-"
"Don't you dare," she growled, looking into his eyes. "Don't you dare act like you are betraying Sonny by this."
His hand tightened on her arm as he replied, "Sonny loves you. And he's my best friend. Where does that put me?"
"Sonny has moved on!" she exclaimed.
"That doesn't change how he feels about you."
"He doesn't matter, that's what I'm trying to tell you."
"He does matter."
She jerked her arm free from his grasp with a scoff. "I am so sick of this macho bullshit that everyone seems to be under the influence of. Because I was with Sonny ages ago, he has some right over me??"
"No, maybe it's because you're the love of his life," Jason snapped.
"Sonny is not out here, risking his life for me. Sonny is not the one that I've been thinking about for the past three weeks. And he's not who I want now."
"Yeah, who will you want tomorrow?" he angrily remarked and she froze at his cruel comment. "How do I know you don't still want Sonny? Or Jax? You still love them, don't you?"
Brenda stared at him, patiently letting him have his say. She could see he was agitated most by this topic: of Sonny and Jax.
"So when you say you want me now, what am I supposed to think? I'm just supposed to believe you? You're not really known for sticking with one guy. When this is over, we'll go back and you'll head straight for Jax or Sonny or whoever you feel like at the moment."
He seemed like he was finished and she took a slow breath. "When did you become so afraid of me?"
Jason wondered how she figured that out even before he had. He was terrified of her. "I've seen what you do to people that love you."
"Which is?"
"They become so enamored with you, they can't see straight," he muttered.
"So, what, you're trying to protect yourself from me?"
He was glaring at the floor but he glanced up at her calm expression as she waited for a response. Her brows raised with a shrug.
"It's too late for that, isn't it?"
Jason felt his heart beating in his chest and he knew, then, she was right. He moved with purpose, sweeping in, his hands smoothing along her face, as he took her lips. The hot taste of her shook him and he only wanted more.
Brenda felt him come to her like a wave of warmth which she clung next to her body. His mouth opened to her and she trembled inside from his demanding kiss. The gentle protector he always had to play with those girls he had been with was unnecessary with her and he was releasing his true desire upon her.
Her entire body was quaking with excitement as his hands smoothed down her back, along her thighs, pulling her up easily so she was suddenly straddling him standing. She couldn't release his lips, though, staying firmly anchored by the burning sensation. She was so caught up in how amazing his kisses were, she didn't realize they were in the bedroom. When he set her on the bed, parting them momentarily, she felt the absence of him like a heavy dread in the pit of her stomach. Her irrational ache for him was all she could feel.
His clothes had melted away and as he helped hers off as well, she had the fleeting thought that she had never seen Jason so carried away. She really loved it.
When she was adequately bare, he pressed forward to take her lips again and the deep dread in her stomach from not touching him was quenched. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, guiding him down upon the bed. He kissed her softer now, as if she were cherished, and she welcomed him as he shifted atop of her.
Brenda gasped, her hands digging into his arms, as he pressed forward. He met her eyes, silently asking if she were all right, and her legs surrounded him tighter. Jason kissed her fiercely, loving the never-ending supply of emotional strength she seemed to draw from.
She pulled him close against her, whispering his name into his ear, as they began. Her body was on fire and she could not get enough of him as he hungrily took what she so readily offered.
The telephone ringing jarred Jason awake and he quickly swiped it off the hook. He took a second to glance on the other side of the bed, seeing Brenda lying on her stomach, peacefully asleep in the pillow.
He sat up as he answered the phone in a quiet murmur. "Hello?"
"I just got the message," Sonny stated.
"Is everything all right?"
"Everything's fine," he lied. He was having problems with Carly but Sonny didn't air his marital fights with Jason. "How's Brenda?"
Jason froze then glanced aside at her sleeping naked beneath the sheets next to him. He swallowed and carefully turned to sit on the edge of his side.
"She's fine," he murmured. "Is there any progress on Alcazar?"
"I have people down there looking for him. Listen, I think you should head back. Alcazar knows where you are so there's no use trying to hide out. You'd be better protected here anyway."
"Yeah. Will you have a guy at the airport? You know Alcazar's watching them."
"I'll send a guy there," he confirmed. "How's Brenda holding up under all this?"
Again, Jason slowed and mentally told himself that he couldn't do that every time Sonny asked about her.
"She's holding up okay."
"You're taking care of her? You're not fighting all the time, are you? Under all this pressure, she doesn't really need added fights."
For a moment, Jason felt a tiny bit defensive. He knew how to handle Brenda and he knew how to take care of her. He found himself thinking that her well-being really wasn't Sonny's business anymore.
"We're not fighting all the time," he only answered. "I have it under control."
"All right. I'll send a guy to the airport to meet you in the morning. The jet will be there by 9am."
"Yeah," Jason nodded and they hung up. He sat in the dark, silent room for a second, gathering his plans.
"You have me under control?" Brenda's voice, laced with disbelief, came suddenly. Jason turned to see her awake, looking up at him. "Please."
He tried to stop the smile that was threatening to be revealed. He couldn't so he let his back face her again.
"What's the plan?" she quietly asked.
"We're going back."
"To Port Charles?"
He nodded and worry began to fill her. Port Charles meant so many things, most of all, seeing the people she used to love so dearly. And, as a matter of fact, whom she suspected still loved her. It was facing all that history and issues and she was just starting with Jason. God, Jason. No one would believe her for a second. Could she survive in Port Charles with him? Here, they were alone and they didn't have to worry about what others thought or their past relationships. But there… Everything was different.
"When do we go?" she murmured.
"In the morning. The nearest airport is an hour away so you should get some sleep."
She saw the clock read 2am and she sat up, holding the sheet to her chest. "I'm not tired." Jason faced her again and recognized the cool acceptance in her. "Let's go now."
The road was dark as the cab drove them through the wooded area. They had sneaked out of the back of the hotel successfully and gotten the cab, now halfway to the airport. She almost didn't even want to go back; she felt safer in the middle of nowhere with Jason than she did in a "secure" penthouse in a town full of thousands of people.
They sat in silence as they went, the driver not even speaking. The car slowed and Jason sat forward to see why. There was a car blocking the way in the middle of the road.
"What is it?" Jason asked the driver.
"I don't know," he shrugged.
Jason surveyed the scene quickly then moved. "Get out," he instructed Brenda whom swiftly did so. He guided her to the woods just next to the car as the sound of gun shots seemed to whiz by. They were running further into the woods and the guns stopped. That's when they heard it.
"Brenda!" Alcazar's voice yelled through the pitch black morning.
She nearly stopped from the shock - that he was so close – but Jason was pulling her further through the woods, running parallel to the road so they were still heading for the airport. His gun was drawn in his free hand as they kept on, hearing Alcazar's men following nearby.
Brenda grasped Jason's hand like a lifeline; they were completely alone, surrounded by Luis's men. And they would kill Jason in a heartbeat.
Jason caught sight of one of the men ahead of them – they had taken posts further down the road to catch them if they escaped the first barricade. He pulled the gun forward, making sure he had the shot – there was only one clip with ten bullets and who knows how many men were out there. The man was hit but another appeared next to him. Jason made that shot after he steered Brenda to crouch in the brush they were standing in, to hide her.
The ones behind them had caught up and she saw them first. "Jason!" she yelled in warning and he whirled around, finding three men racing toward them, pistols aimed at him.
Jason crouched and shot up into each, landing two bullets in each due to their sheer size. After getting a few shots off at the two, the men fell. Jason reached blindly to take her hand to run again but she was no longer crouching next to him. He turned with haste and saw her lying on her back, blood beginning to pool at her shoulder. A near panic rushed through him at the sight of her shot and he leaned over her. She looked dazed; almost in shock at the idea that she had been shot.
"Jason?" she asked at the horrified look on his face.
"You're all right," he murmured a reassurance, more to himself than to her. He wanted to pick her up but didn't want to move her; he had to stop the bleeding but wasn't sure how, being in the thick of the woods with Alcazar coming.
She tried to sit up but he stopped her and she winced from the shooting pain down her side. She'd never felt anything like it; she thought her side might be going numb.
Jason heard shuffling from one of the men he had hit but, apparently, not killed. He quickly saw the man raising a gun at him and he shot him directly.
The blood was coating her shirt and he knew they couldn't stay. "I'm going to pick you up, Brenda," he calmly warned her. "It's going to hurt."
She nodded, so light-headed her mind was swimming from the pain. Jason set his gun down and moved to slide his arms beneath her.
"Get away from her," Alcazar's cold demanding tone suddenly echoed nearby. Jason slowly looked up at the man who held a gun pointed at him.
"Your men shot her; I've got to get her to a doctor."
Alcazar's eyes flashed at her lying limply on the ground with an edge of worry but he turned back to Jason's piercing glare.
"I'll take care of that," he sneered. "Stand up."
Jason cautiously came to his feet and Brenda suddenly exclaimed, "Luis!"
With Alcazar's attention successfully distracted, Jason lunged at him, grabbing his wrists and pulling the gun up, away from aiming at him. They struggled and Alcazar kicked Jason's feet from under him, knocking him down. He took the moment to slam the butt of the gun against Jason's head, causing him to crumble to his knees.
He snickered at the sight, Jason holding his head, trying to clear his mind, trying to stand, and Alcazar's gun extended at his head.
"One less obstacle taken care of," he muttered with satisfaction, his finger clenching on the trigger.
The shot thundered through the quiet wood leaving the resonating boom in its wake. Alcazar was frozen in shock as he looked down at his chest, the hole swiftly creating a stain of red upon his shirt. His head raised to see Brenda holding Jason's gun in a shaking hand. His gaze of disbelief and wonderment glazed over as he slumped to the ground.
Jason couldn't see well; his vision was fuzzy; but he heard Alcazar fall over and knew he'd been shot. He turned his head and saw Brenda standing with his gun still pointed at Alcazar's dead body, the blood from her shoulder coating most of her side now. She was trembling, her face fixed with so many things. Shock. Fear. Amazement.
He saw her sway suddenly and knew she was going down. He forced himself to crawl to her as she fell and he caught her from hitting the ground. With the blood loss, the adrenaline and the shock, her body had too much.
Jason's head was still foggy but she would bleed to death if they didn't make it to a hospital. He hauled her up into his arms and stood with great difficulty, heading back to the car.
…