Note's: First of all thank you so much for the warm welcome. I've never had that many replies for a chapter all at once. You're suckering me into a false sense of security aren't you? That way when the fall comes it will be even more brutal.
I thought so.
Anyway there is more cast integration in this chapter and that will continue to happen as the chapters progress. In fact next chapter will focus on setting up what is going on in the lives of 8 more familiar Port Charles characters. So if some storyline you really like or a character hasn't made an appearance yet, don't worry they will. I want to make this a true ensemble fic with lots of different storylines.
Let me know what you think.
Steph
Tangle Box
Chapter 2
I warned you what could happen.
General Hospital
It was strange how a room partially full of people and a nurse's station that was packed could all fall silent in the same instant. But that was what had happened. Carly's heated accusation had traveled in every direction and anyone within a radius of about 15 feet now took an extreme interest in the town's new D.A.
"Shut up." Ric snarled and came damn close to shoving her as well. For the first time in a long time he had forgotten where he was and the image he was trying to portray, instead he let his emotions out and the words flew. "You don't know what you're talking about so you better shut your mouth before I shut it for you."
"You'll shut it for me?" Carly's incredulousness carried throughout the room but only lasted a few seconds and then her tone turned even nastier. "Did you forget about the months you had me locked in a secret room in your house? Did you forget how you chained me to a wall? Did you forget about the monitors that gave me a view of your house? And just happened to show you spiking Elizabeth's drink on more than one occasion? Maybe you even forgot how Lorenzo here saved Elizabeth's life once before because of what you did to her."
A titter ran through the crowd as Carly's words sunk in. Bobbie had never actually heard a titter before but felt that word definitely fit what was going on at the moment. For once she was content to let her daughter go off on someone without intervening. In fact if Carly faltered she was more then willing to step in.
"I remember doing that." Lorenzo added fuel to the fire. It was entertaining watching Carly get so worked up. It was also nice to see her temper focused on someone else for a change.
"And who was it that suggested I kill Elizabeth while she was in the hospital?" Forgetting himself entirely Ric turned on Lorenzo and the titter of the crowd turned into a full-fledged murmur.
"Why would I bother to save Elizabeth's life and then turn around and tell you to kill her?" Lorenzo replied calmly well aware that Carly could read him better then most he was careful with his words and expression.
The accusation was a new one to Carly and caused her to pause for a minute, before deciding to sort out what the accusation meant later and continue to focus her ire on Ric. "Someone should have put you down years ago. That's what they do to rabid dogs."
"I know that why do you think Sonny's been shot so many times?" Ric fired back.
"You're not good enough to shine Sonny's shoes." Carly snapped and would have moved even closer to the man she hated if Bobbie hadn't caught her arm. "Sonny may have done a lot of things but he's never drugged his wife and caused her to have a stroke."
"No he just shot his pregnant wife in the head." He leaned forward with a slight smirk. "Did he ever say oops sorry about that Carly? Did he ever apologize? Or did he just hate that he missed and you lived?" When provoked Ric could be as cruel as Carly.
Infuriated Carly slapped Ric before anyone could even think to stop her.
"That's enough." Monica stepped between the two before blood could be shed and Lorenzo helped by pulling Carly back. "This is a hospital not some back alley. Either shut the hell up or I'll get security to escort you out of the building."
"That's a good idea Doctor Quartermaine. I want you to get security here now and have them take this psycho out of the building. It's obvious that she shouldn't be allowed near any patient, especially not my wife. There's no telling what she would do to them in her present state of mind." Ignoring his throbbing cheek Ric strove to reassert his power and do damage control at the same time.
It might have taken him time to realize there were very curious people around watching the confrontation with a great deal of interest. But now that he had he wasn't going to give them anything else to whisper about. The only way to shut them us was to get Carly away from him. Carly had the power to get beneath his skin the way very few people could. It wasn't surprising given their convoluted history but he couldn't let it get out of hand. Not now and not with so many witnesses. He had to be the epitome of an in control yet concerned husband.
"You don't tell me what to do." Carly tried to pull away from the hands that were holding her back but couldn't. The initial reason for her anger was forgotten at the moment. Now the anger spilling out of her came from deep inside and had built over the year plus since Ric had been in her life making it miserable. Because of Sonny's misguided sense of family she had done her best to avoid Ric whenever possible. But faced with him her temper was finally being unleashed and there was no way she was going to stem it.
"Actually in this case I can tell you what to do. I'm Elizabeth's husband that means I speak for her while she is incapacitated. I control who sees her and who doesn't. Believe me Carly you won't be the list."
"So now you have Elizabeth on a chain." Carly commented cruelly and saw him flinch.
"You forget that Elizabeth's divorcing you Ric." Bobbie broke into the conversation with venom of her own. "She doesn't want you anywhere near her or her baby. In fact she told you to stay away just a few hours ago."
"That doesn't matter now. Legally I'm her husband and that means I'm in control of her care, until she can take it over for herself." Ric turned to address Monica. "I want to see my wife."
"She's in recovery you can't see her now." Monica hedged when he glared at her. "You can see her in the morning."
"Doctor Quartermaine do you really want me to get the hospital's counsel down here? Do you want me to bring in the police to enforce my rights? Do you want me to get a judge to leave his dinner table to sign an order removing you from her case?" Ric's trademark ruthlessness came out with a vengeance. "You have five minutes to take me to my wife or be prepared to spend the next ten years in court."
"Monica." Bobbie shook her head in warning.
"You can see her in about an hour. She'll be out of recovery by then. You will not be allowed to see her for more then 15 minutes." Monica replied stiffly and turned to walk away.
"Monica!"
"You know we don't have a choice." Monica cut her best friend off but Bobbie pursued her down the hall.
Shaking her head Carly took a step forward and this time Lorenzo let her go. "You will never be anything but a weak spineless coward. Who desperately clings to people that after they see you for who you really are can't get away from you fast enough. Elizabeth knows who you really are. She finally sees the truth about you." Her voice lowered and the pitch of her voice took on a tempting tone. "Do you want to know what Elizabeth's last words were?"
Ric hated her phrasing but couldn't help his insatiable need to know. "What?"
"She begged me," she pointed at her chest. "A woman she can't stand, and yet she still begged me to keep you away from her child." Seeing him flinch she continued to inflict pain on him with her words. "Elizabeth was lying on the floor in her own blood and her only thought, her only desire was to keep her baby safe from you."
"No." Ric tried desperately to block the image her words were creating from his mind, but it was impossible. He was someone who painted pictures with his words. He had to in court to sway a jury to his interpretation of a crime, but he wasn't the only who had that ability. In that moment Carly did. He couldn't help but see his wife lying on the floor, bleeding, helpless, and begging a sometime enemy for help.
"In that instant she asked someone she dislikes, maybe even hates, to save her child from the monster she married. And it was only when I promised I would did she finally succumb to the pain and pass out." Carly smiled in triumph when Ric turned pasty.
Unwilling to hear anymore Ric turned and walked away. He could feel eyes on him from the curious onlookers that had been listening to the brutal exchange and ignored them. He wouldn't give Carly or them the satisfaction of seeing him break. If he had to break he would do it in private because the public persona had to remain intact no matter what. The elevator doors opened before him and he walked on it without even checking if it was going down or up.
He forced himself to turn to face the curious stares and made sure his face was impassive when he did. The whispers would start the moment the door closed but he wouldn't let them know it bothered him. He had learned at an early age how to hide what he was feeling and he was using that to his best advantage now.
"Why the hell is that bastard still alive?" Carly asked no one in particular.
"Ask your husband." Lorenzo couldn't help but make the dig and wasn't surprised when Carly turned on him.
"I wouldn't be so damned cocky if I were you."
"I can't help being cocky." Lorenzo turned the double entendre with ease he was born with and a half smile designed to irritate.
Amused when she didn't want to be Carly couldn't help her response and when she spoke they moved instantly from tease to intimate. "What the hell did I see in you?"
"You saw a man who was willing to put you before everything else in his life and you've never been treated like that before and wanted to see how it felt." Lowering his voice he moved closer and kept his eyes locked on hers. "And when you realized there was someone in the world who would and could love you the way you always wanted to be loved you got scared. And when you got scared you ran back to the life you were used to. A life in which you are lied to on occasion, where you are dismissed at times, doubted at times, and made to feel inferior around others. You stay in that life because you think you deserve it, because it's familiar so when you want more you fight the feeling and settle for less."
Stunned by his observation Carly could think of no return to offer, no comeback to put him in his place. All she felt was incredibly raw as if someone had ripped a layer of skin from her exposing a wound to the world. Not liking the feeling an uncharacteristically quiet Carly turned on her heel and headed for the elevator.
Watching her leave Lorenzo couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. He knew he'd hurt her but couldn't help but wonder if she finally heard him. Carly was very good at lying to herself, to blinding herself to anything that got in the way of whatever dream she was weaving in her life at the moment. But she'd just got a big bucket of reality in her face and he couldn't help but wonder if it would have any effect.
"Damn." Bobbie slammed the phone receiver down hard, then picked it up and slammed it down again even harder.
"I take it you didn't reach Alexis." Monica was always amused by her friend's temper. The red hair might come from a bottle but Bobbie had the redhead temperament in spades.
"I've left messages on her machine, on her voice mail, with her service. Where the hell is she?" Bobbie demanded an answer and fully expected her friend to give it to her.
"I don't know."
"Can't we stall him?" Bobbie asked.
"I wish we could Bobbie." Monica's regret was genuine. She liked Elizabeth she'd liked her ever since Emily had first brought her around. She knew Elizabeth had helped Emily through things in her life she hadn't been able to confide in her family. And for that Monica would always be grateful.
"But they're divorcing. If Ric weren't such a bastard they would already be divorced. He has no right to be anywhere near Elizabeth much less making decisions about her care." Bobbie pled her unconscious friend's case.
"I agree Bobbie and if I could I would throw him out myself. But the law is pretty clear in this area and we both know that. The fact is they are still married, so unless Elizabeth prepared paperwork to bar Ric from taking control in a situation like this, our hands our tied. Until Elizabeth regains consciousness we have to defer to Ric's decisions about her care." There were times she hated the politics of her job and this was one of those times.
"I'll try Alexis again." Bobbie dialed a phone number she'd quickly memorized. "Now its busy." She slammed it down again.
"Doctor Quartermaine." Ric walked down the hall and his step faltered when he saw the open hostility on both women's faces. "You said I could see Elizabeth when she was out of recovery. She's out, so I want to see her."
Sending an apologetic look in Bobbie's direction Monica reluctantly moved to join him. "You can't stay long, only 15 minutes." She reminded him as they walked towards ICU.
Muttering to herself Bobbie hurriedly dialed the phone and heard the buzz of a busy signal in her ear. "Get off the damn phone Alexis."
"Is there a problem?" Lorenzo almost smiled when he was glared at with a look that was very similar to Carly's. Mother and daughter were obviously very much alike when it came to temperament.
"Why are you still here?" Bobbie demanded suspiciously.
"Boredom." Lorenzo offered along with a charming smile. "And why are you out here when Ric is in there with Elizabeth?"
"Because I need Alexis to get him the hell away from her." Bobbie tried the number again but it was still busy. "Damn."
"I'll leave you to it then." Lorenzo walked away from the increasingly irate redhead. He had only made it a few feet when the nagging sense of responsibility he felt for Elizabeth kicked in. When she recovered he was going to have pick a fight with her to get rid of the unwanted feeling. "Do you want me to track her down for you?" Turning he asked Bobbie a question he didn't want to hear the answer to.
A refusal came automatically to her lips but she didn't give voice to it. Instead she looked down the hall where Monica and Ric had disappeared. She should leave and find Alexis herself but she didn't want to leave Elizabeth alone with Ric. It didn't matter that there would be nurse's monitoring his every move through the glass partition, she wanted to be the one watching him. She owed Elizabeth that much. Her guilt over the fact she hadn't pressed Elizabeth this afternoon was haunting her.
"I guess not." Relieved Lorenzo turned away again. He'd made the overture he hadn't wanted to and been turned down. His conscious was now clear.
"I think she's at home." Bobbie called and when he winced she smiled at being able to inconvenience him. "You need to tell her what's happened and ask her to come."
"Fine." Lorenzo grumbled and muttered under his breath all the way down the hall.
Bobbie gave a passing thought to the fact that he might not follow through on his offer, but hurried down to ICU anyway. One devil at a time was all she could deal with and Ric was definitely the devil she had to deal with tonight.
Riverside Towers
Lorenzo Alcazar was still muttering when he got out of his car. He'd never been the bastard his brother had been but he could be known for his ruthlessness. So he wasn't sure how he'd found himself parking in front of a building that housed the woman who had killed his brother. Or why he was bothering to ask her for help on behalf of a woman he barely knew. There was something very wrong with what he was doing, he knew it but was doing it anyway.
Still he couldn't help but stand by his car and take in the panoramic view of the waterfront that the apartment building offered. The nearly setting sun was seemingly slipping its way through the water turning the light in the evening an eye-catching shade of reddish orange. The heat of the day had gone with the sun and the breeze coming off the water was a nice one. It was going to be a clear, starry summer night that beckoned to young lovers to come out and embrace it and each other.
At one time on a night like this he would have been one of the lovers out strolling by the water with Carly at his side. But apparently their time together hadn't been long enough to enjoy the nice early summer nights. But at the moment he wasn't feeling the love the summer night offered.
Lorenzo reluctantly turned and made his way inside the building. If Alexis Davis would get off the phone he wouldn't have to speak to her in person and that might be for the best. When she had represented Carly in the custody case things had been awkward to say the least. The death of his brother still loomed and that specter was one he didn't think would ever go away. Reaching her door he hesitated briefly at the sound of music coming from inside then knocked sharply on it.
"Pizza's here." Alexis addressed the little girl she held in her arms the same time she opened the door. When she saw her unexpected visitor the smile quickly fell from her face and she felt her stomach drop. It was a reaction she got every time she saw him and probably always would. It was odd to see someone walking around that was the spitting image of someone you'd killed. "What are you doing here?"
"If you'd answer your phone I wouldn't be here." Came Lorenzo's prickly response. But his expression couldn't help but soften when the little girl that was perched on Alexis's hip smiled at him.
Seeing the look that passed between her daughter and Lorenzo Alexis immediately grew concerned. She didn't like it when people took an interest in Kristina. She liked it even less when the person doing the looking had a suspicious mind and probably a hidden agenda.
"I can't think of one thing that we could possibly have to say to each other. So I think you should leave." Alexis made the decision for him and started to close the door.
Lorenzo now knew why he never played the Good Samaritan. It was damn frustrating. Alexis had to know he didn't want to be here anymore then she wanted him here. So if he was here there had to be a good reason, but for some reason she couldn't seem to grasp the concept. Placing his hand on the door he blocked her from closing it. "I'm not here for me I'm here because of Elizabeth Lansing."
Curiosity was a dangerous thing for a lawyer to have but a necessity in the Cassadine family and she had a healthy supply of it. "Come in." Her invitation was anything but welcoming and they both knew it.
Wasting no time Lorenzo stepped inside the cluttered apartment that showed a toddler's presence in every room he could see. Apparently Alexis was a mother who believed in letting her child play in rooms other then a designated playroom and he couldn't help but approve.
"Hold still Kristina." Alexis implored her daughter when she started to squirm but she might as well have been addressing an overeager puppy.
"She's certainly active." Lorenzo commented and smiled at the little girl. This time when she smiled back he was struck by a nagging sense of familiarity.
When Alexis saw his expression change she quickly moved to forestall any questions. "Excuse us." Carrying her squirming child she headed for Kristina's bedroom.
Lorenzo was surprised by her quick retreat. For some reason he had the impression she didn't want to let him out of her sight as long as he was here. But apparently she'd rather have her daughter away from him then watch him with suspicious eyes. He couldn't help but feel insulted by her choice.
"I know why you couldn't get through. Kristina knocked the phone off the hook. That's probably why the pizza guy hasn't shown up either. He wouldn't have been able to call up for me to buzz him in." Alexis theorized upon her return then frowned suspiciously at her uninvited company. "Just how did you get inside?"
"I killed the guard and stole his keys." Lorenzo explained simply.
Crossing her arms Alexis merely waited.
Unimpressed by her less then vocal response he decided to deliver his news and get the hell out of there. "Someone left when I came in, so the door was open, and there was no guard at the station. Maybe someone did kill him."
Alexis grimaced. That was something she'd spoken with the manager about on numerous times. They needed two full-time guards in the lobby to insure no one could just walk in when they were on the rounds.
"You said this was about Elizabeth?" She prompted for the reason for his visit, eager to get rid of him so she could draft a letter to the manager to voice her displeasure, using the most intimidating legal verbiage she had at her disposal. Words like lawsuit, and punitive damages tended to have more of effect on people then please did.
"Elizabeth is in the hospital." Lorenzo quickly filled her in and was surprised at how quickly she could shift from harried mother to determined lawyer.
When Lorenzo had finished Alexis asked no questions but immediately began to speak aloud to herself. "I had an out of town hearing and had the cell off, I must have forgotten to turn it on. I need to get to the hospital and see what I can do to back Ric off."
Lorenzo realized he'd been dismissed without her even saying the words and it rankled. He wasn't used to being ignored especially not by a woman and that was what was occurring now. Alexis may be talking but the words weren't directed to him.
"I need to call Chauncey."
"Chauncey?" The strange name was enough to pull him from his unusual funk.
"Kristina's sitter." Alexis answered automatically and dropped the phone when she finally remembered he was still there. "Thank you for telling me. Thank you for helping Elizabeth. I can't talk now I need to get things done," she brushed past him and opened the door. "Good night."
He automatically walked out the door she opened for him then turned in time to have the door shut in his face. This Good Samaritan crap was for the birds. From now on it was every man for himself. That was something he was very good at. Whatever sense of responsibility he felt for Elizabeth Lansing was now gone. Of that he would make damn sure.
On the other side of the door Alexis listened carefully until she heard him leave. The unexpected visit had been very unnerving so to was the news he'd delivered. She hadn't intended on getting involved in Elizabeth's case. Her specialty was split between the corporate world and defense work. Divorces were to tame for her to focus on so unless she was being blackmailed she tended to ignore that element of the law. She needed to be challenged in her work and although divorce litigations were normally the nastiest of all they weren't very challenging. There was nothing more brutal then when one person fell out of love with the other and the one left behind wanted nothing more then to make them pay.
Divorces may expose the seamy underbelly of human emotion but it was hardly interesting. And in her learned opinion divorce lawyers were barely a step up from the personal injury lawyers who cruised for clients in the emergency rooms, sometimes even before the injured had been treated by a doctor, pestering them to sue.
By rights and by her own arrogant admission Lansing v. Lansing should never have crossed her desk. Her history with Elizabeth had gone back for years and some of that history wasn't pleasant. She could still remember the humiliation she'd felt when she'd gone wedding gown shopping with Elizabeth and Emily and had found the perfect dress only to have it ruined when the press came in. Besides the mortifying memories of the marriage to Ned that wasn't they also shared a history at L&B. But if she were honest she'd have to admit that those reasons weren't the reason why she'd eventually taken the case.
She had taken the case for one reason only to get the best of Ric Lansing. For some unexplained reason he had made himself a presence in her life and she wasn't crazy about that. Besting him in court had taken on a level of pleasure that she normally didn't feel when she won. She knew if she could best him in this situation, in one that meant so much to him, one that was his life, it would be the penultimate victory and confirm her position as the top legal mind on the East coast.
At least those had been her intentions when she'd taken Elizabeth on as a client at a significantly reduced rate. And that ambition was still there but it wasn't the driving force any longer. Elizabeth had worked her way past her considerable defenses and she had grown to care about the young woman. That fact was very surprising to her. With the exception of Chloe Morgan and V Ardnowski she had never had female friends in her life. The friendships she'd tried to make in college had eventually failed either because of her driving ambition, her arrogance or perhaps because she was too sarcastic and quick to voice her opinion on some of their ambitions of marrying the perfect man and having kids and money. That particular dream had never called to her but given her history that wasn't very surprising.
Things had been different with Elizabeth. She found herself forming a relationship with the young woman that had nothing to do with helping her get a divorce. She would have fought tooth and nail on Elizabeth's behalf regardless of how she felt but because she did care for Elizabeth her personal stake in the outcome had increased. She was well aware that Elizabeth was keeping something from her and she had the feeling that whatever it was had the potential to blow Ric out of the water. But for whatever reason Elizabeth had yet to use it. At times she thought it was about the baby, but again she wasn't sure.
Alexis couldn't help but recall the last time she'd spoken with Elizabeth. She had called to tell Elizabeth that Ric had succeeded in getting the hearing date pushed back but instead of getting angry at yet another delay Elizabeth barely reacted. When that sent up warning flags she'd pressed for details and all Elizabeth had said was that she was working on something. And if it worked Ric would be out of her life forever. The cryptic conversation had been her last with Elizabeth, and now she was left to wonder if it was possible that whatever she had been planning had contributed to her injuries. One thing was for certain she wouldn't get her answers by standing in her living room.
"Kristina how would you like to go see Chauncey?" Her daughter's loud squeal of delight was immediate and Alexis made a face. There were times she believed her daughter loved her 6'4" ex-linebacker nanny more then she loved her. Jealousy was always a bitter pill to swallow and tonight was no exception.
General Hospital
Hospitals were never a place you voluntarily wanted to go to. Usually births occurred in them and that was a good thing, but mostly hospitals were associated with illness and death so they were never on anybody's sightseeing list. Visitors and patients alike seemed to equate hospitals with the shroud of death so once you entered it all you wanted to do was leave.
This quirk of human behavior never failed to amuse the people that actually worked in the hospital. That amusement could lead to morbid jokes and pranks that were played on one another in down time. The games the staff played would have horrified the general public but they were a necessary release for the staff. All hospital staff members, nurses especially, were susceptible to something that was aptly called "burnout." Even the most dedicated doctor or nurse would grow weary of losing patients.
As bad as the weariness became it was better then the alternative. Eventually people could become so far gone that they felt nothing at all. When burnout got this bad a nurse could feel nothing when an 8 year old died of a gunshot would when he found his mother's gun box. When the apathy grew that pronounced it was time to find a new profession because they were now a hindrance to the patient not a help.
Because of the high profile and ultimately lethal meltdowns that had occurred in hospitals over the last several years the staff were monitored much more closely then they had been and a rotation system had been devised to help. There were still specialists, but the general R.N.'s would work in several different wards in any given month and that variety led to fewer cases of burnout.
The night Elizabeth Lansing was admitted to critical ICU had the fortune of being Andrew Ridgley's third to last night in this particular rotation. His next rotation was one he was looking forward to. His next assignment was in the nursery and that meant one thing to him … chicks. Babies were such a strong draw to women that they invariably went by the nursery even if they didn't know any of the babies. That meant he would have daily access to babes, and he could hone his already masterful skill with women.
Another reason he was looking forward to the next assignment was because it would be a lot livelier. Critical ICU housed the most serious of injuries so that meant there was only action when one of those patients coded and there was a fight to bring them back to life. Watching someone die was not why he'd gone into the nursing profession. He also hadn't gone in because of some deep-seated desire to help people.
No the reason he'd gone into nursing was the same one he used to make all of his decisions, it had increased his chance to meet women. When he'd heard the nursing ranks were still over 85% women he knew he'd found his calling. He gave a passing thought to becoming a doctor but vetoed that idea for several reasons. It took to damn long to become one and you didn't start making money for years after that. Another factor was he was smart enough to know that he wasn't smart enough to be a doctor.
Nursing suited him fine at this point in his life and even his current rotation wasn't that bad. Sometimes the people visiting the patients could be interesting to watch. An obvious illustration of that fact was the man he was watching through the glass at that very moment.
The man had been inside the room for five minutes now. The guy only had 15 minutes to be inside but had made no move to approach the bed. Andrew couldn't help but wonder what the guy's problem was. He'd promised Doctor Quartermaine he wouldn't take his eyes off the man and Monica Quartermaine was one person you didn't want to piss off so he'd quickly agreed. The fact she'd asked him to do that had kindled his interest in the man and spurred his imagination into trying to come up with reasons to explain the man's strange behavior not to mention the Doctor's obvious dislike of the stranger.
Ric couldn't seem to move. He had been fine, and in control when he was standing in the outer room looking at his wife through the glass as Monica lectured him on her condition. But the instant he stepped through the door that changed, everything in his life changed. The first thing he was struck by was the sound. The beep the heart monitor was making seemed loud and not quite fast enough. Shouldn't her heartbeat be faster then that?
Next came the smell. The antiseptically clean odor that always permeated hospital rooms. The odor could make the healthy sick and drive them to leave. Finally there was the sight. The sight of an ashen faced Elizabeth lying unconscious in a bed. It was strange to see her without the weight of the pregnancy on her stomach. Without the weight she shifted from being small to petite and her apparent frailty rocked him.
He had done this to her. He was the reason she was lying in the hospital bed. It was the second time he'd caused her injury. The second time he'd caused her to be admitted into the hospital. And both times had been caused largely for the same reasons, the drugs he'd used on her. He might have been able to deny it when he was around Carly and others but he couldn't deny it when faced with her. Carly's accusation was probably accurate. His arrogance, his need to destroy Sonny at any cost might very well have cost Elizabeth her health.
"I'm so sorry."
The words were scratchy and could barely be heard. And yet he couldn't move closer and say them again. As much as he wanted to touch her he couldn't. Right now his guilt, his fear was choking him. In that instant he fully realized the depth of love he had for his wife. He didn't just love her to form a family he had always desperately wanted. He loved her because of her, and in the end he'd killed her love for him and nearly killed her as well.
"I'll fix it Elizabeth." He promised as his breathing unconsciously took on the tempo of the heartbeat coming from the monitor. "I will find a way to fix this and make things up to you. I will find away to make amends so you can forgive me. You have to forgive me," he whispered then firmed his voice. "Once you do we'll be a family again you, me and our little girl."
He took a step towards the bed then stopped. "I'll fix everything," he vowed again. Turning he walked from the room having never touched her hand. He spied Bobbie watching him out of the corner of his eye and didn't give a flicker of reaction as he continued to the hall.
He knew Elizabeth's pit bull defender had no doubt been waiting to kick him out of the room the instant the fifteen minutes were up and he took great pleasure in causing Bobbie disappointment. First thing in the morning he would make sure to get her reassigned. Her negativity would only be a detriment to Elizabeth's recovery. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Elizabeth would recover and he would be by her side every step of the way. That's what husbands were for and in doing that he would prove himself to her once again. He had vowed to be with her in sickness and in health till death do they part and he meant every word.
It was difficult to think about death when he was staring life in the face. Without consciously knowing it when he left Elizabeth he had made his way to the nursery. In the second row on the left he saw a nametag that warmed his heart. Baby Girl Lansing. It was difficult to see her because of the distance and the fact she was in an incubator but all that would change tomorrow. As her legal father he would be allowed inside the nursery, he might even be allowed to hold her. Once he did she would be his daughter in every sense of the word.
There was only one cloud of unease that hovered over his plans and that was the divorce papers Elizabeth had tricked him into signing. He needed to get them back before they were filed. Everything he ever wanted was almost in his grasp, a wife and a child. He wasn't about to let them slip through his fingers. Checking his watch he was relieved to see it was after 9:00 that meant total darkness would have fallen and most kids would be indoors. That meant there was less of a chance that he would be spotted when he broke into Elizabeth's apartment to retrieve the papers.
Penthouse
Carly moved slowly to the elevator doors. She might have physically left the hospital but her mind still remained there. It seemed to be stuck in a continuous loop that had a split focus between Alcazar's brutal insights into her character and Elizabeth's desperate plea for help. That plea had brought up all the old feelings and memories that were buried deep inside of her regarding her own brutal fight to keep her children. She'd had to fight so hard for so long, first with Tony, then the Quartermaine's, and finally Sonny so many people and for so many years.
Mixed with those uncomfortable memories was the devastating effect Lorenzo's eerily accurate observations about her were. Lorenzo had been right on so many levels but he had to be wrong as well. If he wasn't what did that say about her? She had to believe that he was wrong, that his words were caused by bitterness it was the only way she knew how to function. She knew how to bury what was wrong, what she couldn't fix so she could keep going on.
The elevator doors opened before her and she found herself face to face with a distraught Sonny. Dimly she registered the fact he had returned to town but didn't greet him or offer him a welcome home, she just moved past him and onto the elevator.
"What the hell happened to you?" Sonny followed her onto the elevator and turned her around looking for the injury that would explain the blood on her clothes. When one of his guard's, Manny, had called in to report seeing Carly at the hospital with blood on her his heart had nearly stopped. All he could think was that she'd been hurt while he had been off pursuing Sam, and guilt hit him hard. He couldn't deny it any longer he loved her, he probably would always love her, and he didn't like to think of her in physical pain.
"Do you have to yell?" Carly asked tiredly.
"Carly you have blood on you."
"It's not mine." She answered wearily as the elevator doors finally opened. "Did you find your little friend?"
Ignoring the dig Sonny pursued her to get answers to his questions. "What the hell is going on?"
"I'll tell you but right now all I want to do is shower and change my clothes." She turned to head for the penthouse on the left.
"Carly our home is the other way." Sonny reminded her gently and wondered if she was hurt in spite of what she'd said to the contrary.
"I don't live there anymore." Carly's reply was easy unlocking the door to Jason's penthouse she walked inside, tossing her keys on the desk.
"What?" Perplexed Sonny followed her inside.
"Sonny where were you just now?" Carly asked.
"In our home where else would I have been?" He snapped.
"You were at home and you didn't notice that all of my stuff and most of the kids stuff was gone?" Carly shook her head when he visibly blanched. Why was it she didn't even feel surprised only disappointed?
Sonny's attention finally moved from his wife to the penthouse and he could see the scattering of toys throughout the living room, toys that used to be in his home. "What is going?"
"I moved my things, the kids things, into here, while you were gone. Don't worry I didn't surprise Jason, he knew about it in advance, his only requirement was that I be the one to tell you." She explained briefly.
"Carly I know you may be hurt that I left town to find Sam," he broke off when she began to laugh.
"Sam is supposedly pregnant with your child. Where the hell else would you have been when you found out she left the country?" Carly's question was bitterer then Sonny would ever know. She was painfully aware how seriously he took the responsibility of his children. It was funny a man who only had one child for years now suddenly was going to have 4. Of course he wasn't aware of one of them, and the other may not even exist. It was funny, only she couldn't laugh.
"If you understand why did you leave?" Sonny's question was uneasy, and he braced himself for her answer. "Why did you leave our home?"
"That's not a home Sonny it's a fortress and the kids and I want out."
"You don't mean that. We agreed when you moved back in that we would do whatever it takes to make things work to stay together for the kids."
"We made that deal when Michael almost died and we would have promised anything to help him. Guess what reality happened and the deal makes no sense. No matter how much we love Michael we can't live our lives according to his wants or fears," she explained with a calmness even she was surprised by. "He's a little boy he can't be allowed to call the shots."
Sonny knew what she was saying was right but was terrified that he was losing his family, and that was the last thing he wanted. Originally Sam had been a buffer to help him keep a distance from his wife but it had obviously failed on several levels. The first was when he really began to care for Sam and now because it looked like he'd lost Carly anyway. He felt like he was being torn in two.
"The last time we lived apart we put Michael in the hospital." He reminded her brutally. He wasn't going to lose his family without one hell of a fight.
"No our fighting, the way we used the kids as weapons to hurt each other is what put him in the hospital." Calmness gone Carly fired back. "We have to make sure that doesn't happen this time. And I'm trying to do that, instead of being across town the kids and I will be across the hall so you can see them several times a day if you want, and they can see you."
"Are you leaving because of Sam and the baby? Are you mad that I continued to be with her even after you moved in? Because I told you in advance I was keeping her in my life." He had known when Carly found out about the pregnancy she was going to be mad and he'd have to do damage control, but before he could do that Sam had disappeared. Sam was pregnant with his child there was no way he could let her just walk away. He'd had to go after her and bring her back. And obviously that had been a mistake on his part as far as Carly was concerned, but he would be damned before he apologized for it.
"Do you even hear yourself? Will I get mad if you sleep with another woman and get her pregnant?" Carly demanded angrily. "I won't live in a loveless marriage I've been there before and I'm not going back again." She poked him hard in the chest. Angry and hurt she couldn't help but lash out. "And if you think I'm going to stay around while your mistress has your baby your insane. The divorce is back on, the papers will be filed in the morning."
"You don't mean that." Suddenly it was hard for him to breathe. He wanted Sam in his life and there was no way he could walk away from his yet to be born baby, but he couldn't let Carly walk away either.
Carly's heart broke but she remained firm and spiteful. "It's going to happen Sonny, so deal with it. Hell take advantage of it, you'll be able to marry Sam and give your kid your name, if in fact she is pregnant, and if the kid really is yours." She could see his stunned expression turn into an angry one and knew she'd scored a point. "It's late I'm going to shower and go to bed. I'll tell Michael in the morning you can come over and tell him with me if you want."
"I don't want you to tell him anything because this isn't over."
"Yes it is. I'm not taking orders from you anymore Sonny, if you want to order someone around talk to your new little friend." When she went to walk up the stairs he caught a hold of her arm to stop her.
When Carly yanked hard to free herself his hand slipped free when he looked at it he was surprised by the flecks of dried blood that came away with it, desperate for a distraction he jumped on it. "Whose blood is this?"
"Elizabeth's." She offered without any explanation and again headed for the stairs.
"Carly." He snapped. "What the hell happened is she okay? Is the baby?"
"The baby is premature but healthy, she's in an incubator," Carly finally gave a little.
"She?"
"Congratulations Sonny you have a niece. Can I go to bed now?" Carly's question was flat leaving no doubt to her lack of interest.
"Why are you acting like this and why do you know all this? It's not like your friends." Sonny pressed for more answers.
"You want to know why?" Infuriated all over again Carly turned on him. "I'll tell you why. I have Elizabeth's blood on me because I found her lying in a pool of blood in the brownstone. The baby may be fine but she sure the hell isn't. That bastard of a brother of yours, the one you won't let anyone touch, caused Elizabeth to have a stroke." Sonny recoiled. "That's right Sonny. The girl you and Jason once cared about, once warned me repeatedly to back off of, is lying in a hospital bed after having a stroke that your brother helped to cause. Is that a good enough answer for you?"
"Elizabeth had a stroke?"
Both were startled by the softly asked question that came from the direction of the door. Carly turned to find a shell-shocked Jason standing in the doorway. Instantly all the anger and vindictiveness she was feeling vanished and she hurried to him. "I didn't want you to hear like this."
"There's an easier way to hear?" Jason wondered in disbelief.
"No." She took his hands in hers to offer comfort.
"What do you mean a stroke?" Jason's eyes drifted from her face and took in the dried blood on her clothes and paled.
Carly held onto his hands when he tried to drop them and began to talk. She knew he'd look at her face as long as she was talking. "I found Elizabeth unconscious at the brownstone. She'd fallen and hit her head and was in labor. The baby is early but she's going to be just fine."
"What about Elizabeth?" It had been a long time since he'd spoken to Elizabeth but that didn't mean he'd stopped caring for her. They had been friends for too long for those feelings to vanish entirely.
"There were complications," Carly tried to explain as gently as she could. "Apparently at some point she suffered a stroke. The doctor's won't know how serious it is until she wakes up."
Bowing his head Jason kept his eyes locked on their joined hands. "You said Ric caused the stroke. How is that possible?"
"I was just lashing out. You know me I hate Ric so I blame him for everything," Carly tried to evade.
This time it was his hands that held on when she tried to let go. "Carly what did you mean?"
Unsure how to proceed Carly looked over at Sonny hoping he could help but he seemed to be as curious as Jason. She wasn't sure how Jason would take her news she wasn't sure what his feelings were for Elizabeth. There had been a time he was in love with her. But that had been before Courtney, before his marriage and hers. She might be worrying about his reaction for no reason but she didn't think so. Jason was extremely loyal, she was living proof of that, and once he loved someone he didn't stop caring for them unless there was a betrayal that was too big to forgive.
"Carly tell me." Jason prompted.
"When Ric was holding me hostage I know he drugged Elizabeth several times. I'm not saying that caused her stroke. But she's so young and has no history of heart problems it could have been a contributing factor," she answered finally.
Letting her hands drop Jason took a step back and tried to understand the words. Nothing felt real to him, and hadn't since he'd interrupted the fight between Sonny and Carly. He'd thought they were arguing about Carly's decision to leave but it turned out to be that much worse and incomprehensible to understand. It sounded unbelievable yet there was blood on her clothes and Elizabeth was lying in a hospital bed and once again it was Ric's fault. Turning abruptly he walked out the door towards the elevator.
"Jason." Racing after him Carly caught his arm trying to stop him. "Don't do anything stupid."
Ignoring her he pulled away and hit the elevator call button.
"If you go over there and do something to Ric all that will happen is you will go to jail. You need to calm down and think." The irony that it was her turn to tell Jason to think was not lost on her.
"She's right Jason." Sonny stepped into the hall. "You need to be smart about this."
Jason sent a cold look in his direction. "All I know is if you would have let me take Ric out when I wanted too Elizabeth probably wouldn't be lying in a hospital bed right now."
Sonny's reply was similarly cold and equally devastating. "And if you had taken him out when I did tell you she probably wouldn't be lying in the hospital bed."
"Sonny." Carly hissed when she saw Jason's hand begin to shake. "Come back inside Jason we'll talk."
"No." His voice sounded strange to his ears and judging from her expression it sounded wrong to her as well. "I need to leave."
"Jase."
"I won't do anything stupid."
Reluctantly she let Jason go and watched him get on the elevator, he wouldn't meet her eyes. She waited for the doors to close before turning to Sonny. "He better not get caught."
"We'll make sure he's not." Sonny promised.
For some reason Carly wasn't reassured. Muttering she moved past him to the penthouse door. "I guess were done then. Goodnight."
"Goodnight?" Sonny repeated in surprise and caught the door before she could close it on him. "Our conversation isn't over yet Carly. It won't be over until you and the kids come back home."
"Why are you so determined to get me back in your penthouse?" Carly wanted to know. "Are you planning on moving your mistress in here and want me out?" When Sonny grimaced she knew that had been his plan and was infuriated. "Do you really think I would live across the hall from her? Do you even know me at all? Is there any part of you that thinks I would just calmly go along with this idea?"
Sonny was wise enough not to answer.
"Christ Sonny do you have any idea how stupid you were? Do you even realize how much you've risked by playing around with her?" Carly's frustration and anger spilled out.
"What the hell are you talking now?" Sonny asked crossly.
"Isn't it obvious?" Carly snapped and when his expression remained cross she took great pleasure in enlightening him. "After what happened to Stone how could you put yourself at risk like that? What were you thinking? With her history how could you sleep with her without a condom?"
Stunned by the unexpected attack Sonny gave the most basic answer. "Sam isn't sick."
Carly smirked slightly. "You know that for sure?" She advanced on him. "She was a hooker for crying out loud. Did she give you a certificate dated six months ago proving she was clean? Or did she just tell you she was fine and you decided to believe her and play Russian roulette with your life?"
"She doesn't have HIV." Sonny snapped.
"You don't know that for sure. You can't tell by looking at someone, Saint Robin is proof of that. And if you need more proof look what just happened in the porn industry." Carly sniped.
"She's not a porn star." Sonny went from upset to angry in a heartbeat.
"She was a hooker, she sleeps with people for money just like porn actors and who is to say there isn't a tape or two floating around showing what she apparently does best?" Carly's nastiness was shining through and after all the tension and stress of the day she embraced it whole-heartedly.
Sonny was capable of being just a cruel as his wife. "I seem to remember you didn't give me a certificate showing that you were clean when you showed up at my door on that cold November night." The instant the words left his mouth he knew he'd made a mistake.
Ashen-faced Carly went ice cold. Sonny had just crossed a line that should have never been crossed and she didn't know if she would ever forgive him for it.
"Contrary to popular opinion I was never a whore." Her movements were jerky when she walked to the door and opened it. "Go back to your whore I'm done with you Sonny."
Her coldly delivered words were so unlike Carly that he couldn't help but do as she ordered. He regretted what he'd said, he regretted this whole situation, and wasn't sure how he could fix it. "Carly."
"The divorce will go through. You can see the kids, but stay the hell away from me." Carly slammed the door in his face.
Stunned Sonny could only stare at the closed door. He wanted to knock, he wanted to apologize but didn't know how. He never could seem to apologize even when he knew he should. And in this case what was he apologizing for? His comments to her of a minute ago, or the fact he had another child on the way? There was no way he could apologize for having another child, even if it didn't happen to be with her.
Then the elevator doors opened behind he turned to see who was there.
"Is this a good time?" Sam asked quietly the bag she'd traveled to South America with still on her shoulder.
General Hospital
"Thanks for cleaning things up Lucas. The last thing Elizabeth needs to see when she comes home is the mess the medics left behind." Bobbie paused to listen to her son. "I don't know when I'll be home but if you go out be back by midnight, and try not to get into trouble."
"Any change?" Monica waited for Bobbie to hang up before making her presence known. She wasn't surprised to find her friend in ICU staring in vain through a window at an unconscious woman she cared deeply about.
"Her vitals are stable, but she hasn't done anything that shows she's trying to wake up." Bobbie reported.
"That's to be expected Bobbie. This is going to take time." She gently reminded the longtime nurse.
"I know but just because I know doesn't make it any easier to deal with. In fact because I know the harsh realities she will be facing when she wakes up it makes things even worse."
That feeling was one Monica knew very well. She had lived it not to long ago herself. As a doctor she'd seen what cancer could do. As a cancer survivor she'd lived through the ravages it caused first hand. But none of that compared to what she'd gone through upon learning her daughter had been stricken with the disease. As a doctor she was arrogant enough to believe she could save anyone. As a mother she'd vowed to protect her child at any cost. But in that moment she'd been unable to do anything to help. Being helpless was a bitter pill for a powerful woman to sallow. Knowing your child was sick and you were powerless to do anything about it was one of a parent's worst nightmares.
She had gone through similar nightmares with all her children. First there had been Dawn, losing her in such a brutal and pointless way had stole some of her belief in life. Next came Jason the loss of one version of her son was tempered by the eventual replacement of another, but still it had been a hard blow to absorb. So to was living through A.J.'s love affair with the bottle that was killing him an inch at a time. And then there was Emily. No parent should ever outlive their child it messed with the natural order of things.
"Do you believe Carly was right?" Bobbie finally broke the silence that had fallen.
"About the drugs?" Monica considered her words carefully. She knew how attached Bobbie was to Elizabeth and she also knew how formidable an enemy she could be when someone she cared about was threatened. Ric could very well find himself lost in the catacombs with wounds similar to the ones that had nearly killed Damian Smith if he wasn't careful.
"Quit stalling." Because they were friends and because they were alone Bobbie took steps to try to ease her friend's mind. "I promise not to retaliate anytime soon or in anyway that can be traced back to me. Have you forgotten I already owe Ric for what he did to Carly? I know how to be patient when I need to be. I know how to craft a revenge that is worthy of the original crime."
Instead of easing Monica's mind Bobbie's words only increased her worry.
"Monica."
"You know as well as I do that the strain that is placed on the organs, especially the heart, because of drug use can be devastating on the body. I reviewed Elizabeth's medical records from the time she was admitted last fall, there was a beginning of a strain on the heart back then. But Elizabeth was young, she was healthy and she had no real history of any heart disease so the decision was made to monitor her condition, and Doctor Michaels did that throughout the pregnancy."
"And the pregnancy added to the strain on her heart. Then there was the stress she was under because of that bastard husband of hers and all of it pushed her over the edge and into the hospital bed." Bobbie completed the rundown.
"We're never going to be able to point to just one thing and say this is what caused this but I'm fairly confident that it was a mix of these factors that led to the blockage and the stroke," Monica agreed. As an answer it wasn't very comforting but it was the most accurate one she had.
"What will we be dealing with when she wakes up?" Bobbie asked.
"You know as well as I do."
"I need to hear it Monica." She turned to look at her oldest friend with a shimmer of tears in her eyes. "I need you to tell me so it will be real to me."
Nodding Monica took Bobbie's hand to offer comfort. In that moment she wasn't a nurse, a co-worker, she was simply a woman who was concerned about a patient and wanted answers.
"We won't know how invasive the stroke was until she wakes. The worst-case possibilities include paralysis, brain damage, memory loss, trouble with speech. We can't say if she will suffer these after effects but we also can't say she won't. All we can do now is wait and monitor and if she's in pain try to ease it with drugs."
"Isn't that what brought her here in the first place?" Bobbie brushed a tear from her cheek then stopped the rest from falling. "I'm going to go sit with her for awhile."
"Okay." Monica stood when her friend did and offered a hug she knew she needed. "Page me if you anything changes or if you just want to talk."
"I will." Bobbie promised and entered the room where Elizabeth lay motionless. Unlike Ric she had no problem moving forward to the bed and taking Elizabeth's hand even though she felt a sense of guilt as well.
"You did it Elizabeth." Bobbie perched on the mattress. "You delivered your bowling ball and it turned out to be a beautiful, healthy little girl. And that little girl needs her mother. So you have to fight Elizabeth. Fight your way back to your daughter."
Brownstone
Ric's careful, but quick search of Elizabeth's apartment had yielded nothing. Well nothing but brutal memories and reflections. Her things were everywhere in the apartment, her presence was everywhere as well, and that was overwhelming to face. Her favorite robe was lying at the foot of the bed. A half-filled sketchbook rested on the night table next to a book on being a new mother. Both were well-worn, well-used and so Elizabeth. He missed living with her. He missed the little quirks that made her unique. He had to get her back. The memories had a grip on him and because of that he was nearly discovered. He heard the sound of the door opening just in time to run back to the bedroom out of sight. Hiding behind the door he listened to figure out who the visitor was.
"I thought you said you cleaned everything up."
"I did." Lucas Jones replied. "I just want to make one final check before we meet the others at the Outback for the grand reopening. My mom will kill me if it's not perfect for when Elizabeth returns."
"Will she return?" Maxie Jones asked. "A stroke is pretty serious. When my grandmother had one she was in a rehabilitation center for months."
"Mom sounds perky and confident. In other words she's freaking out," Lucas's knew the insight into his mother was accurate.
"I know how she feels," Maxie sighed.
"Are things still tense with your mom?" Lucas was content to stand in the empty apartment and talk to her. It felt like it had been months since they actually talked and during that time they had both changed a lot. He missed his cousin by adoption.
"Felicia doesn't seem to grasp the concept of tense," Maxie groused. "She's too busy pretending that she was only gone for a weekend rather then almost a year. It's sad. She's reopening the Outback, starting up her P.I. career again, promising to take care of Mac and us, and she doesn't have a freaking clue. She should go back to Texas or wherever the hell she's been and forget all about us. It shouldn't be that hard for her to do, she's certainly done it often enough in the past."
Lucas could understand the bitterness even if he didn't feel it himself. He knew that if his dad wanted to start spending time with him again he would jump at the chance, but apparently Maxie didn't feel the same about her mom.
"We better go before Dillon tries to convince Felicia to book his latest discovery sight unseen." Lucas took a final look around the apartment then headed for the door.
"Have you even met this mysterious Lynn?" Maxie asked.
"No but according to Dillon she has an amazing voice," he rolled his eyes to show the opinion he had of Dillon at times.
"I think Georgie is more concerned with what she looks like, then what she sounds like," Maxie commented and joined in the eye roll. At times her sister's insecurity was hard to take.
Ric waited for the voices to fade, for the door to close before making his way from the bedroom to the living room. He hadn't liked hearing how long it took Maxie's grandmother to heal, of course that was an old woman while Elizabeth wasn't even 25 yet. That had to effect her recovery time.
Brushing that thought aside he turned his thoughts back to the papers he'd yet to find. If he hadn't found them that meant no one else would. And by the time Elizabeth was mobile she wouldn't want to divorce him. That only left one potential problem. Grace Philips. If she heard the news about Elizabeth, she might very well come forward and tell the truth about the signed divorce papers. He couldn't let that happened.
His determination to stop her led to his quick exit from the Brownstone and race to the car. He needed to find someway to back her off. He had a feeling threats wouldn't work on Grace so he needed to find another way to back her off. He had almost reached his office to get her address when he remembered the fact she was leaving in the morning on a round the worlds cruise. There was a very good chance she wouldn't hear about Elizabeth at all.
Smiling in triumph Ric turned the car in the direction of the hospital. If she showed up at the hospital in the morning he would find a way to deal with it. But for now he needed to get back to his family. He had the night to figure out a way to back her off that was more then enough time.
An Island in the Pacific
"Why are you calling? I thought I told you it was dangerous to use this number?"
"I had to call. Something's happened that you need to know about." The voice on the other end of the line hesitated then went on. "It's about Elizabeth and her child."
General Hospital
Night was full upon the city when Ric finally pulled up in front of the hospital. Though his initial mission had been unsuccessful he was sure he would find the papers eventually, until he did he would keep Elizabeth isolated so she couldn't tell others where they were. If Alexis got them on file he could lose his position in Elizabeth's life and that was something he wouldn't tolerate. Besides now that the baby was born he had the right to take custody while Elizabeth was healing.
Smothering a yawn he headed for the entrance and was about five feet from the doors when he was grabbed from behind and dragged into a side alley. Before he could yell or react in any way he was thrown hard against the brick wall of the building. The impact was hard enough that it jarred the breath from him.
Stunned Ric could only stare at the man that was advancing on him. Holding out his hand to ward him off he finally took a breath and sucked in the smell of onions that came from the trash bin at the end of the enclosed alley.
"Jason."
"I warned you what would happen if you hurt her." Jason's words were quiet, his tone ice cold while his eyes were heated with anger and that combination was quite chilling to behold.
"I did…" That was as far as he got before the mob enforcer struck and struck hard.
The impact from the blows faded after the first few, numbness quickly overrode the pain and he seemed to implode. All strength slipped from his body and Ric collapsed on the dirty ground in an alley that reeked of onions and days old trash. He vaguely wondered if the smell would accompany him into death.