Chapter 9

Alexis let herself into Penthouse 2 to collect her briefcase and enough clothes to last the next few days. She and Sonny agreed they would all stay at Sonny's place for a while and use it as their base of operations. Sonny and Johnny agreed to put Max on guard at the penthouse during the day and two others on at night.

Alexis called Dixon and informed him of what was going on. He didn't hesitate when she asked for his help, simply told her he would be there that evening.

As she closed the door behind her, she felt a hand cover her mouth from behind as an arm grab her around the waist.

"Don't move or I'll snap your neck into, understand?" Feeling his hand loose a bit she nodded her understanding as she was led to the sofa and thrown into it. Righting herself and wrapping her arms around herself for comfort, she looked toward the man who accosted her.

"There's someone here to see you." As he addressed her he shifted his head toward the dining room.

Alexis gasped as she saw Stavros sitting at the table calmly peeling an apple with an evil grin settling on his face.

"It's been a while, little Natasha. Did you forget me? Ah, I can see by the response of your body that you did not. You should not be afraid of me. Did we not have fun together? I seem to remember you were my most enjoyable toy to play with. Shall we continue our little game? I have missed it so."

"I am not afraid of you, Stavros. You mean nothing to me. Games you call them? What you did to me was criminal. I would suggest you leave before I decide it would be well worth my time to press charges against you."

Alexis watched his eyes darken and become harder at her response. Registering that he carefully laid the apple down on the table, she watched him stand and walk menacingly toward her. Knowing she did not want him any closer to her than necessary she stood and began to back away from him. Looking toward the door to gauge the distance between herself and it she noticed the other man had retreated and was standing by the door guarding it.

Realizing that taking her attention away from Stavros for even a second had been a mistake, she felt his hand snap up and grab her neck.

"Are you thinking of leaving, little Natasha? We haven't even begun our little game yet. Such rude behavior is unacceptable and as always must be punished. By the end of our time together today, my dear, you will be dead and I will have moved on to little Kristina."

Raising her hands to his face, she began to claw at him. It was a futile effort as his hand slowly tightened cutting off her air supply. Seeing him raise his other hand she closed her eyes. She knew it was coming and would be unable to stop it so she braced herself as best she could. She remembered what his young hand felt like all those years ago striking her across the face, but she was totally unprepared for the force of the grown man.

An instant before she felt him strike her, he released her throat. As the blow landed against the side of her face her feet lost contact with the floor and she flew backwards hitting the wall behind her. She screamed in pain as she fought to stay conscious. It would be a long afternoon. She would not willingly give in to him. Alexis was a fighter, a survivor. At the end of the day she may have lost the battle against Stavros, but she would not have made it an easy victory for him. Dazed she saw him approach her, and reach toward her. He grabbed her by the throat again and lifted her to her feet. Trying to prepare herself for the next blow she let her mind settle on the only thing that would provide her the strength she needed to survive the coming agony. Her brother, her sister and her soul mate... Sonny.

After seeing Kristina safely tucked away in Michael's quarters, Johnny was on his way back to Penthouse 2. He and Sonny were preparing to meet with the organization heads to fill them in on what would be expected of them. As he exited the elevator he noticed that Max was absent. 'That's strange.' he thought to himself. He then heard Alexis scream from behind the door of penthouse 2. Running toward the door, he threw himself at it and it flew open. What he saw on the other side filled him with a rage he never realized existed inside him.

Stavros held Alexis by the throat and he could see the blood escaping from the side of her mouth where she had been hit. Johnny felt arms go around him from behind and he stepped back in order to flip the second intruder over his back to land in front of him. He then deftly jabbed the palm of his hand into the man's nose sending shattered pieces of bone into his brain. As Johnny released him, he felt the life of the man leave his body. He turned back toward Stavros and started toward him. Hearing Johnny's forceful entrance, Stavros released Alexis and was making his way toward the door to escape. As Johnny reached him, Stavros pulled a knife from a sheath hidden under his coat.

"I wouldn't take another step if I were you, John Mitchell. I was just having a little fun with my little bastard sister. No need for things to get messy."

Stavros had not changed, if anything he was more evil than Johnny remembered. He watched as Stavros edged his way toward the open door.

"Stavros, you've picked the wrong person to come after this time. I will see you dead before I'm finished with you."

"Sorry, bastard brother, you'll have to catch me first." With that Stavros quickly disappeared.

Johnny rushed over to Alexis to see if she was all right.

"Lexie, are you ok?"

"I'm ok, Johnny. Your timing couldn't have been better. I'm thankfully still in one piece."

Alexis nervously tried to laugh at her words. Stavros had been successful in one thing with his visit. Although he terrified her, as she watched him disappear out the door her terror had turned into anger. She was not going to allow him to intimidate her any longer. Neither Stavros, nor Helena. She would not give them that kind of power over her ever again.

Leaving her side for a moment Johnny walked over to the door and moved the dead man out of the way. He looked outside to see if Max had returned and without seeing him firmly shut the door. Returning to Alexis, he helped her up from the floor where she landed when Stavros let go of her.

"Lexie, tell me what happened. How did he get in here and do you know what happened to Max?"

"I came in to get some clothes and someone grabbed me from behind, threw me on the couch and that's when I saw Stavros."

As her mind replayed the events her eyes were wandering around the room and finally fell on the man lying on the floor. He wasn't moving.

"Johnny, what have you done?"

"What I had to. Don't question me on my actions Alexis. He attacked me from behind. I couldn't get to you until I got rid of him. That's all there is to it and I will not argue my actions with you."

Johnny hated to be so stern with her, but he was not going to apologize for protecting his sister. Not to anyone. He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and dialed Sonny's number.

"Sonny, get back here, now. Stavros got to Alexis. She's with me and she's fine. You need to bring a couple of clean up guys. I took out one of Stavros' men." Johnny hung up the phone and turned back to Alexis.

"Alexis, what did he say to you?"

Informing him of Stavros' exact words would have only served to anger Johnny more than he already had been at the sight of the handprint across her cheek. So she told him just enough to satisfy his question.

"He wasn't here long enough to make much of a threat. But, he told me that he was going to kill me and then go after Kristina. Johnny, he meant every word of it. You remember how he was. He's grown more evil than he was twenty years ago. His hatred has eaten him up inside. He's more dangerous than Helena. We have to stop him, Johnny. Before he gets to Kristina. We have to stop him."

Reaching toward the tissue box on the table, Johnny pulled one out and began to clean the blood off her face.

"I know, Lexie. I know. And we will. I promise. We will."