Bette pulled her car, the white Lexus from her last divorce, neatly into visitor's parking near the campus library. Caitlin's Mercedes, the one her father had bought her for her twentieth birthday, was two rows over. Checking her smile in the rearview mirror, she tucked her tape recorder into her purse and left her car. One of Caitlin's friends had told her that the she met her boyfriend often in the garden behind the library and it seemed as good a place to start as any.
She had barely walked the periphery of the garden before fate smiled on her. Caitlin emerged from the library, her cellular phone started to ring as she walked across the garden. Keeping still behind the thick hydrangea bush, Bette remained unnoticed by the young woman as she answered her phone.
"Hello? ... Yes, yes I'm alone." Caitlin tossed a glance around, but saw no one in the late afternoon sun. "What happened?"
"She did what!" Bette heard a thud, the sound of Caitlin striking the bench beneath her in disgust. "How could she do that? She's just a woman-"
The other voice was so upset that Bette could almost hear the words from the other end of the line. She heard the rustling of Caitlin's clothes as she stiffened angrily. "It's not my fault. You're the one who couldn't control her."
The indigence went immediately out of Caitlin's tone. She'd been chastised, viciously from the other party. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that." Bette held back a whistle of astonishment. She hadn't heard Caitlin become quiet that quickly for anyone but her father.
"Yes, yes of course I'm still on your side." She became placating, gentle and accommodating. "No, don't say that, don't even think it. We're in this together Cole- you know that."
Bette slapped her hands over her mouth to cover her gasp of surprise. Cole? - She had to have heard Caitlin wrong. There must be some mistake.
"I didn't mean to get angry with you Cole. I'm sorry- I just don't see how she could have gotten away. ... She's just so little-" It wasn't a mistake. She might have misheard a name once, but not twice. Maybe it was some other Cole. Some other man-
Her heart suddenly pumped cold when Bette realized she was Olivia. She had gotten away, but that meant- she shook her head slowly in horror. For Olivia to have gotten away she had to have been caught. Her cell phone was out of her purse and in her hand before she even thought about calling Roger and demanding to know what the bastard had done now. Bette forced herself to calm down. Gregory had been looking for his wife, and he was tenacious. Olivia wouldn't be helped by her blowing her cover now.
Bette wanted to refuse to believe it. To rewind time and be somewhere else where she wouldn't have to know the awful truth. The only thing that gave her any cause for hope was the fact that Cole was upset. "The bad guys being angry means they haven't won yet." She reminded herself in a soundless whisper.
"No- I don't know-" Caitlin was being accused of something, her voice was apologetic again. "You have to believe me. Yes, yes I'll go right home. ... I'll meet you tonight."
"And I don't know who she was talking too, but honey, they had a lot of power over her. When Cate got off the phone she looked like she was going to cry." Bette explained as Roger flopped down on the couch next to her.
"You know she's upstairs right now, talking to her parents." He rested his head in his hands a moment and shook his head. "I can't believe she was talking to Cole."
"Cole was talking to her. She was apologizing." Bette caught his hand for support, dropping her voice to a horrified whisper. "She told Cole where to find Olivia-"
Roger rested his forehead against hers answering her in the same whisper. "The way Olivia tells it, Caitlin convinced her the bloody test was a good idea."
"No- I don't see- How could she?"
"What are you two whispering about?" Caitlin asked cheerfully from the staircase. "You're certainly close lately."
Impulsively kissing Bette's cheek, Roger gave every impression of not having a care in the world as he winked up at Caitlin. "Nothing that you need to worry about beautiful. How are your parents doing?"
"Mom's still upset, but dad said he'd stay until she felt better." Sympathy was becoming incredibly easy to fake, like putting on her makeup in the morning.
"Well I'm sure having the new bodyguards will make her feel better." Bette replied with a warm smile. "They're going over the, what do you call it-"
"The perimeter." Roger filled in.
Bette tugged herself up with a hand on his arm. "As Mr. Bond here said, the perimeter, with Ricardo right now."
"Bodyguards? What bodyguards?" Caitlin looked away, pouring herself a glass of water to quell the dryness in her mouth.
Bette and Roger shared a look, but Roger touched her shoulder calmly. "They're from the justice department. Of course it's your father's news to tell-"
"Oh he wouldn't mind." Caitlin assured him with a winning smile. "Besides, it'll be awhile before Mom lets him out of her sight."
"I don't think you can blame her sweetheart," Bette's voice came out unnaturally harsh. "I think we'd all be a little hysterical if someone had tried to kill us-"
"Of course," Caitlin brushed at her eyes, letting the dry skin of her hands rest against her eyeballs until they stung with tears. "I'm not used to someone trying to kill my mother."
Bette couldn't bring herself to reach out to the girl. Roger responded to Caitlin's crocodile tears, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as the tears started to pour down her face. "Who would do this to her? What do they want?"
Bette bit back her lip, so that only she heard her angry response. "We should be asking you that beauty."
Gregory got the call just after three in the morning. There was no introduction. "Your request has been granted. Meet at the construction site." The phone line clicked dead.
He replaced the phone on the receiver and rolled over. Olivia lay peacefully next to him, her hand tossed up lazily on her pillow next to her. She'd needed no sedatives to fall asleep. The wounds on her back would heal. The eight stripes on her back were closing, the blood was dry beneath the bandages. Roger's assurances that the baby was fine were the only thing that let either of them sleep.
Ricardo had been unable to find Cole. It didn't matter that a mountain of evidence had been amassed and Cole had finally taken enough rope to hang himself. The riding crop had his fingerprints on one end and Olivia's blood on the other. Even her amber necklace had a perfect thumbprint on it. The hospital search had tied up the SBPD for nearly three hours and Cole St. John was still a free man. Gregory's connections had been far more efficient and if he turned Cole over to the authorities he'd be facing felony charges. Assault in the first degree, attempted murder, extortion- all of it was enough to lock Cole away. He'd likely never see sunlight again.
Likely wasn't nearly good enough. He knew the way a good defender could manipulate the system. This was personal.
Gregory kissed her cheek, careful to use only the slightest pressure. Swinging his bare feet to the floor, he slipped out from the sheets. Crossing to the closet, he choose his clothes carefully. He'd been meaning to get rid of the black shirt and pants he pulled on for a few weeks now, and this was the perfect night for black.
Kneeling down to tie on his walking shoes, Gregory's eyes remained on his bed. Once she was out of tears Olivia was fine. She'd even had a smile for him when they'd gone to bed together. He couldn't tell her how he'd needed that simple gesture. The new alarm system, the two bodyguards from the justice department playing cards in their kitchen, even the fatal phone call of a moment ago- none of it could say they were all right more then her smile. Her smile said she believed that he could protect her and he was going to make sure that belief was well placed.
Gregory stood and headed for the door of their bedroom. Pausing at her nightstand, he toyed with her diamond engagement ring for a moment before retrieving it. The ring would remind him not to show mercy. He kissed it once before tucking it into his pocket.
Waving to the agents as he retrieved Belle's leash and called the dog to his side, Gregory shrugged at their questions. "I can't sleep and I'm taking a walk."
The woman, young agent Montgomery, nodded over her hand of cards. "Sounds like you're looking for the lecture."
Gregory snorted his laughter, appreciating her candor. "You stay with my wife. Mr. St. John's not going to do anything to me."
Her partner agreed with a silent nod and tossed him a heavy black keychain. "Panic button, press it and the police will be notified immediately. If Mrs. Richards asks us, we'll come looking for you. If you aren't back in an hour, we'll come get you. And Agent Sorenson will be accompanying you."
"Oh you don't have to wake him, I know the kind of hours you work. I'll drop by the Lichfield and pick up Dr. Baxter. If we stay together- that's acceptable isn't it?"
"Call when you get to the Lichfield." Agent Spears advised firmly as he studied his hand and turned his attention back to his partner. "I'll bid three, spades."
"Hope you clear your head." Agent Montgomery wished him as she nodded to her partner's bid. "Spades it is."
As night fell, Cole tossed his frustrating cellular phone across the room onto the expensive overstuffed sofa of his Lichfield apartment. "Damn her. Damn Olivia. God damn them both. Let Gregory keep his women- I've had one and nearly taken the other, what's left for him?" He poured himself a drink and toasted his reflection in the mirror.
"Maybe I've been going about this the wrong way." He wondered as he finished his whiskey and the ice cubes clunked together on the bottom of his glass. "Maybe I should have listened to my father and gotten the hell out of Sunset Beach when he wanted me too."
His reflection smiled at him as they refilled their glasses from the half-empty bottle of whiskey. "But then I wouldn't have gotten to show dear Olivia what fear tastes like." His smile died away and his reflection stared at him with disgust. "But she stood up to me, didn't she?"
Olivia's blasted silence had bothered him more than Cole cared to admit even to his own reflection. She had beaten him and to top it all off, she had escaped. "Temporally." Cole felt the bump on the back of his head with tentative fingers. The dried blood had come out of his hair in the shower, and he had been lucky. He'd come around before the police closed in on him. Slipping past hospital security was easy enough, but if he'd been a few minutes slower- The image of Gregory gloating at him through the bars of a jail cell was distinctly unpleasant.
Cole washed it down with another drink, his watch said he still had twenty minutes before he should be leaving to meet Caitlin. Twenty minutes to find a way around the bodyguards. No one was suspicious of Caitlin. "Perhaps it's time I involved her more directly." His reflection smiled in agreement.
When Caitlin arrived in the grotto the sun was already deep beneath the ocean. Cole however, was nowhere to be found. At first she thought Cole was late. Then that he was trying to punish her for the way her mother had escaped his grasp. He just didn't understand. As much as it infuriated him to have failed again, Caitlin was the one who had to live with her mother. Who had to watch as she sucked the life out of her father to feed it as it grew inside of her. It was the problem. It was had ruined everything.
When she got bored of waiting, Caitlin swung her backpack over her shoulders and started to leave the grotto. Cole wasn't coming. "Only a man would demand I be here and then never show up. Cole, wherever you are, I hope you're happy."
Bette cleared her throat as she walked out of the shadows of the stone. "I'm not sure where he is beauty but I sincerely doubt Cole's having any fun."
Belle trotted obediently at his side as they hurried through the empty streets of Sunset Beach. in the quiet of the pre-dawn hours, only a few stray public workers were even awake. She didn't mind being used as an alibi. In fact, she might even enjoy the morning's activity. Gregory didn't even have to buzz up to the Lichfield for Roger. The good doctor was waiting for him on the steps of the apartment and he bounced to his feet when Gregory approached with the St. Bernard.
Roger traded Gregory the small black duffle bag for the leash of the dog. "It's exactly what you're wearing, just like you asked."
Gregory allowed himself a small, grim smile. "I'll meet you on the beach behind my house in fifty minutes."
"The bodyguards expect us back by then?" Roger asked quietly as he fidgeted with Belle's soft ears.
"That they do." Gregory met his eyes for a moment and Roger realized that the next time he looked at his friend something would be changed.
"Well we should get on with our walk, we'll talk about Olivia, Christmas in Manchester and Sean's studies at Chesterfield. In case you're curious." He headed towards the beach with Belle and Gregory turned towards the construction site.
The sub-basement of the future South Bay Medical School was currently a muddy pit. The rains of past few days had filled it with water. Water that soaked over Cole's feet and into his expensive leather shoes. It was wet up to his ankles, and the wetness was what brought him back from the fog of unconsciousness. Being knocked senseless was becoming the order of the day and the fairly large amount of whiskey he had consumed certainly wasn't helping.
Was it still night? Cole's senses were dulled and he couldn't be sure if his eyes were open or closed. It was certainly dark enough to be. Did it ever get this dark in Sunset Beach?
The darkness disappeared as the bag was lifted forcefully from his head. Then a cascade of icy, brackish water brought him coughing and sputtering to the present. The cuffs on his hands were released, whoever was in control was behind him. Cole jumped from his chair and whirled to face his attacker.
The attacker was gone. Confused, Cole turned back to the original direction he was facing, hands closing on the simple metal chair he had been dumped in. He heard the soft click of metal handcuffs being dropped onto cement off to his left. Gregory Richards stretched his hands in front of him before dropping them to his sides. "I don't think we've ever officially met." His right hand dropped into his pocket, finding the warm weight of Olivia's engagement ring.
"We frequent the same places, you've been in my house, really it is a surprise we haven't met until now." He let the ring slip back into his pocket and extended his right hand towards Cole. "Gregory Richards-"
Cole smiled, exposing perfectly white teeth in a demonic grin. He didn't extend his hand. "Finally got sick of me?"
Gregory looked at his rejected hand and shrugged as he withdrew it. "I was sick of you the moment I knew you existed." He could feel Cole sizing him up, the thief was easily half his age and perhaps a few inches taller. There was confidence in Cole's brown eyes. Confidence that Gregory wanted to encourage.
"And it took you that long to find me?" He laughed and shook his head in mocking disappointment. "Tsk tsk. You aren't really living up to your reputation." Cole turned his wrists and flexed his fingers.
Gregory stood his ground and let Cole advance on him. "I would hate to think I'd let you down."
They were within an arm's reach of each other now. Circling slowly, Cole came towards Gregory's position on the high ground, the one spot in the pit without the brackish water. "Oh I wouldn't worry about that, I'll be thoughtful enough to give my apologies to your lovely wife. I'm sure she'll believe me when i tell her your last thoughts were of her."
"See, now there's a problem-" Gregory folded his arms over his chest and thoughtfully rested his chin on his hand. "I can't have you talking to my wife." He took a step away from Cole, even turning his back a fraction. "Or looking at her." His eyes were darker then the night sky above them and absorbed what little light there was. "In fact, even thinking about her might be too much-"
Cole through the first punch a right hook that Gregory caught and shoved away from his face easily. "I'll be able to do more then think-" Cole closed the distance between them, putting them so close that they could feel the proximity of each other. "Once you're dead."
"It's just not turning out to be your day, is it Mr. St. John?" Gregory let his shoulders tighten. He wanted Cole to think he was angry, that he was off-balance, that he was weak. "I don't think I'll be able to accommodate you."
This time Cole's fist lashed out towards his stomach. Tightening his abdominal muscles in response, Gregory took the hit and came up smiling. "That request, however, I think I can fit in." His retaliatory strike caught Cole just above the right hip. What he lacked in youth, he had in experience.
Cole's sharp inhalation of pain fueled Gregory's determination. While Cole went for his jaw, knocking his teeth together did little to rattle his resolve and Gregory came back with a series of blows to Cole's unprotected stomach.
Cole slammed his fist into Gregory's teeth, bloodying the older man's lip, but bashing the hard enamel had torn the flesh of Cole's hands. Bright red blood dripped down to the muddy cement. It barely had the time to fall before they lunged at each other again. Cole began with confidence, counting on his youth to lend him the upper hand. He put his energy into a quick victory, backing every hit with as much of his strength as he could muster.
Gregory's smile remained unaffected. His speed was constant, his hands sure and steady. He was unassailable. As Cole tired, it seemed the Gregory was always one step ahead of him. His blocks came up faster, his fists flashed out quicker in return. The more Cole lagged behind, the more strength Gregory lashed out with.
Their breathing was a symphony of disharmony. Gregory's practiced, quick and controlled. Ragged and panting, Cole lost more ground with every breath. Gregory was backing him down from the dry cement. Cole ducked away from a lunge and felt the water slosh up past his ankle. The ground beneath the water was muddy and it drained more strength as he moved his feet through it.
The black water churned into a froth of white around their feet. Gregory dropped his left shoulder and felt Cole's fist sail past his ear. Slamming both hands into the side of Cole's chest drew a crunch of breaking ribs. Cole jumped away, coughing for air. Gregory pulled back long enough to watch the bloody pink spit drip from Cole's bruised lips.
Cole took another step back, seeming to loose his balance a second before he charged. Gregory heard the desperate inhalation into tortured lungs a half-second before it was too late. He jumped back to the side and thrust up his knee. Cole's stomach was hard and the muscles of his leg screamed in agony at the violation. Gregory held and the heavy bones of his leg succeeded. Cole went down.
Dropping to his hands and knees in the water, Cole felt the jolt in his shoulders as his arms struck the cement. The thin layer of muck squelched up between his fingers. He spent a moment contemplating the surface of the water, the way the tiny waves mimicked the movement of the ocean.
Gregory moved with quiet certainty and the water seemed to part as he crossed to Cole. The reflection of his eyes in the water was burned into Cole's memory. Gregory's face was human enough, lips twisted in an animalistic grin, but his eyes were as dark as the water. The water surged up into his ears as Gregory shoved his head down. Digging his fingers into Cole's hair, Gregory held him under until Cole's entire body started to thrash desperately for air. Cole felt his head break the surface, and one tortured breath shot pain through his lungs. The knife of the broken ribs stabbed into his right side.
Cole went down again, face-first into the grasping black water. Muddy water filled his nose, sting up through his sinuses. The bitter taste of it overpowered the coppery blood. Gregory slammed his head into the cement, bringing the flash of explosive agony. Eternity passed while Cole waited for Gregory to bring him up again, but instead of bring his head up for one more torturous breath, something heavy climbed onto his back.
Gregory's knees pressed down into his shoulders, his feet dug into Cole's back, and his hands remained on the beck of Cole's neck. He could feel the angry fingers close around the base of his skull. Steel bands held his face to the muck. The burning became uncontrollable and Cole had to breath in. He fought against the pain in his chest, against the weight of Gregory's body.
Ice crept past his lips. He had to hold on, but his body breathed in. Water sliced through his lungs in a rain of razors. The pain of his broken ribs paled as his entire chest burst into unspeakable agony. His eyes opened to the water, seeing nothing as his own feeble struggles for life stirred it to a froth again.
Gregory pushed downward as Cole's thrashing spiked in a final, desperate plea for life. As soon as the water filled his lungs, the thrashing faded. He could feel the muscles tense and grow tighter still beneath him. The beating of Cole's heart was a panicked thudding beneath his fingertips. It raced faster, as if speed could replace oxygen. Then after a final twitch, Cole was still.
Around them the water stilled, growing mirror smooth as neither man moved. When Gregory was satisfied, he stood up, stirring the water slightly as he slogged out of the pit. The water grew quiet again, lapping gently around the body that had been Cole St. John until the waves were gone and everything was still.
He held Olivia's ring in a tight fist as he watched Cole's body float to the surface. Burning the image into his memory, he turned and walked away from the construction site. Gregory stripped off his clothes, replacing each item of his clothing with an identical counterpart from the black duffle bag. He even had new running shoes to change into. His muddy, bloodstained clothes went into the bag instead. As he walked easily down the street, he tossed it into a garbage truck going about it's morning rounds.
Roger was waiting for him on the beach, Belle chewing on a large piece of driftwood. His friend handed him a pack of alcohol wipes as he looked for the change in Gregory's eyes. "You've still got a few minutes, get yourself cleaned up or the bodyguards will think I beat you."
They sat in silence as Gregory cleaned the blood from his face and neck. Roger's professional eye gave him a quick once-over. "You look all right." There was an innocence gone from Gregory's dark eyes. Something Roger knew from experience. "It changes you, taking a human life."
Gregory laughed softly, folding the dirty cloths into a ball in his hand. He patted Roger's shoulder as he stood and snapped his fingers for Belle. "I'll let you know when I've taken a human one."
Slipping past the bodyguards was simple, they looked him over, waved to Roger and returned to their card game. Belle downed her breakfast and settled into the living room sofa. Gregory opened his mouth to let her down and stopped himself. Today, she deserved it. He left her in the living room and climbed the stairs up to his bedroom. Caitlin's room was empty on his left. Sean's was empty around the corner. The door to the master bedroom was shut, just as he had left it.
Olivia had crept into his side of the bed, as was her habit when he was up before she was. He circled to drop her engagement ring back in the tray on her nightstand. Gregory's clothes came off again, this time he dumped them to the floor of the bathroom, just as if he had been out jogging with Roger. The shower came on hot and stung into every cut and scrape on his body. Some of the injuries on his chest would turn to bruises, but Olivia would believe an overzealous workout with Roger had caused them.
He shut off the water, taking a long breath and enjoying the smell of clean. That spicy scented soap Olivia liked him to use, whatever she called it, was heaven after the stink of mud. Gregory toweled off, leaving his skin pink with his efforts. He wasn't taking anything of that bastard into bed with her. Slipping beneath the covers , he pulled her sleeping body up just enough to slide beneath her.
Olivia's arms tightened around him in response, along with a little sigh of contentment. The swell of her belly pressed slightly into his side, and Gregory smiled as he remembered the difficulties in sharing a bed with a very pregnant Olivia. He could count on that now. She was safe again. His fingers danced over the injuries on her back, when they healed the last of Cole would be gone. He'd never be able to hurt her again. "You're safe now. As safe as I could possibly make you."
Olivia stirred slightly, turning her head towards the sound of his voice. Suddenly she sat up, dragging his arm up with her. Gregory bolted up next to her, both hands falling to her back. Her forehead furrowed in concern for a moment but then her eyes fluttered open with a gasp of surprise. "Gregory-"
She caught one of his hands and brought it to her stomach. "Can you feel that?"
He sighed in relief as his heart slowed to a normal rate. Gregory nuzzled into her neck. "No Liv, I don't feel anything."
"Shh-" She ordered him firmly. "You have to concentrate, maybe he'll do it again."
Olivia felt the weight of his head on her shoulder. "What did he do?"
Laughing softly, she tightened her grip on his hand. "Oh darling, he moved. I thought I was dreaming-" Her face erupted into a brilliant smile. "He just did it again, can't you feel that?"
He raised an eyebrow and shook his head as he kissed her temple. "No, but I'll believe you." Lying back down, he was pleased when she snuggled into his arms, keeping both of their hands entwined over the side of her belly.
"He's okay." Olivia whispered to him with quiet astonishment. "He's really okay."
He shifted to look into her eyes, finding absolution in the naked love in her gaze. "Of course he is sweetheart, of course he is. Now go back to sleep."
She giggled, caught between like an excited little girl on Christmas morning and the woman who had been terrified her actions had doomed her child. "I don't know how you expect me to sleep."
Gregory's hand traced the contours of her face, tracing each curve on his way down from her forehead to her chin. "You don't have to sleep. I'm just glad you're here."
kissing his finger as it brushed past her lips, Olivia bit back a yawn as she looked up at him in confusion. "Where else would I go?"
"Oh nowhere." He replied easily as he traced the outline of her mouuth. "Nowhere at all."