CHAPTER NINETY-TWO
Runaway Obssession

"Mason lied about AJ and Alexis." Sonny said, once they were back on the street. "What else did he lie about?"

"More importantly, why?" Jax answered Sonny's question with one of his own.

"How well do you know this guy? What does he have to gain from telling you a lie about Alexis?"

"We're more business associates than friends, but our paths have crossed pretty often over the last few years. I was surprised to see him show up in Port Charles. And even more surprised when he decided to stay around awhile. But then, when he started showing interest in both Carly and Alexis, I thought that explained it."

"Carly." Sonny said after a moment. "I wonder if she has anything to do with this?"

Jax turned to look at Sonny his anxiousness revealing itself in his annoyed, almost angry tone of voice. "Do you always assume the worst about Carly? No wonder she ran away."

"Do you ever take off that white hat, Jax? I never assume anything about Carly. I just know what she's capable of. You said she took off without telling you about it. Sounds like typical Carly to me. Take a situation happen that she's involved in, let it turn ugly and she takes off." Sonny paused. Something jiggled in the back of his brain just then, but he couldn't quite catch the thought

"That's one take on the situation." Jax said. "Here's another - after the words you two had down at the PCPD, maybe she was afraid of you and ran."

"I doubt that. I'm telling you, Jax; more than likely Carly has done something she shouldn't have and she's run for cover. If she was afraid of me, it was about her being afraid of facing me, having to explain what scheme she's gotten herself into this time that has blown up in her face. Maybe you should check with her 'current victim'."

"Why should she run? What did you say to her at the police station? When you came to the restaurant asking me about Alexis, I saw her face and I'm telling you, Sonny - she was afraid."

"All I did was turn down her 'offer' of perpetrating the fraud of a nuclear family - with her in the starring role as the loving and devoted wife.'" Sonny's expression was one of contempt, not angry, Jax was forced to acknowledge. But old habits still died hard.

"So it's all about you, hm?" Jax asked, letting a trace of disbelief color his tone. "And Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?"

"Hell hath no fury like Carly Benson scorned." Sonny corrected him, his expression gone serious. "Trust me, Jax." his lips twisted wryly as he realized what he'd just said to the man who'd been his straight-up adversary for so many years in so many ways. "Trust me when I tell you that you have no idea of what Carly is capable of. I do. That stunt she tried to pull down at the PCPD was nothing compared to what else she's done. And when I turned her down flat, there's no telling what went through her head. Carly doesn't stop to think when she's hurt, mad or any combination of the two. If she's hurt, she hurts back. If she's afraid, she lashes out. If she's angry, she goes out for revenge. She doesn't think, she just reacts."

"Her mother said just about the same thing." Jax was forced to agree.

"There ya go." Sonny said. "So one of our priorities is finding Carly." He reached for his cell. Sonny flipped it open and made a call. "Jason. Yeah, I'm not in my car. I'm with Jax." There was a silence while that information was being digested by the man on the other end. "Yeah, I know. Stranger things have happened; I'll explain it to you later. Right now, I need for you to find Carly. Seems like she's taken a little trip that nobody knows about. See what you can find out. And oh yeah, get somebody to check out what you can find on a Mason Lane. He's one of Alexis' clients, among other things." he said, looking at Jax meaningfully.

Sonny pocketed his phone. "So, what can you tell me about this Lane guy that I don't already know?"

"Like?"

"Like the fact that he had an interest in Alexis that went beyond business."

"Jealous?" Jax knew he shouldn't but at the same time couldn't help but ask.

"Not for a minute."

Even now, Jax couldn't help but feel a little resentment at the arrogant shake of Sonny's head. It must have shown on his face.

"Come on, Jax. Alexis is a one-man woman. Even you oughta know that by now." Sonny said. He went on, almost talking to himself. "You know, the few times me and this guy spoke, I didn't like the vibe I got off him. Like he wanted to snub me, but knew he didn't dare. At the same time, he couldn't resist showing me what he was about. A smart guy who knows he's smart. Thinks he's smarter than everyone around him. Makes him prone to want to show it off." He looked at Jax. "Am I wrong?"

Jax was forced to admit that Sonny was right about Mason. "He was interested in Carly as well as Alexis. But in Carly's case, I'm pretty sure the two of them were involved."

"Carly's missing and you said he told you he was taking a trip. Would they have snuck off to be together?"

"No, Mason wouldn't have bothered to hide a rendezvous with Carly. He never did. And after all this time, I don't think she would either. They didn't broadcast it, but they didn't go out of their way to hide the fact that they were seeing each other either." Jax said.

"If he wasn't hiding that, then just what was he hiding?"

Jax was silent for a moment, his mind racing, going over all the conversations he'd had with Mason and all that he knew about him. Personally, he only knew what Mason allowed him to know. They'd been on opposite sides of deals as well as partners in ventures at one time or the other and Jax respected him as a shrewd and hard bargainer.

As a man, Mason had never hid the fact that he liked the ladies, and the ladies indeed, liked him. Like he'd told Sonny, Mason had been interested in both Carly and Alexis and had made no attempts to hide it. But Alexis had never been interested, and now Jax knew why. It sounded like things with her and Sonny had been well underway by the time Mason had arrived in Port Charles, even if no one else had known it. Not him, not for sure, and definitely not Mason. So maybe Mason had thought Alexis was just playing a game with him.

A sudden thought chilled him. As personable as Mason could be when he wished, he was as ruthless in his business dealings as Jax could be. What if he had come to the realization that Alexis wasn't playing hard to get? What if Mason had tired of her saying no? Jax realized that he had no idea of how Mason might react.

Sonny saw Jax's expression change. He repeated the question.

"Could it be… maybe he was hiding just how much he wanted Alexis?" Jax spoke without thinking. "Maybe it went beyond wanting to ..obsession."

"And if Smart Guy is not used to hearing the word no ..." Sonny's thoughts echoed Jax's. If Mason had become obsessed with Alexis, then there was no telling what he might do to have her. He raised a sudden, stunned disbelieving gaze to Jax and was more than a little disturbed that Jax returned it with one of his own.