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Chapter 7

"What are you doing here?" Liz asked grinning as she walked into the penthouse. She was wheeling her large suitcase behind her and had a garment bag thrown over her shoulder. Max was carrying two other bags and her helmet. "Thanks." He had grabbed the headgear before she could pick it up.

"You're welcome Liz." He had offered to handle all the luggage but she declined. "Call me if you leave the building."

"I'm in for the night." She promised him taking the helmet then watching him put the bags he had carried up on the floor next to her wheeled one. "Have a good night."

"I will. See you in the morning. Emily." He said wishing the ladies a good night.

"What's with the bags?" Emily asked looking her friend over. Liz looked sorta rested. By that the business major meant that her friend didn't look as tired as expected, but the skin under her eyes was dark which meant she could use more sleep. "Also where is Jason?"

Liz put her jacket away and then put her helmet on the shelf that Jason added for her. "Your brother is working. The bags are because we are going away." She came over and sat next to her friend. "I answered yours, so answer mine."

"I came to check on you." Emily said like it was obvious. "Also to tell you that Carly is gone."

"Gone? That sounds ominous." Liz looked over at her friend.

"AJ whisked her off." Emily leaned forward to put the book she had been reading on the table. "He was seriously freaked about what happened last night." John hadn't been too pleased either. He had already been on the phone with Sonny since he couldn't reach Jason. Her brother's partner confirmed that all the ladies were getting guards that would be with them when they went out. That included Carly. It was non-negotiable. "My brother's response was to decide that they were going to London until the fall."

"How epic was that fight?" Liz wanted to know. Carly hated to be dictated to.

"He bought her another hotel." Emily said grinning. "One in need of a total makeover."

"Master level move." Liz knew that Carly wouldn't have been able to resist that. "She's going to take a pound of flesh off of him at some point for being highhanded."

"She will, too bad we won't get to see that." Emily was in complete agreement. "That hotel is also going to be gorgeous when she's done. I couldn't believe how the Metro Court looked when she was finished." Em got out her phone. The hotel had been the Port Charles Hotel until a fire struck. AJ turned the business over to his wife who took the opportunity to rebrand and give it an upgrade. "This is what the new hotel looks like now."

Liz scrolled through some of the pictures. "Whoever owned this establishment last decorated in the seventies. Possibly maybe earlier." It looked like something out of a period drama. Or horror movie. "That is a lot of shag carpeting."

"Carly sent me those pictures before they took off about three hours ago. She said she would call you when they get settled at the homestead." The Quartermaine family had a luxury apartment in the city for anyone in the family to use when in London. At some point Emily was hoping to show Liz around the European city. "Where are you off to?"

"Puerto Rico." Liz knew it was fine to talk to Emily about this. "Your brother said we were leaving tomorrow, but he didn't say at what time." She got out her phone and sent a text to Nadine and Georgie. If Jason was with Logan, odds were good their guys would be as well. They may as well all hang out together.

"It's gorgeous there." Emily had been several times including just this past Christmas during her break. She liked to stay in the hotel, but she was guessing her brother and best friend would be staying on Sonny's compound.

"I've seen your pictures." Liz knew that Jason would make sure she saw all the fun spots. "And when I get back you'll see my pictures."

"You have swimwear correct? You have to get in all that blue water." Emily looked at the clock. It wasn't too late to go shopping if necessary. Hell they could go raid Liz's workroom.

"Calm your jets missy." Liz laughed at her friend. "We are not going out." Like most designers she wore her own creations, but she supported others in the industry as well. So it wasn't uncommon to see her shopping downtown. "I have something for splashing around in the water, and if I didn't I'm sure I could pick up something on my trip."

"Bikinis?" Emily was trying to get information on the relationship between Jason and Liz. Him taking her away could mean they were no longer just friends, or that they would no longer be just friends by the time they returned.

"That wasn't even subtle." Liz gave her best friend a look.

"I'm a little sister. We don't do subtle." She said with a sunny grin. "We are all about getting the information we want by any means necessary."

"Have you ever called a runner?" Liz completely switched topics just to annoy Emily. When her friend huffed she knew it had worked.

"Actually no." Emily crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Liz. "I just call Jason, or if something is being dropped off he calls me to let me know what is coming. I would guess that Max can help you. It is rude to ignore a question." She said with a sniff, and tried really hard to not start smiling. No one messed with her like Liz.

"Good point." Liz should have thought of that. A knock sounded and the door opened. "Yes?" Paulie was on post at the moment.

"Ms. Crowell and Ms. Jones are here." He announced. "Trent also sent this up." He said bringing over an envelope.

"They can come in, and thank you Paulie." He walked over to hand her the envelope. She would have come over to where he was standing. What was inside wasn't a surprise to her. She didn't realize it was ready or she would have stopped by the office and picked it up.

"How are you feeling?" Nadine asked swinging into nurse practitioner mode.

"Honestly, a little out of sorts." Liz was starting to feel the effects of what she went through. The bruises around her wrists and ankles were darker. The webbing between her thumb and forefinger on both hands was bruising as well, from how hard she was gripping the belt. It was worse on the left than the right, the same was true of the pain level. Her shoulders, upper arms, and neck were also sore from how tightly she was pulling on the belt. Lastly she was tired from a lack of sleep.

The last one she could rest and deal with. The bruises she paid no mind to. The aches however would be hard to ignore. Tomorrow not only would she hurt more, but she was probably going to start stiffening up. The day after that would be worse, and three days from now she would hardly be able to move. Unless she took preventive measures. A massage might be a good idea, and a soak was a must. Jason's bathroom had a Jacuzzi tub which she would use tonight.

"I got Patrick to write you a prescription for extra strength ibuprofen." Nadine said taking the bottle out of her bag. "It will help with the soreness without knocking you out."

"You are a life saver." Liz was just going to ask a runner to go get her a bottle.

"Save some of that hero worship for me. I picked you up some bath bombs. They will not only make soaking more enjoyable but they will leave you smelling amazing." Georgie had stopped at the store over after leaving court. "They are vanilla scented."

"My other friends brought gifts." Liz said teasing Em.

"I'm going to pay for dinner." Em told her friend because no she didn't bring anything. "I also came bearing gifts. Well not really gifts because you can't keep it." She said pulling over her bag. "Ta da!"

"Heathers!" Liz, Nadine, and Georgie all said in unison.

"Christian Slater at his finest." Emily just grinned. They all loved this movie, and they always watched it whenever possible. "I thought it would be fun to kick back and watch while we eat."

"That is a plan." Georgie loved that movie. "Sushi?"

"Not tonight. We are only going to dine on the finest the city has to offer this evening." Emily looked at Liz.

"Eli's?" The designer guessed.

"Yup." Emily knew that was Liz's go to place for takeout. "I'm even going to order their signature dessert, the mudslide cake."

"That will be the perfect way to celebrate my news." Liz said opening the envelope in her hand and showing her friends the shining silver key. "I'm moving into the penthouse."

"Shut up!" Emily said so happy she was having trouble finding the right words. There was no way Liz was talking about her and Jason being roommates.

"We are definitely going to have to celebrate." Nadine was thrilled for her friend.

"When you feel better we will do the jump up and down thing." Georgie was so happy for Liz. "How come you didn't wait for Carly to arrive?" They were missing a person.

"She's on her way to London." Liz filled in. "Since I'm leaving tomorrow I wanted to share my news before I go."

"Where are you going?" Nadine wanted to know.

"Jason is taking me to Puerto Rico to relax. That way I'm not spending my time trying to avoid my parents while I'm sore and colorful." Liz put her key away so that she didn't drop it. Her keys were in her purse so after she dug them out she would put the new key on.

"We missed a lot of stuff in half a day." Nadine said laughing. Jason was not wasting any time. "As a medical professional I have to concur with Jason's suggestion of rest. Everyone knows that to really relax you have to have sand." She said being silly.

"You will love the resort." Georgie had been down once after she and Milo started dating. He took her down for a week when school ended last year. She was looking forward to going back. "You will love the island in general." She amended her statement.

"Have you been?" Liz asked Nadine. The designer was thinking no.

"No." The nurse said shaking her head. "Cody has mentioned us going down and it will probably happen on my next vacation." Nadine was terrified of flying, so she had to psych herself up to get on a plane despite the fact that she would probably sleep through the flight. Even one as nice as the Corinthos Morgan jet. So far every vacation they went on they did road trip style. Her guy was extremely patient with her. She was seeing Dr. Collins about this fear because she knew that Cody wanted to show her more of the world.

"I plan on taking plenty of pictures, so it will be like you are practically there." Liz smiled at Nadine. Her friend was working on her fear.

"I will hold you to that." Nadine was excited for Liz because she knew that her friend hadn't been down to the island either. "Right now I'm going to get you a glass of water so you can take some pain meds and start to feel better."

"I'm going to order dinner, and then I'll call Max to figure out how to get the food picked up." Emily would call from the other side of the room.

"I will sit here and you can regale me with the tale of Jason asking you to move in. Don't skip the good parts since Emily won't be around." Georgie said moving to the couch. The good part remark was a joke, she didn't expect her friend to talk about what she and her guy did in private.


"Where is he?" Jason walked into the warehouse. He had just dropped Elizabeth off at her apartment. Max had been sitting on her front stoop waiting for them to arrive. The guard seemed to be enjoying the view because Elizabeth had a lot of female neighbors.

"In the back." Johnny held up his hands and Jason tossed over the keys to his bike. The green eyed guard was one of the few people that was trusted enough to handle the Harley. Later Jason would be sore so driving the machine home might not be possible. Or it might be, Johnny had seen both scenarios. "How was the bike ride?"

"Good." Jason was smiling as he answered. "We went out to nowhere."

"You should just buy that spot." Johnny told his friend. "Or have you tried?"

"It's not for sale. It was donated to Port Charles University as preserved green space on the condition that they never sell it. They use it boost wildlife numbers." Jason had indeed asked Diane look into it.

"So you're trespassing when you are out there?" Johnny wanted to know.

"No." Jason replied as they reached the room where their prisoner was waiting. "Edward is one of the biggest sponsors of the university. Through him I have permission to go out there as long as I don't disturb anything." In other words as long as he didn't bother any animal nests or kill any of the wildlife which consisted of various bird species.

"Because of Liz." Johnny ventured a guess.

Jason and his grandfather had come a long way where their relationship was concerned. Mainly because them not getting along hurt Lila. The two men still had some distance between them, until Jason went to the mansion one day with Elizabeth. The older man made some snarky comment and she had pretty much ripped him a new one. Edward had been grinning the entire time he was being put in his place. By the time she was done Liz had a new fan. Lila already had made it clear that she adored the young designer. Liz said she didn't want to hear anything like that about Jason come from Edward's mouth again. Since then things had been much better.

"Of course." Jason just smirked. "He flirts with her like Sonny flirts with my grandmother. Shamelessly."

"It keeps him from talking to you." Johnny commented on the upside. "They are going to be thrilled to hear that the two of you are dating."

"We should go tell my grandmother tomorrow before leaving." Jason didn't want her to learn about it in the paper. He didn't worry about everyone else since he knew Elizabeth would tell Emily tonight. His sister would tell Monica and Alan. "Who are we waiting for?"

"Francis is coming over because Diane is feeling better." She had destroyed the DA in court today and got the charges Sonny was facing tossed. "Cody is in the office calling his girl, Nadine is going to check on Liz and promised him an update. Sonny should be arriving shortly." Johnny went down the list. "I'm not sure about Milo, it depends on what Georgie does."

The blonde mob boss was hearing that a good number of his friends were planning their evenings around their ladies. Now that would be him, and that made Jason happier than he could say. "Why are you still single?"

"Haven't met anyone who makes me want to be a double." Johnny said getting serious. "My mother says that the woman for me is out there, so I'm just enjoying the ride until she shows up." Johnny had a great love of women, it was matched by his respect for them. When he was in a relationship he gave his partner everything. When he wasn't he enjoyed the ability to go out on a lot of dates. "I'm kind of hoping she shows up soon. I don't want to be the odd one out."

"Sonny is still single." Jason reminded his friend.

"Because he's dragging his ass. I know it looked like you and Liz were moving slowly but you really weren't. You were taking your time and making sure that when you moved from friends to something more it was going to last. I respect that. Sonny is not even putting any effort into asking Alexis out." Johnny went on a mini rant. He thought his friend was being stupid, and was risking missing out on the type of woman he should be with.

"They could just be taking it slowly like Elizabeth and I did." Jason played devil's advocate.

"Then they need to do us the courtesy of letting us know." Johnny said laughing. The guys only clued in about Jason because he couldn't hide his changing feelings, that made them look closer at Liz and they saw the same thing. If the ladies could read people better than they would have seen what was happening. Lila wasn't going to be surprised by this news, Johnny would bet his house on it.

Jason looked down the hall and saw all his friends coming. Including Milo. It was the younger of the Giambetti brothers who spoke first. "The ladies are together. Georgie said to call if we are going to be late."

Sonny went next. "The arrangements are all set. The houses were cleaned today, and the flight plans have been filed. Send a list of what you want to my head housekeeper and she'll make sure it's picked up." He looked at his partner and Johnny both because she would be shopping for both houses because Jason and Liz were not staying in the main house. I also booked a massage for Elizabeth for the day after tomorrow. You'll get a call from the spa to confirm the appointment. Anything else you need you can get." The mob boss said grinning.

"Johnny said court went well." Jason checked in with his partner. None of them was really worried. Diane was that good.

"Diane is frightening." Sonny said smiling and popping out his dimples. "I think I heard Baldwin whimpering." The guys all laughed at that.

"Who is being assigned to me while we are down there?" Jason wanted to know getting back to the trip.

"Renaldo and Lee." Cody had handled this. Renaldo was the head of the guards on the island so he would be automatically be put on the rotation to watch his bosses when they came down. Renaldo reported to Cody when it came to security matters. "Liz knows him since he was up here for a few years, and I wanted her comfortable. He suggested Lee and will make the introductions."

"We can get her a female guard." Sonny told Jason.

"I can ask, but I know that Elizabeth is going to say that isn't necessary. She's comfortable with the guys." Jason said shrugging. She wasn't afraid of men despite what she had been through. At the moment she might be a little wary, but he knew that wouldn't extend to the Port Charles crew.

"Just let me know if that changes." Sonny would do whatever Liz needed. She had saved his life with a blood transfusion and he was aware of the fact that she didn't have to. It was just the type of person she was. He would never repay that debt, but he would be forever grateful, something he had told her.

"Let's get started." Jason reached for the doorknob and then paused before he opened the door. He didn't want to be here all night. Not when his girl was waiting for him. "Before we go in you guys should know that Elizabeth agreed to move in."

"Congrats." Francis said speaking for the group. This news didn't surprise anyone.

"We should celebrate by watching you remove the asshole on the other side of the door." Johnny slapped Jason on the back.

Getting the message the blonde mob boss entered the room.


Logan was leaning against the wall and he straightened up when the door swung open. Since there were no chairs in the room he got the message that his comfort wasn't a factor. He was also guessing this was the last place he was ever going to see. That thought scared him but he wasn't going to let the men who just entered know that.

"Hayes." Johnny took the lead. Jason would finish things up. "Where is Smith?"

"He run?" Logan looked nonplussed.

"That he did." Johnny wasn't going to rush. They would get the information they needed one way or the other. "Tell us and what is coming will not be as hard as it could be."

"No matter what it's going to be bad." Logan leaned back against the wall, and bent his knee to put one foot on the wall. "We may as well just get to it." He had no clue where Zander was so he wouldn't be able to help them with that. Logan wasn't a snitch but he had to admit he wasn't sure that he could hold off once Morgan started in on him.

Johnny just walked back to where the guys were standing. It was his friend's show now. While he had been talking Jason had been pulling on gloves. The time for chit chat was over, although Logan would tell them where Hoffa was buried if he knew before it was done.

Jason walked over and just punched Logan in the face hard enough to break his nose. He would stop shortly and see if Hayes wanted to say anything. For now the only sound in the room was Jason's fist hitting bone and Logan's grunts at receiving those blows.


Three hours later he walked away from Logan who was just a mass of broken bones. At times during the beat down Jason had stopped so Johnny could question the prisoner. The more pain he was in the more he spoke. Something the guys saw often. What they had learned was that Zander did indeed know about the kidnapping beforehand. Smith could have talked Logan down, or even called his boss who could have called Sonny. Elizabeth's ex didn't do either of those things. What he did was help by providing Logan with a decommissioned safe house, and then going out there.

Logan was convinced that despite what Zander said, he actually agreed to the kidnapping because he wanted another chance to talk with Liz about them breaking up. The former solider then admitted that he planned on asking for ransom, which Smith was unaware of. Hayes also had no idea where to find his partner. Which was what they really wanted to know.

Jason leaned against the wall and peeled off his gloves. He wasn't breathing hard because of the breaks. While he watched Johnny went back over. After a minute or so the green eyed enforcer pulled out a gun and put a bullet in Logan's head. "He was done." Johnny said coming back over. He would give this weapon to the cleanup crew for disposal since it wasn't his registered gun.

"I'm still thinking Canada is our best bet to find Zander." Francis addressed the group. "However I'm reaching out to families in the states in case he's taking a driving tour." Fleeing down the east coast was a possibility.

"Lorenzo is determined to find him." Sonny thought that Alcazar's anger was the closest to Jason's. The arm's dealer was seriously pissed. "Zander isn't going to be able to hide forever."

"I'm patient." Jason took a sports drink from Milo. "No matter when he's brought back, I'll be here waiting."

"I'll supervise the crew." Johnny told the guys. Since everyone, but Sonny, was going home to someone he would let them leave.

Jason just nodded. He was ready to go home and curl up with Elizabeth. "I'm going to the mansion tomorrow. We should leave there around ten or so."

"I'll meet you at the plane." Johnny said as the crew came in. "Go shower and head home."

With another nod Jason went to the bathroom so he could do just that.


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