Chapter 18
"Hey Dad. Where is everyone?" Melissa entered her grandmother's living room.
"Melissa. Did you just get in? Your mom is going to be so happy to see you. She's over at Bo and Hope's house. And Mom is upstairs resting. She's not feeling to well today." Mickey told Melissa about Alicia being kidnapped and how everyone was out looking for her. "Your mother is watching Ciara."
"I just dropped Alicia off at their house. She never mentioned she was kidnapped. The poor thing was bare foot and wearing next to nothing. I felt bad for her standing out there in the cold. She told me Bo is the commissioner now. When did that happen? I know I've been in Europe, but how come no one told me? And when did Bo and Hope have another child?" Melissa had a lot of catching up to do.
"Alicia showed up in Salem about a week ago. She's been held prisoner by Stefano for all these years. Hope was his prisoner when Alicia was born. She had no memory of her until recently." Mickey told her.
"And she is Bo's child?" Melissa asked.
"Yes. They had a DNA test run on her. Hope must have been pregnant when she was … when we thought she had been killed."
"Wow, that's unbelievable that Stefano had her all these years. Hope must be thrilled and angry at the same time. On the one hand she finds out she has this beautiful daughter, on the other hand she finds out Stefano raised her and took her memories of her away. I can't imagine what she must be going through. I should go over there and see how Alicia is. She insisted on going straight home, but she was hurt." Melissa grabbed her purse, kissed her father, and left for Hope's.
……
Hope was coming down the stairs when the doorbell rang. "Melissa! How are you?" She pulled her cousin into a hug. "When did you get back? How come you didn't call me to tell me you were coming home?" Hope couldn't believe her cousin was here.
"Hope, I'm so happy to see you." Melissa beamed. "I've missed you. We have so much to catch up on. Bo is commissioner! When did that happen?"
"Hey, Melissa." Bo gave her a hug. "I was sort of dragged into being the commissioner. When did you get back?"
"Just a little while ago. I went to see Grandma and Dad told me Mom was here."
"She is. She just went to help Caroline with the food. Come here and give me a hug." Julie grabbed Melissa. "It's been to long."
"Julie. Doug. How are you?" Melissa was so happy to see her family.
"Melissa!" Maggie had just come in from the kitchen. She ran to give her daughter a hug. "I didn't think you were going to get in until tomorrow."
"I booked an earlier flight so I could surprise you, but it turns out I'm the one who got surprised." She turned to Hope. "You have a daughter?"
"How did you find out? Not that we were planning on keeping it a secret." Hope was shocked to find out she knew. "Did Uncle Mickey tell you?"
"No, actually it was Alicia who told me." Melissa said.
"Alicia?" Hope looked puzzled. "When did you meet Alicia?"
"I gave her a ride home earlier. I had no idea that she had been kidnapped. She insisted I bring her here."
"You're the one who picked her up?" Bo asked.
"I saw her fall and she looked like she had been hurt pretty badly. I wanted to bring her to the hospital, but she didn't want to go. So I drove her here. And I really wanted to see my parents, so I didn't stay. Had I known my mom was here, I would've come in. Is she okay?" Melissa asked.
"She's upstairs resting. Kayla was here so she examined her. She's going to be fine. Thank you for bringing her home." Hope hugged her cousin again. She was on the verge of tears. "I'm so glad you found her. We were so worried."
"So, tell me everything! I want to know what she's like. Who she takes after? Where she's been all this time? Do you have any memories of her? Dad mentioned a little to me." Melissa grabbed Hope by the arm and walked her to the couch. She was like a school girl gushing over the latest gossip. Her spirit had Hope laughing for the first time that day. Hope filled Melissa in on everything and Melissa filled the family in on everything that had been happening in her life.
"I still can't believe you have another child, Hope. I haven't even had one. I'm so jealous." Melissa and Hope both laughed. "You know you guys are turning into the Brady bunch." Everyone laughed at that.
"I've missed having you around. How long are you staying?" Hope asked her.
"That's what I'd like to know." Maggie piped in.
"I'm not sure just yet." Melissa answered.
"Well I hope you stick around for awhile." Maggie told her. "I miss having my daughters here. Now if only we could get Sarah to come home."
"I say we make a plan to bring our children home. I would love for my son to sail back home with my granddaughter." Hope wanted all her children home. JT was with Glen and Barb. Zack was… Zack was in her heart. And Shawn was off sailing with Belle and Claire. She missed them all so terribly. "Aunt Maggie, I don't know how you do it, not being able to see your kids for so long. It's killing me not to see my boys." Bo reached over and placed his hand on Hope's shoulder squeezing it lightly. He knew she wasn't only thinking of Shawn.
"I think we need to throw a party. Invite all the family. Get them all back home." Julie said. "Let's have a Horton/Brady family reunion."
"I love it." Hope smiled at her sister.
"We could have it at Chez Rouge." Maggie suggested. "I could close it down for the whole evening. I'm already thinking about the menu."Melissa laughed. "Food? Is that all you can think about?"
"Did someone mention food?" Caroline entered from the kitchen. "I have a pot of steaming hot chowder ready to be eaten."
They all looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"Did I miss something?" Caroline looked around at everyone laughing and staring at her.
"Mom." Bo laughed and grabbed her in a hug. "How about some of that chowder everyone?"
……
Alicia lay in bed with her eyes closed. She could feel someone looking at her intently. 'Vito couldn't have gotten in here again, could he?' She slowly raised her eyelids and came face to face with Ciara. "Hi." She said.
Ciara stood eye level with Alicia. She stared at her sister curiously. She wondered if she was going to be nice to her like Chelsea and Shawn were. "Hi." Ciara said shyly. "Are you sick?" She asked her.
"No." Alicia propped herself up on her elbows.
"How come you have to stay in bed? I want to play with you." Ciara was curious about all the new bandages on Alicia. "Does your head still hurt?" She asked her.
"No. My head feels a lot better. But, Aunt Kayla won't let me take the bandage off until I'm completely healed. Just like this cast on my arm. Once my arm is all better, the doctors will take it off." Alicia moved over so Ciara could climb onto the bed with her.
"What happened to your leg?" Ciara pointed at the wrapped ankle.
"I fell in a giant hole!" Alicia held her hands out over emphasizing the size of the hole.
Ciara giggled. She liked her new sister. She was funny. "You're silly." Ciara told her.
"I'm silly, huh?" Alicia tickled Ciara making her laugh really hard. "I'm going to get you." She moved her finger in a tickle motion and went to tickle Ciara again.
Ciara laughed trying to squirm away from the tickle bug. "Will you read me a story?" She asked.
"What kind of story do you want me to read to you?"
"The Wizard of Oz. It's my favorite story." Ciara's eyes grew big as she described the story to Alicia. "I want to get ruby slippers like Dorothy. Mommy said I can." Ciara beamed.
"So this is where my girls are." Hope walked into the room and went to sit on the edge of Alicia's bed. "How are you feeling?" She asked her.
"I'm a little sore, but I feel fine." Alicia told her.
"Mommy." Ciara climbed onto her mother's lap and hugged her. "Alicia is going to read me a story."
"She is?" Ciara nodded her head yes vigorously.
"I'm going to get it now. I'll be right back." Ciara raced off to her room.
Hope smiled watching Ciara run off. "How are you really feeling?" She turned back to Alicia. "You okay?"
"I'm still pretty shook up by everything. I don't know if I'll ever feel like I don't have to look over my shoulder again. I mean Vito has attacked me like so many times now." Alicia pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them.
"I'm sorry we weren't able to keep him from getting to you again. I wish I had listened to my gut. I knew something wasn't right."
"Mom. You couldn't have known he was here. No one did. He made it look like he had gotten away." Alicia didn't blame her mother.
"I know, sweetie, I just wish.."
Alicia reached over to hug her mother. "It's not your fault. The only ones to blame are Vito and Stefano."
"I'm back!" Ciara ran over to the bed with her book and climbed up beside Alicia.
Hope got up to go downstairs. "Can I get you anything?" She asked.
"No. We're fine. Right?" She asked Ciara.
"Right." Ciara agreed.
"Mom?" Alicia called to her. "Where's dad?" She asked.
"He had to go in to the office. He has a lot of work to catch up on." Hope answered.
"Because of me?" Alicia asked.
"No sweetie, it's not because of you. There's just a lot of paperwork that he's been pushing aside." Hope smiled and turned to leave, then turned back to add, "Don't skip over anything." She pointed at the book. "She knows every single line by heart." She laughed as she left the room.
……
"Hey Bo. I didn't think I'd see you here tonight." Roman walked into Bo's office and sat down in a chair.
"I have all this paperwork to do." Bo sat with pen in hand going over files. He loosened the tie around his neck and rolled up his sleeves.
"I thought you'd want to be home with your family after everything you all went through today." Roman sat back and rested his feet on the corner of Bo's desk.
"I'm trying to work here." Bo shoved Roman's feet off his desk. "I'd love to be home, but for now I know my family is safe at home. The sooner I get finished with these papers, the sooner I can join them."
"Did you hear about Higley?" Roman asked him.
"What about Higley?" Bo forgot Higley had his IA hearing today. "What happened at the hearing? Did you go?"
"I did. They weren't too happy you couldn't make it to the hearing. Higley is going to trial. If convicted, he could be giving the chair."
"Is he still in lock up?" Bo asked.
"Yeah. You're not thinking about beating him up again are you?" Roman asked.
"I just want to talk to him. See if I can get some information about Vito. Maybe give him a deal."
"Are you crazy? You can't offer him a deal." Roman was livid.
"Right now I want to find Vito. I have nothing to go on. Higley is connected to him. I think if we offer a life in prison deal over the death penalty, maybe he'll talk."
"Bo. He raped and murdered innocent girls. Girls the same age as Alicia and Chelsea. You really want to give him the chance to be in life imprisonment where he can get parole for good behavior?"
"I know what he did!" Bo slammed his fist into the desk and stood up. "I don't know what else to do to find this maniac that keeps attacking my daughter. He's attempted rape on her four times now! I want that bastard behind bars. No, I want him dead." Bo paced around the office biting on his lower lip. "Right now, Higley is the only connection I have to finding Vito. I don't want Higley getting off. Man, this is just so frustrating."
"We could always say we're thinking of offering him a deal if he cooperates, but never actually agree to it." Roman suggested.
"I thought of that. The thing is, can we get him to crack without following through and giving him the deal?" Bo didn't know if he should risk Higley for Vito. "Why don't you bring him up and we'll give it a shot."
Roman left to get Higley.
……
It was late at night. Two figures stood cloaked on the pier. "Stefano. She's back home." Vito reported to his boss.
"Because of your stupidity. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have you taken out right now?" Stefano was outraged. "You tried to rape her. Damn you! I need her to be ready to follow my orders. You are weakening her spirit. You could have ruined everything!" Stefano grabbed Vito by the shirt collar. "Because you are the only one I trust to get the job done, I am sparing your life. But make no mistake my friend, anymore mistakes and it will be your last." Stefano shoved him off and walked away into the night.
……
"Higley, have a seat." Bo motioned for him to come in and sit.
"Should I be talking to you without my lawyer?" Higley asked him.
"Don't get your panties in a bunch. I just want to have a little chat with you about your good friend Vito." Bo sat back in his chair staring at Higley.
"I have nothing to say." Higley replied.
"You're going to death row. You have nothing to say? It wouldn't hurt to start talking now. You won't be able to say a thing once you're put to death. What difference does it make if you spill your guts to me now?" Bo got up and walked around to the front of his desk. Roman looked up to see what he was doing. Bo held a hand up to him to tell him to keep back; he wasn't going to attack Higley.
"Are you going to hit me again?" Higley cowered under Bo's stance.
"Hit you? Whatever gave you the idea that I'm a hitting kind of guy?" Bo smirked as he sat on the corner of his desk. "I'm just trying to have a nice chat with you."
Higley sat silently staring down at his feet, shifting a foot every now and then.
"What do you know about Vito and his connection to Stefano? Do you know where his hide out is?" Bo asked.
"No comment."
"No comment…What the? Just answer the question, man!" Bo was getting angry.
"If I tell you anything, I'm a dead man." Higley told him.
"The way I see it, either way you're a dead man. Why don't you try doing something right for a change? Who knows, it could mean the difference between heaven or hell."
"I want to make a deal." Higley told him.
"I don't recall mentioning any kind of deal to you." Bo told him. "Why don't you just tell me what I need to know and then I'll decide if it's worth a deal or not."
"I want protection." Higley told him.
"Protection?" Bo chuckled to himself. "From what?"
"I want witness protection to keep Stefano from getting to me. When I'm put to death, I want to die with dignity."
Bo got up from the desk and walked behind Higley. "Dignity?' He didn't want him to see the smile on his face or his shoulders shaking with laughter. He whispered to Roman, "We got him."
"I know where you can find Vito. I know where he hides out." Higley cracked. "You can find him in the old mills where he attacked your daughter. That's his hide out. Now I've given you information. I want protection."
"Sure man. Just as soon as you tell me how you and Vito are connected to Stefano. What does he have planned?"
"I don't know what he has planned." Higley shifted in his seat.
"You don't know? Now why don't I believe you?" Bo asked.
"I swear. I don't know anything about Stefano's plan. He contacted me to help Vito escape. I couldn't pass up the sum of money he offered. That's as far as my connection to him goes." Higley crossed his arms and leaned back. "I want protection."
"Protection. You're a dead man walking. What the hell can protection do for you?" Bo was furious. He wanted answers and so far he wasn't getting much. "You're telling me your only connection was to help Vito escape?"
"Yes."
"Then why the hell were you helping him blow up Doug's Place? You could've killed members of my family!" Bo was ready to punch him out again.
"Bo. Take it easy." Roman said.
"That was Vito who offered me the job. He paid almost as well as Stefano did." Higley said looking smug.
"So all of this was for money?" Bo asked him. His face was turning a nice shade of red as he held his temper intact.
"A cops salary doesn't pay much. And we just had that pay cut, so money was tight. I have bills to pay." Higley told him.
"And a need to rape girls." Bo muttered under his breath. "You deserve everything you get. Get him out of my sight." Bo stormed out of his office.
……
Vito lurked in the dark just outside Bo and Hope's house. He kept back to avoid the cops patrolling the area. He couldn't mess this up again. Stefano would have his hide if he did. A car passed by and Vito ducked behind a tree. "Bo Brady. Just what I need." Vito watched as Bo checked in with the cop on guard at their house and then go inside. He turned to leave. He wouldn't have a chance to get Alicia tonight. "Might as well go have some fun." He walked to his car and drove off.
……
Hope was in the kitchen doing dishes. Bo crept up behind her and grabbed her around the waste. "BRADY!" She jumped and turned to hit him. "Don't do that."
Bo was laughing. The expression on Hope's face was priceless. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help it." He said still laughing at the look on her face. "Come here and give me a kiss."
"No." She tried to pull away from him. Bo held onto her trying to kiss her lips, but she kept moving her face away teasingly. "You want a kiss after scaring me. No way Brady." She pushed against his chest trying to keep him off.
Bo started tickling her and she couldn't resist. She fell into his arms planting her lips on his. They lingered for a few moments, still laughing while they kissed. "How's Alicia doing tonight?" Bo asked her.
"She's fine. She's upstairs reading to Ciara. They looked so cute together sitting cuddled in Alicia's bed. Ciara is captivated by her sister. I went to check on them earlier and she was asking Alicia all these questions and she was so excited when Alicia agreed to read her favorite story to her." Hope smiled at the memory of her two girls.
"Let me guess, she had her read Dorothy." Bo laughed. "Well, as long as they're busy upstairs, what do you say we get busy right here?" He pulled Hope close to him and reached down to lift her chin up so he could kiss her again. His kisses became more demanding. He pushed her back up against the wall and continued kissing her. His mouth trailed down her neck to her shoulder blade. His hands were roaming all over her body.
Hope moaned as he met her lips again. "Bo. We should stop. The kids are right upstairs." Bo covered her mouth again with his continuing to kiss her. Hope couldn't resist the passion it evoked in her. "Brady, we can't do this here."
"Why not?" He leaned in to kiss her again. They slid to the floor tearing at each others clothes. Bo kicked his leg out and knocked over a chair. They both started laughing.
"Mom?" Alicia hollered from the upstairs hall. "Are you okay? I heard a noise."
"You had to ask why not, Brady." Hope pulled herself up from the floor and opened the kitchen door. "Everything's fine sweetie! I just knocked over a chair!" Hope came back into the kitchen. "Why can't we do it now, Brady?"
Bo laughed and rose from the floor. "If I hadn't knocked the chair over we would've managed just fine." He continued laughing. "Is she coming downstairs?"
"No. I think she went back to her room." Hope was saying as Bo pulled her back into his arms again kissing her once more. "Bo. Later tonight when they're both asleep."
"Can't I even kiss my wife?" He laughed.