Chapter 33
"Well, Kate, dear," Tony said moving toward her and caressing her face. "I assure you that I want to find E.J. and Sami and bring them back to Salem just as much as you do."
Kate knew that meant he actually didn't want to find Sami and E.J. at all, but considering them staying gone would mean the end of Lucas's marriage to the witch she was intrigued.
Kate licked her lips and leaned in for a kiss but stopped when they were interrupted.
"Hey, just what in the hell is going on here?" Roman asked furiously, while a disgusted Marlena and a horrified Lucas looked on.
Tony smiled.
"Is it a little early yet for love in the afternoon?" Tony joked but was the only one who laughed. "Sorry, I just couldn't resist. But Roman, if you must know I'm here to lend you my services."
"Your services?" Lucas scoffed.
"Yes. You see I'm here to help out the search party any way I can," Tony said grinning, not even bothering to feign sincerity.
"Why do you care if we find my daughter?" Roman asked angrily. "How did you even know where to find this place?"
"Well, as you all know by now, my brother, E.J. made off with quite a bit of money that Kate and I have a responsibility to try to track down as Mythic's chief corporate officers, so she thought I might join you here," Tony said with a wink at Kate.
"Oh did you, Kate?" Marlena snarled, still filled with fresh hatred for Kate for the danger in which Kate's son Phillip had put Belle and her granddaughter Claire in Tinda Lao.
Not to mention her lingering disdain for Kate keeping Claire's paternity a secret from Belle and Shawn and the fact that while she no longer wanted Roman, she hated the idea of any other woman having him even if it was only for a short while in Kate's marriage to Roman.
Suddenly defensive, Kate played right into Tony's hands covering up for him not so much to protect him but to protect herself from Marlena's damning stare.
"Look, I know I have had my issues with Sami over the years, but she is... my son's... wife," she said gulping as the words came out of her mouth. "And I just thought we should use all the resources that we could to track her down and Tony certainly has a lot of them."
Tony smiled.
None of them were buying Kate's story but it wouldn't matter because at that moment Marlena's phone started ringing.
Chapter 34
Belle was standing outside her father's hospital room holding a cell phone up to her ear and crying as she prayed her mother would pick up at the other end of the line.
"Hello," Marlena said.
"Mom... It's Dad... He's... He's..." Belle said crying too hard to get the words out.
"No, not John," Marlena said, her mouth agape as she turned to look at Roman and the rest of them stopped and stared wondering what bad news about John Black awaited Marlena on the other end of the phone call.
Roman put his arm around Marlena knowing he couldn't protect her from whatever bad news she was getting but wanting to help her get through it just the same.
"Belle," Marlena said setting aside her concern for her husband for that of their child. "Calm down. It will be all right. Just tell me what happened."
"Oh... OK... well... you see... after... you left... today," Belle said through tears. "Dad... he started to move... He moved his hand when I was here."
"He's coming back to us. Finally. That's wonderful," Marlena said sighing in relief and placing her hand flat against her heart.
"Well... no, Mom. It's not," Belle explained. "Because after... after he moved his hand... it stopped moving... And his machines started beeping... And all the nurses and doctors rushed in... They made me leave," Belle said. "Mom, I think Dad's going to die soon."
Marlena said nothing for a few seconds and covered her mouth with her face as a single tear dripped down her face.
"Belle, you've just got to keep your spirit up, all right," Marlena said smiling through tears. "I need you to keep believing in your dad. Because you know he's believing in us right now. Inside. Deep down. Whatever he is like on the outside. I'm going to leave right now and get there as soon as I can. I just need you to believe until I get there, all right, sweetie."
"O.K. Mom," Belle said as her sobbing subsided somewhat. "I'll see you soon. Bye."
"Bye, honey," Marlena said. "I love you."
Marlena closed her cell phone and fell into Roman's arms sobbing. Roman knew his search for Sami was over.
"Well, let's go," Roman said to Kate and Lucas as he shepherded Marlena toward the mansion's exit so they could hurry back on John's jet to Salem.
Tony couldn't believe his luck.
But Lucas didn't follow Roman, Marlena and Kate toward the door.
"Lucas, let's go," Roman said while Marlena continued to cry. "Are you coming or not?"
"I'm not," Lucas said.
Chapter 35
"Lucas, we don't have time for this," Roman said furiously. "Marlena needs to get back to Salem NOW."
Tony sensed he wasn't quite as lucky as he thought, although he knew deep down it's really up to a man to make his own luck.
"Lucas wants to keep the search going... as do I," Tony volunteered. "I think I have a solution for us."
"You?" Marlena scoffed.
"Yes. Me," Tony smiled. "I say you two head back to Salem on John Black's plane while Kate and Lucas can continue the search and we can all head back to Salem on the Mythic company jet that I took here to New Orleans."
"You're using the Mythic jet already?" Lucas sneered.
"Lucas, we are very fortunate that Tony used that jet and joined us here so that we can continue the search," Kate scolded.
"Now I'm not so sure about..." Roman said before Marlena interrupted.
"Roman, you can stay too if you want," Marlena assured him. "But I have to get back to Salem."
"I know you do, Doc," Roman whispered hugging her warmly with one arm while opening the door with his free hand. "Let's go."
The two left and Tony's grin grew.
Tony and Kate shared conspiratorial glances as they followed Lucas around the house, occasionally picking up objects to look busy but mostly just waiting for Lucas to give up the search. The way he always gave up at everything.
Yet this time Lucas seemed intent as he went about the house, running his hand along walls, opening cabinets and drawers and closets throughout the first two floors of the house. Something about seeing Marlena learn that perhaps she was about to lose the love of her life made Lucas cling that much tighter to the faint hope he could be reunited with Sami.
Still, even noticing that intensity, Tony chaperoned Lucas's search throughout the house with total nonchalance. That is until sweat beads began gathering around his neck and his pulse raced when he saw Lucas start walking up the stairs to the attic.
Chapter 36
"You're sorry?" Sami said incredulously, turning to face E.J. and pounding at his chest with her fists. "No, you're not sorry. Maybe you could have been sorry before. But not now. Not after Rolf wiped your memory clean. Not after Tony has just proven that you were never here to PROTECT ME you're hear to IMPRISON ME."
Sami began to sob.
"Not after I've told you the truth which you refuse to acknowledge and you still believe that this child..."
"Samantha, I don't know what the truth is..." E.J. said pausing to wipe a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "I only know that disobeying Tony right now puts your child... or our child... if that is the case... in more danger than doing what he says."
"You're so naive," Sami said shaking her head.
"I'm naive, eh?" E.J. said. "O.K. Maybe I am naive. But I'm not CRAZY. Which is exactly what you are telling me this insane story that my family had my memory wiped clean for disobedience yet begging me to disobey my brother now."
Sami rolled her eyes but deep down sensed he might be right about this.
"Look, Samantha," E.J. said. "You have an ally in me right now. Regardless of what you think happened between us in the past. Regardless of what I think about the baby you're carrying. Regardless of our talk last night..."
E.J. let out a sigh.
"I like you, all right."
"You... LIKE... me?" Sami laughed.
"That's funny, is it?" E.J. said, his ego bruised. "Well it's true. I... I... don't know what it is about you. But I want to help you. And I think I can if you stay here."
Sami considered his words with not just her brain, but also her eyes and mouth, before responding several seconds later.
"E.J., I was pretending to be asleep before," Sami revealed. "I heard Tony say that he wants me to go into surgery NOW. That he needs to take this baby from me to stop your father from dying."
"Well, that's not true," E.J. said. "That's just Rolf's impatience. Father can wait until your child is born naturally. And I am NOT letting Tony take your child. Neither is Lexie."
"Ha! Lexie?" Sami said throwing her hands in the air.
"Lexie hates me, E.J. After everything I've put her through over the years with Brandon and her cancer screening and my sister and losing her job at the hospital..." Sami said ticking off her litany of crimes against his sister before stopping when she looked up and noticed E.J.'s confusion. "Just suffice it to say, there's no way she would stick her neck out for ME. She hates me."
"Well she doesn't hate me," E.J. said.
Sami was once again reminded of how much E.J.'s lack of a memory of the last year colored his outlook on things with much more optimism than the situation should have allowed.
"And she wouldn't let her brother's child be killed. If everything is as you say and I've had my memory erased... if everyone is just lying to me as you say then Lexie knows that this child is mine and wouldn't let anything happen to it. Right?"
But before Sami could answer E.J. and Sami heard voices outside the door. E.J. instinctively wrapped his arms around Sami. E.J. covered her mouth but this time Sami didn't bite it or try to speak. Nor did she struggle.
She realized she would have to show Tony the diary to make this madness stop if it ever was to stop. She would have to pray that Tony's outrage that Stefano had kept the fact that E.J. was his son a secret all these years would be enough to protect her baby.
E.J. shuffled toward the door along with Sami in his arms so that he could lean against the locked door and block it should anyone try to break it down. The two of them could hear everything the voices in the stairway were saying.