Authors Note: Thanks for all the reviews and your support. I enjoy reading what you have to say. It's one of the best parts of sharing my story with you all. Hope you like this update.

Chapter Three

Entering Kelly's, he groaned at seeing who was working. This was not in his plans when he had left the penthouse earlier after Claudia had fallen asleep. But instead of getting a peaceful cup of coffee and a late meal, it looked like he was going to have to deal with an upset Lulu. She stood behind the counter, drumming her fingertips on the counter, while glaring at him. Knowing that she was not going to let it go without drama, he decided to just get it over with. After the last three months of fighting and cheating, he was fed up with her entitled attitude.

Sliding onto a stool, he lifted an eyebrow as she frowned at him. "What?"

"What?" she repeated incredulously. "You know what! You totally blew me off earlier!"

Scrubbing a hand over his face, he shook his head in annoyance. "Lulu, my sister is in the States for the first time in over ten years. Of course I am going to spend time with her. Besides, we didn't have any plans made for today. You assumed that I would be at your beck and call. Now can I get a coffee and bowl of chili?"

Slamming a mug on the counter, she sloshed the hot liquid into it before yelling out his order to the cook. "How does your sister know Georgie?" she asked, getting straight to why she was so mad. After all the years that had passed, she was still jealous of the brunette.

"I have no idea," he answered honestly. "I just met her last night. Claudia mentioned that they were close though. You'd have to ask one of them." When she huffed, he rolled his eyes. "What is your deal?"

"Georgie Jones is everyone's picture of the perfect girl next door, or appears to be anyway. It's all an act. I just don't want you to listen to her tell lies about me."

Amused at her outlook on things, he smirked. "She never said anything about you that I didn't already know. And it wasn't for lack of Claudia asking. Georgie refused to run you down."

Face reddening, Lulu growled. "I never did anything to her."

"Lulu, just stop already" he snapped. "Are you forgetting that Lacey's father is Dillon? Or that you got pregnant while he was still married to Georgie?"

Tears filled her eyes as she looked down, trying to gain some sympathy. "I explained about that, Johnny. I was lonely and so was he. Georgie was too caught up with Diego to be a good wife. Besides, anyone could see that it was only a matter of time before they fell into bed with each other. She wasted no time running straight to his waiting arms."

Tired of her manipulative tears, he took a drink of coffee and waited on her to turn off the water works. Once she saw that he wasn't buying her act, she wiped her face and he caught her eyes with his. "I know what you did and I wasn't implying anything about your daughter. However, you can't honestly stand there and say that you never did anything to her."

Her eyes flared. Lulu had despised the youngest Jones' sister since they had met. She knew that the goody-goody act was all a fake. Georgie had always had everything handed to her the easy way and people seemed to adore her. It just wasn't fair! "And let me guess, your sister hates me. Right? Was she naïve enough to fall for the saint routine? Please tell me that she is smarter than that!"

At that scathing remark, Johnny stood and tossed a ten on the counter, leaving his dinner mostly uneaten. "Lulu, my sister is one of the best judges of character that I know. You've never spent any time with her, so you have no place to be making assumptions about Claudia." He pulled on his leather coat and slid his cell phone into the pocket of his jeans. "Your drama routine gets old. Grow up, if not for yourself, than do it for your daughter."

"I'm a great mother!" she snarled.

"Then how come Bobbie has Lacey most of the time unless she is with Tracy or Dillon in California?" At her hurt look, he kept his face bland. "You should have paid more attention to what I say instead of what I can do for you. If you had, you would know that Claudia is the only family that I have left that means anything to me. Talking about her was a stupid move on your part."

"Johnny, wait! You know that I care about you!" she called out, rushing from behind the counter as he turned to leave.

"Is that why you spent the night with Logan last night?" When she blanched, he laughed. "Funny way of showing that you care, Lulu. The sad part is that you think I am stupid enough that I don't know that you have been seeing him for the last couple weeks, and it was Milo before him. It's why I have been distancing myself over the past month. You were fun for a while. But I think those days are over."

Cursing under her breath, she watched as he sauntered out the door without looking back. There was no way that she was losing him. She loved the power and the respect that dating the head of the Zacchara Organization gave her. She would just have to put Logan on the backburner for now. She knew that Johnny would eventually calm down and forgive her. After all, it wasn't the first time that she had made a mistake with him, and he had always forgiven her in the past.

Walking along the docks, Johnny thought back over all the crap that he had taken from Lulu in the past. While he had been looking for fun, an easy escape from the problems of his life, she had wanted more as soon as she realized who he was. He was use to her pouting and trying to get her way, but her putting down Claudia had been the final straw on an already precarious situation. If he was being honest, it was only because he had been lonely that he had kept her around as long as he had.

Sensing that he was no longer alone, he scanned the shadows along the pier walkway. His hand rested on his glock that was tucked into the waistband of his jeans and he exhaled slowly when he finally made out the figure. "What do you want, Morgan?"

Jason stepped from the darkness where he had been waiting for the younger man. "I need some information."

Johnny rolled his eyes. "I have nothing to say to you or Corinthos."

"I'm not here for Sonny." Grimacing as he watched the other man turn and start walking away, he pinched his nose. "Zacchara, I need to know what is going on with Georgie. You were with the group that was with her today. I know that you have talked to Corelli."

Pausing, he studied one of the most feared enforcers in the business. "Why don't you talk to Corelli? He is the one that you should be speaking to. I don't even know that young woman."

"But your sister does." Jason shoved his hands into his pockets. "Look, I know that you don't trust me. I get that. But Elizabeth cares for Georgie, a lot. Seeing her with Corelli and the other guard makes it pretty damn obvious that Georgie Jones never lost her connection to the Alcazar family. If she's in danger, and back in Port Charles, it would be best for all concerned for her to have as much protection as possible. Georgie never realized the true danger of being involved in this world that we are stuck in."

The sound of raised female voices cut off Johnny's retort and both men exchanged looks before heading toward the sounds of an argument gearing up.

*****Break*****

Georgie looked out at Wyndamere, leaning against the wooden railing of the docks. Her eyes narrowed in the twilight as her thoughts drifted to the past. While she refused to verbally acknowledge where she was, her heart thundered in her chest, making her all too aware that this was the pier where Diego had been killed. When she had left the house after getting Blake down for the night, she had unconsciously made her way to the location without hesitation. She needed the closure, especially being back in her hometown and around the very people that had made it impossible for her to stay.

Three years had passed. Three years in which she had been forced to take care of her son without his father. Now Georgie knew it was time to say goodbye to the person that had given her more happiness in what little time that they were together than she had ever experienced before. Closing her eyes, she pulled her coat tighter around her body as the wind picked up and snow flurries started to fall.

"Georgie, we need to go," Francis urged softly. He had tried his best to talk her out of taking a walk this evening, but her stubbornness has won out. He had finally relented; knowing that being stuck inside was smothering her. Back in Italy, Georgie and Blake had spent most of their time outside. The property that Lorenzo had secured for his daughter-in-law and grandson had been vast, and as safe as possible.

Stepping back, she linked her arm through his as they retraced their steps. Tilting her head to look up at him, she gave him a sweet smile. "Thank you for coming with me. I needed to get out of that house for just a little bit."

"No problem, kid. I know that you hate being on lockdown and aren't use to it. After tomorrow night, hopefully things will start to quiet down."

She looked up at him with sad brown eyes and a trace of bitterness. "Somehow I doubt that, Francis. We both know that it isn't going to be that easy."

"Oh my God! It is true! You're really home."

Recognizing the voice, Georgie tensed. At one point, she would have squealed with excitement at hearing the very same voice that now made her cringe. Blanking her features, Georgie looked toward the steps. "Hello, Brook."

Brooklyn Ashton, once her best friend, glared at her in disbelief. Her eyes took in Georgie's appearance and the one guard that stood close while another obviously armed man followed at a discreet distance before finally resting back on her face. "I can't believe that you finally showed your face back in PC. All it took was another death connected to the Alcazar's. You gonna run away again without a word? We're kinda getting used to it by now."

"I'm not doing this with you tonight," Georgie warned. "You and everyone else made it painfully clear that you couldn't support me when I needed it most."

Brook tossed her hands out to the side in a show of temper. "Because you refused to see the truth, Georgie! Jesus! What the hell was so damn great about Diego that you turned your back on your family and friends? And then you vanished after he was killed! Maxie, who I can't even stand, was a freakin mess! And you caused all that!"

Untangling her arm from Francis, who was shaking his head, Georgie lifted an eyebrow as she stepped toward the stairs. "Maxie and Mac were not exactly the injured parties that they want people to believe. You don't know the whole story, Brook. I had my reasons for leaving, none of which are your business."

"You were my best friend!" Brook yelled, her voice echoing along the piers. "Hell, Georgie, you were married to Dillon and we were freakin family at one point! You never even looked back or fought for the life that you supposedly wanted with him!"

Georgie felt her own face redden under the attack that was being launched against her. She took a couple steps toward her old friend before gaining control over her emotions. "Get over it, Brook," she hissed, her voice low enough that her guards couldn't hear her. "We both know that Dillon and I were doomed to fail from the beginning. And for the record, he was the one who couldn't keep his pants on."

"Because you couldn't stay the hell away from Diego!" she screamed. "From the day that he put that damn gun to your head and dragged you out of Kelly's, you were blind to him. It's sickening, Georgie! I'm glad that he was killed. Maybe you will finally open your eyes to how he used you! Hell, he worked with Lulu to break you and Dillon up! It was his idea!"

Ignoring the movement out of the corner of her eyes as Jason and Johnny joined Francis and Micah in watching the confrontation, Georgie let a large grin splay across her face. Her usually sweet and tender voice was harsh and full of sarcasm when she spoke again, looking straight into the tear filled eyes of her former best friend. "What bothers you the most, Brook? Is it that Diego and I were happy together or that you couldn't accept that he was using you from the beginning? Are you still pissed that you weren't enough? Or are you still upset because I took up for him and saw the good in him that none of you wanted to admit was there?" When the other woman only sputtered, unable to form a response, Georgie let her eyes fill with the anger that she had kept hidden since the start of the conversation. "Stay away from me and my family, Brook. This is the only warning that you will get."

"You've changed," she whispered brokenly. "You aren't the same girl that I knew, that I loved like a sister."

"Because I am no longer the doormat that I was? Then I am happy that I have changed. I mean it, stay away from me and those that I care about. I am done explaining and defending myself to all of you that will never accept my decisions."

Breaking into tears, Brook streaked up the stairs and away from the group. Waiting until she was sure that she had left, Georgie slowly turned her attention to the two men that had joined them. She could see that Johnny's dark eyes were sparkling in amusement, but Jason's were flat, with the icy coldness that she remembered well.

Micah stepped forward. "We need to get you back home, G."

"Wait. I really need to talk to you, Georgie." Jason started forward but stopped when she tensed noticeably.

Her eyes flared but before she could say anything, Francis interrupted them. "Zacchara, will you walk with Georgie and Micah? I think that Morgan and I need to have a chat."

Johnny fell into step beside Georgie as Micah urged her up the stairs. She looked over her shoulder and gave Jason a glare that was unlike anything the others had ever seen from her.

A feeling of unease shot down Johnny's spine once they were almost to the edge of the docks, near a Corinthos-Morgan warehouse. Seconds later, he knocked Georgie to the ground as gunshots rang through the darkness. Hearing Micah's sharp inhalation and then painful groan, he waited for Georgie to make a sound. When she remained silent and all he could hear was Francis and Morgan's footsteps thundering on the wooden planks, he pulled his glock out and prepared for the worse as more gunfire erupted through the night. "Georgie," he murmured, pulling her back into a corner. "Answer me! Are you okay?"

Her hand clutched his leather coat from behind and he could feel her trembling. Looking quickly over his shoulder, he cursed at seeing that her left hand was applying pressure to her side and covered in blood. "Jesus," he breathed. "Come on, stay with me until we can get you out of here." He could see Francis rounding the crates when she slumped into him, her body going completely limp.