"You don't like me very much, do you?" It wasn't exactly what she'd planned on saying, far from it, but with the combination of her nerves and his silence, Elizabeth couldn't take another second of it. They'd been driving for ten minutes, his eyes staring dead ahead, while the muscle on his jaw line bunched and clenched.
His agitated state only intensified her nervousness. If it hadn't been for the shots of Tequila she and Emily had earlier, Elizabeth knew she wouldn't have had the boldness to ask such a question.
Eyeing him for a reaction, she was put out that he hardly batted an eyelash. His stony expression remained fixed on his face, but the muscles in his jaw seemed to relax some.
"I don't know you."
Sighing, Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Doesn't mean you don't like me. People don't need to know one another before they can tell if they like the other person."
Silence filled the inside of the vehicle again, and Elizabeth considered another tactic before he spoke up. "How'd you're shirt get ripped?"
Noticing the change of topic, she tried to let it go. But after years with Luke and Lucky's ability to answer questions without actually answering them, she felt a little put out. "I think it was when those Frat guys where fighting over who was going to dance with me."
Jason hurmphed, and his jaw muscles started to work again. "Where was the bouncer?"
This time it was Elizabeth's turn to frown. "There wasn't one."
Taking his eyes off the road, Jason looked over at his and raised a brow. Something flashed in his eyes, but other than that, she still couldn't read him. "There's always at least two bouncers working on a Friday night. Are you telling me that no one was there to help?"
Like she knew there was supposed to be a bouncer. Not liking the way the conversation was going, making her feel like she had cotton for brains, Elizabeth moved her gaze to the side window.
"What in the hell was Lucky thinking." Apparently now in the mood to talk, Elizabeth noticed that the vehicle seemed to speed up. "Leaving you two in charge?"
"We were helping him out." Knowing that her weak defense was falling on deaf ears, Elizabeth was filled with a humming anger. "And why not us? You make it sound like I'm the village idiot."
She was sick of the way he treated her. With the one exception of the time in the classroom, Jason Morgan made her feel like she was something particularly nasty on the bottom of his shoe. He made her feel naive, and just plain stupid.
What right did he have? It was Luke's bar, not his. He was acting like they should've asked for his permission. Who in the hell did he think he was?
"You may not know this, Mr. Morgan, but what I do and don't do is none of your freaking business." The words were said only with the help of liquid courage. Normally she wasn't the type who'd openly employ into confrontation, of any kind. But his attitude really burned her, and it filled her with a feeling of liberation to say them.
Apparently, Jason Morgan didn't share the same feelings. He looked all too comfortable in his retaliation. "You became my freaking business the day you found Max, Ms Webber. Like it or not, what you do and don't do has a very large impact on the well being of my family."
Not wanting to think of that day, Elizabeth whispered back. "I would never do anything that would harm Michael. You know I wasn't talking about that. What I meant was, you have no reason to get all pissy over what happened tonight. Lucky asked me to help him out. I did because he's my family."
"He should've known better." Most of the hostility was gone from his tone, but Jason still looked on edge. "Something could've happened to the two of you tonight. There was no protection. Lucky knows better."
"It's not like he knew something was going to happen." Not liking the way Jason was talking about Lucky, Elizabeth felt some of her anger returning. "You act like we made this happen to ruin your night."
Now looking frustrated, Jason swung the SUV to the side of the road and threw it into park. Turning in his seat to have a better look at her, Jason couldn't help but get more irritated at her disheveled appearance. The entire day had been building up to this. From the roadblock Luke had set in place, to finding Elizabeth and his sister in a bar that looked like a hurricane had swept through it.
Everything in the business was up in the air. No one knew what the hell was going on. Luke had called only to say the trail was as cold as a witch's tit, and needed Lucky to come down so they could try another tactic. Sonny was on needles over the lack of action, leaving him to scramble for answers.
Now to have Elizabeth throw the fact that what she did with her life wasn't his business, was the icing on the cake. The girl didn't have the sense to know when she was standing smack in the middle of a pile of shit. Everything she did, impacted him.
Not wanting to admit that perhaps he was going a little to far, Jason leaned over until he was just inches away from her face.
"I'm sorry you were pulled into this mess." Sounding anything but sorry Jason watched as her eyes widened and she tried to lean back away from him. "But shit happens. You've become my responsibility until we know what the hell is going on. Finding a person on your property may not be a huge deal for you." Sneering, Jason felt his insides clench when her eyes changed from intimidated to hurt. But he needed her to see that things weren't good. Weren't normal. And until they were, she needed to know the facts.
"But losing a friend like that is unacceptable for me. So until this is over, everything you do is my business. What you say. Where you go. Who you go with, I will know."
Licking her lips, looking ready to burst into tears, Elizabeth surprised him when she calmly replied. "You still think I'm going to tell the police."
Reading her eyes, Jason couldn't help but admire her for a moment. Most people would buckle under this pressure. "No. I don't. I think you're still in danger though."
Sitting back in his seat he rubbed at the back of his neck. Elizabeth sat silently for a few minutes. "I don't understand."
Jesus. Leaning back his head to stare at the ceiling, Jason closed his eyes. "Someone dumped Max's body in the woods. They have to know by now that we've . . . you found him. Whether you like it or not, you're in on this now."
Not too shocked by Jason's comment, Elizabeth sighed. It'd been something she'd been pushing to the back for some time now. Ignoring the panicked sensation that would creep up on her. The second she'd told Luke she'd stay quiet she'd known it'd be a decision that could effect her life, drastically.
"That's why you couldn't promise no one would find out." Looking down at her hands, she heard Jason put the vehicle back into drive.
"I don't make promises I can't keep."
"So you said."
"I can promise that no matter what happens you'll be taken care of." Pulling back onto the road, feeling like a real jerk, Jason couldn't help but feel he should've kept his mouth shut. All he'd accomplished with his little outburst was to make her feel even more uncomfortable.
He and Sonny were already seeing to her safety without her knowing. Why did he have to shove her face in it like some puppy who'd whizzed on the floor? By going off on her, he'd only succeeded in making himself feel worse.
Pulling onto her driveway, his eyes fell on the car sitting next to hers. "Is that Luke's car?"
Nodding, Elizabeth gathered her things. "Laura let me borrow it while he's out of town." Feeling his gaze resting on the side of her face, she started to feel jittery again. "Mine broke down."
"What's wrong with it?" Elizabeth couldn't believe this was the same man who'd just lit into her minutes before. Deciding to go along with it, she shrugged.
"What's not wrong with it." Opening the door but not making a move to leave yet, she knew she couldn't avoid looking at him. He was looking at her car with a look of distaste.
"Why not buy a new one?"
A ghost of a smile stretched across her face. "Unless I can use Fairy Dust as a down payment, I don't think that's going to happen."
Turning to her, she fidgeted under his confused look. "What?"
"Never mind." Feeling awkward still sitting in his car, Elizabeth started to feel the silence close in on her again. "Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?"
She didn't know which of them had been thrown more off guard. Her, for asking him into her come with some cheesy pickup line. Or him, who was looking at her oddly again.
"It's coffee Morgan." Trying to salvage her dwindling pride, Elizabeth hurried out of the car. "Really crappy coffee. It's not like I'm trying to throw my self at you." Her face burned when Jason blinked at her. "Never mind. Thanks for the ride home."
Closing the door and hurrying to the front door, Elizabeth mentally kicked herself for saying something so stupid. What was wrong with her?
Unlocking the front door she went to close it, only to find something blocking her from doing so. Looking over her shoulder, she found a foot wedged in the opening. The door pushed back and Jason let himself in.
"I didn't say no." He watched as her face turned bight pink. "To the coffee." Not knowing why he felt the need to clarify, he waited until she nodded slowly and turn to the kitchen.
"I-I'll be right back." Slipping out of sight, Jason soon heard the sound of running water. Unzipping his jacket and headed to the livingroom and took a look around. The last time he'd been here he hadn't paid much attention.
There was a decorative bookshelf lining one wall. Filled with framed pictures, books and a few odd and ends. A comfortable couch took up most of the space, leaving little room for the coffee table and floor lamp.
Moving closer to get a better look at the pictures, he stopped as his eyes came in contact with the first one. A little girl, not more than three, with thick brown curls and a huge smile, was hugging a woman while placing a kiss on the end of her nose.
"That's me and my Mom." Elizabeth's raw voice came from behind.
Taking a look over his shoulder, Jason wondered why she would keep a picture out in the open that seemed to upset her. Motioning to another picture on the same shelf, Elizabeth cast a quick glance at it and shrugged her shoulders. "That's my brother and sister."
Handing him a steaming cup, she gave the picture of her and her mother one last look before heading over to the couch. "Steven's somewhere in California. I have no idea where Sarah is."
Tucking that information in the back of his mind, Jason turned and leaned back against the shelves. Taking a sip, he instantly made a face and forced himself to swallow.
Laughing, Elizabeth placed a hand over her mouth until she got control of herself. "I told you the coffee wasn't great."
"I think you said it tasted like crap." Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, she saw this only made her smile more. "I think you were dead on."
"I have many talents. Cooking is not one of them." Shrugging, she took a sip from her cup and licked her upper lip. Seeing the stunned look on his face she smiled again. "Instant hot chocolate."
"Listen," Setting the offending cup aside, Jason crossed his arms over his chest before continuing. "About before. I'm sorry to have gone off on you like that."
Her shirt was still hanging off her shoulder, making her look vulnerable. It made his insides clench again that he'd used her as his punching bag. He wouldn't apologize for what he said. Because ever bit of it had been true. Just the way he went about it.
"We all have moments we wish we could take back." Even though she looked nonchalant about it, he could tell by the way she couldn't look him in the eye she'd rather not talk about it. "What do you think Luke's going to say about his bar being torn apart?"
Knowing a shift in topic when he heard one, Jason went with the flow. "He'd probably get a kick out of it." Seeing her smile again, he relaxed. "But by the time he gets back it'll be like it was."
"Dirty and gross?" This time she laughed, and he couldn't help but chuckle with her.
The muffled sound of his cell phone came from his jacket pocket.
"Morgan."
"Hey, it's Johnny. We need to talk."
