Chapter 12

Jason looked around the shop, smirking and shaking his head at the décor. The joint had Carly's name written all over it. With the popularity of coffee and coffee shops, opening a store front to further legitimize the business wasn't the worst idea he'd ever heard…but customers? He didn't like the idea of people being able to get so close to the hub of their "other" business. It screamed of a potential security nightmare.

"He in?" Jason asked Ritchie with a tip of his head towards to office.

"Yeah, just doin' paperwork," the Italian replied. "Good to have you back," Ritchie stated plainly.

"Yeah, thanks," Jason replied with a slight smile as he strode past him and into Sonny's office.

Sonny, seated in his leather chair, averted his gaze from the invoices strewn across his desk to the stone faced male in his doorway. "Hey. I thought you were goin' to the warehouse today?" he questioned.

"I am," Jason responded. "But I needed to talk to you about something first."

"Shoot."

"It's about Elizabeth," Jason stated directly.

Sonny leaned back in his leather chair and rubbed his chin. "Wow…that was fast," he stated with a smirk on his face. "It's been a long time since I heard that name."

Ignoring his friend, Jason tugged the chair across from Sonny's desk and sat down, stretching his long legs out in front of him. "When I left town, I asked you to keep an eye on her for me," he started.

"Yes. Yes, you did. But there hasn't been must to watch." Sonny shrugged his shoulders. "She moved, started nursing, has kept her nose clean and no one targeted her for her relationship with you… So that about covers what I know."

Jason scratched his brow with his index finger and looked as if he was considering Sonny's statement. Apparently dissatisfied, a noise escaped his throat as he shook his head from side to side. "Nope…somethin's up with her. She made a comment about things changing after I left town…and I don't think she was talking about our break up," Jason stated, looking to Sonny.

"After you left town, she moved and went to nursing school. I would consider that a pretty big change from living in that cramped studio and working as a waitress at Kelly's," Sonny responded, resting his elbows on the arms of his chair and folding his hands in front of him.

"Mmm…I don't know. I just got the feeling there was something more."

Sonny separated his hands briefly, "I mean…I never had guys goin' through her trash. And after a while," he shrugged, "she seemed safe…I would've heard if something happened, Jason," he stated, looking the younger man directly in the eyes.

Jason rubbed the back of his neck, trying to relieve the building tension. He was convinced something had occurred and he'd learned a long time ago to rely on his instincts as they were rarely wrong.

There was a quick knock on the door as it swept open. "Boss," Ritchie stated, "Milo's here to take those files to Bernie."

With a flick of his head, Sonny invited Ritchie into his office as he went to work shuffling and stacking papers. "Hey, Ritchie," he started, "You oversaw the Elizabeth Webber detail for a while, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Ritchie asked, furrowing his brow. "She's ok, right?"

"Not sure," Sonny replied. "Jason thinks something went down after he left town."

Ritchie huffed, "If that guy did anything to her, I'll break his neck."

Jason's head snapped in Ritchie's direction, his brows pulling into a deep v. "Whatdaya know about him?" he rushed.

"Nothin' much…works in medical sales, runner, friend of your sister's boyfriend," Ritchie quickly pointed at Jason. "He's straight laced from what I can tell…but that doesn't mean he's not an asshole. I mean," he shrugged, "he is a guy."

Sonny and Jason exchanged glances before turning their attention back to Ritchie, questioning looks on their faces.

"What?" Ritchie asked. "She's a sweet kid. I always felt kinda bad for her after," his eyes darted from Sonny's to Jason's as he trailed off, "…well, you know. And then when she had the accident, she was a mess…"

"What accident?" Jason interrupted him, his voice strained as his eyes pinned Ritchie's.

Sonny grimaced, "It was a fender bender. No big deal. So minor I forgot about it," he stated with a wave of his hand.

"Not that minor," Ritchie responded under his breath.

Jason and Sonny once again stared at Ritchie. "What's that supposed to mean?" Jason's voice boomed in the small office.

"Nothin'," Ritchie averted his gaze. "It…it just…seemed personal." He glanced back at Jason.

The chair suddenly scrapped across the floor as Jason bolted out of it. "What the fuck are you talking about?" he bellowed. Sweeping his icy blue gaze to his boss he continued, "What the fuck is he talking about Sonny?"

Sonny stood, slowly shaking his head with a marginally sheepish look of on his face. "Shortly after you left town, Elizabeth rear ended a warehouse truck. It was nighttime and it was raining. She was all shook up and went to the hospital, but was released a couple hours later with a taped cut on her forehead. That's it," he said. "I was assured she was fine," Sonny's tone took on an edge as he shifted his gaze to Ritchie.

"Why am I just hearing about this?" Jason growled.

"Jason, you left town. You asked me to make sure she was safe. She was. I wasn't going to call you every time the girl got a splinter," Sonny stated simply.

"She went to the hospital, Sonny." Jason's eyes narrowed.

"For a superficial head wound."

Jason's forehead creased as he turned back to Ritchie. "What were you talking about it seemed personal? Were you there?"

"Yeah, I got the call right after it happened."

Jason scowled and curled his hands into tight fists.

Ritchie held his hands up. "Listen, I was told to make sure that no one was after her. I did and no one was."

"Ritchie," Jason stated through gritted teeth as he gave the man a look of warning.

"I'm not even sure what I heard," he paused, "but after the accident, she was scared. Elizabeth asked to be taken to the hospital after she was told she could be treated on the scene."

"Why?" Jason asked.

"I don't know," Ritchie replied seriously.

The group sat in silence as Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. The muscles in his back and shoulders rippled with tension. He put his hands on his hips and searched the floor before looking to Sonny.

"Jason, whatever it was, it couldn't have been a big deal." Sonny tried to assure his friend. "She's obviously fine."

"Would you feel that way if we were talking about Carly?" Jason snapped.

Sonny cocked his head and raised his eyebrows. "We're not talking about my wife, Jason. We're talking about your ex-girlfriend."

Jason stared at Sonny as his jaw ticked repeatedly. "I gotta go," he said as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and strode out of the office.