Chapter 8

The next morning, Sam was heading over to Jason's penthouse to talk about what all happened last night at the fundraiser. Last night, when she left the PCPD after making her statement about the event in the bathroom with Robin and Lisa, Sam went home hoping that Jason would be there when she got in. Instead her apartment was empty. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointment at that, but then she remembered that he had told her something about one of the Balkan's men dressed up as a waiter to snatch Brenda, she figured that something must have happened and he wasn't coming over tonight. She pulled off her dress, showered, and changed into a tank top and sweats, but when she exited the bathroom, she knew she wasn't alone, Jason was laying on her bed still dressed up in his tuxedo. He looked tired and worn out. Not one word was said between the two of them, she was fine with that, she didn't have the energy to explain it all tonight. As soon as she sat on the bed next to him, he pulled her in for a soft kiss, nothing like they had experienced on that balcony earlier because they were both too tired, and then proceeded to go shower himself. When he left the bathroom, she was already in bed, tucked underneath the covers. He lowered himself behind her, pulled her flush to his chest, made sure they were both covered and gave her a kiss to her hair as he breathed in deeply. He told her "Goodnight" and that he loved her. They were both asleep in each other's arm as soon as she uttered them back. She woke up to a note on Jason's pillow. 'I'm sorry I had to go, come by the penthouse when you wake up. Love you.' It was short, but it was also sweet of him to make sure that she didn't wake up to nothing. He was there last night and now she was on her way to see him.

Something else happened last night, something big, she could feel the tension rolling off of him, she just needed to figure out what. As soon as she stepped off of the elevators, she could hear the arguing out in the hall, she could Brenda's whiny voice, and what she thought was Jason's voice was instead….. Dante's? What the hell was he doing here? She knew right away that there was more to the story that Brenda originally spun, especially if Dante was there. Opening the door to the penthouse as she let herself in, Sam was surprised at what she saw in front of her. Jason was standing by the fireplace with his hands on his hips, a sign that he was getting agitated and losing his patience. Brenda was in front of him, arms flailing around and screaming like a banshee, but immediately quieted down as soon as they knew Sam was there. Lucky was sitting on the last step of the stairs with his head in his hands clearly frustrated, and Dante, whom was now sporting a really good shiner, was sitting over on the big chair in the living room. As she closed the door, all mouths were shut and all eyes were turned to her. Oh yeah, something big was going on, and she needed to know what it was, now!

"What's going on here?" She threw the question in the room hoping that someone, anyone was going to answer but when all eyes rested on Brenda and Jason, Sam turned to them as well. She looked at Jason, putting him on the spot and not really caring at the moment, they were keeping something from her. "Do you wanna tell me what's going on?" Her heart winced when she saw the guilty look in his eyes, he was hiding something from her… again. She remembered that look, it was the look he had given her for months that awful year, it was a look that was seared in her mind, the look of guilt, the look that he was hiding something and she couldn't fight the pain in her heart that she would see that look again. "Ok." She nodded as she tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall, what were they hiding?

Jason could see the hurt in her eyes, and it was killing him. She knew that he was hiding something from her and it was eating at him, slowly. He didn't want to keep this from her, didn't want to tell her for her own safety. If the Balkan had ever found out that she knew the truth, she would be in danger and he couldn't do that to her. It also wasn't his secret to tell. After the confrontation with the waiter last night, and learning that Brenda and Dante knew each other so well, Jason made them tell him truth. They told him how they had met a few years ago, about how Brenda killed Alexander, and how Dante hid the truth and threw his body in the river. Dante was immediately introduced to Jason's fist. The bastard, the fucking hypocrite had the balls to lecture him about protecting Michael by covering up Claudia's death, all the while he had done the same to save some woman he just met. Michael was his nephew and Dante's brother, and the son of a bitch sold him out the judge, causing Michael's imprisonment in Pentonville and all the events that surrounded it. Jason was so ready to kill him, so ready to pound into him like there was no tomorrow, it had took Lucky and Sonny to hold him back. Sonny, pfft don't even get him started on that one, choosing one son over the other. Motherfucker!

He hated being in this position, hated that he couldn't tell Sam the truth, hated that he had to keep this from her, but if the Balkan knew that Sam knew where Alexander's body was, she would be the prime target. Hell, she already was just because she was with him. He knew she hated when he made choices for her, but his number one priority was to protect her, and he swore to Brenda that he would never tell anyone what he learned. It just wasn't his secret to tell. Brenda wasn't anything like Sam. Sam has killed before in self defense, just like Brenda did that night, but the only difference was, was that his beautiful petite Sam was strong, she could brush it off her shoulder and not let it affect her life. But Brenda couldn't, she was still being haunted by that night all these years later.

Sam had just walked in on them arguing over an idea that Brenda came up with, just give the Balkan Alexander's body and he would leave her alone. She just didn't understand, she killed HIS son, he would want revenge, he would want her to pay. They had to come up with another plan, he wanted this over with as soon as possible. Seeing the hurt in Sam's eyes now, was like a knife to his heart. He couldn't tell her the truth, he once again had to keep something from her, but at least it wasn't about him, it wasn't about them and it wouldn't affect them in any way. Not like the lie about Jake. Seeing her nod and turn away, Jason was desperate to stop her. "Sam… wait, you don't have to go…" It seemed like it took forever for him to cross his living room to reach her. He grabbed a hold of her hand and turned her around, he immediately saw the moisture in her eyes and he hated himself all over again. He had to tell her something. "We… we were just trying to figure out how to bring the Balkan out." It wasn't a lie, it was the truth, but not the whole truth. He sat on the couch and pulled her next to him, holding her to make that she wouldn't leave, that she wouldn't leave him.

She knew it was a half truth, she knew Jason too well, something was going on that he didn't want her to know. But at least he told her something. They needed a plan. She would shove her insecurities down that were threatening to choke her and help him out, help them out. Looking up at Dante, she still didn't know what he was doing here.

Feeling her eyes on him, Dante looked up to see Sam staring at him with scrutiny. She was trying to figure out why he was here. "Mac sent me as guard detail."

Speaking of Mac, she turned to Jason. "What happened last night? Did you get the waiter?"

He nodded, thankful that the topic shifted. "Yeah, he tried to grab Brenda, I had men stationed in the kitchen they took care of it."

"Did he say anything?" She looked around when everyone looked to the next person, and she was getting fed up with it.

Jason answered. "Just that the Balkan wanted Brenda, he used Lucky to pretend he was some Irish guy named Ronan, to distract me so that the waiter could get to Brenda. We stopped him, but that doesn't mean that they won't try again."

"Then let's set him up." Lucky spoke as he got up from where he was sitting. He didn't like hiding anything from Sam, especially with everything they had been through, but Jason was right, this would put her at unnecessary risk.

"How?" Brenda asked, having sick and tired of all this hiding.

"I pretend to kidnap you, call the Balkan, tell him I have you and then draw him out." He noticed Jason and Dante shake their heads not liking the idea. "Come on, Jason, you know it's the best way. And I'll be there to protect her. I'll take her to a warehouse where you'll be hiding, and as soon as the Balkan gets there, you and your men can come out."

"Fine. When do we do this?" Brenda agreed with the plan, she was ready to fight.

"No." Jason shook his head. "It's too dangerous, you could get hurt."

"Actually it doesn't sound that bad Jason. We could get Brenda out of there as soon as the Balkan come in. This could all be over with."

"What if something went wrong? What're you going to do?" Jason asked looking directly at Brenda. He knew the answer, if something went wrong, she wouldn't be able to protect herself and the Balkan would have her. "You wouldn't be able to handle the situation."

"You're right." Sam spoke up, when Jason turned to her she continued. "You can't use Brenda…. Use me instead."

Jason immediately shook his head furiously and stood up to pace, knowing that she was going to put up a fight. "NO! No way in hell, Sam, it's not going to happen."

"Come on Jason, you said it yourself, she wouldn't be able to handle it, but I could." He was still shaking his head no, so she pressed on. "It's a good plan, I'll dress up like Brenda, Lucky will "kidnap" me and then take me to the warehouse. Me and Brenda are the same size, same color hair, he could put a sack over my head, the Balkan will never know."

She was so wrong, she was not the same size as that beanpole. Sam was heavily well endowed in the breast department, something that Jason loved and couldn't get enough of, she wasn't flat or boney, she was perfect. He wanted to point that out but he'd be damned if he was going to get the other males in the room to size her up and stare at her chest. He hated that one of them already had that little piece of Heaven, but no longer, she was his and his alone. But she did have a point. "I don't know about this Sam, something could go wrong…"

"Which is ok, you know I'm level headed in a crisis situation, I can hold my own in a gun fight…"

"And I'll be there." Lucky spoke up and earned a glare from Jason. "You can trust me Jason, I'll protect her."

How was he going to trust another man with something so precious, Sam's life? He knew they were right, he wouldn't win this argument, and besides, he would be there the entire time. "Fine."

"NO! Absolutely not!" Brenda didn't like it, she didn't want someone else risking their life for her. "You can't let her do this Jason, it's not right, what if she gets hurt? I can't live with myself if something bad happened to any of you… he's after me not Sam."

Sam had to admire her for that, she was taking responsibility over this whole mess, but Sam knew that if something went wrong, then Brenda would be dead. "It's ok, I can do this. I want to do this, I want to help." She looked up at Jason imploring that he would agree with her.

Jason looked into her chocolate eyes, he was lost in them, she always had that power over him. She could hold her own, he would give her that, he just didn't like it when she put herself in danger, especially for him. He could still hear Brenda arguing away in the background, Dante arguing back for her to see reason. He looked up at Lucky. "Make the call." Then he went right back to look down at Sam, his beautiful brave Sam. He could still see slight hesitation in her eyes, he could still see the hurt, but hopefully after this was done, it would just be the two of them, and then he would tell her the truth.

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They had a plan, a damn good one. After she had dressed up in something she knew Brenda would wear, she donned on a pair of huge sunglasses, parted her hair down the middle and went downstairs to show off her new look. She hated it, reminded her of Jason's ex wife, she certainly didn't want to remind him that she looked somewhat similar to her. Jason had kissed her and left to meet them at the warehouse, Dante was supposed to babysit Brenda, and Sam was kidnapped by Lucky (Ronan) as she followed Max and Milo out of Harbor View Towers.

Lucky had already made the call to the Balkan, now all they had to do was wait. She hated being tied up, she was thankful that Lucky had them done up loose so that she could get away anytime she wanted to. She was sitting on the chair, without the sack that was causing her nose to itch. Waiting. She hated waiting. Suddenly, the sounds of Jason's cell phone blared. Both Sam and Lucky turned to see Jason answer the phone. "What? Are you fucking kidding me? Damn it Dante! Just stay put! I'll be right there!" He hung up and kicked the box by his feet across the warehouse floor cussing.

"Jason, what happened?" Sam asked not liking this rage on him.

After taking a deep breath he calmed down his rage and spoke up. "Brenda left the penthouse and ran into one of Balkan's men. Dante ran after him and jumped the guy, but Brenda grabbed his gun and shot him." He saw the look on Lucky's face, it was the same that night that Brenda killed Alex, but Sam didn't know that.

"Oh my God! Is she ok?" Sam asked genuinely concerned. She man not like the woman but knew the toll a death on your hands would take on a person.

"She's fine, but I have to get over there." He turned her around and untied her hands, he wasn't going to leave without her.

"What are you doing?" She asked confused, rubbing her wrists where the rope was.

"This is over, I'm not leaving you guys here. The Balkan know that it was a bust, they already found Brenda."

"No Jason, only one of them found her, the Balkan could still be coming." As soon as the words left her mouth, Lucky's cell phone rang. Her and Jason watched him pick up, talk to the other person, then hang up and turn back to them.

"That was the Balkan, he'll be in here in an hour." Lucky shoved his phone back in his pocket. "Look Jason, this is the only chance we got, he sounded like he was on a plane. It didn't sound like he knew anything about the real Brenda, it sounds like he believed me. I can't let this blow my cover." He could still see Jason's resistance. "You've got men surrounding this warehouse, right?" When Jason nodded he continued. "Ok, just go and figure out what's going on with Brenda and get back here within the hour. As soon as the Balkan gets here, I'll take Sam out the back way and send your men in here to hold them. Trust me, it'll work."

Jason looked up at Lucky, he still didn't like this plan, not liking that Sam would be here without him. Did he trust Lucky? Yes. Did he trust Lucky with Sam's life? Hell no! He was the only one that he could trust regarding her. But Lucky was right, he would just have to talk to his men first and make sure that their number one priority is Sam's safety, Lucky can handle himself. "Ok." He nodded then looked down at Sam. "I don't want to leave you, but he's right. Don't be the hero Sam, as soon as they get here, I want you out, understand?" When he saw her nod, he bent down and gave her a long kiss. "Be safe and call me, I'll let my men know." With one last look at the woman he loved he left. He went on his way to Brenda, to figure out what the fuck happened to their original plan. Maybe he should just hand her over to the Balkan, save himself all this headache.

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Sam wasn't too thrilled about why Jason had to leave, something happened to the princess and the knight in shining fucking armor went to rescue her. All the skinny bitch had to do was follow the plan, just sit your ass home and watch some TV or read a fucking book, or how about this original idea, call your fucking boyfriend to babysit your ass. Sonny was useless as usual in this scenario, he was always the figure behind the organization, not the brains and definitely not the brawn. He was home dealing with his own private hell, getting Claire Walsh off his ass for jumping country. So that left Jason to clean up his messes.

"The Balkan gave us an hour so let's talk about his."

Lucky off her negative thoughts. "Ok."

"As soon as we hear them coming we run out the back, you get to the car and get out of here…"

"Wait a minute, what are you going to do?" Sam asked not liking the plan to leave Lucky on his own.

"I'll stay here with Jason's men then call Interpol to finish my assignment. I can't leave the Balkan to Jason, Interpol will be all over him…." Before he could finish his sentence, they heard a sound coming from outside the warehouse. Lucky immediately looked down at his watch. It hadn't been an hour, it had barely been 20 minutes. Pulling out his gun from his waistband, he looked over at Sam and placed his finger over his lips to 'shh' her. He waited for her to nod and pull out her own weapon before he ducked low and went over to the window to peer out into the night. The lights outside the warehouse were out, blinding them, but he could see shapes. They were out there. He would've thought they were Jason's men, but he knew they weren't, something wasn't sitting right.

Seeing shadows from the back window, Sam ducked low and looked out into the night. She saw the same on this side as well but then they both turned to look at each other when they heard the sounds, gunfire. It was a trap. Her and Lucky were trapped in the warehouse while the Balkan's men surrounded the place and shot up Jason's men. They were sitting ducks. Lucky immediately left his side and ran towards Sam, forcing her down when the shots started to ring through the windows and into the warehouse. "We have to get the fuck out of here!" Grabbing her hand, he pulled her up and ran to the back door, opening it up to make sure he would be able to get shots off as they run, Lucky saw Jason's men firing at the Balkan's men, giving them the perfect cover. "We have to go NOW!" He squeezed her hand and right out the door, pulling her along with him as they shot at the other men.

They ran down the docks, away from the warehouse, but not away from the gunfight. They could hear the Balkan's men chasing after them, firing shots every now and then, they would have to duck and fire back in order to get some kind of gain. Seeing a boat on the side of the dock, she grabbed Lucky's hand and shoved him in that direction. "The boat!" As soon as they ran down the stairs and turn the corner of the docks near Kelly's, Sam collided with someone, successfully knocking her back on her ass. Looking up, she saw that it was Aidan. "Aidan!? What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could say the same for you two." He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up towards him as he reached for his own piece at hearing the gunfire. He fired off quick shots as he ran after Samantha and Lucky, heading for the small boat. The three jumped on, and as Aidan and Lucky untied the ropes while still firing up at the docks.

"Cover me!" Sam immediately went for the engine. She was the hotwire queen after all.

"What the fuck is going on?" Aidan couldn't believe it, he was walking out from Kelly's minding his own business, thinking about the brunette in front of him, when wham she collided with him right in the middle of escaping a gunfight, a fight that he was currently in the middle of.

"Do you know how to get this going!?" Lucky shouted out between firing off his gun. He was about to ask again when he heard her shout "YES!", and the engine started. All three of them held on as she kicked up to full speed and got away. They still made sure to duck as the shooting never ceased, bullets whizzing past them. "We got company!" He watched in horror as the men grabbed another speed boat and head towards them. "Where are we going?!" He yelled out so that she would hear him over the roar of the motor and the sounds of the water.

"Wyndemere! Hang on!" She yelled back as she turned the wheel to head to Spoon Island.

"But Nikolas isn't there!"

"Exactly! We'll hide out in the caves until it's clear!"

"Will someone please tell me what the FUCK is going on here?!" Aidan couldn't be ignored any longer. He didn't mind the action but didn't like it one bit that Samantha was in it as well. He wondered where Morgan was? No matter, he was here with Samantha and he would protect her.

"The Balkan's men are after us! We'll explain later, right now I need to make sure that I don't kill us on the rocks!" Sam concentrated as she head for the rocky edge at the mouth of the caves. Wyndemere was full of secret passages, a few she knew of, one in particular that headed straight into Nikolas' office and if she could just get them there it would work out, she just had to remember which passage it was. Slowing down, being mindful of the rocks, Sam maneuvered the boat to stop safely at the edge, just barely scraping the bottom of the boat on a rocky edge as it came to a complete stop. The shots had ceased for now, but she knew it was only a matter of time before they started up again. She had to find a way to get on land and call Jason. She just hoped it wasn't too late.