Chapter Four
Elizabeth wandered around the house, still unnerved at knowing that a monster had invaded her sanctuary. There was no signs left that he had ever stepped foot inside of her cottage, but she still knew. Thanks to Johnny she had new doors and locks on both entrances, along with an alarm system. Shaking her head over him adamantly telling her that she needed to take security more seriously, she had to a giggle a bit. His men had also cleaned the house spotless. The only thing that she needed to do now was replace more of her clothes. She had bought a couple outfits yesterday at the mall but had not wanted to drag Johnny through a bunch of stores.
Making a mug of hot chocolate, she made her way to the back porch and sat on the porch swing. The past couple days had been an emotional roller coaster and she needed to relax. She knew that it would take her a awhile to completely get rid of the fear that she had felt at knowing that her rapist had escaped.
Closing her eyes and rocking gently, Elizabeth's mind drifted automatically to Johnny. Every since he had brought her home and left for a meeting, he had been on the edge of her thoughts. It amazed her at how different he was from what everyone believed. He had been her rock the past couple days. The time that she had spent with him had been enjoyable. He was easy to talk to and listened to what she had to say as well.
Her boys had even warmed up to him quickly the morning that he had taken them all to the park to meet Lucky. She had seen that his natural charm worked on kids too. The boys had laughed and joked with him while she had fixed breakfast. Normally Cam and Jake were standoffish with strangers.
Hearing footsteps and the sound of the side gate opening, her eyes popped open, looking around the corner. She relaxed when she saw Patrick and Robin rounding the corner. "Hey. Come on up and have a seat."
Robin joined her on the swing and Patrick lowered his himself onto the porch steps. "How are you holding up, Elizabeth? Mac told us what had happened."
Wincing at not being able to tell them that everything was now fine, Elizabeth nibbled on her bottom lip. "I am doing ok. I am uneasy, but hanging in there." At least that was not a lie, she thought.
Patrick flashed her a reassuring smile. "Do you want to come stay with us? We have plenty of room."
"I appreciate the offer, but I can't hide. I also won't bring danger to anyone else."
Robin looked at her speculatively. "Mac said that you left with Johnny Zacchara yesterday after the break in."
"He stayed with here the night before after he heard Georgie talking about the escape at Kelly's. He was concerned and showed up here, refusing to leave."
Noticing her blushing, Patrick smirked. He didn't doubt that Johnny may have been concerned, but he would bet that there was more to it than just that. "I am happy that someone was here for you and the boys."
"Knowing he was on the couch definitely made it easier to sleep," she confessed.
"Are you staying here tonight? I saw the men working on the doors this morning."
"Yes. I refuse to run out of my house again." Wanting to change the subject, she asked Robin, "Where is Emma?"
"My mom took her to the movies and then the park." Robin rolled her eyes. "That is what she said anyway. Patrick and I are betting that she teaching her to pick locks or rappel off of a building."
Choking on her cocoa as she chuckled, Elizabeth nodded. "I can see Anna doing that before playing in the park."
When Patrick's beeper went off, he excused himself to head off to the hospital. Watching her husband leave, Robin studied her friend. "Are you sure that you alright? We really don't mind if you want to use the guest room."
"It means a lot that you are offering, Robin, but I need to face this. I have to stay here or I might never be comfortable in my own home again."
"Maybe you will have company
in the form of a tall, dark, and handsome man again," she teased the nurse.
"He was only being nice," she protested. "He is actually a good guy once you see the other side. He is a friend, I guess."
Robin noticed the slight hesitation and wondered what exactly her friend really felt. Being a pretty astute individual, she could see the slight confusion about Johnny that Elizabeth was feeling. She also knew that pushing her talk about it would only put her back up. "Uncle Mac said that all of your clothes were destroyed yesterday. Have you went shopping yet?"
Happy with the change of topic, she shook her head. "Not really. I picked up a couple of outfits yesterday, but wasn't really in the mood to shop."
Robin bounced up and grinned widely. "Well, let's go to the mall. No self respecting woman has just a couple outfits! Besides, Patrick picked on me earlier so I think I need some new shoes!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~b~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Johnny exited his lawyer's building and paused when he saw Jason leaning against his car. Smirking at the not so unexpected visit after he had seen him with with Elizabeth at Kelly's, he resumed his short walk to his car. "Did you track me down for a reason, Jason? I have a busy afternoon."
"I have a question for you. What are you doing hanging around Elizabeth?" Jason demanded, cutting straight to the point.
Tilting his head and studying the enforcer, Johnny met his stare evenly. "How is that really any of your concern?"
Clenching his jaw, Jason counted to ten. "She is a friend and I don't want to see her dragged into our world."
Too late for that, he thought. "If she is such a good friend, you would know that Tom Baker escaped two nights ago." Seeing the other man's eyes widen, Johnny nodded. "I heard someone else discussing how he was going after Elizabeth again, so I offered her some protection since the police couldn't and she refused to go to Corinthos for protection."
"Is she alright?" Jason demanded.
"She is now." He knew that Jason would understand what he was not saying. "I made sure that everything was safe for her to go back home after he broke in yesterday and destroyed her room and clothes."
Cursing vehemently, Jason's eyes narrowed at another thought. "Fine. Thank you for that, but stay away from her."
Johnny walked over to the driver side and flashed a cocky grin. "I will, if she tells me to. We are friends, so of course I will see her. I have a better idea for you to maul over in your mind. Why would your friend refuse to ask your partner or you for protection? When I showed up she was alone with her two small boys. Must not be that close of a friend, Morgan." Waving cheekily, he got in the car and sped off, leaving the other man speechless and pissed.
Checking his messages, Johnny grimaced as he listened to his father rant on the voice mail. He quickly dialed the number for the guard that he had tailing Anthony. "Alex, it's Johnny. Where is he?"
"He is at the mall wandering around. He has been agitated all day, Mr. Zacchara." The guard paused, hesitant to add the rest. "Um, he has been following Miss Webber since he saw her in a clothing store."
"Dammit!" Johnny growled. "Just follow him unless he approaches her. Do not let him near her, Alex!"
Immediately after hanging up, he dialed Jagger. "Hey, it's me. My father is already following Elizabeth. He must have heard that I have been around her."
Jagger snorted. "It is actual the hot topic around town. Lucky Spencer is spouting it to anyone that will listen. You know, sweet dumb Elizabeth associating with the bad mobster."
"Yeah, I am sure that he is. After all, a drug addict police detective is so much safer."
"Where are you heading now?"
"I am on my way to the warehouse. I have all the men gathering for a meeting in about a hour. You need to be there so that I can make sure that they understand that if I am not available that you are in charge."
"Not a problem. I will be there in about twenty minutes. I also think that we need to discuss Claudia. She is making inquiries into moving here."
"Great! Just what I needed right now!" Johnny threw his phone in frustration.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~b~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elizabeth groaned as they entered Kelly's and flopped into a chair. "I am never going shopping with you again, Robin! You dragged me into every store!"
Looking sheepishly at her friend, Robin offered a grin. "Sorry. I forget that not everyone loves it as much as Brenda and I do."
"Uh oh, did she drag you to the mall?" Georgie questioned as she joined them.
"Yes," Elizabeth huffed. "She seemed to think that I needed to replace all my clothes in one trip."
"I wasn't that bad," she protested.
Georgie winked at the nurse. "Yes, she is. How are you doing, Elizabeth?"
"I am alright. When we was at the mall though, I felt like I was being watched. It kind of freaked me a bit," she confessed. Knowing that Tom was no longer an issue, she had chalked it up to nerves and a case of an overactive imagination.
After they had all ordered their food, Georgie studied her nails before looking up at them. "I have a favor to ask. It's why I asked you to meet me here, Robin."
The young doctor motioned for her to continue as she took a sip of her milkshake.
"Can you to Mac? He needs to get out more often."
Coughing to cover her amusement, Elizabeth grabbed a cheese stick off the plate that was just delivered. "Sweetie, he is plenty old enough to find his own dates."
Robin shook her head. "He may be old enough, but he seriously needs help. Who do you have in mind, Georgie?"
With a gleam in her eyes, the younger girl confessed, "Diane Miller."
"NO!" Robin yelled and then blushed as everyone looked at her. "Sorry. She is way to upscale for Uncle Mac. How about Alexis?"
"But she is a hypocrite and so uptight."
"You both are insane. He will not thank you for plotting about him behind his back," Elizabeth warned. "You need to let him find someone at his own pace. But, I do think that Alexis is more his type, Georgie."
"So, I want to hear about your lunch date the other day, Liz. Ever since I have been in college and so busy, I am living vicariously through my friends."
Eyes wide, she shook her head. "It wasn't like that. He was being a friend and helping me out. That's all."
The two cousins shared a look before turning back to her. "Um, are you saying that you don't like him?" Georgie asked.
Sighing at their determination, Elizabeth threw her hands up in surrender. "He stayed with me because of what is going on. Before all of this, we hardly ever talked."
"Hmm, well I was just curious. He rushed out of here the other night while I was talking with Maxie about what had happened. Then the next day you guys are together here eating lunch. You guys were so at ease with one another that I just assumed."
Robin looked up and smiled when she saw her friend blushing again. She was just happy that they could get her mind off of the events of the previous days even if she would not give them a straight answer about Johnny. "When are the boys coming back?"
"Two more days before they come back. It will be the last visit with Lucky for at least a month. He is planning on going to Ireland with Shioban for awhile."
"He is leaving for a month? Doesn't it ever bother you? He cancels on them more than he has them," Georgie protested.
"It only bothers me because the boys get upset when he promises and doesn't come through. It gets kind of old after awhile. Poor Cam now won't even pack a bag until Lucky picks them up."
"Ladies, sorry to interrupt," came the smooth voice behind of Elizabeth.
"Jagger!" Robin screeched as she jumped up to hug her old friend. "How are you? How long are you back for?"
After hugging Robin and Georgie he pulled a chair over and sat down. "I'm good, I just got into town. I am back for good, or at least I think so."
"Do you remember Elizabeth?"
He nodded, smiling at the petite brunette. "Long time no see, huh." He turned back to Robin. "I ran into her this morning."
Cursing as her beeper went off, Robin stood. "I have to go. It was great to see you, Jagger. We will have to get together and catch up. Liz, do you need me to drop you off on my way?"
"I will give her a lift," Jagger replied before Elizabeth could respond.
"Ok. Remember, I am right down the street if you need anything, Elizabeth."
Georgie stood and asked Robin for a lift since she needed to get to her volunteer shift. Waving goodbye, Elizabeth watched them go before looking over at Jagger.
"Thanks for offering to get me home, but I can call a cab if you have something to do."
"Actually, I was looking for you. I wanted to make sure that you are dealing with everything alright."
Blinking, she nodded. "I am. I just think that things are starting to get to me though."
"How so?" he questioned.
"Well, Robin and I went to the mall earlier. The whole time that we were there, I almost felt like I was being followed. Silly, I know. I think the stress is starting to catch up."
Wishing that he could ease her mind, he knew that telling her Anthony had been following her would have the opposite effect. "Is everything ok at the house?"
"Um, all the work and cleaning is great. I just wish that Johnny hadn't added the alarm system. I feel bad accepting it, and he wouldn't let me pay him back. I do think that it will help me sleep tonight." She lowered her voice. "I still feel uneasy there even knowing that he isn't coming back."
"That is completely normal. It will take awhile to get your security back." He grabbed the check the waitress was handing to Elizabeth. "I got it. Are you ready to get out of here?"
"Aren't you going to eat?"
"I already ate." He tossed some bills on the table and ushered a confused Elizabeth out of the diner and around the corner. Pointing to where Johnny was waiting by his car, Jagger grinned. "There is your cab. I will see you around, kiddo."
Johnny held open the car door as she approached slowly. "Hey. I just wanted to check in and see how you are doing."
She slid into the car and watched as he walked around and got in the driver's side. Sitting back and watching him out of the corner of her eye, she inwardly sighed. She just couldn't get a good read on him.
"Robin tortured me at the mall by dragging me into every store. Other than that, it has been peaceful. Did you get your meetings out of the way?"
"Yep, and now that they are out of the way, I am in the mood for a drink and game of pool. Do you want to join me?" He watched as her eyes widened and she nibbled on her lip again. Wanting to groan, he unleashed a sexy smile at her. "I might even let you win a game or two."
"Sure, but I won't need you to let me win, Johnny." She studied her nails and winked. "I am sure that I can take you on my own."
Happy that she was finally loosening up, he only cast her a small look and laughed. "You're on. I'll take that bet, sweetheart." His smile grew when she reddened and once again started to chew on her lip.