Dex was out for a run. It was an ordinary activity that he had taken up daily, wanting to stay in shape. He would go back to the gym, but lately, he's been too busy running errands for Sonny and making time for Joss to make time for a workout session, so he took up jogging. Unlike the gym, it was free, it got him fresh air, and he could enjoy the scenery of Port Charles. He was just about to enter the docks portion of Port Charles when he heard a familiar voice. Slowing down to a walk, he hid behind some crates as he saw Sonny's cousin Gladys Corbin come into view, but she wasn't alone. Mob boss Selina Wu was with her, accompanied by one of her bodyguards.

"Where is my money? We had an agreement. Either you spy on Sonny, or you give me the money you owe paid in full. I take it that you either have my money or you're accepting my offer," Selina glared at the trembling Gladys, who simply smiled nervously.

"Well, as I told you, I know nothing about Sonny's business and I have no way of finding out. He doesn't trust me. As for the money...can we come up with a payment plan? I work for Deception and make a good paycheck. I'm good for the money," Gladys stammered.

"What about your daughter-in-law? You are still her guardian right? You can use her funds to pay me."

"And betray my son like that? I...I can't do that. Please, just let me pay you in increments. I can…"

"Kill her," Selina flatly ordered, no emotion at all was in her voice. She had told Gladys what she needed to do, but the idiotic woman had refused. Did she think that Selina was kidding? That she would just let her debt go? She should have known better. It was always this way for women mob bosses. If she had been Sonny, Gladys would have given her that money, no questions asked. But no, like everyone else, Gladys had underestimated Selina because she was a woman.

"Wait! No! I…"

The sound of the gun going off was the last thing Gladys Corbin heard as Selina's henchmen fired the gun. Both the henchman and Selina glared down at the body.

"What do you want to do with the body, boss?" The henchman asked.

"Wrap her up and deliver her to Sonny's doorstep. Tell him that she was found on the docks, but you don't know who did it. That we're delivering the body as a courtesy to him. He cannot know that I was behind this.

"Yes ma'am," The henchman nodded.

Stunned by what he had witnessed, Dex backed up, planning to make his way to Sonny when a gust of wind blew and was strong enough to knock down the crates, revealing him to Selina and her employee.

"What the hell?!" The henchman gripped his gun

"Don't just stand there! Kill him!" Selina ordered.

Dex didn't wait for the henchman to follow through, he took off running, faster than he ever had before. He didn't know whether it was his youth or that the henchman was just too large and lumbering to follow, but he somehow got away, finding himself at Joss's dorm. He frantically knocked, hoping that she was home. Thankfully, Joss opened the door, her blue eyes narrowing in concern.

"Dex? What's wrong?"

"I'm in trouble," was all he could say as he entered her room.

…..

Portia paced her office as she waited for her brother's arrival. She was desperate. She had thought long and hard about how to get Spencer Cassadine out of her daughter's life. She had come up with all kinds of scenarios, but each one failed and had her kicked out of her daughter's life while Spencer Cassadine took her down a dark path. Finally, an idea came to her. It was evil, she had to admit and if found out, she'll not only lose Trina forever but Portia herself will end up behind bars and her career would be over. But her daughter's safety was worth it. There really had been no other choice but to call her brother Zeke.

She had found out recently that her brother was a hitman for the Smith family in California. She was hoping that maybe, he'd do her a favor and perform this job for her and his beloved niece. Of course, she wasn't going to tell him everything about Spencer, like Spencer being connected to the Corinthos family. She knew that Zeke would most likely refuse the job if he knew that. Besides, there was no need for him to know. If he did his job and left no trace of himself, they could get away with taking out this thorn in her side when it came to Trina and Trina would be safe, not only from the Cassadines but from Esme as well. There really was no choice in the matter.

Zeke knocked on the door before entering, eyeing his sister warily. His sister barely called him for anything pertaining to his profession, so he was surprised when she told him over the phone that she had a job for him to do. A job that must be kept secret.

"Hey, sis. I'm here. What's up? What job do you want me to do and why?" Zeke asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"Your niece is in danger. I need you to take the danger out for me," Portia stood there, looking nervous, not knowing if her brother would accept the job or not.

"What do you mean? Explain yourself."

So Portia told Zeke all about Spencer Cassadine and his relationship with her daughter and the recent danger her daughter had walked right into thanks to that boy and now the two were closer than ever and she couldn't see any other way to separate them.

"Have you ever thought of just talking to Trina and telling her your concerns?" Zeke frowned. He really wasn't keen on taking this job. He respected Trina and he knew what it was like to have parents second guess your decisions and try to take those decisions away. To behave like you don't have your own agency. Portia was doing just that to Trina and he didn't like it. But he didn't like the thought of his niece being in danger either.

"She won't listen to me and telling her that I hate her boyfriend will only alienate her from me further! I can't have that, Zeke! And I know, she's an adult, but I can't just sit back and watch that boy ruin her life! And he will, I don't care how happy she may seem now! It won't last!"

"Portia…"

"I need him gone. As soon as possible and if that means you do your thing and take him out, so be it. You're a professional. You can do it without leaving any evidence behind. Please, Zeke. Get Spencer Cassadine out of my daughter's life. I wouldn't be asking this of you if there was any other way. You know that."

"I don't know, Portia. The kid is a member of the Cassadine family. They can eat me for breakfast and spit me back out by morning, you know that."

"Which is why you won't leave any evidence that you were behind the hit. Make it seem like a random shooting if you must. Just...get that boy out of my daughter's life for good."

"She'll be heartbroken. Is that what you want? She lost one boyfriend already. Now you want me to take out another? The girl will think that she's cursed!"

"I don't care. I just want him gone. Please, Zeke. Do this for me. I'll stop ragging on you about not being a doctor. I'll start supporting you more. Please…"

"My boss hates it when I do outside jobs…"

"Tell them that it was for family. They'll understand, right? Please. I will never ask you for anything else, I promise."

"Alright, alright! Fine! I'll do the hit! I'll kill Spencer Cassadine the moment I see him...and I'll even make it look like an accident," Zeke gave in.

"Thank you!" Portia happily squealed, unaware that on the other side of the door, Ava had heard everything discussed. She was going to stop in and ask Portia if she wanted to join her for a meal at the Metro Court. She had not been expecting to hear what she heard and it sent her heart pounding in fear and outrage. She had to warn Trina before Portia's brother had a chance to take a shot at the Cassadine heir. After all, with what she had done to Nikolas, the least she could do was protect his son.

…..

"Thank you for walking me home," Trina smiled, holding Spencer's hand in hers as they stood in front of the closed door of her dorm room. It had been a week since she had returned to the room and it felt good to be out of the watchful gaze of her mother. She knew that Portia meant well, but Trina was still angry with her over the paternity issue and she just needed some space to breathe and to enjoy this new phase of her relationship with Spencer and she couldn't do that with Portia hovering.

"It's my pleasure," Spencer smiled, pulling Trina closer so he could fully wrap his arms around her.

Trina reached up to wrap her arms around his neck and smiled up into his eyes, just loving that her boyfriend was taller than her and that his arms and chest were strong enough to hold her close and keep her safe. That was one of the things she had loved the most on The Haunted Star. Every time Spencer had held her, she felt as safe as could be, despite the danger that they were both in.

"I don't want to say goodbye. I wish that you could stay."

"I do too. Maybe next year you get a single room?"

"Or...you can get your own place? So I can stay overnight with you?" Trina arched a brow, just presenting the idea for his consideration. "Maybe I can even have a drawer or two...and a place to keep my toothbrush?"

"Ooooh, I like that even better. Well...there is an apartment building next to my grandmother's...I can look into it. That way, I can have my own place and still be able to keep an eye on Ace," Spencer grinned, liking the idea more and more.

"You should do it then. I may be used to Esme being around, but a place of our own would be better."

Spencer liked the idea. A place for himself and Trina to just be together without her mother hovering around and giving him that judgy glare she always gave him. It'd be a dream come true. "I most definitely will. First thing tomorrow."

He leaned down for a kiss when they were suddenly interrupted.

"Trina! Thank god I've found you!" Ava rushed over, nearly out of breath. "I was going to check at Laura's, but something told me to come here first and I'm glad that I did!"

Trina frowned, not used to seeing Ava so frantic. "What is it? What's wrong? Did something happen to the gallery?"

"The gallery is fine! It's your mother…," Ava began.

"My mother? Did something happen to her?"

"No, it's nothing like that. I was going to her office, to see if she wanted to join me at The Metro Court. I was about to knock on her door when I heard voices. She was talking to someone named Zeke."

Trina frowned. "That's my uncle. Why is Uncle Zeke in town?"

"Listen...it's what they were talking about that has me so alarmed...I heard her ask him to get Spencer out of your life...by killing him!"

"What?!" Trina's eyes widened in disbelief. She would have fallen back in shock if it wasn't for Spencer's hands gripping her shoulders and keeping her on her feet.

"Your mother asked your Uncle to kill Spencer. He tried to talk her out of it, but she was insistent. So he agreed to it."

"Oh my god, are you sure?"

"This is such a...Cassadine thing to do," Spencer frowned.

"And she has the nerve to talk about your family. She's worse than all of them," Trina ranted, clear hurt and outrage in her eyes. "I don't believe this! I mean...she saw how happy Spencer makes me! I told her and Daddy and Curtis how much Spencer meant to me, Curtis even saw it himself!"

"Well, Curtis and Taggert were nowhere to be seen. It was only Portia and Zeke from what I heard," Ava explained, feeling sorry for the girl she had taken under her wing. She knew how close Trina had been to her mother. She saw how the rift between them was healing. But now, seeing the clear hurt and devastation in Trina's eyes, that hole had been ripped wide open, even wider than before.

"She must really hate me if seeing me so happy pushes her this far," Trina shook her head, tears appearing in her eyes. "How dare she want to take away the one person that I could trust during not only her betrayal but what happened on the Haunted Star! How dare she?!"

"I'm sorry, baby," Spencer wrapped his arms around her, not surprised when she clung to him as if he would disappear.

"I hate her! I hate her for doing this to me, just when I was about to forgive her for her lies!" Trina buried her face in Spencer's chest as she began to sob. "What are we going to do?"

"Hide, I say. Go to Sonny. He has all kinds of safe houses. I'm sure that he can neutralize this Zeke person," Ava suggested.

"Uncle Sonny would kill him, though," Spencer frowned, not sure if he'd want something that drastic to happen, even though the man was gunning for him. "What if Trina talks to him. Get him to back off...would he?"

"I don't know if that would work," Trina pulled away, shaking her head. "Once Uncle Zeke is set on a job, he doesn't stop until he's finished. Your Uncle Sonny may be our only shot to get you out of this. In the meantime...I'm done with my mother...no with Portia. I'm not even going to call her my mother anymore," Trina took out her phone and immediately blocked Portia's number. "I don't want to have anything to do with her ever again."

"Oh Trina," Ava felt bad. This was why she had begged Portia to back off when it came to Spencer. She had warned the woman that she would lose her daughter and now what she had said would happen...had.

"No. I have no choice. She doesn't even respect me or my boundaries. That is all too clear and I'm telling Daddy on her! I should call Jordan and have her arrested!"

"Yeah, but that probably won't stop your Uncle," Spencer frowned, not knowing what to do. He was definitely in danger, so he probably couldn't even go home if he wanted to. He didn't want to endanger his grandmother and brother.

"Listen, let's just go inside and figure this out. I don't want to stay out here in the hall. If feels too...open. Like we're vulnerable," Trina rubbed the tears out of her eyes. She paused and then hugged Ava, thankful for her mentor's help. "Thank you for coming to warn us, Ava."

"Oh, don't mention it. Despite my feelings towards Nikolas... I must look out for his son. Which I am doing. I really do think that you two should talk to Sonny. He can at least get you both to safety."

"We'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Ava," Spencer nodded, also grateful to his former stepmother. They watched Ava leave and then faced each other.

"I am so so sorry for this. You're in danger because of me," Trina sniffed, feeling horrible. Just when she was beginning to relax and feel at home in her life, things were spiraling out of control once again. All she could do was hold on to Spencer and fight for their love. His love for her was the only thing she could trust right now and she'll be damned if she let her oh-so-loving mother take it away from her.

"Hey, this is not on you, alright? The only one to blame is Portia. I won't have you taking responsibility for her bad decisions. Come on, let's get you inside. We can talk about what to do then, right?"

"Right," She smiled, feeling a little better as he gave her a quick kiss before she unlocked the door and stepped inside to find Joss in the arms of Dex, both with tears in their eyes.

"Joss? Dex? What's going on?"