Chapter 12

The next morning Sam woke up with a headache, a hoarse voice and heavy eyelids. The previous night went away with her tears and she was groaning as the light of day fell on her. She looked at the clock hanging on the ceiling and found out that it was 11:34 a.m. She scrambled out of bed and pulled out fresh clothes for the morning and took them with her to the bathroom. After last nights incident she was never going to change outside.

It wasn't that he hadn't already seen everything the night that haunted her still, but the look in his eyes when he raked her in the nude, even only for a second, it had caused enough insecurities in her. She hadn't heard him come home last night and she desperately hoped he wasn't home. She couldn't face him now, or ever for that matter.

She came out of the bathroom after a shower and made her way in the kitchen, noticing that no one was home. As she entered the kitchen she saw Jazz in an apron making eggs and pancakes.

She came up behind her and asked, "Here, I'll help!" she reached for the spatula in Jazz's hand but she shook her head, "I'll take care of it. Are you okay?"

Sam's eyes widened at her question. Should she tell her what happened last night? No, she couldn't ruin Danny's relationship with Jazz in exchange for a few words of comfort. So she just shrugged nonchalantly and Jazz didn't pry anything from her. She just pointed Sam towards the table and told her to sit down ignoring Sam's chagrin for not being able to do anything.

A tense minute passed for Sam as she contemplated asking Jazz what had been irking her from the moment she woke up. She sighed inwardly and asked, "Do you know where, uh, um..." she trailed, not being able to say the name. Since the months that passed with what had been the worst night of her entire life, she couldn't be able to say Danny's name. Always vouching to either ignore him or give a glare to finish the job. She was sure Danny never mentioned her name either but she could be wrong. But his name never crossed her lips and suddenly it felt like it was a big deal whether she said his name or not.

It was weird feeling because they had been married, granted not under the most romantic circumstances, but it was a true marriage nonetheless. And she couldn't even say his name without having a panic attack.

Gladly Jazz didn't push her as she knew who she was talking about and answered without waiting a beat, "I don't know!" still mixing the pancake batter she turned to face Sam, "I woke up and his door was open. Bed wasn't made and his cell phone was lying on his nightstand. I don't know where he went but he better contact home soon!" she had a sharpness to her tone. Truth was that she was still mad at Danny. She was so angry that she had trouble even looking him in the eye, knowing what he had done and what he had kept from her.

But even if she was showing that it was no big deal, she was having a fit thinking where he had gone but stayed silent, knowing that he would be fine.

"And where are Johnny and Sis?"

Jazz answered, glad for the distraction from her train of thoughts, "Oh, there was a parents teacher meeting at Adam's school. They'll be back in an hour or so, I think. Katelyn said she hadn't gone shopping for a while so I'm guessing it's going to be a while!" she snorted as she reciprocated what Katelyn was meaning by saying that she wanted out of the house for some time. Either she was guilty for what she said the night before or she was looking for a place to start brewing around more insults and quips for making their lives a total chaos.

And Jazz was pretty sure it was the latter, considering Kateyln had the audacity of looking Jazz in the eyes and saying she needed out of the atmosphere of the house. Pointing that she thought she was right. Again.

Sam was still lost on the part that Danny hadn't come home. It shouldn't faze her, but it did and she didn't know what the hollow feeling in her chest was.

Just then the house phone rang while Jazz was in the middle of pouring the pancake batter on the frying pan and Sam stood up from her chair and went in the living room. She picked the receiver of the phone from where it hung on the wall and answered it, "Hello?!"

There was a shark intake of breath on the other line and for a moment Sam thought that the person was going to hang up, until, "Uh, It's Danny. Is Jazz around?" there was a hesitation in his voice and Sam was having trouble breathing.

"Um, she's in the kitchen!"

"Oh!"

"..."

"Well could you tell her that I'll be over in a few hours with Nathan!"

"Nathan?!" she took a double take to find out if she got the name wrong.

"Yeah, he's a friend of mine from work. I stayed the night with him. So, uh, could you tell her that we'll be over in the evening!" his hesitation was making her heart beat faster.

She took a deep breath and told herself to stop being so paranoid as she answered him, "Okay!"

"Thank you. Bye, Sam!" it was the first time he spoke to her by saying her name and her stomach churned. She was about to respond, but the line went dead. She held the receiver for a while listening to the buzz of the phone and whispered, "Goodbye, Danny."

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"So Mr. Kane, you say that you came from, uh, Amity Park. Am I correct?"

Vlad Master was having trouble conjuring the control of the situation in hand as he thought of what had occurred in Amity Park. It wasn't like he had planned, that he could simply shut the girl up and then all would be back to normal.

He had thought that he would be at ease when he had controlled the situation and his son and nephew weren't behind the bars for the crime they committed. But peace was inevitable for him. The guilt was deep in his chest and it was striking him every now and then.

To think that he couldn't keep his cool in front of a driver was something that was troubling him along with the guilt.

Gregor nodded, "Yes sir!"

"Alright then, here are the keys..." Vlad handed his Mercedes keys to Gregor and then folded his arms in his lap as he continued, "...and my son and nephew have access to the car and you are going to be taking care of their schedules, along with mine. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Good then. I want you to pick my son up from my house and then I have a few errands for you to run!"

"Yes sir!" he stood up and shook hands with Vlad as he made his way towards the door, just then Skulker walked in. Both glanced at each other for a moment but Gregor moved out of the way and Skulker came in and sat down on one of the couches that was in Vlad's office. He waited a few moments after Gregor went out and closed the door behind him.

Skulker then pulled out something from his coat pockets. Something that was covered in a cotton cloth.

"Julian" Vlad regarded Skulker as he looked through the office files.

"Vlad, I got what you wanted!" Vlad looked up from his stack of papers and eyed the object covered in the cotton cloth and brought out his hand as Skulker stood up and gave it to him. Vlad undid the knots on the cloth and was careful not to touch the object which was a Smith & Wesson K-22 revolver. He looked at it with strange inquisition and looked up towards Skulker, "Are you sure it's the one?!"

Skulker nodded grimly, "It's the one. Ten people killed in one night out of five bullets from this gun!"

Vlad crossed his legs as he covered the revolver with cloth, "It's not just a gun, Skulker. It's a revolver. A Smith & Wesson revolver that killed ten people with five bullets and the culprits still on the loose." He smirked darkly, stood up and walked towards the safe as he loaded the code and placed the revolver in it.

"Imagine what the feds would give to get their hands on this!" Vlad turned his attention towards Skulker who was looking out the window with a wistful expression, apparently deep in thought.

"What's the matter?"

Skulker turned his green eyes towards his brother-in-law and silently shook his head, "Vlad, do you know the guy who was just here?" he pointed his thumb towards the door.

Vlad frowned heavily, "He's the new driver" and with that he turned his attention towards the stack of papers on his desk, "What of him?" he asked as he kept staring at the industrial files.

"Is his name, uh, Gregor Kane?" Skulker hoped to God that he was to be proved wrong. He wasn't sure what would become of the situation.

Vlad looked up with his eye brows furrowed, "Yes!" and Skulker lost it.

"What!"

Now Vlad was getting worried, the sudden outbreak of Skulker's temper was beginning to thin his patience, "Come clear about what your problem is!"

"That man is that girl's, what's her name again, oh yeah, Samantha Manson's ex-fiancé!"

Vlad suddenly stood up from his desk and smashed his fist on the table as he shouted, "How is that possible?!"

Skulker pursed his lips then shouted, "I know nothing of your dealings. You told me to handle this case, I handled it. I had no idea of who was in your company's employment. I wasn't even sure whether he was the boy or not, so you have no right to yell in my face!"

Vlad ran his hands in his hair and fisted his hands in them with frustration. He fell back on his seat and covered pinched the bridge of his nose, "Does he know?" he grumbled.

"I don't know for sure. But seeing his expression, I have a feeling that, that isn't the case."

"He must never know!"

Skulker nodded grimly and took a sharp breath as he placed his hand under his chin and contemplated the situation, "You know, I think that I have an idea about solving the situation in hand!"

"And what is that?"

Skulker smirked lightly and pointed his gaze towards the safe. Vlad followed his point of vision and his eyes widened in realization. Maybe he could kill two birds with one stone.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

As the sun came to the edge and the sky darkening a bit, lightening the sky in a halo, Sam sat on the porch of the house and stared as the sky was blanketing in the dark.

A truck pulled outside the gate and Sam stood up as a familiar figure came out of the truck. She ran inside the house to alert Jazz that Danny was home. Jazz looked out the window and saw two more people come out of the truck, a girl with tanned skin and dark mahogany hair and a boy in glasses, whom she recognized, Nathan Reeves.

Last time she saw the boy, he had an Afro cut and was a bit on the fat side. Now after years of military training she could see that the boy had grown to be a man.

All three of them came towards the front door and knocked. Jazz opened the door and greeted her guests with a smile. She came forwards to embrace Nathan who returned her embrace tightly.

"It's good to see you again, Nathan. I can't believe how grown-up you look!" she pulled back and he flashed her a soft smile.

"Good to see you too, Nanny Jazzy!" he laughed as Jazz smacked him lightly on the arm and chuckled. Her old name reminding her of the little boys that played in her back yard years ago.

She turned her gaze towards the girl who stood beside Nathan awkwardly. Jazz smiled, "Hi, I'm Jazz!" she pulled out her hand.

"Hello! I'm Paulina. Nathan's girlfriend!" they shook hands and Jazz realized that the girl had a Mexican accent, which surprised her a bit. She gestured the guests towards the living room and both of them walked in and she was left with Danny.

Danny tried to give her a lopsided smile but she just shook her head and said, "Next time, take your cell phone with you!" and she left indicating Danny that she was still mad at him.

The rest of the afternoon went away with everyone chatting as Danny kept looking around to see if Sam was around. But she never came and he hoped to ease his uneasy feeling. He wasn't sure what her reaction would be after seeing him. What happened last night was something he was trying to forget. He wasn't trying to deny to himself that he thought that Sam was beautiful. Not just beautiful, she was breathtaking and he hated the conditions in which he and Sam had married. He wanted to pursue her, but he knew that she must hate him more than she did a few months ago.

They all went in the back yard to see the sunset and Jazz went in the kitchen to make tea. It was calm and serene. And Danny's gaze was still shifting around, hoping that Sam would pop out from some corner so that he could see her face and figure out the set of emotions that lingered in her violet irises.

It was becoming difficult for him. Last night when he saw her in her undressed form, he knew that if he stayed with her under the same roof he would lose it and say or do something that he would regret. So he had to leave and he went to the only place he knew in Amity Park, his childhood friend, Nathan. He stayed the night at his house to calm his lust induced state and in the morning he felt bad for just leaving without gratifying properly. So he invited him and his girlfriend to dinner but they declined so he asked them to accompany him for an evening tea and biscuit brunch and after groveling for an hour, Nathan agreed.

Now he was trying to search out the girl who was confusing his feelings.

Nathan took that moment to ask Danny, "So Danny, where is the lovely bride!" he teased and Danny was trying to come out of the situation where he had to answer that question.

Just then the back door opened and Sam came out, balancing a tray with tea and biscuits in her hands. She placed the tray on the table and looked at Nathan and Paulina with a soft expression, "You must be Nathan and Paulina. I'm Sam" she pulled out her hand and both of them shook hers. She took the chair next to Danny's and kept her distance. Nathan turned towards Danny with a sly grin and Danny prayed to God that he wouldn't say anything that would put him deeper in the water than he already was.

"Danny, how did you two meet!?" Too late.

Danny gave Nathan a warning look but Sam mumbled beside him, "We met under, a difficult situation!" and Paulina took that time to speak up, "So was it love at first sight then?"

Danny punched himself inwardly, hoping that someone would interrupt them. Where was Kitty when you needed her.

Sam just smiled at her softly and Danny gazed at her in an a trance. He knew that she wouldn't answer that one and would think of a way to pull herself out of this discussion, but he never expected her to smile. It was the first time in months when she had smiled and he almost wanted to tell Paulina that it was love at first sight. Maybe not for her, but he was having trouble answering himself what is was for him.

Thank Goodness. Finally I wrote something. Alright so this story is escalating quickly and Gregor do not know about the Masters since he backed out of Sam's life the moment he found out the story. So review.

Love,

Red