Chapter Fourteen

Fighting against the unbreakable hold that John had on her, Elizabeth struggled to free herself. Turning her to face him he shook her roughly. "Stop it, Elizabeth! Francis, Zander, Enzo, and a couple others are down there fighting to protect you. If you go back down there it will only make it worse." Shoving her into a sobbing Emily's arms, John pulled the gun from his waistband and released the safety. Chancing a glance at the two women huddling together and holding Cam, he took a deep breath before easing the door open and looking down the hall that led to the stairs.

Zander cursed and ran up the stairs. Seeing Cam's door slightly ajar he rushed toward it. Knocking John back a step as he entered, Zander skidded to a stop and snatched Cameron up into his arms. "We have to move now! Enzo is getting the truck. Let's go!"

"What about Francis?" Elizabeth demanded as she and Emily started down the hall behind the two men.

Shaking his head slightly, Zander flashed her a defeated look. "I'm sorry."

Gripping Emily's hand tightly as the tears fell from her eyes, Elizabeth silently followed the men as they exited the kitchen. Hearing more gunfire toward the front of the house, she shoved Cam and Zander into the SUV and dragged Emily after her.

Once John was inside Enzo took off with sqealing tires. Clasping Cam to her as he cried in fear, she looked up and met concerned eyes. "What was that? Who was that?" she demanded harshly.

Running a hand through his short hair, Zander tucked his gun out of sight. "It looked like they were Russians. My guess would be that Helena knows that we know."

"Oh God! What about Jake?" Emily asked with fear.

John was on his cell with someone as everyone looked over at him, anxious to learn what was going on. As he hung up he leaned up to talk to Enzo before returning his focus to the small group. "We are heading where we had Lorenzo. Nik's man just relayed that she is still in Ireland. We think that this was in retaliation to her guessing what happened to Spencer. She has not left the place where she is staying."

"Are the others continuing on?"

"Yes."

"What about the others that were there? We left more than just Francis?" Emily questioned as she wiped her cheeks.

Zander and John looked at each other before shaking their heads. "We are the only ones that made it out of the house."

John watched as Elizabeth slumped in her seat while still holding their son closely. "There is more. Sam escaped tonight. I think that Helena was behind that as well. She used it as a distraction. We are going to get you somewhere safe before we even start looking for her."

"Hopefully the Ice Queen's men killed the bitch!" Emily snapped as she rubbed Elizabeth's hand. "We can't keep running, John. Cameron needs to rest."

Blowing out a frustrated breath, he nodded. "I know." He glanced back at his young son that had cried himself to sleep on his mother's lap. "We are going to the safe house like I said. We will stay there until Jerry and some of Alcazar's men arrive back. As soon as they land, Johnny is putting them back in the air."

"What about Jake? Do you think that she is still keeping him alive?" Elizabeth whispered brokenly.

Averting her eyes from her friend's, Emily wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "You have to keep the faith, Liz. Helena wants you to suffer and keeping you away from him accomplished that. Jake is alive and he will be back home soon. O'Brien and Jason won't rest until he is back in your arms."

"None of us will," Zander vowed as he patted her knee. "Everything will work out."

John met Emily's scared eyes and sighed. They all knew that Helena was only ramping up to really begin her attacks. But after seeing Francis shot in front of her, they were worried about Elizabeth. Her and Francis had been like family and he knew that she was blaming herself as well as scared for her youngest son.

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"We lost several men, one was Francis," Johnny grimly announced. "Elizabeth, Emily, Cam, Zander, Zacchara, and Enzo are at Lorenzo's property now."

"Shit! Liz is going to freak."

"John had to restrain her from running to him. She watched him take the bullets that killed him," Johnny admitted. "They said she is hanging in there. The attackers were identified as Helena's army."

Nik scrubbed a palm over his face roughly. "How far out are Jerry and the men? They are going to need backup. And where in the hell is Sam?"

"They are about four hours away. As for Sam, she was seen with someone who has a lot to answer for. A.J.," he snarled. "Fucking A.J. broke that bitch out."

"What? Why would my brother help her?" Jason asked confused. A.J. had made it clear that he despised Jason and had for years. To help Sam was completely unexpected.

Johnny turned and shot him a look that caused Jason to shut up. The anger and hate that was unmasked in those green eyes was staggering. "I don't fucking know! But I can promise that it will be addressed. I am having Jerry move the others as soon as he gets there. I'm not sure if A.J. is on our side anymore and I will not take the chance with their safety."

As the driver pulled into the small town where Helena had last been seen, Nik cleared his throat. "We need to focus on this. The men said that there has been no movement outside of the house since right after the attack in Port Charles. There are about ten men inside that are armed. How are we doing this?"

"Easy. I am sending in the Alcazar and Zacchara men that are here. Jason and I are going in after to deal with Helena once we get Jake to you."

Jason shook his head. "How can you be sure that Jake will not be hit?"

"Because I am. After this is over, I want every freaking Russian in this town dead. I also want the place leveled. Your men can handle that while we contain the old bat and get our answers." Johnny smiled coldly. "I want anything connected to her that Nik does not have an association with dismantled."

"What about her ties to Luke? Has anyone thought about him warning her?" Jason started to wonder.

"That is why you are here, Jason. He is actually in the house, him and Lulu. The freaking Spencer family is helping her keep your son away from you and Elizabeth."

"You want me to kill them."

Happy that he understood, Johnny nodded. "I think it is the least that you could do after allowing them to control and blackmail Liz for the past several years. By the way, have you heard the DNA results? Jerry wanted me to pass on the congratulations. You are the father."

Shocked that he was really the father, Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. While he would love the child, he couldn't help but hate the mother. Pushing his conflicting emotions back, he focused on the Spencers. "I can take out Luke, but are you sure about Lulu?"

"Unfortunately yes. My sister has been feeding them information about Elizabeth's state of mind for almost a month. She has to answer just like everyone else," Nik responded flatly.

Taking a deep breath and releasing a malicious smile, Johnny opened the door to the SUV and looked back. "Let's go, Morgan. We have a little boy to take home to his mom. Nik, stay here until I call you on the cell and then make your way in from the back."

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Standing in the hallway, she looked in at Cam sleeping on the small bed. Her little boy had handled the evenings events better than she had expected. He had only woken up once with a nightmare and she was relieved that he was able to sleep since it had eluded her.

Feeling him standing behind her, she turned her head slightly and looked over at John. "He is sleeping pretty good."

"He is strong and didn't really see or understand everything that happened. How are you handling everything?"

Walking into the large kitchen and filling the kettle with water to heat she fidgeted with her hands. "Um, it is hard to think that people died because of me. But I know that Francis would do it again, as well as the others. But I am going to miss him so much. I loved Frannie. I just wish that it was all over. I want Jake back with me. I want my life back."

"What about you and Morgan? Is Jake coming home going to change anything?"

Quickly shaking her head, she snorted. "He made his choice before we even believed that our son was dead. Hell, he skipped the funeral and stayed home and sent his whore instead. I will never forget that we were not enough."

Catching her chin and looking into her eyes John smiled sadly. "Just like you will never forget that I left you and Cam?"

Elizabeth licked her lips. "I know why you did what you did and I accept it. But I will never forget, John. I have lived my whole life with people making decisions for me. I can't do that again."

"What about O'Brien? He walked away too?"

"It wasn't the same. Jason tried to kill him. He didn't plan it in advance. And I ALWAYS knew that Johnny was alive and hiding until a time that he could come back. I'm sorry, John, but he makes me happy."

Sadly nodding, he released her face and sat back down. "I can tell that you have really strong feelings for him. I wish it was different, but I do want you happy, Liz."

"You will find happiness too. In the last eight years you had to have felt something for someone, John."

He avoided her eyes. "Maybe, but it wasn't real. It was only a product of circumstances."

"Maybe, maybe not. You have to figure that out for yourself." Sitting at the table after making a cup of cocoa, she smiled slightly. "Can you tell me what the last call was about?" she asked, changing the subject.

"They are moving in on the house and Jerry will be arriving soon. We are going to have to move again. No one is sure what A.J. is up to. Johnny does not trust him after he helped Sam escape."

It still shocked her that A.J. had turned on them. "Why would he do that? It makes no sense."

John agreed but had his own opinion of why he had turned on them. "I'm not sure, but I think that Sam having Jason's child might have something to do with it. The DNA results showed that he is the father, not Ric."

Elizabeth only shook her head. "I'm not surprised. Francis and I both figured that it was his. I still don't see why A.J. would care though."

"Maybe he can't pass up the chance for revenge on his taking Michael away. All the time that I spent with him, you could see that it played a large part of who he was."

The phone rang causing both to jump slightly. He grabbed his cell and hit the talk button. "Zacchara."

He paused and a smile lit his face. "You have him? Is he okay?"

Elizabeth held her breath and then felt like she was spiraling out of control as his smile slipped and he looked at her with concern and sympathy.