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Chapter 14

Fear glinted in the man's eyes and he let out a harsh breath. "Look, they will kill me if I don't do this."

"I can get you a new identity and five hundred grand for your troubles."

"Make it a cool mil and you've got a deal."

She pretended to think.

Taking her silence for rejection he panicked and blurted, "Seven-hundred and fifty thousand."

She had been prepared to go to a million, so she decided to take the offer. Jason owed her big time. "Deal."

The door opened and one of the guards entered.

"Boss, we have a problem."

"Now what?"

Johnny burst into the room and she groaned.

"Are you stalking me?"

"Who is he?"

Johnny's glare made the man step backwards.

She put out her hand and blocked Johnny's forward movement. "I have this under control."

"Does he know where Cam is?"

"I don't know nothing bout the kid. I saw his picture on television. I don't hurt children."

Claudia licked her lips. Enforcer Johnny is really hot. "I was just paying him to leave town. He is the witness."

Sam stormed into the room holding a gun and three were immediately trained on her.

Johnny sighed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"He's the witness."

"No shit Sherlock," Claudia said. "Put your guns down. All of you."

Sam lowered hers.

"What exactly were you going to do?" Johnny asked.

"I was going to make sure he doesn't leave," Sam said.

The witness grinned. "You know I have a gun too."

Sam rolled her eyes. "I can take care of myself."

"Then how come you have to rescued so much?" Johnny pulled on Claudia's arm. "We need to talk and Sam, stay right there."

Claudia leaned against her car. "Why are you mad?"

"He hasn't given his statement yet, right?"

"No. Tomorrow is the bail hearing." Diane is a damn good lawyer.

"How much did you give him?"

"Seven hundred and fifty grand plus a new identity."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "And he's willing to go?" If the man left, it will help Jason greatly.

She nodded as their eyes locked. A groan tore from Johnny's lips and he tugged her closer and then laid a kiss on her she wouldn't soon forget.

"Wow."

"Thank you."

She smiled. "You're welcome. I was going to call you once the deal was sealed. What are you going to do about Sam?"

He cursed under his breath. "She is a ginormous pain in my ass."

"She could be a problem, especially if Morgan breaks it off with her."

"I know, but by then, hopefully everything will be resolved."

They went back into the room. The man had already packed and is ready to go.

"Sal is going to take you to a safe house and from there, you'll get on a plane to nowhere. You need to stay away."

Johnny turned to Sam. "If you breathe a word of this…"

His sinister tone surprised her. "I love Jason. I just want him out of jail."

"Good. Go home and don't tell anyone about this. We'll handle the rest."

She nodded, feeling good that she had helped Jason; at least in her own mind.

He watched her leave and made a face, making Claudia chuckle.

"I have somewhere else to be," she said before sauntering to her car.

Johnny smirked, knowing that this woman is going to be the end of him.

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Diane picked up her phone and then her glass of wine. "Hello?"

"It's Johnny."

"What do you have for me?"

"There is no witness."

Diane gulped.

"It's not what you think. Just know, there isn't one. He is scheduled to come in and give a formal statement tomorrow, but he will not show up."

"Okay. This is a very good turn of events."

"Good. We need him out of jail."

"I'll do the best I can."

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Claudia slipped into the boathouse and waited. A few minutes later, Elizabeth opened the door.

"Hey. Do you have good news?"

Claudia smiled. "Yup. The witness is not going to testify."

Liz tilted her head. "Is that because they can't or won't?"

"Relax. He's not dead, just on vacation."

"That will definitely help Jason's case."

"We're hoping it's at least enough to get him out on bail. What about all your enemies?"

Liz sat on a chair. "I can't concentrate on that right now, but when Cam is back in my arms, I want to start with bringing Carly up on blackmail charges." She hadn't discussed it with Jason, but didn't think he'd argue.

"Good. She deserves it."

"I feel like I've been way to nice to people who don't deserve it."

"You are not a bitch by nature and people take advantage of that. It's going to be worse now."

"Why?"

"Because you're going to be happy and that will just piss off the haters even more."

Liz smirked. "I guess that is the greatest revenge—sort of."

Claudia shrugged. "I like drawing blood, but that's me."

Liz chuckled. "You do like red."

"You noticed."

"Yes. I'm a little nervous about Jason getting out. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to see him but…"

"You haven't spent a lot of time together and you're worried."

"Yeah. I've spent a long time pretending I didn't love him. He pretty much mastered that too. I just hope Cam will be okay with all the changes. Lucky was the only dad he knew and he's going to be confused."

"Kids are resilient. Is Jason good with him?"

A smile lit of Liz's face. "For someone who is so feared, he's a mushball when it comes to kids. I think it's how calm he is and gentle."

Claudia's brow quirked. "He seems a little rough around the edges."

"He's rough when he needs to be."

Claudia grinned.

"Are you really going to sleep with Johnny?"

"Hell yeah. That is a fine piece of ass and he is all mine to torture slowly. Haven't you ever had a one night stand?"

Liz scrunched her face. "Does Jason count?"

Claudia rolled her eyes. "If you hadn't of known and pined for each other for a gazillion years before you sealed the deal, then maybe."

"It was really hot though."

"I'm sure it was because Jason has got it going on. Have you been on his motorcycle?"

Now it was Liz's turn to shoot her a look. "Hell yeah."

"You should look into that possibility for a make-out session."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"After you pop out the kid, of course."

They laughed and the door opened and Johnny's head tilted. "What the hell?"

"Oops…"

He shook his head. "Elizabeth…"

"What? Has she not helped us immensely?"

He sighed. "Yeah, but how in the world did you even meet each other?"

"It's called a phone," Liz said before standing.

"You called her?"

Liz looked at Claudia. "He's awfully dense. Are you sure you want to hit that?"

Johnny's mouth dropped open as Liz sauntered by him.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

The door shut and Claudia stood.

"Seriously? You've been hanging out with Elizabeth?"

"Uh huh."

"Doing what?"

"That's her story to tell. I'm just along for the ride."

Her eyes twinkled with mischief and he couldn't help but grin.

"Jason is going to shit a brick when he hears about this." There is no way he's going to tell her that Jason already knew about the alliance.

"He'll find out on his own tomorrow."

Her hands latched onto his waist. "Since we're alone, perhaps you should give me another taste."

He fixed her with his stare as his head moved closer and just as he was about to brush his lips against hers he said, "Psych."

A stunned Claudia watched him walk away.

"That's what you get for not telling me about your new best friend."

Her hands flew to her hips. "You are going to pay for that one."

"You'll have to catch me," he said before darting out the door.

Claudia chuckled. "I'm seriously going to have to tie him down."

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The next morning, Jason waited patiently as Diane entered the interrogation room.

"What's going on?"

He is dressed in a suit and she takes a moment to admire him.

"Well, Dante's test came back and there is tape residue on the gun and several places where your fingerprints were found."

"That helps right?"

"Yes, and if the witness doesn't show up, even better."

"The longer Cam is missing, the harder it will be to find him."

Diane sighed. "I know. Everyone is looking for him. We'll figure it out somehow."

"Do you know how Elizabeth is?"

"I spoke to Emily this morning and she said they didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

With everything going on and the stress Liz is under, Jason is worried about her health. This needs to be over with.

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Between curiosity seekers and family and friends, the courtroom was buzzing with activity and almost filled to the brim. Claudia took a seat next to Elizabeth. It is time for their coming out party and she is glad that they didn't have to run around in secret any longer.

Audrey took Alfred's hand as a shocked Emily looked on. Monica followed her gaze and grinned.

Nikolas arrived and sat next to his wife. His flight had been delayed so he had to take a later one. He kissed her reverently. "I missed you."

"How did you find me?"

He chuckled. "I figured you would be here for Elizabeth." Emily had filled him in on their reconciliation.

"She's scared that you'll side with Lucky."

"I love my brother, but I also love Elizabeth. I need proof Emily, so I've decided to have an open mind." He has a lot of catching up to do.

She figured that is better than the alternative. "You don't think he was on drugs?"

"I don't know. I thought he was doing better; at least it seemed that way, but I can't imagine Liz lying about that."

"I did too, but he has said some horrible things and he wanted me to spy on her. Are you going to be able to handle it if he's proven guilty?"

"It will hurt, but I've got you to help me."

Her eyes filled with tears. "And I'm very thankful for that."

He kissed her again and then caught Elizabeth's eye and gave her a smile of encouragement.

Relief set in when she saw the love conveyed and she smiled back.

Jason entered the room, flanked by two guards. The suit fit him in all the right places and Elizabeth couldn't help but bite her lip and stare. Their eyes locked and it was as if he read her mind and a brief, devilish smirk marked his face as he watched her blush.

"Focus," Diane said, snapping him back to reality.

"That's going to cost you a pair of shoes."

"Don't make me walk out of here."

They sat and she got her papers together.

The judge got situated and asked Ric to approach him. "We are here today to determine if Mr. Morgan can be released on bail."

"The state recommends that he be remanded until the trial. He is a flight risk and could easily hop in a private jet and leave."

"I'm well aware of Mr. Morgan's reputation and affluence."

"Your honor, Mr. Morgan has every reason not to flee. His girlfriend's son is missing and he is needed to help out with the search."

"We have a police department for that," Ric said.

"And how far have they gotten?" Diane asked with a glare.

"That's enough. I understand the concern and the dire situation the young boy is in, so let's get on with this," the judge said. Everyone held their breath. "After reviewing new evidence in the case, it turns out that there was tape residue found in every place that Mr. Morgan's finger print was lifted, suggesting that they had been planted."

"Your honor, this is not a trial," Ric said exasperatedly.

"You think I don't know that? It's still relative to my decision. I understand that the witness still has not officially testified. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"So you have no witness and it looks like his finger prints were faked."

"We just need a little more time to find the witness."

"Mr. Lansing, you have one week to do this or the charges will be dropped."

Diane smirked. "Your honor, are you willing to grant my client bail?"

"Bail is set at one million dollars. You are not to leave the county or you will be thrown in jail. Is that clear?"

"Yes, your honor," Jason said calmly.

"Dismissed."

Everyone chuckled as Jason stood and his arms were immediately full with a certain petite brunette.

"Shhh, it's okay."

She gripped him like a vice as he rubbed her back.

Claudia made her presence known. "Hello, Jason."

"Hi. Thanks for your help."

"We'll talk." With that she turned on her heel and sauntered away as he smirked because Johnny's eyes tracked her the whole way.

Liz stepped away from him and Monica hugged her son and then Emily.

"Will you come back to the mansion with us?"

"Yes and then I need to meet with Spinelli and Stan," Jason said.

"Okay."

Sam made her presence known and Liz painfully moved further away. She hugged him and it took everything in him to hug Sam back.

"I'm so glad you're out. Did Johnny tell you that I helped find the witness?"

Jason nodded.

Liz cleared her throat. "Thank you, Sam."

"Well, Cam didn't deserve what happened." It was hard to be nice to her nemesis, but she eased her arm around Jason's waist to make sure Elizabeth knows that he is taken.

Jason's eyes tracked Liz's movements.

"I'll see you at the mansion," Liz said before walking away.

Jason held Johnny's stare and then observed as the guard took off to walk beside his girl.

"I'm coming with you, right?"

"Sam, I need you right now. Do you think you could check in with Jason later?"

Sam rolled her eyes and then turned to smile at her mother. "Of course." She got on her toes and thankfully missed Jason's lips and hit his chin. "I'll see you later."

Nikolas noted the difference in Jason's demeanor as he hugged the two women. Something was going on and he wondered if Sam was on her way out. Emily hadn't gone into a lot of detail, but he knew that everything was not as it seemed.

It took awhile to get the bail processed, but Edward had already started it. Lucky watched the update on television as he cursed under his breath. Now that Jason is out, he is definitely going to have to lay low. It is time to move.

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The Quartermaine mansion is brimming with excitement. Because Nikolas hadn't been brought up to speed, they didn't want him to know that Elizabeth and Jason were more than friends because of his association with Lucky. So, they stayed a safe distance from each other until Nikolas took Emily back to Windemere.

Lulu stormed into the room. "I need to talk to you."

Liz stood and Monica stepped in front of her.

"She is pregnant and doesn't need a lot of stress, so no harassing her."

"I'm not a child."

"Sometimes, I think you forget that."

Lulu squirmed as everyone stared. "I just—please Elizabeth."

Liz sighed. "Fine. Let's go into the study."

Lulu followed and Jason had to fight his urge to run to Liz's side because she would take that as a slight.

"She'll be fine," Alan said noticing his discomfort.

"I think she can take her," Tracy added.

Their gaze met and Tracy winked before sipping her drink.

Jason just shook his head.