Disclaimer….I do not own GH or the characters….No copy write infringement intended….Entertainment purposes only….

A/N: Wow, an update! I truly regret all the lengthy delays and I hope you're hanging in there with me. I promise my stories will be finished. But after everything that seems to crop up after I promise a timeline, I'm just gonna say I will do my best to not keep you waiting forever again.

For all those taking the time to post a review, thank you so much! I love hearing the feedback. It helps to know where improvement is needed and what is going over well.

Again, I appreciate all those reading! Hope you enjoy the newest chapter!

Chapter Forty-Seven

Careful not to jostle the exhausted bundle clinging to him even as she slept, Johnny closed his eyes and prayed to whoever was listening. At this very second he would gladly give up everything he possessed, all his extensive wealth and power included, to have Georgie standing next to him unharmed. But the reality of the situation was hammered home even more forcibly when Baylor shifted restlessly in his arms, whimpering incoherently as she dreamt. She'd practically been inconsolable after picking up on the fact all the adults worried about if Diego would disappear with her mother. No one believed or trusted him to let her go as promised. Georgie had been missing for over an hour now, having willingly taken off with a man they still had no clue of his mind set. From the accounts he'd received from Logan and Milo before he walked away to keep from shooting them for their fuck up concerning security, the situation didn't look too promising. Any man who would use his own daughter as a pawn to gain the cooperation of her terrified mother couldn't be operating with all his capacities fully intact.

Hesitantly clearing her throat, Sarah flinched at the worry etched across the man's features when he turned to face her. "Why don't you let me take Bay with me, Johnny? Maybe Lizzie's boys will be able to keep her mind occupied on something else."

"Somehow I doubt Cam and Jake will make up for the fact her mother isn't around. It's gonna be almost impossible to distract her."

The bite in his voice had her chest tightening. The man in front of her had to be reaching the end of his tolerance level. Hell, the fact he was still halfway calm astounded everyone. But she was probably the only person who truly comprehended all the emotional turmoil weighing him down at the moment. Even Sarah's husband didn't have full disclosure like Georgie surprisingly allowed her to give Johnny this morning at their first prenatal appointment. The man had to be in the worst kind of hell imaginable.

"She's coming home. Don't believe otherwise."

"You can't know that with one hundred percent certainty, Sarah."

"Yes, I can and I'll tell you why, Johnny. She loves you and Bay, Johnny. Nothing's gonna keep her from returning to you two. You gotta have faith."

"I have complete faith in Georgie. It's him I don't trust, Sarah. The man's made it a painfully clear he hasn't let go of his feelings for her." His voiced dropped to a whisper. "He fucking threatened his own daughter to guarantee Georgie cooperated! He's insane!"

"And she's in love with you, not him, Johnny. Georgie'll find a way back to you if Diego doesn't honor his word."

Rubbing Baylor's back when she sniffled, shifting restlessly Johnny grimaced. Waking the fretful little girl was the last thing he wanted to do. She'd cried in his arms until she finally passed out after realizing her mother's departure worried the others. He scowled in O'Brien's direction. Hearing him laying into Logan and Milo hadn't help matters either. The little girl understood way more than the other's expected.

"My concern is how he will react once he realizes Georgie's moved on. We have no way of predicting what he'll do."

Shivers danced down Sarah's spine. All the guys feared Diego's response to exactly that situation.

Francis took the typed report from their tech guy. Looking over the different locations listed had him ready to declare the idea useless until he read the last place listed. It was remote and unfamiliar. Everything Diego may have looked for in a place to take Georgie. "Liz, do you know why this place mentioned in the mountains might be of importance?"

Johnny's head snapped around. "Up in the secluded area of the skiing trails?" he asked as a wisp of familiarity teased deep within his memory at the mention of the old cabin.

"Yep. I don't understand why it came up in the search. Lorenzo sold it in early 2006 according to the notes."

Elizabeth scrunched her nose, trying to place the property in relation to her friend. Unfortunately she hadn't been close with Georgie back in the time period mentioned. "Not really. Kelly's, the docks, and the Quatermaine's are the only places I really can recall hearing about in relation to their friendship."

"The Quatermaine's?" Jason questioned in disbelief. "Why in the hell would Georgie and Diego meet there? She was married to Dillon after he made parole."

"The boathouse is where Lulu set them up to get Dillon believing they were carrying on affair. It also was the sight of a confrontation between Georgie and Dillon after he eavesdropped on Lulu admitting to Tracy she'd lied about them having sex. Georgie and Diego were together at the time." Elizabeth rolled her shoulders, trying to release the building tension from her cramping muscles. "I know Diego threatened Dillon that day. I heard Skye and Georgie discussing it shortly afterwards, when Georgie was still torn between the two."

Sensing Johnny's temper escalating, Logan swallowed his own frustration. He never should've let her get near Alcazar. Keeping Baylor and Georgie safe and protected was his only assignment. And he'd failed miserably today. "Damn it! That bastard could've taken her anywhere!"

Glancing over Francis' shoulder to scan the list of properties compiled by the new computer geek, Milo inhaled sharply. Snatching the paper, he jabbed at the location Francis had asked about minutes ago. "This is the place where he took Georgie after kidnapping her from Kelly's before he went to Pentonville! The PCPD caught up with them there after his father gave up the location."

Eyes nearly black with unnamed emotions, Johnny carefully shifted Baylor to Sarah's open arms. He knew the placed rang a bell. It'd been in an article for the scrap book she'd kept all these years. A tiny sliver of hope bloomed in his chest. Every place the men had searched so far yielded no promising results. This right here could be the break they needed. Diego had made an unforgivable error in coercing Georgie from the park.

"Let's go!" he commanded.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Silence permeated the air between them the entire length of the drive. Worry. Fear. Nervousness. All three emotions plagued her, causing her heart to constrict. God, he'd changed so much! Oh not on the outside. But the man sitting beside her was so different from the last time she him.

Eventually full fledge anger drowned everything else out. How could he even think to pull a gun in the vicinity of her baby girl?! It didn't matter Baylor hadn't seen it! She still could've been hurt accidently! Diego purposely used her daughter to basically kidnap her once again. Furiously seething Georgie shoved down all the conflicting emotions swirling inside her and focused on the outrage.

"Have you lost your freaking mind?" she hissed while trying to jerk away from the gentle but firm hold he'd kept on her arm since getting out of the car he'd all but shoved her into after leaving the park. She needed to put some distance between them.

Diego exhaled heavily, eyes still latched on her beautiful face. Kicking the door shut behind them, he unexpectedly tugged her against him, wrapping his arms around trembling frame. "God! I've missed you so much, Georgie!"

A muffled sob slipped through parted lips before she stiffened, shoving against his chest. "Don't! Don't even go there! You threatened to take off with my daughter! How could you bring a gun near her!"

Darkness flooded throughout him as Georgie struggled in his embrace.

Instantly sensing the change, Georgie paused, her breathing quickening. She recognized the unrestrained violence suddenly unleashed in his eyes. His fingers curled around her slender throat, effectively ending all her attempts to put space between them. "D-diego?"

"Our daughter! I'm Baylor's father, Georgie! Or did you forget that fact?"

"O-of course not," she whimpered tearfully. "But I thought you had died…" Lightheadedness flooded her when he cut off her air supply for a split second.

"You can't begin to imagine the hell I endured! For you and our children, Georgie! Every second of each day I thought of nothing but you, the woman I love, and our babies!" Releasing the punishing grip Diego slid both hands up to cup her face, cradling it softly now that some of the rage began to ebb. "I missed you so much, Georgie!"

Warm tears streaked down her cheeks. Just like before she could feel his pain as if it was her own. Hesitantly leaning her head on his shoulder Georgie swallowed thickly. "I'm so sorry, so so sorry, Diego! I believed all the horrible lies…"

"Shh. You couldn't have known it was a damn setup. I don't blame you for that." Lightly grasping her chin, he raised her head, staring deeply into her eyes. Confusion surged forward, twisting in his gut. "You swore to stay there, Georgie! Do you lose all faith in me at that point? I'd prepared for every single fucking outcome. You'd been safe there! Our children would've been protected! My son would be alive!" he breathed harshly.

Knees buckling at the accusation, she slid to the floor. Guilt ate at her as he crouched down in front of her. Even expecting his anger, it shredded her heart to hear the blame coating his voice. "I know," she whispered. "I live with his death haunting me every day, Diego. You can't hate me anymore than I hate myself."

Features suddenly softening Diego shook his head adamantly. "You just don't get it, mi amor. I can't hate you, no matter if I do believe he'd be alive if you'd kept your promise. I love you too much." The blatant disbelief marring her lovely face had him brushing his knuckles along her quivering jaw. "I survived hell on earth, for you, mi amor. I fought to return to you, Georgie, because no matter how badly you may have screwed up, I knew in my heart you thought you'd made the best decision given the circumstances."

Slapping his hands from when they started to travel down the column of her neck, Georgie scrambled to her feet. She couldn't let him touch her, even after witnessing the affection lingering in the depth of his eyes. "You can't still love me! I destroyed your life! All that hell you survived was my fault!"

Capturing her tiny hand, Diego placed it over his heart. "The only reason my heart beats is for you, Georgianna. Have you forgotten what we share?"

Uncomfortable under the intensity of his words and searching looks she nervously wet her lips. "I remember," she responded quietly. Memories flooded her brain. Shakily exhaling and slowly backing up to the wall, Georgie sadly wiped moisture from her cheeks. "But I've changed. We're both different people now."

Fire leapt to life within him. Diego boxed her in place, doing his best to control the simmering rage. "Because of Zacchara?" he spat.

"Diego…"

"I fucking risked everything for you, Georgie! I tried my damnest to save you from the hell you ended up experiencing anyway because you fled your guards!" Fisting his hand in the strands of her hair, he ignored her painful gasp, forcing her to maintain eye contact with him. "You acted like you fell in love with me too. Was it all a ploy, Georgie? Did you think I'd abandon you unless you returned the feelings I still felt for you?"

"NO! I would never use you that way!"

"Repeatedly you claimed to love me! You came to my bed of your own freewill. Were you just going through the motions…"

"I'm not a whore, Diego! I meant everything I ever said to you! And I'd never use sex like that!" Begging him to believe her, she clasped his hands. "I fell in love with you while I was still married to Dillon. Everything about our time before you left was real! I felt like I was breaking in two when they said you'd murdered all those people and then was killed too! I wanted a life with you, Diego! I stayed with you because of what you made me feel! Please don't doubt that!"

"I still love you, Georgie. We can still have all the dreams we used to want," he murmured.

"Too much time…"

Trapping her against the wall before she realized how he'd maneuvered them, Diego pressed a finger to her lips. "Did you stop loving me, mi amor?"

Georgie shook her head sadly. He didn't deserve the pain she was about to inflict unintentionally. If she hadn't met Johnny she'd have rushed into Diego's arms without a backwards glance after learning the truth. Opening her mouth to explain about falling in love with Johnny, the words were muffled as he took advantage and lowered his mouth to hers.

Need surged though his veins at finally tasting her again after all this time. Ignoring her attempt to push him away, Diego refused to move back but did release her lips. "I'm not losing you again, Georgie. We've lost too much time already."

"Diego, you need to listen to me. I'll always love you. But Johnny and I…"

Hatred enveloped him at hearing the other man's name. He would have to go. Zacchara had taken advantage of her fragile state. "I know why you agreed to marry him. We'll work through it. Georgie, I know he played the danger up to force you to turn to him. I'll fix it, I promise."

Blinking, she gaped at him. Without thinking she blurted out, "I'm sorry, Diego, but I love Johnny. I'm not leaving him." The change in the atmosphere was instantaneous. The rest of the words died on her tongue after his low growl and murderous expression.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Sitting the binoculars on the ledge of the window, Nik smiled at his good fortune. Being patient finally was starting to pay off. None of the men he considered formidable threats had returned with the women, only their guards he considered to be of no importance. And the men he'd hired after hearing his grandmother telling Jerry to string him along were more than capable of taking out the regular security detail.

"Now is the perfect opportunity to initiate our plan," he informed the men. "Take any of the men out you need to. Do it fast! I don't want to risk one of them contacting Morgan, Zacchara, or the others I warned you about."

The leader of the group quirked an eyebrow, needing clarification. "And what if the blond gets in the way? Or one of the children?"

Nik snorted. "I don't care what you do about the brats. They're off no consequence to me. Now Sarah on the other hand, do your best to keep from harming her too badly. At one time I cared for her. But if comes down to getting Elizabeth out of the house and she's in the way, take any action you feel is needed. Your most important goal is getting Elizabeth to the yacht."

Dismissing the men Nik savored the anticipation zinging in his brain. Before the night ended he'd have the person he'd coveted for several years now. Morgan would waste precious time chasing the jet hired to fly out tonight.

Taking one last peek he couldn't help but laugh. Too bad his grandmother had been all set to stab him in the back. If the bitch hadn't been so devious he might have ordered the men to collect Georgie's daughter as well. But after her treachery Jerry could find his own way to gain access to Baylor. All Nik wanted was Elizabeth.