Shannon slowly opened the door to her hotel room before switching the light on to see Don lying on the bed.

“There you are,” he smiled widely rising up on his elbows as she closed her eyes and ignored him completely as she walked passed him. “You gone all night with work?”

“Yeah,” Shannon nodded sitting on the edge of the bed lightly, “You could say that.”

“Tell me about it,” Don suggested as he got behind her and began to rub her shoulders lightly.

“There isn’t much to tell,” she declared before falling back into his touch, “I am leading a search party and I‘ll need to get back. I really should get going.”

Before Shannon could stand up, Don pulled her back down still rubbing her shoulders.

“I think they could wait,” Don began with smile before kissing her cheek lightly, “We really need to talk about something.”

“What?” Shannon questioned as her eyes widened from the seriousness behind his voice. “You know I really need to take a shower and get back to work.”

“We really need to talk though,” Don called out as she escaped from his grasp and walked to her bag.

“Well, we can talk later,” Shannon shot back before grabbing a few things, “I have to get ready for work. It couldn’t be that important could it?”

Don didn’t release one word before seeing her run into the bathroom quickly.

“Yeah, it kind of is that important,” he sighed before rolling his eyes and falling back down on the bed.

Don looked at the ceiling before shaking his head. This really was beginning to get harder and harder. She wouldn’t let him get closer to her.

“This is going to be harder than I hoped for,” Don sighed shaking his head lightly before thinking back to his mother’s conversation the other day. “Sorry mom.”

Don looked at the bathroom door as he heard the shower start up.

“I really have to let her know,” Don began before closing his eyes shut tightly, “I can’t push this back anymore.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I don’t know how people can just stay here and do nothing when someone they love is missing,” Grady stated with a sigh before leaning back into the couch.

“You need to rest up Grady,” Cheryl frowned looking at the dazed look on her son’s face.

“She is right you know,” Kyle sighed taking a seat next to Grady, “I think it is best for you to rest a while and then me and you can go out and look some more.”

“Its not like she is going to be found,” Grady angrily rolled his eyes before feeling someone’s hand on his shoulder.

“Son, don’t give up hope,” Elliot pleaded before shaking his head, “Not yet.”

“Jade needs your faith,” Kyle promised him with a frown, “That’s what she needs the most right now.”

“How could I have faith Kyle?” Grady questioned as he stood up quickly.

“How could you not?” Kyle wondered standing up and walking towards Grady. “You love her enough don’t you?”

“What does love have to do with this?” Grady snapped questioning Kyle with intense fierce behind his voice.

“Love has everything to do with faith,” Cheryl whispered lightly watching Grady breathe in deeply.

“Your mother is right Grady,” Kyle insisted resting his hand on Grady’s shoulder lightly. “Your love is her faith, if that faith is gone…what else is there to live for?”

“I understand what you are saying,” Grady nodded placing his hands over his eyes, “I am just so confused.”

“We all are Grady,” Elliot pointed out before shrugging, “I know Jade is out there and she will come back to you.”

“I want to believe that, I really do,” Grady ran his hands through his hair feeling the growing pain in his heart once more. “I just don’t know how that is going to be possible on account of there is no evidence.”

“Grady, we have a search team out there,” Kyle reminded him seeing Grady turn around as if he was waiting for a better answer, “They are bound to find something.”

“How sure are you Kyle? Are you one hundred percent positive?” Grady questioned hesitantly as he threw his hands up in the air.

“No one is a hundred percent positive on anything Grady,” Kyle replied seeing Grady shake his head.

“See what I mean? You even think that Jade is dead don’t you?” Grady wondered looking around at all the faces in the room to only shake his head by his own question.

“I don’t think she is dead Grady,” Elliot caught Grady’s attention making him turn around and walk over to the couch to sit down.

“I have to agree with your father,” Kyle agreed before shrugging his shoulders, “I guess there is no evidence, but I just have this feeling inside.”

“A feeling? That is a really good thing to have,” Grady laughed sarcastically before rolling his eyes watching Kyle shake his head.

“Actually it is,” Cheryl pointed out with a sigh, “If you believe in your original instinct, that’s what can get you by.”

“I just wish there was more proof,” Grady sighed shaking his head before looking down at the ground unconfidently.

“I wish there was more proof too,” Kyle agreed with a sigh before shaking his head, “Just to know she was alright. I think that’s the fear we all have. We just want to know if she is alright.”

“Yeah,” Grady nodded before closing his eyes tightly picturing the last time he saw Jade and how beautiful she looked. “I just want to be with her Kyle, so bad.”

“I know buddy,” Kyle stated lightly before seeing Grady look up at him, “She will be in your arms soon, I promise.”

“Thanks,” Grady tried to smile, but looked saddened, “I wonder how Seth is taking this whole thing.”

“I don’t know,” Kyle shrugged before looking at his watch, “I should check up with the others in a little bit.”

“Oh my god,” Cheryl gasped before standing up quickly, “Speaking of others, Avery doesn’t know.”

“Avery,” Grady mouthed before standing up quickly, “I have to go tell her.”

“You aren’t going anywhere,” Kyle demanded stepping in front of Grady, “You need some rest, I will go and tell Avery everything.”

“Are you sure you are okay with that?” Grady questioned quickly before seeing Kyle nod.

“I am perfectly fine, just make sure you get some rest,” Kyle replied before grabbing his keys. “I will be back in a few.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Good morning beautiful,” Ken whispered pressing a red rose over Carly’s lips. Her eyelashes fluttered to an open as he held the beautiful bud out to her, “For you.”

“Ken,” she smiled accepting the flower and taking a small whiff of it’s fragrance, “What are you doing up so early?”

“I thought I’d surprise you,” he admitted taking a step away from her, “with breakfast in bed.”

“Breakfast in bed,” she repeated sitting up and seeing the various carts that surrounded the bed, “Ken what is all of this?”

“It’s my way of saying thanks to you,” he admitted pushing one of the carts closer to her, “I thought that I should do something special for you after the special night you’ve given me.”

“Ken,” she mouthed his name feeling a blush rise over her face, “I can’t believe you got all of this. We’re never going to be able to eat it all.”

“Maybe not,” he shrugged sitting down on the bed beside her, “but I thought it might be a good start to our day before we leave town.”

“Leave town,” she repeated with a strange look.

“That’s right,” he nodded, “I called in a few favors and the Ashford Jet is getting fueled up as we speak. Tonight we can be settled in on the island sipping Mai Tai’s and soaking up the sun.”

“I um…I don’t know what to say,” Carly gulped sitting upright to take a look at the tray before her, “Ken, are you sure you want to leave so soon?”

“I don’t see why we can’t,” he shrugged his shoulders, “I have a continuance on my case and you’re on an extended vacation, so I figure why not make the most of it.”

“I understand what you’re saying, but when you asked me to go away with you, I didn’t think that we’d be doing it this morning already,” Carly confessed with a small smile, “I mean I don’t even have anything packed.”

“Well we can go shopping on the island and buy you a whole bunch of new things,” he suggested leaning in to kiss her tentatively, “I don’t mind.”

“Yes, but I do,” she replied breaking away from the kiss, “I’m not expecting you to dote on me and spend a fortune. That’s not why I agreed to go.”

“I realize that, but I did plan on pampering you,” he replied with a soft smile, “I thought you’d enjoy that.”

“Pampering is nice, but I have plenty of things to take with me on the trip. I don’t need you going out and spending your money on a new wardrobe,” she shook her head at him, “Ken, I really would like to pack and…”

“Well, then we can fit it in. The jet can wait on us. I can take you to the stores out here and we can get a few things rounded up. I mean on the island there isn’t really much that you’ll need other than maybe a toothbrush since we’ll be enjoying the sun,” he paused for a moment, “although sunscreen might be a nice idea since you won’t want to get burned in all the wrong places.”

“Who said I was going to be showing all the wrong places?” she questioned pointedly. “Do you really think that I’m just going to go all that way out to the island only for you to have your way with me?”

“The thought had crossed my mind,” he nodded eagerly before whispering in her ear, “but I promise that you’ll enjoy it.”

“As tempting as it is, we’re going to have to be doing a lot more than making love Ken,” Carly brought them back to reality, “We’ve got to discuss this new working arrangement and…”

“And have some eggs,” he suggested offering her a forkful of scrambled eggs. “I have it all taken care of.”

“Well that’s nice, but I’d like to be able to take care of it myself since I’ll still need to clean out my office over with Chavez and…” she added thinking about all the things she needed to do now that she’d quit her job.

“I’ll send someone over to take care of it for you. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about anything,” he touched her cheek gently, “You have me on your side now. No one is going to bother you again.”

“Ken, I’m not worried about her bothering me, but at the same time I don’t really want her going through my things and…” Carly sighed shaking her head, “Here I go again turning to work as usual.”

“Well once I get you on the beach I promise you we’ll work on remedying that one,” he assured her with a small kiss, “Now why don’t we try to work on breakfast and we’ll see where we can go from there?”

“Fine, but only if you let me go over to my office and grab a few things before we leave,” she replied after a moment’s contemplation.

“Sure, we can head on over there before we go to my place,” Ken nodded in agreement, “I’m sure we can whip something together quickly and…”

“Oh no,” she shook her head at him, “I’m going to go over there after a quick shower and then pack a bit. There are a few things I’d like to say to Chavez and I need to do them on my own.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather worry about it after we get back?” Ken questioned giving her a strange look.

“I’m positive,” she nodded quickly, “I need to tell her what’s on my mind and then I know when we get to the island I won’t be stressing over it anymore. I need to get it off my chest.”

“Alright,” he agreed as she accepted the eggs he’d provided her with, “then you can do that and I’ll pack a few things up myself for our trip to paradise.”

“Now see that sounds like a wonderful plan,” Carly agreed readily thinking about what it would be like to be alone with Ken on the island. Still as her thoughts lingered to what she’d said to him the previous evening about needing to tell Dave the truth, she realized that she still had to hold true to that. Dave couldn’t hear the news from anyone else as he deserved better. That was what had been bothering her and while she’d made up the excuse about going to Chavez’s office, she knew full well that it was Dave that she wanted to see. She looked to Ken contemplating whether or not she should’ve told him what her true intentions were, but as she saw the eagerness in his eyes, she realized that it could wait until they were on the island together. Until then a little ignorance on the subject didn’t hurt anyone.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Blake entered the kitchen at Seth’s apartment only to discover him staring out the window blankly. Judging by his posture she could tell that he was still tense as ever over Jade’s disappearance, but somehow she had to find a way to make him feel a bit better. Last night he’d reluctantly promised her that he wouldn’t go after Cameron, but she knew he was still thinking about it. He hadn’t slept a wink and now as she stood in the doorway to the kitchen she wondered if there would be any way to fix what was happening.

“I thought I heard you get up earlier,” Blake announced her presence, “I was hoping you’d rest a bit.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Seth confessed spinning around to face her, seeing her worried expression as she stood in his doorway wearing his robe.

“I realized that after about the hundredth toss and turn in bed,” she revealed making her way further into the kitchen, “Any word yet?”

“Nothing,” he shook his head, “I called the police station at least half a dozen times and I’m still getting the same answer, which equals nothing.”

“They’re going to find her,” Blake insisted feeling her own worries about that mounting, “She couldn’t have gone too far.”

“Given that we don’t know what time she was taken, Blake anything is possible. At this point, well who knows what’s ahead for Jade? I’m really worried about her,” Seth explained reaching out to hold Blake in his arms, “Even after she was raped, I was terrified, but it was never like this. I knew how hurt she’d been and I feared that she wouldn’t make it through the nightmare, but we were together through it. Now that she’s gone and I’m not there to try to help her find a way out of whatever it is she’s stuck in, well I just feel like a failure--like I should be doing more than just sitting here waiting for someone else to tell me she’s gone forever.”

“Seth, you’re doing all that you can. I know that Jade would want you to be doing just what you are. The police will find her,” Blake added.

“And if Cameron’s behind this? What then? What if he’s taken her away and none of us will ever see her again? What if he’s hurt her,” Seth cut her off with tired eyes, “Blake I can’t even tell you how much this is killing me to not be able to pull her out of this.”

“I know baby,” Blake lay her head on his chest praying that Cameron didn’t do something awful to Jade. Hearing a knock on the door she felt Seth stand up straighter. She looked to him, “Maybe it’s Grady…”

“Or the police,” he walked out of the kitchen to the front door of his apartment. “They said they’d send someone over as soon as they found something out.”

“Then maybe it is them,” Blake added hoping that there was some news on Jade. Then as an afterthought she realized that no news might not mean bad news, but new news could mean something awful had happened. Fearing the worst she followed Seth out into the living room to see Diane and Ben before her.

“Where is she Seth?” Diane questioned in a panic, her face a mask of worry and concern, “What has happened to my best friend?”

“I don’t know, but I wish that I did,” Seth replied reaching out to embrace Diane as she broke down with worry over her friend’s disappearance.

“We got here as fast as we could,” Ben explained moving in beside Blake, “What are we looking at here?”

“We don’t know much more than it appears that Jade was taken from the apartment here,” Blake confessed turning to look at her friend, “Seth thinks that Cameron Stone might be behind it.”

“What do you think?” Ben questioned watching Diane and Seth discuss what was going on.

“I think that if he is, he’s going to have a big problem soon because Seth isn’t about to take any of this laying down,” Blake replied worried about her fiancé. “Seth wants to go after him…”

“Is there any indication that Cameron was behind this?” Ben questioned wondering about what had happened leading to Jade’s disappearance.

“Cameron was kind of stalking her before and he made some threats, but well,” Blake shook her head, “None of this makes sense and the longer we go without hearing anything on where Jade is, the harder it’s going to be on Seth. Ben, I’m really worried about him.”

“So am I,” Ben agreed wondering how it was that Jade could up and disappear. He just hoped that wherever she was that she was still alright. He knew full well how most disappearance cases went and if Jade had become another statistic somehow. No, he wasn’t going to think about it. He had to remain positive because he refused to believe that one of his best friends could be gone forever.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Heather,” Sarah called out to her sister making her turn around quickly before rolling her eyes.

“Oh, it’s you,” Heather scowled in disgust watching Sarah walk up to her.

“Well I guess that comes to two upset men rushing out of the house today,” Sarah pointed out with a small grin before shaking her head, “That has to be record for you Heather.”

“You don’t even know what you are talking about,” Heather rolled her eyes before pushing a piece of hair in front of her face self-consciously. “Why don’t you go find your little hero boyfriend.”

“Stop right there Heather,” Sarah called out watching Heather start to walk away. “Are you not realizing how much you have just hurt two people?”

“Hurt?” Heather questioned with a loud laughter. “Hurt, you must be kidding me right?”

“That’s right I forgot,” Sarah sighed nodding lightly, “You only care about yourself.”

“Like you would know,” Heather scowled before folding her arms out in front of her stubbornly. “They deserved it.”

“They don’t deserve anything coming from you,” Sarah replied shaking her head slowly, “They deserve better than you.”

“They deserve better than me?” Heather questioned with a laugh before blurting out the first comeback in her mind. “I feel bad for Kyle, I mean look at you. Poor man, he must really be upset with what he is stuck with.”

“You know what Heather?” Sarah pointed her finger angrily at her sister before realizing she should calm down. “Enough about all this, I came here to talk to you for a reason.”

“What might that be?” Heather wondered rolling her eyes as she tapped her foot against the floor repeatedly.

“Since we were talking about men,” Sarah began before thinking back to the original reason she stopped Heather, “We need to talk about Charles.”

“What about him?” Heather questioned snarling, “What could you possibly want with my son?”

“I think you should go see him Heather,” Sarah replied with a sigh, “You are his mother and I think he needs you.”

“He needs nothing,” Heather shouted before shaking her head, “Why don’t you mind your own business Sarah.”

“I was just trying to do what was best for your son Heather,” Sarah yelled out before shaking her head, “He is baby…he isn’t one of those men that just walked out of this house heartbroken.”

“Go get a life Sarah and get out of mine because I could care less if you and Charles disappeared,” Heather stated walking away from Sarah quickly.

“Fine, if you won’t take time to be with your son, I will,” Sarah promised before shaking her head at her sister’s actions. Someone had to be there for Charles, no matter who it was.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“There you are,” Brant called out walking out onto the patio to discover his wife looking out onto the garden. “I went to your room, but unfortunately I realized you weren’t there.”

“I guess I just couldn’t sit around and be lazy this morning,” Avery replied taking a sip of the now lukewarm tea that she’d made for herself earlier in the morning. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before facing Brant, “I had a lot on my mind.”

“About us, or about Brooke,” he questioned moving in closer to her, “Avery about last night…”

“Brant, I really don’t want to get into that,” she started to protest before she thought twice of it, “No actually I take that back, I do want to talk about it.”

“You do?” he asked surprised to see her nod.

“I do,” she continued stepping forward and setting her mug down on the patio table. “I think that it’s probably a good idea that we talk about what happened or rather what didn’t…”

“Look Avery, I said that I wouldn’t push you into anything and I hope you believe me when I tell you that I’m willing to wait,” Brant started to explain himself, “When things happened like they did, it wasn’t at all what I’d intended…”

“I know that Brant and believe me when I tell you that you weren’t the only responsible party there last night,” she felt her face grow flushed, “I wanted it as much as you did and I don’t want you to think that I felt like you were pushing me into anything that I wasn’t ready for.”

“Are you sure about that?” he questioned searching her features.

She nodded, “Yes I’m sure, but I also think that there are a few things we need to talk about before you and I make love.”

“Such as?” Brant watched her for a long moment.

“There are some things that I’ve wanted to tell you, things that I have to explain to you before we can take our relationship to the next level. Brant, I’ve been avoiding this for a while, but if we’re going to have a shot at making this work, I need to be honest with you--honest with myself and stop avoiding the things that have been bothering me. I know first hand that relationships based on anything less than honesty don‘t have a chance of working,” she began pausing for a moment and biting on her lower lip nervously.

“Avery if this is about your feeling like our being together is a betrayal to the promises you made with Russ, well let me assure you that it’s not,” he placed his hands on her shoulders gently, “Avery, listen to me.”

“Brant..” she started to explain.

“I know that you love Russ. I know that he’s the one you planned on sharing your life with,” he offered up brushing his fingers against her cheekbone gently, “and I also realize that if he were alive right now that you and I wouldn’t be sharing this moment together. I know that you wouldn’t be my wife and that we wouldn’t even be having a discussion like this.”

“Brant, I love Russ very much. He was the first man in my life that made me feel anything. He was everything to me and I would give anything to have him back again,” she paused seeing the pain that built behind his eyes at her words, “I’m not trying hurt you in saying this, but to lie to you about this. Russ was my soul mate and we had a lot of love between us.”

“I know you did,” he nodded trying to maintain an air of understanding, “and I’m not going to lie and tell you that I didn’t wish that you felt that way about me, but when it gets down to it, I realize that you and Russ had something special together. Your daughter is proof of that and if you ever think that I’m trying to overstep my boundaries in any way, then…”

“Brant I know that you’re not trying to replace Russ in my life and you have no idea how much that means to me. You don’t know what it’s like for me to have you in my life. I know that I haven’t exactly been the easiest to live with, but when it gets down to it, you mean a lot to me too, which is why I have to be honest with you. There are some things that we haven’t talked about, that I know we need to discuss.”

“Avery, I’m sure whatever it is, it’ll work itself out. Can’t you see by now that whatever comes our way we wind up on top of? We have made it this far that I’m sure that whatever it is that’s bothering you won’t really be something to worry about,” he felt her pull away from him, her eyes darkening with clouded emotions.

She turned to face the garden once again as she spoke up. “Russ was the only man in my life for most of my life. He was my first true love and a love that I kept for me even after the many ups and downs we had. Sure, I might not have showed it most of the time, but he was the other half of my heart and without him, well even when we spent those years apart, I was never the same without him.”

“I know how hurt you were from what you said about your walking away from him on your wedding day,” he added moving in behind her and placing his hand on her shoulder, “I understand how losing him again is killing you. Avery, if I could’ve changed what happened, I would even if it meant losing you…”

“I know that Brant,” she brought her hand up over his before forcing herself to face him again, “and I also know that’s why I need to be up front with you about things. You see not until after I left Russ--until I was determined that we’d never be together, I wasn’t with anyone else. For so very long he was my only lover and well, if it hadn’t been for Bruce, well…let’s just say that up until very recently, those two were the only men that I’d ever…”

“Avery, are you trying to tell me you’re worried about your what? Lack of experience with men?” he gave her a strange look watching her face drop down to the ground shamefully, “Because I’ve got to tell you from what we’ve experienced with one another, that isn’t a problem at all. In fact, knowing that you’ve only given yourself to those men you love, well it makes me realize all the more how special what we have together is. I know that you wouldn’t freely give yourself to just anyone and I respect that about you. Hell, I wish that I’d been more like that because it would’ve spared me a lot of grief over the years.”

“Brant, that’s not it,” she cut him off, her words pained and tight as her eyes fell upon him, “That’s not what I’m trying to say. What I’m trying to tell you is that the other night when you were rescuing Heather so to speak, I was here and…”

“There you are,” Annette walked out onto the patio, “Brant, there’s an urgent call for you.”

“Annette,” Brant frowned trying to be pleasant, yet he realized that right here and now he didn’t want anything to interrupt him and Avery, “Can you take a message?”

“I would, but it’s Michael. He said it’s imperative that he speaks with you. Something about the project you’re working on and if he doesn’t get to talk to you right now, that it’s going to go the way you don’t want it to,” Annette explained quickly sensing the mood between Brant and Avery, “but if you want me to put him off.”

“No, I’ll go speak with him,” Brant sighed reluctantly before looking to Avery, “I don’t want to go, but…”

“I know how important the project is,” she nodded in understanding, “Go speak with him. This can wait.”

“Why do I feel like it can’t,” he questioned worried by her expression.

“I’ll be here when you get back. This conversation really can’t be rushed,” Avery revealed reaching out to squeeze his hand before he nodded. He gave her one last longing look before returning to the house and leaving her alone on the patio.

Looking out onto the garden Avery watched the flowers blowing with the soft breeze that the morning air hung upon them. She could smell the spring approaching and as she closed her eyes she found herself in another place and time when life was much easier. She let out a small sigh refusing to let her memories take her away from what lay ahead and as she heard footsteps from behind, she vowed to quit stalling and just tell Brant what she needed to say. She took in a deep breath and turned around only to discover that it wasn’t Brant that had arrived.

“Well Avery, you’re looking mighty chipper this morning,” Ken greeted her with a sideways smile, “I take it life with my brother is good for you, huh?”

“Ken,” Avery spoke his name taking in a long, slow breath. She noticed the expression on his face and in that instant she realized that there would be no holding back any longer. Things were about to get ugly.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kipp leaned back in his leather chair admiring the office that surrounded him. Sure, it wasn’t as he’d left it, but he was sure that he could do what was necessary to make the changes that were needed. He’d already gotten a head start on things and he couldn’t wait to set his plans into motion. Since his return to Coral Valley, he’d already covered a lot of ground, but there were still a few fish to fry.

“And fry they will,” he promised himself letting out a tiny chuckle as he heard the door to his office.

“Susan, we need to talk about this,” Thea began holding a stack of papers in hand. She stepped forward, her heels clicking on the office floor until she stopped dead in her tracks seeing Kipp seated comfortably in the chair. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I take it Cameron didn’t tell you,” Kipp smiled leaning forward, “This is my office again. Susan won’t be in here anymore.”

“But how…” her jaw dropped before she attempted to regain her bearings, “Why the hell are you here?”

“I’m here because this is my office and my job,” Kipp continued sharply, knowing that his presence had clearly shaken Thea, “While I know you weren’t expecting to see me around here ever again, I’m afraid you’re going to have to get used to it.”

“Does Cameron know you’re in here,” she asked with a scowl watching him stand up from where he’d been seated.

“Oh Cameron knows all right, and I’m well aware of the unfinished business between us,” Kipp remarked moving around the desk to stand before her, “Don’t think I’ve forgotten all that you’ve done Thea. You know I still owe you one for the bullet you put in my chest.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she scoffed turning her gaze to the window.

“Oh you know full well what I’m talking about and you have no idea how hard I’m fighting this itch inside of me to let the world know that the trigger man in the shooting was none other than Cameron Stone’s mistress doing her worst more than likely on his orders,” Kipp’s voice was full of darkness as he eyed her intently, “Did you really think that I’d forget what you did to me that night you came into my apartment? That my being in a coma would ever lead me to not remember the way you stared me down in cold blood, telling me about my father’s deceptions where Heather was concerned?”

She remained silent saying nothing as he circled around her. He stopped behind her, leaning in over her shoulder to whisper in her ear.

“Oh I remember everything Thea down to the last detail and now that the FBI is itching for the truth, you should realize that your days are numbered. Come to think of it Cameron’s days will probably be numbered as well because in exposing you, well I’ll have no choice but to expose his little crimes as well. The D.A. will eat it all up and then when they finally get what they want out of me, well, sure I might not be working for this company any longer, but then again at this rate, there won’t be a company after I’m through destroying the both of you.”

“What do you want Kipp,” Thea questioned tightly attempting to remain cool and collected as he circled around her once again.

“Who says that I want anything out of you?” he shrugged his shoulders, “Maybe I like watching you squirm.”

“That might be true, but at the same time, you could’ve just as easily told this all to the D.A.’s office the day you showed up in court. You could’ve confessed to them that day, but you chose not to which leads me to believe you want something, so why don’t you just spit it out?” she balked back with a glare, “What is it you think you can get from me Kipp?”

He let out a hearty laugh before clapping his hands together, “I love how you think this is all about you Thea--how you always think everything is about you, but you know I’ve got news for you. This was never about you. None of what happened leading up to the shooting. You’re just a pawn in Cameron’s game, and now, well now you’re mine to screw with. You owe your life to me and I hold that in very iron clad hands. At any time I can tie the noose around your neck and leave you to burn…”

“You’re still an insignificant little worm,” Thea spat out at him, “I hope you realize that.”

“Oh I realize that you don’t have a high opinion of me, but that hasn’t stopped you from trying to play all angles there. I’m well aware of the games you’ve played. I know how you’ve been working both sides in the hopes of coming out on top,” he watched as the color drained from her face, “I know you’re my father’s whore and that Cameron doesn’t approve of any of it. I know that you played it up to my father, leading him to believe you were oh so concerned after you were the one who put me in the coma to begin with.”

“Do you really think that I’m afraid of you?” she asked smugly before feigning a yawn.

“If you’re not, you should be Thea because I can rip your freedom away from you faster than you can bat an over makeup covered eye there. Not only can I feed you over to the authorities there, but I can tell Cameron everything there is to know about your playing him Thea. We both know he won‘t keep you around after that.”

“Do you really think he’d believe a word you have to say Kipp? He can barely tolerate you,” she reminded him with a grumble, “He’s the one who sent me over to get the job done that night, remember?”

“Regardless of what task he whored you out for Thea, the fact remains that your ass is mine and from here on out, you’re going to do exactly what I tell you to do especially now that I hold your life in my hands.”

“And if I refuse to comply,” she questioned with a perfectly sculpted brow.

“Then not only will you risk spending the rest of your sexually active years behind bars, but you might find yourself on the receiving end of a bullet in your chest Thea,” he answered matter of fact knowing that despite Thea’s protests she would be smart enough to play along with whatever it is that he had for her to do in the future.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“What the hell is this?” Susan questioned slamming the door to Cameron’s office behind her. She found him seated behind his desk working on a few papers before him as she marched over to him, “Why the hell are my things out in the hallway? Why is that little troll in my office?”

“Susan,” Cameron greeted her with a warm smile, “what a surprise.”

“I asked you a question damn it,” she slammed her fist on his desktop, “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking about preservation,” Cameron insisted with a simple shrug of his shoulders, “and as for your things, they were set in the hall to make the move easy for you on your way out.”

“My way out?” she blinked back in confusion, “Cameron, why are you doing this? You and I are on to something. We have so many things that we still need to do. We have plans and…”

“The plans that we had were there before you stopped doing your job,” Cameron spoke up icily. “You’ve gotten sloppy Susan and I don’t need someone sloppy on my team.”

“I’m the sloppy one?” she repeated with a huff, “Oh please Cameron. I did my job and I did it damn well. I’ve given you everything that you’ve asked for and for you to turn your back on me like this…it’s not happening.”

“Oh it’s very much happening Susan and you’re going to have to deal with it. You’re needed in New York again and I’m sure you’ll find your way there sooner rather than later,” he returned his attention to the papers again.

“Cameron, we have an agenda here…” she argued.

“One that fell apart when Kipp returned. I gave you the simple task of taking care of keeping him away from Coral Valley, yet you failed,” he snapped.

“I didn’t fail. That was not my fault…” she argued with him, “I did everything that I was supposed to here in Coral Valley and…”

“You’re no longer needed in Coral Valley. Effective immediately you’re going to be on your way back to New York. There is not any option in all of this,” Cameron glanced up at her briefly, “I want you gone today.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she slammed her fist on his desk again. She threw the papers he’d had aside and glared down at him, “Cameron, you can’t do this to me.”

“I can and I just did,” Cameron glared up on her before taking in a moment to collect himself. “On second thought, forget about New York Susan. The way I see it, you’re fired.”

“Fired,” she repeated with a squeal, “You can’t fire me.”

“I just did,” he smirked up at her before calling for his secretary, “Can you have security come in here and remove Ms. Hastings?”

“Cameron you can’t do this,” Susan squealed in protest as the doors to Cameron’s office flung open and she was dragged out of the building forever.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Don’t let me intrude,” Ken finally said after a long moment of silence, “I was just coming out here for this before I leave.”

She watched as he pulled a bottle of sunscreen out of the cabinet that they’d had set up on the patio. As she watched him move around the desk, she felt her blood pumping in her veins, her heart pounding in her chest and she knew that there would be no more delay.

“How could you do it?” Avery accused marching in towards him, “How could you do that to me Ken?”

“Do what,” he questioned bending down and not bothering to look up at her while he thumbed through a couple more bottles of something she couldn’t quite see.

“How could you come into my room the other night and pretend to be Brant? I thought you were my friend,” Avery tossed out at him bitterly, “I thought that you were someone special.”

“I am your friend and I’d like to consider myself someone special,” Ken tossed out at her with a smile as he rose to his feet again, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The hell you don’t,” she glared at him, fighting her every instinct to attack him, “You knew it then and you know it now.”

“Avery, look I don’t know what’s got you so upset, but whatever it is, well I think you should probably take a step back and relax. If being married to my brother brings out this paranoid, defensive side in you, you might want to rethink the whole solution you both came up with.”

“You bastard,” Avery lashed out at him striking him right square across the face. He bounced backward a bit at the impact of her hand against his cheek as she continued her verbal lashing, “How the hell could you do that to me Ken? After everything we’ve been through together, you’re just going to stand there and pretend that what you did wasn’t real.”

“Avery, I don’t know what…” he started to reply bringing his hand up to his stinging cheek where she’d slapped him.

“Don’t lie to me. I know that it was you the other night. I know that you knew full well what you were doing when you crawled into my bed and raped me,” Avery shouted, her voice trembling with emotion.

“Raped you?” he repeated with an ironic laugh, “Avery, I think you’re growing far more delusional now that Russ is gone. As I said before if being married to Brant is doing this to you, then…”

“You did rape me Ken,” Avery grabbed his arm refusing to let him leave as he tried to walk off, “You came into my room, pretended to be Brant and you seduced me all the while knowing that I wasn’t aware of what was really happening.”

“Listen Avery, just back off,” he warned darkly, his eyes falling upon her. He tried to shrug out of her hold on him, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know exactly what I’m talking about,” she shuddered thinking back to the feel of his hands over her, the way his body had been one with hers, the way his mouth... She trembled inside as her stomach tightened in knots. “You lead me to believe that you were Brant and you raped me Ken. You made me have sex with you knowing full well that it never would’ve happened if I knew it was you.”

“First of all, I think you need to back off Avery,” Ken tore her fingers off of his arm. He took a step back, adjusted the sleeve on his shirt before meeting her eyes again, “and secondly you can’t rape the willing.”

“You sick son of a…” she charged at him, throwing her fists into his chest in a fury. He seized her with an arm around her waist pulling her in closer to him.

“I didn’t do anything that you didn’t want that night Avery,” Ken clutched her close to him in an attempt to fight off her attack. “You were so needy and longing for someone to hold onto. I never told you I was Brant. You just made assumptions and it was those assumptions that lead you into my arms. You’re the one who seduced me.”

“No, I didn’t seduce you. I thought you were Brant,” she shook her head at him, “I didn’t know…”

“Oh you knew,” he smirked wickedly before licking his lips, “You knew full well what you were doing and it didn’t matter. You just rationalized that you couldn’t possibly enjoy my touch--that you couldn’t crave or hunger for me like you did, but the fact to the matter is that you did Avery. You wanted me more than anything and I just gave you what you wanted. Even now you’re just upset because you enjoyed it as much as you did.”

“You’re sick Ken,” Avery bucked against him in an attempt to get out of the hold he had her in. She felt him lower his lips to her neck and she turned her head away, but his breath whispered into her ear.

“Sick or not, the fact remains that you enjoyed every second that you let me screw your brains out,” Ken released her watching her stumble a few steps forward on the patio, “The way I see it I did you a favor that night Avery. I saved you the grief of having to go through the motions with Brant.”

“Why?“ she questioned tearfully, finding her chest grow heavy with repulsion as his eyes belittled her, his voice mocked her and the look on his face humiliated her further, “I thought you were someone that I could trust and believe in Ken. I thought that after all these years, that you and I were friends--that you were different.”

“Well then I guess you thought wrong sweetheart because the way I see it, the other night I rocked your world and now you’re afraid my brother won’t measure up,” he laughed heartily before taking a step towards her. He watched her step back, pressing into the railing of the patio behind her. Her dark eyes widened as he reached out to twirl a piece of her dark hair between his fingers, “and for what it’s worth, I can guarantee you that he wouldn’t. I’m as good as it gets here in this family, but then again, judging by your response to me the other night, you were already well aware of that.”

“You make me sick Ken,” she spat in his face, “I hate you.”

“Yeah, well get in line princess,” he pushed away from her, “because regardless of what your take on the other night was I gave you what you needed--what you were asking for and that’s all there was to it. You can spin your little deluded fairy tales to my brother about rape and about how you didn’t want it, but you did Avery. You wanted it more than you might be willing to admit and all I did was give you what you were asking for.”

“I thought you were Brant,” Avery hissed at him, her fists curling into balls at her sides.

“You’ve been around my brother long enough to know the difference,” his eyes gave her a long perusal, “and besides, take from it what I did. It was fun while it lasted and truth be told you were better than some of the other women I’ve been with. Now I know why Russ was always stepping over leaps and bounds to please you. You’re one hell of a lay Avery.”

With that biting comment Ken blew a kiss in her general direction before taking off back into the mansion. Avery reached for one of the small plants on the table top and threw the pot it was in at the doorway as she burst into tears.

“You son of a bitch!” she sobbed reaching for another pot when she felt a hand press in over hers.

“Tell me I didn’t just walk in on what I think I did,” Kyle’s voice was intense, dark and menacing as Avery looked up to discover him standing beside her.

“Kyle, how long were you out here?” Avery questioned realizing she hadn’t heard him come up from the gardens.

“Long enough to promise you that Ken is a dead man,” he replied stalking off into the mansion determined to find the son of a bitch that had hurt Avery. One way or another Ken was about to pay for his crimes--big time.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Douglas sat in his hotel room reflecting upon the stupidity that had suddenly overtaken his son’s life. While he wished that he could’ve found a way to talk some sense into Kipp, but he feared that it would never happen now that Heather got her hooks into him.

“You’re only setting yourself up for a disappointment son,” Doug sighed taking another sip of his drink that he’d been nursing earlier. He felt a headache coming on and as he began to take another sip, he heard a knocking on the door.

“I hope you’ve come to tell me you’ve just gotten rid of that woman,” Douglas grumbled ready to forget his morning drinking fest if his son was in fact the person behind the door. Opening it Douglas saw Thea before him dressed in a black trench coat.

“Thea, what are you doing here?” he questioned curiously.

“Finding a way to cheer you up,” she replied throwing her arms around his neck and using her foot to close the door behind her. Instinctively Douglas threw his arms around her enjoying the display as they moved closer to his bedroom area.

“You’re doing a good job so far,” he admitted tearing her trench coat off of her to reveal a sexy nightgown.

“Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be even better,” Thea promised pushing him back onto the bed ready to devote her time to getting on Douglas Mahoney’s good side one way or another.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sarah smiled at the little baby lying in her arms.

“How could someone not want to be with you?” Sarah questioned moving the blanket from his face lightly. “You are just so perfect…nothing like your mother.”

Sarah leaned back in her chair looking at the sweet little face of this baby. How could someone so perfect be a piece of Heather? The sound of someone opening the door shifted her attention to the person at the door.

“Kipp,” Sarah smiled seeing him smile lightly before shutting the door behind him. “Are you okay?”

“Don’t worry about me,” he smiled sliding his hands into his pockets before shrugging lightly, “I am used to your sister doing that to me.”

“I don’t know how you ever fell for her trick,” Sarah sighed before seeing Kipp nod.

“I guess I was just vulnerable at the time,” Kipp sighed before biting down on his bottom lip, “I guess I was just a little too desperate. A boy searching for love in all the wrong places.”

“Don’t worry, you will find someone better than my sister,” Sarah assured him seeing Kipp laugh.

“Yeah,” he nodded before winking at her, “I’m sure I will find someone a lot better than her.”

“Believe me, there are a million people better than Heather out there for you,” Sarah promised him seeing his gaze drift off to the little bundle in her hands.

“Is that…” Kipp began speechless taking a deep gulp seeing Sarah nod with a smile.

“Yes Kipp,” Sarah smiled slowly standing up and beginning to walk towards him, “This is your son Charles.”

“Oh my god,” Kipp gasped looking down at his son, “He is so beautiful.”

“Would you like to hold him?” she questioned as Kipp looked up at her quickly.

“Can I?” he questioned happily hearing her laugh lightly as his eyes traveled back to his son.

“Don’t be silly Kipp, of course you can hold your son,” Sarah informed his as she slowly laid Charles in his arms lightly.

“Oh my,” Kipp smiled widely looking up at Sarah who nodded. “He is beautiful.”

“He sure is,” Sarah agreed before smiling, “And now he has his father back with him.”

“I’m here to stay,” he smiled before leaning forward and kissing his son’s forehead gently.

Holding his son for the first time made his heart swell with love. He knew the real reason he had to come back. That reason was lying right here in his own arms.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Yes, I realize that Michael, but there’s no way I can get in there just yet,” Brant sighed heavily bringing his fingers through his dark hair tentatively, “Yes I know that. Look, there’s something happening here right now. I know that we’re under a deadline, but this is important. Yes…yes I know. Look I’ll do what I can.”

Brant paused for a long moment before letting out another groan, “Look, let me talk to Avery and I’ll call you back in a few minutes. Maybe we can work something out. Yes, I know that’s what I pay you for and you’re doing an incredible job.”

Hanging up the phone Brant shook his head as he thought of the news that Michael had delivered him. The heat was on in terms of this damned deadline. He knew that sooner or later Stone Corp was going to pull out the rug on BBK’s advantage, but after the look on Avery’s face that Brant had witnessed earlier, he knew it wasn’t the time to leave.

“Rough day,” Heather questioned stepping into the archway of the library as she eyed Brant intently.

“Not as bad as yours,” he replied with a slight grown. He glanced up at her seeing her expression as she moved into the room further. He ran his fingers through his hair once again.

“You’re pulling your hair out,” she noted with a slight nod, “that’s a good indication that things aren’t going well.”

“I’m not pulling my hair out,” he argued removing his hand from his dark head of hair, “but what about you? What was the scene with Mr. Mahoney about?”

“It’s nothing I can’t fix,” she waved her hand at him dismissively, “He’s just suffering from a huge misunderstanding about things.”

“Hmm, well to me he looked pissed off--really pissed off,” Brant added with a curious brow, “So what did you really do Heather?”

“Nothing,” she shrugged her shoulders innocently all the while moving in closer to his desk. She walked over towards the side where he sat before she leaned in against the top of the desk. Using the movement of her legs to give her momentum she sat up on top of it.

“Yeah right,” he threw out a doubtful expression, “Heather I know you better than that. I know that look. Hell, I’ve had that look myself every now and then on days gone by.”

“Oh okay,” she waved her hand dismissively, “he might’ve, well maybe sort of thought that I still had a thing for you. I mean I know how ridiculous that sounds, but after you went out of your way to help me like you did, well Kipp can’t help but be a bit envious of that man you are. You’re a real prize Brant.”

“I’d like to think so,” he quipped with a smile of his own before growing serious once again, “but maybe you should try to find a way to fix things with him. He is the father of your son you know.”

“Yes, I realize that,” she added with a small sigh, “but you do realize if we’d played our cards right, Charles could’ve been your son instead. I think Kipp picks up on that fact given how close you and I are especially lately.”

“I did what I had to in order to help Avery,” Brant answered flatly seeing that certain sparkle in her eyes that he knew only too well. He stood up sliding his chair back under his desk with the movement. “I want to help you as well Heather, which is why I’m telling you that you should fix things with Kipp. If he thinks there is a problem, then it would be wise for you to assure him that there’s not.”

“Well of course there isn’t,” she paused giving him a long look, “is there?”

“Isn’t that a question you should be asking yourself,” Brant replied with a sideways glance, “Heather I can’t fix your relationship problems for you. We both know that. I can only do so much.”

“When we were together you had no problem helping fix relationship problems, did you?” she laughed lightly with a small shake of her head, “We had a great relationship, didn’t we?”

“Not nearly as wonderful as I thought it was,” Brant sighed heavily remembering his time with her, “but it was a long time ago.”

“Yet you believed in me enough to take a chance on listening to me,” Heather reminded him with a small smile, “That says a lot about your faith in me.”

“Well, what can I say, I believe in second chances,” he offered up watching as she stepped in closer to him.

“About everything in your life now,” she questioned moving in closer yet. Her blue-green eyes met his with a strange expression, “or just with us?”

“Heather, I really don’t think…” Brant started uneasily ready to tell her to back off when he heard the sounds of some kind of pounding, crashing sound from outside where they stood with one another. “What the…?”

“Brant?” Heather questioned watching him race out of the study as she heard another crashing. Deciding to investigate, she followed him out into the hallway completely unprepared for what lay ahead of them.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Carly, this is going to be so great,” Ken promised her as he held her hands tightly in his. “We are going to have such a great time.”

“Yeah, I‘m sure we will,” Carly nodded before thinking back to what she had done earlier. She couldn’t tell Ken, but she had to go and talk to Dave. She had to tell him the truth about her and Ken. Unfortunately, he wasn’t there.

“Are you okay?” Ken questioned touching her shoulder lightly catching her out of her daze.

“I am fine,” she assured him as she watched him place a few things in his bag slowly.

“This is going to be so great,” Ken stated with a wide smile repeating what he had been saying earlier.

“Oh my,” Carly gasped out hearing the door to Ken’s room slam open and crash into the wall.

“Excuse me, what do you want?” Ken questioned angrily seeing Kyle standing in the doorway.

Kyle said nothing as he slowly walked towards Ken not taking his eyes of the piece of trash who hurt Avery.

“I asked you a question,” Ken shouted as Kyle stepped right in front Ken, “Don’t you understand what I am saying?”

“Oh, I understand what you are saying,” Kyle growled as Ken looked up into Kyle’s fierce eyes. “I also know what you did and now, you are going to pay.”

“Pay? How am I going to pay?” Ken questioned breaking out into laughter.

“Like this,” Kyle scowled as Ken felt Kyle’s fist slam into his jaw and Ken fell to the ground.

Before Ken could do anything, Kyle was already on top of him. Kyle slammed his fists into Ken repeatedly. Kyle couldn’t stop what he was doing; Ken had to pay for what he did. He couldn’t get away with what he did to Avery…he just couldn’t.

“Oh my god,” Carly screamed watching Kyle hit Ken, “Please stop…don’t hurt him.”

“You have nothing to do with this,” Kyle growled before facing the bloodied Ken and hitting more.

Kyle’s blood boiled as he began to hit Ken harder. There was something behind him that didn’t care if he went to jail for killing Ken. Someone had opened the door behind him, but that wouldn’t take his hatred away as he heard a voice behind him.

“Oh my god, Kyle,” Avery yelled out as Brant pushed past her trying to get to Kyle.

“Kyle, what the hell are you doing?” Brant questioned trying to grab Kyle from the behind as Kyle’s elbow went up slamming into Brant’s jaw.

“Brant,” Kyle frowned breathing in heavily looking down at his hands that were now covered in blood.

“Kyle,” Brant growled wiping the blood from his lip slowly, “I want to know what is going on and I want to know right now.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

...to be continued...