“What have you done with her?” Hart’s voice rose with anger as his father sat on the middle of the floor surrounded by party guests in a moment of stunned silence.

While Hart was well aware of the proper protocol in dealing with his father, there was nothing proper or even remotely civil about what Hart was feeling in that moment. Sam’s words swirled through his mind, bringing forth a sting in his heart at the idea that she had up and disappeared. It was a father’s worst nightmare, but as Hart found himself glaring down at Walt, he knew full well just how something like this had happened with his daughter.

“Where is she?” Hart commanded in a low growl.

“Living her life as she saw fit and if you’d step outside of your own sense of entitlement and rage for a moment, you’ll see that this is the best thing for her,” Walt defended as he staggered to his feet once again.

“Nothing about this could be the best thing for her and you know that. You’ve been waiting for a moment to pay me back for the way I put you in your place. Admit it, you’ve been on a power trip since you found out about Sam because you see her as means of digging the knife in deeper with me one last time,” Hart snarled over at his father. “This was all about revenge for you.”

“I love my granddaughter and that’s why I wanted her to have the opportunity for the best,” Walt remarked in a neutral tone while dusting his sleeves off.

“You son of a…” Hart blurted out enraged as he was ready to lunge forward, but before he could follow through on his thoughts of choking his father to death, Kyle stepped forward.

“What’s going on here?” Kyle questioned placing himself between the two men.

“My son has clearly lost his mind,” Walt frowned over at Hart.

“And you’re about to lose your life if you don’t start talking about where you took my daughter,” Hart warned not caring about the eyes that were upon him and Walt. “Where is she?”

“Hopefully far enough away from Coral Valley that she doesn’t have to learn about your tantrum,” Walt mouthed sourly as he eyed Hart intently. “You’d be best suited to let her go without this fuss.”

“Hold up,” Kyle glanced over at Walt before turning to Hart again. Finally he focused on Walt with a frown, “Who are you?”

“His father,” Walt explained adjusting his tie, “and my son is being irrational when…”

“He sent her off somewhere,” Hart insisted firmly making a move towards his father once again.

“And you’re not going to get the answers you’re looking for pal if you keep acting like this,” Kyle spun around to face Hart with a frown. “He might not be on your good list right now, but he’s got a point. Causing a scene isn’t going to help anything.”

“What the hell do you know?” Hart frowned ready to breeze past Kyle to attack his father.

“I did her a favor you know,” Walt explained with a casual shrug. “I gave her an out before she could see truly what a disappointment you really are son. Believe me it’s for the best.”

“You son of a…” Hart leapt forward once again only to have Kyle grab him by the back of his collar.

“Not so fast,” Kyle decided half wondering why he’d gotten involved in the family scuffle to begin with.

“That’s right Hart. Back down and behave,” Walt smirked after gaining the upper hand in the disagreement.

“You shut up,” Kyle warned with a snarl before rethinking it. “On second thought tell him where his daughter is.”

“I don’t owe him any answers. My granddaughter has a right to her privacy,” Walt grumbled in response. “I don’t have to tell either one of you anything.”

“And I don’t have to keep holding him back,” Kyle loosened his grip on Hart just enough to give Walt a moment of fear of his son’s attack, “so start talking.”

“Fine,” Walt folded his arms in front of his chest, “I did her a favor in helping her find a way out of town.”

“How?” Hart questioned behind gritted teeth.

“I got clearance to bring in my private jet and have her leave tonight at Samson Airstrip,” Walt explained with a casual shrug. “There’s a small set of runways out there and…”

“I know where it is,” Hart realized thinking about what his father had said. He glanced over at Kyle with a pleading look. “I have to go find her. I can’t lose her.”

“Good luck,” Kyle replied releasing Hart as Hart’s fears mounted and he weaved his way out of the party determined to find his daughter before he lost her forever.

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

“Avery I um,” Brant paused giving her a long once over as he noticed the sexy sundress she was in. He spotted the way the strap curved down over her shoulder and without warning she must’ve realized he was looking at her because she quickly plucked it up into place again.

“What the hell is your problem?” she tossed out at him in an accusatory tone. “What is wrong with you?”

“Wrong with me?” Brant blinked back at her shaking his head and frowning. “Nothing is wrong with me. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I’ll tell you what’s wrong with me,” Avery stepped forward her dark eyes narrowing up at him with an obvious rage. She pushed her hand into his chest just enough to shove him backwards while she continued to assault him verbally. “What is your deal? Now you’ve resorted to following me around and stalking me at a time when you are just about the last person in the world that I would want to see.”

“Stalking you,” Brant laughed lightly unable to resist the bubble of amusement that built up in the back of his throat. “Oh please I wouldn’t stalk you if you were the last woman on the planet.”

“You’re such a terrible liar,” Avery snapped at him balling her fists at her sides and glaring up at him, “What did Ken tell you that Russ and I were coming here to get married so you decided to throw us another curveball to keep us from being happy together?”

“Wait, what?” Brant blinked back at her before frowning, “Did you just say Ken?”

“Yeah I said Ken,” she nodded in response fighting to suppress the urge to slap him. “Don’t tell me that he didn’t clue you in on the fact that Russ and I were coming here to renew our vows especially after he tried to maul me at your house. You know you and your brother are really sick.”

“I honestly don’t have the first clue what you’re talking about,” Brant replied honestly feeling a frown touch over his lips. “Really I have no idea why in the world you would think that I would want to stalk you.”

“Because you’re a pathetic little man who only wants to make the world around him miserable. You don’t give a damn about me, but you’ll make sure that Russ and I can’t be happy because you can’t accept the fact that you’ve lost this battle Brant. You can’t face the fact that things are over between us,” her voice raised with heavy agitation and she started shaking her head at him with each and every word she muttered.

“Can’t face the fact?” he repeated with wide eyes before laughing again in a darker tone. “Sweetheart, I’m the one who tossed you to the curb, so I would think that it’s pretty damn safe to say that I’m beyond over you. You aren’t even a blip on my radar. You’re a bad memory at best and that’s pushing it.”

“If that was really the case, then why are you standing right in front of me right before my wedding weekend and stalking me like some sick kind of pervert,” she challenged bringing her arms around her chest and glaring up at him. When he didn’t respond fast enough she let out a small dry, laugh. “Yeah that’s what I thought. You don’t have a reason other than you’re a jerk, do you?”

“Actually I have a damn good reason,” Brant started ready to deliver her a hard dose of a reality check, but before he could get the opportunity Russ weaved his way through the crowd and approached them.

“Now I would seriously doubt that one,” Russ slid in beside Avery wrapping his arm around her protectively. She immediately curled into Russell’s chest before tipping her head to the side and glaring at Brant.

“Oh this is just wonderful,” Brant threw his hands up in the air and groaned. “Not only do I have to deal with Miss Delusional who thinks that the world revolves around her, but now I have to be harassed by you too.”

“It looks to me like you’re the one doing all the harassing here,” Russ glared down at his half brother. “So tell me Brant, what did you come over here to pull this time?”

“I didn’t come here to pull anything and my reasoning behind it all certainly doesn’t involve either one of you sanctimonious losers,” Brant shook his head wildly before throwing his hands up in the air. “I don’t need to put up with either one of you considering that neither one of you are my problem anymore.”

“You just made us your problem by following us out here to try to stop the wedding,” Russell’s jaw flexed with tension as his green eyes fixed on Brant. “I don’t know what you think you’re going to be able to do, but this time you can’t pull out anymore tricks from your magic hat. They aren’t going to work Brant!”

“I don’t care about your damn wedding just like I don’t care about either one of you!” Brant shouted catching the attention of the surrounding crowd. “I had no clue that either one of you would be here and if I had, then I certainly wouldn’t be.”

“You’re lying just like you always did,” Avery snapped in response placing her palm over the center of Russell’s chest.

“The only liar in our relationship was you,” Brant corrected with a sneer. “You were the one who couldn’t be truthful about anything. I’ve always been up front with you about my feelings and thoughts.”

“Yeah and that was blatantly obvious when you fired me because I wouldn’t have sex with you anymore,” Avery’s voice screamed catching even more attention from the crowd. “You’re a snake who doesn’t deserve all the opportunities he had handed to him.”

“Avery, you’re being ridiculous,” Brant rolled his eyes at her, “I mean really.”

“Ridiculous?” she repeated in a pinched squeal moving out of Russell’s arms and balling her hand into a fist. “I’ll show you ridiculous if you want ridiculous.”

“Avery,” Russ started to beckon her, but it was too late. Once she’d put her thoughts into action, he watched her draw her fist back as if she would punch Brant. Brant seemed to brace himself for it, but in doing so it left him completely unprepared for Avery’s true attack on him. She shot her knee right up into his groin and caused him to buckle over in agony onto the ground grabbing the center of his pants shamelessly.

“Now that’s ridiculous you son of a bitch!” she snapped at him as Don pushed his way through the crowd just in time to see his best friend drop down to the ground.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Don snapped at her watching Brant writhe in agony while the crowd kept it’s invading eyes upon them. “Why did you do that?”

“Because your friend doesn’t know when to quit,” Avery growled over at Don daring him with her eyes to step up to the plate and challenge her like Brant had.

“Damn woman you’re just mean,” Don rushed over to his friend’s aid. He knelt down and looked to Brant, “Are you okay?”

“No,” Brant admitted his face red and flustered. He gritted his teeth before his brown eyes seemed to cross and he fell to the ground again.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Don questioned looking up at Avery again with a glare.

“What’s wrong with me?” she repeated with a huff. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong with me. I’m tired of your friend trying to push his way into my life and make me miserable. Stalking me was the last straw,” Avery grumbled in response feeling her angers mounting all over again.

“He wasn’t stalking you!” Don corrected with a shout. “Not even close to it.”

“Right, like I’m really supposed to believe that when he’s here on the weekend that Russ and I decided to get married here. I don’t believe that him being at the club is just a coincidence. Clearly he’s been following us since we got here and I’m not going to take it any longer,” Avery informed Don and Brant bluntly now that she vowed not to let Brant ruin what should be the greatest weekend of her life!

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

“Look I don’t want any problems,” Evie raised her hands in the air hoping to fend off any impending trouble that might result from her running into the man whose wallet she’d swiped a while back. While she’d been hoping that he wouldn’t remember her, she could tell by the expression on his face that she would have no such luck. Taking in a small breath she began to mentally prepare for her escape out of the situation but before she could duck out beside him or wiggle in the small space between him and the wall, he seemed to sense her intentions.

“Do you think you’re going somewhere?” Kevin questioned his dark eyes penetrating hers and reminding her all over again just how big of a guy he really was. He towered over her and in that instant she could see anger behind his eyes. She knew full well that not only had he not forgotten about what had happened when she’d tried to rip him off, but clearly he wasn’t about to forgive the incident either. “We need to talk.”

“No we don’t,” Evie replied feigning an air of strength even though she felt very intimidated by the muscle bound man in front of her. She stood taller and cleared her throat before making a small step forward.

“Not so fast little girl,” Kevin reached for her arm and pulled her back down the hallway so that they could be away from the high traffic area.

“If you don’t let go of my arm, then I’m going to scream and people will run over here and see what you’re doing to me. You’ll get thrown out of this club so fast your head will spin,” she shot back at him icily, her brown eyes defiant and now filled with a newfound determination.

“I seriously doubt that one,” Kevin couldn’t help but offer up an amused smirk, “because you don’t have the nerve to do something like that.”

“Don’t I?” she arched a curious brow before opening her lips and letting out a loud, pinched scream. “Rape! Someone help me this guy is trying to rape me!”

“What?” Kevin released her immediately looking around the small hallway in a panic before he shook his head at a woman who was watching them. “No I’m not. She’s my daughter and we’re just having a conversation.”

“No I’m not,” Evie shook her head firmly pushing her way past Kevin in order to get to the hallway‘s exit as the bouncer arrived, “He’s some sick sex pervert who tried to pay me money to offer him sexual favors, but when I refused he got rough with me.”

“I did not,” Kevin blurted out in a state of disbelief. “I just wanted to talk to you about…”

“I’m not his daughter and I’m not about to give him a blow job either even if he thinks he’s a big and bad man who can bully smaller women around,” Evie snarled in response rushing over to the bouncer’s side in a rush of worry. “Please can you get him escorted out of here? He’s terrifying.”

“Oh hey Kevin,” the bouncer waved over at him and smiled, “We have a problem here?”

“No problem,” Kevin circled his hand around in the air making a motion to alert the bouncer that Evie was a little bit not all together upstairs, “Our little friend here just escaped from the north wing of the hospital and I’m taking her back so that she can get her daily dose of meds.”

“Oh,” the bouncer replied with wide eyes realizing what Kevin was saying. He nodded accordingly before motioning to the people in the hallway to leave Kevin and Evie be. “Well now that is something.”

“It’s kind of important that I get her back,” Kevin replied again giving the bouncer a look.

“Of course,” the bouncer nodded before turning to Evie. “Miss, I hope that you listen to this man and do what you have to in order to get things taken care of for yourself.”

“Wait, no,” Evie shook her head firmly making a move forward only to feel Kevin press his palm on her shoulder to stop her from leaving the hallway. He pulled her back in one cool, casual sweep while his fingers clamped in over her shoulder once again, “This guy is some kind of sex pervert. He’s going to take me out into the back alley and attack me. You can’t leave me alone with him. He’s going to hurt me and…”

“I’m sure you’ll be in good hands miss,” the bouncer nodded towards her with a goofy smirk, “Just do what he tells you and take your meds because I’m sure once you do you’ll feel much better in the morning. Just listen to what Mr. Adonis has to tell you.”

“Mr. Adonis is a sexual predator and…” Evie started again only to feel Kevin press his hand in over her mouth to silence her.

“I’ve got it taken care of Lou,” Kevin promised with a small smile watching the bouncer give them another look before finally nodding.

“I trust that one Adonis, but make sure that you take this out of the club before people start to ask questions. I don’t want any trouble,” Lou replied giving Kevin another nod before turning to Evie, “Don’t make this difficult on yourself sweetheart. You’re in good hands with Kevin.”

Evie mumbled something incoherently before Lou walked off with the women who had been in the hallway to give them some privacy. Once Kevin and Evie were alone with one another again, Kevin spun her around into the corner of the hallway before releasing her.

“Listen to me you son of a bitch, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but it’s not going to work,” Evie snarled up at him standing up taller and meeting his amused chocolate eyes with a defiant stare.

“But it already has because you see we’re on my turf now little girl and if you think you’re going to one up me on a bluff, then you have another thing coming to you because it’s not going to happen,” Kevin warned her sharply moving in closer to her with a menacing glare. “Now I believe you and I have a few things to discuss.”

“The hell we do,” she shoved forward pushing into his muscled chest only to feel herself bounced back into a corner. Feeling a moment of desperation carry over her, she spoke up again in a threatening tone, “Look if you don’t let me go, then my boyfriend is going to come back here and start looking for me. He’ll kick your ass and…”

“JT,” Kevin remarked with obvious amusement, “oh please the kid hadn’t had a decent fight in his life and besides I’m an ex-boxer. He doesn’t stand a chance against me.”

“He more than stands a chance because he’ll kill you if you hurt me,” she warned him sharply, her words blunt and threatening. “You’ll wish you never messed with me or even crossed my path…”

“I’m already in that mind set, but the fact to the matter is that you and I have something that we need to discuss with one another,” he informed her point blank wanting to get back to the point at hand now that he’d managed to find her in the midst of the crowd.

“Look you jackass I didn’t steal your wallet if you’re still holding a grudge about what happened before,” she frowned over at him. Shaking her head she spat out her words full of venom, “You just dropped it back at that restaurant and we both know that you just couldn’t fess up to the fact that you’re incompetent.”

Kevin chuckled with wild amusement finding himself delighted by her attempts to give him a story about what had happened. “Oh please you swiped the wallet and then tossed it when you thought you were caught.”

“I did not and you can’t prove it if I had,” Evie folded her arm in front of her chest and glared up at him. Despite the fact that she felt smaller than ever with the oversized man standing in front of her and threatening her, she wasn’t about to back down from his accusations. “I didn’t steal your wallet.”

“You did and I know it, but right now I don’t give a damn about my wallet,” he paused taking the time to pat down his sides to ensure that he still had his wallet in tact and in his pocket, “Well actually…”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she rolled her eyes at him and groaned, “I wouldn’t waste my time stealing from a jerk like you. Besides wouldn’t have to do it because I don’t need or want anything that you have to offer.”

Kevin laughed again, this time with a bit more sarcasm thick in his tone, “Yeah right. Like I would honestly believe something like that coming out of the mouth of a liar like you.”

“Look you jackass maybe you might’ve fooled the bouncer into believing that I’m a whack job, but you’ll be seeing first hand just how crazy I can be if you don’t let me go,” Evie warned sharply contemplating her escape. She spotted a narrow slit of a window in the corner of the hallway, but much to her dismay it was far too small for her to fit out of. Frowning she met his chocolate stare once again, “I’m warning you.”

“Forgive me if I just simply don’t feel threatened,” he shrugged his shoulders casually before leaning up against the wall beside them and knowing full well that his oversized body was enough to block her escape from the hallway.

“That was your first mistake,” Evie huffed taking in a breath and bringing her knee up right into the center of his groin in the hopes of taking him down without hesitation. He must’ve been prepared for it however as his hand blocked her intentions and caught her knee mid-movement.

“You know if I were you I would try to be smart about things instead of being so stupid,” Kevin shoved her knee aside before growling down at her, “Now listen I don’t want to hurt you. I just wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you since you’ve come on like a caveman in all of this waiting to club me,” she scoffed in response tossing her long, dark hair behind her shoulders. “You have no right to detain me. You’re not a cop or anything and I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“No?” he arched a doubtful brow, “See now that’s where you and I have a difference of opinion because you stole something from me.”

“I didn’t take your damn wallet now let me go!” she shouted feeling her anger mounting. She looked beyond Kevin in the hopes that someone else would arrive and pull him away from her, but for some reason the hallway was unusually quiet.

“I want to know why you stole my bracelet from me,” Kevin cut straight to the point knowing full well he needed to know the truth about what Seth had given him earlier. “Why did you take it and where did you get it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Evie shook her head in refusal to give him any answers now that he had her feeling claustrophobic and trapped. “I didn’t steal anything from you.”

“Yes you did,” Kevin reached into his pocket wrenching out the bracelet that Seth had given him. “You stole this and I want to know how you got your greedy little hands on it. Where did you get it?”

“For the last damn time,” Evie snapped ready to lash into Kevin as she spotted the bracelet dangling in front of her face. Immediately recognition dawned in over her and she groaned. “What is it with you people? First that Seth guy and now you. What gives?”

“I want answers,” Kevin snarled back at her, his words growing cracked with emotion. “Where did you get this?”

“It’s mine,” she went to reach for it only to feel him snatch it away from her. “That jackass Seth jumped my shit the other night when he saw me wearing it. He went on and on about how it belonged to him, which it didn’t, but he wouldn’t let up on me. I gave it to him after he practically assaulted me, so if you want to talk about people stealing ask him since he stole it from me!”

“No that’s a lie,” Kevin shook his head firmly his brown eyes narrowing in at her. Clenching the bracelet in his hand tighter than he’d been doing earlier, he lashed out at her once again, “This bracelet belonged to my little girl and I want to know how the hell you got your hands on it.”

“Listen you jackass it’s my bracelet!” Evie screamed back at him having had enough of the threats and the accusations, “My father gave it to me and it was always mine. It wasn’t until Seth stole it from me that anyone has harassed me about it. I don’t know where you get off saying it’s yours when it’s been mine since day one. My father got it for me when I was born and…”

“You liar! You’re lying to me and I want the truth!” Kevin cut her off in an abrasive tone. “I want you to tell me where you got this now!”

“Back off Kevin,” JT’s voice interrupted as JT caught Kevin off guard and he was able to push Kevin away from Evie. It gave her enough room to duck out of the corner she’d been trapped in and immediately she rushed into JT’s arms hugging him tightly.

“Stay out of this JT,” Kevin warned sharply, his brown eyes narrowing in on Evie once again, “This doesn’t concern you.”

“The hell it doesn’t,” JT stepped up again, placing himself between Kevin and Evie. “If you don’t back off, then so help me God…”

“I just want the truth! I want her to tell me where she stole this from and how she got it!” Kevin’s voice rumbled through the hallway causing Evie to shiver behind JT.

“Leave her alone Kevin!” JT snarled up at him, feeling his blood boiling through his veins. Sure, he knew full well that Kevin would easily beat the life out of him in a fair fight, but JT wasn’t about to let anyone else terrorize Evie not after the day she had. “She doesn’t owe you anything.”

“I want answers,” Kevin stepped forward ready to prompt the truth out of Evie once again, but before he could get the chance JT pushed at his chest once more causing Kevin to stumble back ever so slightly.

“If you get any closer to her, then you’re a dead man,” JT warned sharply, his dark eyes filled with a sudden protectiveness that hadn’t been as obvious moments earlier.

“Don’t make me laugh JT,” Kevin shook his head at JT’s attempt at making a valiant effort. It was a rare moment for JT, Kevin realized as in knowing JT for quite some time he was well aware of JT’s reputation for one night romances and his need for self preservation. It wasn’t like JT to step up to rescue a date from impending danger. “I just want to talk to her.”

“She’s got nothing to say to you and if you don’t back off, you’ll be sorry,” JT warned once again, feeling Evie move out of the hallway and back into the club again. He followed the movement seeing Kevin also press forward with a frown on his features.

“I’ve been trying to be polite about this JT, but if you leave me no choice then…” Kevin began to explain feeling his patience running thin when another sound caught his attention. Looking over to the side of the club over by the bar he spotted Brant on the ground while Avery stood over him lashing out at Brant and Don in an obvious frenzy. Immediately his thoughts retracted about the bracelet and he realized that he needed to get over to the bar before something worse happened than what was already happening.

“This isn’t over. Stay here,” Kevin warned giving JT and Evie one last look before rushing off to assist in the tense situation unfolding near the bar.

“Like hell,” Evie blurted out with a breath of relief. She tugged on JT’s arm and urged him towards the bar’s exit. “JT let’s get out of here. That creep was scaring me and…”

“He’s out of his mind tonight,” JT mouthed watching Kevin weave through the crowd to join the others. JT reached for Evie wrapping her up in his arms before kissing the top of her head. Finally he laced their fingers in one another and moved with her towards the doorway. “But you’re right. Let’s get out of here. Neither one of us need to deal with that tonight.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” she nodded in response glancing over at Kevin one last time before rushing out of the club in the hopes of keeping that lunatic from bothering her any longer!

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

It always seemed that at the worst possible moments thing always got worse. Everything always got worse when Kevin had left and now that Ria sat by herself in the on call room she felt less wanted than before. Kevin had offered her a great proposal earlier and here she was still in Coral Valley when she knew where her heart was and where she wanted to be. Then the thoughts of why he was leaving would come back to her and it was the one thing that always put a wedge between her and Kevin. That was Angie and that’s how it would always be in Kevin’s life.

“How can I compare to something like that?" Ria groaned out dropping her head in her hands thinking about the words Kevin told her and the feelings he was supposed to have, but now as she thought about Kevin’s past with Angie--all those years--all those feelings she didn’t know if she’d ever be Kevin’s priority.

“How can you compared to what?" Barbara’s voice pressed into the room making Ria look up from where she was and stare out at her friend. The look in Ria’s eyes gave her the hint that something wasn’t right as she sighed and moved over toward Ria. Casually taking a seat next to her she knew that Ria could probably use someone to talk to at a moment like this. Keeping things in for someone is never a good thing and she was one that knew that for sure. “Want to talk about what’s going on?"

“It makes no sense,” Ria answered shaking her head and stood up from the couch moving over toward the counter to grab her mug she had gotten earlier. Taking a sip of her coffee she turned toward Barbara holding onto the mug tightly. “Trust me, I’m going to sound ridiculous.”

“So is it about Kevin?" Barbara mentioned the name of Ria’s fiancé and just the look that was given back in response said it all. Leaning back into the couch she watched Ria take another sip of her hot coffee before setting the mug down. “It’s a man Ria. I know how men are and I’m going to be honest here and say nothing is going to sound ridiculous. I’ve had my fair share of men in my life and I know what a pain they can be sometimes.”

“Kevin is great and I love Kevin with everything that I am. He’s sexy, charming and he gives me everything that I need in life. I kind of feel that without Kevin a part of me is missing,” Ria began to explain knowing that from the moment she laid eyes on Kevin Adonis when they were younger she was in love with him. Then all of this happened to them and she felt like her dreams came true. She had the man she loved and she had the man she always dreamed of being with. The only problem is that with the time it took, most of his heart went to another woman during that time and it killed her inside. “I just sometimes feel like I’m not his number one.”

“Why? You two seem great together. I can see that every time you look at him you get this glimmer in your eyes and it shows how much I think you love him,” Barbara insisted seeing the look Ria gave her and she let out a small noise and knew it was Kevin that was giving the problem. “What’s going wrong?"

“Well, you know that one girl I told you about in Kevin’s life? The one that he was with before me. Not Michelle, the other one,” Ria began sitting down on the ground not even bothering to see the nod as she continued on with what she was saying. “You see--I really love Kevin and I know Kevin loves me there is just this thing that goes on in his head and I don’t know if it’s me that has caused it, but I feel like sometimes I’m always his second best and that’s all I’ll ever be with him. We have our really great days and then we have those days where I feel like I’m not even his top priority. He just left Coral Valley and went back to the place he lived to go find Angela. I understand worrying about his best friend, but how he leaves me--how he always does it is so sudden that it makes me feel out of the loop in his life.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t feel more for her than he does for you. It seems like he just is worried about this girl. I don’t think he’d ever think about leaving you for her Ria. I mean look at you. I’m not even a man and I think you are the perfect package,” Barbara nudged Ria in the shoulder slightly hearing her laugh fill the air and she knew that Ria would need a perk up. “Come on though, I know exactly what you two will do the next time you see him. I hear your stories you know. I know exactly what Mr. Adonis is like.”

“Yeah you do,” she looked over the couch before cracking a smile and clearing her throat. Barbara glanced at her a moment before shooting up from the couch and shaking her head slowly. Moving over toward the pot of coffee in the corner she thought things over. “Okay, he needs to chill out a little bit, but how could you honestly feel unwanted after that? You are the only woman he’s sleeping with. You are engaged to him, bound to be married soon--of you take a look at that man and realize how fantastic looking he is. You’ll see yourself saying wow, I’m one hell of a lucky woman.”

“I know I’m lucky,” Ria began with a small laugh knowing that Barbara got straight to the point when trying to make her feel better. Still there were thoughts lingering, things Kevin has done--ways he’s acted about Angie and how he felt about her. “I just think about things sometimes.”

“Well trust me, he’s very lucky to have you,” Barbara insisted watching Ria’s dark eyes glance up to look at her before taking in a long breath. “And I don’t think he would have any reason to leave you because he as well as I do knows that there is nothing better for him than you Ria. You two make a perfect pair. It’s something to think about.”

“Ria, we need your help,” another one of the nurses popped her head into the on call room motioning Ria to follow her as Ria stood quickly to her feet and followed her out into the hallway pulling a few things out of her pockets. “A woman just came in. Her fever is high, it’s been raising. Intensive convulsions, dilated pupils and she looks pretty beat up. We’re thinking it’s some kind of over dose.”

“Alright lets see,” Ria pulled out her light moving over toward the stretcher they had the woman on and he could see her body shaking arching up off the stretcher as Ria nodded. “Get her out of here we have to get her on an iv immediately. Come on, get her into the room quickly.”

Whether she was upset about Kevin or not--she knew she had to get a move on with things that were here right now. This was her job and she couldn’t let her emotions get the best of her. Not now.

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

“That was some party your father threw, you know that?" Daniel mentioned watching Lindsay clean up the things on the stage as he held onto the large sweeper he had been cleaning the dance floor with. After the party he offered to help Lindsay clean up the club to help her and her father out. Now as he watched her finish up with a few things he smiled and thought things over. “You’re family has a good party style in their backgrounds.”

“Them yes. Me? Not so much,” she informed him as she looked out at him and the rest of the people that were still there. Not many but there were just a few still around. She’d say the party was over, not everyone here was sticking for the party. They were just hanging out for the remainder of the time they could. “I’m not much of a partier but I know my father has some real great ideas with things.”

“That he does,” Daniel set the sweeper aside a moment before reaching out for Lindsay’s hand to help her down off the stage. His hand held onto hers softly before a small smile pressed in over his features. “You look really fantastic tonight. You know that?"

“Thank you, you look pretty good yourself,” she reached up with her right hand to softly nudge his right shoulder seeing the smirk that pressed in over his young features while his bright eyes stared out at her. “I saw that your brother was having a bit of a problem with his father today.”

“Well, one thing you will notice is that my whole family has a bit of a problem. It must be some type of Ashford curse or something like that,” Daniel informed her pulling himself up sitting down on the edge of the stage while she did the same. He let out a small sigh glancing over at her. “You have no idea how hard it is to live with this family sometimes. Brant and Ken have their problems even though I really love them. I know Blake has had her fair share. Kipp, seems like his life is down the toilet a lot if you get my point. It’s just my family. My uncle Rex is insane, I guess that’s why they call it family. No matter what goes on you still have to feel for them.”

“Well, what family in the world doesn’t go at least a little crazy here and there? Without a life full of conflict, people don’t mature as easily. Well, I guess there is some of those who don’t mature with conflict but that’s another story,” she sighed looking over at him seeing the way he watched her with his bright eyes. “I like your family though. I think without Brant my brother would never be the person he is today. Don and Brant are great friends and without Brant being the way he is I might have a brother with a broken heart for the rest of my life.”

“Don is a very good guy, you’re whole family basically is,” he pointed out looking around for a moment before clearing his throat. “That Cori though…I remember her past with your dad and everything she has tried with him. I know you told me about her with Nate, but do you think that was serious with her?"

“I don’t know. I hope so. I really love Nate, he’s a really good guy it’s just the fact that I don’t see her trying to get anywhere near my father with Nate around. I think Nate will be able to keep her in line and I’m glad that she won’t be around to bother the family anymore,” Lindsay explained knowing that sure, she had been friends with Cori and she never talked bad about anyone she knew that she liked having Cori have space from her father. “I don’t need trouble in my life.”

“Well that’s not true,” he frowned--his lip curling into a pout when she glanced over at him. He nudged her a little bit with his shoulder before brushing over his jacket to straighten it out. “I happen to know that I’m trouble and I know you still want me in your life.”

“If you’re the kind of trouble that runs around this world, we need more trouble like you,” she smirked seeing the way he glanced out at her with his light eyes before tipping in closer to her. There was a sudden noise that filled the air as they both turned to see Rob standing in front of them with his arms folded in front of his chest. “Dad. Hey.”

“Yeah. That whole dad hey thing…,” Rob glanced over at Daniel seeing the uncomfortable look in his young features knowing that he almost stepped in on what he thought to be a close kiss between the two. “So are you two cleaning up for me or not? I can’t be here all night.”

“Yes dad,” Lindsay laughed reaching for one of the large sized sweepers moving forward to press a quick kiss against his cheek seeing her father staring out at her with a small smirk. “I love you dad.”

“I love you too,” Rob watched his daughter and her new friend go back to working as he took in a long sigh. He was glad she made some good friends, but she was still young and he was still her father. Meaning that he had to make sure she stayed safe and away from all of the things that could get her older too fast. “Keep up the good work you two.”

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

“Here, let’s get you inside,” Nate tried to help Cori into her house only to feel her shove him back by pressing her hands firmly into the center of his chest making him stumble back a bit. Biting down on his lower lip he felt his jaw tighten as his green eyes glared out at her watching the movements she was giving him. “Listen Cori, I would like it if you could stop the whole bitch attitude with me. I’m trying with you and I’m really trying. All you keep giving me is shit and I’m kind of sick of it already.”

“Well I don’t need an escort home. All night long you have been telling me what I can and can not do and I’m sick of it. I’m going home by myself and I know what I’m doing. I don’t need your help--I‘m a capable adult,” Cori informed him firmly seeing the way that Nate folded his arms in front of his chest eyeing her over carefully. There were so many things he wanted to burst out yelling at her for, but as she stared out at him he couldn’t help but laugh. “What the hell is so funny?"

“The fact that you say that you are a capable adult,” Nate informed her with a small snicker seeing the way her nose wrinkled in anger and he laughed again. Pushing back his blonde hair he started to pull off his suit jacket and rest it over the curve of his forearm. “I don’t know where you got that idea from considering that the only way you could be let out of the mental hospital is by having Dave promise that he would keep an eye on you. That’s like a child. Worse than a teenager Cori. That’s terrible. The day you are an adult is the day I’ll finally fly. You just want to ruin everything. That’s the type of person you are and I’m sick of standing up for you. You need to learn what’s right and what’s wrong. You know the thing people usually learn around their child ages. You know the little toddlers maybe two years old. Right and wrong. Do you know those words Cori?"

“You’re not funny, this isn’t funny,” she snapped back stepping off the porch reaching out to shove her fingers into the center of his chest seeing him stumble back against. “This isn’t funny Nate. Just because you offer up one thing for me doesn’t mean that you get to run it. You think that you can tell me what’s best for me and force it upon me…”

“I’ve forced nothing on you,” he snapped back stepping in closer to her catching the dark glare in her eyes as he bit down on his bottom lip. “I’ve forced nothing on you. I’ve been the only one to ever care for you. I’ve taken care of you when no one else cared. No one else cared for you Cori and you stand here trying to tell me that I don’t do anything for you and that I’m forcing you to do things? I’m just trying to protect you Cori. Do you not see that? I’ve been trying to protect you. I’ve been trying, but you know what. You want to screw up? You want everyone to hate you again. Fine. I’ll leave right here. I’ll leave now and let everyone know what you’ve done. I’ve forced nothing on you but friendship if you want something. But if I’m forcing that too hard I can force myself to turn around and leave right now. Then who will you have huh? No one. The answer is no one and I may not be the one for you, but I’m the only one.”

There was a long silence between the two as he took in a long shallow breath knowing that he shouldn’t have said half the things he did in that last moment. Sighing he ran his hands through his hair and then let out a rigid breath. There were so many things going through his head that as he stepped forward to grab her hands in his he found himself stuttering to speak up again. He was angry, but knew what was on the line and he wasted this much time trying already and being her friend that he couldn’t stop now.

“Listen to me. I’m sorry, it’s just sometimes I don’t want you in trouble and for that I’m sorry,” Nate tried to convince her squeezing her hands tightly before letting them go and dropping his arms down at his sides. “I know that sometimes I may seem a little headstrong, but I think you just need to see that I care. I care about you Cori and you mean so much to me. So much. I think that something like this will only bring us closer together. Closer to being that couple…that couple that belongs together.”

“Belong together?" Cori’s eyebrow arched up as she laughed and brought her knee forward between Nate’s legs the sudden movement making him fall to his knees in a thud. His eyes crossed slightly as his face fell flat against the rough cement. “Belong together my ass Nate. Screw you.”

Cori moved back into the house and left Nate out in the front yard on the hard cement after her attack. Nate cried out clamping his hand in over the center of his pants before whimpering out. He looked up to see a long pair of legs before him and he gulped down looking up further to see Jewel before him.

“Having relationship problems?" Jewel questioned with a smirk watching the way that Nate looked away from her and slowly sat up with his hand still firmly clasped over his body. “I can see that she wasn’t too happy with you. What’s going on?"

“Oh nothing,” Nate lied through his teeth feeling like his face was going to explode from how much pain he was in before letting out a long exaggerated breath. “You should know how hormones are out of whack and all being pregnant. There is nothing wrong, she’s just getting the pregnant blues.”

Just with a simple nod Jewel knew that there had to be more going on here and she was going to get to the bottom of it before anything further happened between the two and she regretted it from here on out.

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

“Good job man,” Jason jumped down from the truck after closing it and helping Chase put everything away. He reached up to unbutton the top two buttons in his shirt before taking in a long breath. Looking around he noticed that Mindy was no longer by Trisha's side as he glanced around. “Where did Mindy go?"

“Some where over there,” she nodded over toward the trees resting at the top of the hill and he could see that her shadow was overlooking one of the trees. Trisha watched him glance back at her as she nodded slowly and motioned him to go ahead. “Go talk to her, we’ll be here. Not move an inch. Right here.”

“Do I even want to know?" Jason’s nose wrinkled seeing the way that Trisha played with Chase’s jacket before tipping up to kissing him slowly and when he saw some kind of tongue action he groaned out in disgust and move toward the tress trying to be careful enough not to startle her. Stepping in behind her he made a crunching noise by the way his foot pressed in over one of the branches in the grass. He winced as she turned around to face him and he slightly waved. “Hey. Is everything okay?"

“Oh yeah. I was just looking,” she informed him nodding toward the bottom of the hill as he stepped in next to her looking down. There was a moment of silence as she shivered slightly and he noticed her shivering. Taking in a long breath he pulled his jacket off and started to wrap it around her no questions asked as she shook her head slowly. “No, you don’t need to do that.”

“I’m in layers Mindy, you’re freezing,” he pointed out rubbing his hands up against her shoulders softly trying to get her to warm up while she leaned back into his chest. His chin rested on her shoulder as they stared out at the night before them. “I like to take care of my best friend.”

“Well thank you,” she placed her hand in over his on her other shoulder seeing the way he glanced to the side at her and she smiled to herself. “That was a good party, huh?"

“Very good,” he nodded with a moment of silence while holding her in his arms feeling her resting back more into him. Taking in the night around them he nudged her cheek slightly with his before letting out a small laugh. “What are you thinking about?"

“I want to go down there,” she answered looking back at him seeing the confused look behind his eyes as she quickly pulled him forward sending the both of them down the hill making him fall straight on his butt while she was careful enough to stay on her feet. He slid all the way down and whimpered once he hit the bottom. “You okay?"

“Ouch--biggest wedgie ever,” he groaned rolling on his stomach hearing her laugh fill the air as she stepped in next to him and the next thing he knew he felt her weight in over his back as he turned over feeling her in over him pressing him down while he laughed. “Warn me next time, okay?"

“Sounds good you wimp,” she teased gently nudging his cheek with her fist before falling to the side in the curve of his arm. It took a moment for him to realize what she was doing before he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and felt her head resting against his chest. Okay, it was a little out of character for her and a bit weird but he kind of liked it. “What do you think about the stars?"

“The stars?" Jason questioned knowing that she was talking about what they were staring out at together right now, but decided to tease her a bit. “Well--I personally think that some of them take things for granted. I get the whole Hollywood thing, but…”

“Not funny,” she hit him in the stomach hearing the groan that followed before he laughed again. “You know what I mean.”

“I think it’s nice to get a glance at them when no one is around,” he answered truthfully before taking in a deep breath. Squeezing his arm around her tighter he shrugged and thought things over. “I say it’s nice to have a change you know. You have the hectic day life and right now--right here, I feel calm. The calmest I’ve been in weeks and it’s here with you under the stars. I think it’s a good drug to get people to open their eyes and say wow.”

“Good answer,” she snuggled in closer to her new best friend feeling him holding onto her. There was a long moment of no sound between them before she turned to him and looked into his blue eyes smirking a bit. “Wow.”

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

“I don’t think that’s it at all you know Nate. I think something is up between the two of you,” Jewel kneeled down enough to reach out and press her slender, soft fingers against the curve of Nate’s cheek outlining his masculine features before pushing back his long blonde hair. There was something behind his green eyes and she could still tell that Nate was uncomfortable with her. “You know, with someone like me in your life I could make you feel so much better.”

“While I appreciate the gesture,” Nate pulled his face away from her touch and very slowly rose to his feet while he still had his hand clamped firmly over his body. There was the old him that would have jumped into anything, but right now he was someone else. Someone who thought more about the people around him and not just himself and the feelings he was having. He actually cared about Cori whether she cared about him or not. “I had you in my life.”

“And I never took myself out of your life,” she reached for his hand seeing the way that Nate turned back to her after trying to walk away back toward the house. There was no way she was going to let him walk away from her like that. No one had ever walked away from her. From Cori to her--yes. Just never from her to Cori. That wasn’t how it went. That was never how it went. “You can’t just pull me out of your life. We weren’t done with what we had.”

“Well I’m sorry. You may not be done, but I am,” he shook his head slowly stepping back before wincing and finally moving his hand. The look in Jewel’s blue eyes was a look of disappointment and anger. It was one he knew very well as he shrugged his shoulders moving back toward the house again. “I know you don’t believe it Jewel, but I love Cori. She’s the only one for me. She’s having my baby and I’m sorry Jewel you are beautiful and everything, but I love Cori. Cori is the one for me and there is no changing that.”

Behind him Cori listened in behind the front door hearing Nate telling Jewel there was no possible way of the two of them getting together as a smile pressed in over her features. She saw Nate almost in the house as she quickly stepped out and wrapped her arms around Nate’ shoulders catching him off guard. She pressed soft kisses here and there over his lips before holding onto him tightly.

“I’m so sorry Nate, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to treat you like that,” she whispered playing it up to it’s fullest knowing that it was pissing her sister off in so many ways. She tugged softly at his blonde hair before kissing him again seeing the look in Nate eyes. She could tell that he knew he was being used for this, but right now he didn’t seem to care. “Jewel, just because I get in a fight with him doesn’t mean he’s free. I love him Jewel and if you don’t leave him alone--I’ll give you the same treatment I gave Diego and shoot you in the ass.”

Cori listened to Nate laugh as she pulled him into the house with her as he followed her into the bedroom watching her drop down on the bed and let out an exaggerated sigh. She was right, this was going to be rough non-stop. Fake or not he felt like he was in a hell relationship and never knew if he could break free from it from here on out.

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

“I can’t believe that little prick Kellen,” Sarah huffed shaking her head as she thought of the way Kellen had lashed out at her at the party. Slipping out of the earrings she was wearing, Sarah set them on the nightstand before kicking out of her shoes and turning to Douglas, “I mean where does he get off on trying to lecture me on anything? It’s bad enough that he ruined what should’ve been the greatest day of my life, but now for this…”

Douglas couldn’t help but laugh watching his wife parade around the room in a rant. Since they’d left the party Sarah was in an uproar and it appeared that it wouldn’t be changing anytime soon. Shaking his head, he walked out of the bedroom and headed towards his office in the hopes of getting himself a drink.

“Are you listening to me?” Sarah questioned chasing after Douglas while her need to rant carried over her. “He stood there and tried to rail into me about my decisions and what I’ve done, but look at him. He’s just some loser who latched onto your son and…”

“You know Sarah,” Douglas shook his head before circling around the bar and pouring himself a glass of scotch. Closing the bottle, he set it aside before taking a sip of his drink, “I cannot for the life of me understand why you let a little queen like Kellen get you into an uproar. I mean it’s not as if he’s anyone who matters. Besides, so what if the town hates you? Do you care?”

“Of course I care because I need to get back in everyone’s good graces,” she stomped her foot before glaring over at him, “Marrying you didn’t do anything, but work a number on me and I’m going to have to do major damage control especially after the little games we played tonight.”

“Ah yes, they were spectacular, weren’t they?” Douglas mused with a proud grin remembering the way that Dorothy was fired up in seeing him and Sarah with one another. “As much as it pains me to admit it, you did a fine job tonight. You were very convincing.”

“I take it you got a reaction out of Dorothy,” she rolled her eyes not really interested in hearing Douglas spout off about the woman that left him years ago. “I honestly don’t know why you bother with her since it’s clear she’s nothing but a bore and a busybody.”

“She is far from being either one of those things. She is beautiful and amazing and all the woman that you aren’t,” he snubbed back at her taking another sip of his drink.

“Go to hell,” she glared over at him her eyes full of contempt.

“Been there, doing that thanks to our being bound to one another by marriage,” he rolled his eyes right back at her before finishing off his drink. He felt a small headache after her constant complaining moving in over his good mood now that it seemed all she wanted to do was rant.

“Ha, that’s how I feel each and every day of my life,” she scoffed in response with a haughty laugh. She sauntered over to the bar and reached for his glass only to feel him snatch it away from her. “If you’re so miserable, then why not grant me the divorce that I asked for? It’s not that losing me would bother you.”

“It would be a tremendous relief,” he admitted giving her a brief once over before setting his empty glass aside. He put the bottle of scotch back behind the bar before leaning forward, his dark eyes fixed upon hers, “but given how much pleasure you would derive from that kind of situation, I am afraid I’ll have to refuse. We aren’t finished yet with our plans.”

“Not my plans. Your plans,” she reminded him with heavy distain, “and I don’t know what you think you’re going to accomplish because in making Dorothy jealous, you aren’t necessarily going to win her back. Have you taken a look at the man she’s living with? He’s downright hunky and you’re just old and pathetic. You don’t have a thing to offer a homemaker like her and…”

“Trust me I have plenty to offer and you should be well aware of that,” his eyes narrowed in over her before he added glibly, “besides you weren’t complaining about me earlier.”

“That’s because I was still hung over,” she lied feeling her frustrations mounting, “Divorce me and make us both happy.”

“I live to make you miserable,” he replied with a hint of laughter, “It’s far too entertaining for me.”

“Then know I’ll have no qualms about making you completely miserable. Hell, maybe I’ll just go pay your precious Dorothy a visit myself and let her know what you’re up to. I’m sure once she sees your true colors and knows what your game is, she’ll discard you like the piece of trash that you truly are,” Sarah shot back at him icily clenching her fists at her sides.

“And if you did that, then I would see to it that you were miserable the rest of your pathetic days,” Douglas informed her in a blunt, menacing tone, “You don’t want to cross me Sarah.”

“You don’t intimate me Doug,” she bit back at him refusing to let him gain the upper hand on her threatening him. “I can destroy you at any time if you don’t give me what I want.”

“And even if I gave you the divorce, which I’m not doing, Cameron still wouldn’t want you sweetheart. That ship has already sailed and it’s not returning to port anytime soon. Come to think of it Kyle looks as though he too has sailed into greater waters since abandoning your life as well,” Douglas flashed her an icy grin finding himself fully prepared for a fight, but instead she stomped her foot down on the floor cursing him under her breath before marching back to the bedroom. He heard the door slam before he let out a small snicker. “Just as well.”

Reaching for the bottle of scotch again, Douglas prepared to drown his headache and also celebrate his small victory in a drink. However as he started to pour himself a toast, he heard the sound of his cell phone ringing. Frowning he reached into his pocket and pulled it out.

“It never fails,” he mouthed to himself before answering the phone, “Hello.”

“Douglas Mahoney,” the voice on the other end of the line spoke up in a low, muted tone.

“Yes?” he questioned impatiently waiting for the caller to get on with what they needed so that he could spend the rest of his night dreaming about how to have the perfect reunion with Dorothy now that he’d set the wheels in motion to getting back into her life again.

“I think that it’s time you and I have a talk,” the voice explained as Douglas barely paid attention to the call.

“Look I don’t know what you want, but if you call back later,” he started to brush the caller off ready to retire to his fantasies about Dorothy.

“Listen you arrogant son of a bitch, if you even think about blowing me off then you’re going to live to regret it,” the raspy tone continued to explain in a more menacing taunt. “I’m warning you now old man you don’t want to screw with me.”

“Who is this?” Douglas questioned in a shrewd tone suddenly aware of the fact that this wasn’t a social call.

“Someone that can very easily make your life a living hell if you don’t listen up to what I have to say,” the caller explained in a low, threatening tone, “The fact to the matter is that your son has gotten himself into hot water and it’s up to you to get him out of it.”

“My son,” Douglas laughed lightly before finding himself unable to contain his amusement, “Really who is this? JT? Is that you? Are you trying to blackmail me out of money again because if you are son it’s not going to work. The last pathetic attempt was bad enough, but to reach this new low…”

“It’s not JT, but it involves your son,” the voice explained matter of fact, “He’s made a big mistake and it’s up to you to fix it for him.”

“If my son has gotten himself into something, he’s a grown man and he can take care of it on his own. JT isn’t my problem anymore and he hasn’t been for years,” Douglas moved to hang up the phone when the caller snapped back at him.

“He’s your problem now and if you don’t listen to what I say then so help me you’ll wish that you never were born yourself,” the voice insisted.

“Are you threatening me?” Douglas too offense to the caller’s tone. “Do you have any idea of who you are dealing with?”

“I know exactly who I am dealing with, but the real matter at hand is that you have no idea of who you are dealing with or of how capable I am of following through with my threats. The last thing that you want to do is to take a gamble on your son’s life or your own for that matter,” the voice continued to taunt him in a harsh, aggressive tone. “Then again maybe I’ll just take my chance in cutting up that pretty little wife of yours or that daughter you have. She’s a pretty young woman and I’m sure that you wouldn’t want to see anything happen to her, which it can if you don’t pay very close attention to everything I have to say to you.”

Douglas remained silent for a long period of time before speaking up again, “I’m listening.”

“Good because it would be best if we were on the same page for this one,” the voice replied with a newfound determination, “Now before we begin it would probably be best if you get your checkbook ready because you can rest assured that you’re going to have to pay big time for the services I’m about to offer you. In buying my silence you’re buying the safety of your family and your reputation.”

“And if I refuse,” Douglas challenged in response feeling a moment of boldness carry over him.

“Then I’ll have no qualms about destroying your family like your son has worked on destroying mine,” the voice promised as it was clear whatever trouble JT was into this time obviously extended far greater than anything else that Douglas had encountered with his son before!

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

“Hart be careful or else you’re going to get us both killed,” Jenna frowned as Hart swerved in front of another car passing by. “Hart!”

“What?” he questioned seeing the car approaching as he pulled out of the way just in time to barely escape an accident.

“You need to slow down,” Jenna informed him once again, feeling her own concerns mounting as he’d practically ran her over on his rush out of the party. She’d seen he was upset, but it wasn’t until they had gotten into the car that she realized the full extent of his worries. “Hart, look I know you want to get there to stop her, but we aren’t going to be able to do that if you and I are both dead.”

“Jenna, that’s not what I’m trying to do,” Hart glanced over at her with a frown before seeing a car ahead of them. He carefully moved out of the way before the two vehicles could collide. A moment later he took in a breath and eased up on the gas pedal. “I’m sorry Jen. I’m not trying to get us killed, but…”

“You’re worried about Sam,” she nodded in understanding. “I realize that, but maybe we should think about this one before charging onto Walt’s jet and tearing her out of it.”

“She shouldn’t be leaving,” Hart explained tightly, his brow creased with tension. “She should be staying here where she can live her life with her family.”

“Hart,” Jenna opened her mouth to say something more as they pulled up to the tiny airport.

“Trust me Jen. It’s the right thing,” Hart insisted further, bringing the car into park before leaping out of it without so much as taking his keys out of the ignition. He sprinted off across the parking lot and Jenna frowned.

“This isn’t going to turn out good,” Jenna mouthed to herself pulling the keys out of the ignition and turning her attention to her passenger side door.

As she stepped out onto the pavement she vowed that she was going to insist upon driving home before Hart wound up doing something they would all live to regret. Pushing the keys into her tiny purse, she attempted to maneuver herself across the parking lot in the heels that she’d put on for the party. While they’d gone beautifully with the dress she’d worn they were anything but practical or sensible and as she approached the airport she knew full well she would regret the selection later.

Of course that would be secondary to dealing with Hart after Walt had blindsided him with the news of Sam’s departure, Jenna realized as she moved forward eager to catch up with the man she loved. She found him shortly after near the far end of the airport standing in front of one of the glass windows. It was clear from his posture that something was wrong--far worse than it had been when they’d arrived. She watched him lean his head forward against the glass and in that moment she knew what he hadn’t said. Sam was gone. They were too late.

Jenna moved forward keeping silent as she reached out to touch his shoulder gently in a feeble attempt to comfort him. She felt his body stiffen beneath her fingertips before he expelled a long breath.

“I’m too late,” Hart muttered more so to himself than anything as Jenna squeezed his shoulder lightly.

“She’ll call you when she’s ready,” she spoke up in a soft, encouraging tone knowing it wouldn’t make him feel better, but perhaps her words would one day sink in. “This isn’t forever Hart. I’m sure of it.”

“I don’t even know where she is,” Hart spun around to face Jenna with a devastated look upon his face. “She just said London, but that doesn’t narrow it down. I don’t know where she is and I can’t pretend that I’m going to be alright with this. I didn’t have the opportunity to tell her how much she means to me or to talk to her about why this isn’t the right time to leave and…”

“Hart, she’s stubborn and determined,” Jenna offered up as she saw the sadness behind his eyes.

“Even so she wouldn’t have done this without him,” Hart’s jaw flexed with rage. “If Walt wouldn’t have provided her with this kind of out she would’ve taken the time to see this was a mistake. She would’ve realized that it wasn’t the moment to go when…”

“Hart, you and I both know that Sam wanted this,” Jenna tried to reason with him. “She’s been saying it for a while, but…”

“He facilitated it and now I’m going to kill him,” Hart announced, his jaw tightening in realization. “Walt was waiting for the right moment to crush me and he found it. He stole my daughter from my life just when I finally had the chance to get to know her.”

“Honey, I don’t think that…” Jenna offered up as Hart stepped away from her.

“He’s planned this from day one. He’s known that his trip to Coral Valley would be the time for him to strike back, but this time he’s not going to get away with it,” Hart announced stepping past Jenna and heading towards the entrance he’d come in earlier.

“Hart wait,” Jenna chased after him once again hating the shoes she was wearing as they clicked on the floor beneath her.

“Jen, don’t try to stop me. I have to do this. He has to tell me exactly where she is and…” Hart continued to ramble on.

“Honey, you need to relax,” Jenna attempted to appeal to him.

“After I choke the life out of Walt, I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to relax,” he insisted behind gritted teeth.

“Hart stop. Don’t say things like that when…” she began again, her own worries mounting with his words.

“It’s the truth Jenna,” Hart stopped long enough to turn around and face her again. “I’m going to kill him. Of course maybe I’ll just beat the hell out of him for a while, but after…”

“Hart stop,” Jenna frowned back at him “Don’t say that.”

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t. Tell me why I shouldn’t run over there right now and tear his head off for what he’s done in taking Sam away from me,” Hart challenged with a heavy scowl.

“For starters you have me Hart and our baby,” Jenna brought her hand over her abdomen. “That in itself should give you plenty of reason to pull your head out of your ass long enough to see that attacking your father isn’t going to solve anything.”

“Jenna I love you and our child, but Sam’s my child too and…” Hart’s voice softened a bit as his forehead creased with tension.

“You can’t go off like a wild man because that’s what your father is banking on. He’s waiting for you to attack him because…” Jenna stopped herself as she shook her head. “Just trust me when I say attacking him is not a good thing.”

“Maybe not, but I’ll feel better later when…” Hart offered up with a snarl.

“Hart, he’s dying,” Jenna blurted out much to her own surprise and dismay. “That’s why he’s here and that’s probably why he’s trying to go out of his way to help Sam follow her dreams.”

“What did you just say?” Hart’s eyes widened upon her confession.

“I said that maybe this time he’s not doing what he’s doing to hurt you, but rather he’s trying to find a way to right the wrongs in his life by being a good grandfather in helping her after all the hurt he brought on your life,” Jenna tossed back at him after a moment’s contemplation. “Maybe that’s what’s really going on here.”

“No Jenna,” Hart shook his head firmly. “That son of a bitch wouldn’t dream of doing anything for anyone if it meant raising a finger beyond his own agenda.”

“Hart he told me himself that he’s dying,” Jenna reached out to him, pulling on his arm gently. “I saw it in his eyes when he told me he was terminal.”

“He’s also a habitual liar Jenna,” Hart explained with a hint of darkness in his eyes, “but right now I don’t want to talk about him. Right now I need to focus on finding my daughter and talking some sense into her. Until that happens nothing else matters.”

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

Russ quickly escorted Avery out to the water after Kevin had intervened and offered to take over in dealing with Brant once things had got out of hand with Avery and Brant’s confrontation. While Russ had wanted to say a few choice words to his half brother, having Kevin come in and end things before they turned even uglier seemed like a better idea. Now that Russ and Avery were alone taking a walk by the water, he wanted to calm her down, but he knew better than to believe that it could happen right away.

“I don’t understand how he can do this,” Avery threw her hands up in the air as the waves crashed onto the surface of the water. “How does someone so vile as Brant always find a way to ruin something so special?”

“Hey,” Russ reached out to her stopping them in their movement to collect her into his arms. He urged her to turn into him and his green eyes reached out to hers, “He didn’t ruin anything.”

“Russ he’s obviously been following us,” Avery pointed out thinking about her run in with Brant at the bar. “He’s got to be up to something again.”

“If he is, then we’ll deal with it together,” he suggested hoping to alleviate her concerns. He touched the side of her face feeling her skin soft and inviting against his caress. “He won’t be able to stop any of this from happening.”

“I believed that before, but look how he managed to keep us apart when you returned Russ,” she sighed leaning into his touch as the moonlight overhead cast over them. “He lied about being sick and then when our marriage was invalidated and I was married to him…”

“Hey, it’s over now. You were given the divorce and you’re free,” Russ reminded her in a soothing tone. His fingers eased into her long, dark hair watching the way that the night wind framed it around her face. “He can’t get in the way of that now. He can’t keep us from having our dreams with one another.”

“On some level I know that, but when I think of what he’s pulled before,” Avery sighed feeling herself melt at his urgings, “Russ I just don’t want him to do something again that can hurt us. Last time when I thought I lost you it was hell on me and now, well now I’m just so afraid that he’s going to pull something again…”

“What is he going to pull?” Russ questioned with a small shrug of his shoulders, “It’s not like he has anything that can hurt us. We don’t have any secrets between us anymore. You know about what happened when I was Nick on the island. He can’t throw that back at us.”

“No he can’t,” she nodded in agreement thinking to how she’d learned the truth about Russ and Angela and their relationship with one another.

“Avery, there is nothing he can do or say that could change the fact that we’re getting married for real this time,” Russ cupped her face in his hands. “We don’t have any secrets from one another and there isn’t any dark skeleton that is waiting to haunt us, is there?”

“No but…” she paused remembering the time when Russell was away. She closed her eyes briefly remembering the night that she’d first made love to Brant only to discover shortly after that it had been Ken that she’d shared her bed with. Feeling a tiny shudder sweep over her, she fought to keep herself under control, but that very memory seemed to haunt her.

“Hey,” he touched her cheek again urging her to meet his concerned eyes, “Honey, what is it?”

“Russ, it’s just that…” she paused unable to find the right words to explain to him what had happened in his absence. Finally she sighed, “I’m just worried about what can go wrong considering that we spent all this time fighting to get to where we are today.”

“Avery, no one can take what we have from us. We are a family now with Erin and we love one another,” he placed her hand over the center of his chest to feel his heart beating beneath her touch, “We’ve always loved one another. That’s never changed.”

“Not it hasn’t, but I’m just so afraid,” she paused feeling a heat rise over her features, “It sounds foolish doesn’t it?”

“No not at all,” he shook his head in confession, “because to be honest with you I’ve had worries about everything myself. Who wouldn’t have them after the year that we’ve had? We’ve both been to hell and back, but throughout it all we’ve been holding onto the hope that we’ll have one another and that’s never led us astray.”

“I know,” she nodded feeling a lump forming in the back of her throat, “It’s just that I love you so much Russ and when I think about the idea of losing you again…”

“You’re not going to lose me Avery,” he promised leaning to steal a quick kiss from her lips, “Nothing is going to keep us apart ever again after we get married. We have something special that the world should see by now isn’t going to fade out in the blink of an eye. What we have is real and it’s forever.”

“I know,” she nodded seeing the love behind his eyes shining clearly. Reaching out to him she wrapped her arms around his torso and leaned into his embrace, “I love you so much Russ. I’ve always loved you. Even when I tried to pretend that what we had didn’t matter, I’ve never been able to let go of it.”

“Neither have I which is all the more reason why I know that Brant can’t spoil this. What we have is something that’s going to stay with us from here on out,” he kissed the top of her head closing her in with his strong arms. “In fact maybe it’s time we say goodbye to the night air and go back to the hotel. We can see if my parents are still awake and then bring Erin back to our room for the night.”

“Are you sure?” she questioned searching his eyes for a long moment. “I mean I know we talked about spending some time alone…”

“We have the rest of our lives to be alone together and a honeymoon night where I’m sure we’ll be creating a few new fantasies together,” he flashed her a sexy smirk, “but right now what I really want to do--what I need to do is check in on our little girl and make sure that everything is alright. I miss her.”

“I miss her too,” Avery admitted with a small smile feeling him tuck another strand of hair behind her ear. “Let’s go back to the hotel. It is getting a little cold out here anyways.”

“It could be perhaps because you might be getting a draft,” Russ couldn’t help but tease pulling her panties out of his pocket and handing them to her, “Care to put them back on?”

“Honestly not yet,” she shook her head and offered them back to him once again, “I mean as much as I think they might make some kind of difference right now, the fact to the matter is that the hotel isn’t all that far away and there are still at least four other elevators that have yet to be christened so to speak.”

“I don’t know why that thought didn’t occur to me before you mentioned it,” Russ laughed lightly seeing the hotel up ahead from where they were together on the beach.

“It shouldn’t be much of a detour since we’re on our way to see Erin, but it might give us just enough time to deal with what we need to get us through the night,” she suggested with a small smirk indicating that while she’d been concerned about Brant, there was still an air of playfulness within her.

“Since you put it that way, I suppose we can take our time exploring the elevators again,” Russ nodded in agreement squeezing his arm around her waist and vowing to himself that he would find a way to keep Brant from spoiling the biggest day of their lives aside from when they’d had Erin. Now that they were together again he wasn’t about to let anything stop them from living out their dream with one another!

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

“What the hell were you thinking in harassing Avery like that?” Kevin questioned watching Brant deposit the icepack onto the center of his pants to find temporary relief after Avery had given him a pain that was undoubtedly going to linger.

“I wasn’t harassing Avery,” Brant spoke up in his own defense, his voice pinched and agitated. “She started it and didn’t bother to give me a chance to explain to her that I was here to find Angela and not because I had some sick and twisted obsession with getting in between her and Russ. Hell, they can have one another for all I care.”

“I think they plan on it,” Kevin noted seeing Brant glare up at him as Kevin fought to repress the amusement he‘d felt in watching Avery take Brant down. While Kevin could sympathize with any man who had found themselves in Brant‘s position, the fact to the matter was that Brant had been irritating Kevin since they‘d set off on this trip and it was only appropriate that someone put Brant in his place. Still Kevin had to keep his amusement to himself.

“Look he didn’t deserve what she did. The woman is insane,” Don piped in watching Brant’s face still twist in agony. “She had no right to launch an attack on him.”

“Well let’s think about this one,” Kevin leaned in against the bar pondering the matter at hand, “Avery was married to Brant, got to see what kind of snake he was first hand not only when he faked amnesia, or even tried to swap the DNA paternity tests so that it would say that he was Erin’s father instead of Russ, but then to add insult to injury, he fired her when he knew damn well that she was the most qualified person in Coral Valley for her job all because he was hurt that she chose true love over settling. No Don, I think you’re right about everything. I don’t think she had a reason to want to attack Brant or be suspicious of his nature given all of those things.”

“Cut with the sarcasm Kevin. It makes you look like a jerk,” Don snapped back at him before turning to Brant, “You okay man?”

“I’ll be better when we get out of here and find Angela,” Brant sighed tipping his head up to glare over at Kevin, “which I thought was something that we were going to accomplish in being here. I thought you said that she might return to this place.”

“Hey what can I say?” Kevin shrugged his shoulders simply, “Maybe the idea of having spent the night with you at this bar made her ill and she realized that she couldn’t bear to be here.”

“This wasn’t the bar,” Brant corrected remembering the first night he’d met Angela. “It wasn’t even remotely close to being the bar.”

“Fine, then next time we’ll go to your bar, but I doubt we’ll find her there,” Kevin offered up with a small shrug.

“Well we sure as hell didn’t find her at your bar Kevin, now did we?” Brant grumbled in response wondering why in the world he’d agreed to go along with Kevin’s ridiculous idea in the first place. Given that Angela was pregnant and upset Brant was starting to doubt that she would hang out at a bar or a nightclub for that matter. Angela would be seeking out some place for comfort and solace, not some wild and reckless time to dance the night away. Even Brant had been smart enough to realize that before he’d let Kevin talk him into coming to this place where he’d been assaulted.

“Yeah, well it was a long shot, but she always liked it here,” Kevin replied thinking about the last time he’d taken Angela dancing out to this very place in the hopes of lifting her spirits. Times had felt so much easier back then, but still he wasn’t going to dwell on the past. He had a mission in front of him set out to find out where Angela drifted off to and then he would get back to putting his life on track again.

“So what now?” Brant questioned breaking through his thoughts.

“I have a friend who can get us a few Jeeps to take around the island in the morning,” Kevin began reaching into his pocket to pull out his wallet to get the number he’d always kept with him. He dipped his hand into his pocket and with a frown realized that once again he’d been duped to his dismay. Not only was the wallet missing, but so was the bracelet that he’d carried with him earlier. Suddenly his anger bubbled and he turned to walk away, “Son of a bitch!”

“What? What’s wrong?” Brant questioned worriedly.

“I can’t believe I let her do this to me twice!” Kevin sneered remembering his confrontation with JT’s little girlfriend. She’d proclaimed her innocence about taking his wallet the first time and then acted as if she had no idea what he was talking about with the bracelet. She’d played the victim in the situation and JT had rushed to her aid, but the fact to the matter was that the little thief had struck again. He had to hand it to her because he had no idea how she could’ve done it, but she did. Perhaps in the midst of the scuffle with him and JT she’d made her move or maybe when she’d pushed by Kevin. He couldn’t be quite sure, but now he was certain that she’d taken those two things from him.

“Kevin?” Don spoke up attempting to pull Kevin back to their conversation as Kevin spun on his heel and marched over to the area where he’d left JT and Evie. Don turned to Brant again. “Where is he going?”

“I don’t know,” Brant admitted as Kevin marched over to where he’d told Evie and JT to wait. Watching Kevin look around for them, Brant couldn’t help but notice the frustrations that were mounting on Kevin’s face. Before either Brant or Don could ask what was going, they watched Kevin kick a garbage can across the bar and curse under his breath. Kevin then punched the wall and snapped another swear word under his breath as Brant turned to Don again and spoke up in a worried tone, “but whatever it is obviously it can’t be good.”

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

“I can’t believe the nerve of that guy!” Evie huffed as she and JT were in his car ready to head back to the beach house with one another. “I mean what kind of creep just walks up to a girl and corners her like that? And then to make matters worse when he was harassing me security didn’t do a thing to stop him from doing it. They all acted like he was one of the good old boys and kissed his butt.”

“I’m sure Kevin had a reason for acting so high strung because normally he’s very calm and collected,” JT offered up thinking about Kevin’s strange behavior around Evie. “That wasn’t like him.”

“Yeah well his reasoning behind doing it is simply put that he’s a jackass,” Evie frowned folding her arms in front of her chest and thinking about Kevin’s wild accusations. “He had no right to treat me like that. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Of course you didn’t and I’m sorry that you had to endure that,” JT reached out to squeeze her leg gently, “but rest assured he won’t bother you again. I won’t let that happen.”

“That’s because you’re my hero,” Evie replied bringing her fingers in over his and offering a small squeeze. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me.”

“I only do it because I love you,” JT replied glancing over at her and smiling briefly before turning his attention to the road again. “Though I have to tell you I’ve never seen him that pissed before.”

“It’s certainly not because of something I did,” she remarked sourly remembering how Kevin had cornered her.

“I didn’t say it was, but I have to tell you that I’ve always seen him cool mannered and pretty mild,” JT revealed thinking about the years that he’d known Kevin. “He was a boxer, but even in the ring part of his positive attributes was his ability to stay cool and focused.”

“He seemed more primitive like a wild animal that needed to be caged or shot,” she mouthed sourly wrinkling her nose at the thought of him. “I can’t believe that they let that guy walk around in public causing trouble like he does.”

“Well Kevin is a unique one,” JT sighed pulling off of the main road and over into the lot of the gas station. He saw the expression on Eve’s face and quickly explained, “We were running low on gas.”

“Oh,” she nodded quickly seeing him turn the car off and prepare to get out of it to pump gas. “Hey while you’re inside do you think you could get me one of those strawberry sodas you got the other day? I really liked that.”

“You got it love,” he replied in a sensual slur leaning in to kiss her gently before circling out of the car to go prepay for the gas. She watched him walk inside and waved at him before reaching into her purse and pulling out Kevin’s wallet.

“Let’s just see what you’re all about Kevin Adonis,” she mouthed opening up the wallet and taking a good hard look at his driver’s license photo. She pulled it out of the clear compartment in the wallet and stared at it for a long moment before tossing it aside and out the window past the gas station lot onto the sand of the beach near the road, “You still look like a putz to me.”

Continuing to search through the wallet’s contents she found cash and credit cards, all of which she opted to tuck back into her purse in the hopes of getting some kind of retribution for the way he’d treated her. She was about to toss in a second credit card when she realized that credit cards were sloppy and undoubtedly would lead her into trouble should that wiseass wind up reporting them stolen, which he would sooner than later. Reaching into her purse again, she swiped the credit cards and like with the driver’s license she tossed it over onto the sand before continuing her search. She spotted a handful of condoms tucked into the back of the wallet behind another wad of cash and she couldn’t help but smile.

“Well I guess you’re good for something after all,” Evie decided ready to slip them into her purse again as JT emerged from the store. Quickly she discarded the rest of the wallet tossing it out to join the credit cards and the rest of Kevin’s identification for the time being. She waved over at JT and settled into her seat while he moved to pump the gas around her. Sinking back into the chair she thought about the bracelet she’d reclaimed from that lunatic. He didn’t have any rights to it and while Evie hated her father, she sure as hell was going to make sure that no one else took what was hers. She’d been dumb to give it to that Seth guy, but now with Kevin having it, hell she would rather pawn it off than let that jerk have it.

“Here you are,” JT opened up the door to the car and handed her the drink that she’d asked for. “I got a few of them in case you wanted one later.”

“Thank you,” she smiled over at him watching him slide into the seat beside her once again, “though I do have a confession to make about tonight.”

“What might that be?” he questioned glancing over at her before starting up the car again.

“I don’t think we’re cut out for this island stuff. Between my father and that jerk at the bar I think I just want to go home,” she let out an ironic laugh. “I never thought that I would say something like that, but after everything I’m starting to think that it would be for the best.”

“I’ve been thinking about that myself,” JT confessed thinking about the trouble that they’d already gotten into. “Hell when I was inside the store I was half tempted to call Cameron and see what’s going on…”

“But you didn’t, right?” she questioned in a panic. “I mean you didn’t call him, right?”

“No I never called him,” he assured her with a sigh, “though it has me wondering what your father is doing with Angela. Come to think of it maybe that’s why Kevin was ticked off. He used to have a thing for Angela once and…”

“Look JT I don’t mean to be rude, but right now Kevin and Angela are the last thing I want to think about. I don’t want to talk about Cameron or my father for that matter. I just want to be somewhere that we won’t have to run into any of them. This trip was supposed to be amazingly wonderful, but I feel like all we’re doing is running into major pitfalls,” she informed him leaning her head back against the seat. “After the way that Kevin guy attacked me, I can’t even begin to think about going back to the beach house because I’m pretty sure he’ll find us there since you know him.”

“Yeah I know him, but I don’t see why he would go after you unless he had some reason,” he glanced over at her eyeing her intently, “He doesn’t have a reason, does he?”

Evie thought to the discarded wallet outside of the car and she shook her head. “No he doesn’t have a reason, but that didn’t stop him from doing something to me back at the club. JT, he scares me. I just don’t want him to find us.”

“It’s okay,” JT reached out to squeeze her leg again as they pulled out of the gas station lot and turned down the road once more in a new direction. “I kind of figured that maybe it wouldn’t be a good idea to go back to the beach house after everything that went down today. Granted it’s like paradise compared to most places around here, but for what it’s worth I want you to feel safe.”

“So does that mean that we’re leaving the island?” she questioned with a nervousness in her voice.

“Not exactly, but where we’re going I can promise you no one is going to find us. It’s safe and the beauty of it all is that no one even knows that it exists, so I can assure you it’s the last place in the world they would think to look for us,” JT assured her as he hoped that somehow they could salvage their time together on the island with one another without some kind of threat lingering over their heads.

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

“Damn it she’s still bleeding heavily,” one of the doctors blurted out as Ria looked to the woman in front of her.

“Marie, can you hear me? Marie, you have to tell me how much you had to drink tonight,” Ria tried to get the woman on the table in front of her to speak up. There was no denying that the wound Marie had on her neck was one that would cause her serious damage if she wasn’t taken into surgery immediately, but still as they pushed the situation along the woman turned her horrified eyes up to Ria.

“I know you,” the woman reached out to clench Ria’s arm tightly. “I know you. I’ve seen you before.”

“I’m going to help you, but you have to help me. What have you taken tonight?” Ria questioned as they continued to get the woman into the emergency room.

“She has track marks up and down her arms. She’s obviously a junkie,” one of the nurses noted as Ria watched the woman tremble in front of her. While the paramedics had done a decent job in tending to her wound it was only a temporary fix.

“Just stay with me Marie. Stay with me. Can you hear me?” Ria questioned hoping to keep the woman in front of her focused. Ria watched as the woman’s eyes narrowed in on her once again clearly coming back from the high she’d put herself into before she’d hurt herself. While Ria wanted to stay professional, she could clearly see it was no accident that this woman was in such a state.

“Please,” Marie whispered reaching out to grab Ria’s arm with what little strength she still had. “Please you have to listen to me…”

“Marie I’m here,” Ria used the woman’s name now that they had her in the emergency room area.

“There’s something you need to know,” Maria gasped her words nothing more than a throaty whisper as she fought for air. “I have to tell you. You need to know about…about…”

“We’re going to take good care of you Marie. You just have to stay with us,” Ria instructed motioning for the people in the room to get Marie ready for surgery.

“I need to tell you about…it can’t wait,” Marie gasped again her eyes glazing over in a black color now that it was clear her body and it’s injuries were taking their toll on her, “You need to know…I need to tell you about…about Kevin.”

“Kevin,” Ria repeated suddenly feeling her blood go cold as she realized the woman on the table was the one she and Kevin had ran into at another time. It didn’t register until that moment, but as Marie watched Ria with a pleading look, Ria could see her struggling for something…something that went beyond her pain.

“Kevin needs to know that he…that we…” Marie continued reaching for Ria’s hand and squeezing it tightly. “Please you have to tell him. He has to know…”

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

...to be continued...