Chapter Seventy Eight

In the car, Max slipped in the back seat of Carly’s Jeep as the two women occupied the passenger and driver’s spots.

“I need to be in the office by one, Carly. I still haven’t been able to catch up on the work I neglected while Jason and I were gone,” Courtney told her friend.

The dark haired woman nodded and started the vehicle. “Got it. I don’t want to be gone for too long, either, but I need to get this done and who else to help me than you. Better than Ric, obviously.”

Courtney chuckled and put her seat belt on before turning the radio to a news channel, hoping that she hadn’t missed the major stock quotes already. “Aww, come on, you can check the newspaper for that stuff, girl. The radio is for music, not for news broadcasts, I don’t care what these people think.”

Carly made a move to turn the station to something more to her liking, but Courtney grabbed her hand before she could do so. “Wait.”

The broadcaster’s voice had caught her interest. “In San Francisco, the widely known president of Jacks, Inc, Jasper ‘Jax’ Jacks, was found dead at his desk by his office assistant late last night. It seems that he was severely allergic to peanut butter, which was found in a sandwich on his desk that had one bite taken out of it, and this may be the cause of his early demise. There is no indication of why he would be eating the spread, since he was aware of how fatal a severe allergic reaction to it could be. There will be more on that later tonight. Now, onto the college basketball roster…”

Courtney’s mind barely registered the information that the anchor had relayed to the public when the woman in the seat next to her spoke. “Did you know that man or something? I mean, you lived in San Francisco…”

“Yeah, I did know him. He wanted to lease some property from my brother’s company, which was my company, too, at the time, but I refused. He kept badgering me about it and also asked me out on a date the same day my grandmother gave me the offer to take over the company here.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t know him that well, Carly. Let’s go.”

~*~

Jason was barely in the door of the warehouse, with Marco and Juan both following closely behind, when the phone in his jeans pocket rang. He slipped his hand into grab it and answered quickly. “Morgan.”
“Nico. My job is finished. I will be in Port Charles by two o’clock tomorrow afternoon.”
“Good. Meet Mr. Corinthos and I at his penthouse as soon as you arrive. We’ll discuss the details then.”

He pressed the end button and replaced the device back into his pocket. Marco and Juan had already continued to their boss’ office while Jason answered the call, and now he moved in the same direction. He walked in the room to find the two men and also James and Meyer bent over one single piece of paper. The accountant looked up and grabbed it from Marco’s hands before approaching the spiky haired enforcer.

“Mr. Morgan, we’ve found where Sam McCall must be staying. There’s a house on the opposite side of the lake that her sister’s is on, and it is being rented out to Lorenzo Alcazar. He’s staying there with her and ahs been except for a short period of time when he left for a number of days.”

Jason took the file paper from the man as he held it out to him and looked at the information it held. This is definitely the house. He knew that he wouldn’t be the one acting on this information and definitely not right away, but it was going to make the job easier for Nico. Knowing the man well enough, since he had worked for he and Sonny in the past and they’d also done jobs together when they needed more help than usual, Nico would pounce on the information and be grateful. He’ll get the job done more quickly now that we can give him this information.

~*~

Hours later, He found himself being let into his wife’s office at the Phillips-Matthews building by her secretary. He stepped in to find her at the window with the office phone to her ear. She turned when she heard him and nodded before focusing her attention on the person on the other end. Jason sat down on the couch, slouching, seeing no real reason to try to remain cool and composed after their conversation earlier in the day.

“Well, he wasn’t exactly bright, was he, Perry, since he ate peanut butter when he knew that he was severely allergic to it and it wound up killing him.”
“I’m sure people are laughing about it, in some way. I mean, I’d be calling him an idiot, too, if I didn’t already have a better reason to call him such a thing.”

Jason screwed up his face in confusion. What the hell? His brain put the pieces together and realized that someone in San Francisco died from eating peanut butter when they knew that it could possibly be fatal. He thought about if for another moment, how odd it was, before a rush of enlightenment tore through his head. Nico…San Francisco. Oh my god, he didn’t. But Jason knew that he had. It was a weird twist in his fellow hit man’s way of doing things, but only on rare occasions, and when he knew that he would be able to pull it off. Or, for his own amusement, to make things more interesting. He was the type of hit man who would do something like that.

“Are you serious? Their options are that he thought he could get away with it without having any side effects, or that he did it to commit suicide?”
“His own mother said that?”

Her husband couldn’t help himself any longer, but he could hear Perry on the other line, and it was obvious that he wanted to spill over with a giggle, so Jason shook his head and chuckled at how ridiculous it all sounded. Nico…

Courtney turned to him just as he released the small laugh from his lips. She didn’t blame him, even though she knew Jasper Jacks, a part of her wanted to laugh while the other told her it was pathetic. “Yeah, Jason’s finding it amusing, too.”
“No, he just got here a couple minutes ago, he’s been listening to my end of the conversation, and can probably hear yours just find, too.”

“Perry says that he wants to talk to you. He’s bored with me and wants a male to talk to. And, wedding guy talk.”

Jason made a face at her. “There is such a thing?”

“There is now, ask Perry.”

Chapter Seventy Nine

“Okay, the schedules are taken care of,” Courtney told her husband after looking at the file papers he’d given her minutes earlier. His discussion with Perry had taken less than ten minutes, for which Jason was very grateful. He enjoyed talking to his brother-in-law, but he was waiting for a couple of invoices to come in, and he knew they would be at the warehouse soon. To top it off, his boss was being released from the hospital sometime, and Carly was going to take him home while Micheal and Morgan stayed at Bobbie’s for one more night.

“Thanks,” he said, and he took one of the copies and folded it. “I might not be home until later tonight.”

Courtney nodded and sat down at her desk while looking up at him. “Did the doctors tell Carly when Sonny would be released, today or tomorrow?”

“Today, as soon as the doctor checks the stitches and replaces the bandages. Carly’s going to take him back to the penthouse, but the boys are going to stay with their grandma for another night.” Jason checked his watch quickly. “I’ve got to go back to work for awhile.”

“Okay, it’s fine. Be careful.”

Her husband grinned slightly at her as he reached over the desk and took her hand. “I will,” he whispered, before turning and walking out the door.

~*~

It was dark, and gray clouds in the navy sky made it difficult to see the brightly shining stars. Traffic below was scarce at this time of nigh, it always was, Samantha noted as she peeked her head over the side. She hadn’t heard a care in twenty minutes, which was an advantage for her. She didn’t need any eyes or ears passing, and it appeared there wasn’t. You’d think he’d be a little more intelligent after the last incident, she thought to herself with an evil and mysterious chuckle. He’s almost making this too easy. Maybe I’d drag this out if it were a lot more fun.

She crouched down low, so her petite body was hidden just behind the ledge and her head peered into one of the windows of the next building over. The light was on, and she could see the woman’s feet as she walked around the apartment lazily. Her face didn’t come into view, but that didn’t matter. All she needed was to see her torso, and it would be able to work. She didn’t need it to be a clear head shot, she wasn’t even sure she wanted her to die. Maybe she just wanted to get Corinthos’ attention, she didn’t know, she’d given up on analyzing her thoughts and actions years ago.

Releasing a breath, she brought the gun so it was positioned above the ledge, along with the parts of the body above her rib cage.
~*~

Marco allowed Courtney into the Corinthos penthouse to find Sonny sitting on the couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table. He was dressed in dark sweat pants and a blue t-shirt, and as she approached, he turned his head to look at her. “Are you here to save me or to help Carly in her combined mission to take care of me and kill me?”

She could see the fresh bandage through the sheerness of the light shirt and knew he wasn’t exactly feeling very good after the doctor changed them. “Neither, really, I came by to see how you were doing.”

“Great, I get shot in the shoulder and everyone’s babying me. I’d hate to see you all if I get shot in the head.”

“What?”

Sonny rolled his eyes towards the kitchen and sufficed a small chuckled. “Carly. She won’t let me do anything,” he pointed to his feet being propped up, “and now she’s in the kitchen, most likely getting some frozen pizza she can try to shove down my throat. Why on earth people call that crap food, I have no idea.”

Courtney laughed at the resentment in his voice and the pathetic look on his face. Any other man would be basking in the attention and taking advantage of it, but not Sonny Corinthos. No, he hated it.

She took a seat in the chair next to the couch and looked at him as he scowled. “You know, you’re the only man who would ever complain about their wives bringing them food and instructing them not to move. For most, it’s heaven.”

He pointed his fingers at her accusingly. “Hey, I’m not the only one who doesn’t like it, Jason wouldn’t like people fussing over him, either.”

Carly walked out of the kitchen with a bag of chips in her hand and a glass of chocolate milk, and she made her way around the couch and sat next to her husband. “He’s got a point, you know. Jason’s no better, and he may just be worse.”

The dark haired man moved away from her before looking her in the face, lips pursed, as if she had grown three heads during the time she was in the other room. His chocolate eyes moved from the glass and bag in her hand, then back up. “What the hell is that?”

Carly rolled her eyes and held the milk out to him, but he didn’t move to take it. “You’re not an idiot, Sonny, but you’re starting to act like one. It’s a bag of chips and chocolate milk. They’ll make you feel better and then you can go to bed.”

Courtney settled back in the chair as she watched in amusement. He is so not going to eat that.

“No way, woman. Give me some carrot sticks and apple juice, then maybe I’ll let you do this, but if you’re going to try to shove that down my throat, you can forget it. Maybe some frozen pizza, but not that.”

“Sonny, forget the chips, but you can at least drink the milk, it’s good for you,” the dark blonde chided.

The expression on his face turned from disgust to absolute horror as the blonde choked back a laugh and clamped her hand over her mouth. “That’s not milk, it might as well be chocolate syrup. Saying it’s milk is just a way to get people like you to buy it, and now you’re going to try to get me to drink it?”

~*~

The spiky haired enforcer leaned against the desk Juan was sitting at, flipping through the invoices that had just come in. “Yeah, we’ve got one coming…” The cell on the desk next to him rang and he quickly snatched it up, without removing his gaze from the papers in front of him. “Morgan.”

His eyes grew cold at the words of the man on the other line. “Damn it! They’re okay, right? Just tell me that.”
“I’ll be right there, have some people check for her, scour the area.”

Chapter Eighty

Jason arrived at the brownstone to find John outside the door of Bobbie’s apartment. “Tell me everything, now.”

“Nick was on the side of the roof that looks over the building next to this one and saw something move. Stan was up there with him, checking the cameras, and he saw it too, so Nick hid and pointed his gun in that direction. A couple minutes later, he saw the woman point her own gun at one of the windows and assumed it was Ms. Spencer’s. Stan had some firecrackers in his pocket, so instead of letting Nick shoot at her. He lit them and threw them across the gap between the two, and they managed to make it onto the roof next to her. They exploded, she jumped and took off.”

Jason rolled his eyes, mainly at his techie’s fascination with fireworks. When will he grow up? But, he was still grateful that they had scared Sam off, and in a way, it was better than shooting at her. “Did anyone find or see her when they went to look?” The guard shook his head in response. “Okay, fine, we’ll deal with her later. Call Max, find out where Courtney is. I’m taking the boys and Bobbie back to the penthouse.”

~*~

Courtney awoke the next morning in bed in PH2 to find her husband’s place next to her empty. Should have expected that, after last night. Jason had returned to the Towers to find Courtney and his two best friends in the penthouse, and he’d brought the boys and their grandmother with him. All three women had gone upstairs to put Micheal and Morgan, who were exhausted anyway, to bed while Sonny and his right hand man discussed Sam and her being so close once again. Two hours and another request from her husband later, she found herself laying in the bed in the apartment across the hall.

Faintly, she could hear the sound of his voice coming from downstairs and she got out of bed. She wanted to go to the office, but something in her stomach was telling her that she would be placed under house arrest of some sort. The thought didn’t settle well with her. Courtney opened the bedroom door and made her way down the stairs to the living room just as Jason hung up the phone. Instead of walking over to him, as she normally would have, the blonde continued to turn and move down the hallway to the kitchen without saying a word.

This didn’t go unnoticed by Jason, and he shook his head. He didn’t blame her for being somewhat annoyed, which was what he assumed she was, but he couldn’t do anything about it just now, it had to wait until Nico arrived. It took a few minutes before he heard her feet coming back down the hall and he turned as she came into view. She had a glass of water in her hand, and she set it down on the desk when she approached.

“Good morning,” he whispered, and he took her face in his hands, kissing her. She wasn’t receptive to it, and just barely returned the affection. He pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry.”

“Jason, don’t. I know it’s to keep me safe from whoever this woman is and it’s frustrating that I can’t stay in my own home, but it’s not your fault.” Courtney took a drink from the glass and looked up into his face. There was something in his eyes, and she was sure she wouldn’t like this much better than randomly being informed that she had to stay at the penthouse for the night. “Spit it out, Morgan.”

He looked taken aback by her comment. “What?”

She put her hand on her hip while the other rested on the desk next to her glass of water. “Get it done and over with, I can see there’s something else.”

“Could you do me two favors?”

“You’re racking them up, here. I don’t really have a choice, so just tell me what I’m going to need to do now.”

He let out a shallow sigh. “Sonny’s going to come over in about an hour, so we can discuss business…”

“So I’m going to need to make myself scarce. Don’t worry, I’ve got that covered, I’m going to work.” She paused as she watched him run a rough hand over his facial features, and she realized that her plans for the day weren’t meshing with his. “Ahh, I get it. I’ve got to go over to Carly’s and wait with her, so I can’t go to the office. Is that one of them?”

Jason nodded slowly, hesitant to do so, since he could tell that she was clearly beyond frustrated. She chose to ignore that admission and move on. “What’s the other thing?”

“This one shouldn’t be a problem, at least I hope not. I need you to come with me to the park or something later this afternoon.”

“Sounds wonderful, but I doubt it’s because you really want to.”

He stepped closer to her and cupped the left side of her face in his hand and lowered his face to the same level as hers. “That’s where you’re wrong…well, almost. I’ve got to be seen in public and you are the perfect reason and opportunity to do that.”

Courtney eyed him skeptically and pulled away from him. She didn’t like the idea of not being able to go to work because of what was going on, but she didn’t mind spending time with him later.

Jason took her silence as a bitter agreement and chose to let it go. He didn’t want to wind up arguing with her and in reality, he didn’t even think he really could. She was independent and didn’t like being told what to do. On top of that, he knew he wouldn’t have to do all of this if Sam had been taken care of when she first destroyed Stan’s surveillance van. Can’t go back now.

“I’m going to take a shower and I’ll go over to Carly’s when I’m done so you and Sonny can take care of whatever it is you need to do.” The blonde proceeded up the stairs and Jason chuckled when he looked at the clock. It read 12:45pm. Obviously, she didn’t see what time it was, or else she would have killed me for that alone.

~*~

An hour later, Carly and Courtney sat on the couch in PH4, while Morgan took a nap and Micheal watched cartoons upstairs. The darker of the two women was flipping through another interior decorating magazine while the light blonde worked on what she could over her laptop.

“Feeling better?” Carly asked without looking up from the bound glossy book in her hands, referring to her friend’s bout of nausea and a migraine from earlier.

“Yeah, now that I’ve actually eaten something. The coffee helped, too, I think.”

“Coffee always helps, at least for an early headache. Can’t say whether or not it helps for a stomachache, though. Just don’t tell Sonny that you didn’t eat for a whole day, he may kill you, especially if he knows you wound up feeling sick because of it. Jason’s house arrest would be like freedom compared to what Sonny would do, and you’re not even his wife.”

“I take it you speak from experience?”

Carly looked at the woman with a pointed stare. “Of course I do. He’s always got to shove some sort of food down someone’s throat, especially if he knows it’s been awhile since they ate last. One night, Ric and I stayed up at The Cellar late and I didn’t get a chance to eat because we were so busy with paperwork. Marco took me home the next morning and I felt sick. Sonny pounced on me and discovered I hadn’t eaten and, well, he wasn’t happy.”

The two women chuckled as Bobbie came down the stairs from the nursery. House arrest wasn’t so bad, if you had the right company.

~*~

“So, we know where she is, or you do, and who she’s with, and she’s still alive? I would have thought Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan would have had her removed long before now,” Nico said as he sat on the arm of the couch in Jason’s living room. He had arrived in the city on time and reported immediately to Harborview Towers, as Morgan had made a point of being clear that this wasn’t to wait, but be done now.

Sonny fixed his chocolate eyes on the man evilly, clearly not wanting to be reminded of his mistake, especially after this previous night. Being told that Sam had had a gun pointed in the direction of the apartment his sons had been in did not sit well with him at all. “Just do the job and you’ll get your money.”

“No funny business, either. We don’t care how you get it done, as long as it’s a clean job and nothing stupid. No peanut butter, if you get my drift,” Jason added. He knew that Nico had been the one to do the job on the man in San Francisco, and he didn’t want him to play around with this one. He was a serious hit man, but that didn’t keep him from doing things that most wouldn’t waste time doing.

The other spiky haired man in the room chuckled. “Ah, so you picked up on that one. Don’t worry, I’ll get the job done without any amusement tactics. Samantha McCall won’t be on your radar for much longer.”

Sonny nodded. “Good. And, one more thing: If the job is done by midnight, you’ll be looking at an additional three million.”

“That will be no problem,” Nico responded before grabbing his jacket and walking out the door. He had the information on Sam that he needed, and Corinthos and Morgan wouldn’t think twice about her again.

As the door shut, the mob boss turned to his enforcer as he ran a hand across his face. “Okay, you better go get Courtney and have some fun this afternoon. Do what you want, just make sure you’re seen. You know he’s going to be right on this.”

“I don’t see why that’s such a big deal if we are. Don’t you trust him?”

“Yes, I do, almost as much as you. I just want to be careful and take precautions, just in case. I’ve made enough mistakes.”

Chapter Eighty One

Sam sat on one of the arm chairs in the living room, flipping through the newspaper just in case the cops had shown up after she left the previous night. She knew that Morgan and Corinthos wouldn’t intentionally involve the cops, but that wasn’t to say that someone in the paranoid town hadn’t jumped and reported the firecrackers as gunfire.

It was obvious to her now that they’d had men all around the place and she kicked herself for not being more careful. That’s a first, isn’t it? She hadn’t been the only one to do so, as Lorenzo had gotten his fair share of comments in that night when she returned. He hadn’t bothered to lecture her, just a few snide remarks here and there, but he didn’t stick around for long. He had business in Brazil to take care of and as he left earlier that morning, he told her he’d see her when she got back. Sam had scoffed before telling him that she wouldn’t guarantee that. He was to be gone for three or four days, he wasn’t sure, and she was determined to finish what she’d come back to Port Charles to do before he returned. I screwed up last night, and I am not going to do it again. This is done.

~*~

Nico parked the car close to the driveway that belonged to the lake house and removed the gun from underneath the back seat. Tentatively, he looked around, just in case, although he knew that none of Alcazar’s men were near here. Sonny had put men around the place, and all reported that Alcazar had left and his employees had gone with him. I don’t need this to be complicated, he thought as he rolled the weapon around in his gloved hands. I just did a difficult job. This one shouldn’t be hard at all.

~*~

At the entrance to the park, the Morgans were getting out of the SUV after making a stop at Kelly’s for lunch. Courtney had opted to bring her chicken salad sandwich with her instead of just sitting in the diner. She wanted to enjoy what little warm weather would be left, as the summer season was winding down. She hadn’t experienced a real winter in New York, she’d arrived in Port Charles as the snowy season began to fade into spring, so she wasn’t sure how she would feel about being cold for the next few months. It’s nothing like San Francisco, that’s for sure.

Jason took her hand as they started along the trail that ran through the large park, although hesitantly. She’d cooled down a little since they left the penthouse, but there was still a slight hint of irritation in the air. Even so, as he wrapped his fingers around hers, she squeezed his hand slightly. Making a small note of it, they continued to walk towards a bench that was placed a good distance from the playground.

~*~

The dark brown haired hit man sneaked through the yard of Lorenzo Alcazar’s rented property, his gun at his hip. From one of the open windows of the house, he could see Sam moving around the dining room near what he assumed was a kitchen table. He could also see further into the room, which showed him that the back door leading to the deck was wide open. What the hell is wrong with this woman?

She didn’t act as if she was worried about being found and removed. In fact, if he had to pass any judgment, he would say that she was extremely overconfident. Big mistake. But, it benefits me so I won’t complain, he thought as he made his way around to the back of the house.

~*~

They sat on the bench and Jason wrapped his arm around her shoulder as she took out her sandwich and began to eat. He tossed a sideways glance at her. There was something, there had been something else; a gut feeling. He wasn’t sure if the feeling was good or bad yet but it was obviously there.

He shoved it quickly out of his mind as he took the sandwich out of her hand and ripped what remained of it in half.

“Hey! You said you didn’t want anything,” she exclaimed, looking at him with a scolding look in her eyes and a small smile on her face.

“That was then, this is now. Besides, it’s just a little piece, I’m sure you won’t miss it.”

“Well, it wouldn’t matter if I did, because I can’t exactly get it back now.” They sat in silence for a few minutes before Courtney spoke again. “So, when do we get to go home?” She turned to look him in the face. She didn’t like feeling as if they had to walk around the park, or sit on the bench, for other people’s benefit. She’d wanted to spend some time with him, but now she’d rather be at the penthouse. I don’t like this.

“What, you want to leave already?” he asked, somewhat confused.

“I just don’t like feeling as if I’m on display. We’re walking around not because we want to, but because there’s something going on. We’re trying to make sure a lot of people see us for whatever reason and it makes me a little uncomfortable.”

Jason reached up and ran a hand through her smooth blonde hair. “I know, I’m sorry. I am. I don’t like it any better, but we’re minimizing an already small risk. So, let’s just try to take our mind off it. I’m sure we’ll be able to go back to the loft soon. Just don’t pay attention to the people, it’s a psychological thing.”

The blonde sighed deeply and nodded. Her heart was telling her to trust him and that it would be over sooner than she thought, but that wasn’t making it any easier. All for my protection and safety, I guess.

~*~
Two hours later, Nico was on his way back to the urban Port Charles as he punched in the number of Sonny Corinthos on the phone. It took only one ring for the mob boss to pick up, as he had been standing on the balcony in his penthouse as night began to settle. “Corinthos.”

“It’s me. It’s done.”

The near nervous anxiety that had made itself a home in his spine lifted, and he let out a sigh. Hearing those words brought more relief than he had thought they would, despite the fact that he knew that Angel no longer had a sister. Or anyone. “Good work. I don’t want details, but you know how the rest goes.”

~*~

As night had begun to fall, Jason and Courtney abandoned the park and instead made their way up Vista Point. They got out of the SUV once again and immediately his cell phone began to ring. He grabbed it from the dashboard quickly and shut the door of the vehicle before walking to Courtney on the other side. His free hand snuck around her waist as the thumb on the hand that held the device punched the button. “Morgan.”

“Nico called a few minutes ago. It’s taken care of.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to you later.” Jason hung up the phone before sliding it into his pocket and breathing a sigh of relief. Sam was gone, like she should have been a long time ago, and he was free to let his guard down a little. Not much, he never could, but enough to be able to spend some time with his wife without having to look out for a crazy woman with a grudge.

Courtney looked at him and saw that he almost instantly became more relaxed. That must have been good. “What’s going on?”

He smiled and kissed her swiftly. “It’s over.”

“Oh, so does this mean I’m not under house arrest anymore?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Jason removed them and held them between their bodies as he stood in front of her. “Yes.” He paused for a moment. “You know I hated that as much as you did. I know you’re a strong, intelligent, independent woman with your own business to run. And I never want to take that away from you. Ever. And that’s not what I wanted or meant to do when I had you stay at the penthouse so you would be safe.

“I know you didn’t like it, it was obvious. But, I know you were just trying to keep me safe, and I accepted that when I married you, there would be times when this happened. It just did sooner than either of us thought.”

“This is your life, too. It’s not just mine, it belongs to both of us. But, I didn’t want you to get hurt because something unpredictable could have happened, and that’s why Sonny and I had to keep both you and Carly safe. We had two close calls, but nobody likes being locked up in a cage, or penthouse, and that’s what I did to you. I’m so sorry, Courtney, I am.”

Courtney removed one of her hands from his. She could see how much he meant those words by the look in his eyes. He truly did hate it as much as she did/ She placed her free hand on the side of his face, and her thumb ran itself over a patch of skin. “I know. This wasn’t easy for any of us, but it’s over. Sure, there will be other times like this and both of us will get frustrated and irritated and it’ll happen all over again, but let’s not focus on that or worry about it until and if it happens. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he whispered and he met her lips with his in a soft, tender kiss.