Chapter 60
The time they spent together for the rest of the day was special to Elizabeth. She couldn't tell him how wonderful she really felt because she was sure that she'd feel like a fool gushing all over him like she wanted to. Standing in Sonny's living room again she watched as Max told Jason how the older man was doing and that he seemed to have slept most of the afternoon away.
The doctor had been in to check on him again since he was keeping close to take care of one of the men downstairs. Two had died today and three had been injured up on the roof. Out of those three there was only one who was in serious condition. Elizabeth trailed her fingers over the mantel as she studied all the pictures and her heart stopped inside her chest when she wondered what would have happened if Michael or Morgan had been home when the attack happened. What if they'd been on the terrace when the gunman showed up in the helicopter?
Tears began to leak from her eyes and she put a hand over her stomach. Jason had tried to impress upon her the danger that surrounded his life but it was only now that she really felt like it was there. Taking a deep breath she stepped back from the mantel and turned to face the room rubbing at her cheeks. Jason looked up at her and then behind her, focusing in on the pictures over her shoulder. He worried too about what might have happened if the boys had been at home. He worried what would happen to the child he and Elizabeth were going to have if his enemies ever made a strike at him like this one.
Their eyes connected and a new warmth seemed to surround both of them. They were bonded now in a way they hadn't been before and Elizabeth smiled at him gently. There were a lot of questions and very few answers right now but it wasn't something they were going to face alone, they would figure this all out together.
Nodding as Max finished his report Jason told him he was going to go up and see if Sonny was awake. Taking the stairs two at a time he was soon in the mobster's room looking down at him lying on his satin sheets. The sight of the sheets made Jason wonder if Elizabeth would like those kind, would it enhance her pleasure the next time he made love to her? His thoughts were cut off when Sonny opened his eyes and stared up at him.
"Hey," he said softly, "how are you feeling?"
Giving a one shouldered shrug Sonny said, "I've felt worse. Is Elizabeth okay?"
"Yeah," Jason told him, "she had a few moments but we worked through them. I had to convince her to keep the guards because she didn't ever want to see another man shot while protecting her."
Grinning a light through the pain Sonny asked, "Maybe she'll be so grateful I'll get a plateful of her brownies all to myself."
Jason nodded his head, "More than likely but that'll only be after she spends weeks forcing soup down your throat. I hope you really really like soup because by the time she's done with you you're going to hate it."
A weak laugh sounded from the bed and Sonny nodded his head. He closed his eyes for a moment before saying, "You're right Jason, we have to take the fight to them, the Fitzpatricks made a serious error today, they left us alive. Find Sean, make him an example to that family and take out this Brady guy."
Jason nodded grimly and said, "I already have the men working on it. Stan is looking for any electronic trail and Bernie is checking the local hotels and motels. We aren't sure if he planned to hide his presence or not so we're also watching the other families to see if one of them is helping him."
The look the men shared didn't bode well for anyone who made the mistake of helping the other family out. Courtesy could get them into trouble if either man discovered that some family had opened their door to their enemy. They wouldn't accept an insult like that easily; they'd have to seek further retribution.
Jason looked down at Sonny and asked him, "Is there anything I can get for you?"
"No," the other man said, "I'm going to be fine, it's not that bad and you did a great job patching me up."
Shaking his head Jason told him, "Next time I'm getting the doctor."
A weak grin crossed Sonny's face and he said, "I'm really hoping there isn't going to be a next time." Both men grinned ruefully and then Sonny's eyes began to droop a little. "I think I'll get some sleep but please be sure to tell Elizabeth that I'm glad she's okay." Jason turned to leave the room when Sonny called out, "Oh, and Jason, I'm glad the two of you have finally managed to work everything out. I hope to hear I'm going to be an uncle soon."
The look on Jason's face made Sonny laugh again and he said, "You've been extremely tense for a while now Jason, it's obvious that that's changed and only one thing would have changed it."
The flush that crawled across the enforcer's face made Sonny chuckle again, if any of their enemies could see him now they would wonder why people thought he was stone cold, he looked like a teenage boy caught with his pants down. Then Sonny realized Jason didn't know what it was like to be a teenage boy caught with his pants down. He'd have to tell him later that when he was a father this was what the kids were thinking when he came across this situation. Sonny had a sudden hope that Jason never had a daughter; the consequences didn't bear thinking about.
As Jason watched his friend drift off into sleep he was curious about what brought that smile to his face. Shaking his head he went downstairs to find Elizabeth again. When he entered the living room he was confused by the ominous air that was around the whole room. Looking for Elizabeth, Max pointed to the kitchen before handing him a handful of pictures that he was holding.
Jason raised an eyebrow and Max said, "They're postmarked from Arizona, they have Audrey and Marco in them as well as the Baldwin's. I'm sorry Jason but it looks like the stalker followed them there."
Looking through the pictures that were obviously taken with a scope he nodded his head and then handing them back he went to see Elizabeth. She was leaning over the sink crying.
"We'll send some more men down there, I'll keep her safe Elizabeth," he told her.
"Jason I thought that by going to Arizona she would be safe. I tried to call there was no answer on her cell phone," she said.
He pulled out his own phone and asked, "Did you try Marco?" even as he was dialing.
She shook her head and turned to look at him as he put the phone to his ear. The relief that came into his eyes made her knees buckle when Marco answered his phone. It scared her that Jason was worried enough he hadn't been sure his friend was going to pick up the phone.
"Marco are you and Audrey alright?" Jason asked immediately.
"Yeah we are, nothing has happened here, why, is there something going on?" he asked.
"Yeah, we just got some photos of the two of you and the Baldwin's. Looks like our stalker followed you," Jason told him.
Marco was silent for a moment and then told him, "I haven't seen anyone Jason and I checked out that plane, I didn't see anyone I knew on it."
There was a pregnant pause and then Jason muttered, "There has to be a leak then if he didn't follow you he had to have discovered where you went and went down there to scare Elizabeth."
"I've been keeping an eye out and I would have noticed someone from Port Charles showing up," Marco assured him.
Jason was silent for a moment, watching Elizabeth across from him and then asked if there was anyone who seemed to be paying particular attention to them. Marco told him not that he'd seen which had an idea brewing in the back of his mind. Could it be that they're guy had finally made a mistake, he'd finally left a trail they could follow?
"The pictures are done from a distance and it looks like it's by someone who knows what they're doing," Jason mused aloud. Marco listened silently waiting to see what he'd come up with. Finally he continued, "What if our guy didn't follow you but hired someone else to take these pictures? We need to check out that angle. I'll have Stan on it immediately."
Marco spoke up then, "Why not let us to a little recon down here? I think that Audrey would appreciate being able to help since her therapy hasn't yielded any results yet."
"Fine but watch your backs. I'm sending down a few more guards, I want a constant rotation going, no one gets near any of them without you guys making sure they're cleared," Jason ordered.
Marco agreed and then hung up to tell Audrey and their hosts what was happening now. He looked around him suspiciously, thinking that he'd have to remember to get a copy of those pictures so he could figure out where they were being taken from.
His phone buzzed again and he opened it to find a text message telling him that the pictures had been faxed to the house. He walked quickly over to the people on the deck to let them know they needed to go inside immediately.
