Chapter 88
Monday Afternoon. Port Charles High School
The bell rings signaling the end of classes. Outside, Nikolas leans against his jag with his hands in his pockets watching as students stream out of the building, off to their various destinations. Upon seeing him, small groups of teenage girls stop to huddle and whisper while shooting him covert looks. Nikolas ignores this and instead trains his eyes on the main entrance.
A few moments later, the object of his desire strolls out the door, burdened down with books. Emily, seeing the packs of girls whispering, looks towards the source and bursts out laughing.
Nikolas pushes off the jag and walks towards her, a wry smile curving on his lips. When he reaches her, he cups her cheek and kisses tenderly. "You see why I don't do this more often?" He asks, his voice laced with quiet amusement.
"You love it." Emily glances around her to take in the girls' varied reactions and isn't surprised to find good-natured resignation, envy, and amusement among them. "When I go to school tomorrow, I won't be surprised if half of the girls clamor for my attention while the other half plan my demise."
Nikolas relieves her of her burden and slips his other arm around her waist. "It's the life of royalty, My Dear," He says in a simpering voice. "Now that you are engaged to me, you'll have to get used to being adored and loathed at the same time."
As they reach his jag, a rapidly advancing voice calls out to her from the sidewalk. "Emily!"
Emily's heart drops into her stomach as she turns to face her mother who is almost upon them. Before Emily can get a word out Monica cuts her off.
"Oh Emily!" Monica exclaims, her voice cracking under the pain of the last few days. "I have to speak to you... Jason's guards won't let me within a hundred yards of the towers..."
"There's a reason for that, Monica," Emily retorts coldly, purposefully reverting to her mother's given name. "I don't want to see you."
"But we have to talk!" Monica pleads. "Please, Emily. We can't leave it like this. You have to let me explain, to make this right. We're family!"
Nikolas puts a protective arm around Emily's stiff shoulders. He glances around significantly at the growing crowd watching the spectacle. "Dr Quartermaine, this isn't the time or place for this conversation. Emily..."
"Do not presume to know what's best for my daughter or me!" Monica retorts coldly. "This is about family, and being her boyfriend doesn't entitle you to speak for her! Kindly stay out of it."
"That's where you're wrong," Emily pronounces. "Nikolas has every right to be involved. He isn't just my boyfriend, he's my fiancé. It won't be long before we're married," She adds for effect.
"What--?" Monica, thrown off balance, forgets her mission for a moment. "You can't be serious--"
"Dead serious," Nikolas answers gravely. "You are making a scene and embarrassing my fiancé. This serves no one, most of all, you. Emily will make contact if and when she is ready. In the mean time I must insist you respect her wishes and keep your distance ....."
"You have NO RIGHT--"
"Nikolas..." Emily pleads for escape.
Nikolas opens the passenger side door of the jag and expertly blocks Monica while maneuvering Emily inside. Emily puts her hand on the door, pausing before closing it. "Don't come near me again. I don't have anything to say to you." With the final word, Emily slams the door shut.
Left with only Nikolas, Monica turns towards him. "If you come between me and my daughter you will regret it."
Nikolas looks at Monica blankly. "I believe it is you that is coming between you and your daughter. And until you realize that, your relationship with Emily is doomed." Without another word, He opens the driver side door and slides in. A moment later the jag comes to life and glides away from the curb, leaving Monica behind.
Once they are several blocks away from the school, Nikolas glances over at a silent Emily, who is staring sightlessly out of the window. "Hey."
"And to think five minutes ago I was laughing about my classmates." Emily shakes her head morosely. "What is it with my life that I can't be happy for more than 5 minutes?"
"There's a solution to that."
"What's that?" Emily asks dubiously
"Marry me tomorrow," Nikolas deadpans. Emily snorts. "I'm serious. I'll arrange for the Justice of the Peace. We can be married tomorrow if you want. Or if that's too fast, we can plan for a Friday wedding. Just Stefan, your brothers, Lila and your father."
"No..." Emily answers, though tempted by the idea of forgetting her problems in the flurry wedding preparations "Not like this..."
"You aren't going to use you disagreement with your mother as reason to delay the wedding, are you?"
"Nikolas! We haven't even set a specific date yet!"
"We can fix that." Nikolas slows at the entrance to the park, turns into the drive, and finds the nearest parking spot. Once the jag rolls to a stop, he kills the engine.
"Follow me."
GH Hospital.
The elevator opens to allow Carly, Jason and Michael entrance to the floor. As they walk, Jason is holding Michael while Carly chatters away. "So you're now looking at the newest full partner of 'Brummelman and Benson's Interior Design'," Carly finishes. "So what do you think? Isn't it incredible?!"
Jason looks her over carefully and says with a shrug. "You look the same to me."
"Jason!" Carly playfully slugs a grinning Jason in the upper arm, aiming it so it hits the knot of muscles just right to cause pain. Stefan, who is at the Nurse's Station signing off on some documents, turns at the sound of Carly's voice just in time to see Carly's playful punch and Jason's yelp. His already somber expression turns black.
"Congratulations, Carly," Jason answers as he rubs the sore spot on his arm. "You'll do great. I'm sure of it."
"Nurse," Stefan demands brusquely, holding out the documents. "Please put these in Alan Quartermaine's box for him to sign off on.."
Carly's smile dims when she hears Stefan. Jason catches Carly's reaction and puts the arm not holding Michael around her waist.
Carly turns into Jason so that they are huddled. When Stefan turns, their eyes lock. Breaking eye contact first, Carly quickly glances up at Jason and gives him an adoring smile. "Have I told you lately how glad I am you are in my life again?" She says softly. Standing on her tiptoes, she brushes her lips against Jason's briefly. She feels Jason's arm tighten around her waist.
When the kiss ends, Carly sees that Jason's smile is gone. "Carly."
"I know I know, that wasn't fair.... " She trains her eyes on the center of his chest. "Sorry."
Jason sighs and glances over his shoulder at a glowering Stefan. His hand trails up her back in a show of intimacy and he doesn't have to look again to know that he's made his point. "Just don't make a habit of it. Or I might start thinking you've changed your mind."
Carly takes a step back. "You two better go so I can make my appointment." She gives Michael a beaming smile and a kiss on the cheek. "See ya later, Mr Man. Have fun with Grandma. Thanks Jason."
Jason and Michael take the next elevator down while Carly approaches the Nurse's Station. She is careful not to look at Stefan again as she flags down the ward clerk. "Hi, is Dr Reardon done with her emergency?"
"Yes, she said to go ahead and head down to her office."
"Thanks."
Stefan stalks up from behind. When Carly backs away from the counter, she walks into him. Off balance, she turns to face a scowling Stefan. "What the ---"
"I see you found a new victim," Stefan states. "I would think Morgan would have learned from his last experience."
"You have no right---"
"Honestly. I overestimated you, Caroline." He shakes his head in disgust as he looks her up and down and finds her wanting. "It's really quite pathetic how needy you are. I pity Michael. And Morgan."
"LISTEN---" Carly raises her voice, prepared to tell him off, but finds herself talking to his retreating back. Furious, she follows after him. She is not going to let him get away with attacking her like that.
Nikolas leads Emily through the grove of trees to the park bench. He motions for her to sit and gets down on one knee. Emily's eyes widen with amazement as he takes her hand. "Nikolas...."
Nikolas shakes his head to silence her then kisses her hand. "Emily Bowen Quartermaine, I have been waiting for you all my life. Before you my life was bleak and depressing, I went through the motions of without seeing a purpose to my being here. Your kindness, your generosity, your joy at life inspire me in ways I never thought possible. My heart, my soul, my mind is full of you. I can't imagine my life without you in it. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?"
Emily blinks back tears. "Nikolas, I don't think I could love you more than I do at this moment. You stand by me when the chips are down, you make me laugh when I'm sad, you protect me from my crazy family, you are sexy beyond belief. I would be crazy not to marry you!"
"Is that a yes?" Nikolas asks, with his eyes twinkling.
"I've already told you I'd marry you!" Emily exclaims. "Of course I'll marry you!"
With the hand that isn't holding Emily's, Nikolas pulls a small black velvet box from his pocket. "The last 100 times I asked you to marry me, I didn't have this in my possession. It took me longer than I planned to get it out of the family vault in Greece, but it came today." He turns her hand palm up and places it there. "Please accept this small token of my everlasting love."
With trembling fingers, Emily opens the box to reveal a stunningly large starburst diamond in a platinum setting. Smaller diamonds ring the main diamond. She stares at it speechless for several long moments before finding her voice. "I... I don't know what to say!"
"Say you will wear it as your pledge to marry me, Emily," Nikolas says urgently.
Emily looks at the ring and then back at Nikolas. "Do you really worry I won't marry you?"
"Honestly? Yes," Nikolas admits. "Lately I have been waking up in a sweat, afraid that you've come to your senses and decided to dump me."
Emily leans down and rains kisses all over his face. "Never! Never! I love you, Nikolas Cassadine. I'm the lucky one!"
Nikolas pulls her off the bench and onto his knees, crushing her to him. "You have no idea what you're getting into... Lord, Emily, my family...."
"You are wonderful, Nikolas, and I won't have you knocking yourself. You are not your family." She laughs into his shoulder. "You're worried about your family when one of mine has tried to kill you?"
Nikolas lowers himself to the ground so that Emily is cradled in his lap. He lays her head against his chest. Fighting the growing knot in his stomach, he kisses the top of her head. His voice is low, almost afraid to tell her yet knowing he must. "My grandmother might try to hurt you, Emily. To get to me. And it isn't like your father. When she goes for you, it'll be for keeps."
"I'm not giving you up, Nikolas," Emily insists, the ring and it's box now clenched in her fist. "I don't care about your family."
"You should." Nikolas tightens his hold on her, afraid she'll slip away. His voice is a pained whisper. "You should run. I should send you away, like father did with Carly."
"Don't you DARE!" Emily pushes off his chest so she is looking at him eye to eye. "You do to me what Stefan did to Carly and I'll kill you. Promise me, Nikolas. Promise me you won't send me away."
He touches his forehead to hers. "I couldn't."
"Good." Emily lets herself breathe out. She settles against his chest again and opens her hand to look at the ring again. She takes it out of it's box and slides it onto her slender finger. The sheer size of the diamond dwarfs her hand. "Okay, I'm ready."
"Ready?"
"To set a wedding date. That little pesky detail you've been hounding me about?" Emily gives him a sly grin. "How does October 12 sound? Did I mention I want a huge wedding?"
Sitting docilely across from her psychiatrist, Helena delicately dabs at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. "If it weren't for the care of you and your kind staff here, Doctor, I don't know where I'd be now. This has been a blessing for me, in a way. I never allowed myself the luxury to grief Stavros's death. I feel like I've turned a new page in my life. That maybe there is a life without him. I do have another son who desperately needs me. We've never been close, but maybe now.. now that I've faced reality, I can begin to be of help to him."
"I caution you to move slowly, Mrs Cassadine. It will take some time for you to rebuild your life. You should focus on what you want and need first."
"Of course," Helena demurs. "It's so automatic for me to think of family first. It's all I've ever done..."
Their conversation is interrupted by the beeping of the intercom. The Doctor turns toward his desk picks up the phone. "Yes. Thank you, Doris." He jots down a few notes and turns again to Helena. "Our time is up. But before you go, I have excellent news for you. Dr Backland and I are in agreement that you are ready for discharge. The social worker, Mary, has spoken with your nephew, Andreas, and he has agreed to look after you upon discharge. I'll want to meet with you at the end of the week."
"I would like that too, Doctor," Helena agrees readily. She tries, but doesn't quite succeed at stifling a triumphant smile. "Before I came to Shadybrooke, I would never have admitted this. I think our talks have saved my life." She stand and holds her hand out to the doctor.
After a moment's hesitation, he rises and takes her hand. "Good Luck, Mrs Cassadine. See Doris on your way out to make an appointment with me for Friday. She'll give you my pager number. If at any point you feel you are having a setback..."
"I'll call right away," Helena assures. "Thank you, Dr Strayer, for giving me my life back. I can't thank you enough."
Carly slams Stefan's office door closed behind her. "What the hell was that supposed to mean?"
Stefan unceremoniously dumps the files on his desks and angrily removes his glasses and stuffs them in his suitcoat. "I don't recall inviting you into my office."
"You throw that kind of remark my way, and you better believe I'm going to react and the hell with invitations!" Tossing her purse into a nearby armchair, Carly launches herself off the office door towards the middle of the room, where Stefan is standing. "Where do you get off having commentary on my personal life?! You're done with me, remember?"
"And I have never been more relieved than I am at this moment," Stefan snarls. "Your behavior is abominable, the way you were hanging all over Morgan in front of your son. It is so typical for you to latch onto the first available meal ticket. I realize you are sexually needy but to make a play for Morgan in front of your son is an embarrassment to him---" Stefan words are cut off by the sharp sting of Carly's hand across his face.
"You bastard! I hate you!" Carly closes her fist and swings, wanting to kill him. An inch from his face, Stefan catches her closed fist. When she raises the other to attack, he grabs that one too and she finds herself hauled close to him in a vise grip.
"Perhaps this will satisfy your hunger---" His mouth comes crashing down on hers, teeth clashing, his kiss devouring, her back bent back so far she feels like she's going to break. Infuriated and incredibly aroused, she bites his lip hard enough to make him bleed. He flinches and he pulls back, breaking the kiss. Panting, his eyes are darker than she's ever seen, and angry, so very wildly angry, nothing like she has seen before-- if anything her attack, her bite, inflamed him. His look steals her breath.
His grip on her is brutal, she can't move an inch, every part of his body is outlined against hers, muscles taut, his groin pressing against her, proving without a doubt how much he wants her. His tongue runs along the cut on his lip, tasting his blood. He hauls her around in a circle, butting her against his desk that had been behind them. Trapping her so if she tries to move away she's trapped by the desk. He will not allow escape.
Furious at his manhandling her, Carly claws at Stefan's neck, wanting to see damage, to vent her rage at the way he's treated her, from kicking her out of his life, to insulting her, to trapping her here, making her feel helpless, and worst of all, making her want him so very much.
NC_17--- don't read if you find such content offensive...
His mouth crashes down her hers again, devouring her, robbing her of breath, of all rational thought. She continues to dig her nails into his neck, wanting him to bleed, while her mouth duels with his, feeds off his. All she wants is more more more of him, as much as he wants her. Grabbing his dress shirt, she rends it, causing the buttons to pop. Her violence feeds his and he bends her over the desk. One of his legs presses between hers, caging her there on the desk while his hands drag her sweater over her head.
Impatient, he breaks the clasp of her bra and tears it off. His eyes feast on her hungrily, starving for crumbs. God she was beautiful yet so angry, her breasts quivering, her nipples taut, so vital, so very alive and he wants her like no one he's ever wanted. The consequences be damned.
His shredded shirt drops to the floor unnoticed as her hands attack his belt buckle. He bats away her hand, and makes quick work of it while his mouth feast on one breast and then another. He can't get enough, can't touch enough of her, this beauty of hers that once he could enjoy at his whim. His hands slip under her skirt, pushing it up while he rips her panties from her. If he doesn't have her now he'll explode into million pieces, he's sure of it. Her hand around his cock is too arousing, too much, he wants her heat, now. Spreading her legs, he slides his fingers over her clitoris, she is so wet, so ready, all the fight gone.
Carly's demanding hands stroke his cock and guide him there, as desperate as he to merge. Placing his hands on her buttocks he slams into her. She grabs his face and forces his mouth down on hers. Their bodies, so intimately aware of each other, find their rhythm, wild and free and wanton, mindless of the teeming hospital around them. Only focused on each other and the consummation of their mutual devouring lust.
Stefan feels insane, so much need pours out of him, the need to touch her, to feel her around him, to smell her, to experience it all, he wants it all, he won't be able to live without all of her around him pulsing, touching, merging. More and more of her, forever, for always. How did he think he could deny himself this? Deny himself any part of Carly. She was his, and his alone.
Much too soon for the doomed lovers who wish their lovemaking would last an eternity, they reach their peak. At her cry of completion, Stefan, through sheer force of will, slows his pace. Greedily he rides every last ripple of her orgasm before exploding inside her.
Chapter 89
Oh God, what had she let him do?
Carly closes her eyes and just barely controls the urge to groan out loud. Even as her brain returns to reality, her satiated body wants to melt into a happy puddle on the desk. It's beyond comprehension how her body and her brain could be this completely out of sync.
"Caroline--" Stefan's voice is a hoarse rasp. It's all he's capable of at this moment. He can't quite manage to string a coherent thought.
At the sound of his voice, survival instinct has Carly shoving hard against Stefan's chest, forcing him to step back a couple paces from the desk and her. She has to get out of here fast, preferably with her pride intact.
"Thank you, Stefan," She says in the most bitter tone she can muster. She spies her discarded sweater on the floor at her feet, with her ruined underclothes not far away. Great, just great
"I..." Stefan is completely at a loss for words. His brain is completely short circuited. Now that he's allowed himself to want her, to need her, to touch her, he can't seem to shut it down.
"You really did me a huge favor today," She continues coolly as she picks up her sweater and pulls it over her head. "All the remaining feelings I had for you, any last vestiges of lust. They're dead now. Gone. I'm truly free of you. I know now the best thing you ever did for me was dump me."
"Caroline, I--" Stefan stops. He has no idea what to say to her, the situation is out of control. What happened never should have. It was dangerous and beyond stupid. He's standing in his office, his shirt in shreds, barely clothed, his lip split and his neck bleeding. And even as she annihilates him, he can't bring himself to regret a moment of it. He wants nothing more than to hold her, to touch her skin again, her hair, to breathe in her scent. Only her blistering hostility is keeping him from it. He'd hold her again in a second, plan or no plan. His need for her supersedes everything.
Carly puts up a hand to stop him from advancing. "NO, NO! You stay away from me! I don't want to hear another word come out of your mouth." She gulps to force back the rising panic. If he touched her, she had no idea what she would do.
"I'm lucky to be free of you," She continues, her voice stronger, anger giving her strength, momentum. "I didn't realize until this moment what a sick sadistic bastard you are. I can't believe I thought you were good for me once! I deserve better, Stefan, and Michael deserves better than this. You're poison."
Carly sweeps up her tattered underclothes. "I'm out of here. Next time you get the urge, go hire someone. I'm done being your whore." Grabbing her discarded purse off the chair, Carly quickly strides to the door and slams it open. "If I never see you again, it'll be soon!"
Carly slams the door behind her. Leaving silence. Heartbreaking silence and emptiness. Putting a weak hand on the desk, Stefan sags against it. His shoulders bowed, he turns his head up to the ceiling with his eyes closed, his face lined with agony.
What is he going to do now?
Outside in the hallway, a ravaged Carly sags against the wall, her anger vanishing, and with it her strength. She'd used what little she had to get out of Stefan's office and now she was spent. Devastated.
Already missing him.
Damn it.
She'd done the right thing, she had lied her head off. She should be proud of herself, she'd salvaged a bit of her pride from the jaws of humiliation. If he knew how much he affected her... Her heart drops into her stomach. Oh Lord, she doesn't even want to imagine his sneering look, his disgust at how pitiful she was to love him, to crave any crumb of affection he might throw her way, even in the face of his horrible treatment of her.
If this is love, she doesn't want any part of it.
Swiping the gathering dampness from the corners of her eyes, she pushes off the wall to a stand. She can't see Diana now. She certainly couldn't face the inquisitive and gossipy nurses to leave a message for her. She'd handle that tomorrow. First things first.
With a shaking hand, Carly rummages through her purse and locates her cell phone. She dials a number and waits for an answer. "Mom?" Her voice cracks. "It's me...no.. please.. no questions.. Just..." She tries to swallow the lump in her throat. "Just keep Michael for me tonight, okay? And will you call Jason and tell him I'll talk to him tomorrow... I'm okay... no.. no Mom, please, I'm going to be fine." Yeah Right. "I just need a night to get my head together. Can you give me that without a lot of questions? I'll call you tomorrow.... Thanks."
"It is good to have you home, Madame."
Sitting in front of her dressing table, Helena looks at herself in the mirror, content to let Andreas comb her hair into her preferred coif. Reaching over to the counter in front of her, she picks up a puff and absently powders her nose.
"I'm relieved to be home."
Three days without makeup has been an eternity as far as she is concerned. She deserves a little pampering before getting down to business. It would help clear her mind of the countless indignities she suffered. One of the reasons she keeps Andreas, other than the fact that she finds him to be quite loyal, delicious in bed and easy on the eyes, is that his manner is soothing. Right now she needs soothing so the revenge she exacts will be well focused and effective.
Finishing, Andreas takes the comb and his smoothing hand away from her hair. "It is surely not up to your standards..."
Helena studies her image critically. "It will have to do until I see the aesthetician tomorrow." She rises from her chair, her red and gold caftan fluttering around her ankles. "So what have I missed during my absence?"
The phone rings before Andreas can respond. Helena motions for him to answer it.
Andreas puts down the comb and reaches for the phone. "Helena Cassadine's residence.... Yes, Dr Evans. Can you hold on a moment? I have a visitor..." Andreas puts him on hold. "I'm sorry, Madame, I had hoped to shield you from his harassment for one more night..."
Helena scowls as she settles herself on the loveseat. "I gather he has been calling?"
"Incessantly. He seems to think you should do something about his predicament. He has been most..." He pauses to find the appropriate word. "Obnoxious."
"Buffoon," Helena mutters with disgust. "I might as well dispense with him. Give me the phone."
"As you wish..." He puts the phone in her lap. "Shall I get you anything? Perhaps a martini?"
"That would be lovely, Darling." Helena picks up the receiver and takes the line off hold. "Dr Evans, how sweet of you to call to check on me after my most traumatic ordeal..."
"Mrs Cassadine, I don't give a damn what you've been through! I demand you get me out of this cesspool immediately..."
Helena's eyes harden, her voice steely. "That is no way to speak to me..."
"Cut the crap, Lady. You messed with the wrong man! You are not going to get away with framing me! If I go down, you go down with me."
Incensed, Helena jaw juts out. He dare to threaten her?! "Will I?"
" You better believe it. You get me out of this hellhole or so help me, I'm going to tell the detective everything! He's been asking about you. So far I've kept quiet, but if I'm still in this pit in 24 hours I'm going to start talking..."
"No need to get threatening, Doctor," Helena answers coolly. "I have every intention of helping you. I shouldn't have any trouble getting you released from jail. What is the amount of your bail?"
"It's about time," He grumbles, his tone softening "For a while I thought you were using your flunky Andreas to let me hang for this. My bail is $100,000. While you're at it, you better find a way to make those charges disappear."
"I won't be able to access my funds until tomorrow morning, but by tomorrow afternoon, bail should be posted," Helena soothes. Andreas touches her shoulder before placing the martini in her hand. "But I'm afraid my influence does not extend to getting the charges dropped. If it is acceptable to you, I will make arrangements for you to .... disappear."
"You better not double-cross me..."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Helena lies smoothly, taking a small sip of her drink. "Just one more night, Dr Evans, and you will be free."
"I'm not going anywhere," Bobbie argues into the phone as she pulls a container of homemade spaghetti sauce out of the freezer. "This is my home. I have a job that's important to me and family who need me to be here. I won't turn tail and run at the first sign of a Cassadine threat. In fact, with the exception of my disastrous union with Stefan, I've haven't been involved. I doubt Helena cares if I exist."
"Barbara Jean, pull your head out of the sand, will ya?" Luke snaps. "Helena is out of the psycho ward and she's on the warpath.... I know she's never targeted you before. But I have a feeling in my bones this time that she might spew her wrath your way..."
"You've never been this ominous before, Luke." Bobbie pauses to smile at Michael as he crawls through the kitchen pushing a toy truck. "Most of the time, you don't bother to tell me what's going on with the Cassadine saga. So what happened that aren't you telling me about?"
"Darlin', Just trust me, okay?" Luke pleads tiredly. "You probably have six months of vacation coming to you, take some of it. Get Lucas, Carly and her little rugrat, and blow town until the dust settles. I don't want to be worrying about you while I'm neutralizing Helena."
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on, Luke. I want FULL DISCLOSURE or no dice."
"Fine, fine!" Luke growls into the phone. "I'll be over there in a bit to explain."
"I'll set another place at the table."
Luke sighs heavily. "Barbara Jean..."
"You can tell me before or after if you want, but you might as well stay for some Spencer Spaghetti," Bobbie insists. "I bet you've been drinking your meals since Laura left..."
Meanwhile out in the main part of the club
"Luke's Club... yeah hold on."
Claude puts his hand over the phone mouthpiece before calling out. "LUKE! You have a call. Some guy named... Jack?"
"I'll get it in here!" Luke calls out from his back office. "I gotta go, Baby Sister. I'll see you in a few..." He hangs up with Bobbie and picks up the other line. "Okay, Claude I got it." He waits to hear Claude hang up. "So what do you have for me, Jack? Has the weasel gotten himself into trouble yet?"
"Just calling to let you know Evans is swaggering around the cell block all smug about being released. Some rich chick came through for him and is bailing him out"
"Really," Luke answers, propping his feet up on his desk. "Well we can't have that, can we, Jack?"
Rumpled and sporting a new shirt, a bruised and scarred Stefan stalks into Wyndemere. Only decades of training suppresses his urge to slam the door. He heads directly for the conservatory.
Mrs Lansbury appears behind him. "Mr Cassadine..."
Stefan bangs a cut crystal low ball glass down on the liquor cart, unceremoniously unstops the vodka bottle and splashes some liquor into his glass. "You are dismissed for the evening, Mrs Lansbury, I have no need of your services tonight," He announces tersely before downing the fiery liquid in one gulp.
"Mr Cassadine..." Mrs Lansbury begins again, clearly distressed. She has vital information she knows he wants. "I thought you should know, some impor...."
"Leave me, Mrs Lansbury." His tone brooks no argument. She nods sadly and turns to leave, closing the door behind him. She knows better than to try to speak now, the heads of Cassadine servants have literally rolled before when they ignored an order given in that tone.
Stefan sloshes more vodka into his glass and downs it. Nothing can force the self-loathing back. Hefting the glass in his hand, he hurls it and smashes it against the wall, sending thousands tiny pieces spraying through the room. The sound of shattering glass isn't nearly enough to satisfy what he's feeling.
The ring of his private phone halts any future breakage. Stefan snatches the phone from it's cradle. "Stefan Cassadine," He barks into the phone.
The voice hesitates "Yes, Sir. Officer Abrams, Sir."
Stefan breathes deeply to rein in his temper. "Go ahead," He says finally, much calmer.
The officer lowers his voice and looks nervously over his shoulder, not wanting to be overheard. "I have an update on Doctor Evans's status. It looks like he's going to be posting bail tomorrow afternoon. Rumor has it some rich lady is posting it."
Mother is out. Stefan's face turns grim. "Thank you for the information." He disconnects the call and drops into one of the ornate high backed chairs to consider the development. It doesn't take long for him to make the decision. The contingency plan had been put in place long before this moment, all that had remained was the moment for execution.
Stefan dons his spectacles, pulls a small black leather book from his rumpled breast pocket and flips through it until he finds the name he's looking for. He picks up the receiver and makes a call.
"Yes, it is time to implement the plan."
Cell phone to his ear, Jason scowls when he gets the answering machine. "Carly... It's Jason. Give me a call when you get this, will you? No matter the time." He disconnects and is instantly rewarded with the phone ringing
He answers it. "Carly?"
An automated voice recording comes on:
Person to Person collect call from Bart Samuels in the Port Charles City Jail to Jason Morgan. Will you accept the call?
"I'm Jason Morgan and I'll accept the charges." After a few clicks, a man's voice comes on.
"Yeah Morgan, , I got some info for ya. Seems that Evans is getting bailed out some time tomorrow."
"You sure?"
"Sure as I can be. The Ass is strutting around all cocky sayin' he's free and clear. He's so obnoxious half the cell block wants to smash his face in."
"Thanks for the head's up, Samuels. I'll post bail for you as soon as this situation clears."
"Don't worry about me. You just make sure Mary and the kids have everything they need. Another day or two in here ain't goin' to make much difference. Wouldn't mind having a part in taking this prick down. Anything I can do to help?"
"Yeah, actually, you can..."
Carly stands on the docks and looks out over the water at Spoon Island. After calling her mother, she's been at a loss of what to do with herself. Going home to an empty house doesn't appeal in the least, and dodging questions from her sympathetic mother is even less appealing.
Not even her usual self destructive plan of a visit to Jake'd interests her. She has no desire to let a guy paw her. No one but...
Tears sting her eyes and she shuts them tightly. No, she won't go there. What's the point?
Carly swallows the hysterical sob in her throat. Leave to her to find a vice more self destructive than Jake's.
The ringing of her phone breaks her out of her self flagellating misery. She fumbles inside her purse for her phone. Looking at the number on her screen, she doesn't recognize it. At least it wasn't Jason this time... She bites her lip and answers it. "Hello?"
"Hello, is this Miss Benson?" A deep male voice asks.
"Yeah, that's me."
"Miss Benson, this is Harry Barlow down at the Port Charles prosecutor's office...."
"Oh hi! I'm sorry I didn't call you this morning, I got sidetracked... I'm still interested in helping with Dr Evans's case."
"It's okay, really. That isn't why I'm calling. At least not directly. There's been a development I thought you should be aware of."
The knot in Carly's stomach takes a different form. "What that?"
"A reliable source informed me that Dr Evans will be posting bail."
All the air leaves Carly's lungs in a whoosh. "WHAT?! I thought---"
"Yes, well, we didn't think he'd be able to procure the funds to get himself released on bail, but apparently he has a wealthy friend...."
"You can't let this happen! You promised me he'd be prosecuted!" Carly exclaims irately. "You go back to the judge and you tell him to revoke bail!"
"I can't, Miss Benson. I'm sorry. That's why I called you. I didn't want you to be blindsided. And I want to ask you a favor."
"You have a lot of nerve asking for anything after you tried to ruin my life!" Carly snarls.
"I know, I'm more sorry for that than you'll ever know," Harry Barlow soothes. "But it would be tremendously helpful to our case if you'd report any attempts he makes to contact you. If we can establish that you are at risk while he's out on bail, I might be able to make a case with the judge to revoke him back to jail. It will also strengthen our case when it comes to trial."
"You better hope he doesn't come near me because if he does, there won't be enough left of him to prosecute!" Carly snaps her cell phone shut and angrily hurls it into the lake. It breaks the water's surface with an unsatisfying *plop*.
Tears blinding her, Carly whirls away from the docks towards the steps up to the alley. She runs right smack into a male chest.
"Oof!"
Carly looks up to find herself blocked by none other than AJ Quartermaine. Her day just gets better and better. "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY!!" She yells, venting her rage by pushing hard against his chest to get past him.
As a distraught Carly stumbles, an off balanced AJ grabs her elbows to keep them both from falling. "Woah, Carly! What's wrong?"
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