Brenda reached up slowly to push Miguel’s hand away. "Miguel!" She tried to glance over at Jax but Miguel held her chin tightly in his fingers, forcing her to look at him. "What are you doing here?" she whispered in a frightened voice.

"I have come to claim what is rightfully mine, Brenda," he hissed. "Now ….." He threw back the covers and her hands instinctively crossed. Even though she wore a nightgown, it was thin nylon and she couldn’t bear the thought of him seeing her. "……put on a robe and come with me."

She exhaled as though he had punched her in the stomach. "Come with you? Now?" She reached for the covers but he yanked them out of her hands. "I can’t come with you……Jax……he’s hurt and……"

"DO NOT SPEAK HIS NAME IN MY PRESENCE!!" Miguel’s venom frightened Brenda and she froze, her hands trembling on the covers.

"But…..but he’s bleeding……he needs help……" She tried to look at Jax again but Miguel seized her shoulders in his hands.

Miguel leaned closer to sneer in Brenda’s face. "The only help I will give him, mi amada, is to send him more speedily on his way to h*ll!" She gasped aloud but he grabbed her arm and jerked her to a sitting position. "Now put on a robe so we can be on our way!"

Sensing his mistress’s stormy emotions, Trouble chose that moment to make his presence known. He remained in his basket on Brenda’s side of the bed but rose to a low crouch. Tail wagging madly in the air, he growled and then yipped once softly at the tall, dark stranger who seemed to be the source of Brenda’s agitation.

Miguel stared down at the cockapoo kamikaze. "What’s that?" Trouble gave his best impression of another fierce growl and Miguel looked back at Brenda in surprise. "Is he trying to frighten me?" He snorted in disbelief. "The worst he could do is pee on my foot and ruin my shoes."

Trouble barked again, this time a little louder, and Jon whimpered softly in his crib. Miguel grabbed Brenda’s arm and suddenly she felt something sharp against her throat. "Tell the dog to be quiet or I’ll use this!"

When Brenda saw the moonlight gleaming off the wide blade of the knife Miguel held to her throat, her blood ran cold. Thoughts of what that knife could do to her infant son – what it already may have done to Jax – made tears sting Brenda’s eyes. "All right! All right!" Brenda put her hands out in supplication as the tears ran down her cheeks. "I’ll get the dog to stop barking – just don’t hurt anybody!"

Grabbing a chenille robe that was on a chair next to the bed, Brenda leaned forward and spoke to Trouble in hushed tones. She petted him gently and tried her best to get the dog to lie back down, but he had already sensed that the tall stranger was causing a problem. {PLEASE, God – please help all of us get out of this alive! After we’ve come so far, You can’t let it all end now…..}

Somehow – somewhere – Brenda’s plea for help was heard. Trouble settled back down into his dog bed, but he still eyed Miguel warily. "Bueno – let’s go!" Miguel grabbed Brenda’s arm again and yanked her to her feet, flashing the wide blade of the knife in the moonlight that came streaming through the window. "Don’t make me use this, querida."

"Please, Miguel," Brenda begged as she slipped into her robe. Her fingers were shaking so badly she could barely tie the sash. "Please don’t hurt them……"

Miguel pulled her against his body with the knife pointed at her throat. "You should know that violence isn’t my style, Brenda," he hissed. She whimpered as he pressed the flat edge of the knife against her skin. "But I would do just about *anything* to prevent you from being with …..him." He spat the word and glared in Jax’s direction again.

Brenda knew that Jax was still alive. She wasn’t sure if Miguel had stabbed him or just knocked him out, but she had distinctively heard him moan once right before Miguel forced her down on the bed. When she saw the evil gleam in Miguel’s eyes, she knew she had to prevent him from hurting Jax any further. "Then let’s go!" she whispered shakily, reaching for his arm as he seemed to move towards Jax again. "I’ve got my robe on now – see?"

Miguel paused for a second, his eyes making Brenda’s skin crawl as they traveled up and down her form. Then he nodded once briskly. "Yes. We should go." He glanced back at Jax. "Unfortunately, my plan did not allow enough time for the luxury of dealing with your …… husband." He sneered the word again. "But that can be taken care of at a later date."

Miguel’s words caused Brenda’s blood to run cold but she tried not to show it. He took her by the arm and led her to the French doors. She placed a finger against her lips once more, signaling to Trouble that he should stay quiet. Then as Miguel pulled her into the cool night air, she kissed those same fingers and sent the kiss towards Jon, trying to get what might be one last glimpse of him through tear-filled eyes.

Brenda let Miguel pull her across the deck, down the steps, across the small courtyard, and then through a large hole in the privacy fence. They emerged onto the same stretch of beach where Jon had rolled over for the first time not that long ago. As Miguel grabbed her arm again and forced her to run with him down the beach, she began to wonder if that happiness had only been a dream.

Her robe kept getting tangled in Brenda’s legs and she stumbled several times in the soft sand. When Miguel yanked her to her feet for the second time, she yelped. "Miguel – slow down! You’re hurting me!"

His face twisted with a demented smile. "Me? I’m hurting you? *I’m* hurting *you*?" He laughed aloud as Brenda sank to her knees on the beach sobbing. She cried out when he squatted next to her and grabbed her hair, forcing her to look him in the eye. "And what about the way that *you* hurt me, mi amada?" He looked around him on the beach. "Do you not think it hurt me to see you and that…..that..…that *slime* you married……writhing and twisting like animals in heat on this very beach?"

Brenda wiped the tears from her eyes with the heel of her hand with a mixture of surprise and outrage. "You…..you saw us?" She tried to pull away from him in horror. "You *watched* us?"

"Of course I did, Brenda," he replied. "I have been watching you and your *husband* for some time now." He laughed again. "Your decision to come here has made it much easier for me to keep tabs on you than it was in that fortress where he kept you in Los Angeles."

Brenda’s sobs subsided and then her eyes widened. "It was......it was YOU! On the telephone!" She pointed to him with a shaky hand. "All those times when nobody answered....."

"I tried to speak to you, Brenda, but *he* was always around!" He spat the pronoun as though it was a dread disease. "If we just could have talked......if you just could have explained to me why you gave the Martinique back....."

Brenda’s chest heaved. "*That’s* what this is about??!! Some stupid jewel that looked like a Jack-O-Lantern?"

"It was worth a small fortune, mi amada," Miguel growled. "You *knew* that money was essential to our plans to run away together."

"But I *told* you I didn’t want to run away with you.....there was no *need* for the money," Brenda argued. "And besides, it wasn’t ours, Miguel! It was *wrong* of us to steal it!"

Miguel seized her arms, pulling her to a kneeling position in front of him on the beach. "You know as well as I that it wasn’t just about *us*, Brenda." He looked around nervously. "I fear that the repercussions for my not having the gem are just beginning." Then suddenly, he jumped to his feet, dragging her with him. "Which is just another reason why we need to get moving......"

He grabbed Brenda’s hand and pulled her with him further along the beach. "Where are we going, Miguel? Are you planning to take me to another house further down the beach? Don’t you think Jax will find you there?"

As Miguel pulled her even further along, the moon slid behind some clouds. Brenda continued to sob, but he was immune to her pleas to stop and rest. Finally, as the moon emerged again, Brenda saw it reflect off a small yellow raft that was anchored to the shore about 20 feet in front of them.

Miguel pulled her to stand in front of the raft. "Get in, Brenda," he panted, resting his hands on his hips.

She looked around in disbelief, pushing her wet hair out of her eyes. "You’re going to take me somewhere in *this* little thing?" She laughed sarcastically. "It’ll be swamped by the waves before we’re 100 feet away from shore!"

He leered at her in the moonlight. "Which is the reason why I’ve got a private yacht anchored around that bend, querida -- just beyond the reefs. We only need the raft to take us that far."

Brenda felt icy fingers of panic wrapping around her lungs. Once Thomas found Jax and discovered that she had been kidnapped, Brenda was sure that a full-scale search would be mounted. Roads would be blocked for miles around the Malibu compound. But the water -- Jax might never suspect that Miguel had taken her that way. Their trail would be impossible to trace. There were hundreds of small islands up and down the California coast where he could hide her, or miles of shoreline where he could hide the yacht until things quieted down enough for them to risk leaving.

She took a deep breath. "I won’t do it."

Miguel flashed the knife at her again. "I said -- get in the raft, Brenda."

Her chin jutted forward defiantly. "You won’t hurt me. You keep telling me how much you love me. You may want to kill Jax, but you won’t hurt me."

Miguel frightened her when he pulled her against him and pressed the tip of the knife to her throat again. "I told you before, Brenda -- I do not share what belongs to me. You have already taken the Martinique from me. I promise you -- as much as I *do* love you, I would rather see you DEAD than alive to return to ....... HIM."

When Brenda felt a sticky substance run down her neck, she realized that it was her own blood. Miguel had nicked the skin, just to prove his point. Tears ran down her cheeks. "OK, Miguel," she sobbed, "I understand." She moved her foot towards the raft. "I’ll get in."

"Good." Miguel released his grip on Brenda, shoved the knife into a scabbard at his belt, and then held the raft steady so that Brenda could get in. She tried to look around her for someone -- anyone -- who might see them and report the suspicious goings-on to the police. But the beach was deserted.

Miguel shoved her down onto the seat on the opposite side of the raft. "Help me row -- that way," he snarled. She wiped her tears with the back of her forearm and picked up a small wooden paddle as Miguel shoved the raft away from the shore.

They were only a short distance from shore when Brenda realized that Miguel was no seaman. His paddling was pathetic, and he kept peering into the distance as though he really had no idea where he was going. Inspired with new hope, Brenda chewed on her lower lip and began paddling with all her strength -- back towards shore.

Her ruse worked for about five minutes before Miguel began to wonder why they weren’t making any progress towards a distant light. He looked down at the water and then back into Brenda’s face. "Brenda? What are you doing?" As the realization of what she had been doing dawned, he pulled the knife from his belt and waved it at her menacingly.

"Nothing, Miguel. I’m just....." Brenda desperately tried to stall for time, but then she caught something out of the corner of her eye in the water. Something that was just below the surface and was heading towards Miguel’s end of the raft. Something.......blonde.

"BRENDA??!!" Miguel’s agitated scream brought Brenda back to the present. "I asked.....what are you......"

Miguel never finished his question. Suddenly, there was a loud splashing and Miguel’s end of the raft heaved up out of the water, throwing Miguel into the ocean. He sputtered and screamed as he went below the surface, the raft falling back down on top of his head.

Brenda held her breath as a hand reached up out of the ocean and grabbed onto the side of the raft. She heard more splashing and then, a few seconds later, Jax’s blonde head surfaced to her scream of joy. "JAX!!! You’re here!"

Jax could barely speak for lack of oxygen. "Brenda!" he gasped. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

"NO!" Brenda cautiously tried to move to Jax’s end of the raft. She inhaled sharply as she saw the knife lying at her feet. Obviously, when Miguel was knocked into the water, it must have jarred his grip on the knife and caused him to drop it. She reached for it but Jax’s voice caused her to stop.

"Brenda! We need to get back to shore!" He gulped air again and when he was more clearly illuminated by the shaft of moonlight, Brenda could see a nasty gash on his forehead above his left eye.

She looked around frantically for a paddle, forgetting about the knife. "OK, OK – you’re right. Can you get in with……"

Before she could finish her sentence, Jax’s head disappeared with a jerk. She screamed as she heard the dull sound of fists connecting below the water. There was a loud splash as two heads broke the surface again. Miguel had his hands wrapped around Jax’s throat. "You were supposed to bleed to death, you b*stard!" Miguel shouted as Jax’s arms flailed wildly in the air. "Why couldn’t you just die back in your bed?"

Brenda felt tears running down her cheeks but knew she had to do something, and fast. She reached down for the knife, picked it up, and waved it in the air. "Stop it! Both of you!" She leaned out, trying desperately to reach for Miguel and sink the knife in his shoulder to keep him from killing Jax. The sound of sirens approaching the beach vaguely registered in her brain. But at that moment, the waves that Jax and Miguel’s thrashing created reached the small raft. She barely had time to take a deep breath before the raft flipped over, throwing her into the ocean.

She had enough presence of mind to kick strongly and swim clear of the raft. But when her head broke the surface, Brenda screamed again. There was no sign of Jax or Miguel. When she was thrown into the water, she had instinctively released her grip on the knife so that she could cup her hands to swim. Before she did, though, it must have nicked the rubber raft, which was hissing and rapidly deflating before her eyes.

"JAX!" Brenda screamed his name, slapping the water frantically. Flashing red lights on the beach showed that they were about 50 feet from the shore. She could hear voices shouting their names and heard splashing – probably the policemen diving into the water. She screamed again when she saw something poking at the limp rubber of the raft, but then cried in relief when she saw Jax’s blonde head emerge from beneath it.

Brenda swam over to him just as a burly policeman did the same thing. "Help him!" she screamed. "Somebody’s trying to kill us both!" Jax couldn’t speak but Brenda threw her arms around his neck, holding onto him for dear life. "Jax! Are you OK?"

He tried to take a breath to answer but was yanked from Brenda’s arms again by something beneath the water. The policeman didn’t wait a split second before diving under the water himself. Jax re-surfaced a few seconds later, as did the policeman with a sputtering Miguel. "That’s him!" Brenda screamed. "That’s the man who’s trying to kill Jax!"

Another policeman swam up and helped the first get a struggling Miguel under their control. "We’ve got him now, ma’am," he shouted to Brenda. "Everything’s going to be OK."

Brenda finally felt Jax’s arms slip around her and pull her to him in the water. She looked into his eyes, but then bit her lip to stifle a scream. "Brenda," he gasped, "you may have to help me a little here…... I don’t seem to be able to see anything …..I can’t make it back to shore….."

Other policemen were surrounding them as Jax spoke, along with a small launch. When Brenda felt Jax go limp in her arms and his blood-red eyes drifted shut, she screamed again. "SOMEBODY HELP US! I THINK MY HUSBAND JUST DIED!!"

*************

Jax felt Brenda’s soft touch at his temple. He could hear her crooning to him, and when he slowly opened his eyes, he could even make out her blurry silhouette leaning over him. When he tried to lift his hand to touch hers, the room began to swim. He closed his eyes, and then opened them again to meet her anguished gaze.

"Brenda?" He licked his lips and then tried to focus on his surroundings. "Did I……" He chuckled a little. "…..well, if I *did* die, I sure never expected to end up in heaven. But if you’re here, that’s where I must be, huh?"

Brenda pushed the blonde hair back off Jax’s forehead and continued to stroke his face lovingly. "No, honey, you’re not in heaven." {Cause I’ve got news for you, Jax. I’ve been there, and the real thing looks a *lot* better than this!}

He nodded ever so slightly and tried to open his eyes again. "Then where….."

"You’re in a hospital, Jax," she whispered in reply. "In Malibu."

Another small nod. "Miguel?"

"He’s in jail, Jax. The police took him away and locked him up without bail." She stroked his face again and placed a kiss on his temple. "He won’t bother us again, Jax – ever."

Jax sighed in relief and shifted in the bed. He tried to open his eyes but then frowned. "My eyes – everything on the beach was so blurry…..and red……"

Brenda sat up a little to take Jax’s hand. "The doctor says you suffered a mild concussion, Jax. That’s why you’re so dizzy. And you had some pretty deep cuts on your forehead right above your eyes. Once the doctors stitched them up, they stopped bleeding. But before that they kept oozing right into your field of vision. That’s what made everything look so red…."

Jax took a deep breath. "What about Jon? And Thomas….."

"The baby’s fine. Miguel didn’t go any farther into the house than our bedroom, and he didn’t hurt the baby." She laughed softly. "The police had a little problem making sure Jon was OK, though. It seems that Trouble decided he wasn’t going to fail as a watch-dog twice, and he kept snapping at the police so they couldn’t get near the cradle!" Jax smiled but then winced. "Thomas called the police when Trouble started barking like crazy after you came after us."

Jax reached up to cup Brenda’s face. "If only I had done that well protecting *you*, my love…." Brenda shook her head and tears stung her eyes, but Jax placed his fingers against her lips. "I should have known he was crazy enough to try something like that, Brenda." He stroked her cheek and she leaned into his caress. "I was so afraid that I had lost you….."

"And I was so afraid I had lost *you*, Jax!" She sat down on the bed and pushed his shoulders back against the pillow, trying to get him to relax. "When I reached for you in the middle of the night, and saw your blood on my hands, and then Miguel showed up with that knife….." Her voice broke with barely-restrained sobs.

Jax pulled her to him and Brenda lay her head on his chest, hearing the strong, re-assuring beating of his heart. They remained like that for a few minutes, but then there was a soft knock at the door of Jax’s hospital room. A few seconds later, a tall man with just the hint of gray hair at his temples strode into the room, his white coat flapping in his wake. "Mr. Jacks! How are you feeling this morning?"

"Pretty happy to be alive I’d say," Jax replied weakly.

The doctor came over to the bed as Brenda rose so he could examine Jax. He smiled at Brenda and then flashed a penlight in Jax’s face. "How’s your vision this morning? Any clearer?"

Jax shrugged and winced as the doctor wavered the light between a spot somewhere to his right and directly in his eye. "Well, I’m still seeing red, I guess you’d say." He paused and then gave the doctor a grim smile. "And my head feels like the entire UCLA marching band is practicing inside."

The doctor nodded and made some notes in Jax’s chart after pressing the call button. "I’ll have the nurse give you something for the pain, Mr. Jacks." He looked towards Brenda. "He’ll probably sleep for the rest of the afternoon once she gives him the pain medicine, which will be the best thing for him." He snapped Jax’s chart closed sharply and then looked her up and down critically. "And probably the best thing for you, too – from what I’ve heard of the ordeal you two survived."

Jax reached out for Brenda’s hand. "That’s the doctor’s not-too-subtle hint that you should go home and get some rest, love." He sighed as a nurse came into the room. "How long will I have to stay here, doc?"

The doctor spoke in a low voice to the nurse, who nodded and left just as quickly as she had come. "We’ll keep you overnight for observation, Mr. Jacks – just a precaution, really. Your CT scan shows normal brain activity – no damage from the blow to the head. So, barring any complications, your wife should be able to take you home tomorrow."

The nurse returned with a small paper cup and some pills in her hand, which she gave to Jax. He took a sip of water to down the pills and then smiled at Brenda again. "Go ahead…..you go on home. Jon probably is getting worried that he hasn’t seen his mommy for so long."

Brenda leaned down and got a proper good-bye kiss before she left the hospital room with the doctor. She had barely gotten out the door before she heard voices coming down the hall.

"Brenda!" Thao came rushing up to her with Miranda following closely behind. "We heard what happened last night! How are the two of you doing?"

Brenda knew that Miranda was probably hoping she had died in the incident. "We’re both fine, thanks, Thao," she replied. "Jax suffered a mild concussion so the doctors are keeping him here overnight as a precaution. But he’s fine now."

"Can we go in and see him?" Miranda sounded like a heroine from a grade-B movie.

"He has a pretty awful headache and is still pretty groggy. The doctor said the best thing for him at this point is rest," Brenda answered, trying not to gloat. "He prescribed something for the pain that pretty much knocked him out for the rest of the afternoon."

"So he just has this mild concussion thing? That’s all?" Thao sighed in relief. "I heard rumors that the man who kidnapped you had a knife."

Brenda nodded. "He did. Jax got some cuts above his eyes that affected his vision temporarily, but he’s fine now. He should be able to go home tomorrow."

Miranda put her hand to her chest dramatically. "A concussion? And almost blinded?" She managed to slither past Thao to glower at Brenda. "I hope you realize that this little *stunt* that your lunatic Latin lover pulled almost got Jax killed! And it’s *your* fault!"

"MY fault!" Brenda glanced around her as hospital personnel gave her scathing looks for her outburst. She came nose to nose with Miranda as Thao desperately tried to get between the two women. "Miguel *kidnapped* me, Miranda. He held the knife to my throat several times – he even cut me once! So I really don’t understand how you can think this was *my* fault!"

Miranda crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "Hmmmm…a knife to your throat, huh?" She raised her eyebrows to feign innocence. "Gee, Brenda, I never knew you went in for that kind of kinky S&M stuff."

Brenda’s deep breath as she pulled her arm back to swing warned Miguel of an impending cat-fight. He managed to put himself between the two women before the hospital got any more customers. "Ladies! Ladies!" He pulled Miranda back and nodded to Brenda to move away. "Let’s all cool down here, shall we? I think everyone is a little punchy here from lack of sleep." He continued to hold Miranda and looked towards Brenda. "Do you need somebody to drive you home?"

She nodded. "I came here last night with Jax in the ambulance."

Miranda pulled out of Thao’s grasp angrily. "I came here alone – I can go home alone, Thao," she informed him icily. She straightened her dress and glared at Brenda. "I’ll come over tomorrow to visit Jax when he’s back home – he’ll probably be happy to see a *friendly* face!"

As Miranda stomped away from them, Brenda looked at Thao. "I thought my troubles were over now that Miguel is behind bars. Why do I have the feeling they’re just beginning?"

***********

"I’ll get it, Thomas!"

Brenda pushed aside some folders with L&B contracts to reach for the telephone. The sun was shining and she was happily anticipating picking Jax up from the hospital late that afternoon. After a good night’s sleep, she had spoken with him that morning and he was anxious to get back to his family.

Her hand froze momentarily over the ringing telephone on her desk. {That’s crazy, Brenda. Miguel was making the harassing calls and he’s in jail. He can’t hurt you or Jax anymore. It’s probably Thao, calling to ask how Jax is today.} She picked up the phone and held her breath for an instant before saying "hello."

"Brenda! Oh, my God, Brenda! Are you OK?" Brenda could hear the tears in Carly’s voice.

"Oh, Carly……I’m fine, honey, really." She propped her chin in her hand while holding the telephone with the other one. Brenda hadn’t thought of Carly in weeks – ever since she had come to Malibu. She realized that if Carly ever found out the truth, it would hurt her badly. "We’re all fine," she continued. "Jax is coming home from the hospital this afternoon."

"Oh, Brenda, that’s *so* great!" She could hear Carly holding back sobs. "I was just so worried about you. It was in all the papers here, you know, and it sounds like it was *sooooo* awful….."

"Well, it wasn’t exactly as much fun as….." Brenda paused for a second. "…..going to the gym with you." Although she detested working out, Brenda knew that it would make Carly feel better, so she justified the white lie. "Miguel is one sick puppy, Carly. I’m just glad he’s in jail and won’t be around to bother us anymore."

There was a strange silence on the other end of the phone, and Brenda could swear she heard Carly stifle another hiccup. "Carly? Are you there?" Brenda was beginning to be genuinely concerned for "her" friend. "You don’t sound so good yourself."

"Ohhhhh, Brenda…." Carly’s voice quivered with emotion. "I hate to bother you when you’ve got so many problems of your own, but…..but I think……" Brenda sat up straighter in her chair. "……I think I’m going to leave Jason," Carly finally wailed.

{Jason. Jason? Who’s Jason?} Brenda closed her eyes but then they popped open with the inspiration. "Oh, Jason! Your boyfriend!" She frowned. "But Carly, I thought things were going so well with Jason. Why would you want to leave him?"

Carly sniffled and Brenda heard her blow her nose loudly away from the telephone. "I just……well, you know I’ve always been a little worried cause Jase wouldn’t tell me who he worked for. Well, last night…..I heard him on the telephone, Brenda. Talking to his boss."

"And?"

"He was talking to Miguel, Brenda. From jail." Brenda felt cold shivers run down her spine. "Jason works for Miguel."

"Ohhhh, Carly…..I don’t know what to say."

Brenda could tell Carly was adopting an air of optimism. "Well, I guess it’s better I found out now than when I was already married to the guy, or had a bunch of kids with him, right?"

"Absolutely." Brenda felt sorry for Carly, but she was also curious about why Miguel would have been calling Jason. "So……you said you overheard Jason and Miguel on the phone?"

"Yeah. I could only hear Jason’s end of the conversation, you know, but he was sayin’ things like he’d make sure to take care of the shipments and he’d take Miguel’s place in some meeting coming up in San Diego." Her voice quavered again. "He said something else that really scared me, Bren."

Brenda took a deep breath, as it was her turn to sound noncommittal. "What was that?"

"Jason told Miguel that he would take care of everything, and then I guess Miguel must have said something about going away to jail for a long time. And Jason said he would make sure somebody took care of you and Jax, even if Miguel couldn’t do it." Brenda tried to stifle her gasp but wasn’t too successful. "Oh, I know, Brenda," Carly sobbed, starting to cry again, "I’m mad at Jason and scared for me and scared for you, too!"

Brenda felt the silver lining draining out of her cloud. She had thought that with Miguel behind bars, there wouldn’t be any more obstacles in her and Jax’s road to a happy life together. Obviously, Miguel had connections that could change all that. "I’m really grateful you called me, Carly," Brenda whispered, trying desperately not to break down and sob herself. "Do you…..I mean, where will you go? If you leave Jason?"

"I don’t know. I was thinking maybe I would try to find my birthmom, you know? I told you it always bothered me that I was adopted and didn’t know anything about my real family." Carly’s voice sounded a little brighter.

"But that could take a while…..and a lot of money," Brenda replied. "Will you….I mean, do you have enough to get by? Until you find her?"

"Thanks for offering, kid." Carly’s voice was becoming more cheerful by the minute. "I’m going to start in Florida where I was born. And I should be able to pick up some jobs waitressing or working in a gym or something." There was a short pause, and then Carly’s voice came back, filled with emotion. "You know, I really feel like you’re saving my life here, Brenda."

"Me?!" Brenda was incredulous. "After what you just told me, I think it’s more like the other way around!"

Carly’s voice was firm and strong. "Nope. You know, after your baby was born and we got together those times, I could really see that you were happy with Jax. It was like you found what you needed in life. You didn’t need to go out picking up guys anymore to make you happy." She laughed sarcastically. "And it got me thinking about things – I mean, you and I weren’t exactly the poster girls for monogamy, you know! And with that AIDS thing floating around……" Her voice trailed off and Brenda heard her take a deep, determined breath. "Anyway, after I found out that Jason was a crook like Miguel and I decided to leave him – well, it’s like I’m turning my life around thanks to you. Like ever since that thing happened when you had your kid, you turned into some kind of angel or something."

Brenda smiled ruefully. "Yeah – or something." She wiped a tear away from her eye. "Listen – you call me from wherever you are and let me know you’re alright, OK, Carly? Call collect if you want."

"I will Brenda. You’re the best friend I ever had."

"You’re the best too, Carly. I’ll talk to you soon." Brenda hung up the phone softly. She almost felt like it was a shame that she wouldn’t get to know the "new" Carly Roberts better. Then the enormity of her problem with Miguel hit her again and she rose from the desk to walk to the windows and stare out at the ocean.

"Is there a problem, Mrs. Brenda?" Thomas’s voice startled Brenda and she turned back from the window, the tracks of her tears still visible on her face. "Mr. Jax isn’t worse, is he?"

"No, Thomas. That wasn’t the hospital." She walked towards the stocky man wringing her hands. "I just…..well, it was a different kind of bad news."

Thomas lifted her chin to stare into her eyes. "Do you want to talk to Thomas about it? I’m a good listener."

Brenda sighed and motioned for Thomas to follow her to the couch in the study. "I found out that Miguel has connections on the outside, Thomas," she explained as they sat down. "I thought that with him in jail, he wouldn’t be able to hurt us anymore. But now, it sounds like he’s going to try to have other people….." She started to hiccup again and put her fingers to her lips. "….to hire them to finish what he started….."

Thomas gathered her into his arms as she started to cry. "Now, now, Mrs. Brenda. Don’t cry. Nothing’s gonna happen to you and Mr. Jax."

She pulled away from him. "But if they come after us, Thomas, they might try to kill Jax again!"

Thomas nodded wisely. "Which is why you just have to go and see Miguel in jail and tell him, Mrs. Brenda."

"I’ve *tried* to tell him that I don’t love him, Thomas," Brenda argued, "but he just won’t believe me!"

Thomas pulled away from her a little and looked deeply into her eyes. "That’s not what I mean, Mrs. Brenda. I mean that you need to go and tell him the truth."

Brenda’s face grew pale. "What …..truth?"

"The truth….Mrs. Brenda. About who you really are. And about what really happened the day that Master Jon was born."

To be continued……