Carly stood, frozen, her hand still on the front doorknob. Her feet didn’t seem to be getting the frantic message to MOVE!! from her brain.

"Did you hear me, Mrs. Corinthos?" the man repeated. A shock of black hair fell across his forehead as he pointed the handgun at Carly’s chest. "Tell me where it is or I’ll shoot!"

"Now look……." Carly put out her free hand, palm outwards in a pleading gesture. "If you just put the gun down….."

"GET AWAY FROM THE F***ING DOOR!" The man’s sudden shout made Carly jump visibly. She inched away from the doorway as ordered, her eyes never leaving the gun that still wavered in the man’s hand.

"OK…..OK……" She put out both hands this time, trying to appear calm even though her heart was in her throat. "If it’s money you want, there’s a wooden box in my bureau beneath some scarves….."

"I don’t want your MONEY, Mrs. Corinthos!" the man hissed angrily. He let go of the gun long enough to push his hair back off his face, then gripped the handle again with both hands. "I want what’s MINE!!"

"Yours…." Carly nodded, repeating the word slowly. She remembered something she had read about hostage situations and keeping your attacker talking. Somehow, she managed a brave half-smile. "I’m sorry, but I just don’t understand. You think I have something that belongs to you, and I don’t even know who you are….."

"Your lying son-of-a-b*tch HUSBAND knew who I was!" the man growled. His dark eyes sparkled with hatred in the dim light of the living room. "He STOLE it from me!"

Just as cold understanding gripped her stomach, Carly heard the sound of the screen door being opened behind her. "Carly?"

She sighed his name as tears stung her eyes. "Jax…… NO!"

Years of WSB training and good instincts kicked in before his name left Carly’s lips. Jax hurtled himself into the living room, somehow putting his body between her and the crazed gunman.

"GET AWAY FROM HER, MAN!!" The intruder backed up a few paces, moving his arm jerkily from aiming at Carly’s chest to Jax’s and back to Carly’s again. "This ain’t none of your business!"

"Anything that involves Mrs. Corinthos’ safety is my business," Jax replied coolly. He glanced over his shoulder at Carly. "Are you OK?"

She nodded once, her facial muscles tight, huddling behind his broad shoulders even while fearing for his well-being. "Better now that you’re here."

"And she’s gonna stay JUST FINE as long as she gives me what I came for!" The gunman shifted his feet nervously, Jax noticed – almost seeming uncomfortable in the role.

Jax put out both hands towards the intruder, more a gesture of calm reasoning than begging. "Look, man....."

"The name is Smith!! Zander Smith!" the gunman repeated. He rubbed the back of his hand across his lips, wiping away nervous perspiration.

"Alllllll right, Mr. Smith, if that really *is* your name," Jax drawled. He kept both arms out to his sides, turning his body into a protective shield around Carly. "If it’s money you want….."

"I already TOLD Mrs. Corinthos that I didn’t want her money!" Zander shouted. He pressed his lips together, then inched closer to Jax and Carly. "As soon as she gives me what her lying son-of-a-b*tch husband stole from me, I’m outta here!"

{Another potential murder suspect.} Despite the danger and his heart pounding so loudly it sounded like a bass drum in his ears, Jax couldn’t stop the realization that dawned. If Sonny really HAD stolen something from the too-common-of-a-name-to-be-believed Mr. Smith, something which obviously *greatly* irritated the aforementioned Mr. Smith, it could have motivated him to murder Sonny to get it back. He was using a gun now; he could have easily used one before.

"I’d really LOVE to give you back whatever it is Sonny took, Mr. Smith," Carly said slowly and calmly, "but since I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about….."

"The credit for the formula for Thin ‘n Trim!" Zander hissed through clenched teeth. "I was the one who developed it in the first place!"

"You’re……." Jax felt Carly’s body tense behind him as she spoke. "You’re the chemistry professor who invented the weight loss supplement?"

"From Penn State." Zander nodded grimly, his hair falling across his forehead again. "Your husband found out about my research somehow and came to talk to me about it."

"But you signed a licensing agreement with my husband," she argued, trying to remain as calm as possibly while quibbling with an armed man. "You sold him the rights to the formula…."

"I NEVER signed any agreement!" Zander shot back. "At least, not with Sonny Corinthos!" He shifted the gun to one hand, then reached in his back pocket and withdrew a paper. "Here!" Holding it in his free hand, he advanced on Jax and Carly, offering it to them. "Take a look at this!"

Jax edged forward, took the paper, and then moved back into his position safeguarding Carly while he scanned its contents. "This seems to be a preliminary licensing agreement with a company called Allied Petrochemical…."

"Oh, my God……" Carly’s eyes widened. The "buzz" that Ned had heard was the truth, another of Sonny’s lies coming back to haunt – and this time, possible kill – her. "So Damian wasn’t lying….."

Zander’s chin firmed and he seemed slightly calmer. "I spoke with Damian Smith a few days after Mr. Corinthos came to see me. Allied promised me much more money for the formula, and even a lab for research and development of other products." He shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? I’ve got …… obligations. I’ve got to think of the money. I told Damian that I would let Allied produce Thin ‘n Trim." He suddenly pointed a finger at Carly. "I mean, even though I talked to Sonny first, I hadn’t SIGNED anything yet with your husband, so I didn’t figure I was welching on a deal!"

"All of which could be easily proven in a court of law, Mr. Smith," Jax pointed out in an even voice. "Disputes over licensing agreements are things that lawyers hash out, not gun-toting hysterics……"

"But I can’t AFFORD all those fancy lawyers to prove it in court!" Zander protested. "Do you know what kind of money university professors make? Especially the ones without tenure? And I got a wife, and a kid on the way!" He began to breathe hard, exhaling loudly while pursing his lips so tightly that his chin firmed to a point. "Besides – I don’t even have my original formula!"

Carly’s face fell in shock. "What?"

"Just another little "surprise," courtesy of your husband, Mrs. Corinthos," Zander sneered. "When I saw the news about Terracon releasing a product that sounded a h*ll of a lot like mine, I decided to re-check my files." The corner of his one eye twitched with rage. "But when I logged onto my computer at the university, everything was gone! Your husband must have gotten my password somehow, and then downloaded my files without me knowing!"

"Oh, Mr. Smith….." When Carly started to move out from behind Jax, he put out a hand to restrain her. Even though he, too, felt some sympathy for the poor, naïve scientist, he couldn’t let her empathy blind her to the fact that Zander Smith was still holding a very dangerous weapon. "I’m soooo sorry……"

"There’s just……NOTHING’S left!!" Zander raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. "All those years of research and testing – they’re all GONE!"

"I really do feel badly for you, Mr. Smith," Carly said sincerely. "But I wasn’t involved with my husband’s business, so I had no idea ……"

"I’m not askin’ for your sympathy, Mrs. Corinthos," Zander said, his chest swelling as he tried to preserve some dignity. "I just need you to give me back my research and formulas so I can make good on my agreement with Allied Petrochemical."

"I’m sure Terracon and Mr. Ashton are going to be *thrilled* to hear that," Jax whispered to Carly dryly. His mind whirled with potential murder scenarios. If Zander hadn’t killed Sonny for refusing to give him back the formula, perhaps Ned Ashton had. Surely finding out that Sonny had misrepresented the deal, potentially losing all that money to Damian Smith, hadn’t been an easy pill to swallow for Ned. Once he found out about the missing license agreement, which he mentioned to Carly so casually on the phone the day before, perhaps Ned had confronted Sonny and then killed him in a fit of rage.

"My husband did frequently work from home, Mr. Smith," Carly explained. "But I’ve already gone through all the disks he left in his desk, and there was no information like you’re describing."

Zander’s hand began to shake again. "Then he must have transferred it to some other disk – or hidden it away somewhere else." Carly gasped loudly when he released the safety on the gun and pointed it at her and Jax. "So I figure, we’re just gonna look around here until we find it." He licked his lips nervously. "Cause I’m NOT leavin’ without my formula!"

Jax felt Carly’s hand tremble on his shoulder. "I TOLD you, Mr. Smith, I’ve gone through EVERYTHING and there’s NO disk like that….."

"AND I TOLD YOU, LADY!" Zander shouted. "I DON’T CARE IF IT TAKES US ALL NIGHT, WE’RE GONNA….."

"Now hang on, hang on here…….." Jax put up both hands, his voice even as he moved towards Zander. "There’s no need for anyone to get bent out of shape about anything……"

It happened before Carly could blink an eye – before her heart even pounded another time in her chest. One moment, Jax was in front of her, calmly trying to persuade Zander to be reasonable about his stolen formula. The next, her blonde-haired savior had launched himself into a vicious hitch kick, knocking the gun out of Zander’s hand and halfway across the room. Before the young professor could react, Jax lunged forward to deliver a bruising karate punch to Zander’s middle body. The dark-haired man doubled over in pain, a perfect opportunity for Jax to land the final blow; a downward chopping motion across the back of Zander’s neck sent their attacker sprawling to the floor.

"CARLY!!" Jax leapt on top of Zander, wrestling his hands behind him. "CALL THE POLICE!!"

"Oh, my God……" Carly placed both hands over her mouth, still in shock. "Oh, my God, Jax – are you OK?"

"I’m FINE, Carly!" Jax’s chest heaved as he kept one knee pressed against the small of Zander’s back, both of the young man’s wrists manacled in his hand. He managed a smile, trying to calm her, and tipped his head towards the phone. "Now, do like I said and call 911." He swallowed hard and took a deep gulp of air as she moved towards the phone. "And tell them that if Detective Taggert’s around, he should come, too," Jax added. He glared down at Zander. "I’m sure he’ll be VERY interested to hear some of the things that the young professor here has to say about his feelings towards your late husband."

"I hated Sonny Corinthos’s GUTS!" Zander sobbed. He writhed and tried to look back over his shoulder at Jax. "But I didn’t KILL the man, if that’s what you’re trying to say!" He shook his head and stared at the floor again. "For God’s sake – I’m just a chemistry professor, not a MURDERER!!"

"Yeah, well that was no lesson on the periodic table of elements you were trying to teach Mrs. Corinthos and myself tonight with that gun, prof!" Jax returned sarcastically. "If you’re really innocent, you shouldn’t have any problem with the police running some ballistics tests to see if your weapon matches the one that killed Sonny."

Carly hung up the phone. "The police are on their way." She wrapped her arms around her waist, shivering slightly when she walked past Zander’s castoff gun on her way towards Jax. "The operator said we shouldn’t touch anything until they get here."

"Yeah, well somehow I don’t think they’ll mind me touching this guy," Jax quipped, pressing down on Zander’s back to keep the struggling young man quiet. He glanced up at Carly, his blue eyes softening. "Are you sure he didn’t hurt you?"

"Positive." Carly pressed her lips together, nodding her head once. "I was just …… just really scared." She took a breath, letting it out slowly before shaking her head in wonderment at Jax. "How did you know……..I thought you drove away after I came inside……"

"I started to, but something just didn’t *feel* quite right to me." Jax glanced down at Zander, then lifted his eyes to Carly again. "I had only gone a few feet and when I looked back, I could still see your back through the screen door. You looked like you were waiting for something…….or talking to someone." He shook his head. "I knew something had to be wrong or you would have gone inside and closed the door behind you."

"Thank God you did." As police sirens echoed in the distance, moving closer, Jax saw tears reflecting in Carly’s eyes. "This is the second time you’ve saved my life, Jax." She took a shaky breath. "I don’t know what to say……"

He laughed softly, trying to make light of a situation that, in reality, scared the h*ll out of him. "I assume you don’t want me bringing up that old Chinese proverb again, hmmm?"

Carly managed to echo his chuckle, pressing her thumbs in the corners of her eyes to stifle the tears that threatened to spill out. "You are……oh, my God……REALLY something else….…"

Brakes squealed and the sirens came to an abrupt halt as the police cars pulled up in front of Carly’s house. She heard the loud stamping of feet, then jumped when the screen door slammed open and Taggert and another officer burst through, weapons drawn, crouched in attack position.

"You can put a lid on the heroics, guys," Jax sighed. He glanced down at Zander. "The situation’s under control – now."

"Well, well, well…….Mrs. Corinthos!" Taggert straightened, re-holstering his weapon and looking around the trashed living room. "We’ve got to stop meeting like this!"

Memories of a night not even two weeks earlier washed over Carly. The shock of finding Sonny’s body, blood everywhere, being knocked unconscious, then calling the police, watching the paramedics pronounce him dead……. "I can assure you, Detective," she said frostily, "NO ONE will be happier than me if we don’t replay this scene anytime soon!"

Taggert ignored her sarcasm, walking over to where Jax had Zander subdued. "I’ll take over here now……" When Jax moved off the young, dark-haired man, Taggert frowned. "Is that……..YOU again?" Taggert wrapped a firm hand around Zander’s arm to pull him to his feet but still kept his attention on Jax. "Aren’t you the same guy who pulled Mrs. Corinthos out of the Port Charles River? Jasper something?"

"Jasper Jacks." Jax nodded, then ran his fingers through his hair, trying to regain some composure even though his heart was still racing. "I went with Mrs. Corinthos to the Fall Festival this afternoon. When I brought her home, she found this young man in her living room. Apparently he had broken in, ransacked the place, and was threatening to kill her."

"I wasn’t REALLY gonna kill her, ALL RIGHT?!" Zander protested. Taggert tightened the grip he had on Zander’s arm when the young man moved towards Jax to protest his innocence. "I just came here to get what her no good husband stole from me!!"

"Apparently there’s some question of whether or not Sonny Corinthos had the legal rights to this young man’s weight loss formula," Jax said in a low, grim voice to Taggert. "Professor Smith decided to settle the dispute with a gun."

"Luckily, Jax didn’t leave right after he dropped me off," Carly chimed in from across the room. "If he hadn’t come in here and managed to overpower Professor Smith……."

"I TOLD you, I wouldn’t have killed her!!" Zander shouted again. His chin thrust far out in exasperation, he stared daggers at Taggert. "I just wanted to convince her that I was serious about getting the formula back!"

"I don’t wanna hear ANY more from you!" Taggert countered. He turned his attention to Carly again. "Where’s the gun?"

"Over here – on the floor." Carly glanced down at a spot behind the couch. "Jax managed to knock it out of his hand."

"OK, OK – I’ve heard enough." Taggert turned towards the officer that had come into the house with him. "Jamieson!!" The other officer bounded forward. "Take this guy out to the squad car and read him his rights." As soon as Taggert relinquished Zander to Jamieson’s custody, the detective strolled over to behind the couch. He bent over, whipped out a handkerchief, and then wrapped it around the pistol’s grip to pick it up gingerly. "We’ll be charging him with breaking and entering and assault with a deadly weapon just for starters."

"You DON’T understand!" Jax and Carly heard Zander’s wail of frustration as he was led out of the house and towards a waiting police vehicle. Meanwhile, Taggert slipped the weapon into a plastic evidence bag and zipped it shut.

"I’m going to need a statement from both of you." The detective glanced first at Jax, then at Carly. "And I’ll need you to sign a complaint against the good professor to press charges, Mrs. Corinthos."

"Can it wait until morning?" Carly asked, pressing her palm against her forehead exhaustedly. "I’ve been up since early this morning working on things for the Festival, and after all this excitement tonight ….."

Taggert thought for a moment, pursed his lips and nodded. "Works for me. Just make sure you get there before noon." He grimaced at the squad car outside. "I’d hate to have to let this guy go if he really *did* threaten to kill you."

"If he *really* did ……." Carly frowned, then her eyes widened with insulted rage. "Detective Taggert, are you insinuating that I’m making this whole thing up?"

"I’d be curious to hear the answer to that one myself!" Jax rubbed the knuckles of his right hand against his left palm while walking over to where Carly stood. "Maybe if the detective has any doubts, he’d like to see where I bruised my fist punching out that *wacko* before he could kill us!"

"Now, now, now……. No need to get your undies in a twist, folks." Taggert held up both hands in a gesture to stop. "I’m sure once we have a chance to talk to your *wacko*, he’ll tell us the same story you did." He strolled nonchalantly towards Carly’s front door. "I’m just saying, Mrs. Corinthos, that it’s sure strange how a perfectly normal, quiet woman like you has someone try to kill her twice in the space of four days."

Carly swallowed hard. When Jax moved closer to her, putting a protective arm around her waist for support, it didn’t escape the detective’s notice. "Twice?"

"Uh-huh." Taggert nodded, put one hand on the screen door to open it, and then turned back to the couple. "We got the results back from those tests we had run on your car, Mrs. Corinthos. Turns out the brake lines had been cut."

The color drained from Carly’s face. "Cut?"

"Yep." Taggert handed the evidence bag to another officer who came to the front door, then turned back to them. "Apparently somebody *wanted* you to go for that little swim in the river."

"I’d say that warrants some police protection, wouldn’t you, Detective?" Jax asked pointedly. He could feel the tremors of fear that rippled though Carly’s body periodically as he stood next to her. Although there was nothing he wanted to do more – and nobody could protect her as well as WSB Agent Jasper Jacks – he suddenly found himself powerless. Today had been a major step in Carly’s progress towards trusting him. Finding out that Jax hadn’t told her the whole truth about himself would only set them back, perhaps irrevocably.

"I’m afraid I disagree, Mr. Jacks," Taggert drawled lazily. "We took Mrs. Corinthos’s attacker into custody, so he won’t be bothering her again anytime soon."

"But surely you can’t believe that Mr. Smith cut the brake lines on Carly’s car!" Jax argued heatedly. "If he had succeeded and …… and she……" He looked down at Carly, still loathe to consider the possibility that she could have drowned, and then narrowed one eye at Taggert. "Professor Smith repeatedly said tonight that he just wanted his formula back, and it sounded like he thought he needed Mrs. Corinthos to do that!" Jax pulled Carly closer to him when he heard a sob catch in her throat. "It’s *obvious* that somebody ELSE has a vendetta against her."

"And we’re still doing tests on the car, Mr. Jacks," Taggert replied. From the tone of his voice, his patience was growing thin. "But in the meantime, I don’t have the manpower or taxpayer dollars to justify a bodyguard for Mrs. Corinthos." He tipped his head respectfully. "Now I’ll see you folks down at the station tomorrow….." He was almost out the door when he turned back and gestured broadly at the disheveled living room. "Oh, and you might want to check the house, just to make sure that nutty professor didn’t decide to pocket some of the good silver while he was looking for his formula."

Carly pressed her fingers against her lips as Taggert finally disappeared. The screen door didn’t even get a chance to slam before Jax followed him. "Detective Taggert, I’d like a word with you….."

The policeman stopped mid-stride halfway back to his squad car and spun to face Jax. "And I imagine your superior at the WSB would like a word with you, too, Mr. Jacks." When Jax’s face blanched, Taggert homed in like a predator stalking its prey. "What’s his name? Mr. ….. Donnelly?"

Jax’s eyes glittered with contempt in the darkness. "I see you’ve done your homework, Detective."

"I stopped believing in the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus a LONG time ago, Mr. Jacks," Taggert murmured. He glanced up at Carly’s door, where she still stood, before continuing in a low tone. "NOBODY from the Big Apple comes to Port Charles on "vacation."" He looked around the small, quiet neighborhood sarcastically. "Anyone with half a *brain* tries to get out of this backwater town as quick as possible!"

"So I’m sure that when I run my background check on YOU, Detective," Jax shot back with a gleam in his eye, "I’ll find out just why YOU’RE still around!"

"I may be dumb, but I’m not STUPID, Mr. Jacks." Taggert crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the squad car nonchalantly. "Why should I stick my neck out arresting junkies and crime lords in some big city, when I can work my way towards retirement here, where the biggest thing that ever happens is when old lady Peabody’s cat gets stuck in a tree?"

"Hmmmm…….I see your point, Detective." Jax nodded and pursed his lips, feigning approval. He sighed, raising his eyebrows innocently before launching his next volley. "I guess Sonny Corinthos’ murder must have put a REAL big wrinkle in your soap-opera-watching plans for the day."

"I’ll get over it." Taggert winced ever so slightly as the barb hit home, then regained his composure and straightened. "But you know what I can’t figure out, Mr. Jacks?" He peered around Jax towards Carly’s front door. "What makes the feds so interested in Corinthos’ murder?" He shrugged his shoulders, echoing Jax’s innocent/sarcastic tone. "I mean, old Sonny boy must have been into something BIG for them to send a top agent like yourself to check things out……"

"I told you, Detective," Jax hissed, "I’m here on PERSONAL business!"

"Um-hmmm…….." Taggert pressed his lips together, jutting his chin forward defiantly. "Like the *personal* business of finding out if the good widow Corinthos is into something bigger than just murder?"

Jax’s jaw firmed and his eyes turned even frostier. "Carly Corinthos did NOT murder her husband, Detective Taggert."

"Is that your *personal* or *professional* opinion, Special Agent Jacks?"

"BOTH." Jax didn’t let Taggert’s snide insinuation phase him. "There are PLENTY of other people who had more than adequate motive to kill Sonny Corinthos – starting with Professor Smith." He leaned towards Taggert, tapping his chest lightly with his pointer finger. "What *I* can’t figure out," he hissed, echoing Taggert’s words, "is why you won’t even *consider* any of the other possibilities!"

Taggert glared down at Jax’s finger, then up into his icy blue eyes. "Sonny Corinthos was a lying, skirt-chasing, no-good bum of a husband, Mr. Jacks. Anyone in this town will tell you that Caroline had more reasons to want him dead than you could count on one hand. That gives her motive." The detective held up his hand, palm inwards, as he ticked off points on his fingers. "She found the body. That gives her opportunity."

"As I recall, Mrs. Corinthos was hit from behind right after she discovered her husband’s body, Detective," Jax countered. "Even the paramedics confirmed that she had a lump on the back of her head."

"Something she could have easily caused herself," Taggert countered.

"Bloody H*LL!" Jax raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Anyone who takes one good LOOK at the woman can see that she would never do something like that!"

Taggert pursed his lips, shook his head in disdain, and then clapped a supposedly friendly hand on Jax’s shoulder. "It takes a LOT of guts to shoot a person in the chest, Mr. Jacks," he murmured in a confidential voice. "Being so close to all that blood spraying around, and with the victim staring you right in the eye before you do it……" He clucked his tongue. "Nope. The person who plugged old Sonny in his ticker would have to have to be a pretty COLD cookie."

Jax narrowed an eye at Taggert, focusing on the hand, which the detective quickly removed. "Your point being?"

"Well, the way I figure it, after what happened tonight with that nutty professor waving a gun around and tearing up her house, the good widow Corinthos should have been pretty hysterical by the time we got here." He peered around Jax again at Carly, who remained silhouetted in the screen door. "CRYING at least." He shrugged his shoulders. "After all, the guy DID threaten to kill her, according to you."

The muscles in Jax’s jaw clenched. "He did."

Taggert looked up at Carly again, whistled softly, and shook his head. "Old Caroline must have ice water in those veins to be this calm, wouldn’t you say, Special Agent Jacks?" He stared pointedly at Jax, then turned to get into the squad car. "The way I see it, all I need is a weapon, and I’ll have an open and shut case."

Jax fumed silently until Taggert was seated in the squad car. Just as officer driving turned over the motor, Jax leaned down to grip the open window on Taggert’s side. "One last thing, Detective," he snarled. "If you breathe ONE WORD about me working for the WSB to ANYONE, I’ll make sure that you’re tied to your desk doing paperwork for the rest of your miserable career!" His eyes turned a steely shade of gray. "Am I clear, Detective Taggert?"

"Crystal, Mr. Jacks." Taggert winked at him sarcastically. "In the meantime, if I were you, I’d watch my step around the good widow Corinthos." He crooked his finger to beckon Jax closer. "Wouldn’t want to p*ss her off, if you know what I mean."

Before Jax could rebut his accusation, Taggert waved at his fellow officer and the squad car pulled slowly away from the curb. Jax straightened, then turned back to Carly’s house with a sigh. He KNEW, deep down in his gut, that she hadn’t killed Sonny. Even without their personal involvement, it just didn’t make sense. As he stared at the stationery figure standing, waiting for him in the doorway, he just wished Carly didn’t make it so d*mn hard to prove.

*~*~*~*

"It’s not about the gun……they didn’t find the gun……he’s not talking to Jax about the gun……" Carly repeated the mantra softly as she watched Taggert and her rescuer talking in low tones. Wrapping her right arm around her waist, she supported her left elbow as she tapped the fingers of her left hand against her lips nervously. Her heart still raced at triple time in her chest. Facing the disgruntled and borderline homicidal Professor Zander Smith had been enough excitement. But then, when Taggert had started talking about the "testing" the PCPD did on her car, Carly was sure he was going to announce that they had found the gun and she was being arrested for Sonny’s murder.

"Stay calm…….it’s probably not about the gun…….they look like they’re arguing with each other….." Carly frowned and desperately tried to hear what the two were saying, but their hushed tones kept their conversation a mystery to her. When Jax poked his finger at Taggert’s chest, drawing a glare from the Detective, and then shook off Taggert’s hand on his shoulder a few moments later, she decided that it must be some testosterone-induced altercation. {Maybe Taggert’s upset because Jax protected me and made the PCPD look like idiots.}

As Taggert’s car pulled away from the curb outside her house, Carly turned back towards her living room with a relieved sigh. "They didn’t find the gun……." She patted her chest and fanned her flushed face with her hand in an attempt to calm herself. "It must have just floated out of the car when Jax broke the window to get me out." When she nearly tripped over a couch cushion on the floor, she bent over at the waist to pick it up. "It’s probably out in the Atlantic Ocean by now, so you can just relax, Carly…."

"What did you say?"

She jumped visibly and spun around to face Jax, who had come in so quietly through the screen door that she didn’t hear him. "I……I said…." Carly laughed a little, putting her hand on the back of her neck. "I was just talking to myself……" She tossed the cushion back on the couch after zipping it again. "Just telling myself that I relax now because that awful Professor Smith is behind bars."

"Ahhh…….I see." Jax returned her smile, although he would have bet his WSB pension that she wasn’t telling the truth. Although he was sure she hadn’t killed Sonny, she was troubled and nervous about *something*. When Carly bent down to pick up another couch cushion, he rushed over to her. "Here – let me help with that."

They worked silently for a few minutes, side by side – replacing cushions, re-hanging pictures, and putting shades back on lamps. Carly went for a broom and dustpan and was sweeping up broken glass from a picture frame when she suddenly straightened. "You’re not one of Sonny’s business associates, are you?"

Jax almost dropped the set of metal coasters he was holding. "What makes you say that?" he asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could.

"Well," Carly laughed, "because those karate moves you used on that crazy professor sure didn’t look like they came from the Harvard Business School!" Her relaxed tone and smile made Jax’s heart move back from his throat to his chest. "Where did you learn to do stuff like that?"

"I just always found the usual workout routine at the gym boring," he explained, shrugging his shoulders. When she walked over to sweep up some glass near him, he took the broom and dustpan from her. "But I wanted to keep in shape, so I decided to take some karate lessons instead." Jax almost regretted how easily the lie came from his lips, but he knew that after the traumatic events of the evening, Carly wasn’t ready for another shocking revelation from him. Especially after the "bomb" he had dropped on her at brunch just that morning.

"Well, I’d have to say those lessons sure came in handy tonight." When he straightened and stared deeply into her eyes, she tried to throttle the dizzying current racing through her. "How……" Carly’s voice dropped to a husky whisper. "I don’t know how I can ever thank you for saving my life ……..again……"

"Ohhhh…….." Jax’s gaze dropped from her eyes to her shoulders to her breasts……and then scorched its way back up to her face again. "I can think of a way."

"Really?" She swallowed hard as flames kissed parts of her that hadn’t even been lukewarm in quite some time. "What would that be?"

The very air between them seemed electrified. "Let me stay the night."

Her cheeks colored under the heat of his gaze. "Jax……." Although she told herself that she was a new widow and barely knew the man, Carly couldn’t deny the sexual vibrations that simmered between them. "I’m not…….I mean, we’ve been through a lot together, but it’s still only been a few days….."

"On the COUCH!!" His eyes suddenly widened with realization. "I meant on the COUCH, Carly!" he repeated, pointing to it. He set the broom and dustpan aside and came to put his hands on her upper arms tenderly. "I just can’t bring myself to leave you alone here tonight. Not after what you’ve been through."

Her lips curved in a sweet smile. "I appreciate the offer, Jax, but I’ll be fine……really."

Jax’s face suddenly clouded over and he glanced over his shoulder at the closed door. "I STILL can’t believe that Taggert wouldn’t let one of his flunkies here tonight to protect you!"

"Jax," Carly said gently, taking his hands in hers, "Taggert was RIGHT. They arrested that crazy professor, and he won’t be getting out of jail anytime soon, especially since I promised to press charges." She patted his hand, ignoring the little sparks of sexual attraction that traveled up her arm every time she touched him. "I’m not afraid to stay here by myself," she insisted firmly.

His jaw clenched and he looked around the living room. "All right then……let’s try this." Jax walked over to the entrance to the small kitchen, glanced inside, and then turned back to her. "This place is a MESS, and it’s far too late for you to try to get it all put back tonight." His tone gentled a little, his eyes soft with concern. "Why don’t you at least go to a hotel for the night?" His lips twisted wryly. "I’d offer you my room, but I don’t think there’s another vacancy at the Baldwin Bed and Breakfast."

"I told you……" She walked over to him slowly, deliberately. "I’ll be FINE here, Jax." Carly sighed and looked around. "I know it’s a mess, but I promise I’ll just clean up what I have to and then tackle the rest in the morning."

"If it’s the money," Jax countered quietly, "I’ll foot the bill for the hotel room."

She cupped the side of his face tenderly, staring into his eyes. "Are you sure you’re not some Australian reincarnation of Rhett Butler?" As her fingers traced the planes and contours of his cheeks, her breath caught in her throat. "You really ARE my angel, do you know that?"

Carly’s pulse leaped with excitement as Jax covered her hand with his. Suddenly, the devastation and heart-stopping fear of the evening didn’t matter. Everything around her seemed to fade into a blur. She was only aware of the subtle spiciness of his aftershave. The smooth softness of his skin as it caressed hers. The shivery feeling of heat and desire that his touch sent coursing through her nerve endings. There was something so perfect about Jasper Jacks. Not only his appearance, which was a gift from the gods in itself. It was just him, and the way he made her feel when he touched her. The message in his eyes when he looked at her. The look in his eyes…….his eyes………Sonny’s eyes……..lying eyes……..

She barely stifled the urge to gasp out loud. "You should really go.……." As Carly pulled away from him, Jax immediately knew that something had gone terribly wrong. One minute she was soft and liquid, nearly melting into his arms, and the next it was as if a bucket of ice water had been tossed over her. "I mean," she hemmed, "it’s getting late, and I’m sure you’re exhausted……"

He stared at her for a few seconds more, desperate to go back thirty seconds in time and find out what had changed. Knowing he couldn’t, Jax smiled and leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. "You’re right."

She walked him to the door, opening it for him. "Now don’t worry about me, OK?" As he went onto the front porch, Carly leaned against the doorjamb. "I’m not afraid, and if I DO hear anything that sounds unusual, I’ll just call Alexis." She pointed at a small frame house. "She lives across the street from me."

"OK." Jax shoved his fists into his pockets, feeling more awkward and naïve than a schoolboy on his first date. "I’ll call you in the morning – just to make sure."

A slow smile spread across Carly’s face. "OK." She closed the door halfway, whispered, "Good night," and then shut it completely.

As Jax turned away, he couldn’t help but hear the sobs that Carly finally allowed to escape. {Why wouldn’t she let me help her? I’ve got a good shoulder; I wouldn’t have minded it if she just wanted me to hold her while she cried. Why did she send me away?} As Jax walked back to his Explorer, his mind whirled.

{She’s hiding something. She doesn’t trust me enough to tell me what it is. She needs a friend, yet she’s afraid to let me be one.} He got into the driver’s side, slid the key in the ignition, and then looked back at Carly’s house one last time. The lights in the living room went out, and from his vantage point he could see a light come on in the back of the house, probably her bedroom.

Taggert was wrong about Carly – DEAD wrong. It wasn’t so much that she was cold, or calculating. Instead, when Jax thought about his conversation with her a few moments earlier, it reminded him of a cartoon of a man putting his shoulder to the rear end of a mule, trying to get it to move. She was the most beautiful, single-minded woman he had ever met. Carly Corinthos, as his dearly departed Grandma Josephine would have said, had SPUNK.

"I’ll find him, Carly," he muttered, shifting the car into gear. "I’ll find the person who killed Sonny. I’ll take away all your fears and keep you safe." He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he pulled away from the curb. "If it’s the last thing I do."

To be continued……….