Jax glanced fiercely at his silent elder brother. Neither one of them had spoken a word during the long walk from Alexis Davis’s office back through the parking garage to Jerry’s sleek, dark green Porsche convertible. When the raven-haired Congressman mechanically took the car keys from his back pocket, Jax grabbed for them and wordlessly pushed Jerry towards the passenger side of the car.

Some inane talk-show host’s chattering on the radio temporary filled the void inside the expensive car until Jax finally pulled onto the highway. Although Jerry rolled down his window and gazed at the passing panorama, the brisk early fall breeze hitting him full in the face, Jax stared intently at the road ahead of him. As they took a southbound exit that led to Port Charles’ more exclusive suburbs, Jax’s voice finally broke the silence like a thunderclap.

"Don’t you EVER learn?"

"Geez, Jax………." Jerry snorted softly and shook his head. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"I’m not talking about whether or not you killed her, Jerry!" Jax rubbed his face briskly with his left hand while controlling the steering wheel with his right. "I just………" He grimaced. "I just *don’t* understand why you have to keep doing this to yourself…….and to Bobbie……."

Jerry’s infidelity didn’t come as a shock to his younger brother. Although they never discussed it openly, Jax knew that his father had been "taking care of" sticky situations for Jerry ever since shortly after his and Bobbie’s third wedding anniversary. And – as the old saying went – the fruit didn’t fall far from the tree. John Jacks had had a series of mistresses for as long as Jax could remember understanding the concept. In fact, the Jacks men’s dismal track record in the marriage department often made Jax wonder if his own breakup with Alexis had been more of a blessing than a curse.

"I don’t know either, Jax……." Jerry groaned, cupping his forehead in his hand. "It’s not that I don’t love Bobbie……." His breath caught in his chest and he turned tear-filled eyes to his younger brother. "It’s just that Chloe was different, you know?" He sniffled softly. "She was…….special."

"Yeah……I’ve heard that one before." Jax flipped on the turn signal and then made a wide right turn onto a tree-lined parkway. "And I’m sure from the looks of you, Alexis could tell just how special Chloe was, too." He slowed the car as it neared the end of the street. "You wouldn’t exactly win any Poker Face awards with your little performance back there when she told you what happened."

"Well, excuse me for not having ice water in my veins like you do, Mr. Hot Shot Attorney Par Excellence!" Jerry shot sarcastically. "After all, I’m just the older, "screw-up" brother – not the fair-haired golden child……"

"Don’t GO there, Jerry!" Jax growled. He held up a hand in his brother’s direction, bringing the car to a gentle stop at a set of black wrought iron gates. "This is NOT the time or the place to be dragging out all of that "dad loves you best" cr@p!" He puffed out his lower lip, exhaling loudly in disgust. "And where the bloody h*ll were your brains, having unprotected sex with Chloe?" He shook his head at his sulking brother. "I would think you would know better after all these years……."

"And I DO know better, alright?!" Jerry exploded. He clenched his hands into fists, pounding one on the dashboard in front of him. "So you can stop with all the dirty looks and the speeches, since I’m sure I’ll be hearing them all over again from dad as soon as we get inside!" Silence simmered between the brothers in the car for at least thirty seconds before Jerry spoke again, this time in a quieter voice. "It was just so different with Chloe than it had been with any other woman for me…….so sometimes, we didn’t always remember to take precautions." He shrugged his shoulders and snorted softly. "H*ll, maybe down deep, we really *wanted* to make a baby." When Jax looked over at him, he saw a lone tear slip down his brother’s cheek. "I really love………" Blank despair washed over Jerry’s face. "……..*loved* her…….."

Jax slowly let out the long breath he had been holding. He reached out towards Jerry, paused, then patted his brother’s arm gently. "Look – you’d better pull yourself together." He nodded towards the huge mansion just barely visible beyond the iron gates. "They’re all going to be waiting for us inside. You can’t afford to look like a wreck when mum sees you."

Jerry wiped briskly at his cheeks with the back of his hand as Jax rolled down the window on his side. "I heard Lady Jane call you on your cell phone right before we went inside Alexis’s office." He took a deep, shaky breath. "What did she want? Does she know why Alexis wanted to see us?"

"No." Jax frowned and then leaned out and punched a series of numbers into a keypad located on a pole just outside the gate. A few seconds later, there was an electronic hum and the gates swung open. "Apparently the Munchkin’s got some kind of wedding folderol crisis and she was making mum’s life miserable about it," he explained, referring to his younger sister by her favorite nickname. "Naturally, mum didn’t know what to do so she called me."

"Good old Jasper to the rescue," Jerry quipped sarcastically. "Thank God you’re back home or else this wedding would probably crash and burn before Jessie could force Scott to say I do."

"Yeah…….." Jax scowled at his brother one last time before bringing the car to a stop in front of the mansion’s entrance. "Well, let’s hope that I can pull *your* fat out of the fire this time, or you’re gonna have to watch her wedding on a closed-circuit television in the Port Charles City Jail!"

Neither brother noticed the brilliant fall foliage, artistically tied bunches of wheat, and bushy straw wreathes that adorned the front of the Jacks estate. The two-story, white-washed, opulent, plantation-style manse had been a home to Jax for as long as he could remember. The house had been built according to John Jacks’ specifications soon after he had made his first million. Every million after that allowed him to add more elegant trimmings, like a tennis court and stable complete with thoroughbred horses. Ever since she was a little girl, Jessica Jacks had told anyone within earshot that she would use the stunning Doric columns that ringed the house as the backdrop for her wedding pictures.

Despite having a longer route around from his side of the car, Jax bounded up the front stairs just behind Jerry. They entered the house to find a beehive of activity until a high-pitched feminine voice rang out above the bedlam.

"Jax!! Oh, Jax, I’m SOOOOOO glad you’re home!!!!"

He barely had time to brace himself before a young blonde-haired girl came barreling into his arms. "Hey, there, Munchkin!!" Jax dropped his briefcase in the middle of the foyer to wrap his arms around the girl’s shivering shoulders. "What’s got my best girl so upset this fine day?"

"Ohhhhh, Jax……it’s just AWFUL!!!" She finally lifted her tear-stained face to gaze somberly into his eyes. "The whole wedding is going to be just ruined!!!!"

"Nowwwwwww, Runt………." Jerry somehow managed to put on his usual cavalier smirk, ruffling the girl’s wayward curls affectionately. "What happened? Did Scott finally come to his senses and take off for Timbuktoo before you could put the ball and chain around his leg?"

"Why don’t you just go take a flying leap, Jerry?" Jessie sniffed. She toyed with the lapels of Jax’s suit jacket before gripping them tightly. "That man who runs the limousine company called this morning and he can’t……he won’t………" Her chest started to heave again as tears pooled in her crystal blue eyes. "He’s just a MONSTER!!"

"Now, Jess," Jax crooned, "you need to be a little more specific than that or I can’t help you." He put his arm around her shoulders and walked slowly towards the largest set of double doors that ringed the foyer. "Just *what* did the man do that makes you think your wedding is going to be anything less than spectacular?"

"He……..he…….." She licked her lips, took a deep breath, and then pulled away from Jax to face him. "He called this morning and says that he won’t be able to provide us with the four black limousines we need after all!"

"Wellll…….I’m no lawyer," Jerry frowned, "but just from hanging around dad, I’d say that sounds to me like breach of contract!"

"No, no…….." Jessie shook her head, her shoulder length blonde curls bouncing as she did. "It’s not that he won’t provide the limousines. It’s just that he can only provide two BLACK limousines, and the other two are going to be WHITE!!" She looked between her two suddenly bemused brothers. "Don’t you understand, Jax? That will ruin EVERYTHING!!!"

"Forgive me, Munchkin," Jax said, a frown creasing his brow, "but I don’t think I understand why the color of the cars is so critical."

"They’re WHITE, for God’s sake, Jax!!" She put her hands on her hips and stared at her brothers as though they had turned into alien life forms. "All of my bridesmaids are going to be wearing navy velvet, and Scott’s mother and mum are wearing dark burgundy. I’M supposed to be the only one wearing white!"

"But the car’s not exactly WEARING white, Runt," Jerry ventured softly.

"But it’s not even supposed to BE white, Jerry!!" Jessie clapped her hands to her head and scrunched her eyes shut. "I’M supposed to be the only light, and everything around me is supposed to be dark!!" She shook her head and waved her hands in the air frantically. "Don’t you SEE how having the cars in two different colors is just going to make the entire affair look like some kind of grotesque zebra menagerie and totally RUIN my theme??!!"

"JAX!! JERRY!!" All three heads turned when Jane Jacks appeared from a side hallway. "I’m so glad you’re finally home." She crossed the distance to her two sons, extending her arms to both of them. "Maybe you can do something to prevent your sister from bursting a blood vessel over the bloody color of the wedding cars!"

"I’ll certainly try, mum," Jax replied, leaning down to place a kiss on his mother’s cheek. Although Jane Jacks had weathered the storms of financial successes and setbacks with her husband early on in their marriage, the years were beginning to take a toll. Even though she never said a word, Jerry’s numerous peccadilloes seemed to do almost as much damage to her heart as they did to Bobbie’s. She seemed to ignore John’s infidelities, displaying grace under adversity that was admirable. The breakup with Alexis hit her hard, though. She seemed genuinely fond of Jax’s fiancée, and when he compounded the heartache by taking off for parts unknown in search of Brenda, it took her a while to recover. As her youngest son stared into her face lovingly, he saw more lines and telltale black circles under her eyes.

"Are you OK, mum?" Jax asked. He put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed gently. "You look tired."

"Oh, it’s just all these pre-wedding jitters and rushing around," Jane smiled, patting his chest with her flat hand. "Seems like I lose more sleep every time one of my children contemplates tying the knot!" She laughed merrily. "I’ll be fine once Jessie and Scott are safe on their honeymoon and I can go back to wearing my pedal pushers and old t-shirts around the house!"

"Speaking of which…….." Jessie’s eyes widened as she looked at her mother, horrified. "Are you going to wear THAT to the luncheon, mum?"

"What’s wrong with it?" Jane glanced down at her fashionable black wool trousers and white silk crepe blouse. "I thought it was appropriate – classical, but chic."

"But it’s just so…….so………" Jessie sighed and looked up to her favorite brother for reinforcements. But to her dismay, no help was forthcoming.

"I think mum looks FINE, Munchkin," Jax scolded, tapping his sister on the nose. "And I promise you BOTH that I’ll talk to the limousine man and see if I can’t come up with some kind of compromise." His expression sobered. "But first I need to see dad. Has he come downstairs yet?" He looked around, glancing up at the curved stairway that led to the second floor of the mansion. Bobbie Jacks was slowly making her way down. She was elegantly decked out in an almond-colored silk suit, her red hair piled in a mass of curls atop her head. She balanced a champagne glass in her right hand and while gripping the banister tightly with her left.

"John’s in the study with Scott," Bobbie announced before Jane could answer Jax’s question. She undulated across the foyer towards the small group, smiling broadly. "I think Scott said they had some last minute changes to make on the Bombay contracts – particularly since you two weren’t back from your meeting yet."

"Morning, love……" Jerry leaned down to air-kiss the space near Bobbie’s lips. He glanced down at her champagne glass. "Looks like you’re getting a head start on the celebration."

"Ohhhh, poor Jessie’s been so upset about the limousines that we decided we should sneak inside the dining room and have something to calm our nerves." Bobbie winked at Jessie, lifting her glass. "I guess it’s just not working as well for her as it is for me."

"Jax……" The protrusion of Jessie’s lower lip warned Jax that another limousine rant was imminent.

"I TOLD you, I PROMISE to call him, Munchkin!" Jax replied, pulling away from the group of women. "But right now, it’s really important that Jerry and I speak to dad alone for a few minutes." He held up a finger when Jessie took a breath to object. "Now why don’t you go check all those last minute things that girls check before the rest of the wedding party arrives?"

"If you ask me," Jerry whispered as they turned away and headed for a large set of oak double doors, "SCOTT’S the one who’s in the dark here!" He chuckled a little as Jax sent him a warning glare. "He has NO idea what he’s getting himself into, marrying a Jacks woman!"

"Let’s just get one Jacks marriage back on track here at a time, alright, Jer?" Jax hissed through clenched teeth. He gave his older brother a pointed look before grasping the doorknob and turning it, opening the door to the massive study.

"So, I said to him, "George, let me just give you a few ideas about that stem cell research thing……."" John Jacks stopped in mid-sentence when he heard the sound of the door opening. His face lit up with a broad grin. "Jax!! Jerry!!" He straightened from his former position, leaning an elbow on the mantle above a large fireplace. "Come on in!!" He laughed heartily as he waved his two sons towards chairs near the one Scott Baldwin already occupied. "Come sit down with us!" When he gestured towards the foyer, the ice cubes in the glass he held tinkled merrily. "Get away from all that feminine wedding bullsh*t for a while before the madness starts again!!"

"I was just telling Jax that Scott might want to reconsider marrying Jessie – if he’s smart," Jerry quipped. He tossed his briefcase on a couch and slipped off his suit jacket, loosening his tie. "I think she’s about to go into a major estrogen meltdown out there!"

"Jess will be alright," Scott announced seriously. He lifted his own glass of amber-colored liquid in his intended’s direction as he rose from his chair. "She just needs to blow off steam for a little while, and then she’ll realize that it really doesn’t matter what color the cars are. It’s our life together that counts – not the ceremony leading up to it."

"Now THAT’S why I’m glad your sister picked such an intelligent fellow to marry!" John crowed. He glanced at Jax, who was by the large maple desk, flipping through the morning newspaper. "Jax, my boy! Why don’t you take off your jacket and relax a little?"

"I was just checking for something," Jax murmured. He shook his head, grimaced, and then closed the papers, loosening his tie just a little. "Something’s come up, dad," he announced grimly. "We need to talk – right away." His eyes flickered delicately in Scott’s direction. "Privately."

John Jacks waited a full thirty seconds before pulling himself upright and clapping a hand around Scott’s shoulders. "This stalwart young man is about to take on the daunting task of being married to your sister, Jax." He turned to smile at Scott briefly before continuing. "Anything you need to say can be said in his presence." He patted Scott’s shoulders soundly. "He’s family."

Jax’s piercing blue eyes swirled with clouds of gray fury. "OK. If that’s the way you want it." He yanked on his tie again and walked slowly towards the fireplace where his father and future brother-in-law stood. "Jerry got a call this morning from the District Attorney’s office." Only a flicker of acknowledgement passed over John Jacks’ face. "That’s where we’ve just come from."

"The District Attorney?" John pursed his lips and nodded. "Dara Jenson?" He turned to set his glass down on the mantle. "I haven’t spoken to her in ages……"

"We didn’t see Dara." Jax’s words were clipped. "We saw her assistant – Alexis Davis."

"Ahhh, that’s right…….it’s been so long, I had almost forgotten!" John arched one eyebrow meaningfully at Jax. "Your Miss Davis has made it almost all the way to the top, hasn’t she?" He shook his head and whistled softly. "It’s truly *amazing* how high up the professional ladder a person can climb, despite …….. well……… let’s just say, some *unpleasant* skeletons in her closet."

"She’s not MY Miss Davis anymore, dad." Jax growled. "That all ended three years ago, remember?"

"What did she want?" Scott’s abrupt question hung in the air like a dark cloud while silent sparks flew between father and son. Finally, Jax took a deep breath to reply.

"A very dear friend of hers was killed in an auto accident last night. Chloe Morgan." Jax’s gaze zeroed in on his father’s face. "You might remember her – she was going to be Alexis’s maid of honor when we almost got married."

"Hmmmm……..I vaguely recall the young woman." John stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Tall, thin, blonde, rather classical features – as I recall…….." He chuckled softly. "Although with all the blondes in this family, it’s hard to distinguish one from another sometimes!" When Jax didn’t share his father’s hearty laugh, John lifted his eyebrows and grew more somber. "I’m sure that Miss Davis was quite devastated by her loss." He took a quick sip of his drink. "We’ll have to be sure to send flowers."

"I imagine Jerry will handle that little task for you, dad." Jax stepped close enough to take the glass out of his John’s hand. "He was having an affair with Chloe."

"Really." John’s flat tone and the way his facial muscles barely flinched let Jax know that he already knew about Jerry’s latest infidelity. He stared down at his feet, shuffling them awkwardly. "I suppose that could make matters sticky, particularly if Bobbie knew about it……"

"Chloe was pregnant."

The strained silence that Jax’s statement inspired was broken only by the occasional hiss when a log in the fireplace fell in a shower of sparks. John’s eyes widened slightly – apparently this *was* news to him – and he chewed on his lower lip until finally Scott spoke.

"The baby was yours?" he asked, looking directly past Jax to Jerry.

"Yeah." Jerry’s voice broke on his reply. He snatched John’s glass from Jax and took a healthy sip before continuing. "There’s no doubt. Chloe wasn’t seeing anybody else."

Silence filled the room again. "That’s……." Scott cleared his throat. "That’s a shame, man," he said softly, glancing towards Jerry. "Jess told me how long you and Bobbie have been trying to have kids……."

"A d*mn shame," John suddenly echoed. He let out a long breath, shaking his head. "I’m sure that whatever price Miss Morgan named would have been a h*ll of a lot cheaper than what I paid the last three times you and Bobbie tried in vitro fertilization."

"DAD!" Jax exclaimed. He recovered just in time to quickly grab the fine crystal tumbler from Jerry before his older brother could hurl it at their father’s head.

"Well, it’s true, Jax!" John shook his head and walked over to the bar to get himself a new glass. "No need to act so "holier than thou" – you and your lily-white conscience……" He removed the stopper from a cut glass decanter and poured two fingers’ worth of strong scotch whiskey into a glass. "I’m sure that if we had been able to offer Miss Morgan the right amount of cash, she would have been MORE than willing to let Jerry and Bobbie adopt the little tyke and raise it as their own."

"What I still don’t understand," Scott interrupted as Jax still was giving his father looks that could kill, "was why the Assistant District Attorney called you both down to her office about something that clearly would have been handled in a civil suit."

"What’s the matter?" John took a sip of his drink, snorting bitterly afterwards. "Does Herbert Morgan think he can somehow file a suit against Jerry for wrongful death?" He pointed his free hand in his elder son’s direction. "You weren’t with the woman last night, were you, Jerry?"

"No." Jerry gave Jax a pointed look before continuing. "I was at that fundraiser at …….."

"HOLD ON!" Jax held up a hand to stop Jerry’s statement. He glared at each of the room’s occupants before going on. "You’d better think long and hard about what you’re about to say, Jerry – especially in *my* presence."

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Scott’s eyebrows drew together in a frown.

"Yes – why don’t you just come to the point and stop the theatrics, Jax?" John’s words were terse, his manner poised on the brink of explosion. "Was there some point to Miss Davis’ little meeting with you this morning, other than to express her righteous moral indignation over Jerry’s shabby treatment of her *dear* friend?"

Jax let out a quick sigh, glanced down at the floor, and then back up again at his father. "Alexis hinted that there’s a very strong possibility that Jerry will be charged with Chloe’s murder."

"MURDER??!!" John and Scott gasped the word aloud in tandem. "But that’s…….." John ran his fingers through his salt-and-pepper hair. "That’s ridiculous!!"

"It’s true that Alexis may be grasping at straws right now," Jax said, tipping his head to the side on concession. "But once the results of this afternoon’s autopsy on Chloe’s body are in, she might have more ammunition against him."

"Like what?" Scott asked, walking from the fireplace towards the bar to refresh his own drink.

"For one thing, she’d have concrete proof that Chloe was pregnant." Jax sighed and rested his rear on the edge of the large desk, stretching his long legs out in front of him. "The police found some empty beer cans in the front seat of her car, but Alexis is convinced that the toxicology report will show that Chloe was stone sober." He crossed his arms across his chest and shrugged his shoulders. "Add to that the rather incriminating fact that there were no skid marks at the scene of the accident, and you can rule out the possibility that Chloe lost control of the car in the rain."

"Pffffftttt……… Circumstantial at best." John snorted in disgust. "She’s going to have to do a h*ll of a lot better than that to get a grand jury to indict Jerry."

"How about motive?" Scott seemed to ignore John’s cavalier dismissal of his son’s potential legal problems. "If Jerry really loved Chloe, why would he have killed her? Particularly if he knew she was carrying his child?" He seemed to cringe a little in John’s direction. "A child that, pardon me for being blunt, his own WIFE couldn’t give him!"

"Yes, BUT you can’t forget Jerry’s legal aspirations…….or the ones that *certain people* convince him are important to him." Jax rose from the desk while shooting a caustic look at John out of the corner of his eye. "You can’t very well preach about family values and take the high moral road while you’re meeting your pregnant mistress for a quickie at the local Motel 6!"

"That’s enough, ALL of you!!" John’s curt command cut off all further discussion just as Jerry looked about ready to strangle Jax. He paced a small circle in front of the fireplace, then nodded and lifted his eyes towards the assembled group. "Alright – there’s no need for panic here. Jerry hasn’t been charged with anything yet, so we just need to gather our thoughts and plan out our strategy in the event that he is."

"He will be." Jax’s expression was as dismal as his father’s was optimistic.

"Fine." John chuckled softly, to the surprise of everyone in the room but himself. "Let Miss Davis come at Jerry with all she’s got." He walked over to Jax and put an arm around his shoulders. "Jax here will turn her into yesterday’s corned beef hash in the courtroom."

"Wait a minute……." Jax frowned and pulled away from his father’s embrace. "Maybe I missed something, but when in the last fifteen minutes did I agree to represent Jerry?"

Jerry blanched. "But you went with me this morning, Jax……."

"Only because Scott’s so preoccupied right now with this wedding business." Jax shook his head and started to walk towards the doors of the study. "By the time all of this hits the fan, the wedding will be over. He can represent Jerry."

"But what about the honeymoon?" Scott’s lower lip came out in an excellent imitation of his bride-to-be’s.

Jax turned and grimaced at his soon-to-be brother-in-law. "Oh, come on, Scott……..certainly you don’t expect me to believe that you and Jessie have been waiting all this time, *saving yourselves* for your wedding night?" He snorted and turned to walk towards the door again. "You waited this long – you can wait another six weeks to go to Fiji."

"It’s that d*mn Davis woman, isn’t it?" The accusatory tone of John’s voice caused Jax to stop dead in his tracks. "You’re afraid to face her."

"I’ve *wanted* to face her for the last eighteen months, DAD!" Jax sneered, turning back to face his father. "But if I recall correctly, YOU were the one who wanted me to refrain from any contact with her!"

Silent, venomous sparks flew between John and Jax for half a minute before John took a deep breath and pulled himself staunchly upright. "You WILL represent Jerry for this one, Jax."

"When h*ll freezes over," he snarled through gritted teeth. "I’m going back to Malibu. Tonight."

Jasper Jacks had always loved the ocean. As a young boy, he used to eagerly look forward to trips to the West Coast with his family. He could surf before he could ride a bicycle. It was always his dream to have a small house on the beach, where he could hear the roar of the waves and smell the salt in the air as soon as he woke up in the morning. Shortly before the debacle of his engagement party, he managed to buy his dream home in California. He had planned to take Alexis there on their honeymoon. When he came back from his search from Brenda, he fled to Malibu to spend long, lonely hours contemplating life’s absurd twists and turns. When he couldn’t escape his father’s commands to "handle" legal matters for the family or some of John’s other business associates, Jax often rented it out for a nominal fee to a local "make-a-wish" foundation so that young children with catastrophic illnesses could enjoy the feel of the sand between their toes for the first time.

"But what about the wedding?" Scott put down his glass on a nearby end table and went towards Jax. "Jessie is counting on you to be in the wedding party."

"I’ll come back, just for the wedding, and then I’ll be out of here again." Jax’s glance was cold, even for his older brother. "You can handle Jerry’s defense, Scott," he added, nodding towards the sandy-haired man. "It’ll look better to the jury anyway – having an outsider rather than a family member defend him. It won’t smack so much of conflict of interest."

Just as John took a breath to object, the doors to the study opened. "Is everything OK in here?" Jane came into the room, a tentative smile on her face. "You said it would only take a few minutes, Jax…….."

"I’m sorry, mother," John smiled, using his pet name for his wife. "It just seems that Jerry has gotten himself into a rather nasty situation and we’re trying to figure out the best way to solve the problem."

"What kind of situation?" When Jane’s face lost color, Jax felt like he had been punched in the stomach. His mother had enough worries without the added strain of her son possibly going to jail for the rest of his life. Or worse.

"Nothing that we can’t handle, mum," Jax replied quickly. He went to put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead.

"Apparently one of Jerry’s *friends* died last night," John blurted out, much to Jax’s dismay.

"Dad!" He shook his head and frowned, trying to get his father to stop before he said any more. But his efforts were in vain, a fact his father was counting on.

"Well, she’ll know as soon as it hits the papers, Jax," John replied smoothly. "So we might as well get it out in the open now. Jax and Jerry were at the District Attorney’s office this morning – it appears that Jerry might be charged with the young woman’s murder."

"MURDER???!!" Jane wailed and Jax felt her body stiffen, then tremble. "My Jerry?" She looked up at Jax with tears already in her eyes. "But that’s impossible!"

"I know, mum," he said soothingly. "And we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure this thing doesn’t get out of hand……"

"Of COURSE you will!" Jane pleaded, clutching Jax’s shirt. "You’ll take care of everything for him, just like you ALWAYS do, won’t you, Jax?"

He managed to keep the cold hatred out of his eyes until he lifted them to meet his father’s smirking gaze. "That’s JUST what I was saying, mother," John gloated. He put down his glass and smiled at Scott as Jane clung to her youngest son. "Jax will defend Jerry against these ridiculous, trumped-up charges, and Scott will assist him."

Jax’s right eye narrowed and his jaw tightened with barely-controlled rage. Finally, he shook his head ever so slightly and then nodded. "Of COURSE I’ll defend Jerry, mum," he murmured, squeezing his mother tightly. His gaze, though, never strayed from his father’s sarcastic grin. "I’ll take care of things ……… for the family." He finally smiled benevolently when he looked down into his mother’s eyes. "I always do – don’t I?"

To be continued……..