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Title: Just Between Friends
Author: speedy
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Expecting her second child and caught up in a mafia war, Carly Corinthos has a secret that will change the lives of everyone she knows.
Disclaimer: I'm not the Rat, so obviously the characters aren't mine. I'm just borrowing them for awhile.
Notes: Just moving this over from my now defunct website. This veers off canon right before the panic room fiasco in 2003.
Chapter 24
"The WSB tech guys should be here in a couple hours to install the security system," Frisco said as they walked into the cottage. "They'll be working all night. Probably most of tomorrow, too."
For Carly, it was like stepping into a time warp. In her mind, she could see the cottage as it was the first time she'd walked in, when Jason had brought her here from Ferncliffe. The furniture was covered with sheets and there weren't any pictures hanging, but it didn't change the image in her mind.
She could see her son, just barely a toddler. He had just begun walking, still unsteady on his little feet. He didn't know her. He only knew Jason and Robin. She hated both Robin and Tony with the fire of a million suns for that.
She could see the little romantic moments between Jason and Robin she'd walked in on. Sometimes she stayed back, hurt. Sometimes she interrupted them, just to remind Robin where she stood with Jason.
She could see the arguments with Robin, with both of them getting frustrated that Jason wouldn't take their side.
She could see her quiet moments with Jason, the ones she always remembered when she was lonely for home.
"Great," she replied emotionlessly.
"A couple coats of paint, a few pictures, a nice stereo system, this place will be just like home," he said, dropping his bag.
Home. As if this cottage could ever be home to her. "Right."
He pulled the sheet off the sofa. Dust flew up, causing him to cough. "Don't sound so excited."
She dropped her bags next to the sofa. "You know how I feel."
"It could be worse."
"How?"
He smirked. "We could be back at the loft with all those pretty pictures of Courtney and Jason," he reminded her.
"At least I could put away the pictures," she snapped. "All I see is Robin holding my baby..."
He cut her off. "Keep your mind on the mission and quit thinking about the past."
"Easy for you to say. You're not the one who had to live here with..."
"Don't even finish that thought," he growled, irritated. "It's over and done with. She's gone, you moved on. Don't rehash it now. Keep focused."
"How can you do this?" she asked, skeptical. "How can you just shut down your emotions like this?"
"I like living, that's how," he told her. "Compartmentalizing is a matter of survival, Carly. Spend too much time thinking about the past, the enemy has a chance to get a jump on you. That gets you killed." He looked away, almost haunted. "Or worse."
She knew about Bulgaria; Tony had told her when he'd talked about Frisco's death and resurrection. In the last two years, she'd been around enough agents to hear the stories of cases gone wrong. She heard with her own ears some of what happened to people who crossed the Alcazars, whether they were double crossing criminals or undercover agents. What she had experienced was bad, but the stories and the cries she still heard in her mind were much worse.
"I'm not that strong, Frisco," she said uncertainly.
His eyes met hers. "Yes, you are."
She searched his eyes for doubt and found none. She wished she could have his confidence. She let it drop. "How are we going to work transportation?" she asked, turning away from him.
"What do you mean?"
She glanced at him. "You expect me to just hang around here all day? At least at the loft, we were in walking distance to most places in town."
He hesitated, thinking. "I'll get you a car."
A car, yeah... She'd always feared driving. Losing her best friend, she never wanted to get behind the wheel and she had never had to. "Uh, I don't know how to drive."
"You don't know how to drive," he repeated, disbelieving.
She shrugged. "I never learned how. The accident..." she trailed off.
He got the point. "Don't ya think it's about time you learned?"
She didn't answer. She only looked away.
"You can depend on me for your transportation, or you can learn to drive. It's your choice. Not my problem if you're stuck here all day."
It had been Charlotte's death that had scared her out of driving. But now... She let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. He was right. She needed to learn to drive. When this was over, she wouldn't have the limos or drivers anymore. She wouldn't have Frisco to depend on. She would need to be able to drive for Michael. There was no point putting it off.
"Fine."
He smiled slyly. "What kind of car you want?"
"Something indestructible."
"I don't think they're going to give us a HumVee."
"I don't care, man!" she said, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Just pick something."
"A sedan will probably be the easiest to request."
She didn't care. It was all the same to her. "That's fine."
"Hey," he said, touching her shoulder. "It won't be so bad, I promise."
"Easy for you to say."
"Driving's not exactly rocket science, Carly." He looked around, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm going to hit the sack. You can have the master bedroom."
Where Jason slept with the twit, no way. She already had to do that at the loft and wasn't about to do that here. "I don't want it. I'll take the room across the hall."
"Whatever. Good night."
Frisco grabbed his bag and headed up the stairs, leaving Carly alone in the living room. She sighed, the sound loud in the silence. She walked to the staircase and sat on the bottom step, leaning her head on the banister.
The sooner this was over, the better. She couldn't take much more of this.
"I'm glad you asked me to lunch," Carly said, smiling happily as she sat down across the table from her mother.
Bobbie had called her cell phone that morning, asking to meet at Kelly's. Carly had of course agreed, looking forward to spending time with her mother.
"You know, I've hardly gotten a chance to talk to you since you and Frisco hit town. And with Sonny's kidnapping and Carly in the hospital, it's been a busy few days."
Carly's smile began to fade at the mention of the imposter. "Yeah, it has."
"I hear you're looking for a new place. I wish I had room at the Brownstone. I'd offer you two an apartment if I had one. The Brownstone's always been home to Frisco."
"I know, he told me. He was disappointed when he heard there wasn't anything available."
"I think there's a room open upstairs, but you're probably looking for something bigger than just a room over Kelly's."
"Actually, we found a place. Skye Quartermaine has this cottage she was renting out... Well, Andy made her an offer to buy it and she took it."
"Alan mentioned something about that awhile back. Brenda's old place, right?"
"Yeah," Carly answered, repressing thoughts of... Her. She forced herself to smile. "I think he mentioned his goddaughter lived there with her, uh, boyfriend a few years ago."
Bobbie rolled her eyes and sighed. "With my daughter. Now that was a disaster."
Carly couldn't argue with that, that living arrangement had been appallingly bad. "I think he might've mentioned that once or twice."
"Frisco hates her, always has."
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. They'd already been through this, she didn't want to discuss his hate again. "That part I'm well aware of."
"I'm sure he's made his feelings about my daughter clear, with Atlantic City and the stuff with Sonny. He was never one to hate in silence."
"Don't I know it," Carly laughed humorlessly. She hesitated before speaking again. "How is she?"
"She's out of the hospital today," Bobbie replied, her relief obvious. "A little bed rest and she and the baby will be fine."
"That's good to hear."
"Thank you. It's a relief. But if there's one thing my daughter knows how to do, it's bounce back."
She didn't know what to say to that, so she said nothing. Bobbie meant her, but was talking about Charlotte. The silence was awkward and uncomfortable. But she wanted to spend time with her mother...
"So, you've known Frisco for a long time, huh?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Since he first came to Port Charles," Bobbie told her. "He hung out here all the time when my aunt owned this place. Then my ex-husband and I bought the Brownstone next door. Plus, I got to know Tony at the hospital..." She shrugged. "It's a small town, you know. We ended up around each other a lot. How did you meet him?"
"In Germany, at a café."
"Were you working or was he?"
"He was working, I was on vacation."
Bobbie rolled her eyes. "Of course, he was working."
"He's always working," Carly added, with a slight grin.
Bobbie shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe he finally took time off."
"It took a lot of sweet talking."
"I'll bet! That's more than Tony or Felicia has ever got him to do."
Carly smiled uneasily. Tony and Felicia weren't his case and didn't drag him here, blowing their cover in the process. She could actually hear Frisco's sarcastic quips in her ears. "I guess I just have the magic touch."
"How long have you been together?"
"Two years."
"How'd you manage to work around his job, always being off on missions?"
"I like my freedom. I don't need to have him around all the time." She shrugged. "And with my job, I can take time off when I want and meet him wherever he is."
"That's a definite plus. It's got to be nice to have that much freedom."
"It has its downsides."
"Like what?"
"Well, it's unsteady and unstable and very stressful."
Bobbie thought for a moment. "I guess I can see that. Slow times, not knowing when and where your next paycheck's coming from."
Being held hostage, running from people trying to kill you, stuck with a guy that hates you and the feeling's more than mutual...
"I'm surprised he lets you call him Andy," the redhead said, changing the subject. "I always thought that was just short of grounds for execution with him."
Carly got a perverse pleasure out of calling Frisco by his given name. It annoyed him to no end. "That's what he called himself when I met him."
Bobbie looked surprised, almost shocked. "Really?"
"Yeah."
"Wow," she exhaled, stunned. She was speechless for a moment, obviously digesting this new piece of information. "He must've finally dealt with the Rita mess," she finally said. "Last time he was here, he was so dead set against that name. He was happy Felicia and Maxie didn't try to give Georgie some sort of derivative of Andrew."
Carly was intrigued. She never knew why he never used his given name, but then again, it wasn't something she thought a lot about, nor was Frisco forthcoming with it. "The Rita mess?" she asked, confused and very interested.
"Rita Lloyd, his and Tony's stepmother."
Tony had mentioned a Rita years ago, some woman he'd slept with, but he never told that she was his stepmother...
Whoa, Tony just entered a new level of creepy for her.
Carly half-smiled, covering for her silence. "Andy never talks about his parents," she replied.
"Didn't much when he was here either. It was always an off limits subject with him, except when that damn woman showed up on our doorstep." Bobbie sighed irritatedly, but Carly couldn't quite tell if it was for Frisco or Rita. "He couldn't keep his mouth shut about her the whole time she was in town."
She was actually enjoying talking about Frisco, go figure. She was getting a new insight into the man himself, more than she'd gotten in two years with him.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a huge bouquet of various colorful flowers entering the diner. The deliveryman holding them walked to the counter, catching everyone's attention.
"Wonder who the lucky person is," Bobbie said, admiring the flowers. "Those are gorgeous."
"Yeah," Carly agreed.
Liz smiled at him from behind the counter. Carly listened as the petite brunette asked him who the flowers were for.
"For a Mrs. Jones," the deliveryman replied, looking at his list.
"She's just over there. I'll take them to her," Liz told him, pointing to Carly.
"Sure." He handed her the vase and walked away.
"I guess I'm the lucky one," Carly said quietly, looking back at her mother.
She stood as Liz brought the vase to the table. "These are beautiful, Robin!" the brunette exclaimed, setting the vase on the table.
Carly immediately looked for a card, not knowing whom they could be from. Certainly not Frisco. She didn't think he had a romantic bone in his body, and even if he did, he wouldn't be using it on her. Not on a bouquet that had to be around four dozen flowers, including at least two dozen roses.
She found the card and pulled it out of the envelope. Everything else in the diner faded away when she saw the name on the card. Her blood turned cold and the only thing she wanted to do was run.
Beautiful flowers for a beautiful bride. Congratulations, Lorenzo Alcazar.
"You're so lucky. I'd kill to have Ric send me flowers like this."
"Wouldn't we all, Liz," Bobbie said. "Who knew Frisco was such a romantic."
Carly snapped back to reality and put on the best smile she could muster. "This was really sweet of him..."
"Who died?" Frisco asked the second Carly walked through the door with the flower arrangement. He was sitting on the sofa, his feet on the coffee table and a soda in hand.
"Huh?"
"You're looking glum and carrying a large vase of flowers. That usually means someone died."
She set the vase down and handed the card to him. "They were delivered to Kelly's. How could he have known I was there?"
She could see the concern on his face. "He had you followed," he said, studying the card.
A pit formed in her stomach. It hadn't occurred to her that someone might have seen her with Bobbie. "I didn't see anyone following me."
"You looked?"
"I always look. You know that." She began to pace nervously, then stopped, turning to face him with her hands on her hips. "We're going to have to leave again, aren't we?" she asked, growing more upset by the moment. "Just when I get close to my son, it all gets snatched away from me..." She closed her eyes, hiding the tears that were building.
"We're not going anywhere," he told her firmly. "Not yet, anyway."
"You're sure about this? 'Cause I'll go, you know that. I don't want him going after my kid. Or your kids. I don't want to even take a chance..."
He thought before answering. "I'm sure." He dropped the card onto the coffee table. "I think he was just saying hello."
"Saying hello?"
"Yep." He looked up at her. "This was to remind us that he knows the truth."
"You got all of that from a card?"
"Do you see anything threatening on this card?"
"No, but that guy is a psycho. Who knows what he's planning."
"Lorenzo is not Luis. He rarely does anything without a purpose. He's going to sit on that information until it benefits him the most to reveal it. He's not going to make a move on you until all the pieces are where he wants them. Right now, he's otherwise occupied toying with your ex. That gives us time to figure out what he's planning."
Carly sat next to him, chewing on her thumb absently. She thought about what he'd said. She didn't really want to run again. "I'm tired of running from them," she said resignedly. "I want this to be over." She looked him in the eyes, determined as she ever was. "Lorenzo Alcazar is going down."
Frisco smiled. It was small, but genuine. "I'm going to make some phone calls, see if I can round up a couple more agents to help us out." He reached out to wipe away a tear Carly hadn't realized was falling down her cheek. "Don't worry, Carly. He won't get away with this. I'll make sure of it."
"Thank you."
Chapter 26
Author: speedy
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Expecting her second child and caught up in a mafia war, Carly Corinthos has a secret that will change the lives of everyone she knows.
Disclaimer: I'm not the Rat, so obviously the characters aren't mine. I'm just borrowing them for awhile.
Notes: Just moving this over from my now defunct website. This veers off canon right before the panic room fiasco in 2003.
Chapter 24
"The WSB tech guys should be here in a couple hours to install the security system," Frisco said as they walked into the cottage. "They'll be working all night. Probably most of tomorrow, too."
For Carly, it was like stepping into a time warp. In her mind, she could see the cottage as it was the first time she'd walked in, when Jason had brought her here from Ferncliffe. The furniture was covered with sheets and there weren't any pictures hanging, but it didn't change the image in her mind.
She could see her son, just barely a toddler. He had just begun walking, still unsteady on his little feet. He didn't know her. He only knew Jason and Robin. She hated both Robin and Tony with the fire of a million suns for that.
She could see the little romantic moments between Jason and Robin she'd walked in on. Sometimes she stayed back, hurt. Sometimes she interrupted them, just to remind Robin where she stood with Jason.
She could see the arguments with Robin, with both of them getting frustrated that Jason wouldn't take their side.
She could see her quiet moments with Jason, the ones she always remembered when she was lonely for home.
"Great," she replied emotionlessly.
"A couple coats of paint, a few pictures, a nice stereo system, this place will be just like home," he said, dropping his bag.
Home. As if this cottage could ever be home to her. "Right."
He pulled the sheet off the sofa. Dust flew up, causing him to cough. "Don't sound so excited."
She dropped her bags next to the sofa. "You know how I feel."
"It could be worse."
"How?"
He smirked. "We could be back at the loft with all those pretty pictures of Courtney and Jason," he reminded her.
"At least I could put away the pictures," she snapped. "All I see is Robin holding my baby..."
He cut her off. "Keep your mind on the mission and quit thinking about the past."
"Easy for you to say. You're not the one who had to live here with..."
"Don't even finish that thought," he growled, irritated. "It's over and done with. She's gone, you moved on. Don't rehash it now. Keep focused."
"How can you do this?" she asked, skeptical. "How can you just shut down your emotions like this?"
"I like living, that's how," he told her. "Compartmentalizing is a matter of survival, Carly. Spend too much time thinking about the past, the enemy has a chance to get a jump on you. That gets you killed." He looked away, almost haunted. "Or worse."
She knew about Bulgaria; Tony had told her when he'd talked about Frisco's death and resurrection. In the last two years, she'd been around enough agents to hear the stories of cases gone wrong. She heard with her own ears some of what happened to people who crossed the Alcazars, whether they were double crossing criminals or undercover agents. What she had experienced was bad, but the stories and the cries she still heard in her mind were much worse.
"I'm not that strong, Frisco," she said uncertainly.
His eyes met hers. "Yes, you are."
She searched his eyes for doubt and found none. She wished she could have his confidence. She let it drop. "How are we going to work transportation?" she asked, turning away from him.
"What do you mean?"
She glanced at him. "You expect me to just hang around here all day? At least at the loft, we were in walking distance to most places in town."
He hesitated, thinking. "I'll get you a car."
A car, yeah... She'd always feared driving. Losing her best friend, she never wanted to get behind the wheel and she had never had to. "Uh, I don't know how to drive."
"You don't know how to drive," he repeated, disbelieving.
She shrugged. "I never learned how. The accident..." she trailed off.
He got the point. "Don't ya think it's about time you learned?"
She didn't answer. She only looked away.
"You can depend on me for your transportation, or you can learn to drive. It's your choice. Not my problem if you're stuck here all day."
It had been Charlotte's death that had scared her out of driving. But now... She let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. He was right. She needed to learn to drive. When this was over, she wouldn't have the limos or drivers anymore. She wouldn't have Frisco to depend on. She would need to be able to drive for Michael. There was no point putting it off.
"Fine."
He smiled slyly. "What kind of car you want?"
"Something indestructible."
"I don't think they're going to give us a HumVee."
"I don't care, man!" she said, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Just pick something."
"A sedan will probably be the easiest to request."
She didn't care. It was all the same to her. "That's fine."
"Hey," he said, touching her shoulder. "It won't be so bad, I promise."
"Easy for you to say."
"Driving's not exactly rocket science, Carly." He looked around, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm going to hit the sack. You can have the master bedroom."
Where Jason slept with the twit, no way. She already had to do that at the loft and wasn't about to do that here. "I don't want it. I'll take the room across the hall."
"Whatever. Good night."
Frisco grabbed his bag and headed up the stairs, leaving Carly alone in the living room. She sighed, the sound loud in the silence. She walked to the staircase and sat on the bottom step, leaning her head on the banister.
The sooner this was over, the better. She couldn't take much more of this.
"I'm glad you asked me to lunch," Carly said, smiling happily as she sat down across the table from her mother.
Bobbie had called her cell phone that morning, asking to meet at Kelly's. Carly had of course agreed, looking forward to spending time with her mother.
"You know, I've hardly gotten a chance to talk to you since you and Frisco hit town. And with Sonny's kidnapping and Carly in the hospital, it's been a busy few days."
Carly's smile began to fade at the mention of the imposter. "Yeah, it has."
"I hear you're looking for a new place. I wish I had room at the Brownstone. I'd offer you two an apartment if I had one. The Brownstone's always been home to Frisco."
"I know, he told me. He was disappointed when he heard there wasn't anything available."
"I think there's a room open upstairs, but you're probably looking for something bigger than just a room over Kelly's."
"Actually, we found a place. Skye Quartermaine has this cottage she was renting out... Well, Andy made her an offer to buy it and she took it."
"Alan mentioned something about that awhile back. Brenda's old place, right?"
"Yeah," Carly answered, repressing thoughts of... Her. She forced herself to smile. "I think he mentioned his goddaughter lived there with her, uh, boyfriend a few years ago."
Bobbie rolled her eyes and sighed. "With my daughter. Now that was a disaster."
Carly couldn't argue with that, that living arrangement had been appallingly bad. "I think he might've mentioned that once or twice."
"Frisco hates her, always has."
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. They'd already been through this, she didn't want to discuss his hate again. "That part I'm well aware of."
"I'm sure he's made his feelings about my daughter clear, with Atlantic City and the stuff with Sonny. He was never one to hate in silence."
"Don't I know it," Carly laughed humorlessly. She hesitated before speaking again. "How is she?"
"She's out of the hospital today," Bobbie replied, her relief obvious. "A little bed rest and she and the baby will be fine."
"That's good to hear."
"Thank you. It's a relief. But if there's one thing my daughter knows how to do, it's bounce back."
She didn't know what to say to that, so she said nothing. Bobbie meant her, but was talking about Charlotte. The silence was awkward and uncomfortable. But she wanted to spend time with her mother...
"So, you've known Frisco for a long time, huh?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Since he first came to Port Charles," Bobbie told her. "He hung out here all the time when my aunt owned this place. Then my ex-husband and I bought the Brownstone next door. Plus, I got to know Tony at the hospital..." She shrugged. "It's a small town, you know. We ended up around each other a lot. How did you meet him?"
"In Germany, at a café."
"Were you working or was he?"
"He was working, I was on vacation."
Bobbie rolled her eyes. "Of course, he was working."
"He's always working," Carly added, with a slight grin.
Bobbie shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe he finally took time off."
"It took a lot of sweet talking."
"I'll bet! That's more than Tony or Felicia has ever got him to do."
Carly smiled uneasily. Tony and Felicia weren't his case and didn't drag him here, blowing their cover in the process. She could actually hear Frisco's sarcastic quips in her ears. "I guess I just have the magic touch."
"How long have you been together?"
"Two years."
"How'd you manage to work around his job, always being off on missions?"
"I like my freedom. I don't need to have him around all the time." She shrugged. "And with my job, I can take time off when I want and meet him wherever he is."
"That's a definite plus. It's got to be nice to have that much freedom."
"It has its downsides."
"Like what?"
"Well, it's unsteady and unstable and very stressful."
Bobbie thought for a moment. "I guess I can see that. Slow times, not knowing when and where your next paycheck's coming from."
Being held hostage, running from people trying to kill you, stuck with a guy that hates you and the feeling's more than mutual...
"I'm surprised he lets you call him Andy," the redhead said, changing the subject. "I always thought that was just short of grounds for execution with him."
Carly got a perverse pleasure out of calling Frisco by his given name. It annoyed him to no end. "That's what he called himself when I met him."
Bobbie looked surprised, almost shocked. "Really?"
"Yeah."
"Wow," she exhaled, stunned. She was speechless for a moment, obviously digesting this new piece of information. "He must've finally dealt with the Rita mess," she finally said. "Last time he was here, he was so dead set against that name. He was happy Felicia and Maxie didn't try to give Georgie some sort of derivative of Andrew."
Carly was intrigued. She never knew why he never used his given name, but then again, it wasn't something she thought a lot about, nor was Frisco forthcoming with it. "The Rita mess?" she asked, confused and very interested.
"Rita Lloyd, his and Tony's stepmother."
Tony had mentioned a Rita years ago, some woman he'd slept with, but he never told that she was his stepmother...
Whoa, Tony just entered a new level of creepy for her.
Carly half-smiled, covering for her silence. "Andy never talks about his parents," she replied.
"Didn't much when he was here either. It was always an off limits subject with him, except when that damn woman showed up on our doorstep." Bobbie sighed irritatedly, but Carly couldn't quite tell if it was for Frisco or Rita. "He couldn't keep his mouth shut about her the whole time she was in town."
She was actually enjoying talking about Frisco, go figure. She was getting a new insight into the man himself, more than she'd gotten in two years with him.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a huge bouquet of various colorful flowers entering the diner. The deliveryman holding them walked to the counter, catching everyone's attention.
"Wonder who the lucky person is," Bobbie said, admiring the flowers. "Those are gorgeous."
"Yeah," Carly agreed.
Liz smiled at him from behind the counter. Carly listened as the petite brunette asked him who the flowers were for.
"For a Mrs. Jones," the deliveryman replied, looking at his list.
"She's just over there. I'll take them to her," Liz told him, pointing to Carly.
"Sure." He handed her the vase and walked away.
"I guess I'm the lucky one," Carly said quietly, looking back at her mother.
She stood as Liz brought the vase to the table. "These are beautiful, Robin!" the brunette exclaimed, setting the vase on the table.
Carly immediately looked for a card, not knowing whom they could be from. Certainly not Frisco. She didn't think he had a romantic bone in his body, and even if he did, he wouldn't be using it on her. Not on a bouquet that had to be around four dozen flowers, including at least two dozen roses.
She found the card and pulled it out of the envelope. Everything else in the diner faded away when she saw the name on the card. Her blood turned cold and the only thing she wanted to do was run.
Beautiful flowers for a beautiful bride. Congratulations, Lorenzo Alcazar.
"You're so lucky. I'd kill to have Ric send me flowers like this."
"Wouldn't we all, Liz," Bobbie said. "Who knew Frisco was such a romantic."
Carly snapped back to reality and put on the best smile she could muster. "This was really sweet of him..."
"Who died?" Frisco asked the second Carly walked through the door with the flower arrangement. He was sitting on the sofa, his feet on the coffee table and a soda in hand.
"Huh?"
"You're looking glum and carrying a large vase of flowers. That usually means someone died."
She set the vase down and handed the card to him. "They were delivered to Kelly's. How could he have known I was there?"
She could see the concern on his face. "He had you followed," he said, studying the card.
A pit formed in her stomach. It hadn't occurred to her that someone might have seen her with Bobbie. "I didn't see anyone following me."
"You looked?"
"I always look. You know that." She began to pace nervously, then stopped, turning to face him with her hands on her hips. "We're going to have to leave again, aren't we?" she asked, growing more upset by the moment. "Just when I get close to my son, it all gets snatched away from me..." She closed her eyes, hiding the tears that were building.
"We're not going anywhere," he told her firmly. "Not yet, anyway."
"You're sure about this? 'Cause I'll go, you know that. I don't want him going after my kid. Or your kids. I don't want to even take a chance..."
He thought before answering. "I'm sure." He dropped the card onto the coffee table. "I think he was just saying hello."
"Saying hello?"
"Yep." He looked up at her. "This was to remind us that he knows the truth."
"You got all of that from a card?"
"Do you see anything threatening on this card?"
"No, but that guy is a psycho. Who knows what he's planning."
"Lorenzo is not Luis. He rarely does anything without a purpose. He's going to sit on that information until it benefits him the most to reveal it. He's not going to make a move on you until all the pieces are where he wants them. Right now, he's otherwise occupied toying with your ex. That gives us time to figure out what he's planning."
Carly sat next to him, chewing on her thumb absently. She thought about what he'd said. She didn't really want to run again. "I'm tired of running from them," she said resignedly. "I want this to be over." She looked him in the eyes, determined as she ever was. "Lorenzo Alcazar is going down."
Frisco smiled. It was small, but genuine. "I'm going to make some phone calls, see if I can round up a couple more agents to help us out." He reached out to wipe away a tear Carly hadn't realized was falling down her cheek. "Don't worry, Carly. He won't get away with this. I'll make sure of it."
"Thank you."
Chapter 26
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