Episode 150

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Episode 150

Scene 1:

"Come on, it's on me," Jory coaxed tugging at Georgia's hand. "You need to eat and I know the owner," he added with a grin. Georgia offered him a weak smile in return and let him pull her towards the front door of Connie's. She had no desire to see her mother just now, considering how low her self-esteem was at this point in time. Of course, she didn't know for sure that Gina Corelli would be at Connie's but where ever Kevin Conlan was, there was Gina.

Thankfully, Ian had called out at work and she hadn't seen him since the night he'd hurt her. But the wound was deep and painful. Seeing him, or hearing about him from anyone including her mother, was more than Georgia could bear. They stepped inside the diner, letting their eyes adjust to the darkened room. She allowed Jory to lead her towards a booth in the back, holding her hand the entire way. They settled into the booth and picked up menus.

Jory had been wonderful though. He'd listened to her and not said a bad word about Ian, though she could tell he wanted to. Better still though, he hadn't made character judgments on her like Gina would undoubtedly do when she learned of Georgia's failed romance. She sighed heavily and leaned back against the leather seat.

"Everything all right?" Jory asked, raising his head from his menu, his face slightly pink. He really was a very considerate man, Georgia thought studying his face. His was a handsome face, though not as hard as his brother's. Jory's had a sensitive look to it, not calculating like Luke. Not that she thought Luke unattractive. He was by far one of the better looking men in the town, but Jory was different. His eyes were kinder and wiser it seemed than Luke's. After all, it was well known that Luke had married Hallie Lennox for her money and everyone knew what kind of person Hallie was. If Luke had half the wisdom of Jory, he never would have done that.

"Yes, I'm fine," she answered, realizing suddenly that she'd been staring at him. "Sorry."

"It's okay. You were just looking at me as if you'd never seen me before," Jory pointed out.

She dropped her gaze back to the menu, staring at the words, embarrassed. "I-I just didn't think you needed to look at the menu after all this time," she managed. "After all, your family does own the place and you have eaten lunch here every day since you were two. Isn't that what you said?" She peeked at him over the top of her menu and watched as a flush of pink started to crawl up his neck.

"Yes, I said that," Jory returned staring at the menu again. He looked back up again and met her eyes. There was a moment where she saw something there. Something that she'd never seen in Jory before but it was gone before she could put her finger on it, replaced by amusement. "Sorry, I'm just a big dork," he told her laughing slightly. "I feel like an idiot right now."

"It's okay. I feel like a bit of an idiot myself," Georgia admitted dropping the menu. "If I've never mentioned it before, Jory, thank you for everything."

Jory shrugged. "I don't know what you're thanking me for. I haven't done anything."

"Yes, you have," she replied firmly. "You've been my friend and that means a lot to me."

"Well, then I should thank you too. You were my friend when I needed one the most." They fell into an uncomfortable silence, broken at last by the appearance of Kevin at their table. He gave each of them a close look but said nothing about their silence. He glanced at the menus in their hands and raised his eyebrows.

"Having lunch, kids?" He asked genially, glancing from Jory to Georgia.

"Yeah Dad," Jory muttered. He looked over at Georgia. "What would you like? My treat, remember."

"Nah," Kevin interrupted. "MY treat. You two can try out our new special. You'll love it. Gina came up with it," he added beaming.

Georgia let out a groan that Kevin missed as he shuffled away happily. "If my mother came up with it, we're doomed." Jory laughed despite himself. She knew he wasn't overly fond of her mother, but then, Georgia was no fan of Gina's cooking. Georgia grinned, feeling a lot less self-conscious. "I have to tell you, when we were kids, Jay and I would..."

She was interrupted by the sound of Jory's name from across the room. They both turned towards the voice, seeing Ellen Mason at the same time. Georgia's mouth thinned into a grim line. She couldn't stand that woman and she had no idea why Jory liked her. Ellen waved happily at him and wound her way through the restaurant towards them.

"I'm so glad I found you!" Ellen said ignoring Georgia completely.

"Well, here I am," Jory returned dryly. "What's up, Ellen?" She pushed her left hand towards him in response, flashing the ring that rested on her fourth finger. Jory whistled in appreciation, eyeing the diamond. "That's quite a ring Ellen. On your left hand though? I thought that was just for..."

"It is," she beamed. "I got married last night!"

Jory's jaw dropped in surprise, but he covered quickly, getting to his feet and kissing her cheek in congratulations. "That's wonderful. I had no idea you were seeing anyone."

"Oh, well it was all pretty quiet. No need to make a big deal about it until we were sure." She glanced at Georgia briefly before turning back to Jory. "He'll be here in just a minute. He had to stop at work. I want you to meet him."

"Ellen, that's nice and I do want to meet him," Jory replied flicking a gaze at Georgia. "But Georgia and I were in the middle of lunch."

"Oh, don't bother with me. I'm not hungry anyway," Georgia broke in. She really couldn't handle another girlish outburst from Ellen Mason. The sooner her little fun was over, the better. Ellen turned a cool gaze on her, studying her intently for a moment, her blue eyes searching Georgia's own. She smiled serenely, unnerving Georgia completely.

"Well, you already know him," Ellen said to her, watching her carefully. "In fact, I'd say you knew him quite well." Georgia's eyebrows pulled together in a frown waiting for Ellen to get on with it already. "Ah there he is!" She said glancing over her shoulder. She waved her new husband over, a silly grin on her face. Georgia couldn't take much more of this, she decided, with a sigh. Whoever the poor chump was, he had no idea what he was in for.

"Ellen, what the hell is taking so long?" The voice was instantly familiar to her and she felt her stomach sink to the floor. Ellen Mason had married Ian. She caught the look of horror on Ian's face and the look of concern on Jory's before she lurched to her feet and fought her way out of the restaurant and away from humiliation.

Scene 2:

"Thanks for coming," Jamie said pleasantly enough offering his hand to Josh.

Josh stared down at it ignoring it in favor of the bartender behind Jamie. "Whiskey," he told the bartender tersely.

Jamie shrugged and dropped his hand. "A bit early for the hard stuff, isn't it?"

"In New Orleans, it is never too early," Josh returned sharply. He sat on the bar stool next to Jamie, staring at him openly. "Why me?" He asked after a moment.

"Because you're the best man for the job, Josh. I mean that too." The bartender left Josh's drink for him, interrupting the conversation briefly before departing. "Look, I know what happened in Florida was pretty bad..."

"You don't know the half of it."

"No, I probably don't. But I can try to make up for it, can't I?"

Josh snorted derisively. "Sure you can. But you could have tried to make up for it a long time ago. I thought we were friends. Man, I knew more about you fifteen years ago than your family did," Josh said turning to face him. "We were roommates, friends you know? But the minute my life went to shit, did you care? Did you do anything to help?" Jamie had the decency to look thoroughly abashed, looking away uncomfortably. "Yeah. You know the answer to that, don't you? Look, Jamie. I'd like to believe you're here offering me an olive branch of friendship," he added sarcastically. "But somehow, I'm not really sure you are. I think you're here because you need something and I'm the one who can give it to you."

"You don't think much of me, do you?"

"Should I? You haven't given me much lately to consider," Josh returned. He picked up the whiskey and downed it, shoving the glass back across the counter. "Look, just be honest with me for a change."

"I'm always honest with you, Josh!" Jamie exclaimed.

Josh raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "You are?! I did not know that."

"What the fuck is your problem?" Jamie snapped, losing his temper at last. "I said I was sorry about Florida. What else do you want from me? Want me to turn back the clock and change everything that happened? Well, I can't. And if you remember, Josh, you dug your own grave. There was that incident in the ER, if you remember."

"Hey, he deserved it," Josh muttered, remembering the day vividly. He'd do it again in a heartbeat.

"I'm sure the guy deserved to get punched in the face. And I tried to help you then. You didn't want my help. You wanted the suspension." He jabbed a finger at Josh's chest. "You made the decision to turn me away when I offered. Not me. You think I could have saved your job when the consortium went in after your violent escapade in the ER? Not a chance in hell. You lost your job and your license because of your own goddammed mistakes."

Josh slid off the bar stool and gave Jamie a mock salute. "Well, thank you very much for the history lesson, James. See you around."

"Wait a minute," Jamie said getting to his feet. "That's it? You just showed up to goad me into yelling at you? Nice, Josh."

"That is not why I came," Josh retorted, his eyes narrowing darkly. "It was a nice benefit though."

"Why did you come then?"

"For Honey."

Jamie frowned, shaking his head at Josh's words. "Honey? You mean that woman from yesterday, don't you? She asked you to talk to me?"

"I owe her, Jamie. I owe her a lot more than I can give her right now. So yeah, I came because of Honey. And I came, we talked. It's over." He made a move to leave but Jamie laid a hand on his shoulder, making him pause. "What now?" He asked through gritted teeth, his fists balled at his sides.

"You wanted the truth from me. All right, I'll give it to you."

Scene 3:

Liza speared a cucumber with her fork, finishing the remainder of her salad. She was tired. And lonely, she realized watching Jory Conlan enter the diner with his nurse friend. What she wouldn't give for a friend right now to take the edge off of the ache she felt for Luke. She did miss him, no matter what she might have said to him at John Stafford's wake. Still, there was Matty to protect and not even Luke could protect him from his natural father if the man ever found out about him. No she would just have to keep Luke at arms' length until Hallie grew tired of her games and threats.

"Just the person I was hoping to see here!"

Liza swung her head around, wishing almost instantly she hadn't. Hallie Lennox sauntered into the diner, behaving as if she owned the place. Liza ducked down into the booth, burying her face in a newspaper. The last thing she wanted was to have Hallie Lennox pestering her today. She hated the woman with a passion and hearing Hallie sounding so cheerful was irritating.

"Oh god," she heard Dane moan. "What have I done?" Liza smiled inwardly at the sound of Dane's voice. Despite the fact that he was Hallie's brother, he really was a pleasant man.

"Nothing, of course. Can't I just be happy to see my brother? Besides, I am in a wonderful mood today."

"Oh?" Dane asked. He didn't sound the least bit interested to Liza. "I shouldn't ask...but why are you so happy?"

Liza ducked down further into the booth, trying to stay as low as possible. They were close to her but not so close as to have noticed her. If she could just stay down for a little longer, she might be able to slip out unnoticed while they ordered lunch.

"I am finally going to teach that little wench, Liza Gennaro, a lesson in love."

She shifted in the booth, eager to hear what Hallie was planning. It would be nice to be one up on the woman for a change. "Can't you leave Liza alone?" Dane asked. "It isn't as if she's still seeing Luke. In fact, she's not seeing anyone. So let her alone, will you?"

Liza thanked him silently. Dane Lennox was more than pleasant. He was decent. And in the Mason family, she had learned that was rare. The women were all calculating and unpleasant. But the men, well, that was where the good part of the family was.

"Oh get off your high horse, Dane!" Hallie snapped. "You tried to be nice to her and she ditched you. She's still in love with him despite everything. And I just can't have that."

"Why? You don't give a rat's behind about Luke. You're in love with Stephen Roth. Or at least that is what he thinks. Don't jerk Stephen around like you did before, Hal. You'll lose him."

"I won't lose Stephen. Besides, believe it or not," Hallie sighed melodramatically. "I cared about Luke Conlan once. It isn't my fault that he had to betray me like he did."

"I wish you could hear yourself."

"What? Look, he and I had a deal and he ruined it. He made a fool of me with that woman and I intend to make him miserable too. But he's a man. He doesn't really know any better. Liza, on the other hand, knows exactly what she's doing. And the little witch is going to learn the hard way that I am not going to be the loser in any scenario."

"Christ, Hallie! What are you planning?"

Liza peeked out from behind the newspaper long enough to get a glimpse of the satisfied smirk on Hallie's face. She was going to wipe that smirk off Hallie if it was the last thing she did.

"Well, to start," Hallie began sounding infinitely pleased with herself. "I happened to run across Luke Conlan at a bar last night with Maggie Stewart. She won't be too thrilled about that but that isn't really what will upset her."

"No?"

"No. Because I took him home and he was thoroughly drunk. And if I know Luke, he doesn't remember a thing about last night. Which works out well for me."

"Hallie..."

"What? Nothing really happened. But Liza doesn't need to know that. Don't you think it would tear up the poor girl to know that her true love wasn't so true after all. He claims to love her but I don't think she'll be so inclined to believe him after I tell her about the fun time Luke and I had last night."

"Hal, I can't let you do that. If you tell Liza that load of crap, I'll have to tell her the truth." Liza smiled to herself triumphantly, thankful for Dane's kindness.

"No you won't. Not if you want a moment's peace from Max Jency. That's right Dane. I know he's been after you to meet his niece. How would you like it if I just let him know where you were all the time? Because if you ruin this for me, I swear I will tell him your every move. And I won't lift a finger to help you when he traps you into marrying his chubby little niece."

"You wouldn't...."

"I would. I always win in the end, Dane. You know I do. So be a love and keep this to yourself."

"What about Stephen? What happens if he hears about this?"

"I have every intention of telling him about it before he can hear about it from anyone else. Now, do me a favor? If you see Liza? Tell her I need to see her." Liza buried her head further into the paper listening as Hallie's footsteps faded away. She glanced up briefly, seeing Dane drop a twenty on the table and follow shortly behind his sister.

She straightened up in the booth, trying to decide what to do. She wasn't going to give Hallie the chance to tell her that outrageous lie, that was certain. Liza would have to tell Luke. After all, he might think he had slept with the woman and he needed to know it wasn't true. Still, the one person who should know all of this was Stephen Roth. And Liza was just the person to tell him, she decided with a satisfied grin. Hallie was about to get a rude awakening.

Scene 4:

Angelina Tejera didn't have to check the address to make sure she had the right place. From the outside, it didn't look conspicuous. But just knowing her little brother was inside was enough to make her blood heat to a simmer. And knowing Nicky hadn't felt the need to tell her one damned thing shot her right to the boiling stage.

It had taken a lot for her to control her temper as she requested to see Tyler. Tyler. The name still got to her. Of course, as long as she could see him, make sure he was okay, she didn't care if he was calling himself the Sultan of Brunei.

She took a moment to gather composure, sweeping her hair behind her shoulder and straightening her jacket as an armed guard led her back to the jail cells where Tyler was being held. The last thing she needed to do was to show her brother how nervous she was. She needed to be cool and calm. Assured. They were going to get him out of this. Noah Wallace hadn't sounded so certain. And maybe she didn't feel so certain. But there was no way in hell she was going to let Tyler stay her forever - or worse - be convicted of a crime she knew he hadn't committed.

Tyler glanced up at the sound of footsteps in the hall, half expecting another guard to pass by and give him an outraged stare. Instead, he was taken aback at the sight of his sister gazing down at him. He jumped to his feet, taking the few steps to the bars. He reached out for Angelina's hand and clasped it tightly in his own, making sure she was real.

"Thank God you came. I was hoping you would," he said softly.

"I would have been here soon," Angelina told him, "if that jackass we call a brother had bothered to let me in on what's been going on." Taking a deep breath, she squeezed his hand tightly. Now that she was seeing him again, she had the sudden urge to cry. If she'd known what would happen, she never would have encouraged him to return to this place. "What happened, Tom...Tyler? How did this happen?"

"I did it to myself, Lina," he replied with a gentle shrug of his shoulders. "I ran in the first place. And then I got Dinah mixed up in all of this..." He trailed off, releasing Angelina's hand. "We got back and there was some mix up with Nicky's henchman. I don't know what else to call him... Anyway," he continued, running a hand through his hair, ruffling it. "We ended up at Dinah's house and the cops showed up. She tried to help me by letting the police take her but I couldn't bear that. She's helped me so much, you know? So what did I do? I made her run with me and in the end, it got her shot and her father killed. Because of me, Lina."

She seemed to try to absorb his answer, but she couldn't. "You shouldn't have run, Tyler. But...this isn't
your fault. You didn't shoot anyone, kill anyone. Dinah made her own decisions. Believe me, I kinda got that from the time we spent together. You didn't make her do anything she didn't want to do. She knew the risks." Angelina hesitated, not sure she wanted to know the answer to her next question. "What was Nicky doing while all of this was going down? Where was he? He should have been with you."

"With the cops for most of it. He'd made some type of friendship with the cop that was after me originally.
Detective Hamilton. He was trying to get her to help us...at least that is what he told me. I don't know any more." Tyler shook his head.

A woman. Of course, that made sense. Nicky had probably been out romancing some lady detective while
his own brother was trying to escape from the police. Part of her brain told her she was being unfair towards Nicky. But the other part didn't care. If he'd been with Tyler, none of this would have happened.

But she couldn't say that right now. Tyler looked miserable enough. "I'm going to get you out of here," Angelina told him. But she didn't know how. He was a complete flight risk. No one was going to let him out until he was proven innocent. So, that was what she had to do. "How're they treating you in here? Have you heard from Dinah?"

"Noah brought her by a few days ago. She's messed up over her father's death. Her entire family blamed her for it. I didn't know how to help her." He shook his head, thinking about Dinah's situation. "She's living with her brother-in-law for now. But I don't think she's happy about it."

"Yeah, well, I'm not too happy you've been relying mainly on Nicky. Why didn't you call me sooner? I mean, hello? Investigative reporter? And my reputation? A bit less tarnished than his." Her words bordered on the edge of sarcasm, but her tone was soft. Not quite as chastising as she seemed. "I could have helped you more. I should have been here."

"I didn't want to get you involved any more than I had to. Besides, I didn't expect Nicky to follow me to New Orleans. I thought he'd let it go if he knew I'd made it away safely. Apparently not." He sighed heavily, dropping his eyes. "I didn't rape her, Angelina. I swear I didn't."

"You don't have to tell me that. Come on, I've known you your entire life. I know what you're capable of
and...what you're not. And I am going to get you out of here. No matter what it takes. So I guess first things first, I'm going to have to pay a little visit to Nicky."

"If you can find him," Tyler snorted derisively. "Do me a favor though. If you're serious about getting me out of here? Maybe you could talk to Melissa...the girl. Nicky got her to admit she made it up but maybe you could convince her to tell that to the cops? It's just my word against hers after all."

"I'll see what I can do. But with or without her, I promise you...I will get you out." Angelina looked over her
shoulder towards the guard looming menacingly in the doorway. He glanced at his watch and she rolled her eyes. "I'll be back, okay?"

"Okay. Would you check on Dinah too? I don't know where her brother-in-law's house is but his name is Galen Gennaro. He's a doctor at the hospital. Thank you for coming Lina. It means a lot to me."

"It's what I'm here for," she told him, reaching through the bars to squeeze his hand one last time before the guard led her out of the lockup area. She was going to do everything she could for Tyler, by any means necessary. And if that meant going to Nicky for help, well, after she gave him a very large piece of her mind, she'd consider it.

Scene 5:

Jude slammed the newspaper on his desk. He wanted to throw it through the window really, but Maura was already concerned about him. Throwing a temper tantrum would never do. Maura followed him into the office studying him carefully.

"Are you all right?" She asked.

Jude rubbed his forehead where a dull throb was threatening to become a pounding headache. "No. I'm not Maura. God... What possessed him to do it?" He muttered, knowing full well why Rick Upton had decided to use The Observer to further whatever revenge ideas he had.

"This is my fault, Jude. I should never have led him on like I did. I'll go talk to him. I'll make him print a retraction."

He opened his eyes and saw her for the first time since Fleming had approached them. She was pale and drawn and most definitely worried. The tension eased out of him and he held his hand out to her, beckoning her closer. Giving him an uneasy smile, Maura accepted his hand and let him pull her close.

"Look," he began softly. "It's not your fault. Rick has some warped ideas, that's all. Probably he sees this as his way of getting even with me."

"With you?"

"Sure. He was in love with you and I took you away." He looked down into her eyes. "At least I hope I did."

"Of course, you did. I love you, Jude." Maura blinked, small tears forming at the edges of her lashes. She nodded once and buried her head in the hollow of his neck. He closed his eyes, grateful for the affirmation. He didn't realize how badly he still needed to hear it. Holding her tightly, he stroked her hair lovingly, relieved at her words.

"Well, then do you blame him? I took what he thought was the most precious thing in his life and kept it for me. And I won't give you up ever." He kissed the top of her head, smelling the sweet lavender scent of her shampoo. "But, he's wrong about me, Maura. I didn't do those things he's implying."

Maura pulled away from him and gave him a worried frown. "Of course you didn't. You didn't think I believed his rant, did you?"

"I hoped you wouldn't."

"Not a word of it," she smiled reluctantly. "I don't like what he said but..." She trailed off letting the thought die on her lips. "What are we going to do about it?"

We. That sounded wonderful to Jude. "About Rick? Let him make a fool of himself to start with. If he's getting his information from Dan Fleming, he's getting it all wrong."

"Who is that guy anyway?" Maura asked breaking away from him. "He seemed to know an awful lot about you."

"Dan Fleming? He's a sleazy reporter from Washington. Thought I was his meal ticket about two years ago," Jude admitted. "He's the one who made things hot for me during that whole business with Cynthia," he added. He hated to bring Cynthia Mitchell up, but it was the truth. Fleming had smelled a story and tried like hell to crucify him. Granted, he had been right for most of it. Jude did have an affair with a senator's wife, but he never took kickbacks like Fleming claimed. And here was Rick Upton just adding fuel to Fleming's fire. "What I'd like to know is exactly why Fleming is here and how he got a hold of the editorial. The Observer isn't that big of a paper to get covered on the AP unless he's been keeping tabs on me..."

"I can answer that for you," Rick said from the open doorway. "I sent him a courtesy copy and invited him to Conlan's Glen."

Scene 6:

The newspaper editorial annoyed the hell out of him but what could he do about it yet? He'd have to talk to Jude about it as soon as possible, but Jude was good at what he did. He'd find a way out of it. Stephen relaxed a little. He was confident in Jude's skills. And even if he wasn't Jamie Mason wouldn't let someone tear his brother down like that. Nor would Gwen for that matter.

No, it would be all right, he decided pulling into the parking lot of Connie's Diner. He should head home to see Hallie but chances were she wasn't there. Besides, he was starving. He walked in and looked around the place, catching Kevin Conlan's eye. Kevin approached quickly, offering his hand automatically.

"Stephen! It's good to see you. Listen, I wonder if I might talk to you again about that investment of yours?"

Stephen raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I thought Maura wouldn't stand for it," he said cautiously. "Or has something changed in my absence?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, Maura has decided to leave Connie's. I thought you might already know since...well, you and Jude..."

"Ah. Well, I can't say that I did know that. However, Jude may have mentioned it to me and I've forgotten. It's been a busy week and all. I'll tell you what. Right now, I would love to get some lunch. Perhaps tomorrow I could drop by for breakfast and we could talk then?"

"Sounds good to me. Come on, I'll get you a table."

"Oh the bar is fine with me," Stephen smiled pleasantly nodding towards the near empty bar. "You look like you could use all the tables you can get right about now."

"Oh sure, sure. Have a seat. I'll send Joanie over in a minute."

Stephen nodded in thanks and headed to the bar. His stomach growled angrily and he caught a few glimpses of disapproving gazes directed at him. Yeah, so he hadn't eaten since yesterday? Big deal, he thought with a roll of his eyes. Not like he'd done something awful at any rate. He stared pointedly at one old crone who watched him distrustfully, daring her to say something. She kept her tongue though and turned away from him at last, leaving him to study the menu with a small modicum of satisfaction.

"You're Stephen Roth, aren't you?"

He glanced over to the other side where a stunning brunette eyed him warily. He knew her. The object of Luke Conlan's affections. "Yes, I am. And you're Liza Gennaro." he replied pleasantly. Hallie might dislike the woman, but as far as Stephen was concerned, he owed her for doing what he himself had failed to do: break up Hallie and Luke.

"So you do know who I am," she said thoughtfully.

"Of course I do. I've heard a great deal about you. Besides, we have met once or twice before. At the Foundation," he reminded her.

"Oh yes. I had forgotten." She blushed slightly. "Do you mind if I speak with you for a moment then?" Stephen shrugged one shoulder in acquiescence. Couldn't hurt. "Good. Look, I'm not a vindictive person. Really. If I were, your...girlfriend?"

"Hallie?" He filled in for her. She nodded. "Yes, I guess you could call her girlfriend then."

"All right. As I was saying, if I were a vindictive person, I would have done something in retaliation for all the hell she's put me through over the last few months. Not to mention Luke..."

"Let's don't if we can avoid it, shall we?" He paused their conversation long enough to order a burger and fries from Joanie. "So you aren't vindictive. I gathered you weren't that sort from the way Hallie talked about you."

"I'm not," she said firmly. "But she's gone too far this time."

Stephen sighed, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on. "What did she do now?"

"Look, I don't like to do things like this, but you should know and she will never tell you. I know it. I don't know you very well, but you love Hallie. That much I do know. But Hallie doesn't love anyone but herself. She's bent on making me miserable and she's succeeded quite well."

"Miss Gennaro, I don't want to be rude, but could you get to the point?"

"The point. Sure. While you were out of town, Hallie decided she had to seduce her husband." Liza stared at him, her eyes angry and her mouth set in a grim line. "So, while the cat's away the mice will play. Or at least your mouse."

"How do you know that?" He asked keeping his voice tight.

"I heard her tell her brother. Not more than an hour ago."

Stephen's hunger pains melted away replaced by a hollowness in his gut. Seduced her husband. Slept with Luke Conlan in other words, his brain corrected. Cheated on you. Just like she did before to Luke. His mouth went dry suddenly and a well of anger sprang up in his chest. Wasn't he good enough for her? Or did she always have to have what she couldn't?

He looked at her more thoroughly this time and saw fragile look in her eyes. "And you couldn't wait to tell me?" He asked trying to control his anger. "How do I know you're telling me the truth? What makes you think I'll believe your 'I'm not vindictive' act?"

Liza's eyes narrowed into dark blue triangles. "Because you know Hallie. You know what she's capable of. Don't believe me?" She asked, sliding off her stool. "Ask her yourself. Maybe she'll tell you. And if she won't, ask Luke. I imagine he will."