CHAPTER THREE It was nearly dawn as Brenda pulled her rental car out of the hotel garage. The hand delivered message that she'd gotten from Julia last evening was strange. "Brenda, Meet me in the morning at that little café near Baroque Hall--seven a.m. --you know, where we met that one time before you were kicked out. Don't tell anybody. It's urgent." It was strange, but no stranger than the message she'd gotten earlier, and it did appear to be in Julia's handwriting. Brenda knew that authoritative script anywhere, and wondered just what particular bee was in Julia's bonnet this time. Brenda shrugged, and tossed her purse into the seat beside her, and within a few minutes, was on her way to the meeting place. With any luck, she'd be back before Lucy got up, and since she wasn't going to have to catch the early flight to London, her schedule wouldn't be as rushed. She could return, turn in the rental car, and take the limo to the airport later. All in all, that was a much better plan, and she just had to remember to call Jax when she got back to the hotel and tell him of her change in plans. She drove in relative peace, concentrating on driving carefully, less than comfortable with driving on the opposite side than she was used to. She headed out of the small town where they'd conducted the photo shoot, and turned towards the mountain village that served as a nearby escape from Baroque Hall years ago. Breathing deeply, Brenda glanced at the mountains that had always, in the past, seemed more of a prison to her, a barrier to keep her from those she'd loved and had wished loved her. Now, she could appreciate their beauty, and she grinned at the memories of just what a rotten, spoiled brat she'd been. It was no wonder she'd been consigned there--not that Julia hadn't, but she'd seen it as a means to an end, while Brenda had seen it as a bitter end from which to escape. Yes, the mountain beauty was breathtaking, the winding roads, the evergreen trees, along with the sheer drops that inspired one to drive carefully. As she turned the curve that took her to the pass that led to the school, Brenda felt the car pull to the right, and then became aware of a hissing sound. Dismayed, she pulled over, and climbed out. "Damn! A flat!" Well, she might well be a fashion model, but she did know how to change a tire, and it looked like she was going to have to do it. Grumbling to herself, she pulled the keys out of the ignition and went around to the back, where she opened the trunk. It took only a few seconds to determine that there was no spare tire. "Damn, damn, damn!" It was at least five miles down the mountain from where she was, and another five back to the hotel, and probably five over the mountain and to the place where she was supposed to meet Julia. If she was lucky, she'd be able to catch a ride with some Good Samaritan. Slamming the trunk, she walked back to the car and dug through her purse, wishing that she'd brought her cellular phone with her, but no, she'd left it recharging in her room. With a snort of disgust, she climbed out of the car, and locked it. Then, she started to trek up the hill, the shortest distance. No way would she make it by seven at this rate. Before she got more than a few feet down the road, she heard a car, and turning, saw a large, black Mercedes pull up beside her. Jubilantly, she walked over to it as the window in the front rolled down. The chauffeur asked, "Are you having difficulties?" "A flat tire," Brenda told him, grateful that he spoke English. "And no spare. Can you imagine?" "Oh, yes, it happens frequently." The man got out, and looked at her car, then turned back to her. "As do accidents." "Sonny's escaped? When?" Lucy demanded. "Sometime yesterday," Jax told her. "I just found out a little while ago, and I've been trying to reach Brenda--but she's not answering." "That's weird," Lucy told him. "She'd decided against the early flight to London--you knew that." "Yes. Will you go and check on her?? I'll hold on." Minutes later, Lucy was back. "She's not there, Jax. But I did find a note to her that has to do with meeting someone at a café near Baroque Hall. She said that she went to school there for a while. It's several miles from here. Maybe she went there." "Who was the note from?" "I don't know. No signature." "That means that she must have known the handwriting." "One would think so. Look, I'll ask around and see what I can learn. I'll call you back." "Thanks. When you do find her, tell her to stay with you. There's no telling what Sonny will do, but I know that he threatened to kill her. He thought she'd betrayed him along with Robin and Jason." "Are they safe?" "Good. Okay, then let me know what you learn. I'll have Brenda call you when she shows up." Hanging up, Lucy turned to see Kevin staring in disbelief at the painting in the living room. "What the hell??" "You feeling any better?" Lucky asked Jer as the trio headed back towards the village where he said that Luke was probably being held. The road down the mountain was fairly steep, but at least they weren't having to walk up. Hopefully they could get a ride if they decided to go back to the cabin. "I'd feel a lot better if I didn't look like an ugly girl." "It beats looking like yourself and getting killed," Nikolas pointed out, reasonably. "Besides, we may need you, and you owe Luke for saving your hide." "Don't worry, I won't bail on you." Jeremy limped along beside them, his left ankle hurting from the run across the mountains the day before. "I pay my debts." "Hey, it's not just that," Lucky told him. "Maybe Dad knows something about who was chasing you." I know who was chasing me," Jer said darkly. "And you won't tell us. Do you really need me to tell you again how stupid that is?" Lucky continued. "Now, you said that you hadn't done anything wrong, but that somebody is after you, and wants to kill you." "Can we just drop this?" Jer asked. "If I tell you, then you'll be in as much trouble as I am." "We probably will be anyway," Nik reasoned. "Any intelligent person would figure that you told us all about it, and kill us just to be on the safe side. Therefore, by virtue of your not having told us, you're putting us in even more danger because we don't know whom to fear." "Exactly," Lucky agreed. "We need to know the enemy." Before, he could say more, a dark Mercedes swerved around the curve, heading up the mountain, and the trio dove off the road and into the bushes, narrowly missing being hit. "!@#$%^&*!!" Lucky yelled at the car, giving the driver the universal salute. "Good thing we weren't on the other side of the road, or we'd be taking the short way down." "I wonder where he was going in such a hurry?" Nik asked, picking himself up. He extended a hand to Jer whose pain whitened face was a stark contrast to the black wig he wore. "You okay?" "I'll make it. What was that?" "A black Mercedes," Lucky told him. "That SOB didn't even stop to see if we were hurt or anything." "A black Mercedes?" Jer was suddenly still. "There are lots of black Mercedes. Lots." "But probably not all that many cruising around this area," Nik told him. "Why?" "Because I think he's involved in what's going on." "He who?" Lucky asked. "I don't know his name," Jer answered. "I only know that the car was there that day." "What day?" "The day my best friend died." "What?" "The day my best friend committed suicide. Only I think that he didn't. I think that he was murdered, and I'm going to prove it." The simple accusation hung in the air, and was suddenly punctuated by an explosion that came from somewhere down the mountain. "What the hell???" Lucky started, and the trio began to run towards the noise. Sonny Corinthos drew another breath of fresh, non prison air, and smiled. He'd been out for nearly twenty-four hours, after having been in for a few months. He told them that they'd never hold him, but they didn't listen. Nobody locked up Sonny Corinthos and got away with it. Nobody. He glanced over at his new associate, and smiled. "I owe you one."