Intrigue & Passion-7

by: Susan

Brenda groaned and opened her eyes. Her entire body burned and when she tried to turn her head it swam and she shut her eyes. Taking a deep breath she opened them again a few seconds later. She was in familiar surroundings.

"The penthouse? "

It only took her a minute to realize that she was tied to something, shifting she realized it was the bed. The bastard took her to the penthouse, he was holding her hostage in what had once been the home where she and Jax had lived. Memories flooded back to her and she damned Darius. He knew what he was doing, bringing her here.

"Brenda? "

Her eyes flew open again at the sound of the lilting Australian accent. He couldn't have found her already, he couldn't have.

"Jax, is that you? "

Jerry looked down at his ex-sister in-law and grinned. He had been under cover with Darius's men for about a year now, he had met her once before when she had destroyed the complex in Peru against direct WSB orders, an unbeknownst to the governing board, but she hadn't even glanced twice at him.

He had come back from a weeks vacation to learn that Brenda had been kidnapped, and was being held here. Darius had appointed Jerry as her personal guard not knowing, or suspecting who he was. For the first time in a week she was finally coming too. He hated knowing what Darius was doing to her, but he was as surprised as Darius when his drugs wouldn't work on her. His brother's ex-wife had a strong resistance level, he looked down at her bruised body, clad only in the T-shirt she had been wearing when she had been captured.

"No. "

Focusing her eyes again Brenda examined the face leaning over her, running a cool cloth over her burning forehead.

"Then who…"

"Shh, "

Jerry placed his index finger on her lips.

"Don't ask questions. Just trust me okay, promise me you'll do what I say. "

Brenda nodded and swallowed against the nausea that threatened to overwhelm her.

"Trust, yeah. You s-sound "

She was shivering violently now.

"j-just like Jax. "

And then recognition registered in her eyes, as she stared at a mirror image of the man she loved.

"Jerry? "

"Don't say anything Brenda, not a word. Just know that I'm going to get you out of this. Okay. "

He held a glass to her dry, cracked lips. She shook her head.

"Can't drink…c-can't. "

"Brenda, please, this will help you. I promise. "

Eyes that were eerily familiar, though unknown to her, smiled down at her and Brenda nodded. The water followed a cool path down her throat and she sighed.

Closing her eyes against the pain she felt Brenda smiled slightly for Jerry.

"Ya know what? "

Jerry had to smile.

"What? "

"Sometimes, when I close my eyes and stand perfectly still, I s-still imagine that Jax will walk through the door of whatever room I'm in. He'll take me in his arms and forgive me. Crazy huh? I destroyed the one good thing I ever had…I love him, "

Brenda drifted off and Jerry pulled his disguise back on.

"so much…Jax…"

Jax paced Johnny's office like a nervous cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Brenda's voice filled the room as he and Johnny reviewed the personal tapes they had found at Lois's house. It had been good to see Lois again, he had seen the concern in her eyes. Where was Brenda? Where the hell was she and what the hell was happening to her?

"Off the record, this is tape 1 of Pandora's personal files. Umm, let's see, phase one of my personal, unauthorized vendetta against Sonny Corinthos completed in Peru. Darius Roan, continual pain in the ass, destroyed along with his compound. "

Brenda sat back in the fluffy chair and Jax watched as she absently played with her wedding ring. The date on the tape was about a year before.

"Just for the record, if anything happens to me, these tapes will be found with Lois Cerullo. If you're wondering Johnny, why I did this I'll let you know. Sonny screwed me over, literally. Four years ago he destroyed me life. He orchestrated an elaborate scheme to get me trapped with him, and convinced me, while I was going through a drug withdrawl, that I was going to die. I know it was wrong, but in that one instant I lost myself, I slept with him. We survived, although sometimes I wish we had died in that cave. Heaven knows I've tried to find ways to finish what he started, but success just wasn't in the books I know.

I have a daughter. She's what pulled me through. "

Jax turned to Johnny. Probably Sonny's brat. Brenda smiled and wrapped her arms around a little girl who looked amazingly like her mother, except for her eyes. Shock turned to disbelief as he gazed into eyes that looked exactly like his own.

"Johnny? Did you know? "

Johnny nodded and saw the frustration in Jax's eyes.

"She's three years old Jax. "

"Where is she? "

They had paused the tape and Jax was wearing another hole in the carpet. He had a daughter. Damn Brenda! Damn her for not telling him. For not thinking that he'd want to know her own daughter.

"She's being protected Jax. "

His temper flared.

"Johnny, I want to know where my daughter is. NOW! "

"She's here Jax, at the agency. Someone picked her up right after we found Brenda's motorcycle. "

"She's here? "

Jax threw back his head and laughed. It wasn't a pleasant sound.

"When were you going to tell me Johnny? When were you going to let me know that I had a daughter? "

Johnny swallowed. He was going to get the shit kicked out of him any minute, but he knew it was time to tell Jax the truth about everything. Even if it was going to be painful for him.

"Jax, please sit down. I have some things I need to tell you. "

Recognizing the official tone in Johnny's voice Jax relented and sat down. His eyes locked on the screen frozen on two beautiful faces. Leaning back he tried to get a hold of himself. It was difficult, but he would do it. The red phone on the table rang and Johnny leapt for it.

"Utah here, come on Jerry, give me some good news. "

Goto Next Part 8