When Sonny returned later that evening, Lucky was sitting on the couch staring out the window. "Elizabeth left?"
Lucky got up and walked toward Sonny, "She's asleep, upstairs in the guest room. I think she's just worn out. She's had kind of an emotional shock."
"You might say that. She's never been the same since you were gone, Lucky. It's good for her that you're back."
"I love her so much, man, I don't know if it was such a good idea to come back."
"You couldn't live the rest of your life like you were. We'll get this guy Faison, Lucky. But I think I'm gonna need Luke's help." "We have to tell him I'm back don't we?"
"I think we do. He can fill me in on a lot of background stuff. And I need you to tell me where this Faison creep is."
"That's part of the problem. I never know where he is. I never see him anymore. I don't even know where he was keeping me. When he let me go, he blindfolded me and drove somewhere and put me on a private plane. The plane landed in New York; I have no idea where it came from. We were in the air for a long time; but that could have been a ploy, too."
"The guy is slick, there's no doubt about that. Let me call Luke."
"God, I do want to see them, I want them to know I'm alive, but I've already put yours and Elizabeth's lives in danger."
"Lucky, they have to know. Do you understand they need to know the danger they're in, especially for Lulu. I'd like to let Jason know, too; he can be an incredible help with all of this."
Lucky thought for a minute. "I'm so tired of running, Sonny. Tired of not being able to be with Elizabeth, tired of not being able to live my life and do what I want to do. You can call them, but let's wait until morning. Let Elizabeth sleep for awhile. She's supposed to go back to my parent's house tonight. They want her to move in with them."
"That's a good idea. It will be safer for her there. For tonight, I'll call Laura and tell her she came by to let me know she was okay after last night and I fixed her dinner and she fell asleep."
"Okay."
"You must be exhausted, too. Did you get something to eat?"
"I can't eat, Sonny."
Sonny nodded, understanding, "Why don't you go on upstairs, get a shower, and get some sleep. We'll call Luke and Laura in the morning."
"Thanks, Sonny, for everything."
Sonny nodded and waved him away and Lucky went upstairs.
After his shower, he went into the bedroom where Elizabeth was sleeping and slumped down In the chair by the bed. He was exhausted. He hadn't slept since seeing Elizabeth at the park, only the day before. It seemed a lifetime had passed since then. He leaned his elbows on his knees and ran his hands through his hair. Could he ever really be rid of Faison; was it really possible to get his old life back and be happy again with Elizabeth. They had been so young when he had left, so full of hopes and dreams. They had simply been on top of the world, and thought that nothing could destroy them. Now he knew that danger lurked everywhere and real safety was just an illusion
He watched Elizabeth as she slept; sorry for all the pain his absence had caused her the past two years, sorry for the danger she now faced. Tomorrow he would go gather his few belongings and bring them to Sonny's. In his belongings were all of the letters he had written to Elizabeth while he had been gone. It was important that she read them, so she would know that she was always in his thoughts and that he had never stopped loving her.
He leaned back in the chair and tried to doze off. Just as he was dozing he heard Elizabeth stir. "Lucky?"
"I'm right here."
She looked over at him. "What time is it?"
"It's about 9:00. Sonny called my mom to tell her you were spending the night here."
She nodded. "Are you staying?"
"Yea."
She sat up a little in bed and put her hand out to him. "Come and lie down with me, Lucky. I need you to hold me." He smiled and got out of the chair, took her hand and let her pull him down on the bed beside her. He gathered her in his arms.
She put her hand on his chest and said "You feel so tense and look so tired, Lucky. Let me take care of you. Let me help you relax so you can sleep."
"Just being here with you helps me relax. It feels so good just to hold you like this."
"I can make it better. Take your shirt off and turn over on your stomach. I'm going to give you a back massage."
He looked at her questioningly.
"Just do it. Trust me. It will help."
He removed his shirt and turned over on his stomach. She straddled his back and began to knead and massage the muscles in his neck and shoulders. He didn't realize how tight his muscles had become, but he felt them loosening and giving in as Elizabeth worked her magic. After a few moments she leaned down and kissed him on the back of his neck. "Does this feel better?"
"Oh, yea…you have incredible hands, Miss Webber."
"Why, thank you Mr. Spencer."
"I think you might have a future as a masseuse."
"Oh, I only do this for a select few clients."
"Can you add me to that list?
"You're the only one on the list."
She leaned down so that she was lying on top of him, her face in his hair kissing him and massaging his back as she did. Suddenly he turned over, pulling her to him and kissing her deeply on the mouth, his hands in her hair. She pulled away, breathless, and looked down at him. They both began to laugh. "It's not going to be easy to wait, is it?"
'It may be impossible. God, I want you so much. It's going to be so beautiful and special, Elizabeth."
"It'll be worth the wait, Lucky."
She settled down beside him again and said, "Do you think you can sleep now?"
"Maybe. I do feel better, thank you. I even think my heart rate has slowed down some. Sonny's going to call my Mom and Dad tomorrow morning. He wants them to know."
"Do you think that's a good idea?"
"At first I didn't. Now I think it's the right thing."
"So they'll know the danger they're in?
'Yea, and because they deserve to know that I'm alive."
"They need to know it, Lucky."
He nodded and she could see that he was relaxing, so she cuddled into him and listened to his breathing become more normal and soon he was asleep. Tonight it would be her turn to stay awake and watch him sleep.
The next morning, Laura had just come down to the kitchen and was fixing Lulu's breakfast when the telephone rang. "Luke, can you get that?"
He picked up the phone and said, "Hello?"
"Luke, it's Sonny."
"Hey, what's up, Son? It sounds serious."
"It is serious. Do you think you and Laura could come over here right away?
"Laura, too? What's up, man?"
"Just come over as soon as you can, okay?"
"Okay, sure, we'll be right over."
He hung up the phone and looked at Laura, puzzled. "He wants both of us to come over right away."
"Is it Elizabeth? Is she all right?"
"He didn't say what it was about."
"Well, we'll have to take Lulu. I don't have anyone to leave her with on such short notice."
"Okay. Well, come on, let's go, then. Come on, Lulu, we're going to see Uncle Sonny."
At Sonny's penthouse Lucky had paced the floor as he listened to Sonny talking to Luke. He continued to pace after Sonny hung up. "They'll be right over."
Elizabeth went to him and put her hand on his arm, "Lucky, are you all right?"
"Yea, I think, I don't know. I'm not sure this is the right thing to do, but I want to see them. Do you know how much…."
She reached up and touched her lips to his. "It's okay, Lucky, I know…"
"I think I should wait in the other room. You can talk to them first."
There was a knock at the door and Sonny nodded to Lucky. He waited the time it took Lucky to go into the kitchen before telling his guard it was okay to let them in.
Lulu came in first and ran to Elizabeth. Luke came in behind her. "What's up, Sonny? Elizabeth, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. You will be, too, in a minute."
"Luke, Laura, brace yourselves; you're about to witness a miracle."