Finally Lucky pulled away. “It’s not safe for you to be here. I got a little lead-time on them, but sooner or later someone is going to figure out that I’m gone. Then they’re going to come looking for you. We’ve got to find a safe place to stay. Is your grandmother home?”
“No. She’s in New York at a conference for the next 3 days.”
“Good. You can leave her a message that you’re staying at Emily’s or something. Do you still have the backpack that we packed before?”
Elizabeth stopped to think for a moment. “You know, I’d forgotten about it. It’s got to be in that closet somewhere.” She dug around in the back of her closet. Before she got to the backpack she pulled out Lucky’s old bedroll that he used when he slept on her floor. They grinned at each other as they saw it. Finally she found the backpack. “Here it is.”
“Good. I left some of the money Sonny paid me in there. Plus some other stuff we may need. Now all we have to do is figure out where to go.” Lucky frowned as he thought, and then he got a grin on his face. “You know, my dad always said that the best place to hide sometimes is in plain sight. How do you feel about the Port Charles Hotel?” They quickly gathered up a few things and headed out.
As they neared the hotel, Lucky explained his plan. “I’ll hang out in the shadows and you check us in. You better not use your real name; they’ll be looking for you soon.” They made it into the lobby without attracting attention. Elizabeth went to the front desk and asked for a room. The clerk seemed to take forever. Finally, he handed her a key. As she turned around, she bumped right into Nicholas!
“Hey, Elizabeth! What are you doing here?” Nicholas had just been leaving Katherine’s and was on his way home. Lucky cringed when he saw his brother. If Helena was in on the kidnapping, then it wasn’t safe for Nicholas to know that Lucky was alive. He willed Elizabeth not to tell the truth.
Elizabeth nearly panicked as she looked around for Lucky. If he wasn’t going to come out and let Nicholas see him, then he must not want him to know the truth yet. She wildly tried to think of a good story. “Well, um, see Gram is out of town and um, Gail thought it might be better for me if I stayed here instead of at home by myself.” Elizabeth had a hard time looking Nicholas in the eye.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have stayed with you or you could stay at my place. I’m headed there now. Why don’t you come with me? Where is your stuff?” Nicholas looked around as Lucky ducked into the shadows.
“Oh I can’t do that!” Liz quickly answered. “Um, Gail thinks its better if I learn to stay alone. Um, but the hotel is kind of a safer place to try that.”
Nicholas wasn’t convinced. He couldn’t put his finger on the problem, but he was sure something was up. But he also had learned that if Liz didn’t want to tell him, he’s better off leaving her alone. “Whatever you say.”
“Great! Well it was good to see you Nicholas. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Liz sort of ushers him away. Nicholas still wasn’t convinced, but left her. Liz rushed over to Lucky.
“Whew! That was a close one!”
Lucky grinned at her. “You did great. You’ll make a good Spencer yet.”
“But why didn’t you want Nicholas to know you are alive? He can keep a secret. Am I going to get to tell anyone?”
“I’ll fill you in on all the details upstairs. But it looks like his grandmother might be involved. In which case it might not be safe for Nicholas to know.” Lucky urged Elizabeth to the elevator. “Where’s our room?”