Brenda's heart was pounding in her chest as she gazed at the auburn-haired, gray-eyed man standing mere inches in front of her. This was . . .this was impossible!

The momentary startled surprise that had flickered through the mesmerizing gray eyes smoothly vanished as he regained his bearings and waited . . .waited to see what she would do.

"You'll have to forgive him for staring at you," Jax said with a marvelous smile. "But I'm sure he's in a very covetous frame of mine right about now. You see, Trey and I have always had pretty much the exact same taste in women."

"Since they were kids," Jerry added.

"They have the same love for wild animals too," Jax's Aunt Meredith chimed in. "My son is the one who once owned the pet wolf," she explained. "Jane and I always said they were twins separated at birth," Meredith joked as she hugged the attractive, auburn-haired, gray-eyed man who kissed her cheek and murmured a 'hi mom.'

Brenda felt slightly queasy. Jax and this gray-eyed cousin of his were about the same height, she noticed. And had the same mannerisms. And were obviously very close. But - but - but - this was Bastian Reese!

Okay, deep breath. I have to be sure - I have to be sure, she said repeatedly to herself as she tried to appear calm, although she felt anything but. Because she was sure. It was him, all right. He did not exactly have forgettable features. She even recognized the little, platinum medallion suspended from the platinum chain around his neck.

Jax noticed Brenda staring at Trey's medallion.

"Can you believe he's had that since he was twelve years old?" Jax said to her. "It's a medal of honor given to him by the Hawaiian police."

Honor? Brenda thought. Would that be honor among thieves?

"For what?" she asked, amazed at how unaffected Trey seemed by her presence. Surely he had to be as freaked out as she was! Even more so, actually, since he knew that she knew something about him that could blow him out of the water, send his family into a tailspin, not to mention get him put away in jail for years and years. But aside from the initial flicker of shock she had seen in his eyes, he was now giving the appearance of being as unaffected as ever.

"For some rather impressive childhood heroics," Lance said.

Trey smiled slightly. He had tall dimples, and his smile was nearly as deisarming as Jax's.

"Trey and I were surfing one summer in Hawaii during a family vacation, and I had a major wipe out," Jax explained to Brenda. "I crashed my head against some rocks and went under - there was a riptide… Anyway Trey saved my life and nearly lost his own doing it. By the time he got me out of the water, he just collapsed and passed out. So we were both lying unconscious on the sand - two thirteen-year-olds, me with a bleeding head. Jerry was the first one who noticed we weren't in the water surfing anymore, and he went off like a lunatic screaming for our parents."

"It was the first of many frights these two would give us," Jane recalled. "But none ever so bad as that one."

Trey could tell that Brenda's mind was whirling like a cyclone as she realized the depth of the bond he and Jax shared and what it would do to Jax to learn the truth about Trey's very lucrative and illegal extracurricular activities.

Brenda was not only realizing the depth of the cousins' bond, but also how dear Trey seemed to be to the entire family. As they all sat down for dinner, Brenda learned that Trey was Aunt Meredith's only child. He was also Jane's godson, which made him not only Jax's cousin, but also his godbrother. Trey's father had run out on Meredith when Trey was seven, and Meredith told Brenda that Trey was the one good thing to come out of her marriage to the handsome, philandering Austin Fielding. There was no doubt that Trey was the apple of his mother's eye.

What am I going to do? What am I going to do? Brenda thought as she sat next to Jax, eating but not really tasting, the delicious Christmas meal. Trey was on the other side of Jax, and the two of them were immersed in lively conversation. Brenda glanced at Scott, who was next to Trey, and wondered if she could confide her secret in Scott and ask his advice on how she should handle this. But Scott seemed as close to Trey as everyone else was, and Brenda suddenly realized she had no idea to whom she could talk about this who would not be devastated by her revelation. And then her eyes fell upon the laughing Father O'Malley, who was getting along famously with Brenda's father-in-law. Yes! She could talk to Father O'Malley! He was a priest, and he had no ties to Trey. He would counsel her on how to approach this extremely complicated and potentially volatile situation.

She would have to try to get a private conference with Father O'Malley after dinner, she decided. And in the meantime she would try to gather some intelligence on her cousin-in-law; try to get a feel for who he truly was and what he was all about, which would help her make up her mind what to do.

Her eyes met the object of her confusion momentarily, and she tried to see if there was fear in his eyes, or a warning, or a threat. Jax had always made Bastian Reese seem so dangerous and menacing. But there was nothing of the sort coming from those pretty, gray eyes. Then he had the audacity to smile at her, and Brenda wanted to punch him. He had better not think her silence meant she was just going to conveniently forget all of her knowledge about him. She was just thinking, that was all. Thinking of the best way to handle this, and she gave him a look that let him know he was in no way off the hook and her silence could very well just be temporary.

Trey got her message loud and clear, but he smiled at her anyway. She was as beautiful and irresistible as he remembered from meeting her just that one time. When he'd discovered that Jax was the agent protecting her, he had instinctively known that sparks would fly wildly between them -- that Jax would undoubtedly be as attracted to her as he himself had been. Now, the marriage part, he'd never have predicted that in a million years. But they were perfect together. There was no doubt about that.

Brenda scowled at Trey as he continued to gaze at her, his eyes thoughtful. But then he was distracted by something Jax was saying to him, and his eyes slid away from her. Brenda gazed at his profile and again wondered why he did not seem in the least bit worried about the fact that she knew damn well who he really was! Then she gazed at Jax, who had one hand behind her chair, playing with her hair while he and Trey were laughing about something. God, he seemed so happy. She would rather jump off of a cliff than be the one to devastate Jax or his family in any way. They were her family, too, after all --Trey included. He was her family now. She let out a long sigh. What in the world was she going to do?

From outside the window Jenna stared in disbelief at the sight before her. There was Bastian leaning back comfortably in a chair at a long, elegant table full of laughing, chatting people. On one side of him was the blonde FBI agent he'd called 'Jax.' On the other side of him, she was stunned to find Scott. As if that were not enough to make her speechless, next to Jax was Brenda Barrett -- the girl who had their Swiss Bank account numbers! Jenna blinked in disbelief as she witnessed the warm closeness that obviously existed among Bastian, Jax, and Scott.

"Oh, my god, what is going on?!" she whispered, her breath fogging up the window which she quickly wiped clean. Why was Bastian here at this glorious house breaking bread with the two FBI agents who had tried to apprehend them last month? And the girl -- Brenda… She was right there! Surely she recognized him and knew who he was. Yet they were all having a good time, as if nothing were the matter. Jenna's brows drew together suspiciously. Was Bastian trying to double cross her? Was he at this very minute selling her out? Selling the whole team out?

Her heart began to race as not knowing what was going on was making her very nervous and angry. She had to get inside and try to hear what was being said! But whose house was this? Who was the one who lived here? Was this one of Bastian's houses? She knew he owned a few. Were these two FBI agents on the take? Were they on Bastian's side? Or was he on their side? She shook her head to try and stem the tide of confusion swallowing her up. Niggling doubts haunted her, as Rolfe's sarcastic taunts of how Bastian would eventually sell her down the river rang in her ears. She had to get in there and find out what was going on, that was all there was to it! She cased the house to try and determine the best way to break and enter . . .

The family had moved from the dining table to the living room, where they had dessert and John and Jane wanted to sing Christmas carols around the piano. John sat behind the piano and rapped his knuckles on top of it to get the family's attention.

"All right, suggestions? Requests? Long distance dedications?" he said with a smile as he ran his fingers along the keys, churning out a fancy scale.

"Silent Night," Aunt Meredith suggested.

"The Twelve days of Christmas," Scott’s mother said.

"Oh no I can never get past five golden rings," Jane said.

"Carol of the Bells is my favorite, John" Ariel's mother said doing a twirl about the room, and Ariel, who sat in a chair sulking, glared at her mother for having the nerve to have a good time. Ariel's hope that this family dinner would be a big disaster for Brenda had been dashed when Ariel's own staunchest ally, Jax's grandmother, had been won over by Brenda in less than an hour! Even Ariel's own father had gotten into a lively discussion on the pros and cons of Picasso with Brenda, and it was clear that he liked her. And now Ariel's own mother was having a good time, complimenting the food and the décor, and suggesting Christmas carols, and acting as if everything was just fine and dandy and merry. In Ariel's opinion, her parents should have been detached and cool like she was trying to be. They should have been giving off the definite air that they were not having a good time and were not accepting of this girl who had replaced their daughter in Jax's life.

"Get the frown off of your face, Ariel. You look like a Sharpei" Flossie said to her sister, as she sat next to her on the arm of the chair Ariel was sunken into. "Here, have a drink," she said, offering Ariel a glass of champagne.

Ariel took the glass and downed it in one gulp. "How can they do this to me?!" she demanded of her sister. "How can my own mother and father come here and then actually get along with the home-wrecker who stole my fiancee and then go around smiling and laughing and dancing!"

"Ariel, you're the one who told them that you and Jax decided to end your relationship mutually. As far as mom and dad are concerned, there is no bad guy. Now, maybe if you'd told them what really happened . . ."

Ariel looked appalled. "And have them think I'm so pitiful that I couldn't hold onto my man?" she said. "Have them know that Jax never loved me? Never."

Flossie shrugged. "Well, then you can't blame them for reacting as they are. They think this break-up is what you wanted. And besides, I have to tell you, the simple truth is that Jax's wife is a highly likable person."

"Shut up, Flossie. Isn't there a bottle of vodka or rum with your name on it waiting to be polished off?" Ariel snapped.

Flossie got up and joined the others by the piano, leaving Ariel alone, sitting away from them and glaring at them all. Jax had barely even looked at her tonight, she realized her lips twitching with dissatisfaction. He had been either preoccupied with Brenda or with his brother and cousins. She felt as if she were the invisible woman as far as Jax was concerned! And to think they had been engaged to be married six months from now. And now he barely took any notice of her at all, is eyes perpetually drawn to the woman he had married instead of her.

"Holly, Jolly Christmas," Jax's grandmother suggested to John. "Something we can really shake our rumps to, eh kids?"

"Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer," Trey said, which got a rumble of chuckles out of the boys, and had his grandmother affectionately clobber him on his head.

"Impenitent, little devil!" she laughed.

A bit later, while the older folks were playing poker with Hershey's Kisses as the bounty and the guys were taking turns racing the cars recklessly all around the house, Brenda got her chance to speak to Father O'Malley. Without being too specific, she told him that she knew something about one of Jax's cousins -- something that would really hurt Jax and she didn't know what she should do with the information.

"I mean, the way I look at it is, that if anyone tried to hurt Jax I would annihilate them. So how can I be the one to hurt him by telling him what I know? On the other hand, I don't want to have any secrets from him. I love him. I want to tell him everything all the time -- even this. But the fact that I love him so much is also the reason why I don't want to tell him."

"Aye, that is quite a quandary, lass. Do ye think perhaps it might help ye to talk to the guilty young man first? Give him a chance to explain himself?"

Brenda gazed at Father O'Malley. "Is that what you would do?"

The priest nodded. "Yes, it is. As a priest I would talk to him, get him to explain himself, and then advise him to repent for the sake of his soul."

"You wouldn't tell him to tell the truth about what he's done?" she asked curiously.

"Well, if someone were to ask him, yes, I would advise him not to lie about it. But I wouldn't advise him to go about confessin' his sins to everyone. His havin' confessed them to me and the Lord, and making peace with himself over it and a vow to repent would be good enough."

Brenda nodded. She would talk to Trey. She would give him a piece of her mind and she would allow him to explain himself, and then she would give him an ultimatum, she decided. He would have to swear to her that he would give up this secret life of his, or she would have to tell Jax. Then she thought of a few more concessions she would want from him and decided to make a list. But deep down her main worry was her lack of faith in her ability to keep this from Jax. She didn’t think she could keep anything from him.

Jenna finally made her way inside the first floor, sliding through a small window and landing in what appeared to be the laundry room. She rubbed her rear end, which smarted a bit, as it was the what she had landed on. She got up and glanced around, squinting in the darkness, trying to get her eyes to adjust. She noticed motion detectors in the corner of the room and backed up against the wall. There were probably motion detectors on every floor in a house like this, she realized. They were not activated to sound any alarms since everyone was inside, but they were still set up to detect motion in all areas of the house. If they saw movement coming from Zone 1 when they were all on Zone 2 or 3, they would realize someone was in the house.

She glanced around to see how she could get out of the basement laundry room and upstairs, so she could see and hear what in the hell Bastian was doing getting all cozy with the FBI behind her back.

Jenna smiled as she spotted a small service elevator. It figured a fancy place like this would have the luxury of elevator service to the three stories of the house. She figured a motion detector would be inside the elevator, too, but she could position herself in such a way that it would not pick her up. She pressed the button and got down on all fours. When the elevator arrived, she slid inside on her belly and then rolled over until she was against the wall. She then sat up and moved over until she was directly beneath the motion detector, out of its range. The door closed and then Jenna hit her head with her hand as she realized she had not pressed a floor to go to. If she did it now, there would be no way to escape the motion detector.

"Oh, great!" she said, completely annoyed with herself as she sat crouched in the corner of the elevator, trying to think of a way to get it to move. As she was trying to figure something out, her heart jumped as the elevator began to move. Oh, no -- had someone in the house pressed the button? Jenna's eyes darted around as she tried to find some place in the elevator to hide. Ignoring the fact that the motion detector would pick her up, she held her hands to the side of the elevator and swung her legs up in a gymnastic move, her legs coming into contract with the elevator ceiling and kicking in the emergency roof-exit. She pulled herself up into it, just as the elevator stopped and opened. She had no time to replace the ceiling cover, so she kept as silent as possible and prayed that whomever was entering would not glance up and see that it was missing.

Brenda wondered how she was going to be able to get the privacy and the time to speak to Trey and yell at him and all the things she had decided to do. She glanced around the room and saw him and Jax sitting in identical positions, with their legs up on the coffee table, ankles crossed, and she was reminded of the photo she had seen of them as kids, laying in the hammock with identical poses. She smiled and then chastised herself for smiling as she reminded herself that there was serious stuff she had to deal with here! She walked over to them and sat on Jax's lap.

Trey's eyes flickered over her, as he wondered what she was up to. She had kind of been avoiding him all night for the most part, and now she had just planted herself right in the middle of him and Jax.

Jerry and Lance, who sat across from Trey and Jax, exchanged grinning glances. It was funny to see Jax and Trey so reminiscent of their boyhood -- sitting in identical poses, their eyes both moving over to the same beautiful woman, who sat between them.

"So, Trey," Brenda said, "what do you do for a living?"

His smile was wickedly attractive and said 'touché.' But to her frustration, he was not at all rattled by her question.

"I design security systems," he told her, and he thought she was going to fall right out of Jax's lap.

"You what?" she asked.

"Not for private homes," Jax explained, resting his chin on top of her soft hair and sliding his arms more securely around her. "For businesses and museums, presidential homes, palaces -- things like that."

"And before that, he used to be a part of the Princess Diana's bodyguard detail. Before that terrible accident happened," Lance said.

"It never would have happened if I were still there," Trey said.

"Why did you leave?" Brenda asked, and he knew she was asking him why on earth he'd left such a glamorous-sounding, legitimate job to embark on a life of high-class crime instead.

"Irreconcilable differences," he said.

"Translation: The Queen mother did not like the desirous way her daughter-in-law looked at Trey," Jerry said. "They set him up to make it appear that he was stealing from the palace and that gave them reason to fire him and make sure he was never able to be re-hired."

Trey saw the spark of light in Brenda's brown eyes and knew that she was wondering if the unfair treatment the Royals had given to him had been what had sparked his descent into the life of jewel thievery. She did recall that Jax told her that the British palaces were hit more than anything else. . .

"So, Brenda, is it true that you've actually seen Bastian Reese?" Jerry asked. "Jax tells us you have."

Brenda's eyes slid away from Trey just in case something in her eyes would direct suspicion at him. "Yes, I've seen him. Once," she said.

"Only once? And you still think you'd recognize him?" Lance asked.

"Yes," she said, glancing at Trey. "I found him highly recognizable," she announced with a challenging raise of her eyebrows to the man in question, who just gazed at her politely, with eyes completely impossible to read.

"Amazing," Jerry murmured with a smile. "Imagine, that my sister-in-law could be the one to end Bastian' Reese's fifteen-year reign as undisputed king of jewel thieves."

Brenda nearly slid off of Jax's lap for the second time. "F--fifteen years?" she said, her face looking bewildered. "But that's impossible."

Jax looked at her with a curious smile. "Why is it impossible?" he asked, finding the look of befuddlement in her eyes absolutely adorable.

"Because… uhh . . ." she glanced at Trey and then at Jax. Fifteen years ago Trey would have been only ten-years-old, that was why it was impossible. "Well, when I saw Bastian Reese, Jax, he didn't look a whole lot older than you. He couldn't have been doing this fifteen years ago."

Her eyes shot to Trey, but his gray-eyed gaze was smoothly ambivalent.

"Well, he was," Jax assured her. "Maybe he just looks a lot younger than he is, Brenda. Besides, there have been sightings where people insist he's an old man with an eye-patch. Obviously the old man and the young man are not who he really is. He's somewhere in the middle -- probably in his forties," Jax guessed.

Brenda shook her head completely baffled now by what was going on here. She knew that Trey was the one who had danced with her on campus and tried to get her phone number and who had given her that piece of paper with those Swiss Bank Account Numbers on it. She knew that Trey was Bastian Reese. But she also knew that Trey and Jax were the same age, which would make Trey twenty-five-years-old. Fifteen years ago he could not have been Bastian Reese -- and yet he was Bastian Reese. He was. Wasn't he? Oh, god, what was going on here!

Outside, the wintry winds were picking up and the snow was mixing with ice, making it very heavy, so heavy that it was pulling on the power lines. The lights in the house flickered. Then flickered again.

"Better get the candles ready, son," John advised Jax. "It looks like we may be about to lose power for a bit."

Scott got into the elevator to go down to the basement and dump his jacket in the washing machine. The car racing had gotten a little out of hand, and Jax made the Humvee do a phenomenal jump, which had ended up crashing the little vehicle into a tray of champagne glasses, which had soaked Scott. He had his jacket off and draped over his arm while he began to unbutton his shirt, just as the elevator came to sharp halt in between the first story and the basement and the light in the elevator went out.

The force of the sharp jolt of the elevator sent Scott slamming into the opposite wall and also sent Jenna tumbling backward and falling out of the ceiling exit and tumbling onto Scott, sending him crashing to the floor with her on top of him.

"What the hell!" he said, grabbing the person whom he thought had jumped him, not realizing they had fallen accidentally upon him.

"Ow, ow! Take it easy, I'm not even armed," she said, and he recognized her voice immediately.

He felt her hand moving for something and stopped her.

"It's okay. I'm just getting a flashlight," she said, handing it to him.

"You walk around with a flashlight?" he asked her as he turned it on, illuminating the darkness of the now immobile elevator.

"It is essential break-and-entry gear," she told him.

He shone the light on her and saw that she was dressed all in black, her face slightly smudged with dirt, and yet it took nothing away from how beautiful she was.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.

She shifted in his lap to get herself to a respectable sitting position instead of being sprawled out on top of him. "Oh, where are my manners? Merry Christmas," she said, giving him a little wave.

"And why do your appearances in my life always end up with the lights going out for me in one way or another? He asked, more of himself, than of her.

"And happy new year too. In advance," she said. "What are you doing New Year’s Eve?"

He rolled his eyes. She was impossibly cute, and it was a very frustrating thing. "Are you alone?" he asked her, trying to look mad at her.

{Why, as a matter of fact, no. My partner is eating dinner at your table as we speak}, she thought sarcastically. But she wasn't about to rat Bastian out until she knew for sure that was what he was doing to her.

"I'm alone," she said. "I came to search the house for something that belongs to me."

Scott's eyes narrowed. "The Swiss bank account code? You seriously think we would keep it here? And how did you know to look here - - in my house?" he said, testing her knowledge.

"Just an educated guess," she said. "You have a magnificent home, by the way."

"My home isn't bad. But this isn't it," he said, busting her. "Now what are you really doing here?"

"Well, at the moment enjoying being stuck in an elevator with you."

"You can't charm your way out of this one," he warned her.

Her eyes lit up, and she smiled a beautiful smile at him. "You think I'm charming?"

Scott let out a groan of exasperation and moved her off of him so that his mind would not be clouded with any desires, other than getting the truth out of her for a change.

"Look, Madison . . ."

"Jenna," she corrected him. "My name is Jenna, remember?"

"You mean today it's Jenna," he countered.

"No, I was born Gelina, but I changed it to Jenna when I was eighteen. Jenna is my name."

He shocked himself by the fact that he actually believed her.

"Well, Jenna, I think it's strange that we keep running into each other like this, but I also think it's very fortunate for you."

"For me? I think you're the fortunate one, Scott. Do you know how many men would love to have me fall out of an elevator shaft and land on them?"

His smile skittered across his lips before he could stop it. "I'm sure there are millions," he muttered. "But the reason you are the fortunate one is that I'm going to once again give you the opportunity to get yourself out of this mess -- this criminal life you've chosen. I think I can get you immunity if you lead us to Bastian, Jenna. And before you turn me down, think about this -- okay? You don't owe him anything. You should be looking out for yourself right now, not him. You can bet that if we found him and offered him the same deal, he'd sell you out in a New York minute."

Jenna looked at Scott warily. Was he trying to hint at her that Bastian was doing just that right now? That she had to protect herself from her partner's betrayal? Or was Scott really completely unaware of who Bastian was? Was Bastian, at this very moment, posing as someone else? Someone both Scott and Jax knew and liked? Still, that would not exactly explain why the girl, Brenda, would not give Bastian away . . .

"I'm trying to help you," Scott said to her. "Because I'm not going to let you get away this time. I can't do that. So you're going to have to either cooperate with us or go to prison."

The word 'prison' made her shiver and he saw that, but she put on a brave front and let the threat go. "Of all the people to be stuck in an elevator with, I'm really glad that it I got you."

He was not prepared for that, nor was he prepared for the vulnerable expression in those brilliant green eyes of hers. There was something so lonely in those eyes, so needy, so wanting. Wanting what, he wondered? To love someone? To be loved by someone? To find the one person in the world she belonged to?

"Come to think of it," she said, pursing her lips and looking extremely desirable, "I've had a fantasy or two about being in an elevator with you." Her eyes boldly ran over his body. " Of course, you usually don't have any clothes on."

She laughed at the way his eyes widened and then he shook his head. "Do you always just say whatever the hell you want to?"

"Always," she said. "Please don't arrest me."

He closed his eyes. What was this? What was this she was doing to him?

"I don't want to," he said, thinking it was probably a mistake to tell her that after he'd said it. "But here you are breaking and entering right in front of my eyes. And you and your partner are a danger to someone that I care about a great deal. I can't just look the other way."

"Brenda?" she said, and he saw her lips forming into a little pout. "She's… ummm … the one you care a great deal about?"

Scott nodded.

Jenna nodded, too. "Oh, I understand," she said quietly, shifting away from him and wrapping her arms around her knees. "Well, you really don't have to be concerned. I would never hurt her. Bastian wouldn't either. We just wanted our Swiss Bank account number back."

"Bastian belongs in jail, Jenna." So did she, but Scott didn't want her in jail.

Jenna recalled seeing Scott and Bastian laughing together when she had been peering in from the windows. They were obviously very close.

"You say that now," she said. "But I don't think you mean that."

He looked at her incredulously. "Of course, I mean that."

Jenna sighed and rested her chin on top of her knees. "I think you will change your mind," she said. Then her eyes slid to the rolled up sleeves of his shirt. She saw a bruise on his arm. Her hand reached out automatically to touch him there. "Did I do that to you when I fell on you?" she asked, and the concern in her vibrant emerald eyes make something move pleasantly inside of him.

Oh, bloody hell, he thought, and quicker than a flash he grabbed her into his arms, catching her by surprise.

"There isn't anything I can do, officially or otherwise, until we get out of here," he said. "So I would like you to just think about the offer I made you."

She nodded. "I will."

"I would like you to think about it… while you're kissing me," he clarified softly, tilting her face to his. His desire was turned up several notches when he saw the smile of delight she gave him and she eagerly and threw her arms around his and launched her lips at his with such fervor that she ended up knocking him back against the elevator.

She laughed against his lips. "I'm sorry," she apologized, stroking his face.

"Don't worry, I am so not feeling any pain," he murmured. Well, except perhaps the pain of having to restrain himself from the wildness he wanted to unleash with her.

"Good," she said, her lips sliding over his and fanning the fire he felt within.

Jax is going to kill me, he thought as his mouth opened over the inviting softness of hers, and the kiss intensified incredibly. In the far recesses of his mind he thought that this was definitely the best Christmas present he'd gotten so far.

Everyone was doing the great candle hunt downstairs and laughing as they bumped into furniture and one another. Brenda was in the kitchen where she gathered up a bunch of candles and then began to make her way back out to the living room when she bumped into Jax.

"Jax, how many more candles do you think we need? I think I have about ten here," she said.

He took one the candle from her and lit it, and Brenda saw that it was Trey standing in front of her, not Jax.

"Hmmm. So should I be flattered that you mistook me for your husband?" he asked, his multi-hued gray eyes sparkling with mild mischief.

Brenda finally had her first opportunity alone with him, and she gave him a sweet smile before slapping him across the face.

Trey blinked in shock. "Ouch! Brenda, it was a joke. You know - ha ha? A joke? I was just kidding."

"The slap wasn't for that. It was for your… your crazy deception!" she informed him, her voice a furious whisper. "How could you do this, Trey?!" she demanded, stomping her foot in frustration. "How could you do this to me? Do you have any idea of the position you've put me in?! No -- forget about me -- you barely know me. But how could you do this to JAX? He absolutely adores you!"

"The feeling is mutual," Trey assured her.

"Then how can you do this to him?! How can you be Bastian Reese?!" she said, slugging his arm.

"Shhh," he said, rubbing his arm. She packed quite a punch for one so incredibly feminine and petite.

"Don't you tell me to shhh! I love Jax and I'm just trying to protect him, okay? You're the one who's in the wrong here, pal. And what is this about Bastian Reese being around for fifteen years? You and I both know that is impossible, Trey, because you are Bastian Reese, damn it, and fifteen years ago you were ten years old! Don't expect me to believe you were running a jewel thief ring at that age! So what's really the truth behind that?" she demanded, hands on hips. "Well??? Don't you have anything to say for yourself?! Don't you want to apologize or confess or repent or something?!" she interrogated, stomping her foot again at how unfazed he appeared to be by her confrontation.

"Brenda, shhh," he repeated, placing a finger over her lips.

"Well, well, well," Ariel said as she emerged from the shadows, holding her candle out and illuminating them in what she found to be a suspicious-looking encounter. "What, oh what, do we have here?"