The days following Jax’s return from Boston had been filled from sunup to sundown and beyond. In order to have as much time as possible to spend with Brenda when she got home, he was working extra hours to finish up several deals he had pending. He was actually surprised at how quickly a few of them were coming together.
Lila and the Quartermaine staff had completed just about all of the arrangements for the wedding. When he had flown to Atlanta to see Brenda, Jax’s briefcase was again filled with things for them to make decisions on. They had spent half the evening going over everything. Actually, Brenda had spent the evening going over the wedding plans. Jax spent most of the time watching the happiness on Brenda’s face and the excitement in her eyes. Before the evening was over he began to wonder if his father might be right about not telling her about his past.
Later that night, after they had made love for the last time and fallen asleep in each other’s arms, Jax woke from a nightmare calling out Brenda’s name. The nightmare about Brenda running away from him when she found out that he had been keeping a secret had scared him because it seemed so real. In an attempt to reassure him that it was only a dream and couldn’t possibly hurt him, Brenda wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down with her, his head resting against her breast. As she tried to calm him by gently stroking his hair and softly telling him it was just a dream, Jax realized that his decision was made. When she got home to stay he would tell her everything. Once the decision was made, he wrapped his arm around her and slowly drifted off to sleep - feeling at peace for the first time in days.
When he got back to Port Charles, he threw himself into his work, hoping to have everything wrapped up before Brenda’s return. He delivered everything Lila had sent with him to Atlanta back to her with their decisions. By the time he left to meet Brenda in Richmond three days later there was nothing more for her to send with him - everything was finished.
As he was getting ready to fly back to Port Charles from Richmond, Jax realized that saying goodbye to Brenda this time would be much harder than it had been any of the other times he had left her. The two days until Brenda would finally be home to stay, he realized, would be the longest two days of his life. As he walked back into the living room of their hotel suite he could tell that Brenda was feeling the same way. He watched her stand by the terrace doors, staring out at the skyline. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He leaned down to kiss the side of her neck before resting his cheek against hers. “We can do this luv. It’s only two days,” he said as he kissed her neck again. “After that, you’ll be home to stay.”
“I know,” Brenda said softly as she leaned back against his chest. “But these are going to be the longest two days of my life.” She turned around and wrapped her arms around his waist, snuggling close to rest her ear against his chest. “I just want this trip to be over so I can be home with you and get ready for our wedding.” She looked up at him with a seductive smile. “I miss lying in our bed with your arms around me after making love. Don’t get me wrong. I love being with you anywhere. It’s just somehow - better - in our own bed.” She looked up at him with a confused expression. “Does that make any sense?”
Jax leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose. “It makes perfect sense,” he said with a smile. “I feel the same way.” He gave her another quick kiss before letting go of her and walking over to the couch to put on his suit coat and pick up his overnight bag. “I have to get going if I’m going to get back to Port Charles in time for my meeting.”
Brenda walked over to him and rested her hands on his chest. “I’m going to miss you,” she said sadly as she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I know! Why don’t I get Lucy to cancel the last two days of this tour and go home with you right now?”
“You don’t mean that Brenda,” Jax said with a confident smile as he leaned his forehead against hers.
“I know,” Brenda said with a sigh.
“Come on, walk me out,” Jax said after giving her a quick kiss. He rested his arm on her shoulders as she wrapped her arm around his waist. When they got to the door, he stopped, set his bag down and wrapped his arms around her. “I’ll see you at the Port Charles airport two days from today.” he said as he leaned down to kiss her passionately.
“I’ll be there,” Brenda said softly before giving him a passionate kiss of her own. They stood silently staring at each other for several moments before Brenda took a deep breath and tapped her hands on his chest. “Okay Mr. Jacks, get moving! You have a business to run.”
Jax couldn’t resist smiling at both the expression on her face and the tone of her voice. “Yes ma’am,” he said as he leaned down for one last quick kiss before reaching to open the door. He handed his bag to Jared and turned back to give Brenda one more kiss. “Two days,” he said in a whisper.
Brenda reached up and cupped the side of his face. “Two days,” she repeated as she stood up on her toes to give him one more kiss before letting him go. She stood in the doorway and waited for the elevator doors to close behind him. She waived one last time as the doors closed.
October 22, 1996
Port Charles Hotel Penthouse
When the elevator doors opened Brenda was surprised that there was no guard in the hallway. She looked at Clay. “Where’s the guard?” she asked nervously.
Instead of answering her, Clay gently pushed her off to the side, away from the open doors, as he turned the key to lock the elevator doors open. Once he was sure she was safe, Clay pulled out his cell phone and called Ben. After a short conversation he closed the phone and stepped back to Brenda. “It’s okay Mrs. J, Ben pulled the security team this afternoon.” When he saw the concern on Brenda’s face he smiled reassuringly. “Relax Mrs. J, you know Ben well enough to know that he wouldn’t relax the protection on Mr. J unless he was sure it was safe.”
Realizing that Clay was right, Brenda loudly exhaled the breath that she had been holding before smiling at him. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I just worry about him.”
“No less than he does about you,” Clay said with a smile as he extended his arm toward the penthouse door. “I thought you were in a hurry to see Mr. J? You kept hounding poor Edward to break every traffic law in the books to get you here from the airport!” he said with a chuckle.
Brenda couldn’t resist chuckling as she stuck her tongue out at him for a moment before walking quickly toward the front door. Clay unlocked the door for her and pushed it open. He smiled at her as she rested her hand on his arm for a moment when she stopped in the doorway and looked up at him. When he saw the confused look in her eyes as she tried to figure out what to say he touched her arm. “You’re welcome,” was all he said before nodding toward the open door. Brenda nodded at him and released his arm. As soon as she walked into the living room Clay closed the door behind her and waited until he heard her turn the lock before getting back on the elevator to meet with Ben in the Security Office.
As soon as she locked the door Brenda turned to call out to Jax, stopping when she saw him asleep on the couch. She smiled as she took off her coat and tossed it on the desk chair before walking over to the couch. She stood looking down at Jax sleeping peacefully, amazed at how much he looked like an innocent little boy. She noticed a file that he had apparently been reading resting on his chest. She knelt next to the couch and gently lifted the file off of his chest and put it on the coffee table. She then reached up to move a lock of hair off of his forehead before gently stroking the backs of her fingers across his cheek. When he slowly opened his eyes she smiled at him. “Surprise,” she said softly as she leaned forward to kiss his lips.
Jax didn’t immediately respond to the kiss, thinking it was part of a wonderful dream. When he finally realized that it wasn’t a dream, he reached up and wrapped his arms around her to pull her close to him as he kissed her passionately. When the kiss finally ended and Brenda had leaned away from him, he looked up at her as he ran his finger up and down her arm. “What are you doing here? I thought I was meeting you at the airport at 7:00?”
“You were,” Brenda said with a smile as she leaned down to give him another quick kiss. “But Lucy arranged for the plane to pick me up early so I could get back to you as soon as I finished the last appearance.” Brenda couldn’t help smiling as she remembered the last time she had seen Lucy. “I didn’t even go back to the hotel to pack. She’s going to have my luggage delivered here tomorrow.”
“Oh, so does that mean you don’t have ‘anything’ to wear tonight?” Jax asked with a glint in his eye.
“I didn’t think I’d need anything - at least not tonight,” she said seductively as she leaned forward to give him another passionate kiss.
“You got that right,” he said softly without taking his lips from hers. As he kissed her again he pulled her up next to him on the couch, wrapping his arms tightly around her as he did. Their kisses didn’t end until they both needed to catch their breath.
Brenda looked at him closely and was surprised at what she saw. She leaned up on her elbow and looked down at him, her fingers stroking his cheek. “Jax? Is something wrong? You look exhausted. Why haven’t you been sleeping?” she asked, her concern for him obvious in her voice.
Jax tried to smile reassuringly as he took her hand off of his cheek and linked his fingers with hers. “Nothing’s wrong luv, I’m fine.”
“Jax stop it! I can tell when something’s bothering you. I’ve seen it in your eyes ever since you had that nightmare when we were in Atlanta. I wanted to ask you then but I could tell you weren’t ready to talk about it.” Brenda got up and sat on the coffee table facing him. “Whatever it is Jax, can’t you tell me now? Maybe I can help,” she said as she leaned forward with her forearms resting on her knees.
“There is something,” Jax said as he covered his eyes with his arm. He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “I’ve just been trying to figure out how to tell you.”
“Look at me Jax,” Brenda said as she pulled his arm from over his eyes.
When Jax turned his head to look at her and saw the concern on her face, he sat up to face her, taking both of her hands in his. “I should have told you about this before we were married,” he said sadly.
“Sounds important,” Brenda said softly as she looked into his eyes, trying to figure out what he was trying to say.
“It is,” Jax finally said as he took another deep breath.
“I’m listening honey. You know you can tell me anything.” Brenda smiled reassuringly at him. “I want to know everything there is to know about you - good and bad.”
Jax sighed and tried to smile but he knew that he hadn’t even come close. “Okay, here goes,” he said. “When I was younger…” He stopped in mid-sentence when there was a knock at the door. “Damn!”
“It’s okay honey, we’ve got all night. This can wait a little longer,” Brenda said as she cupped the side of his face. When there was another knock she nodded toward the door. “Go ahead, answer it. The sooner you do the sooner we can get back to what you were trying to tell me.”
“You’re right, it’s waited this long. It can wait a little bit longer,” Jax said quickly as he got up and walked over to the door. He was surprised when he opened the door to see his parents standing in front of him. “Mum, dad, what are you guys doing here? We weren’t expecting you until next week,” he said as he stepped aside to let his parents into the room.
“I told you the boy would be surprised Lady,” John said as he shoved the champagne bucket he was carrying at Jax and he walked past him. He set the glasses he had in his other hand on the desk then turned to look at Brenda. “Hello daughter,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head before releasing his arms from around her and taking a step back. “What do you think Lady? The girl looks happy enough,”
“Definitely,” Lady Jane said with a big smile and a wink at Brenda.
“And the boy?” he asked as he tilted his head toward Jax.
“Thriving I’d say,” Jane said with a big smile for her younger son.
“When we were on the plane flying down here I told your mum what a great idea this public wedding is. Now, I said, she can send out the wedding announcements,” John said with a chuckle.
“Oh really? What did YOU think I was - a flash in the pan?” Brenda asked as she looked accusingly at John, her hands on her hips and her feet planted on the floor.
“Absolutely not! We knew Jax was hooked for life just by looking at him. We weren’t sure how long you could put up with HIM!” John said with a laugh.
“And now?” Brenda asked with a smile.
“Now it’s obvious that you’re in for life,” John said proudly. “Let’s have a toast,” he said as he popped the cork of the champagne. He filled each of the glasses Jax held out to him before setting the bottle back in the bucket and accepting the glass Jax held out to him. “Good, now we need a toast to kick off the next two weeks of reverie.”
“Hold on there dad. Don’t forget you have to be able to make it to the altar,” Jax said sarcastically as he dodged his father’s swing.
As if he was trying to ignore Jax, John tilted his glass toward Brenda. “You know what they say about marriage don’t you dear? It’s God’s way of being sure that you don’t go through life without knowing your faults!”
“Gee sweetheart, I guess you’re going to have to develop a few faults so I can tell you about them,” Brenda said, resting her arm around Jane’s shoulders as she looked into Jax’s eyes with a slight smile.
Without even blinking, Jax smiled at her. “Then what would I say to you oh flawless one?”
“Oh good Lord! The boy’s developed his father’s silver tongue!” Jane said as everyone laughed.
“A toast!” John declared. “To marriage and the two who are about to publicly commit to the best that there can be - which is what we wish for the both of you. God bless,” he said as he angled his glass forward and the others reached out their glasses to tap against his.
After taking a sip, Jane glanced around the room. “Oh my goodness! Look where they’ve put the little yacht!” she said with a chuckle as she pointed toward the mantle.
As John and Jane looked at the yacht, Jax chuckled and looked the other way for a minute. Brenda, on the other hand, smiled proudly at them. “Of course,” she said happily. “It’s the first family heirloom I’ve ever had so it required a place of honor. You know, I never thought much about things like that before. But now that I have a real family with a history and traditions of their own, it feels good to have something to treasure.”
Jax took a deep breath and let it out quietly, hoping that would ease the knot that had suddenly formed in his stomach. When he looked at his parents he could see them exchange a quick glance. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he saw a trace of guilt on both of their faces.
Jane suddenly cleared her throat and looked away from John. She looked around the room in amazement. “My God! Look at all of the presents! You two are going to need to build another house just for these presents!”
“This isn’t even all of them,” Jax said with a chuckle. “You should see what’s upstairs!”
“You can’t be serious,” Jane said as she looked from Jax to Brenda who nodded eagerly as a broad smile spread across her face.
“Would you like to see them?” she asked eagerly.
“Sure,” Jane said excitedly as she followed Brenda up the stairs to the den.
Once he was sure Brenda and Jane were gone, John walked over and set his glass on the desk. “I’m glad you decided to take my advice about not telling Brenda about the past,” John said softly as he looked up at the stairs.
Glancing at the stairs for a moment himself, Jax quickly turned his attention to his father. “You couldn’t be more wrong dad. I thought about what you said - for a long time - but I realized that I cannot keep anything from her. In fact, I was just starting to tell her when you and mum knocked on the door.”
“Then we got here just in time!” John whispered harshly. “She’s happy son. She’s looking forward to a future with you as a member of this family. Why do you want to take that away from her?”
“That’s just it dad. I know Brenda better than anyone. I know she will understand if I tell her. But if she hears it from someone else it would destroy her!” Jax ran his fingers through his hair and quickly drained his champagne glass.
“What are you talking about? Are you worried that Scorpio is going to tell her?” John demanded.
“No, Mac seems to want to keep this quiet as much as we do,” Jax said as he slowly walked away from his father to stand behind the couch.
“Who then?” John asked, suddenly feeling very nervous.
“There’s someone here in Port Charles, someone from Brenda’s past who is willing to do anything to destroy our relationship. He’d think nothing of the damage telling her something like this would do to her,” Jax said with a slow exhale.
“Who is it?” John demanded.
“His name’s Sonny Corrinthos. He’s the local mob boss,” Jax said as he started to walk further away from his father.
“I’ve heard of him. What’s his interest in you?” John asked.
Jax took a deep breath and let it out slowly before turning to look at his father. “He and Brenda were involved once - before I met her. He dumped her to marry another woman but a few months after his wedding he started harassing Brenda to become his mistress. She refused on more than one occasion so he started making her life miserable. That was about the time I met her and our relationship started to develop. Now he seems to consider me the reason she won’t go back to him so he keeps trying to discredit me in her eyes.”
“Is he right?” John asked. “Would she go back to him?” John couldn’t help flinching when he saw the anger flash into his son’s eyes.
“No dad, he’s NOT right! Brenda was through with him long before I came into the picture. He just refuses to accept that fact!” Jax said through gritted teeth. “It’s like he wants to destroy her so that she’ll do whatever he wants. It’s almost like he wants to break her spirit.”
“Why on earth would he want to do that? Her spirit and her fire are what make her the person she is!” John declared.
“It’s also what keeps her from being his puppet. He has to destroy that spirit in order to control her and he’s decided that destroying her faith in me is the way to accomplish that.” Jax suddenly turned to face his father. “That’s why I have to tell her dad; I can’t take the chance that he’ll find out and tell her first.”
“Absolutely not!” John hissed at his startled son. “It’s a terrible idea and I want you to forget it!”
“Forget what?” Brenda asked innocently as she and Jane came down the stairs and started toward Jax and John.
“The idiotic idea that we should pace ourselves in celebrating this wedding. There is no such thing as too much celebrating and his mother and I want to celebrate this wedding until the sun comes up. Any reference to our advancing age being a consideration in our reverie is unwelcome to the extreme!” John said with a nervous chuckle as he glanced at Jane.
“We’re going to make ourselves unwelcome to the extreme if you don’t watch it ‘pops’,” Jane said with her hands planted firmly on her hips.
“Pops?” Brenda asked with a chuckle as she glanced from John to Jax before looking around at Jane.
“I only use it when he forces me to,” Jane said as she looked knowingly at John, suspecting that she knew what he and Jax had really been talking about. “The man would celebrate non-stop if I’d let him. I suggest we make a gracious exit and let our children get back to what they were doing when we barged in!”
“How about breakfast?” John asked.
“Sure,” Brenda said eagerly as she nodded her head and smiled at Jax when he nodded his agreement as well.
“Good,” Jane said as she leaned over to give Brenda a quick hug. “We’ve got a suite downstairs so we’ll call you in the morning to set up a time.”
“For now I suggest that you two finish that champagne before it looses it’s fizz,” John said with a big smile at Brenda. When he turned to look at Jax his expression turned serious. “Toast your future son, that’s where your life is,” he said as he squeezed Jax’s shoulder and started toward the door, his arm around Jane. “See you two at breakfast,” he said as they walked out.
Jax closed the door behind them and stood staring at it for several moments after turning the lock. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before turning back to look at Brenda.
“I love your parents,” Brenda said with a big smile as she wrapped her arms around herself.
“Me too,” Jax said softly as he looked at Brenda from across the room. His mind raced as he tried to figure out how to say when he needed to say to her.
“Jax? What’s wrong?” Brenda asked as she got up and walked over to him. “Is it what you were trying to tell me before your parent got here? Can you tell me now?” she asked as she cupped the side of his face.
“Yeah, I think it’s time,” Jax said so softly that Brenda could hardly hear him. He put his hand on top of hers for a moment before taking it in his and leading her over to the couch. When she sat down he sat on the table facing her, taking both of her hands in his. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before looking into her eyes. “I need you to promise not to say anything until I finish. Okay?”
Seeing how important this was to him and how serious it sounded, Brenda slowly nodded. “Okay.”
Jax put his hands on his knees and took a deep breath before looking up at Brenda. “Near the end of my freshman year at Stanford I met a girl. Her name was Miranda Jamison.”
“Wait a minute,” Brenda said as she reached over and squeezed his hands. “I know I promised not to interrupt but I thought you graduated from Harvard’s Wharton Business School?”
Jax nodded slightly and smiled at her. “I did luv, but I started out at Stanford.”
“Oh, okay. I’m sorry I interrupted - go on,” Brenda said as she smiled reassuringly.
“Okay,” Jax said as a sudden feeling of sadness came across him. “Like I said, I met Miranda near the end of my freshman year. There was something about her that drew me to her. I don’t know if it was her free spirit or her love of life or her bluntness or the fact that we had the same interests. Whatever it was she got under my skin very quickly. I couldn’t imagine my life without her. We moved in together two weeks after we met.” When he saw the mix of fear and hurt in Brenda’s eyes he quickly continued his story, desperate to avoid as much pain as possible for her. “Anyway, by the end of the year we were engaged. As soon as classes were over I took her home to meet my family. You remember what that’s like,” Jax said with a slight smile as he tried to put her at ease. When he saw no change in her eyes, he couldn’t help wondering if maybe his father had been right, that he was hurting Brenda unnecessarily.
“As you can imagine, my parents were not very receptive to the idea of me getting married so young, especially to someone like Miranda. After all, I was only 19 and Miranda was 22. You know them well enough to guess what their reaction was to the news.”
Brenda smiled slightly for the first time since Jax had started talking as she remembered her first meeting with John and Jane Jacks. She gave Jax a slight nod to let him know she was ready for him to continue.
“I don’t know if dad figured he could pull us apart by separating us or he had planned it all along, but he suddenly told me that he had decided to give me my first project for J&J Jacks. He said he was sending me to represent the company in a labor dispute at one of our mines in Australia.” Jax looked away from Brenda for a moment to try to organize all the thoughts that were swirling around in his mind.
When he looked back at her he was relieved to see that the fear he had seen earlier had eased a little. He took another deep breath as he continued. “I was on a plane to Melbourne the next morning with a dozen files to read so I would know what I was facing.
“Since Miranda didn’t have a family of her own to spend the summer with she accepted my mum’s invitation to stay with them at the compound while I was away. She wasn’t exactly thrilled when dad said she couldn’t come with me but she agreed because we figured that I’d only be gone for a few days.” Jax shook his head slowly. “Boy were we wrong. I was gone almost 6 weeks and there didn’t seem to be an end in sight. Miranda finally insisted on joining me so dad agreed to fly down with her.
“When they got to Melbourne, dad left Miranda at the hotel and came out to see me at the mine. He didn’t even tell me that she was in Melbourne until two days later.” Jax stopped and walked over to stare out the window, his back turned toward Brenda. “I called the hotel as soon as I found out but she had checked out. I thought she had gone back to the states because she felt abandoned so I got into a huge argument with my father about her and stormed off to the mine office for my next meeting. I remember him calling my name but I just ignored him and slammed the door.”
Jax shuddered slightly at the memories. “I was so angry with my father that I took it into my meeting with the miners’ representatives. It wasn’t long before they stormed out of the meeting. I remember walking to the office door and screaming that if they didn’t accept my terms we’d shut down the damn mine.”
Brenda started to say something but decided against it. She had promised not to interrupt him and she could tell that he needed to finish this so she kept silent.
Without turning back to her, Jax started talking very quickly. “It didn’t take long for me to realize that I had screwed up big time so I went to my father for advice. We ended up spending the entire night working on a way out of the trouble I had created. I completely forgot about Miranda. I was too focused on fixing the damage I had done.”
Something about the tone of his voice and the way he was standing made Brenda get up and walk over to him. She put her hand on his arm and turned him to face her. She looked up into his eyes and squeezed his arm. “It’s okay honey, tell me the rest.”
Jax took another ragged breath. “When we finished, dad convinced me to get some rest before meeting with the miners again so I went back to the visitor’s quarters at the compound to get a shower and something to eat. As I was walking across the grounds to go back to the office I saw a car pull up and Miranda get out. I called out to her but I guess she didn’t hear me because she kept walking up the office stairs.” He looked away from Brenda when he felt the tears forming in his eyes. “I was about halfway across the compound when I called her name again. This time she must have heard me because she turned to look at me. She had a big smile on her face as she waved to me with her right hand while her left hand was on the door handle.” Jax stopped talking as he finally looked back at her and shuddered.
Brenda could feel the color drain from her face as she realized that this story did not have a happy ending. She had spent enough time in Sonny’s world to know what was coming. She looked up at him and cupped the side of his face. “You can do it honey. Finish it.”
Jax put his hand on top of hers before continuing. “I’m not really sure what happened next. I was about halfway across the compound when Miranda turned the door knob and everything just exploded.” He stopped when Brenda drew in her breath and looked at her with more pain in his eyes than she had ever seen before. “The blast was so big it knocked me out for a few seconds.” Jax tried to walk away but Brenda stopped him. She held his arms tightly as he looked away from her.
“I didn’t see Miranda anywhere. The office was gone and the entire front of the mine was nothing but rubble and flames but I went running toward it, screaming her name. It took dad and several of the mine workers to keep me from running into the fire.”
“Oh God Jax, how horrible!” Brenda said as she reached up to try to comfort him.
Jax took a long ragged breath. As soon as the fire was out I had a crew searching the wreckage for her. They searched for days but there was no trace of her. My father finally made me leave the mine and go home to Alaska with him.” Jax chuckled sadly. “It was weird, you know, as soon as that office blew up and Miranda died the miners settled the strike.”
Brenda’s heart ached at the pain she saw in Jax’s eyes. “Honey stop, you don’t have to tell me any more.”
“Yes I do luv - for both of us. I don’t want any secrets,” Jax said with a deep sigh. “When we got back to Alaska I didn’t care about anything. I let my parents make all of the decisions about my life. It was dad’s idea for me to transfer to Harvard. He thought it would give me a fresh start.
“Anyway, when I finished school dad insisted that I join him and Jerry at J&J Jacks. I guess he thought that work would make me forget Miranda and start to live again. Instead, I threw myself into my work completely. That’s when I got the reputation of being a ruthless raider. I would use anything or anyone to get what I wanted.”
Brenda could feel the tears filling her eyes as she took a deep breath. “Did they ever find out what caused the explosion?” she asked softly as she fought to keep from crying.
“That’s the thing,” Jax said. “I found out years later that the authorities determined that there was a bomb wired to the office door. As soon as Miranda turned the door knob it…”
“Oh my God! How horrible!” Brenda said as she covered her mouth with her hand. “Did they find the bomber?”
“No, they never did; but they did find out who hired him. It was the union leadership.”
“Why?” Brenda asked in disbelief.
“According to the authorities, the bomb was meant for me,” Jax said with a shudder as his eyes filled with tears. “So you see, Miranda died because of me. I killed her,” he said softly as tears started down his cheeks.
Brenda could feel her own tears spill out as she took his face in her hands. “No you didn’t Jax! Those miners killed her!” she said as she wiped the tears off of his cheeks. “It was just an accident that she was the one who opened that door. It could have been you or John or anyone.”
Jax shook his head as the tears started again. “That’s just it - it could have been anyone! But if I hadn’t been so inflexible in those negotiations they wouldn’t have stormed out and felt the need to teach me a lesson.”
“That’s not true Jax!” Brenda said as she shook her head. “I know enough about things like this to know that those miners were going to blow up that mine whether they got what they wanted or not.” She tilted his face to look down at her. “I’ll bet they had a huge list of demands, right? And I’ll also bet that more than a few of those demands were absolutely ridiculous.” She looked at Jax expectantly.
Jax stared at her, stunned at how accurate she was. “That’s true,” he said with a slight nod.
“From what you’ve told me I have a feeling they planned to kill you from the beginning. It wouldn’t have mattered what happened in those negotiations. They would have killed you anyway.” Brenda took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. “But, by killing Miranda, they drew too much attention to themselves so they settled the strike quickly. That way, they look like they gave up any possible benefits in respect for your ‘tragic’ loss.”
Jax was stunned. In the nearly seven years since Miranda had died no one, not his family nor the Australian authorities, had ever come up with an explanation that made so much sense. Jax wrapped his arms around Brenda and pulled her close to him, burying his face in the side of her neck for several moments. When he finally lifted his face to look at her he couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice. “How did you come up with that theory?” he asked in amazement.
This time it was Brenda who tried to pull away. When Jax wouldn’t let her go she settled for looking away from him. “Once, when I was still with Sonny, I listened in on one of his ‘business’ meetings after he ordered me out of the room. The men he was meeting with told him a plan very similar to what happened to Miranda.” She looked up at Jax with tears in her eyes. “So you see, you aren’t the only one with a secret. If I had called Mac and told him what I had heard he might have been able to prevent a murder.”
“That’s not necessarily true Brenda. You don’t know if they had already done the hit and were simply reporting their success or if they were actually planning to do that or just suggesting a solution to Sonny for a troublesome employee. If you had told the police and they questioned Sonny about it, don’t you think he would have figured out that it was you who had told them?” Jax said firmly. “No, in that case there was nothing you could have done to prevent that killing, if it did happen.”
“There’s nothing you could have done to prevent Miranda being killed either Jax,” Brenda said reassuringly. “It was just an accident - a horrible, tragic accident.” She reached up to stroke her fingers across his cheek as she looked up at him with a slight smile.
“Can you forgive me for keeping this from you?” Jax asked as he cupped the side of her face.
“What’s to forgive Jax?” Brenda asked. “You haven’t done anything to be forgiven for.”
Jax took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Now that you know about Miranda and how I felt about her, do you feel differently about me? About us?” he asked softly.
Brenda smiled at him as she took his hand in hers. “Come with me,” she said softly as she held his hand in both of hers and started toward the stairs.
Considering the seriousness of what they had just been talking about, Jax was surprised at what he saw in Brenda’s eyes. He knew immediately where she was taking him so he grabbed the bottle of champagne as they walked past the table behind the couch, not really sure they would need or want it.
Brenda didn’t let go of Jax’s hand until they walked into the bedroom. The only light in the room came from the sconces on each side of the fireplace, which had been dimmed to provide a soft glow in the room. She led him down the stairs and over to the foot of the bed before turning to face him. “Would you please start a fire?” she asked as she wrapped her arms loosely around his waist.
“I can do that,” Jax said with a slight smile as he felt himself start to relax for the first time since Brenda had gotten home. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss before walking over to the fireplace and kneeling down to set the fire.
“I’ll be right back,” Brenda said as she leaned down to kiss the top of his head. Before Jax had a chance to respond he heard Brenda run across the room. He glanced over and saw her run up the stairs to the bathroom and close the door. He chuckled and shook his head several times as he turned back to finish laying the fire.
Jax was just finishing with the fire when he heard the bathroom door open. He looked up just in time to see Brenda coming down the stairs. He could not believe what he saw. Brenda had changed out of her clothes into a floor length navy blue satin gown that was slit to the waist on one side and had a neckline that plunged almost to her waist, revealing the full curves of her breasts. She had taken her hair down and brushed it out so that it hung loosely on her shoulders.
“Wow,” Jax said as he exhaled loudly. “Is that new?” he asked as he stood up.
Brenda smiled proudly as she slowly twirled around in front of him. “Yes, I asked Adelle for something special for my first night home. Do you like it?” she asked innocently as she looked up at him.
Jax couldn’t resist chuckling as he slid his finger under one of the straps and ran his finger up and down her shoulder. “So much so that I can’t wait to get you out of it,” he said huskily.
Brenda smiled seductively as she rested her hands flat on his chest. “I was hoping you’d say that,” she said softly as she pulled the knot out of his tie and slit it off of his neck, dropping it on the floor next to them. She then reached up and started unbuttoning his shirt, stopping to kiss his chest as she opened each button. After she undid the last button she slowly slid the shirt down his arms, dropping it on the floor with his tie.
Without looking away from his face, she slowly unbuttoned his pants and slid down the zipper. She hooked her thumbs in the waistband and pulled them down. When they fell to the floor, Jax stepped out of them and kicked them aside so that they landed near his shirt and tie.
Brenda gently pushed against his chest. “Sit down,” she said softly. When he did as she said, Brenda reached forward to run her fingers through his hair. “I love you Jax,” she said softly as she smiled at him, even though she could feel tears filling her eyes. She cupped the side of his face as she forced the tears away. “Turn around.”
Jax looked at her for a moment before doing as she asked. Once he had turned to face the fire, he felt Brenda kneel down behind him, her hands resting gently on his shoulders. He couldn’t resist moaning softly when he felt her begin to massage his shoulders. He could feel the tension leave his body as she continued to work her way down his back.
As soon as she felt Jax start to relax, Brenda leaned forward and gently kissed the side of his neck while she continued to massage his back. When she heard him sigh she smiled and rested her hands on top of his shoulders. She leaned forward again, this time kissing a path across his cheek to his ear where she stopped long enough to take the lobe between her teeth and gently run her tongue across it. She was delighted when she felt him shudder at the pleasure this obviously gave him.
Brenda resumed her path of kisses down the side of his neck to his left shoulder. She gently ran her fingers across the backs of both of his shoulder before continuing to kiss a path across his shoulder to the center of his back. She stopped for a moment to move slightly so that she was directly behind him. She rested her hands flat against his back as she continued kissing a path down his spine, finally stopping when she reached his waist. She then dragged her tongue slowly up the entire length of his spine, not stopping until she reached his neck, where she then kissed a path to his right ear, which she gave the same treatment she had the left on the way down.
Unable to stand it any longer, Jax reached up and grabbed both of Brenda’s upper arms, pulling her around to lay across his lap. He knew by the smile on her face that Brenda could feel the affect her ministrations had on him pressing against her back. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her close to kiss her passionately. As the kiss grew in its intensity he felt Brenda wrap her arms tightly around his neck.
When Jax finally ended the kiss, Brenda looked up into his eyes and saw that the despair and pain she had seen there earlier had now been replaced with nearly unbridled desire. Just as he leaned down to kiss her again, Brenda put her hand on his chest to stop him. Before he had a chance to say anything she pulled out of his arms and stood up in front of him. When Jax started to protest she put her finger on his lips to stop him. As she looked deep into his eyes she reached up to slowly slide one strap and then the other off of her shoulders and down her arms, holding the front of her gown close as she did.
As she watched Jax’s eyes and saw his control quickly slipping away, she suddenly let go of the gown and let it fall to the floor. She smiled seductively as she stood silently in front of him for several moments, completely naked. As she watched Jax’s reaction she held out her hand to him. Jax stood up quickly, reached for her hand and allowed her to lead him to the bed. He was not sure he could wait much longer to make love to her.
When they got to the side of the bed Brenda stopped and turned to face him. She placed her hands flat on his chest as she leaned in to place on kiss just above his heart. She then kissed her way over to his left nipple, gently dragging her tongue across it several times before kissing a trail across his chest to his right nipple where she repeated the process.
As she was lavishing her kisses on his chest, Brenda could feel Jax’s arousal growing harder as it pressed against her stomach. She could tell that his self-control was quickly slipping away. When she realized that she wasn’t sure how much longer she would be able to wait herself, she shifted the direction of her kisses downward, sitting down on the side of the bed as she reached his waist. When she reached his navel she kissed all the way around it before covering it with her mouth and slipping her tongue in and out of it several times. When she heard Jax moan softly she lifted her mouth and gently blew on the moist skin, causing him to moan again as he ran his fingers through her hair. She hooked her thumbs into the waist of his boxers as she resumed her tail of kisses. When she pulled down his boxers Jax finally reached his breaking point.
Jax grabbed the sides of Brenda’s face with both of his hands and leaned down to cover her mouth with his, kissing her with all the desire and need he felt. He slid his tongue across her lips until she moaned softly and opened her mouth to him. He slid his tongue inside and began a dance with hers as their need for each other began to completely take over their actions.
As he continued to kiss her, Jax slowly knelt in front of her before finally ending their kiss. He looked into her eyes for a moment. He was not surprised to see them glazed over with passion. He leaned forward again, his hands flat on top of her thighs, to kiss her lips once more before beginning a trail of kisses across her cheek and down the side of her neck. He reached up to cup the fullness of her breasts as he continued to kiss a path down the center of her chest. He placed several kisses above her heart before kissing over to her right breast. After placing several kisses across the upper curve of her breast he let his hand fall away, replacing it with his mouth.
After placing several kisses around the already hardened nipple he took it into his mouth, and rubbed his tongue across the hardened nub, causing Brenda to moan as she threaded her fingers through the hair on the back of his head and pull his mouth deeper onto her breast. She groaned when he lifted his mouth from her breast, even though his hand quickly replaced it as he started to kiss his way across to her left breast, which he immediately took into his mouth. What he was doing to her made Brenda draw in a quick breath as she tried to adjust to the sensations he stirred in her.
Jax finally lifted his mouth from her breast and began a trail of kissed back to her heart. As he continued to trail his kisses lower he gently pushed her back on the bed. When he reached her navel he kissed all around it before finally caressing it with his tongue.
As he continued kissing her Brenda began to moan softly as she writhed about on the bed. As he continued to kiss and caress her, Brenda lost all sense of reality as she gave herself over to her passion.
As Brenda struggled back to reality after her climax, Jax stood up and moved her further onto the bed before lying next to her and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close to him.
Finally feeling in control of her body again, Brenda rolled over on top of Jax. She leaned down and kissed him passionately. When she ended the kiss she looked down into his eyes. She leaned down to kiss him again as she shifted her position on his body. As she continued to kiss him she slowly moved herself up along his body until she felt herself in a position to make love to him.
When she felt Jax’s hands on her hips she ended the kiss and sat up and looked into his passion glazed eyes. Without looking away she raised herself up and lowered herself down to join with him. She remained motionless for several moments, reveling in the feeling of being so completely joined with him.
Jax could feel his control slipping as Brenda began to slowly make love to him. She continued to look into his eyes as she began to move with increasing speed and intensity, leaning forward to kiss him as she tightened and released her hold on him. Unable to wait any longer, Jax grabbed hold of her hips as he began to take control of their lovemaking.
Brenda could feel herself loosing control as she gave herself over to the passion taking over her body. When she felt Jax begin to take control she gave herself over to her passion. From that point on she felt nothing, probably because she was so overwhelmed that she lost all conscious thought.
Jax watched Brenda’s face as she gave herself over to her passion. He soon joined her in a climax so intense that he lost consciousness for several moments.
It was several minutes before either of them could move. When she felt Jax gently begin to run his fingers around her back Brenda shifted slightly on top of him, not wanting to break their intimate connection. Eventually she stacked her hands on his chest and rested her chin on them so that she could look into his eyes. “Does that answer your question?” she asked softly as she smiled lovingly at him.
“What question?” Jax asked as he looked down at her, slightly confused.
Brenda’s smile broadened as she rested her forehead against his chest in embarrassment for a moment before looking back up at him. “You asked me if knowing about Miranda changed how I felt about you.” She reached up and cupped the side of his face. “The answer is yes it did change how I feel about you,” she said suddenly very serious.
Jax was stunned. He had not expected this, especially after the way they had just made love. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I understand,” he said sadly as he looked away from her.
“No, I don’t think you do,” she said firmly as she turned his face back to her. “What I’m trying to tell you is that I love you even more. I think I understand you a little better now. Knowing how you felt about Miranda and what happened to her makes me realize how difficult it must have been for you when I was in the hospital. It also explains why you dropped everything to be with me right after the accident - even though we weren’t even involved yet.” She leaned upward to place a quick kiss on his lips. “Thank you,” she said softly as she rested her head on his shoulder.
“For what?” Jax asked as he tilted his head to the side to look at her.
“For having the strength to support me even though it must have reminded you of what you had lost,” Brenda said as she raised her head again to look at him. “You have always been there when I needed you. Whether it was helping me recover from the hit and run or protecting me from Sonny’s harassment you were always there, regardless of how painful it was for you. You never let on how it was affecting you. You just took care of me.” She paused for a moment as she leaned up further and rested her hands flat on his chest. “No one has ever put my needs above their own like you have Jax. I want - no I NEED - you to know that I will always be here for you, no matter what the circumstances.”
Jax could not believe what he was hearing. He had hoped Brenda would eventually be able to forgive him for keeping Miranda a secret but she had not only already forgiven his secret but she had understood why he had kept it. “I love you Brenda,” he said as he reached up to take her face in both of his hands and kiss her. One kiss led to another and another as he rolled them over so that she was now beneath him. When he ended the kiss he looked down at her as he brushed her hair away from her face. “You know, when I married you on the yacht I knew I loved you. But now, I couldn’t live without you. You’re a part of my soul.” He leaned down to kiss her again as they both felt their bodies react to their renewed passion. It wasn’t long before they were once again making love. After leading each other to an earth-shattering climax, they fell asleep wrapped around each other, secure in their love and satisfied emotionally and physically beyond their wildest dream.
It was about an hour later when Jax woke up. He lifted his head slightly to glance at the clock next to the bed before laying his head back on the pillow. He lay there for a moment, enjoying the feel of his arms wrapped around Brenda’s naked body, before leaning forward to kiss the top of her head. He then slowly slid his arm from beneath her and eased himself off of the bed. Once he was out of the bed, he tucked the covers closely around her. When she stirred slightly he waited until she settled down before walking over to the closet to get his blue satin robe. After putting it on and tying the belt he reached back into the closet to get Brenda’s ivory satin robe. He held the robe in his left hand as he gently ran the fingers of his right hand over the soft fabric. He held the robe up to his face for a moment to savor the smell of Brenda’s perfume before walking back to lay it on the foot of the bed. After watching Brenda sleep for several moments he finally turned and quietly walked out of the room, partially closing the door behind him.
Brenda slowly started to wake up when her nose started to tickle. When she woke a little more she reached up to scratch her nose. She opened her eyes when she felt a something on her nose. It took a moment for her eyes to focus on Jax’s face in front of her, his finger resting on the bridge of her nose. “Hey you,” she said with a satisfied smile without raising her head from the pillow. “What are you doing out there?” she asked as she cupped the side of his face and pulled him to her so that she could kiss him passionately.
After enjoying the kiss for several moments, Jax leaned back to end the kiss and smiled at her. “Someone had to get us some dinner,” he said as he leaned forward to give her another quick kiss. “Come on, dinner’s here,” he said as he stood up, picked up her robe and held it open for her.
After rolling onto her back to stretch, Brenda threw off the covers and got out of bed. She slid her arms into the robe and let Jax wrap it around her, holding her close to him for several moments, his arms wrapped tightly around her and her head resting against his chest. “This is the best,” Brenda said softly as she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his.
“Oh no luv,” Jax said as he rested his cheek on top of her head. “The best is yet to come.” He tilted his head around to look at her. “We’ve got the rest of our lives to look forward to that.” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Come on, let’s eat,” he said as he straightened up and extended his hand to her.
Brenda tied the belt on her robe before taking his hand and letting him lead her out of the room. She was startled at what she saw when they got to the media area. Jax had set up their dinner on a small table by the wall of windows. The lights had been dimmed and there were two lighted candles on the table. As she walked toward the table she was startled to hear music suddenly start playing softly. When she turned to look back she couldn’t help smiling when she saw the expression on Jax’s face as he pointed the remote at the CD player.
When Jax came up next to her, Brenda wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him. “When did you have the time to do all of this?” she asked with an amazed smile.
Jax blushed slightly as he looked down at her. “Uh, actually, I had arranged it before you got home.” When he saw the confused expression on her face he chuckled. “Remember? When you looked at my calendar to pick a wedding date you saw I had marked the 22nd and I told you I had a special evening planned for your homecoming.” He waited until he saw in her eyes that she remembered. “Well, you kind of upstaged my plans a little by getting this evening off to a VERY special start,” he said with a chuckle before leaning down to kiss her forehead. “Now it’s my turn. I only hope that the rest of the evening turns out as well as it started.”
Brenda smiled up at him. Listen to me honey,” she said as she tightened her arms around him. “We’re together and I’m home to stay so it’s a perfect night, whatever happens.” She leaned up to give him a quick kiss. “What exactly have you got planned for dinner anyway? I’m starving!”
Jax couldn’t resist laughing at the honesty of Brenda’s declaration. He wrapped his arms around her waist, lifted her up and spun her around, his face buried in the side of her neck. When he set her back on her feet his heart fluttered at the expression on Brenda’s face. It wasn’t her big smile that made his heart flutter. It was the look of peace and unconditional love in her eyes that did that. “Oh I’m sure there’s something you’ll like,” he said as he gave her a quick squeeze before letting go and pulling out the chair for her.
Without saying anything Brenda looked up at him with a loving smile before sitting in the chair he held for her. As she sat down he pushed the chair in, leaning down to kiss the side of her neck as he did. “Mmmm,” she said softly as she reached up and ran her fingers into his hair. “That feels nice,” she said softly as she tilted her head to the side to give him better access to her neck.
Jax kissed her neck several more times before letting go and sitting down next to her. Once he was in his chair he reached for her hand and kissed it. “Let’s eat,” he said with a smile as he nibbled on her fingertips.
It took them more than an hour to finish their dinner, not because the meal was so large but because they stopped to kiss after every bite they took. When they finally finished the last bite of their dessert, Jax reached for Brenda’s hand. “Dance with me?” he asked as he stood up without letting go of her hand.
“Of course,” Brenda said with a loving smile as she stood up. She reached to wrap her arms around his neck as Jax wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and they began to move to the music. They slowly danced across the room and down the hallway to the bedroom. When they got inside the door, Brenda stopped and rested her hands flat on his chest. “I’m going to take a shower. Want to join me?” she asked as she arched an eyebrow at him.
“I like the sound of that,” Jax said with an arch of his own eyebrow as he smiled seductively. He took her hands off of his chest and led her toward the bathroom without releasing either of her hands. When they got to the door he let go of one hand to turn the lights on.
When they got to the shower, Brenda reached in to turn on the water then turned back to face Jax. At the same moment they reached to untie the belt of each other’s robe. Brenda put her arms down so that Jax could slide her robe off of her arms before reaching for the open edges of his robe and sliding it slowly off of his shoulders and down his arms. She looked up at him for a moment before opening the shower door and stepping inside. As the water cascaded down her body she silently held out her hand to him in invitation. Jax took her hand and stepped in, closing the door behind him.
Jax turned Brenda so that the water cascaded down her back and reached for the soap. After lathering his hands he stepped in front of her to block the water and began to wash every inch of her body with them. As he began to wash her more intimately, Brenda took a shaky breath and reached for the soap. She began her own path across his body. Neither actually finished their shower though since they were soon leaning against the marble wall of the shower, making love with nearly as much passion as they had in their bed earlier.
After their shower they wrapped each other in thick bath blankets and slowly dried each other off. What started out as seductive body massage quickly turned into a mutual tickle attack. When Brenda tried to get away, Jax swept her up into his arms and dropped her on the bed before flinging himself down next to her.
As soon as he was next to her, Brenda lunged at him, trying her best to tickle him again. Jax, who was quicker and stronger than her, grabbed her wrists with one hand and pinned them above her head as he rolled over on top of her and cupped the side of her face with his free hand. He immediately leaned down to kiss her passionately. Without ever exchanging a word they were soon making love again. Afterward, they lay snuggled closely together with the covers pulled tightly around them.
“You weren’t kidding about making this a special night were you?” Brenda asked with a sigh as she ran her fingers across his chest.
“I’m glad you think so. I was afraid I had ruined it before it even got started,” Jax said as he looked away and exhaled loudly.
Brenda lifted her head as she turned his face back to her. “How could you think that Jax? You trusted me with the most painful memory in your heart. You loved me enough - no you trusted me enough - to tell me about Miranda. Know that would have made this night special on it’s own. Not that I’m complaining about everything else; that was really amazing!”
Jax looked into her face for a few seconds before a smile started to spread across his face as he reached up to pull her head back down to rest on his shoulder. They both sighed as they snuggled closed and quickly dozed off, totally at peace, each knowing that there was nothing in their pasts that could ever hurt them.
KING’S PALACE LUXURY APARTMENTS
PENTHOUSE SUITE
Manilla, Phillipines
It had taken Sonny nearly three weeks and a dozen false trails to get to this address. As he and Jason stepped off of the elevator, he smiled. For some reason when he looked at the closed penthouse door in front of him he knew that this was the place he was looking for. If he was right, he was sure he had finally found what he needed to destroy Jasper Jacks and get Brenda back under his control - where she belonged.
He loudly rapped on the door and waited impatiently right in front of the door for someone to answer. When the door opened he was surprised by the appearance of the woman standing there. She was tall, probably about 5’7 and slender with medium brown hair that was cut short. What really surprised him was that she was beautiful, not a trace of a scar anywhere that he could see.
“May I help you?” she asked curtly, obviously not happy at being disturbed.
“I’m looking for Miranda Jamison,” Sonny said confidently.
“Well what does that have to do with me?” Miranda demanded. She could not believe the knot that had suddenly formed in her stomach. “My name is Felicia Bennett.”
“Yeah, I know,” Sonny said smugly. “But you know what? Felicia Bennett came into existence the very day that Miranda Jamison disappeared. Don’t you find that interesting?”
“Who the hell are you?” Miranda demanded.
“My name isn’t important. Why don’t you invite me in and I’ll explain what I want,” Sonny said as he tried to push his way into the apartment.
“Look, I don’t know you. What could we possibly have to talk about?” Miranda asked as she stood firmly in the doorway.
“How about a family of Australian billionaires named Jacks?” When he saw the flash of anger and then fear in Miranda’s eyes, Sonny knew he had her. “One in particular, youngest son Jasper to be specific.”
Miranda drew in a quick breath. “Jax,” she said softly as she covered her mouth. It had been a long time since she had even allowed herself to think about Jax let alone say his name. As soon as she did she would remember the deal she had made with John Jacks and her hatred of the man and the rest of his family that had taken her precious Jax from her. “What about Jax?”
“Well, he’s getting married in a few days and I though you might want to attend the ceremony,” Sonny said matter of factly.
“Married! He can’t get married! He’s going to marry me!” Miranda screamed. She suddenly stepped aside to let Sonny come into the apartment. After letting him in, Miranda closed the door and walked nervously over to the terrace doors where Sonny was standing. “Alright now, tell me who is this tramp who thinks she’s going to marry my Jax?” Miranda demanded.
Sonny smiled at Miranda’s reaction to the news of Jax’s pending wedding. He decided not to bother telling her that Jax and Brenda were already married and only having this farce of a ceremony to show off. He figured that this was going even better than he had hoped. “Her name’s Brenda Barrett.”
“The model?” Miranda screamed. “Why on earth would he marry someone like that? I’ve seen her pictures in the Deception Cosmetics ads. She looks about as intelligent as a ten year old.” She stomped across the room and plopped down on the sofa facing him. “She’s probably great in bed though, that type usually is, but that’s no reason for him to MARRY her!” She looked suspiciously at Sonny. “What does any of this have to do with you Mr…”
“Corrinthos, Sonny Corrinthos. Let’s just say that Jasper and his bimbo have crossed me one too many times,” Sonny said as he walked toward her.
“So why come looking for me?” Miranda asked. “How can I possibly help you?”
“After I found out what had happened I thought you might want an opportunity to get even with old man Jacks AND get your hands on Jasper again.”
Suddenly very suspicious of Sonny’s motives, Miranda looked at him coldly. “If you really do know what happened why would you think I’d want to cross John Jacks? I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise to you that he’s picking up my bills. Why would I want to bite the hand that feeds me?”
“Two reasons actually,” Sonny said with a smirk. “Because if you come with me and stop this wedding you’ll get your precious Jax back.”
“And the other reason?” Miranda asked curiously, even though his first reason was more than enough for her.
“Because I’ll pay you a million dollars to do it,” Sonny said calmly.
Miranda looked at Sonny and chuckled. “You must really want the Barrett broad to be willing to pay that kind of money to break up this wedding,” she said as she got up and walked over to the fireplace. “Tell you what Mr. Corrinthos. Since I’m the one risking my future here, make it two million and you’ll have a partner.” When she saw the smirk on Sonny’s face she held up her hand. “One more thing, we destroy John Jacks and that entire family - except for Jax - before we’re finished.”
Sonny thought for a moment before extending his hand to her. “You’ve got a deal Miss Jamison.” As he turned and looked out the terrace doors again he could not believe how easily she had given in. He had been prepared to offer twice as much for her cooperation. No wonder she was still carrying a torch for Pretty Boy. She was too stupid to know any better. As he turned back to face Miranda his mind raced through all of the damage this plan was going to cause and all of the people who would finally understand that you don’t cross Sonny Corrinthos!