Alexis
swung her front door open and froze at the sight of the person on
the other side. Jason Morgan stood there staring at her, unblinking
and unsmiling. There was a silence that was a little too long to
be comfortable.
“Hi,” she greeted finally, unsure of what else to say.
“Hey,” he answered. “Can I come in?”
“Yes, sure,” she mumbled, and stood aside for him to walk
past her. He looked about, taking in every nook and cranny of her
living room.
“Nice place,” he said in a banal tone.
“Thanks.”
After another uncomfortable silence, he sighed and turned his piercing
eyes to her. “Listen, I just got back from Europe and I find
out Sonny’s been booked for the AJ thing and you and he are
married. What the hell is going on?”
“Sonny called you?”
“No, Carly.”
Alexis frowned.
Jason reiterated his demand. “So tell me what’s happened.”
She sighed. She was so weary of saying this aloud; it just made
it seem all the more dire. “The government has the hit man
and a source in your…organization…who say that Sonny tried
to kill AJ and that I knew about it.”
Jason closed his eyes for a moment. “So you married him to
avoid having to testify?”
Alexis simply stared at him. She wasn’t willing to confirm
anything to this man who was so close to Carly that he’d flown
thousands of miles at her distress call. “I married him at
his request. The why is no one’s business but ours.”
Jason’s jaw tensed. “I’m his right hand, Alexis.
He’d want me to know everything.”
She turned her back to him and walked several feet away. “Then
let him tell you. Go see him at the jailhouse, Jason.”
“What’s with the attitude?” Jason fired at her.
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I’m a little leery of people
who are friendly with Carly…given the fact that she went on
television claiming this marriage isn’t legitimate. She could
get Sonny and I charged with fraud just because of her petty jealousy.
So excuse me if I don’t exactly leap to trust someone close
to her.”
“Well, the distrust is mutual,” Jason told her, raw suspicion
in his tone. “I mean, last thing I knew, you and Ric Lansing
were awful close…bonding over your Sonny-hate. He couldn’t
see past sibling rivalry, and you couldn’t seem to get over
losing Sonny to Carly.”
Alexis whirled to face him. “I didn’t lose Sonny,”
she said acidly. “I let him go so he could have another chance
with the woman he claimed to love. That was my choice.”
“And you’re telling me you don’t still hurt over
that…deep down? How do I know you’re really trying to
save Sonny? For all I know, you could be working with Ric and the
Feds to bring him down.”
How dare he insinuate that she was some kind of jealous shrew who’d
plot to destroy Sonny just to get revenge! Alexis had to swallow
her rage to answer him with a semblance of calm. “I am not
Carly,” she said between clenched teeth. “All that subterfuge
is her M.O., not mine. I don’t want Sonny to go to jail any
more than I want to go there myself.”
“Could’ve fooled me by the way you acted before I left.”
“Sonny wasn’t exactly cordial to me either, Jason. A lot
happened…some of which I regret. But I can tell you now truthfully
that I am not a part of any plot to hurt Sonny. I would much rather
no one had ever found out about AJ. But they have. And Sonny and
I are trying our damndest to get out of it the best way possible.”
She spread her hands out palms up in a gesture of take it or leave
it. “You can believe me or disbelieve me. What’s important
is that Sonny trusts me and that the two of us get out of this with
no jail time. I don’t actually care what you and your…friend…think.”
Jason stared at her without words again, and she knew that he was
trying to look into her eyes and discern the truth. She met his
intense gaze steadily and held it for what seemed like an eternity.
She thought she saw a glimmer of respect that she’d stood up
to him, but she couldn’t be sure.
In the end, he simply nodded and turned to go...and she was left
to wonder whether or not he’d believed her.
