The Convenient Wife
by Kelly

chapter 30

The knock at the door was firm and insistent. Alice looked through
the peephole then opened it only a fraction.

"Yeah?"

Jason was clearly taken aback by her frigid manner. "Uh, I work for
Sonny. I need to see him."

"Name?" Alice demanded.

"Jason Morgan. Alice, you've met me before—"

Alice closed the door in his face and said something to someone
inside. Sonny must have told her it was okay because only then did
she open the door to him.

This time her face was softened by the tiniest of smiles. "Sorry, Mr.
Morgan. Can't be too careful these days."

Sonny sat on the couch grinning as Alice grabbed her bag and
jacket. "I'll be out shopping for groceries, Mr. Corinthos. Be back
in an hour or so."

She passed Sonny's enforcer with a stiff nod his way. Jason entered
the living room with eyebrows raised quizzically.

"She's almost as good as your bodyguards, Sonny, damn," he quipped.

"I know. Protective as hell of Alexis," his boss replied, grinning.
Then with that mercurial swiftness he possessed, his face grew
serious. "So how are you? You alright?"

Jason shrugged, knowing he was referring to Lila and Courtney. "You
know, you gotta go on. Gotta keep living. We got a job to do."

Sonny nodded. "Yeah, yeah. And speaking of that, what've you found
out? Can you get to Francis? It's not gonna be easy. They have to be
guarding him pretty heavy."

"We still have men in the PCPD who can find out for us where they're
stashing him and get me in there. I'm pretty sure I can… "

Jason voice faded and he gave a furtive look towards the kitchen
where he heard Alexis and her daughter clanging around eating
breakfast. Sonny saw the look and misinterpreted it.

"I had Max sweep for bugs already. The place is clean."

"I'm not worried about bugs, Sonny. We're gonna talk about it while
she's here?"

"It's okay," Sonny said. "You can say what you need to."

Jason's insides twisted; what the hell was this? He didn't trust for
one second that Alexis would allow Sonny to play dirty. And dirty was
the only way to get him out of this infernal mess.

"Look, Sonny, Francis rolled on you," Jason said in a whisper. "So
the first order of business is to get into the Feds' safe house and
have a chat with him, know what I mean? I doubt that Alexis is gonna
be okay with that."

"She's in as deep as I am at this point."

"So?"

"So she has as much to lose as I do. Her freedom. Her kid."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean she'll compromise the law so that we
win."

"She's already compromised it once to save me."

"And look where it got her; she's probably regretting the hell out of
it. She's not one of us. She doesn't think like us. I thought the
past taught you that, Sonny. Why are you so ready to invite her into
your life again?"

The older man's dark eyes flashed anger, sudden and vitriolic. "She
is in my life no matter what. We're married, Jason."

"For show. You told Carly—"

"I know what I told Carly," he snapped, shooting to his feet and
walking over to the window.

Jason knew he was walking through a minefield right now; what he said
and how he said it were critical. A false move and Sonny would shut
down…end of conversation.

"Look," he said, his voice slow and quiet, "I'm just tryin' to find
out if things have changed between you two. Just catch me up on the
back-story, Sonny, so I know how to proceed."

His friend turned to face him, a barely-controlled rage burning in
his eyes. "Okay, first of all, don't talk to me in that voice you use
with Carly," he said. "I am not out of control. I know exactly what
I'm doing. And I don't need my hand held like some little kid."

Jason stared at him, his eyes wide.

"And secondly, I told you we can talk here, so talk. Don't second-
guess me. Last time I checked I was still in charge, so what is your
damn problem?"

Now Jason stood. He had reached his own boiling point. "The problem
is this is the same woman who slapped your face when she found out
you hid Zander from her. She called it tampering with a witness and
said it could get us jail time and her disbarred. Now you expect her
to be cool with me leaning on Francis?"

He knew that Sonny saw the logic in his words, but for some reason
the older man was bent on not accepting it. "I don't think this is
about business at all," he sneered at Jason. "I think this is about
Carly. You wanna protect her and you think that me and Lex are
getting too close, is that it?"

"Well, are you?" Jason fired.

Sonny turned a dangerous glare his way. "That would be none of your
business. I trust her. That's all you or Carly or anyone has the
right to know!"

"And you can't see that you're getting a little over sensitive about
her? I mean, when I left here you two were at each other's throats
and she was helpin' Ric to bring you down. I get back here and you're
married to her, living at her place, and she's helping you now. The
apartment's the picture of married bliss and you're going all hair
trigger on me about her. Don't I have a right to wonder what the
hell's going on?"

"Yes, Jason, you have the right."

Both men turned and saw Alexis in the kitchen doorway, her sleepy
daughter cradled against her chest.

chapter 31