Once You Love Somebody

Kevin exchanged worried glances with Scott as Garcia's men prepared to knock down the door to the old warehouse. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest knowing that they were seconds away from confronting the person responsible for wreaking havoc upon the lives of many Port Charles citizens. He looked at Scott once more realizing that Scott was just as upset as he was knowing that Lucy's life was hanging in the hands of a madman.

"It kind of looks like one of those action movies where the police are waiting around for something big to hit, doesn't it?" Scott questioned breaking the silence as he glanced over at Kevin. "Of course it's not a movie now though is it?"

"I wish it were." Kevin replied with a half smile. "I'd settle for a good comedy at this moment in time or maybe even a good old fashioned romance."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Scott agreed leaning back against the crate next to him. "I could go for the final sequence in a western where the hero sits back drinking his beer and talking about how it was no big deal saving the world as praises are thrown at him for all of his hard work."

".....and he's free to live happily ever after without any unresolved conflict to deal with......" Kevin added with a laugh.

"....until the sequel of course." Scott chuckled light heartedly realizing that standing before him was the answer to the question of who was tormenting so many lives as he glanced at the warehouse.

Suddenly without warning, Kevin's life flashed before him and he thought back to the first time he had met Lucy. From the moment he had first laid eyes upon her, he knew that she was the only one for him. Images of life with Lucy throughout the years flooded his mind as he thought of how much he needed her in his life. He prayed that she would be safe when they found her and hoped that there would be a way to move forward with her in his life. He watched Scott's twisted expression and wondered if he should tell Scott about Lucy's pregnancy.

"What is it?" Scott questioned taking note of the dark look clouding over Kevin's face. "Don't tell me you're having thoughts about writing a sequel to all of this."

"Not a chance." Kevin replied glancing over at Garcia for a moment. "I'm just waiting for this to be all over."

"You know, it's kind of funny." Scott began scratching his head and nodding at Kevin. "I mean you and I stuck like this working together."

"Scott, you know I know we haven't always seen eye to eye on things......." Kevin trailed off realizing that now was as good a time as ever to tell him what was on his mind.

"Especially when it came to what was best for Lucy and I get the feeling that we may never agree on the topic, but I have to admit that I'm glad we're on the same side of this one Collins." Scott finished thinking about his confrontation with Kevin only a short while back. "I wouldn't want another guy at my side for this one."

"You know, I was just thinking about Lucy." Kevin admitted in a whisper as the team took their positions.

"You love her a lot don't you Collins?" Scott asked already knowing the answer as he saw the pained look on Kevin's face.

"More than life itself." Kevin replied honestly trying to read Scott's features.

"Look Kevin, I think that you and I need to talk about something before we go in there and play heroes." Scott started seriously as he took in a deep breath.

"Wait, Scott before you say another word there's something that you need to know about Lucy. You see she's........." Kevin began as a loud boom rang out into the afternoon.

"What is taking them so long?" Eve questioned pacing around the room as Victor sat by the phone thinking about Kevin.

"Monk will do all he can to save Lucy. He'll make sure that everything turns out alright." Victor assured her as she moved about uneasily. "Eve, why don't you take a seat?"

"I can't sit still knowing that Kevin and Scott are out there risking their lives when some wacko is ready to attack at any moment." Eve replied glancing over at Victor. "If anything happened to either one of them......."

"Nothing is going to happen to them Eve." Victor assured her holding out a chair for her. "They both know how to conduct themselves in dangerous situations."

"I just have this terrible feeling Victor." Eve confessed taking a seat as she checked the time. "It's as if something is wrong........really wrong. Maybe I should go check on them."

"Eve, Scott specifically ordered that you wait here for them to return." Victor continued trying to assure her. "Would you feel better if we listened to what's going on out there?"

"How can we do that from here Victor?" Eve questioned in confusion as Victor reached into this knapsack and pulled out something that looked like a black walkie talkie. "What is that?"

"It's my scanner." Victor explained setting it on the table top as he turned the dial. "I never leave home without it. Ever since the beginning of the murders, I've always felt it was good to keep an eye on what the police were doing in case they were given a clue and they weren't able to pick up on it's true meaning. Now if I can adjust the frequency a bit........oh, wait. I think that I may have it. It sounds like Garcia."

".............appears to have gone off........" A crackling voice sounded out as Victor adjusted the dial once again. "............boom.............then.............explosion........."

"Explosion? What explosion?" Eve repeated in a panic. "Victor what is he talking about?"

"I don't know." Victor replied dumfounded as he frantically tried to bring the station in turn.

"........I'm afraid that the warehouse has been blown to almost nothing. The first team was inside when it happened and EMS is on it's way right now, but the fires seem to be blazing out of control....." the voice continued clearly now. ".........we're going to need a rescue team out here to......."

"Oh God," Eve cried out unable to sit still any longer as she dashed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Victor questioned watching her throw on her jacket.

"I'm a doctor Victor. I can't just here and do nothing when Scott or Kevin could be seriously hurt." Eve explained in a panic. "Are you going to just sit here or are you coming with me?"

"I'll drive." Victor replied with his radio in hand as they left for the warehouse.

"Scott, are you alright?" Kevin questioned coming out from underneath the debris that had fallen on him.

"I'm okay. Just a few minor cuts and scrapes, but everything else is still in tact." Scott replied touching his forehead and seeing the blood on his hand. "What the hell just happened?"

"The warehouse must have exploded as soon as Garcia's men kicked open the door." Kevin decided getting back onto his feet as the sirens rang out in the distance as he looked on at the burning building before him. "Oh God Lucy!"

"Kevin, wait!" Scott called out struggling to get on his feet as he realized his foot was trapped underneath a crate. "Damn it!"

Kevin ran as fast as he could towards the skeleton of the building that had stood before him only seconds earlier. His thoughts of Lucy were overwhelming as he found Garcia scanning around the rubble.

"Garcia!" Kevin shouted catching up to him. "Where's Lucy? Was she in there?"

"Kevin, we didn't get a chance to go inside before the explosion and right now it's too dangerous for me to allow any of my men to check it out." Garcia explained noticing the paramedics have arrived.

"But Garcia, Lucy could be in there and we need to get to her. If she's trapped inside that inferno, she's got to be terrified." Kevin insisted leaping towards the flames as he was reminded of his brother's horrid death. "I can't lose her...not this way. That fire........"

"We don't have a choice right now Kevin." Garcia said grabbing a hold of his arm. "The fires are still in full force and no one is going in there."

"She needs me Garcia and I'm not going to sit back and do nothing while she burns to death." Kevin argued trying to break free of Garcia's hold as he watched the blaze ahead of him.

"Kevin, you're not going in there." Garcia snapped at him.

"The hell I'm not." Kevin shouted leaping forward as he felt something cold upon his wrist. He turned and realized that he was handcuffed to Garcia. "Garcia, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't risk another man down." Garcia apologized as Kevin fell to his knees watching the bright orange flames and black smoke engulf the once blue sky.

Chapter 15
After the fire

Scott Baldwin sat on a crate watching the smoke rise above the trees. He looked down at the paramedic mending up his foot as he heard his voice being called in the distance. He glanced up and noticed Eve rushing towards him with Victor trailing close behind.

"Scott! Scott, thank God you're alright." Eve cried out throwing her arms around him tightly. "When I heard about the explosion, I had this terrible feeling that you were hurt and something inside of me just.........."

"Hey Eve," Scott began hugging her back noticing how upset she was. "I'm like a cat. I have nine lives."

"Where's Monk?" Victor asked assessing the situation and realizing that his son was no where to be found. "Scott, where is he?"

"He went off to find Garcia after the explosion and I haven't seen him since. I would've went with him, but my foot was stuck under a crate and...." Scott explained as Victor rushed off towards the rubble.

Victor hurried over towards the building not knowing what to expect as he noticed Kevin slumped over holding something in his hand. With a relieved sigh, Victor slowed his pace and approached Kevin as he thanked the heavens for keeping his son safe.

"Monk, thank God you're alright." Victor noticing the twisted expression on Kevin's face as he moved in closer. "What is it?"

"I was too late." Kevin replied sadly looking up at his father with tears in his eyes. "I couldn't help her." "Monk, what are you talking about?" Victor questioned as Kevin handed him the object in his hands. "What is this?"

"It's Lucy's." Kevin explained as Victor opened up the leather wallet and noticed Lucy's driver's license in the front pocket.

"This is preposterous." Victor began shaking his head. "There has to be some kind of mistake."

"She's gone Victor. I let her down just like I let Ryan down. When she needed me I was no where to be found." Kevin insisted as haunting images of Lucy burning to death swirled in his mind horrifying him.

"Monk, you tried to save her." Victor added hating to see his son so torn up.

"No Victor, I should've never left her alone this morning. If I had known that this was going to happen......" Kevin trailed off thinking about the last time he had seen Lucy. "If only I could just hold her again and tell her how much I love her."

Lucy Coe felt a pounding in her head as she slowly drifted out of her slumber. She felt rather groggy as she strained to open her eyes a bit more. She could see what looked like the stars in the distance as she cocked her head to the right. Suddenly she realized that she was moving, not on her own, but perhaps in a car.

"Kevin......Kevin.....oh my head. Where am I?" she questioned in a hoarse whisper as her head lazily fell back onto the head rest.

"Lucy, I didn't realize that you were awake." the voice replied as Lucy realized that it was strangely familiar, yet couldn't quite place it. "It's not time for you to wake up yet."

"Please, let me go. I need to see Doc and tell him....." Lucy trailed off realizing how weak she was as she tried to force herself to look at the person driving the car.

"Don't worry Lucy, I won't kill you until you get a chance to say a proper good-bye to Kevin. Now it's nap time." the voice explained as Lucy noticed a black glove covered hand holding a gray cloth being brought to her face.

"No!" she insisted trying to protest as she realized her hands were tied up. She tried to squirm around in her seat, but she was still too weak as the powerful hand pressed down upon her face until the world around her faded to black once more.

"Kevin, what's going on?" Scott questioned as Eve helped him walk over to Kevin and Victor. "Where's Lucy?"

"Garcia's men weren't able to get into the building before it exploded." Kevin began not knowing how to break the news to Scott.

"Well, we don't know for sure that Lucy was in there." Scott insisted not wanting to think the worst as the look on Kevin's face told other wise. "This could be another one of the murderers tricks."

"Kevin, what is it?" Eve questioned watching the tears forming in his eyes.

"Garcia's men found this." Kevin explained handing Lucy's wallet to Scott.

"No, this can't be." Scott replied opening it up and seeing Lucy's driver's license. "It's impossible."

"Scott," Eve began touching his shoulder as he stepped away from her.

"No, Lucy wouldn't do this to us. We all need her too much." Scott insisted shaking his head as he pulled a picture of him and Serena out of Lucy's wallet. "She wouldn't leave us without saying good-bye."

"I don't want to believe it either Scott, but until Garcia's men come back with the word on what's inside the building, we have to prepare for the worst and pray for the best." Kevin added trying to keep himself together as his heart was breaking in two.

"Kevin, you and I both know that Lucy Coe is still alive." Scott said with conviction as he watched Kevin closely. "She has too much to live for to die like this."

"Deep in my heart I want to believe that she's still very much alive, but....." Kevin began suddenly struck with an eerie feeling that Lucy was in danger. He closed his eyes and sensed her calling out to him somewhere.

"Monk, are you alright?" Victor questioned watching Kevin's face.

"Oh my God. She's alive. Scott's right." Kevin replied opening his eyes as he glanced over the group. "I can feel it. She's still alive somewhere."

"How can you be so sure?" Eve questioned in confusion as Garcia approached the group.

"Well, what did you discover?" Scott questioned eager to hear the news on the building.

"My team went inside and we didn't find Lucy, but we found this." Garcia replied holding up a piece of paper in a plastic bag.

"What is it?" Eve questioned in confusion as Garcia pulled it out of the bag.

"It's a note for Kevin." Garcia replied handing the paper to Kevin. "Does this mean anything to you?"

Kevin took the note in hand and noticed the words, "I'll be waiting Doc," written on the top of the page in what appeared to be red lipstick with a freehand drawing of a merry go round on the bottom.

"Kevin, do you have any idea what this means?" Scott questioned in confusion as he looked over Kevin's shoulder.

"I know precisely what this means." Kevin replied feeling his finger tips grow numb as everything suddenly dawned upon him.

"Well don't keep us in suspense Kevin. Lucy's life may depend on it." Scott added watching the dark silence fall over Kevin.

Chapter 16
Ghosts from the past

Lucy was greeted by a musty smell as she opened her eyes and found herself bound in the middle of a gray tiled room. She strained her eyes to focus on her surroundings as another foul aroma invaded her nostrils. Cocking her head to the left, she noticed something running along the floor towards the drain inches from her feet. The longer she looked at the liquid, the more she realized the red spill in front of her appeared to look like blood.

Suddenly her heart started pounding as she wondered if she was slowly bleeding to death. She began to struggle to move, but realized that she was still bound tightly by the ropes as she was earlier in the car. She opened her mouth to scream for help, but nothing more than a muffled cry escaped her lips as she felt the gag upon her mouth. Her eyes followed the splatter of blood across the floor until she gazed up at it's source: a large slab of freshly cut beef hanging from the ceiling with a hook dug deep in the top of it. She noticed a table next to the beef with various knifes and hooks spread out across it.

"You've got to find a way out of this Lucy. If whoever hung that comes back, the last thing they're going to be thinking about is having a conversation." she thought to herself as she began to squirm a bit more loosening the ropes around her hands a bit with each movement. Finally after struggling a few more minutes, she was able to break free of the binding and pull the gag off of her mouth.

"I'm okay." she told herself as the foul aroma filled her nostrils and she finished untying her legs pulling herself up to run away. She paused for a moment and looked around the small room wondering where she was for a moment when she noticed a large freezer door across the room.

"You don't have time to think about where you are Lucy. You've just got to find a way out of here before the kidnapper comes back and end up like that slab of beef." she reminded herself as she found the exit and rushed over to the door pulling on the knob until it opened to reveal another darkened room.

"No time to worry about dark and scary places. You've got more important things to worry about." she began taking a deep breath as she stepped into the darkness praying that she'd be able to escape.

"Monk, you can't be seriously thinking about going after the murderer like this? There's no telling what their capable of under these circumstances." Victor questioned in confusion as Kevin entered the Lighthouse determined to put an end to the madness once and for all. "What if this is another one of their tricks that leads you to nothing but a dead end?"

"It's a chance I'm going to have to take Victor. I can't leave Lucy's life hanging on like this. There's no telling what he'll do if I don't get there soon enough." Kevin explained reaching into his closet and looking for the box he had hidden inside. "Besides, the murderer made a point of making sure I knew precisely what that clue was."

"But Monk, it's too dangerous. Whoever you're dealing with obviously knows you very well and is looking for a way to shake you up." Victor insisted with fear in his eyes as Kevin disappeared into the closet. "At least let me go with you."

"No!" Kevin replied stepping into the room again after retrieving the object he was looking for. "It would be too dangerous for you to come along Victor especially if the murderer wants to recreate the last time I was in that place."

"Maybe I could do something to help......" Victor suggested handing Kevin his jacket.

"The best help you can be is to stay here in case he tries to make contact again Victor." Kevin began with a sigh. "There's no telling what he's capable of under the circumstances if he's not able to get a hold of me."

"I just wish that it didn't have to be this way." Victor began sadly thinking the worst as Kevin prepared to leave. "I can't bear to think of what is happening to Lucy right now."

"You and me both. You know, I should've seen all the clues earlier on in this investigation, but I was too closed minded to see what was going on before my very eyes." Kevin explained opening his closet doors and looking around the lighthouse. "I just pray that Garcia and I make it in time."

"Just be careful Monk." Victor warned him as Kevin turned around with a fire burning in his eyes.

"I will Victor and I promise you this. When it is all over, I'll be back with Lucy." Kevin replied slipping out into the night ready to face one of his biggest fears.

"Scott, I really wish that you would take me with you." Eve insisted as they reached the door to her apartment.

"Eve, you heard Kevin and Garcia back there. It's too dangerous for you to be tagging along on this one." Scott explained trying to dismiss his own thoughts of fear as he looked into her eyes. "Eve, you have to promise me that you'll stay here until it's all over. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Scott, I'll lock the doors as soon as you leave but," Eve began feeling her heart pound in her chest as she reached out to hug Scott, "please be careful. If Kevin's right about all of this, then there's no telling what could happen once you get there."

"I promise I'll be all right." Scott replied holding her tightly as he smelled her sweet perfume. "Eve?"

"Yes?" she questioned looking up at him with worried eyes.

"When this is all over you and I need to talk." Scott explained running his hand along the side of her face. "There's so much that I need to tell you."

"Scott, before you say anything else, I think there's something you should know...." Eve began thinking about what Kevin had told her about Lucy.

"Eve, it can wait." Scott whispered tracing the outline of her lips as he began leaning forward.

Eve closed her eyes leaning up against the door and realizing how much she still loved Scott as she felt his warm breath upon her. She thought of how this may be the last time that they could ever see each other and fear filled her heart. She reopened her eyes and gazed up at him as the distance between them decreased.

"Eve, I just wanted to say that even afterall that's happened I'm still very in......." Scott began as the door came flying open knocking Eve backward into Chris's arms.

"Eve, nice of you to drop in on me." Chris laughed lightly holding her in his arms as he glanced up at Scott. "Baldwin, what are you doing here?"

"I was making sure that Eve made it home safely." Scott explained as Eve regained her composure.

"Of course she'd make it home safely Scott. Since when have you started becoming her personal bodyguard?" Chris questioned with a hint of sarcasm. "If you haven't noticed, your services are unnecessary."

"That's not up to you to decide." Scott snapped back at him. "And quite frankly it's none of your business."

"Oh is that so?" Chris questioned raising an eyebrow as he placed his arms around Eve's shoulders protectively. "For your information, I make it my business when my best friend is involved. Is this man bothering you?"

"Chris, it's fine." Eve replied gazing over at Scott. "Scott and I were just talking."

"Well Ramsey, maybe you should spend more of your time worrying about your own life instead of butting into Eve's?" Scott began with a hint of anger.

"I wouldn't worry so much if you weren't constantly trying to hurt her Baldwin. What? Do you get your kicks off of toying with her emotions?" Chris questioned stepping up to Scott.

"That's enough." Eve insisted stepping between the two men. "Right now there is a killer on the loose and Lucy's life may be in danger."

"Lucy Coe?" Chris questioned in confusion.

"Chris, Kevin believes that Lucy was kidnapped by the General Homicide murderer and he and Scott are going to go with Garcia to find her." Eve explained turning her attention back to Scott. "You'd better be going now if you're going to make it in time."

"Alright," Scott sighed reaching out to take her hand in his, "just be careful while I'm gone."

"I will." Eve assured him as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I promise that I'll stay here with Chris until I hear from you or Kevin."

"Good because I just don't want to see anything happen to you." Scott replied gazing over at Chris.

"She'll be in good hands." Chris added stepping closer to Eve as he glared at Scott.

"Good-bye Eve." Scott said before turning away.

"Good-bye Scott." she whispered following Chris back into the apartment and locking the door behind them.

As Lucy wandered through the maze of hallways, she found herself in struggling to find her way out of the darkness. She placed her arms out and felt the walls closing in around her. She ran her fingers along the textured walls overcome by an eerie feeling of familiarity when she suddenly heard music playing in the distance.

"What is that?" she questioned following the sound as it grew louder. She stopped to listen for a moment and realized that it sounded like carnival music.

Suddenly it dawned on her that carnival music, meant a carnival which in turn meant people. She rushed towards the sound hoping to find an exit when she noticed a faint light about twenty feet ahead of her. She moved towards the light realizing that it was some type of door in the distance.

Reaching the door, she ran her hands along the wall searching for some type of knob until she felt something on the wall. She pressed it inward and the wall slid open to reveal a carousel before her eyes. She watched as the painted horses moved up and down as the carousel spun around. She stepped into the room suddenly struck with a feeling of deja vu when she heard a noise in the distance.

"Lucy!" the familiar voice called out to her. "Lucy, where are you?"

"Doc?" she cried out realizing it was Kevin. "Doc, I'm over here."

"Lucy," he smiled appearing out of the shadows, "I was so afraid I wouldn't find you."

"Thank God you're here." she replied rushing over to him as he wrapped his arms around her. "I was so afraid that I was never going to see you again when I was taken from the hospital. The last thing I remember was going out to my car after I saw you with Eve and getting inside, but after that the world went black and that monster took me. Kevin, we need to get out of here."

"Relax Lucy, you're safe now." he whispered running his fingers through her long hair. "Everything's okay. Kevin's here."

"Doc, we need to get out of here before......." she trailed off looking into his eyes and noticing something was different. "Doc?"

"What is it Lucy?" he questioned watching her take a step back.

"It's this place." she replied gazing at her surroundings. "We're in the same place that Ryan..........oh my God."

".......burned to death?" he questioned raising an eyebrow as he took a step forward. "Is that what you were going to say Lucy?"

"No, it can't be." she insisted shaking her head as she took a step backwards.

"What's the matter Lucy? Don't believe in ghosts?" Ryan questioned in laughter seizing her in his arms.

"Let go of me you monster!" Lucy yelled kicking and trying to wiggle out of his grasp as he tightened his grip around her squeezing around her chest tightly.

"Not so fast Lucy." Ryan whispered as she let out a cry for air. "The party's just beginning."

"I always told you that getting involved with Scott and Kevin would lead you into trouble." Chris spoke up breaking the silence as Eve stood at the window staring out into the night.

"I can't help but think that they're in danger." Eve sighed turning around to face Chris. "I keep getting this feeling that they're heading into a trap."

"Eve, that's not your concern right now." Chris explained moving towards her as he placed his hand on her shoulders. "Right now you should be thanking your lucky stars that psycho kidnapped Lucy instead of you...not that I'm heartbroken about her disappearance."

"Chris, do you hear what you're saying?" Eve questioned in disbelief. "You're talking about someone's life right now."

"Eve, I'm talking about a person who was willing to let you fry for the murders in this town." Chris reminded her as she walked away from him. "For all you know, she could be the one behind all of this in an attempt to make everyone worry about her. She and Kevin haven't exactly been seeing eye to eye lately and after she saw you there at the Halloween party with Kevin Collins, there's no telling what she's capable of."

"Lucy wouldn't fake her own kidnapping.....especially not now." Eve insisted shaking her head as she thought about what Kevin had told her. "Besides, she and Kevin had made up the night of the party. He was with Lucy when he disappeared."

"But I thought that you said he went to see Garcia?" Chris questioned in confusion.

"That's what he intended on doing, but Victor and Luke Spencer tricked both Lucy and Kevin into ending up with one another for the evening." Eve explained taking note of the expression on Chris' face. "What?"

"You know, I always thought that Kevin was different than Scott, but now I see that they're both the same......." Chris started in anger as he stepped across the room. "If I would've known that he was going to use you like that........"

"Chris, Kevin and I are just friends." Eve reminded him as Chris faced her again. "Besides this has nothing to do with Kevin right now. This is about Lucy and the General Homicide murderer. I just hope that they find her before it's too late."

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow morning Lucy has magically turned up again unharmed." Chris added cynically.

"She's not behind this Chris." Eve insisted watching him stare at her skeptically.

"You don't know that Eve. Maybe this is her way of dealing the deal with the good Doctor before pointing the finger at you. You said that the person who called Kevin used your cell phone right?" Chris questioned knowingly.

"Well, yes, but......." Eve began shaking her head.

"But nothing Eve." Chris interrupted moving towards her. "This could be Lucy's way of trying to stick it to you one more time just to show you who's on top. If she gets you be behind bars, then she doesn't have to worry about losing Kevin or Baldwin."

"She doesn't have to worry about that now." Eve replied quietly turning away from Chris. "She already has Scott."

"Not from the looks of the way he was pawing you in the hallway. In fact, it took all my will power not to slug him back there." Chris added watching Eve raise her hands to her face. "Eve, what is it?"

"Chris, Lucy's pregnant." Eve replied breaking into tears as Chris held her tightly in his arms.

"What's the matter Lucy?" Ryan questioned after he finished securing her ropes once more. "Not happy to see me again?"

"How could you do this?" Lucy asked feeling her heart pounding.

"Well, it was quite simple. My dear brother set the framework for my comeback with that book and all I needed to do was find a willing co- conspirator which wasn't so hard around Port Charles." Ryan explained with a chuckle. "It was almost too easy in fact, although I must admit that there were a few wrinkles that were in need of ironing out.........like you for instance. My brother was so damn persistent on marrying you, but I couldn't let that one happen."

"You had someone help you ruin my wedding?" Lucy questioned in disbelief.

"No Lucy, you did that one on your own with that feud between you and Dr. Lambert, although I must admit that I was quite impressed. Siphoning gas, now that was original." Ryan added approvingly as he moved closer to her. "Too bad brother dear didn't think so."

"You're going to pay for this Ryan." Lucy spat at him as she struggled to move.

"On the contrary, it's Kevin that's going to pay dearly Lucy." Ryan explained touching the side of her face. "You know I never quite understood what it was that Kevin saw in you until lately. You were always such a manipulative, self centered, egotistical snob, that I couldn't quite see the appeal."

"Ryan, please don't hurt me." Lucy whispered choking back tears as she grew sick at his touch.

"In fact if I recall correctly, the last time we were alone together, you told me how horrible I was." Ryan continued ignoring her cries as he leaned down next to her. "Of course, you thought that I was Kevin and I tried to get beyond your mindless bantering long enough to make love to you, but you just couldn't do it, could you Lucy?"

"Ryan please......." she cried out as he ran his hand along the curve of her leg.

"Now who's in control Lucy? You don't have Luke Spencer here to save you this time." Ryan explained trailing his finger along her calve.

"You don't want to do this Ryan." Lucy insisted ready to crawl out of her skin at his touch.

"Actually Lucy," Ryan began with a devilish grin as he removed his hand, "you're right. I wouldn't touch you if my life depended on it. In my eyes you're nothing but used goods, but in Kevin's well once again that's another story........"

"Ryan, you made a mistake kidnapping me." Lucy insisted trying to think of a way out of the situation. "Kevin could care less about me right now. In fact, I hardly ever cross his mind anymore."

"Oh Lucy, do you honestly expect me to believe that hopelessly devoted Kevin would forget you so soon?" Ryan questioned in amusement as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"It's true Ryan. He's moved on with his life and I'm the last person that he'd worry about." Lucy explained sitting up straighter as she began loosening her ropes a bit. "In fact, after all the horrible things I've done lately, he's lost all faith in me and realized that I was totally wrong for him. He wants nothing to do with me."

"Gee Lucy, your dark side is the only thing I find appealing about you." Ryan admitted kneeling down before her.

"Maybe you and I could explore my dark side together Ryan. You could show me how to evolve." Lucy started flashing him a smile. "We could forget about Kevin and move on together."

"Why would I want you Lucy?" Ryan questioned in disgust. "I already explained to you that I'm not interested in you."

"Maybe I can change your mind Ryan. Together we could take Port Charles by storm. With my connections and your brains anything is possible." Lucy suggested feeling her ropes loosening.

"Is that so?" he questioned thinking it over for a moment. "I don't trust you Lucy."

"It's true Ryan." she insisted forcing a smile. "Now if you just loosen these ropes I can show you how much I mean it."

"Why Lucy," Ryan began with a grin as he hovered above her inches from her face, "what kind of fool do you take me for?"

"But......." Lucy trailed off as she reached out behind her and tightened her ropes once more.

"You're not going anywhere," he replied menacingly as he stepped back towards the wall, "but you are right about one thing. I need more than just you to bait Kevin. I suppose that I'll have to improvise."

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked watching Ryan turn a knob on the wall.

"I'm just making sure that you don't get too comfortable back here. We wouldn't want you to get your hopes up with any thought of escape." Ryan replied showing her the gas line that he had just turned on. "Look at it this way, if you're right about Kevin, then you'll die alone, but if you're wrong, then you and Kevin can both die here together in each other's arms. Now isn't that poignant?"

"Ryan, please don't do this." Lucy pleaded listening to the sounds of the gas seeping out of the pipe.

"Don't worry Lucy, it's not as bad as it seems." Ryan explained leaning before her once more. "In about an hour that furnace over there is due to come on and poof, you'll go up in smoke with only a few moments to left before your flesh is eaten away from the flames.........that is if the fumes don't kill you first."

"Ryan, you can't do this." Lucy pleaded struggling against the ropes. "I can't die like this."

"Don't worry Lucy, I'll be sure to tell Kevin that your last thoughts were of him before you died. Now I have to run along." Ryan explained with a wave. "Happy trails Lucy."

"No!!" Lucy shouted struggling to break free of the ropes as Ryan walked down the hall laughing as he thought of his next plan. He closed the door behind him at the end of the hallway as he used the cell phone in his hand and waited for an answer.

"Hello Eve, it's me." he began with a smile pleased that she was home. "Listen, I know that the timing isn't the best right now, but I need to ask you another favor. It's very important that you come here right away."