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Lucky left school and went to Jason’s penthouse. When he arrived, Renaldo was at the front door. “Hello, Mr. Spencer” he said. “Hi Renaldo, is Jason inside?” Renaldo nodded and went inside to alert his boss that Lucky Spencer wished to see him. When he returned, he ushered Lucky inside.
Jason was standing by the window talking to Michael when Lucky entered. The scene presented a side of Jason that Lucky had never seen before and it made him feel a stab of guilt for his role in getting Michael’s kidnapper off with a mere slap on the wrist. Lucky was forced to push those thoughts aside when Jason turned to look at him. “Hello, Lucky. Long time no see.” Jason spoke as he walked to gently place Michael in his bassinet. “What can I do for you today?”
Lucky cleared his throat. He did not know quite where to begin, so he figured he would just start from the beginning. “Well, you know I am no longer living at home with Luke, and I would guess you know that I had been staying at Elizabeth Webber’s grandmother’s house until a couple of days ago.” Lucky paused and saw Jason was waiting in amused silence for him to get to his point. “You are probably also aware that when I left there, Elizabeth came with me.” He paused again and cleared his throat. He did not know how far he should go in explaining their situation and wished he could be sure that he knew how Liz would feel about this. “You see I am aware that my father had you put a guard on me.”
Jason chuckled in response, what more could he expect from Luke’s son. Luke had warned Jason that Lucky would spot the guard, but Jason had not believed him. The kid had learned well. “I will not be able to remove your guard. If I do, your dad would just make me put another one on you. Please save me the trouble of having to do that, Lucky.” Lucky signed and smiled. “Actually Jason, I don’t want you to take the guard off, I want you to put another one on. I want this guard to follow Liz and watch over her when I can’t. I think she may be in danger. I would feel a lot better knowing that she was protected when I am not around.” Lucky finished and his eyes met Jason’s amused ones.
“Lucky, this is a rather unusual request. I thought you didn’t want your father to know your whereabouts.” Jason waited for a response. He could always tell if someone was lying and waited for Lucky’s response before he made his final decision. “Jason, if you did not have the guard on me, Luke would find another way to keep tabs on me. Since I don’t want him in my face I prefer the guard. I always figure that if I want to do something that Luke doesn’t need to know about I can temporarily lose the guard.” Jason laughed out loud at this. He never knew how much alike the two Spencer men were. Not only were they alike when it came to covert operations, but they would both do anything to protect a loved one, and Jason could see by the look on Lucky’s face when he spoke of Liz that he was head over heals in love with her. “Alright, Lucky I will add the additional guard, he will know where Liz is every moment of the day. He will be on extra watch when you are not around.”
Lucky sighed with relief and knew that Liz would be safe. “If the guards spot anything unusual, alert me immediately, and thanks” he said. He was headed towards the door when he turned and said, “Oh Jason, one more thing. I would appreciate you keep this meeting confidential. I see no reason why Luke needs to know.”
“No promises, Lucky. If he asks me I won’t lie,
but I won’t volunteer the information either.” Jason smiled as Lucky
nodded and turned to leave the penthouse. “Thanks, man. I really
appreciate everything.” With that Lucky left to meet Liz at Kelly’s.
He knew he would have to tell her about the guard, he could only hope that
she realized he had done it because he cared about her.
Chapter 8
Lucky and Liz were walking back to the catacombs after the dinner shift at Kelly’s. It had been a slow night and Liz spent the majority of the shift pondering her conversation with Sarah. Had someone really been in her Gram’s house yesterday while she was there? She had been waiting to be alone with Lucky to tell him, but now she could not find the words. What if he thought she was imaging it? Throughout the walk she was lost in her own thoughts.
“Liz. Elizabeth. Elizabeth Webber!!” Lucky had been talking to Liz the whole way back about his day. He suddenly realized she hadn’t been paying a bit of attention to him. “Huh, Oh Lucky, I’m sorry. What did you say?” Liz said, though he could tell she was still distracted. He stopped and sat on a fallen tree in the woods. “Liz sit down. What is the matter with you? You have been distant all evening. Did something happen today before I got there?”
Lucky was so considerate, Liz thought. She knew that she could tell him her fear and he would not laugh or think she was imagining anything. “Sarah was waiting for me outside Kelly’s when I got there this morning. She asked me if I was at Gram’s yesterday because she noticed the window to my bedroom was open when she went upstairs. The thing is Lucky, I closed the window when I left because I didn’t want Gatsby to get out. Sarah also said that the hall closet door was open when she went upstairs. We never leave that door open because Gatsby likes to hide in there and has been known to get locked in.” Liz paused and realized she had been rambling. It just felt so good to have someone listen to her. Her eyes met Lucky’s and she felt safe again.
Lucky was listening to Liz and was suddenly certain that he had made the right choice in meeting with Jason. He was now convinced that Liz was not alone yesterday and that he blamed himself for the danger she was in. He should have gone with her. He dinn’t want to frighten Liz further, but he knew he had to tell her about his meeting with Jason. He didn’t want to discuss it out in the open though, he didn’t know who was watching and listening. For the benefit of any unwelcome ears Lucky said, “I am sure it will be fine Liz.” He took her hand and reassuringly looked into her eyes. He stood and began to walk with a quickening pace to the catacombs. He kept is hold on her hand for the rest of the walk.
The man in the shadows grunted in frustration. He knew that Lucky was holding back. There was no way of knowing what he was up to now. He would just have to bide his time. He could not sneak into the catacombs without being spotted or heard by Lucky. Damn the kid was such a nuisance. He would have to do something about him one of these days if he wanted his angel with him again.
Chapter 9
Lucky didn’t look at Liz or speak again until they reached the catacombs and entered their room. Liz was not sure what to feel. Initially she was hurt that he would brush her off so quickly, but she could tell he had something on his mind. Lucky turned to her after he put the lantern down, his face was full of concern. “Liz, I’m sorry I cut you off back there. I didn’t want to say something that uninvited ears may have overheard.” He watched her face as he and saw the fear return to her eyes. “Wh- what are you talking about Lucky?” Liz stammered. Lucky told Liz what his dad used to say about feeling as though you are being watched and he explained that her conversation with Sarah was only confirmation that someone had been watching her the other day. “Liz, I’m sorry and I don’t mean to scare you but I believe that whoever raped you is still interested in you and may be biding his time before he can strike again.”
Liz’s knees suddenly felt wobbly so she sat down on her sleeping bag and sighed. She felt better now that it was said and out in the open. She had a sinking feeling about this ever since her trip to her Gram’s house. She looked at Lucky and could tell by the look on his face that there was something else he needed to tell her. “What else?” When Lucky hesitated she said in a firmer voice, “What else Lucky? I need to know.”
Lucky sat down next to Liz on her sleeping bag and told her about his meeting with Jason. He told her about the guard that Luke had Jason put on him when he first left home and about the request he made to Jason that afternoon. “Don’t you see Liz, I couldn’t be with you twenty four – seven and I wanted you to have protection even when I wasn’t there. I couldn’t be responsible for that animal touching you again” Lucky finished miserably. He stared at Liz trying to read her emotions.
“Oh Lucky” Liz sighed “you were never responsible for what happened to me that night. It’s just like you always tell me, you didn’t do anything wrong, *he* did.” Liz looked at Lucky her eyes filled with everything she felt for him. “I appreciate your concern for my safety, but I am not sure how I feel about having someone watching my every move. I mean even if I know he is there, there are some things that are private. What do I do then?”
“Liz from what I can tell the guard will only watch from a distance, but close enough to help in case something happens. Besides for those private moments, I have perfected several techniques to lose him for a few minutes. I will share them with you only if you promise to use them when I am with you.” He smiled tentatively and saw her slowly return his smile. “Please don’t be mad. I didn’t tell Jason why I wanted you guarded or what happened to you. I just want you to be safe Elizabeth,” he said quietly.
“Thank you Lucky. I appreciate your help. I won’t try and lose the guard unless I am with you. I don’t want to know he is there though. He will just be a quiet observer right?” She looked into his eyes. “Liz, I promise you won’t even know he is there,” Lucky said.
Neither of them realized how close they were sitting to each other until that moment. Liz was so comfortable next to him. He was so beautiful and she had never felt more for him. She still could not believe that she was there with him. Lucky was lost in her eyes. He wanted to feel her in his arms. More than anything at that moment he wanted to kiss her. He wanted to feel her lips against his and wondered if they would feel as soft and taste as good as they looked. Liz saw her emotions reflected in Lucky’s eyes. She wanted him to kiss her, she couldn’t believe it, but she actually wanted that. She was lost in his eyes and was anticipating the feel of his lips on hers. Lucky was just starting to move closer, he could feel her breath on his face, when there was a loud screech from outside.
Startled, they both jumped apart quickly. “Raccoons,” Lucky said hoarsely. He could not believe how close he had been to kissing Liz. Liz was shaken with disappointment. The moment was lost, however. “I guess we should be getting to sleep,” Lucky said. He leaned over and gave Liz a quick kiss on the cheek and turned the lantern out.
Chapter 10
Liz was working a slow pre-dinner shift lost in her thoughts about the night two weeks ago when Lucky had almost kissed her. She wished that she had had more courage and told him that she had wanted him to do it. She had waited for the opportunity to present itself again but so far it had not. She realized that her feelings for Lucky were growing stronger every day. She smiled as she thought about the night before when Lucky had said he wanted to take her out. “I think we should do something fun for a change,” he had said. How about we work the pre-dinner shift tomorrow. Ruby said she could handle it if we wanted a night off. I want to take you out somewhere nice for dinner and then maybe we could catch a movie or walk on the docks.” Lucky had been so cute. She could tell he was nervous. She smiled and said “Lucky, it would be my pleasure. We can leave right from Kelly’s.” She did her best to hide her excitement. Liz was anticipating many stolen moments this evening.
The bells chimed announcing the arrival of a customer and shaking Liz from her reverie. She looked up and smiled. “Hello there” she said as she smiled warmly relieved that it was a regular and not someone she had to impress for her tip. “Long time no see,” she said as she handed him a menu.
He smiled thinking how his luck was holding. She was there alone for him to savor. “I’ve been fine. Things have been pretty busy. I can’t even believe that it is Friday already.” Making conversation with her was so easy. He only wished he could tell her what he was really feeling. She looked so beautiful as always. How he wanted to touch her again. “How is school going? Aren’t you almost done for the year?” He smiled as he asked. “Oh yeah, only one more week and we are free for the summer. I can hardly wait, three whole months with no homework or studying!” She laughed as she finished.
“Hey Liz you almost ready to g-, Oh I’m sorry,” Lucky stopped and looked at Liz’s customer. He smiled in recognition “Oh hi he said. Haven’t seen you around in a while. How are things going?” Lucky asked. He really didn’t care, he just wanted to get on with his evening and the date he had planned with Liz. “Just fine, been busy with all that has been going on lately,” the man responded, he could have killed that Lucky Spencer at that moment.
“Liz why don’t you turn our friend’s order in and let’s get out of here,” Lucky said, then turned his head to the customer “Big date tonight” he said noting Liz’s cheeks turn red. “Alright Lucky,” give me five minutes” Liz replied. “What can I get you?” she asked. “Just a lemonade. I was thirsty and thought I would stop in for a glass of the best in town before calling it a day” he replied hoping his disappointment did not come through.
Liz turned away and gave his order to Ruby. She removed her apron and went to join Lucky outside. The man turned away in disgust. It was not his day after all.
Chapter 11
Lucky and Liz were walking along the docks after a dinner at the Outback. Liz was lost in her thoughts. Things were going between with Lucky lately, she did not know where their relationship was headed, but she was not worried about getting closer to him. It seemed that the only dark cloud over her life was the fact that her rapist was still at large. She had not had any more incidents when she felt unsafe or felt like unwelcome eyes were watching her, mainly because she knew that Jason’s guards were always watching. She only hoped that this new found sense of security was not false. She had called PCPD two days ago and Detective Taggert in his frustratingly polite way informed her that no new leads had presented themselves. To make matters worse school was out in a week and they still had no more evidence linking Mr. Murty to the attack. She had hoped that he would have been caught and behind bars by now. Liz sighed audibly making Lucky tense next to her.
“What is it Liz?” Lucky asked gently. Liz turned towards him he had such a look of concern on his face. “It’s nothing Lucky. Let’s not spoil our evening, I’m having such a great time.” Lucky smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I am too, it is nice to go out for a change. I feel like I forced you in to a rut of school and working just so I could be with you.” Lucky looked guilty and Liz’s heart melted. “Lucky, I made my own choices and I could not be happier than I am right now. Believe me I would have been in more of a rut at Gram’s without you there. I can just hear her now, ‘Elizabeth you have to think positive and just forget about it” yeah right,” Liz finished.
Lucky was laughing at Liz’s impression of her grandmother. “I never knew you could do Audrey so well, you sound like me when I used to imitate my mom behind her back. I would have my dad in stitches.” Lucky realized what he had said and got suddenly quiet. He had referred to Luke as his dad without even realizing it. Liz noticed the look on his face and took his hand in hers. She squeezed reassuringly as she asked, “do you miss them Lucky?” Lucky did not want to answer, but he knew he could trust Liz. “I don’t know, I miss the way life was, but it will never be the same. The family I thought I belonged to never existed the way I thought it did. It’s just hard for me to swallow.” He looked so sad, Liz only wished she could make it better for him. “Lucky, maybe its time that you tried to build a new relationship with your dad, this time one that is based on the truth. I know he loves you, he told me.”
Lucky sighed and sat down on a nearby bench. “I just don’t know if I am ready for that. I still can’t understand how my Mom could have forgiven him. Can you?” Liz tensed at the question but answered him honestly “No, Lucky I can’t. I do think that my situation differs from your mom’s though, maybe you should ask your mom about it.” Lucky only sighed. He did not want to see his Mom until he thought he could be rational and being that he was a Spencer, that would take more time. “Yeah, someday I will” he said and then changed the subject “so what was that big sigh from you all about back there?”
Liz felt a stab of disappointment, for once Lucky was sharing his problems with her instead of listening to hers. “I don’t want to talk about it now, we can talk about my problems any time.” Liz hoped Lucky would drop it for tonight. “Alright, we will talk about it tomorrow,” Lucky said understanding. “How about we go get an ice cream cone and check out the action in town.”
Lucky helped Liz up and kept hold of her hand as they walked to Jake’s for ice cream. They sat across the small table from each other talking about everything and nothing. They laughed like neither had in a long time and they put aside their problems for one evening. They finished their ice cream and walked into town. They ran into several kids from school including Sarah and Emily. They actually had fun being part of the group again. By midnight the crowd started to break up and Lucky and Liz decided to head back to the catacombs.
Chapter 12
As they were approaching the catacombs Lucky was thinking about how relaxed he felt. He knew that they would have to face their problems again in the morning, but they still had hours to pretend to be “normal”. Liz was thinking how great it was to have someone like Lucky. She hoped that there wouldn’t be any interruptions when when they got back. They reached the entrance to the catacombs and she watched as Lucky lit the lantern. He looked so gorgeous, she could not believe she was having these feelings, she thought for sure she would never be able to. They entered their room and Lucky left her side to hang the lantern and flip the radio on.
When he turned around their eyes met. Lucky’s heart was in his throat and he was sure that she could hear it beating from across the room. She was his precious angel and for the first time he was ready to admit to himself that his feelings for her went way beyond friendship. He was in love with her. He wanted more than anything to tell her this but he had to wait for just the right moment. He looked into her eyes and lost himself there. He was aware that music was playing, but could not make out the lyrics over the thunderous beat of his heart.
Liz was in an emotional turmoil. She was standing across the room from her best friend, her rock, the one stable force in her life. When his eyes met hers from across the room she was sure that her knees would give way. She hoped that he could not see her shaking but was sure he could. When had these feelings started, she wondered. She had been so sure she would never experience any thing like this. Yet here she was standing across the room from the most important person in her life. Lucky would always be much more than a friend to her.
They stood staring at into each other’s eyes for what seemed like eternity. Finally, Lucky broke the silence, “May I have this dance, Elizabeth Webber?” he asked hoarsely as he took a couple of steps towards her. Liz had a momentary stab of fear but quickly pushed it aside, she knew that Lucky would never hurt her. “I would love to dance,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper.
They approached each other and Lucky wrapped his arms around her waist. When he touched her, his heart felt like it was going to leap out of his chest. Liz lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, the beat of her heart was so loud she could barely hear the music. Lucky deepened the embrace so that almost every inch of their bodies was touching. They danced this way for the quite some time. Finally they broke apart and looked into each other’s eyes.
Lucky knew he was going to kiss her, there was no way
he could stop it now, he had wanted this for so long. He lowered
his lips to hers and lightly brushed them over her soft ones.
Liz the soft touch of his lips on hers and realized that had been waiting
for this moment. She sighed as her lips parted in anticipation of
what was to come. When Lucky realized she was not going to pull away
he kissed her again, this time with all the emotion he had bottled up.
His kiss was not as soft as he would have liked, but he could not have
it any other way.
Liz was responding to his kiss. She wanted more
and moaned and tilted her head to deepen the kiss. Every part of
her body felt like it was on fire. Lucky’s body seemed to be glued
to hers but it still was not enough. She tentatively touched her
tongue to his. Lucky felt the jolt of electricity when her tongue
met his and he responded in kind.
The kiss seemed to last forever, but it still wasn’t long enough. They broke apart both regretting the loss even before it came. Lucky looked into Liz’s eyes “I love you, Elizabeth,” he said almost inaudibly as his lips came down to meet hers again.
Chapter 13
Liz awoke slowly the next morning. When she finally opened her eyes she found herself looking into Lucky’s smiling face. He had been watching her sleep for the last hour thinking how beautiful she was and how truly fortunate he was to have her in his life. He loved her more than he could ever have imagined possible and he was happy for the first time in months. His happiness couldn’t quite over shadow his worry, he knew Liz wanted resolution and he would help her get it if it was the last thing he did.
“Good morning sleepy head” he said as she rolled towards him. “How long have you been up? Why didn’t you wake me? Are we late for work?” Liz asked in a rush. “Don’t worry Liz, we are fine, it is only 7:00 and we are not due at Kelly’s until ten. We have plenty of time to get there and shower before the shift starts. Besides, Ruby will understand if we are a little late.” Liz relaxed “Only seven! Why are you up so early?”
She could not help but think how gorgeous he looked. Then she remembered the kiss they shared the night before and what Lucky had said. He loved her. She loved him too. For the first time in months she had a good night’s sleep. She needed to tell him what she was feeling. “Lucky, about what you said last night” she began “I want to.” Lucky had to cut her off. He didn’t want her to feel like he was pressuring her, “Liz, I don’t expect anything from you, I just wanted you to know how I felt. I love you.”
Liz smiled her heart-warming smile at him “Lucas Lorenzo Spencer Junior” she began in a half serious tone “I don’t feel any pressure from you. The fact is, I love you too.” There she had said it. It wasn’t as hard as she thought it was going to be. She looked into his eyes and smiled up at him. “I never thought I would be saying that to anyone, but Lucky you have made me almost whole again.”
He smiled into her eyes and kissed her like he had been planning to do since he woke up. When they broke apart he said, “why don’t we head out. On the way to Ruby’s we can talk about what was on your mind at the docks last night. I feel selfish for dumping my problems about my dad on you then not even hearing you out.” Lucky helped Liz up and they started heading out.
“Don’t feel guilty, Lucky. It felt good to listen to you for a change. I didn’t want to spoil that.” Liz took a deep breath then began. “I was fretting over the fact that we still did not have any more information on Mr. Murty. School will be out soon and I feel like if he is not behind bars before then it will be too late. I am afraid that he will be plotting ways to attack again with all of his spare time this summer. I don’t want to be a victim any more.” Liz finished hoping she didn’t sound paranoid or stupid. She looked at Lucky and could tell he didn’t think that was how she sounded so she went on. “I didn’t tell you, but I called Taggart a couple of days ago and they still don’t have any leads. I feel like the trail is getting cold and that they are giving up. If I don’t find him and get him to confess on my own he will never be caught.” Liz sighed.
Lucky stopped walking and took both of her hands in his. “Liz, we don’t even know for sure that Mr. Murty did it. We have a strong suspicion, yes but we just don’t know.” Lucky didn’t want to make her feel worse but he didn’t know how else to respond.
“I know that Lucky. I have this idea. Maybe we could get him to admit what he did. I have a plan. Please say you will go along with me…” Lucky and Liz started walking again as Liz began to relay her plan.
The man in the bushes had to control himself, he almost
laughed out loud. He just couldn’t believe his good fortune.
As long as Liz believed that Mr. Murty was her rapist he was free to come
and go from her life as he wanted. He only wished he could have followed
them into the catacombs last night. For some reason he just knew
that Lucky Spencer had had his hands on his beautiful angel. He would
have to deal with that and make Lucky pay for. He wanted desperately
to follow them out of the woods but he could not risk being seen.
He placated himself with the knowledge that his own plan was about to begin.
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