The Bully

Chapter Eighteen

Sonny had decided to go with Jason to talk to Zander the next morning. This had left Emily to pace the floors of the penthouse alone. She wasn't worried about their safety. Zander was no match for her boyfriend or her brother. What she was concerned about was the possibility of Sonny and Jason getting into trouble with the police because they were helping her.

"What's got you staring out the window like you're waiting for Prince Charming to come right up?"

Emily was startled for a moment. She had thought herself alone. Turning around, she found her sister-in-law, Carly, helping her three-year-old nephew, Michael, out of his jacket.

"Waiting for Sonny and Jason to get home," Emily replied as she walked over to give little Michael a hug. "I got a little lost in my own head for a minute."

Carly finished hanging her purse and Michael's jacket on the coat rack and then turned around and waved a dismissive hand. "If this is about the Zander thing, don't worry about it. That little jerk's a puppy dog going up against two junkyard pitbulls. They'll be fine, I promise."

Michael sat down on the floor to play with the two small toy cars that he had brought with him. The women took seats on the sofa.

"I'm not worried about them getting hurt," Emily shook her head. "I'm worried about them getting arrested and it being all my fault." She kept her voice low so that Michael wouldn't hear anything that he shouldn't.

Carly held up a perfectly manicured index finger. "Number one, this is NOT your fault. You didn't ask for, nor did you invite Zander's attention. This is on him, NOT you." She held up a second finger. "Number two, if Sonny and Jason were stupid enough to get caught taking care of that little weasel, they would have been locked up in Pentonville a long time ago."

"Sonny says that Detective Taggart has it out for him..."

"Oh, trust me, he does," Carly nodded and laughed. "That's why Sonny and Jason are extra careful all the time. That's now what you need to be worried about. I come bearing bad news."

Emily groaned. "What now?"

"Do you know Elizabeth Webber?"

"Yeah, she's my best friend."

"Well, then you need a new best friend, hon." Carly gave her a pitying look.

"Why?" Emily had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"That little bitch is telling anyone who will listen that you're sleeping with Sonny," Carly broke the bad news. "She's making it sound like you're a kept woman. It's only a matter of time before word of mouth reaches the Q's. I wanted to make sure you two had a heads up. Things are about to get nasty."