Previously...

Devon exposed Brett's past as a con artist but he quicly explained it away to Stormy and Miranda. Later, Devon told Brett that if he didn't give her half of his money she would tell the police he killed Bailey.  News of Ethan's death spread quickly and left James devestated and searching for answers.  Stormy kissed Lauren.  After failing to give Devon the money, Brett was arrested for murder.  Alex and Jordan prepared to fly to the Dominican Republic to find out what was going on with Brooke and Ethan.  On his private jet, James anticipated his reunion with Brooke, but the plane suffered engine damage and crashed onto the island.

 Episode 13

"Distant Locations"

The firemen stood by the wreckage just outside of Santo Domingo, spraying out small fires that sprung up from fuselage that had been thrown from the jet.  A team of U.S. medics arrived on the scene and quickly went to work.

"This one's dead," said one of the medics as he reached his arm between the collapsed cockpit where the pilot, Jake Lane was pinned.

"There's only one passenger in here," called another medic from the rear of the ruined jet plane.   "If there were any others they might have been thrown out on impact."

"What's his status?" someone asked.

The medic felt for a pulse on James's wrist.  He shook his head in hopelessness and looked up at his partners.  "He's alive, but he has a very weak pulse.   We need to get him out of here pronto."

"All right, lets go," said the other medic, bringing a canvas stretcher from the back of their vehicle.   He set it down amidst the debris from what was left of the plane and they worked at getting James's unconscious body unhooked from the seat.

"The rest of you start searching for other survivors!" said their leader.  "Until we know otherwise, we have to assume there were other people on board!"

The crew scattered around the vast jungle as the fire fighters sprayed out another patch of flames that burst up from the pile of heaping metal.

Alex and Jordan arrived in Santo Domingo and took a jeep from the airstrip.   They arrived at the Del Mar hotel and checked in to a suite.   While standing in the lobby, Alex glanced around the elegant, tropical surroundings.  

The possibilities of her being there were endless.   Brooke was there with Ethan, who was killed in an explosion.  James was there, or on his way there, perhaps to save his damsel in distress.   She couldn’t let that happen.   She’d brought that scoundrel Philip Whitacre to Los Angeles to break James and Brooke apart and she’d succeeded.  She wasn’t about to let them reunite over something like this.  If she had to, she would use her trump card.   Telling James she knew about Ethan’s paternity could be a very useful maneuver.

“Are you ready?” Jordan asked after checking in at the front desk. 

They started through the lobby to the elevator, the bellboy following behind with their bags.   The elevator doors opened and they started into the car just as Brooke was stepping off.

“Brooke, isn’t this a surprise,” Alex said, eyeing her up and down.

Frowning, Brooke looked at Alex with disbelief.  She couldn’t handle her right now.  Not after everything that had happened.   “What are you doing here?” she asked, glancing back and forth between her and Jordan.

“We heard what happened to Ethan and so of course we took Jordan’s jet straight here,” Alex replied.

“You don’t care about Ethan,” Brooke spat, eyeing her suspiciously.  “What are you up to, Alex?”

Alex chortled and looked at Jordan.  “I’m not the heartless shrew you take me for, dear,” she began.  “James and I were married for twenty-three years.  Ethan is still like family to me.”

Brooke rolled her eyes and started to walk past them.  She knew Alex was up to something but she didn’t have the energy to figure it out.   Not that she cared anyway.

“Don’t think you’re going to get out of this that easy,” Alex said, pulling her back.

“What?” Brooke asked with a frown.

“What happened to Ethan?” she asked.  “The reports were very sketchy.”

“I’m not telling you anything!” Brooke exclaimed.  “James is on his way.  That’s all that matters.  I’ll tell him everything he needs to know when he gets here.”

Alex realized that James must not have arrived on the island yet.  She decided to use it to her advantage.  “What makes you think James is coming?”

“Because I left a message with Leilani.  I told her about Ethan.”

Alex shrugged.  “As far as I know he’s working on a deal in L.A.  His studio is in dire straits.  He’s having to fight tooth and nail just to keep it afloat.  I doubt very much that he’s going to drop everything to fly off to the Caribbean   Especially when his would-be wife and his nephew were there together.   Incidentally, how did that come about?  You and Ethan being on this island together, I mean.”

“I came here to get my divorce from Philip,” Brooke replied.  “You know, the guy you went all the way to Phoenix to find and bring back with you.”

Alex’s eyes narrowed on her.  She knew Brooke would find out about her involvement eventually.   Not that it mattered.  The damage was already done.

“When are you going to learn to stay out of people’s lives, Alex?” Brooke continued.

Alex laughed.  “This coming from a tramp who now has a reputation of being a bigamist?”   She laughed again.  “That’s rich.”

Brooke glared at her with contempt.  “Go to hell, Alex,” she spat and then pushed her way past them.

“I see,” Alex called after her again.  “So Ethan came with you to give you support in your divorce proceedings?   Or was it just to keep you company on those lonely nights?  I mean let’s face it, who wants to be alone while they’re stuck in a romantic tropical paradise, right?”

Brooke knew what she was getting at.  But she was bluffing.  There was no way she could have known about her and Ethan’s night together.   She turned and raced out of the hotel into the bright afternoon sun.

Jordan raised an eyebrow and held the elevator door open for Alex.  “That was quite a scene,” he began.  “Obviously there’s no love lost between you and Brooke Taylor.”

Alex smiled.  “Why would you say that?” she asked coyly as the elevator doors shut.

Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, Brett was seated in an interrogation room at the police station.  He shook his head in frustration as Detective Baines badgered him relentlessly.

“I already told you!” Brett exclaimed, his forehead dripping sweat.  “Bailey, Devon and I were partners.   We were in business together in Vegas.”

Detective Baines, a tall, athletic, dark haired man of forty, glanced at a pad of notes and shrugged.  “Ahhh yes, R&J Tour Company.  Is that the business you’re referring to?”

Brett paused for a beat and then nodded reluctantly.  “Yes.”

“The same tour company that dozens of senior citizens claimed had taken their money with the promise of a guided tour of the city, only to have the tour guides disappear before they could board the bus.”

Brett didn’t reply.

“We’ve got statements from every one of those people you ripped off, Mr. Shively,” Detective Baines continued.  He laughed and looked down at Brett.  “That was quite the scam you had going there.   Hit every major hotel on the strip and make a few thousand in cash, right?”

Brett rolled his eyes and looked away.  He might be guilty of fraud but no way were they going to get him for murder.

Detective Baines looked back at his notes and began pacing the floor of the interrogation room.  “So you spend a few weeks in Vegas, make a few thousand dollars between the three of you.  Then what happened?”

“All you have is their word against mine,” Brett said.  “You’ll never make those charges stick.”

“Don’t be so sure,” the detective replied, then leaned down across the table from Brett.  “But that’s not what we’re really after you for, Shively.  What we want to know is what happened up in that hotel room with Bailey Freeborn.”

“Nothing happened.”

“We have eye witnesses who saw you leaving the hotel room at the Flamingo HIlton,” Baines announced.  “A maid who had just came on the afternoon shift saw you running out of the room like your pants were on fire.   She went into the room, saw that the place had been trashed, saw that the window was open, looked outside, and saw Freeborn’s body splattered all over the ground.”

“That doesn’t prove anything.”

“What happened in that room?” Detective Baines asked again.  “You struggled, we know that much.   But what about?   Was it about the business?”

Brett shook his head.  “I’m not answering any more questions without a lawyer present.”

“Tell me if I’m on the mark with this,” Baines continued.  “You got greedy, went up to your room and tried leaving with all the dough.   Freeborn caught up with you, there was a struggle, and rather than give up all that money, you pushed him out the window.  Am I right?”

“No!” Brett exclaimed.  “I didn’t push him out the window!”

Baines slammed his fists on the table and leaned in closer to Brett.  “Then how did he wind up taking a nose dive out of a ten story window?”

Brett folded his arms and stared at the wall in a daze.  He knew that if he said anything else he’d be incriminating himself.   He had to sit tight and wait for Miranda to come through with the lawyer.   He hoped to God she would.

“I don’t care what you say!  I want to see my husband now!” Miranda yelled out in the waiting room at the police station.   “We have rights, you know!  You can’t just keep me away from him!”

“Mrs. Armstrong, you have to understand that your husband has been arrested for murder,” explained the sergeant on duty behind the desk.  “You can’t see him while they’re interrogating him.”

“They shouldn’t even be interrogating him until his lawyer gets here!” Miranda replied in a shrill voice, throwing her hands up in a panic.  “It’s against the law, you know!”

“Mr. Armstrong has been advised of his rights,” said the desk clerk.  “He doesn’t have to say anything he doesn’t want to say.”

Kicking the counter with her foot, Miranda spun around, her long black hair whipping through the air.   She didn’t understand what was going on.   Brett being arrested for murder?   Who was this guy they think he killed anyway?   It didn’t add up.  Her husband wasn’t a murderer.   He just wasn’t.

“I did not kill Bailey Freeborn!” Brett insisted, growing angrier by the minute.

“We have a witness saying they saw you leave the room!” Baines replied.

“Well they’re wrong!  I wasn’t even in the room that afternoon! “  He knew it looked bad for him.   He had to do something fast.

The detective raised an eyebrow and tried to gain his composure.  “Okay, suppose you tell me where you were while Mr. Freeborn was pushed out of the window.”

Brett looked at him and shrugged.  “I was getting married,” he replied.

“Married?”

“Yes,” Brett nodded.  “I was at the Barbary Coast chapel getting married.  Check it out with them if you don’t believe me.”

Baines rubbed his forehead and pondered the new information.

“Mrs. Armstrong, thank you for speaking to us,” Baines said to Miranda a short while later in the interrogation room.  “I just have a few questions for you and then you’ll be free to go.”

“Where’s my husband?” Miranda asked defensively.

“He’s in a holding cell.”

Her expression turned to one of shock.  “You’re holding him?  What for?  He didn’t do anything wrong!”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Detective Baines replied, trying to speak in a calm voice so as not to upset the volatile young woman.  “Now, Mrs. Armstrong, your husband claims that you were getting married at the Barbary Coast chapel in Las Vegas on January 14th at around four pm.  Is that correct?”

Miranda thought back for a second.  “Yeah, that’s right.”

“How long had you known him?”

“A couple hours,” Miranda replied.

Baines let out a slight chuckle.  “A couple of hours?  Wow, that’s not long enough to get to know someone well enough to marry them is it?”

“Is there some kind of law against that?” Miranda asked with a frown.

Baines realized she was not in the mood for joking around so he got back to the matter at hand.  “You realize that you’re his alibi, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course I know,” Miranda replied, irritated.

She thought back to their Las Vegas wedding.  It was so impulsive and wild that it made the occasion all the more special to her.   The detective acted like Brett had only married her so he would have an alibi.   That was ridiculous.  Brett loved her and she didn’t believe anything different.

The medics wheeled the stretcher into the emergency room at the hospital in Santo Domingo. A doctor and several nurses rushed to the scene and began examining James immediately.

“We’ve got a U.S. citizen suffering severe head trauma,” said one of the medics as he pushed the stretcher into the examining room.  “His pupils are dilated and his pulse is weak.”

“Let’s get him into the O.R.” said the doctor.  “We’ve got to stitch that up before he loses any more blood.”

Brooke stood in the lobby at the Del Mar hotel, holding the phone to her ear as she tried to find out where James was.  She couldn’t imagine him not wanting to be there.  It just didn’t add up.

“Yes, Miss Taylor, I did give him the message,” Leilani said from the Blackthorne mansion.   “He left the house this morning.  He took his private jet.”

Brooke frowned in confusion.  “Thank you, Leilani,” she said and set the phone back on the cradle. 

She didn’t understand what had taken James so long to get there.   If he left that morning, he should have been there hours ago.   She suddenly had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, although she was sure that not much more could go wrong. 

Deciding to take matters into her own hands, she rushed out of the hotel hoping to get a ride to the airport.   Maybe she would meet James there as he was arriving.  Or maybe someone there had information on his whereabouts.

Miranda paced around the waiting room at the police station, growing more frustrated by the minute.   No one would tell her anything.  Her father’s lawyer had finally shown up and was in the interrogation room with Brett and the detective at that very minute.   She hoped they would come out before long and say that the whole thing had been a big misunderstanding.

When she turned around, she saw Devon Graham enter the police station and march up to the desk clerk. Miranda’s eyes narrowed on her and she gritted her teeth, seething at the sight of the troublemaking witch.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here!” Miranda screeched, darting across the room and physically attacking the young woman.   “This is all your fault!   You set my husband up, you bitch!  All because he dumped you!”

“Get away from me you lunatic!” Devon yelled, pushing Miranda away.

Miranda rushed toward Devon in a blind fury, her hands grappling for anything they could find.  She violently yanked the woman’s hair, slapped her face and dug her nails into her arms.   Devon tried desperately to get away from her.   Before long, two police officers were pulled Miranda away as she continued screaming.

“This is all you!” she shouted hoarsely.  “Everything was fine until you showed your ugly face here!  You’re just jealous!  You’re a jealous bitch!”

“Mrs. Armstrong, please!” the officer said, finding it difficult to physically restrain her.

Just then, Stormy and Heather arrived at the police station and raced over to help them get Miranda away from Devon.   Stormy tried getting between the two women, holding his hands up to keep them apart.

“My husband is not a murderer!” Miranda continued in a shrill voice, fighting to push her brother aside.  “You’re a lying slut!”

“Miranda!  Stop it!” Stormy ordered.

Devon chuckled heartily.  “You are so clueless,” she said.  “You didn’t even know his real name until I showed up.  What makes you so sure he isn’t capable of murder?”

“He wouldn’t kill anybody!”

“Not even for ten thousand dollars?” Devon asked, glaring at her.

Suddenly Miranda stopped her violent struggle and stared at her with wide eyes.  The image of Brett’s duffel bag full of money flashed through her mind and she staggered back a step.   She thought it was a lot of money for him to be carrying around.   Did he actually kill someone for it?  Is that was this was all about?

“Keep that psycho away from me,” Devon said, trying to regain her composure as Stormy and Heather led Miranda off to the other side of the room.  “Or I’ll have her ass thrown in jail too.”

“What is going on?” Stormy asked, looking into his sister’s troubled eyes.

She shrugged.  “They arrested Brett for murder.”

“Who did he kill?” Heather asked.

Miranda shot her a cool stare.  “He didn’t kill anybody, Heather.  It’s a mistake.  That bitch set him up!”  She glared across the room at Devon standing with the police officers.

“When did this happen?” Stormy ask.  “The supposed murder, I mean.”

“Weeks ago when we were in Vegas,” she replied.  “And once they talk to the minister who married us they’ll realize he couldn’t have killed this guy because we were getting married at that time.”

Stormy ran his fingers through his spiky black hair and sighed.  “You know, I hate to say it, but Brett is sure living up to Dad’s expectations.”

“Oh that’s just great, Stormy.  You’re supposed to be his friend and partner.  Now you’re turning against him?    Real nice.”    Miranda turned around folded her arms in frustration.  Everything was going to hell.   First the news about Ethan being presumed dead, and now this.

In Santo Domingo, Alex and Jordan stepped off the elevator at the Del Mar Hotel and walked through the lobby.   They’d managed to find out from several sources that Ethan’s jeep had been hit with by a tank assault and that no survivors were found.    There was still no word from James and no indication that he’d arrived on the island.  They glanced across the room when Juan came running inside in bated breath, racing to the desk clerk in a panic.

“Is Miss Taylor in her room?” he asked, panting. 

The clerk shook her head and Juan turned, throwing his hands up in resignation.

Frowning, Alex intercepted him before he could leave the hotel.  “Excuse me, I’m a friend of Brooke Taylor’s,” she said.  “We just flew in from L.A.  Is there news about Ethan?”

Juan shook his head.  “No, it’s about the other Mr. Blackthorne,” he said.  “He was flying in on his private jet and it went down a mile or so out of town.”

“What?” Alex exclaimed.  “James?  Are you sure?”

Juan nodded.  “Yes.  He’s at the hospital now.   I know Miss Taylor has been waiting for him.  I have to find her to tell her.”

Alex put her hand on his arm and smiled gently.  “I’ll find her for you,” she said.  “I’ll tell her.   Where is the hospital?”

Juan gave them directions and gave them the keys to his jeep.  “I have to go,” he said.  “There’s a village not far from here that’s been raided by the loyalists.   They need help.”

“You go,” Jordan said.  “We’ll make sure Brooke is taken care of.”

Juan thanked them and took off outside on foot.   Alex started to the doors and Jordan stopped her.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.

She looked at him with irritation.  “I’m going to the hospital.  I want to see how James is.”

Jordan frowned.  “Why do you care?  You can’t stand him.”

“But how would it look if we showed up at the hospital without Brooke?” she asked with a devilish smile on her face.  “Poor James will be heartbroken to hear that his true love is more concerned with her dearly departed Ethan than her husband lying in the hospital in who knows what condition.”

Jordan laughed and led her out to the jeep.  “You’re a wicked woman, Alex Reynolds,” he said.

Outside, he helped her into the jeep and then jumped into the drivers seat.   The jeep started and they drove off down the road toward the hospital.

Brooke walked up to the admitting desk at the small local airport and waited for someone to help her.  She glanced out the window, seeing the thick black smoke rising up from the trees not far off.   When a young woman appeared at the counter, she turned to her and smiled.

“I’m expecting someone on a chartered flight from the States,” she said.  “I was wondering if you could check and see if the jet has arrived.”

"The woman raised an eyebrow.  “Is it the Sunset Studios jet?”

Brooke nodded.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this,” she said, pointing out the window to the smoke rising up into the sky.   “The jet went down just before landing.”

Brooke’s eyes widened and she felt like she’d been hit with a boulder.   She shook her head in despair, unable to accept that she’d lost not only Ethan but also James.   She began trembling, tears forming on her eyelids.

“Miss, I believe there was a survivor,” said the girl.  “They were taken to the hospital.”

Brooke’s eyes flashed open with a flicker of hope.   She turned and darted out of the terminal to her jeep.  She prayed that James was alive.   If he’d been killed she didn’t think she’d be able to go on.

Alex and Jordan arrived at the hospital and spoke with the doctor who had been treating James.   He led them down the hallway and stopped outside of a recovery room.

“Mr. Blackthorne is quite fortunate,” he said.  “There were no internal injuries as a result of the crash.   He suffered a head trauma.  The good news is it isn’t as severe as we’d initially thought.    After a few stitches he was in good shape.   He’ll be in some pain for a while.  Headaches and maybe some nausea.   He’ll have to remain on the island for a few days so I can see how the wound is healing.”

Jordan put his arm around Alex.  He knew something as minor as a plane crash couldn’t keep James Blackthorne down.   They weren’t that fortunate.    “Thank you, Doctor,” he said, then looked at Alex.  “Are you ready to go?”

She shook her head.  “No, I’m going in to see him.”

“Why?” Jordan asked with a frown.

Alex smiled cleverly.  “I’m want to kick him while he’s down,” she said with a grin.  “Wait until he finds out how cozy Brooke and Ethan were getting during their stay on the island.”

Jordan smiled and followed her into the room.   They saw James sitting up on the bed, a bandage covering a wound on the left side of his forehead and a distant look in his eyes.  He looked at them and frowned.

“Jordan, what are you doing here?” he asked.

Jordan looked at Alex, perplexed.  “I came with Alex.  She wanted to see you.”

Alex nodded, a superlative grin on her face.   “That’s right.  James, there’s something I think you should know.”

He cut her off.  “Well I hope it’s that we can get out of here soon.  I don’t know how long I’ve been in here but it feels like forever. “

Confused, Alex took a step closer.  “You want to leave with us?”

“Well, not so much with Rydell,” James replied.  “But this is supposed to be a vacation, right?  We’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves and instead I’m here laid up in the damn hospital.”

Alex shook her head in amazement.  She thought her ex husband had finally flipped his lid.  What on earth was he talking about?

“Vacation?” she asked.

James nodded.  “You were so right, Darling,” he said with a smile, looking adoringly into Alex’s eyes.  “Getting away for a while was just what we needed.  What with Miranda graduating in a few weeks and Stormy just coming into his trust fund, it’s no wonder we’ve managed to keep our sanity this long.”

Alex’s eyes widened as she realized what was happening.

“Please, Darling,” James continued, reaching out for her hand.  “Can’t we please go back to the hotel?  I just want to spend one night alone with my wife before we have to go back to L.A.”

“Oh my Lord,” Jordan said in a whisper.  “You have got to be kidding me.”

“What is he doing here anyway?” James asked with a frown, glaring at Jordan.  “I thought I made it clear that I didn’t want you hanging around with this guy.   He’s a thief.   All he wants to do is steal ideas from my movies and pawn them off as his own.  Why don’t you go home, Rydell?  Take whatever bimbo you brought with you and just leave.”

“Listen, I-“ Jordan began, defensively.

Alex stopped his sentence short.  “He’s right, Jordan.  You shouldn’t be here.”  She looked at James and smiled.  “It was the funniest thing, I ran into Jordan as I was driving up to the hospital.”

“What are you doing?” Jordan asked her suspiciously.

Alex gave him a look full of warning and then looked at James with a smile.  “I’m going to go out in the hall and say goodbye to Jordan and then I’ll be right back, okay?”

James nodded.  “Hurry back, Darling.  I’m ready to get out of this ridiculous gown.”

Alex pulled Jordan out into the hallway and led him to a secluded corner.  “Don’t you see what’s going on?” she asked.  “He doesn’t know what year it is.  Miranda graduated over two years ago.  We were still happily married then.  He must have some kind of memory loss from his head injury.”

“Too bad for him,” Jordan said.  “Now come on, let’s get out of here.”

Alex pulled him back.  “I can’t,” she said.  “I have to stay.  I feel like I should…”

“Like you should what?” Jordan demanded angrily, his brow furrowed.  “He’s your ex husband, Alex.  I know you haven’t forgotten the way he tossed you out on your ear so he could carry on with Brooke Taylor!”

“No, of course I haven’t,” she insisted, her eyes darting up and down the hallway.  “I just….I just keep thinking that maybe I can use this to our advantage.”

Jordan’s tense expression relaxed a little and he dug his hands into his pockets.  “Like how?”

She shrugged.  “I don’t know,” she said.   “But I need a few minutes with him alone.”

“I’ll wait,” Jordan suggested.

Alex smiled, eyeing him seductively.  “Actually, I was thinking that maybe you should go back to the hotel and wait for me,” she said.  “Maybe when I get back we can take advantage of our romantic getaway in the tropics.”

Grinning from ear to ear, Jordan leaned in and brushed his lips against her soft, inviting neck.  “You’ve got yourself a deal,” he said in a low, throaty voice.   “You sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll take a taxi back to the hotel,” she said dismissively.

“Okay, see you in a little bit,” Jordan said before turning and walking down the hallway.

Meanwhile, Brooke steered her jeep down the road toward the hospital, fighting the tears that welled up in her eyes.   She had to remain focused.   Breaking down before she knew anything wouldn’t do anybody any good.   She had to remain strong.   If James was badly injured she would have to pull herself together and help him get through it.

She steered the jeep along the winding road, her thoughts jumbled as she tried to grasp the events of the past few days.

“Your husband should stay here for observation for at least another day,” the nurse said to Alex by the admitting desk at the hospital.   “He’s just been through a traumatic ordeal.”

“What he needs is to be home with me,” Alex insisted, grabbing the release form from the nurse and signing her name. 

“But miss Reynolds-“

Alex looked at the nurse defiantly.  “He’s my husband and I’m taking him,” she said flatly.  “I’ll bring him by tomorrow so the doctor can check his progress.”

Realizing it was no use, the nurse signed the release form as well and slammed it down onto the counter.

Back in L.A., Miranda stood up from her seat when Brett walked out of the interrogation room with their lawyer, Brandon Marksman right behind.  She ran up to him with Stormy and Heather right behind.

“What’s happening?” Miranda asked, filled with anxiety as her eyes shot between Brett and Detective Baines.  “Are you charging him?”

Detective Baines motioned for an officer to approach.  “Your husband is being charged with murder,” he said.  “His bail is set at five-hundred thousand dollars.”

“But he’s innocent!” Miranda insisted.  “We told you we were getting married while that guy was killed!”

Baines shook his head.  “That remains to be seen,” he said.  “We have to check it out with the chapel in Vegas.   Meanwhile, we have to get that maid from the Flamingo Hilton down here to identify him in a lineup.  If she says he’s the guy who she saw leaving that room, then your husband’s going down for murder one.”

Miranda shook her head in anger, reaching for Brett as the officer led him to the holding cell.   “Brett, don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here.  You won’t have to spend one night in jail.   I promise.”

She stopped and clenched her fists together as they led Brett down the hall to the holding cells.  Turning around in desperation, she ran toward Brandon and stared him in the eyes.  “We have to get him out on bail!” she exclaimed.

“Do you have five hundred thousand dollars?” he asked, shaking his head.

Miranda rolled her eyes.  “No, but my father does,” she said.

“He’s in the Caribbean,” Brandon said matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, but you’re his lawyer,” she insisted.  “Don’t you have power of attorney or something?  You can authorize it.”

Brandon shook his head.  “Miranda, I don’t think your father is in the position to be delving out that kind of money.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, looking at Stormy and then back at the lawyer.

“He’s in financial trouble,” Brandon explained.

“What?” Stormy asked in confusion.  “What kind of financial trouble?”

Brandon stuffed a few pieces of paper into his briefcase and sighed.  “He’s taken a dramatic loss from his movie,” he said.  “That’s all I can say.”

Miranda shook her head in despair.  “Well then I’ll borrow from my trust fund.”

“You can’t touch a dime of that money until you’re twenty-one,” Brandon replied.

“Damn it!  You’re supposed to be his lawyer!  Why are you being so nonchalant about this?   Do you think he’s guilty or something?” 

“Frankly, yes,” Brandon said

Miranda’s eyes flared angrily.  “You son of a-“

Stormy put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back.  “I’ll put up the bail,” he said.

She flashed him a look of surprise and then threw her arms around him.  “Thank you,” she said, then pulled back and looked into her brother’s eyes.  “I thought you weren’t on our side.”

“I’m always on your side,” Stormy replied with a smile.  He knew his sister was desperate for answers, and so was he.   The truth was they wouldn’t be able to find out anything with Brett sitting in jail.  He wanted him out so they could find out just what kind of man had manipulated himself into their family.

“I don’t understand.   Where did he go?” Brooke asked as she stood in the waiting room of the hospital in Santo Domingo. 

“Mr. Blackthorne’s wife checked him out a little while ago,” said the nurse on duty. 

Brooke frowned.  “His wife?” she asked in confusion.  “What was her name?”

The nurse looked at the sign out sheet and then back at Brooke.  “The name on the release form is Alex Reynolds,” she said, studying Brooke’s face.  “Is there a problem, Miss?”

Brooke stared off in a daze, wondering what was going on.  Why would James have went anywhere with Alex?  Especially when he knew she was there on the island.  Why didn’t he try to contact her?    It didn’t add up.

Jordan paced around their hotel room, constantly glancing at his watch as he wondered what was taking Alex so long.   It had been over an hour and she hadn’t returned from the hospital yet.

The idea of James having amnesia and thinking he and Alex were still married was like something straight out of Hollywood.   He wondered how long the setback would last.  More importantly, he wondered what Alex planned to do to use it against him.

Alex unlocked the door to a cabana on the beach several miles out of town.  She took a look around the brightly decorated beach house and led James inside. 

“Why didn't we go back to the hotel?” James asked, looking around the cozy surroundings.  “How did you find this place, Sweetheart?”

“I heard it was for rent so I thought it would be the perfect place to spend the rest of our vacation,” she replied, leading him over to the sofa and sitting him down.  “It’s so much more private than the hotel, don’t you think?”

James nodded with a smile.  “It’s lovely,” he said, then looked into her eyes.  “Almost as lovely as you.”

Alex beamed happily.  “Oh James, after all this time you still know the right things to say to a girl.”

“Well I’d better,” he said.  “I wouldn’t want to lose you to a man like Jordan Rydell.  I think that’s why he was here today.   I’ve always suspected he had designs on you.”

“James, are you jealous?” Alex asked, hitting him playfully.

He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her.  “I just like to hang on to the good things in life,” he said.  “And you my dear, are worth holding on to.”

His words send chills down her spine.  It had been so long since they’d shared a moment like this.   For so long their relationship had been surrounded by bitterness and hatred.   She’d almost forgotten how exciting it was to be in James’s arms, feeling his strength enveloping her.   It took her back to a time when she was the happiest woman alive.

“I love you, Alex” James said, then pulled her into a passionate kiss.

Alex closed her eyes, feeling waves of ecstasy course through her body.  “Oh James,” she whispered.  “I love you too.”

Next time...

Brooke and Jordan work together to try to find James and Alex.  Alex continues to manipulate James.  Alex tells Will their deal is off.  James suffers from his head injury.  Brooke gets an eyeful.  

 Read Episode 14