Tommy heard the screams and the shouts as he made his way through the park. His initial reaction was to ignore it and mind his own business, but somehow, he couldn’t. Simone taught him to help others, and just because his mother wasn’t around now, he still considered her words. He decided his errand could wait, and he ran towards the cries.

He arrived in time to see the girl from Kelly’s being dragged away as her boyfriend lay unconscious on the ground. Tommy saw that there were two men with the girl and decided that waking up the boyfriend would be the better choice.

Nikolas felt someone pushing him. His head pounded in his skull. Where was he and what happened, he questioned himself. Then, he remembered. Opening his eyes, he sat upright and screamed, “Dawn!”

Ignoring the pain in his head, he stood and tried to run, but stopped when he felt hands grab him from behind. He turned sharply and faced the person behind him. The hands belonged to a boy who may have been his age. His clothes didn’t fit him properly so Nikolas wasn’t too sure about the age. One thing he was sure of was this boy wasn’t one of the men who took Dawn.

“She’s gone,” Tommy said quietly, holding out the wallet he had picked up. He guessed that the wallet would have to be his. The leather was expensive and matched his expensive clothes and shoes.

“I can see that,” Nikolas replied, taking the wallet from Tommy and putting it in his pocket. He regretted his tone the second he said words. “I apologize. It’s not your fault. Did you see what direction they took her?”

“Not really,” Tommy said. “I heard the screams, but by the time I got here, they were dragging her through the bushes.”

“Which bushes? Maybe I can catch up with them.”

“Those bushes,” Tommy replied, pointing. “They’re probably long gone by now.”

“Well, I have no intentions of standing here wondering about it. I’m going after them,” Nikolas said as he headed toward the bushes that Tommy indicated. His head was killing him, but a headache was minor compared to what Dawn may be going through. Nikolas thought about Lizzie’s recent assault here a few months ago. He was determined he would find Dawn before the same happened to her.

“I’m going with you,” Tommy answered. If someone had helped him and his mother all those years ago, they wouldn’t have had to suffer. Tommy joined Nikolas and the two of them went through the bushes in search of Dawn.

Alex asked himself for the tenth time why did he decide to come to the Port Charles Grill. Dawn was meeting Dara, and it wasn’t like Dara needed his services anymore.

Alex looked across the dining area and saw Dara sitting at a window table. Her eyes were focused on something outside. Her energy and excitement was so strong that Alex could feel it as he stood by the bar.

He contemplated whether or not he should walk over. He decided against it and was about to leave the restaurant when Dara’s head turned and she locked eyes with him. She smiled and beckoned that he should come to her table. He couldn’t resist her invitation and soon he found himself seated across from her.

“Hi, Alex,” she smiled at him. “I think I know why you’re here.”

“You do?” he frowned. He hoped she didn’t know what brought him here, especially since he didn’t even know himself.

“Of course, you wanted to make sure Dawn arrived here safely,” she said. Her hand reached over and patted his. “Thank you.”

He watched as her hand rested on his. Her nails were nice and well manicured. Her hand felt soft, and he liked the sensation of her hand on his. He raised his eyes to hers and said, “Thanks isn’t necessary, Dara. I was glad to help.”

Dara looked down at her hand. She was surprised to see it still resting on Alex's hand. His hand felt good underneath her own, but she felt it was wrong to let it stay there. As inconspicuously as possible, she removed it and placed it in her lap.

"I called my mother. She wanted to come, but she knew it wouldn’t be a good idea. Besides, she can see Dawn when I bring her home tonight," Dara replied.

Alex smiled at her words. He knew that Dara didn't usually open up to others about her personal life. He felt happy that she was able to with him.

"I'm sorry, Alex. My rambling must be boring you…"

"No, you're not boring me. I'm happy for you. I know how anxious you and your family were to bring your sister home. I just wish I could have done more," he said quietly.

"Oh, you did plenty. Believe me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you've done," she replied with a smile. She glanced down at her watch. "Soon my sister will be here, and I can hardly wait."

Dawn gazed around the bare room as much as she could. There was no light inside and the outside street lamp wasn’t bright enough to do much good.

The men had dumped her in the room a few minutes earlier. They laughed as they told her not to go anywhere. The laugh would be on them if she could find a way out of this hell hole, she thought.

She cradled her right arm as she walked the perimeter of the room. She came and stood under the only window in the room. The window was about a foot above her head, but she felt that she could reach it. She was concerned that she wouldn't be able to hold herself up because of her arm, but she'd have to cross that bridge when she got there.

She was preparing herself to jump when she heard the voices of the men. Judging from the sound, they were right outside her door. If they intended to come in, they would have by now.

She went to the door to hear what they were saying. What happened in the park wasn’t random and she wanted answers. Maybe if she eavesdropped, she'd learn something about what was going on.

"Man, get a load of these bills," Wayne said, rubbing his side as he thumbed the cash he stole from Nikolas' wallet. His side was still sore from where Nikolas kicked him. Normally, he would hold a grudge, but the cash in his hand brought out his forgiving side.

"How much would you say was there?" Angel, the other assailant, asked.

"At least 500 bucks. Daddy must be loaded," Wayne smirked. "Check out these credit cards…platinum cards, gold cards…all for a Nikolas Cassadine."

"Did you say Cassadine?" Angel asked. He'd heard a lot about the Cassadine family. Mostly, hearsay from his deadbeat dad, but still. They were said to be a ruthless enemy when crossed.

"Yeah, Cassadine. Why? You know 'em?"

"Know of 'em. Look, we gotta dump the girl," Angel said.

"Nope. We get another 5 c's when he hand her over. We ain't dumping her," Wayne said. He counted out $250 and gave the bills to Angel. He pocketed the remaining $250 for himself. The cash and the credit cards would provide one hell of a weekend, he smiled.

"Yeah, we are. Look her boyfriend's family is crazy. We'll just tell 'em we couldn't get nobody. They won't know the difference," Angel decided. He hoped they wouldn't. Besides, he'd rather take his chances with them instead of that Greek family.

"What about Juan? He's on his way over here right now. Whaddaya gonna tell him when he sees her?" Wayne asked. The thought of giving up an additional 250 bucks because of that kid's family was beginning to piss him off. $500 for one night of work was more than he had seen in a long time, if ever.

"Look, Wayne. I'll go and head him off. Tell him we came up empty. While I'm with Juan, you set her free. Simple."

Wayne nodded and Angel went outside to wait for Juan. Wayne was gonna miss that other $250, but maybe Angel was right. He usually was, Wayne thought. The time alone with the girl was just what he wanted anyway. He smiled to himself when he remembered how she struggled. She had a great body, and he couldn’t wait to see her really put up a fight. Oh, yeah, he thought, he liked a woman that put up a fight.

Chapter 26