Howie watched from the bedroom door as Kristina stood in the kitchen sipping her morning juice. She was wearing his favorite button down shirt, her blonde hair pulled into a loose ponytail as she stared at the floor. He could tell by the way that she fidgeted against the kitchen counter, that she was consumed by her thoughts, the expression on her face pained and troubled.

"Penny for your thoughts" he said casually as he took a sip of the juice and pulled her into a warm embrace. "I expected to find you in bed with me when I woke."

"We need to talk ‘D’," Kristina said pulling away from him. "I know you have a million questions, and frankly, I need to explain this whole mess so that we can move forward."

The frigid response from her dumbfounded him, as he stood motionless, trying to take it all in. "Fiona explained the majority of situation to me, but I do have a few questions."

"I never meant to hurt you. You have to believe that" she said as she sat on the arm of the couch and motioned for him to join her.

"I know that, Kris - but what I don’t understand is why you didn’t come to me for help."

Kristina shivered remembering Sarah’s words to her when she called that day.

Noticing that she was visibly shaken, Howie cradled her in his arms. "What are you thinking about?"

"I was just thinking back to the day that we were in the hot tub and Sarah called. She begged me to tell you what was going on and to allow you to help me, but she didn’t know Stephen like I knew him. He wouldn’t have stopped until we were all dead."

"She was right. You should have come to me. I could have protected you!"

"You don’t understand how evil he is. He would have killed us all! YOU, my family, everyone would have been dead and it would have all been MY fault" she said raising her voice as she stood and began pacing the floor. "I just thought that if I could convince him that I was over you, then I could help the police build a case against him regarding his illegal activities and I would be free."

"I don’t understand why he wouldn’t let you go. Obviously he wasn’t in love with you or he wouldn’t have tried to kill you."

Kristina sighed heavily, her body relaxing from its automatic defense mechanism. "Strangely enough, he did love me. He couldn’t stand the thought of someone else having me, loving me, making love to me and so he decided that he would kill me to prevent that. It’s sick and perverse but apparently very common."

"So he did ALL of this to keep ME from loving you?" Howie said, a defeated look upon his face.

"No, ‘D’. It wasn’t because YOU loved me. It was because he knew that I loved YOU and never felt that way about him."

Howie pulled her into his lap and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Do you have any idea where he might be?"

"He has a lot of friends out in Los Angeles that would hide him, help him get a new identity, everything he needs to get in and out of the country. I want him to be caught and punished, but the thought of testifying against him terrifies me. I think I would feel more comfortable if he continued thinking that he had killed me."

"Oh baby" Howie said as he kissed her palm. "Your family has already missed so much time with you and they hurt, they miss you so much. You can’t continue this charade."

The tears were flowing freely down Kristina’s face as Howie spoke. She missed her family desperately and wanted nothing more than to pick up the phone and call them. The fear of retribution prevented her from doing so and caused her heart to be filled with despair.

Softly she spoke, her voice barely audible. "I can’t put them in danger. If he knows that I am alive, he would kill them just to spite me. I can’t….just can’t…do that."

"I’ve got a private detective on the case, Kris. We are going to catch this creep and put him behind bars for life - IF I don’t kill him first."

Howie’s words sparked a new fear deep within Kristina. She faced him, wide-eyed and panicked. "Promise me that you will NOT go near him!"

"Oh, if I get the chance I’m going to hurt him as bad as he hurt you."

Kristina stood, her hands trembling. "Promise me, Howard! DO NOT go near him!"

"Why? Tell me why, Kristina! Why shouldn’t I kill the bastard for all that he has put you through, put US through?" Howie said through clenched teeth.

Kristina got in his face, her bottom lip quivering with anger. " Have you not heard anything that I have just said? My God! How many more ways do I need to spell it out for you?"

"I don’t need you to patronize me. I’m a big boy and I can handle myself."

Kristina stormed out of the room with Howie right behind her. She grabbed a pair of shorts out of her duffel bag and pulled them on, mumbling underneath her breath the entire time.

Howie stood in the doorway, his arms crossed, his Latin temper boiling. "What was that?" he asked, knowing that he was only going to make her angrier.

"What?" she asked looking up at him. As angry as she was, the sight of him took her breath away. His arms were folded across his bare chest, the muscles in his biceps bulging, an angry look on his usually sweet tempered face. There was a fire burning inside of him and she could sense it. She knew that if she wanted to remain angry with him for being a jerk that she had to get away from him, away from the raw sexuality he was exuding.

"What are you mumbling?" he asked.

" I SAID that I am tired of this macho bullshit! There - you happy?" she grumbled as she slipped on her sandals and grabbed her bag.

He blocked the doorway, daring her to try and pass him.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" she yelled.

He softened, his temper fizzling with the realization that she was serious about leaving.

"I’m not letting you leave."

"YOU can’t stop me!" she said as she tried to push past him.

He took the garment bag from her, throwing it to the floor. "I WILL stop you!" he said with a smirk.

"I mean it ‘D’. Let me go."

"If you are going to leave, then you need to give me the shirt you are wearing."

"What?" she asked incredulously, as she glanced down at what she had on.

"It’s my favorite shirt and I want it back."

Kristina glared at him, all of the pent up anger finally surfacing.

"Fine! You want it? You can have it!" she said as she began to take the shirt off.

He watched as she fumbled with the buttons, her fingers trembling with frustration. By this time he was completely amused by her anger and her determination to leave, his own anger subsiding quickly. He laughed as she cursed under her breath.

"What is so damn funny?" she asked as she managed to get the shirt off and throw it at him, her eyes turning a deep violet in her fury.

When he didn’t answer, she turned away from his stare and reached for her garment bag, laying it on the bed. Howie, realizing how angry she truly was, made his way over to her. He slipped his hands around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder as he spoke.

"Don’t go, baby. I’m sorry."

"Do you promise to stay away from him?" she asked, the irritation still evident in her voice.

"If it means holding on to you, then yes."

She turned and faced him, "I know that you are angry with him and I understand the reason why you want to hurt him. But I can’t stand the thought of something happening to you now that we have found our way back to each other. I would rather walk away now, then suffer that pain."

"I understand," he said with a smile.

She noticed a twinkle in his eye that wasn’t there before. Bewildered she asked, "What?"

"This is our first real fight and I’m proud to say that I’ve learned something from it."

"Oh yeah? What did you learn?"

"That you are a spitfire when you are pissed. I can’t believe how determined you were to leave."

"I’m a lot stronger than I used to be. Besides, I had to leave - you look so damn hot when you are mad and I was afraid I would jump your bones if I stayed" she laughed.

Chapter 21       Index