The Medici district was made up with a mixture of Sonny’s cafés and Alcazar’s everything else. He was indiscriminate with what he took. He was a man of quantity, but he was fully aware of the quality of his spoils. If he took all he could as often as he could, he would steadily begin to eat into the more valuable areas of his rivals’ territory. Vicente was patient; he was prepared to wait.

These were all things Alexis and Cruz had contemplated in their discussions on vacating the city with her daughters. Medici embraced cruelty in a way they hadn’t seen in years, which only heightened her fear of what he’d have his people do if he figured out what they were up to. They were half of his leverage against Sonny, all of his leverage against Ric, as well as Lorenzo’s. If they vanished, he’d have no reason not to declare all-out war, and Sonny would have no reason not to fight back. Their departure was the only way she could ensure they wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire.

“So, Cruz, tell me more about your family. You and I have known each for almost two years, but I know close to nothing about your personal life.” She rested on the headrest, trying to mentally soothe herself out of a migraine. She watched him as he drove, noticing how he kept his eyes trained on the road ahead and their surroundings. She almost felt safe.

He turned the wheel smoothly, sparing her a subtle look as they sped through a yellow light. “Well, I have two sisters and a baby brother. I’ve had two parents for the majority of my life. But my father passed away shortly before I graduated from the police academy. My mother remarried recently after we had to nearly bribe her into dating again.”

“Sounds like she loved your father very much.”

“She did. I don’t think there’s ever been a couple so in love after being together that long.” A grimace flashed across his face.

Alexis wasn’t sure if his discomfort was for her benefit or a personal pain.

“I’m sorry your father didn’t see you graduate from the academy.”

He nodded, sealing his lips sternly in the face of nightfall. “I like to think that he was there in some way. Just because I couldn’t see doesn’t mean I didn’t feel him.”

She was moved by his optimism. “I envy your childhood,” she admitted, glumly. She hadn’t had a lot of love growing up, unlike him, and most of her time had been dedicated to protecting her sister from Helena’s wrath. If she could’ve had half the love she saw reflected in him, she felt that she’d be twice as confident and half as neurotic as she was now.

“I envy your strength, Alexis. Some of the choices you‘ve made I don‘t think I could make. And you‘ve survived. A fortunate childhood doesn‘t necessarily breed a successful person.”

“And yet a horror story doesn’t always make a hero.” She was never one to leave her point unmade.

“Fine, you’re not a hero.” He was clearly mocking her.

She looked at him suspiciously. “It’s not like you to surrender the high ground so quickly.”

“Maybe I’m turning over a new, more cooperative leaf.”

“Uh huh. I don’t think so.” Despite not being intimately acquainted with his personal history, she’d come to know his personality pretty well. He was stubborn and pig-headed. He was loyal and gracious. He was compassionate and protective. He was smart and vivacious. He was the closest thing she‘d had to a best friend since Jax married Carly.

“Come on, give me the benefit of the doubt.”

“I would, if you weren’t so completely full of it.”

He turned his head to gape at her before setting his eyes back on the road. “Language, language. There are minors in the car.”

“Oh please. Sesame Street uses more questionable language that what I just said. You are a complete prude.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Not even close. I like a good racy conversation as much, if not more, than anyone. Stick with me long enough and you’ll find that I’m more horn dog than Sacred Heart.”

Alexis fingered her hair absently. “Keep offering, Cruz, and I might take you up on that someday.”

“I don’t make disingenuous offers. Name the time and the place.”

Smiling, she leaned against the glass to watch the streetlights go on and the evening masses head towards the trendy spots in which they’d wile the night away.

Cruz’s words were the last spoken for some time as the populated areas of Port Charles gave way to another suburb in development. She thought her discomfort would decrease when they got away from the dark alleys and street corners of the club district but it ramped up several notches until she was once again thrumming with tension. She couldn’t figure out what it was, but something felt off.

“That friend of yours who’s supposed to be getting us the other car?”

He nodded, giving her his full attention.

“How sure are you of his integrity? Can he be bought?”

Cruz shook his head. “No. There’s no love lost between him and Corinthos or him and Alcazar. If he can be bought, it can’t be by them.”

“What about Medici? He’s new and so far all he’s done is strike fear in every person who stands between him and all the territory in town.”

She rubbed her arms, the nighttime chill in full swing on her body. She was always cold. Since completing her final round of chemotherapy, she’d struggled to restore herself to optimum health. A result of being as thin as she’d become was that she was never warm enough.

Moments stretched ahead without Cruz answering. She observed the tightening in his features and the same dread she’d felt on the deck of the lake house returned with a vengeance.

“Could Medici have bribed him? Is he loyal enough to risk his life by standing between his guns and us?” His knuckles were bone white on the steering wheel, the vein on his temple was pulsing. “Cruz.”

“I don’t know,” he answered, finally. If his voice were any tighter she thought he might sprain his vocal chords.

“Do we have time to change the plans?” She reached for the glove compartment where the map and the passports were already stored. There was also a pen and notepad for any last minute notes they had to make. Trust Alexis to always expect complications.

He spun the steering wheel and they crossed to the other side of the deserted residential street. He took them into a quick right turn. “Do we have a choice?”

She knew he was pissed, because he should have known. It wasn’t like him to not anticipate a turncoat. When things were headed south he could normally sense it in his gut. It had never led him wrong. Tonight, it seemed, was the first time.

He ground his teeth together audibly. She turned on the overhead light and began to look for another route out of Port Charles. Of course, they were supposed to be going to Niagara Falls, but it was a little late to be keeping up appearances. They were headed the long way south. Now, she would have to find another way to get there…somehow.

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