Previously:

Misty Bradley died after being attacked by a deranged Erin Emery. Meanwhile, Erin's other victim, Sonya Cortes, remained in critical condition, while the rest of the town remained oblivious to Erin's crimes and current whereabouts.

Miles arrived at the marina to pay off his debt to Ava and Dominick, who were holding his sister hostage. Beau Ormand was determined to help Miles rescue Kerri. The two went into hiding while Miles awaited Ava's arrival.

Dominick was worried that Ava planned to kill Miles. He refused to stand back and let anyone else get hurt, so he released Kerri and chased after his sister, hoping he wasn't too late to stop her.

 

The Marina

Standing alone under the starlight, all Miles could hear was the crashing of the dark waves in the night and his own blood pounding against his temples. He was waiting at the docks where Ava had instructed him to be. Miles clutched the briefcase of cash tightly in his hand.

Beau decided to hang back, hiding just off in the distance. Miles knew he was back there somewhere, keeping an eye on the situation. But not having Beau in his sight, not being able to pinpoint or know for sure just where his friend was staked out, made him feel defenseless.

Miles wiped the sheen of perspiration that had collected on his forehead. He turned to look back over his shoulder, searching for Beau's form in the darkness. There was nothing to see.

He caught himself breathing heavier, faster, and willed himself to control his anxiety. "Beau!" Miles called out, his words a controlled whisper of a shout.

Still no movement from behind. Where was Beau?

"Are you still there?" he hissed again, hoping his eyes would adjust and spot something as he squinted into the dark.

Miles was beginning to panic now. He didn't think he could do this alone.

He took a few tentative steps back, wandering away from the scene in search of his companion. Then he heard someone approaching and whipped back around.

"Hello, Miles," Ava D'Amato said, approaching from the other direction with a confident stride. The moment she stepped into view, Miles found a pistol aimed directly at his chest.

 

St. Laurent Community Hospital

The hours were finally catching up to Jasper Kent. He'd been on the go since early that morning, but now he found himself struggling to stay alert while awaiting any news about Sonya or Misty's conditions. When Jasper stood up to look through Sonya's window again, Charlie Guthrie came around the corner.

"Jasper. You're still here?" Charlie said, looking around the corridor. "Anything new on Sonya?" he asked gently.

"Nothing yet. How are the Bradleys?"

There was a telling pause before Charlie could force himself to speak. "Not good. They're having a hard time..."

"Why? Did something happen!"

Charlie looked wounded, gutted to have to be the one to say whatever it was he was about to say. Jasper didn't know if he could take it. Not if Charlie said...

"She didn't make it. Misty died."

"No!" Jasper said, immediately moving down the hall. His footsteps quickened, his pace increasing as Charlie chased after him.

"No, no!" Jasper repeated as Misty's hospital room came into view. Benton and Tisha were holding each other close, numb to do anything more at that moment. "Is it true?" he asked them, causing them to look up. Their tear-stained faces met his own.

Benton gave him a grim nod, while fresh tears spilled down Tisha's cheeks.

Jasper looked to the two of them, to Charlie. They had to be wrong. This couldn't be happening.

He raced to the window and looked inside. A couple of faceless orderlies were removing Misty from her hospital bed, transferring her to a cart and wheeling her toward the door.

When they emerged from her hospital room, Jasper was all over them, leaning over the cart to see Misty. If he could only get a good look at her, he could prove that she was okay -- that she would make it through this...

But then he saw her.

Her face was so pale, her skin so pallid and sunken-looking. Dark circles hung under her eyes. Even her lips, her lips especially, had been drained of their vibrant color.

"No ... please no," Jasper continued to protest, though he knew she was slipping away from him forever.

"I'm sorry," one of the orderlies said, covering Misty's face. To Jasper, it sounded like the most hollow of condolences. The orderlies forced their way back into action, rolling the cart -- Misty's body -- down the hall.

A broken Jasper watched helplessly. Tisha had averted her eyes entirely. Charlie stood next to Jasper, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Are you...?"

"Don't, please," Jasper said, shrugging it away. "I have to get her back. They can't take her!" he said, starting toward them.

Maybe he'd seen wrong. Maybe his tired mind was playing tricks on him. Maybe a part of him knew she was gone, but refused to accept that he would never see her again ... not the way he knew her, at least. He followed after the orderlies.

"Stop this!"

Jasper felt a rough hand grab him by the arm. He whipped around, but it wasn't Charlie who had a hold on him. It was Benton.

"Stop this right now!" Benton said, his typical composure faltering in place of anger. "Leave her alone. For once, just leave her alone!"

 

The Marina

"Is that the money?" Ava asked. Her demeanor was all business. She was through playing around. Her pistol glimmered in the moonlight, impossible for Miles not to notice.

"All of it," he said, his grip tightening on the handle of the briefcase.

"Show me."

She wasn't convinced, so Miles opened the case, removing a wad of cash and thumbing through it. It was the real thing. He could only hope Ava was convinced of that.

"Let's make this easy then, shall we?" Her one, menacing eye narrowed at him as she drew closer, reaching for the money.

Miles stuffed the cash back inside and pulled away from her. "Not so fast. Not until you let Kerri go."

"You're hardly in a position to call the shots, might I remind you!" she hissed, swinging the gun wildly at his face. Miles dropped the briefcase and caught hold of her arm in midair, cutting short her attempted pistol whip. He crushed her arm in his hands, taking out weeks of aggression and stress on her.

She winced at the pain, but it quickly turned into a sadistic grin. She almost looked impressed with him, excited by the prospect of fighting for her victory. "Somebody grew a pair, I see."

"They're almost as big as yours now, " he retorted, wrenching her arm until she was twisted away from him. "Drop the gun," he commanded, her arm pinned to her back.

"I don't think so..."

She squeezed the trigger. With her arm under Miles's control, the gun was aimed off into the middle of nowhere, but the resulting shot was enough to throw Miles's concentration. She slithered away and whipped back around to face him. Ava took a mercenary stance. She'd underestimated him, but she was back in control now and she wouldn't let him get that close to her again.

"It was fun while it lasted, Miles," she said, "but if you don't give me that briefcase right now, I'll kill you and your sister."

Ava was right. He was in no position to bargain. He'd lost his golden opportunity. The best he could hope for now was to merely survive this night.

Ava eyed the briefcase, dropped at Miles's feet in the struggle. "Slide it to me."

For a brief second, Miles was tempted to just chuck the briefcase into her face, hoping that when she lost her eye, she'd also lost the reflexes and depth perception that went along with it. But she was sharp, and she wouldn't hesitate to make good on her threats if he tried anything stupid.

He obeyed her, sliding the money along the ground to rest at Ava's feet. She retrieved it slowly and deliberately, then stood up triumphant, the cash in one hand, the pistol in the other.

"I wish I could say it's been nice doing business with you," she said nonchalantly. "But to tell you the truth, you've kinda been a pain in my ass."

Miles ignored her remarks, worried instead about what was going to happen next. "Will you let Kerri go now? Please. You have your money. My sister didn't do anything to you."

"Sure, I'll let her go," Ava said. "What's it to me, right?"

Could it really be that easy?

Ava set the briefcase aside to level her gun at him once more. "Too bad I can't say the same for you."

 

St. Laurent Community Hospital

Jasper looked down at Benton's hand, holding him back with a tight grip. Then, he looked down the hall to watch the orderlies round the corner, gone from sight.

"Please," Benton asked, his voice tight with control, "just leave my family alone right now. Please leave us alone," he repeated, a pleading desperation in his eyes. "I can't do this right now."

His eyes met Tisha's, red-rimmed from the toll the night had taken on her. Jasper didn't want to hurt them. He didn't want to put them through any unnecessary pain ... but he didn't want to leave Misty. He didn't want to give up on her.

Charlie seemed to sense the awkward tension between the two men. He subtly insinuated himself between them both, keeping them apart before either of them said or did something they might regret.

"This can't be happening," Jasper said, shaking his head as he stared down the now-quiet hallway. He felt his throat clench. He tried to swallow down the lump that rose in his chest.

The reality of everything that had happened would take much longer to settle and become real to him. Tonight was only the beginning of the pain, Jasper knew. As they sat in silence, Jasper felt Benton and Tisha's eyes boring into him. He knew it was irrational, but he felt guilty, as if he were responsible for their loss somehow. Seeing him, seeing his grief, seemed to set off Tisha. She broke down once more, her body shaking with a wave of fresh anguish.

Benton consoled his wife. His arm around her shoulders, he helped her to her feet. "We should go. Being here ... I can't stay here."

Tisha was inconsolable, lost in a flurry of tears.

"I should try to get her home," he explained, his voiced choked with tears of his own. "Thank you for being here, Charlie."

"You're welcome. If you need anything..." he offered. But the devastated couple took off. When they were gone, it was just Charlie and Jasper. "I'm so sorry, Jasper."

Jasper sniffed, wiping away his tears.

"Don't mind what Benton said to you," Charlie said. "They've just lost their daughter. I'm sure he didn't mean to snap at you like that, he just needed someone to unload on."

But Jasper knew that wasn't true. Benton knew exactly what he was saying. He never wanted Jasper to be with his daughter in the first place, and now Misty was gone. Now they had no way of understanding his feelings for her, how deeply he cared for her.

He only hoped that in the short time they had together, Misty had known that much for herself.

 

The Marina

As soon as Beau Ormand saw Ava's approach, he felt a strange, tingling optimism that surged through his limbs. He knew Miles was dreading the encounter, but Beau had a good feeling about this. He had to believe that everything would go smoothly. Ava would accept the payout and return Kerri to them.

Even so, he wasn't going to take any chances. He was too far away to be of much help to Miles from here, so far back that their silhouettes were barely distinguishable against the backdrop of night.

Now that he had Ava in his sights, he crept away from the scene, doing a roundabout of the area and attempting to circle them. Maybe he could approach them from the other direction and surprise her, if need be.

Beau took off. He picked up his pace, but was careful not to make himself known. By the time he circled the area and returned, he saw Ava grappling with Miles and heard a gunshot fire into the sky.

"No!" he whispered to himself, struggling not to scream. He raced forward ducking into the shadows cast by a docked yacht.

Beau breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that Miles seemed to have escaped the gunfire unscathed. Ava had the money now, and Beau could hear them speaking to one another.

"Sure, I'll let her go. What's it to me, right?" Ava was saying.

Beau had a clear path. If he rushed her now, he figured he could take her down before she ever had the chance to react.

"I wish I could say the same for you." Ava raised the gun and squared her shoulders. She was going to shoot Miles.

"Stop! Miles pleaded.

If he waited another second, it would be too late. Beau darted out from behind the boat and charged full-throttle at Ava, lowering his shoulder and ramming his body into her side. She flew off balance, too stunned by his presence to brace herself for his assault.

The gun slipped from her hands and skittered across the ground, coming to a stop near the edge of the dock. Beau and Ava both raced for it, crashing into each other once more in the process, as Miles tried to grab hold of Ava.

Beau's hand latched on to the gun first, and he immediately pointed it squarely at her face. Miles had her legs wrapped in his arms. She was in their control now.

"Take us to Kerrigan. Now!" Beau commanded, the forcefulness of his own order surprising even himself.

Miles let Ava get to her feet. He took the briefcase and kept it to himself, while Ava conceded defeat.

"She's not far," Ava sulked. "Follow me," she said, leading them down the docks.

They followed her slowly, cautiously. They knew better than to trust her. "You better hope she's okay," Beau threatened. "If you did anything to her..."

"Relax. She's fine," Ava said, exasperated and still trying to catch her breath from the struggle. "You're the one who's going to be sorry. When my father finds out you--"

Her threats were cut off by the chirping of Beau's cell phone. Keeping the pistol carefully pointed at Ava, he pulled his phone from his pocket to see who could possibly be calling him at this hour.

He looked at the display ... and stopped in his tracks. Kerrigan?

 

St. Laurent Community Hospital

In the lobby near Sonya Cortes's hospital room, Jasper Kent was on the phone. He was trying to take his mind off the horrific news about Misty by talking to a friend at the police station. Maybe someone had heard something new about the attacks, or could offer Charlie some information about Erin, who was still missing after the night's events. Until this crime could be explained in some way or until they learned who was responsible, Jasper wouldn't be able to shake the useless feeling he felt. The feeling that he'd failed Misty, somehow.

At the same time, Charlie tried calling Erin's cell again, to no avail.

He didn't know what to do. Until now, he'd been so caught up in the Bradley family's plight that it'd helped distract him from his own problems. At least he could offer support to the Bradleys while he waited for news of his own. But with them gone, with Misty gone, there was nothing for him to concentrate on except his own unsettled nerves.

With Erin unreachable, he tried calling their home instead, hoping upon hope that she was there waiting for him with Summer, perfectly fine somehow, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.

"Hello?" a groggy voice answered after a long series of rings.

"Martine?" he asked. "It's Charlie."

"Charlie? What is it?" she asked, her voice husky with sleep.

"I ... I don't know," he said. "It's Erin. I haven't seen her since the fundraiser, and now ... something bad's happened and I'm worried about her. Do you know if she's at the house?"

"I'll check," she said. "What's happened that has you so worried?"

Charlie didn't know if he could explain it without losing his cool. He didn't want to panic Martine or rush to conclusions if Erin was all right, so he kept it bottled for now. "We'll talk about it later. Just check on Erin for me, please."

"Okay," she said, as serious a tone as Charlie had ever heard from her. After a few moments: "She's not here, Charlie. I just looked into your bedroom and Summer's nursery. They're not here."

Charlie knew he should have expected it, but he still felt his stomach drop.

"I just walked downstairs. They're not there, either," Martine said. "What should we do?"

"Nothing," Charlie said, not wanting to drag her into this mess tonight. "I just wanted to know if she was home yet."

"Is everything okay, Charlie?" she asked, skeptical.

Nothing was okay. He couldn't go through this again. After everything in their past, if he lost Erin...

"You can go back to bed. Thanks for your help," Charlie said.

"I doubt I'll be able to sleep now. Look, if you need anything else, call me back."

Charlie and Martine said goodbye, and he ended the call, looking to Jasper who was also off the phone now. "Anything?" he asked Jasper.

Jasper shook his head. "You?"

"No." Charlie buried his head into his hands with frustration. "What the hell is going on here?"

Just then, a doctor and two nurses raced around the corner, scurrying their way into Sonya's hospital room.

"What the...?" Jasper raced over to the room's window, with Charlie in hot pursuit. They looked through the glass and saw her. She attempted to sit up in her hospital bed, but the medical staff held her back, trying to keep her calm as she came to.

Charlie shared a hopeful look with Jasper. "She's awake."