Previously:

Ava and Miles met at the docks. Miles attempted to pay his sister's ransom, but the deal went awry. Beau Ormand jumped into the scuffle, and the two men gained the upper hand. Ava conceded and began to lead them to her boat where Kerri was being held captive. But before they arrived, Beau received a surprise phone call from Kerri.

As it turned out, Dominick had released Kerrigan soon after Ava left, refusing to hurt anyone else to get to Miles. After telling Kerri she was free to run, he chased after his sister, hoping he wasn't too late to stop her from hurting Miles.

Sonya Cortes woke up in the hospital after being attacked in her home. Charlie and Jasper were anxious to hear her story -- and to find out who attacked Sonya and killed Misty Bradley.

 

The Marina

With the element of surprise on their side, Beau and Miles had blindsided Ava. She was lying on the pier, out of breath and defeated.

Beau was holding her gun in his hand, safe from immediate harm, when his cell phone sounded. 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?

"Are you okay! Kerri, what's going on? Where are you!" The words tumbled from his mouth, while both Miles and Ava's eyes widened at the mention of her name.

"I'm fine. I'm safe," she said.

Beau breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing her voice now almost made him forget everything that had happened that night. Everything that was still happening. "God, I'm so glad to hear from you."

Ava pulled herself to her feet and rolled her eye at his schmoopy comments. Beau turned the gun back on her, regarding her every motion as a possible attack.

Kerri continued. "I'm okay. Listen, I have a lot to tell you. I'm sorry I disappeared from the yacht like that, but this crazy woman forced me to leave with her. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think--"

"--I know," Beau said, cutting her off. "I'm still at the marina. I'm here with Miles right now. The people who kidnapped you ... they wanted money, and we were supposed to meet with them here."

"Beau, don't do it! Don't trust her! Her brother let me go for some reason, so everything's okay! You don't have to give them anything. Please, just come home. She's insane and she's got a gun!"

"Not anymore, she doesn't," Beau said, clutching the weapon tighter in his hand.

"I'm going to the police. We should let them deal with this. I don't want you or Miles to get hurt. I don't want you involved with these people."

Beau didn't really want to be involved with them either, but here they were. He didn't want to worry her any more than he had to, so he didn't tell her about the fight with Ava. They could set things straight later, once he and Miles were out of danger. Her precious brother, the one she wanted to keep safe from harm, was the one who'd set this all into motion.

But there was no time for blame now. He had to end this so he could get back to her.

"I have to go now. You'll be safe, right?" he asked her.

"Yes. But ... what about you?" her voice was trembling from the other end of the line.

"I'll be there with you before you know it," he promised. "I love you."

"Be careful," she said, her voice suddenly seeming so far away, as the call came to an end.

With that, Beau put the phone away and returned the situation at hand. The call gave him a renewed strength and the resolve to be done with this -- done with Ava, and Dominick, and anyone who wasn't Kerrigan, once and for all.

"What the hell's going on? Is everything all right?" Miles asked, knowing his sister had been on the line.

"Why is she calling you? How is she calling you?" Ava demanded. As far as she knew, Kerri was still being held captive by Dominick on their getaway boat.

Then, a late arrival showed his face at the docks just in time to answer his sister's question.

"I let her go," Dominick D'Amato said, stepping forward to face his fate.

 

St. Laurent Community Hospital

It was the dead of night, but Charlie and Jasper were more alert than they'd been in hours. Sonya had finally revived from her attack. The doctors were with her, easing the broken woman back into consciousness for over an hour now.

Despite their best efforts to keep her calm, Sonya wore a frightened expression as she studied her surroundings. She'd finally started to settle down, let her guard down a bit, when Charlie saw her make eye contact with him. She recognized him immediately, and then Jasper, too. She clawed at the bed, pulling herself up to sit forward and reach out to them.

"We have to talk to her. She wants to see us," Charlie said, giving her an awkward wave.

"Maybe she can tell us who did this to her," Jasper agreed.

Charlie pushed open the door to Sonya's hospital room. He and Jasper slinked inside, feeling guilty when the two doctors turned to scowl at them both.

"You can't be in here," one of them muttered, running to the door.

"Not right now," said the other.

While Charlie ignored them, approaching the bedside to take Sonya's hand, Jasper flashed his police badge to the doctors.

"We need to talk to her," he said. "She was attacked tonight, and the suspect is still at large. She's the only witness we have." His voice took on a pleading quality as he realized the truth of his statement. Erin was missing, and Misty was gone from them. Sonya was the only one who could tell them what happened now...

From the doorway, the doctors looked back to Sonya in her bed. "She's stable, but she's still badly shaken." They re-entered the room, and one of the doctors appealed to Sonya. "Ms. Cortes, I'm sorry for this disruption, but--"

"No, it's okay. I need to talk to them," she said, her voice thin but insistent.

The doctors looked wary, but finally relented. "Fine. But keep it brief, and don't upset her. She's suffered severe trauma and, as you know, has only just regained consciousness."

"We know," Charlie said, giving them a scathing look.

They retreated from the room, and the Sonya looked thankful to be among friends. "I'm so glad you're both here," Sonya said shakily. Her expression was serious as she looked between the two of them.

"We're just glad you're okay," Jasper said sincerely, though Charlie could see something brewing under the surface.

Being here with her was sure to be bittersweet for Jasper, as it dredged up the pain of losing Misty once more. But someone had committed this horrible act and his family could still be in danger. That's why Charlie had to know.

"Sonya, do you remember what happened to you? Do you remember who did this?" Charlie asked.

She closed her eyes in thought but said nothing. When she opened them again, she met Charlie's gaze ... and suddenly, there was the flash of a memory. Her eyes widened, and her fingers dug into the bedsheets, holding on for dear life as the vision took over her mind.

Sonya saw Erin Emery chasing after her with a frying pan. She was in her wheelchair, nearly spinning out as she tried to escape, but Erin was right at her side now. Erin brought the frying pan back, then swung it wildly...

"No!" Sonya screamed, her cry startling Charlie and Jasper. "No! Erin!" Sonya cried out. She latched on to Charlie's arms and pulled him in close, needing him to listen to her. "You have to find Erin!"

 

The Marina

Dominick stepped forward to join the group assembled by the water's edge. He looked to his sister, then to Miles's pale face. He noticed Beau training a gun on his sister, while Ava lashed out at Dominick. "Why the hell did you let her go!"

"Because. I'm sick of this, Ava. All of it. I'm sick of seeing you act like this. We don't have to hurt anyone to get what we want."

"Thank you. Thank God she's all right," Miles said, relieved to know for certain that his sister was safe.

"We all want this to end just as much as you do," Beau said.

Dominick's glance lowered to the briefcase in Miles's hands. "Is that the money?"

"Yes."

"Then give it to me," he said, walking toward Miles.

"Stop," Beau said, turning the gun on Dominick. "Get back."

"I thought you wanted this to be over?" Dominick said, a puzzled look on his face. "You were supposed to bring the money. That was the deal, right?"

"It was. Before Ava kidnapped my sister and attempted to murder me when I followed her instructions the first time around," Miles argued. "Why should we believe anything you say now?"

"Because I'm tired. I'm tired, and I just want what's fair. Pay us what you owe, and this will end tonight. We'll never have to see each other again. That's what you want, isn't it?"

Ava's eyes darted between the two, anxiously awaiting an outcome, but Miles held on to the money.

They'd never see each other again. It was what he wanted ... wasn't it?

 

St. Laurent Community Hospital

Charlie's heart thumped against his ribs. He needed to know what happened to his wife and his daughter. He knew he shouldn't be agitating Sonya this much in her condition, but he had to know why she was so concerned about Erin.

"What about Erin?" Charlie asked Sonya gently, if impatiently. He needed to keep her calm before they did more harm than good. "Was she there when you were attacked? Do you know what happened to her?"

"You need to find her..." Sonya said, shaking her head back and forth. Her brain rattled from her injuries. From Erin's assault on her. She had a screaming headache, one that wasn't made any better by the flood of awful memories returning to her. In an instant, she recalled what had happened to Misty Bradley before Erin turned her attention to Sonya. "Oh my God ... Misty."

Jasper and Charlie exchanged a look. They couldn't tell Sonya the truth about Misty. Not right now. They needed a direct answer. They needed to find out who was responsible for this.

"Sonya, who did this to you? Who attacked you and Misty?"

"Did you see who did it?" Jasper asked. "It's okay to tell us. Nobody's going to hurt you here."

Sonya trembled in her bed, tears falling now. "I -- I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Charlie said, wrapping an arm around her. "But if you know, we need to know. This person -- whoever did this to you -- is still out there. My wife and daughter are still missing. Whoever did this might have taken Erin and Summer and..." He couldn't make himself finish the statement.

"You don't understand!" Sonya pulled away from him, her teeth clenched in a tight grimace. "What I'm trying to tell you is that you have to find Erin and stop her. You have to stop her ... because she's the one who did this to me."

 

The Marina

While Miles considered the possibility that he might never again see Dominick after this night, Beau took it upon himself to come to a decision. "Give him the money, Miles."

Miles looked to Beau, his expression turning from surprise to petulant defiance. "Just give it to them? After everything they've done to me -- after what she did to Kerri?" he asked, referring not only to tonight's events, but also to his sister and Charlie's honeymoon disaster.

"Bitch, please! If you'd have just paid us all those years ago, we never would have had to take it this far. You made your own bed," Ava countered.

Miles's grip on the briefcase tightened involuntarily. It's not that she wasn't right in her reasoning, it was that he wasn't sure if he had it in him to just hand her what she wanted and walk away. How could he reward her now for the torture she'd inflicted upon him and his family?

"Just give it to them," Beau repeated. "It's not worth it to fight over this anymore. If it will make them leave us all alone so we can get on with our lives, I want them to have it."

Dominick turned his expectant eyes to Miles, and Ava smirked in satisfaction. It just wasn't right...

"Are you sure?" was all Miles could muster at that point.

Beau nodded. "We have to do this quick. Kerri's probably on her way to the police right now. Let's get this sorted out before they show up."

"But why? Why can't the police just handle this?"

"Do you really want them to get involved?" Dominick asked. "You're not exactly an innocent in all of this either. You worked for my father, too."

"And if we're going down, don't think I won't take you down with me," said Ava.

Dominick shot his sister a look. She wasn't doing him any favors in his attempt to sway them. "My father's only going to come after you that much harder if Ava and I end up in jail because of you. He has other priorities, believe it or not, but don't think that won't change if anything happens to us."

"Your threats aren't exactly making me want to help you..."

"But they're right. You owe them, no matter how you cut it," Beau said, stepping between the two men. He took the cash from a reluctant Miles. "And Dominick's right. You're only going to make things worse for yourself the more you antagonize these people. Haven't you learned that by now? It's my money, and it's my decision."

Beau handed the payment to Dominick. "Thank you for what you did for Kerri tonight," he said, "but I want you out of our lives. So please, just go. We're done, right?"

Nearly as grateful as Beau that some sort of resolution had been reached, Dom gave a nod. "We're done."

Miles saw Dominick collect the money then his sister, grabbing Ava roughly by the arm and leading her off.

"Adios, muchachos!" Ava called shrilly. She pried the briefcase from her brother and peeked inside at the cash, her eye alight with greed. She started to say something to Dom, but her voice trailed off as the two of them left for their speedboat.

It wasn't until Dominick was completely out of sight, completely out of his life, that Miles spoke again. "Beau, I don't even know how to begin to apologize to you or to thank you for what you've done for me. I'll pay you back. You, the Highwind ... whatever it takes to make things right."

"Oh, I know you will. You have a lot to make up for." Beau began to walk away, tired and still more than a little pissed off at Miles.

It was easy for Miles to make empty promises now that the immediate danger was over, but his bad decisions and the havoc caused in light of them wouldn't be so easy to piece back together.