Julian didn't like the plan at all. Alexis knew that by the way his jaw tightened, his body tensed and his eyes narrowed slightly as he listened to her spell it out. She could already anticipate what words would come out of his mouth.

And she prepared words of his own to counter his challenge of her plan. Yes, it wasn't foolproof, yes it was risky but she'd grown up her life in an environment where being at risk and taking risks were part of the fabric of the family she'd been unwittingly born into, her fate cast the moment her father set eyes on her mother and wanted her for himself.

"Alexis you can't be serious. These people are dangerous. The people they associate with are dangerous."

She gritted her teeth.

"I know that Julian. I grew up surrounded by dangerous people and to have made it this far I had to learn how to handle them, to play by their rules and on occasion break them."

The steely determination in her voice, the hardness in her eyes and he knew he was looking at Natasha.

The woman he had first met the night at the art gallery when she'd declared to him that she'd do anything to protect her family. The last vestige of Derek Wells had crumpled away as he knew he was facing his other half and some might say his better half.

But to himself, Derek Wells had become every much a part of him, as Julian Jerome. Not that either of them were good men. Still both sides of him had fallen in love with her instinctively. For Julian, it had just began 34 years earlier.

Now that woman was about to do something very dangerous, and he couldn't let her do it alone.

He took a deep breath.

"Alexis, if it's Helena, she's got ties to some of the most deadly, ruthless people on the planet. Cesar Faison, Paul Hornsby and his Cartel, Jerry Jacks, just to name a few.

She winced slightly at Jerry's mention.

"I know that. I know Cesar Faison took my daughter's husband away from her. And as for Jerry…I am most familiar with him."

Julian really didn't need any reminding. They had whiled away more than a few late nights sharing their separate histories with the silver tongued corporate raider turned international terrorist.

The last time she'd seen him, she'd been his hostage, agreeing to disappear with him away from her family, her daughters, everyone around her that needed saving from the plague he had unleashed on them. She'd gone willingly, for her family. His one regret was that their paths hadn't recrossed by then. In fact, he'd just completed a business venture of sorts with Jerry several months before he took a town hostage.

"Alexis…"

She continued not hearing him.

"He nearly killed me to spare me from his latest terrorist act…not caring that if I lost my daughters then my own life was not worth living….and now with Sam lying in the hospital lucky to survive and Molly missing…I feel that all over again."

Julian rested his hand on her shoulder unable to help himself. It was an act more instinctive than rational given that so much remained unsettled between them.

"Alexis we'll find out who's behind this whether or not it is one of the Cassadines or not. I'll call Carlos and get him to do recognizance so that you and I can come up with a plan of what to do next."

She smiled, as she'd grown fond of his enforcer.

"I really like him. Underneath that tough exterior lies an artist. You're lucky to have someone like him so loyal to you..."

Julian sighed.

"So you trust him?"

She nodded, looking him directly in the eye.

"I certainly do with my feelings and he certainly put together a rather impressive dossier of me and my family back when you were Derek Wells."

The last two words had an edge which would never entirely go away. Alexis hadn't liked being duped by a man from her past. Whether for shared history or in their case shared family.

She felt exposed, and ragged in her emotions the night she found out Sam's father, her Julian was still alive…and like most of the men in her life, lived a dangerous lifestyle defined by his own moral code as yet another bad boy in her life.

"Alexis…we're going to find out who hurt Sam, what happened to Molly…no matter who's involved….no matter where they're hiding."

She put up a hand.

"Okay if you want to help, but if there's a Cassadine involved, I want you to leave it to me on how to deal with them. Especially someone like Helena."

He frowned, clearly not liking that.

"I can't let you go hunt them down alone."

The raw emotion in his voice, his concern for her made her own throat tighten…she really did need his help, she just didn't want to admit it.

"I know and I….I…need you to help me but you have to let me take the lead on this Julian. You don't know my family like I do. Helena controlled your own boss and the directives he gave you were really her own…"

He'd realized that. He hadn't put the pieces together until they'd gone to rescue Luke from the clinic he'd been held at…only it hadn't been what it appeared to be. But he could say that about most of the past two decades of his life.

His life really had no meaning, until he'd returned to Pt. Charles and walked into the Floating Rib and there he had found her again. Now her family was under attack…his family because there was no separating himself from her.

"Alexis he doesn't control me now and neither does she…"

She hedged wanting to believe him but she was much wiser than he when it came to her own dysfunctional family.

"Julian you have to trust me to know that whatever I have to do, whatever course I take it's to protect my family…."

Jerry stood on the deck of Helena's yacht and looked at the young man in front of him. He sipped from his glass of juice bolstered by something stronger.

"What do you mean that my darling Alexis and her daughter Sam are not strangers to you?"

Milan centered his emotions. He didn't trust the man in front of him any further than he could throw him and he gladly would because he already knew about Jerry's poisonous influence in the lives of Alexis and her children.

Most particularly Sam and that mattered most to him. Jerry arched his brows clearly impatient.

"Well I'm waiting…what is your concern in their lives? Molly is a captive of Helena already. I'm sure Alexis must be frantic by now…."

Milan countered.

"You know that because the last time you encountered either one of them, you opted to spare Alexis while denying her, her own children?"

Jerry shrugged.

"I couldn't help that. I only had two antidotes and only two people I fiercely wanted to spare…Alexis and my niece Joss…."

"That's no excuse. And I would guess she hated you for it…"

Jerry looked unapologetic but then again he was a sociopath.

"I was dying…I didn't want to die alone. Even though I had ransomed enough money for the cure of my ailment, I had no guarantee it'd actually work. Alexis would have been great comfort to me in my final days."

Milan folded his arms.

"Even though it was against her will? Even if the only reason she cooperated was to save her children? You really are a piece of work."

Jerry flashed him a look of amusement.

"And who are you and why does any of this concern you?"

Milan paused.

"It matters to me and I don't have to justify why to the likes of you. You're terrorist scum and you've only brought pain and fear into their lives."

Jerry smirked.

"Again why does that matter to you? You're what…one of many different mercenaries on Helena's payroll."

Milan shook his head.

"There's more to it than that. Much more. Yes I'm a mercenary most of the time, but there's more than one reason I'm under Helena's employment…"

Jerry arched his brow.

"Oh really…and would you care to share what's your real objective?"

"No. I do know that Helena's taken Alexis' daughter away from her and I will make sure she stays safe. But then again, you only poisoned her a couple years back…."

Jerry smirked.

"Molly's survived that just fine because she has a fierce mother…only I'm not the one who's holding her prisoner now…that's Helena and she has her own agenda."

Milan had little patience with the man in front of him.

"No harm will come to Molly. Regardless of Helena's agenda…"

Jerry chortled.

"That might not be up to you…."

Milan gritted his teeth.

"It most certainly will be up to me. I won't let anything happen to her no matter what."

Jerry seemed puzzled at Milan's fervor in his comments. He tilted his head looking at the mercenary.

"Why not? Once Helena has someone in her sights, she makes up the rules as to what happens next…"

Milan didn't seemed concerned with those details.

"That doesn't matter. She won't get what she wants. Not this time.."

Jerry didn't know how to respond to that.

Alexis looked at Julian.

"I don't know what happened to Sam. She's not been able to tell us what happened."

Julian sighed.

"It doesn't matter. Someone tried to harm our daughter. That's all I need to know."

Alexis just looked at the man in front of her, gearing up for vengeance without knowing all of the information.

"You can't…not until we know everything. She was attacked outside of Ric's suite at about the same time Molly went missing. The two are probably related."

Alexis nodded.

"I'm sure they are Julian but we don't have enough information Sam can't provide it and Molly is missing…I'm going to do whatever I have to do to find her…"

Julian heard the raw edges in her voice. The voice of a mother anguishing over the disappearance of her daughter. Yeah he and Molly had a estranged relationship but he wanted to do whatever necessary to return her to her mother.

"We will find her Alexis. But I'm going to help you do that every step of the way;…no matter what…."

Alexis didn't know how to respond to the fervor In Julian's voice. She really believed she'd have to deal with this all on her own. Something she'd grown used to but...

"I'll be there right with you when while we go find Molly…you won't be alone. I'll promise you that…"

She listened to his words but should she believe them?