chapter 104 - When The World Gets In My face

Jon and Beth just make it into the kitchen when his cell phone rings.  It startles everyone, even the kids that are only interested in their ice cream.  

Chapter 103 - You Wanna Give Up

"Ya know,"  Jon starts to lay into the kids, "I'm not doing this to be an asshole or embarrass you in front of your friends and the other kids at school."

Chapter 102 - I Can Still Remember

"I wish I had followed up about her sooner.  I had a feeling about her when I started to think about it, when I thought about that night."

Jon looks at him, "What kind of feeling?"

"There is something kind of deja vu feeling about her."

Again, Jon gives him a look. "I'm not following."

Dave leans against the fence and looks over at Jon, "When I called my buddy in L.A., he sent me this picture.  I guess it was in the file."  Dave swipes his phone and after a few seconds holds it up for Jon to look.  Jon can only stare at it, his head can't wrap around what he's seeing.  "Does she look familiar?"

Jon stands there, staring at the phone screen, his mouth slowly falling open.  "Oh my God."

"You know her?" Dave questions, confirming what he thought.  He can see Jon turn a few shades paler, from tan and healthy to like he has seen a ghost.  "Is she familiar to you Jon?"

"Yes."

"Is this Melissa?" Dave asks, pulling his phone away.  "Is this the woman that's after you now?"

"No.  Melissa isn't blonde." Jon firms his stance, in major disbelief.  "She's the one that held me at gunpoint?  She's the woman that was in my room, with the intent to harm me?"

Dave nods his head, "That's what my buddy says."

"You have got to be shitting me."  Jon covers his mouth with his hands.  Through his fingers, he mumbles, "This is going to kill Beth."

"Beth knows her?"  David can't believe that Beth knows anything about her.  She's a crazy woman from his past, that is now in their lives.  "How does Beth know her?"

In a panic, with a bit of fear in his voice, he adamantly tells Dave, "She can never know about this.  This never gets mentioned in front of her or the kids, ever."

Both men, in their own little zone are startled when they hear, "Tell who about what?"  They turn around, look and are surprised to see Beth standing there, with Jon Spencer at her side,   "What are you guys talking about?  Who's picture is that Dave?"

"No one's - just a client that I have a security detail with." Dave's words roll of his tongue like he's quite familiar with telling tales, that he's used to lying.

"Why are you showing Jon?  Who is it?  Some hot celebrity?" she jokes as she moves in closer,  Jon leans over and picks up his son, kissing his cheek and then kissing Beth.

"What are you doing up?  Pete was supposed to let you sleep."  Jon takes the first opportunity to change the subject, but he should have known better.  Beth forgets very little and lets very little lie unfinished.

"Who are you guys keeping a secret from?  What are you talking about?"

"Dave was just telling me about this client, that's all."

"What can't you mention in front of this client and the kids?  And why do you care, Jon?" she's getting suspicious.  And her suspicion only grows when she reminds herself that Jon doesn't care who hears what, unless it involves his family.  

Jon looks at Dave, Dave looks at Jon and Beth sees the expression on their faces.  "It's nothing babe, don't worry about it."

"Jon." she pouts, using her playful pouty face, "What are you guys doing out here, on the property line?"

"I have my guys making sure the place is secure and that they are no hidden cameras and stuff like that."

Beth is stunned by what she just heard, she had never thought about that, "What makes you think that there are cameras here?" Jon can hear a little anxiety in her voice.

"Nothing makes me think that Beth, we just want to be sure.  We also checked all the vehicles for GPS."

"Did you find anything?" her voice cracks, as she gently moves into Jon.

Jon shakes his head, "So far it's all clear."

"Where are all of your men?" she asks, looking around seeing no one else on the grounds.  It's then that Jon remembers that he's supposed to meet the security team to take them into the house, to sweep that and make sure that there is nothing hidden that could help Dalton, Melissa, Brian and Dorothea.

"Shit.  I was supposed to meet them up front.  Let's walk." he motions for Dave and Beth to follow, and they do.  As they walk across the plush green glass, under a cloudless sky, Jon takes a few seconds and soaks up the warming rays, warming him on the inside.  "I hope they aren't pissed."

"Babe, language." Beth reminds him, even though he didn't need to be reminded that there was a child present.  He has Jon Spencer in his arms, his wife at his side and a $5000.00 a day bodyguard pulling up the rear.  He feels as safe as he can right now and he loves that his entire family, the ones that matter the most are all under one roof and are protected from the craziness of the outside world.

As they round the corner to the house, they see all of the men that came with Dave and a few additional standing in the driveway, chatting.  All of the men are dressed in all black, they have guns holstered at their side, sunglasses on and ear pieces in their ears.  When they see Jon, Dave and Bet heading in their direction, they all stand at attention, giving the Bongiovi's and their boss the utmost respect.

Beth steps are slow, Jon falls to her pace, resting a hand on the small of her back  "Are all of these for us?" she looks to her left and makes eye contact with her husband.  He shakes his head.  "Jon, we don;t need this many guards."

"Yes we do." he firmly answers her.

"NO we don't." she quickly counts the number of men standing in their driveway.  "That's practically one for each of us.  That's way too many and it will draw too much attention."

"Beth, there are ones for Tony, Matt, mom, dad and Pete.  Beth quickly recounts."How many do you have for the kids?"

"One each."  They stop just a few feet from the group of men that were waiting on them.  Dave quickly gets in between them.

"Did you find anything?"  Dave asks his #1, "Anything at all?"

"No sir." says the tall dark handsome bodyguard that looks like his full time job is lifting weights.  "We found nothing."

"Have you swept the house?" Dave responds.

Shaking his head no, Scott, the #1, tells Dave, "No sir, we are waiting for Mr. Bongiovi to take us in, on his order."

Dave looks at Jon and gives him a look.  Jon sees it for what it says and he answers, "Yeah, they can go in.  Pete is in there with the kids.  Stephanie and Jesse are in there too."

"Pete?" the #1 asks him.

"Our nanny.  Her name is Lupetta.  But we call her Pete."  Beth chimes in, "She's very protective of her kids, so you will need to remove your glasses and don;t move too fast."

Jon jumps in, "If you do, she'll kick your ass."  Beth laughs, because it's the truth.  The longer that Pete has been with them, the more involved she gets and she takes her job, her career very serious.

Dave leads his guys into the house.  Jon and Beth stand in the driveway with Jon Spencer.  They hear a car coming and then see it drive by.  As it slows down and crawls by, Beth laugh, "They even find us at the end of the world."  Jon and Beth wave as the car goes by and they can hear the loud squeal and the, "OMG he waved at us."

"Come on, we shouldn't be out here and that right there is proof as to why."  Jon hikes Jon Spencer up and put him on his shoulders.  The little boy is happy to be given a piggy back ride.  Beth reaches over and takes Jon's hand and together they walk into the house.  Leaving the rest of the security force behind them.

The security sweep is over, as is the in depth detail of what's expected of each man.  When all is said and done, they each have one of Dave's best guarding them during the day and at events that require a body guard that's top notch.  The kids each have one for school.  Pete has one for all hours that she is not at the Bongiovi house or with the children.  Jon will not let her go unprotected.  His mother, father and two brothers have a guard - as well as a 2nd 'shift' crew to guard the house and the family while they sleep.  Dave and the non working guards leave, and the rest of the men take their places.  

After a late dinner, Jon and Beth sit down with the kids and explain all that they need to know.  Stephanie and Jesse are the most difficult to deal with.  They are more worried about looking unpopular than they are with being safe.  Jon is getting irritated with the selfishness, and he doesn't think that the two young adults understand the seriousness of the situation.  Jon, after getting the attention of the nanny asks, "Pete, can you take these into the kitchen for some ice cream, please.  Beth and I need to talk to these two."  He points to the four youngest children an then points to the oldest.  

Pete stands up, "Sure thing.  Come on kids, let's go get some ice cream.  Mommy and daddy need to talk to Steph and  Jess in private."

Jon Spencer and Brianna were right on Pete's heel, while Jake and Romeo weren't as quick to move.  Once the little ones were out of earshot, Jon laid into both of them.  "I understand that you're embarrassed by having to have a man dressed in black wearing sunglasses with you at your every move - but there is no alternative other than coming back home and going to school."  The kids can hear that their dad is getting upset, but Jesse doesn't let that stop him form adding his Hurley backtalk fall from his mouth.

"This is stupid dad.  It's not us that they want to hurt.  They want to hurt Beth.  We'll be fine."

"Yeah dad!" Stephanie throws in for good measure.  "They are obsessed with Beth."

Beth takes a deep breath, "I think that they will target you guys, what better way to get at me then to hurt the ones that I love, the ones that I cherish."

Chapter 101 - You Can Sleep While I Drive

"We go along for a few weeks with everything going great and them wham, we get hit with shit like this."  Jon tells Dave, exhausted, confused and scared.  "I don't know when and if these people will ever leave us alone."  He looks at Dave and gives him a fake smile.

Dave stands up, straightening his pant legs, he replies, "I hate to say it, but it's kind of the price of fame."

"That's bullshit and you know it.  These people have taken stalker to a new extreme.  You have no idea what they have done, what they will do or even what they are capable of."

"I do know some of what they have done, Jon and that's why you're getting my best."

"I know.  I know."  Jon leans forward.  Resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, "I just want to get on with our lives.  I want to give Beth the life that she deserves and the life that I know she has wanted her entire life."

"You will.  We'll get these assholes and then you and Beth can live in wedded bliss."  Dave walks to the door.  "I'm going to go check on my guys.  Will you be alright?"  He looks back at his long time friend and employee.  

Jon nods his head, "Yeah.  Go do what you have to do.  I'm going to go check on Beth."

Dave leaves Jon and goes to check on his men that were scouring the premises for cameras, bugging devices and GPS devices.  Jon waits a few minutes and then heads up the back stairs to peek in on Beth.  

Inside their bedroom he stops in the doorway and watches her sleep.  She's wrapped tightly in her favorite 1000 thread count sheets, wearing just her panties and tshirt like she always does.  He can see that she is in a deep sleep, as her breathing his deep and slow.  His heart hurts for her, his heart aches for her  - he knows that she is torn up inside and there isn't anything that he can do to help her.  It was a nightmare that they all were living, they all had to get through.

At her side, he sits next to her and brushes some of her blonde hair off her face.  With gentle caresses he gets lost in the warm, softness of her skin.  He goes deep in thought and decides at that moment that they are going to sit and wait for the crew to hit.  He's getting his family out of New Jersey and then he will deal with them when they are all safe and tucked away.  He knows in his heart that it's the right thing to do.  Trying to get on with life as if nothing was happening would be a mistake.  They can't get on with life, with the possibility of another nightmare looming over their heads.  

After he pulls the iphone out of his pocket, he scrolls through his many contacts and finds Dawn, his assistant.  Quickly he types her a message:

 Please contact Chris.  I need the plane ready to fly out of the executive airport first thing in the morning.  Tell him I will give him my destination at the airport.  Cancel all appointments that I have.  Please contact Sunshine and get the number of the tutors that he uses for Jenny and Scott.  I need two advanced tutors on the road, leaving tomorrow.  Also, please call Steph's and Jesse's school and let them know that they will be gone for a couple of weeks.  I'll call you tomorrow.  Thanks - j  

Once he's happy with his message, he presses send and then moves onto the next text.  This one was to Pete:  

We're leaving town tomorrow to get away from any possibility of harm from the assholes that are out to get us.  I can fly you home to family if you want, or you are more than welcome to go with us.  Either way, we will be gone for a couple of weeks.  Please don't say anything to Beth or the kids.  I don't know how to tell them.  He presses send again.

He sits with Beth for a few more minutes and then gets up to go find the men that were protecting him and his family.  As he passes through the house, he can hear the twins laughing and playing with Pete.  The music that was to his ears was short lived as he can see and hear Stephanie bolt down the stairs half asleep.

"DAD THERE ARE MEN WALKING AROUND OUR HOUSE, HURRY CALL THE COPS!" he can hear the terror in her voice and he can see it on her face.

"Steph those are Dave's guys.  It's okay."  Stephanie goes to her dad and hugs him.  Jon holds his daughter close, "It's okay Rose, they are here to check the house and keep us safe."

"Why are there so many?" she asks through her heavy breathing.

"We're a big family and they are the best."

"Are those the guys that are going to school with me?" she steps back from her dad, "Those guys are scary dad, I can't take one of them to school."

"Steph....." he wants to reason with her, he needs her to see the importance of the threat that they are under.

"Dad, look at them." she points out the window from the front foyer, "They are huge, in all black with no expression on their face."

"Stephanie, can we not do this now, please.  I need to get out there and talk to them."

"Dad...."

"Rose."

"Fine." she says as she walks away from her dad.  With a deep relaxing yawn, she adds, "I don't need any bodyguard."

Jon watches her walk in the direction of the kitchen and chuckles at her early morning drama.  When she's out of sight, he continues outside to talk to Dave and his men.

He sees Dave coming up from the shore, walking with two of his men.  As they head in his direction, Jon mentally second guesses his decision to take the family away.  To take his family and hide.  For a moment he can feel his heart beat hard in his chest, but he can't let that get in his way.  He knows that he needs to take charge, he needs to be the solution to the problem that hasn't even started yet.  Dave and his guys get to Jon, "Hey, what's up?  Is everything okay?"  Dave asks, extending a limp hand to shake Jon's.

Shaking Dave's hand, Jon starts to tell Dave about Stephanie's reaction to seeing the starnge men lurking around her house and that makes Dave laugh.  But Jon sees it all a little different now.  "I was thinking that I might just grab some tutors and take off with the family.  We can't live under the thumb of protection forever."

"Who said it would be forever?"  Dave leans on the fence and looks over at Jon, "You need to be proactive instead of reactive, you know that.  This isn't your first rodeo, Jon."

"I know.  I just want to disappear with all of them and not have to look over our shoulders."

"Let me and my guys do what we are good at.  We can protect all of you while you figure out what to do to get these guys to go away." 

Jon rests his head on his arm, leaning on the fence next to Dave.  "Guys, can you excuse us?"  Jon asks Dave's hired guns, "I need to speak privately with Dave."

"Absolutely."  says one guard as he takes a step away.

The second guy waits his turn and tells Jon, "Yes, sir.  We'll go walk the grounds, unless you would like us to go inside and sweep the house for bugs and cameras?"

Jon thinks for a moment, "I think that would be alright.  Give me a minute and I'll take you in."

The guard nods and walks away.  Jon stays there with Dave.  When the men are far enough away, Jon picks up where he left off.  "We are good people and we try to do right by everyone, why does this shit keep happening?

"It's who you are."

"So, because I'm Jon Bon Jovi I should just accept this as the way it's supposed to be?" Jon looks down at the ground, "My kids don't deserve this and neither does Beth."

Dave reaches over and rests him hand on Jon's arm, trying to show Jon that he's concerned for him and that he understands how he feels.  "Do you remember that L.A. show where you had that crazy chick in your dressing room that had the loaded gun?"

Jon looks up at him, "Yeah."

"Did you ever follow up with that, to see who she was?"

Jon shakes his head no.  "When the police took her, that was the last thought that I ever gave her.  Why?"

Dave takes a deep breath and shakes his head a little, "Well, I happened to think about her when you went to check on Beth, so I called a friend that's on the force out there."

"AND?"  Jon is getting upset.  He's not thought about this girl in years and is starting to wonder why Dave did.  "What did you find out?"