Jon was up early the next morning, sipping coffee and absently strumming his guitar on the back porch. He knew the restraining order was being delivered with Natalie's termination statement to David and found his heart beating harder as the minutes ticked by.

"You hungry?" Dot asked, sticking her head out the side door.

"Not just now," Jon replied with a shake of his head. Another hour passed before his phone started to beep rapidly. "Oh shit...please don't be Lema, please don't be Lema, please don't fucking be Lema."

Jon groaned when he saw not only was it David but Richie and Tico had been included on the message. It was a photo of Natalie from a few months back, her legs spread and smiling up at him from the bed, followed by a text message saying "Who wants a turn?"

Jon: Oh give it up, Lema, would ya?

David: Looks like Richie found a new plaything. Sorry, Jonny.

Tico: Keep those to yourself, Lema!

Jon: Think again, asshole. I know where Richie stands as he does with me.

Part of Jon wanted to drive to Colts Neck and beat David's ego out. He made sure to take screenshots of the conversation but there was something that just wasn't sitting right. David had fired Natalie and it was David that wanted Natalie out of his house.

But now, he was acting...fuck...he was acting obsessed with her. Was he just determined to ruin her reputation or had something more sinister manifested?

David: Yeah...Proud and erect in that dirty little cunt.

Tico: Did I miss something up there?

David: Aww, why don't you tell him, Jonny?

Jon: Fuck...T, I'll call you and explain everything

David then sent photos from Richie's home the previous night including Natalie sleeping. One photo was taken from the doorway while the second was close up with David's ringed hand hovering over Natalie's neck.

David: So close...

The next photos were taken from the hallway outside the bedrooms. They showed Natalie walking to Richie's room along with a video of them having sex and photos of them sleeping together.

David: Tell that little bitch that if she keeps fucking with me, I'll send her back to her mother...in a body bag.

Jon stared blankly at his phone for several minutes. David had been inside Richie's house. None of them had taken into consideration that they all had the access codes to each other's homes. How could he have missed something that vital?

Jon: Stay away from her

David: Why? You want another go at her? She tasted yummy, didn't she, Jonny?

Tico: Who the fuck pissed in your Cheerios, Lema??

He tried calling Richie multiple times while pacing along the patio, looking out over the manicured backyard and Navesink River. No answer. Fuck, Rich, pick up! Jon reluctantly answered Tico's call and brought him up to speed.

"I'm heading over there," Jon said as he brushed passed Dot and upstairs to throw jeans and a t-shirt on, fingering his hair and pocketing his wallet. "That fucker was in there and now Richie isn't answering...yeah if you could try as well...there's no reasoning with David now...no, he's too far past that point."

The drive to Richie's home seemed to take far longer. Jon tapped his fingers on the steering wheel at traffic lights and weaved between cars once on the highway. Each call to Richie's phone went unanswered and Jon's cursing grew louder and louder.

"Richie? Baby, you home?" Jon called out when he let himself into the dark house. He could hear hushed moans from upstairs and swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. "Rich?" Jon climbed the stairs to the landing and was able to see inside the master bedroom with the door opened wide.

Richie's arm was hugging the figure next to him, their naked forms exposed and the duvet kicked off the bed. Jon watched his lover's hips roll and elicited whimpers and moans from his bedmate, their legs entwined with each other.

"Mmm, baby," Natalie breathed, her voice betraying that she was still mostly asleep.

"You like that, darlin'?" Richie groaned thickly and buried his face in the woman's hair, his hand tucked between her legs and massaging the right spot to make her hips buck off the bed.

Natalie's hand reached behind to sink her nails into Richie. "Ooh god yes...deeper, baby...right there, Richie Baby..."

Jon raised an eyebrow and leaned against the doorway. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything!"

Richie and Natalie, startled by the intrusion, jumped to untangle themselves and the latter rushed to cover herself. "Jon! What the fuck are you doing here so early?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah...what are you doing here, Jonny?" Richie echoed and pulled Natalie against him.

Jon rolled his eyes and took a couple steps into the room. "You weren't answering your phones. There's been a development. But I see something else has come up too."

"Shit..." Natalie whimpered and shoved her face into her pillow.

"Well," Richie said and tried to give Jon a charming smile, "you know how hard mornings can be for me,"

"Don't give me that shit, Rich," Jon snapped. "I'll see you both downstairs...and preferably dressed." Jon walked out and Richie quickly pulled on a pair of black basketball shorts and raced after him.

Jon smacked his palm onto the marble countertop and cursed. Why the hell did he even try counting on Richie anymore?

"Baby, I can explain," Richie said as he rounded the corner into the kitchen.

"You told me there was nothing between you two," Jon growled, "what the fuck was that shit?"

"I was still half asleep! I was seeing you in my dream, baby," Richie sighed, moving around the kitchen and setting the coffee pot, "One thing led to another..."

Jon opened up the message thread on his phone and slid it angrily towards Richie. "Last night too?"

Richie took the phone and saw the photos. He tried to wrap his sleep-fuzzy head around them when they heard a scream from the bedroom. He dropped the phone and raced back upstairs with Jon hot on his heels.

Natalie was curled up, still naked, at the foot of the bed. "He was here! Fuck! He was here!" she screamed.

Their eyes followed her pointing up to the pillows and saw a silver men's ring laying where her pillow had been. Richie moved closer and saw the familiar skull with black diamonds. None of them dared to touch it.

Jon bent down and picked up Natalie's panties to hand them over and looked at them. They were hard and sticky. He dropped them and glanced over at Richie. "Looks like you had an audience," he said and backed away, helping the shaking girl off the bed. "Go check her room."

Richie nodded and left his bedroom. Jon grabbed one of Richie's t-shirts and handed it to Natalie. "Why are you fucking with Richie now?"

"It's not something we intended to happen," Natalie replied, pulling the shirt over her head. "Richie's been there for me through everything. If he wants to make me feel better through this fucked up shitstorm then who are you to say otherwise?"

"Because he's mine!" Jon rounded on her.

"Do whatever you want," Natalie challenged. "Nothing you do will come close to what David did to me."

"Fuck I'm not gonna DO anything to you," Jon spat back, "I'm not that kinda person. But when it comes to Rich, I'll do anything in my power to see him from getting hurt."

"Ease up, Jonny," Richie's voice came from behind. Natalie and Jon spun around to see him holding several black and white photos.

"Rich..." Jon gasped.

Richie came over and handed the square polaroids to Jon. "He's got more..."

Each had a note on it written in David's messy scrawl, "Daddy's Slut"..."Just the beginning"..."You talk, you pay". The last one had a red X over Natalie's face and a line across her neck with the caption, "Your Move."

"I feel sick," Natalie gagged and ran for the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"Change your code, Rich," Jon said, "I'll call Matt to organize security until he's taken care of. I don't understand what's happened to him and I don't like that I can't fix it."

"I know you don't, Jonny," Richie replied quietly and wrapped his arms around Jon's waist. They shared a sweet kiss and went downstairs. Richie busied himself making breakfast while Jon made several calls including to Glenn, Matt, and another law enforcement buddy of his.

Natalie emerged in a pair of leggings, Richie's shirt and her hair tied back. Her eyes were red and puffy and she avoided eye contact with Jon. "Maybe I just need to leave Jersey," she said, grabbing a soda from the fridge. "Somewhere that he can't get to me."

"Is this about what Jonny said upstairs?" Richie asked softly, "You know he didn't mean anything by it, right?"

"Last thing I need is to piss off another," she answered, "One millionaire wanting me dead is enough."

Richie lay the spatula down and turned to gather her in a one-armed hug, conscious of the fact that Jon was in the same room. "Listen, you should know by now how much of a control freak Jonny is," Richie said, "He stresses when he can't figure out how to fix things. I enjoyed last night and this morning very much and I don't want you believing otherwise. You leave Jonny to me, okay? He'll come around once he knows he's got me safe, as well as you, of course."

Natalie nuzzled her face into Richie's embrace and welcomed a small kiss from him. "I guess I'll take your word for it. You know him better than I do."

"I know him like the back of my own hand, for better or worse," he huffed out a small laugh, "Hey! I have an idea. Come back to California with me when I go and get yourself settled out there. As far away from here as you can get without leaving the country."

"Rich, I can't just leave my mom by herself in Florida," Natalie frowned. "He knows the address there. What if he goes after her?"

"So move her out there too," Richie shrugged, not seeing any problem with the suggestion.

All three jumped at the sound of glass shattering and squealing tires outside the house. "Matt, hurry and get the fuck over here...yeah bring him too," Jon finished, staring down at the brick amongst the broken window pane.

Around the brick was a thin pink collar made of the finest leather with SLAVE embossed on it in black. Natalie trembled when she peered over Jon's shoulder.

"He's gonna kill me," she whispered.

*~*~*

Lexi looked up from preparing lasagna and garlic bread for dinner that evening when a fist pounded incessantly on the front door, the strong male voice on the other side calling out, "Open up! Colts Neck Police!"

She rolled her eyes and came out of the kitchen as David emerged from his office. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked with a sly smile.

"What's it look like?" Lexi sneered. "Opening the door for our guests...or should I say yours?"

"What have you done, Lex?" David tilted his head and took several steps toward his wife. Lexi shook her head and got to the door as David grabbed her long blonde hair, yanking her backward and the door flying open in the process.

"Sir, I'll ask you to step away from the female, please," the alarmed officer commanded from outside the door after seeing the couple fighting.

David snarled at the officer but straightened up with Lexi laying at his feet and holding her stomach. He plastered on a smile and crooned, "Can I help you, officer?"

"David Bryan?" the officer asked, stepping just inside the door.

"The one and only," David replied with a smirk.

The officer and his colleague surrounded David as a female officer helped Lexi to her feet. "Sir, you're under arrest for Criminal Trespass, Rape and Bodily Harm," he stated, "Please turn around and place your arms behind your back."

"What did you do to her, David?" Lexi breathed as she slipped heavily to the floor again in shock.

"Dad!" Gabby yelled from the second floor, looking over with the scene with Colton who held his twin sister.

"Oh please...that bitch agreed to everything," David said coldly.

The officer gestured for his partner to move behind David, removing the handcuffs from his belt. "Sir, please turn around and place your hands behind your back."

"I told you to get rid of her, not rape her!" Lexi blurted out.

"Goddamnit, Lex, shut the fuck up," David demanded, landed a kick at her face. Both officers pounced on David and wrestled him to the ground, David's limbs striking out and kneeing one of the officers in the balls.

"Stop resisting! Calm down, Mr. Bryan!"

"Dad! Just listen to them please!" Colton called out.

When the officers had him pinned down, the handcuffs were snapped around his wrist and they yanked him up from the floor. "Domestic Assault, Resisting Arrest and Assaulting an Officer...Care to add to it?" The officer asked.

David spat in the officer's face and snarled, "I'm gonna kill that little fucking bitch."

"David Bryan, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law," the officer read off David's Miranda Rights, leading him out the door to the squad car. "You have the right to an attorney. If you can not afford an attorney--"

"Oh please, I could buy every one of you out of your job," David threatened. As they reached the car, David started to pull against the handcuffs. It took both officers to forcefully push him into the back seat of the squad car.

They sent in the investigators to conduct the search and the cruiser pulled away from the house. Lexi had been helped by the female officer and the twins came down to help. "Mom, you ok?" Gabby asked, hugging Lexi as Colton rushed to the kitchen for an ice pack.

"Mrs. Bryan, do you wish to press charges against your husband?"

Lexi shook her head and let Colton lead her to the sofa. One of the investigators came over and gave Lexi and Colton curt head nod. "Ma'am, I'm Detective Mulloy...this is my partner Detective Howell." He handed the search warrant to Lexi. "We have orders to search the premises."

"Look in his office and the attached room," Lexi said emotionlessly, wincing when the ice was pressed to her face. "...and the basement apartment. That's where she was staying..."

"What other room?" Gabby asked, "What's going on?"

"Your Dad's...special hobby room," Lexi sneered. "He's a sick man, what can I say?"

"Dad? But..." Gabby was at a loss for words as uniformed men roamed their home.

Lexi smiled softly at her stepson. "Colton, you and Gabby go to your rooms. I'll handle things down here."

Gabby was about to protest until Colton took her by the wrist and led her from the room. Once the door had shut upstairs, the female officer looked at Lexi. "Ma'am, has your husband been violent with you before this?"

"Hit me? Yes. Violent? No," Lexi admitted. "My husband's got some sick fantasies. He was having an affair with his personal assistant who was living with us. Then things started to change. He started to change. When I found out, I told him to get rid of her. I didn't want that homewrecker in our house anymore. I just...I had no idea he tried to..."

"Did you know about the Restraining Order?" the officer asked.

"Yeah," she answered, lowering the ice pack. "I thought that would be the end of it. But he just...closed himself off in his office."

One by one, the detectives started bringing out items from David's office. Lexi eyed a black lockbox, two large hard drive backups with David's computer, and a sealed evidence bag with flash drives, David's cell phone, and random polaroid photos.

Finally, a rolling case was brought out after evidence photos had been taken of the dungeon room. In the case were all of David's toys and as much equipment that could fit into it as possible.

Two hours of watching them move through the entire home proved too much for Lexi to handle. Her sister showed up halfway through for support. The detectives turned every inch upside down, including the couple's bedroom, and anything they thought evidential joined the growing pile in the foyer. Soon it was loaded into the evidence van and taken away.

*~*Sentencing - One Month Later*~*

The private conference room fell silent after each lawyer had given their closing statements. Glenn, Richie, and Natalie sat on one side of the long table with David, his lawyer, and Lexi across from them.

Judge Katherine Lockhart sat at the table head, looking through all the evidence and marking notes on a legal pad.

David glanced over and scowled at Natalie, his eyes flashing maniacally and he smirked when Natalie trembled and curled into Richie's side. His blonde hair pulled up into a messy ponytail and his face was scruffy after spending the last month in the local psych hospital.

Rather than getting caught up in the public eye, both parties had agreed to a private hearing. No media. No reporters. No photographs. Rumors were swirling around on the internet, however, after Jon had announced any further Bon Jovi record or tour was postponed indefinitely

"Alright," the judge stated, "Does either party have anything further to add before I hand down my judgment?" Both sides remained silent. "Very well. David Bryan, with the evidence presented, I find you guilty by reason of insanity on all counts. You are remanded to the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital where you are to remain on lockdown under a psychiatrist's care for a minimum of 120 days.

"Once you have received the proper treatment and are cleared as being stable, you are to remain on house arrest for the following three years with mandatory therapy and psychiatric sessions. Weekly psych evaluations are to be submitted to the courts along with recommended treatments."

"Also, no member of the Bryan family is to have contact with Ms. Brockman aside from her settlement in the amount of $540,000 to be paid no later than one week from now. The Restraining Order will remain in place indefinitely."

The judge pounded her gavel once and David was led away by officers in handcuffs. Lexi was escorted out by their lawyer, leaving Richie and Natalie with Glenn. Dizziness overtook her, her stomach twisting and turning.

Natalie jumped from her chair and ran towards the bathroom. "I need to get her out of Jersey," Richie said to Glenn, watching where Nat had disappeared into the ladies.

"Probably for the best," Glenn replied. "When the settlement comes in, I'll get it sent over to her." The two men stood and shook hands, thanking the judge and leaving the conference room.

Richie smiled at Natalie when she finally emerged, hugging her tightly. "Come on. Let's get you home and start packing. Time to head out West. Your mom is already there settling in."