Roswell Fanatics

CandyliciousLovah: Maria agrees that they did indeed work their earlier magic.

sarammlover: Lol, we’ll be seeing more of that for sure. Michael will be having a talk with Courtney. What he tells her and what happens after that, well…

Earth2Mama: True, subtle is not exactly coming through right now. They should talk and they might… maybe… No, Courtney doesn’t deserve this at all.

Eva: Absolutely not! Who doesn’t love a jealous Michael?

keepsmiling7: Well, they made progress after a fashion.

Look forward to later.

We’ll check in with Aaron and the Evans’ soon.

Natalie36: Thanks for reading!

begonia9508: Lol, yes, they do.

Obtuse is a good word here! Things are sure to change. His girlfriend was most certainly far from his thoughts at the moment.

Chances are good Kyle will be getting the occasional dose of junk food while staying with the girls, but he’ll probably be getting his share of good food.

The shoot begins today!

Roswelllostcause: Michael still has to figure some things out where Maria’s concerned. Certainly this event will cause him to question things, but until he understands his own feelings he won’t be able to admit them. Kyle’s stay with the girls should be interesting to say the least.

Alien_Friend: Jealousy is gonna become something Michael’s familiar with before this’s over. He does have some things to figure out and if he ever gets some time to himself maybe he’ll just have to sit down and do some honest soul searching.

There are more dreamer moments to come.

We may just hear what Max thinks about that situation.

kismet: Lol, yeah, he’s definitely noticing Maria now! That could happen… but, wow, can you imagine the argument that would set off?

You and Max have that in common, huh? It’d be funny if Aaron decided to do what your son does and started repeating some of Max’ comments.

We’ll be seeing Mr. Jealousy come out to play before long.



Part 131

Blaze

Max, Liz and Tess stood back, watching the couple and sharing dessert. “I’m afraid my air conditioner isn’t working against the heat those two are generating,” he mumbled, amused.

That earned him a slap from both sides even though the girls agreed with him. “I don’t know why they don’t just go for it,” Tess said as she peeled a flaky pastry apart.

“No one knows.”

“They know,” Liz said quietly. “And until they’re ready to risk everything they can’t go for it.”

Another knock on the front door made them turn around and stare at Graham and five or six others. “Guess it’s show time, huh?”

“Darling, you’re magnificent!” Graham enthused as he swept into the room, his presence immediately filling it. He walked around Maria, humming in appreciation under his breath.

“The boys did good work,” she agreed with a smile while Michael was still working on the final touch.

“Indeed they did. But, without such a beautiful specimen to work with, I dare say their work would’ve surely been in vain.” He winked at her and turned to look at Max. “I would still adore the opportunity to make you the object of one of my sessions.”

“Huh-uh, Michael’s the one for your camera today, not me.” Never!

“Oh, Max, just think how happy you’d make him,” Liz said and giggled when she was introduced to the photographer.

“Don’t encourage him, please.”

“Alas,” Graham sighed regretfully, “my pleas fall on deaf ears.” He placed a hand over his heart. “I would be forever grateful if you could change his mind.”

She laughed at his dramatics. “I’m afraid I’m the reason he won’t change his mind.”

“That and there’s the whole straight thing I’ve got goin’ on,” Max grumbled.

“It’s true.” Liz smiled at the other man as she slipped her arm around her boyfriend’s waist. “He’s incurably straight.”

Graham sighed. “The good ones always are.”

Tess giggled. “You know, we girls tend to say that about gay men as well.”

He turned to look at the blonde with the bouncy curls. “I suppose there are times when it’s true.” He glanced at Max. “Unfortunately the ones we want always seem to be taken, and in this case, unobtainable. But it’s impossible to dislike you all the same, Liz. You do have excellent taste in men. I’ll just get set up and then we’ll get to work.” He smiled and whirled around to turn his attention back to Maria. “You already own this ad, you do know that don’t you, gorgeous?”

“You see, that’s why I love him so much,” she told Michael with a grin and nodded at Graham.

He rolled his eyes. “Like you need anyone to tell you you’re hot.”

“Never hurts to hear it.”

Graham watched the two of them as he directed the setup of his equipment. The sexual tension was off the charts and the photo shoot would benefit greatly from it. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation, debating the best way to direct them during the shoot. They were natural with each other and it would show through in the photos. He wanted to push the envelope a bit, really spice up the atmosphere, and they would be perfect.

“The makeup’s ready.” One of his assistants gestured to a small area where he had set up a mirror, some really bright lights, and a chair.

“No sitting,” Max shook his head, “she needs to stand for at least another half hour for it to dry out.”

“Your wish is our command,” the photographer said and snapped his fingers. “William can work in any position; we’ll just make a few adjustments.”

“I sure as hell hope they’re not planning to put any makeup on me,” Michael muttered.

“Just a bit,” Graham said and patted his shoulder. “Don’t you worry, with your rugged good looks, it’s a formality. We want your raw sexuality to come through the photos, to just draw in everyone who gazes upon this ad.” He sighed and smiled in satisfaction as he nodded. “And they will, trust me.”

Michael swallowed. He could just imagine how much his girlfriend would love that. But more importantly: How was he going to survive the shoot itself?

Max was listening to the conversation bouncing around the room and he shook his head. “At this rate no one’s gonna even notice the damn tat,” he grumbled. “That was kinda the point of the ad.”

Graham squeezed his shoulder. “Those who like tats will look at it; the others will just think your shop’s the hottest place in the city. And it seems Mr. Guerin has piercings too, we’ll work that in.”

“That’s true,” Tess said and reached over to ruffle his hair just because she knew it drove him crazy. “And we all know sex sells.”

“Stop it,” Max muttered and slapped her hand away.

“Alright,” Michael placed the airbrush set on the counter, relieved that the work was done. He looked at the woman’s body in front of him. “I think we’re done,” he muttered.

Were they, Maria wondered.

Graham shouldered him out of the way and took her hands in his, lifting them up as he eyed his subject. The outfit they had chosen was perfect, enhancing her form, and between it and the artwork, hinted at the treasures hidden beneath. It would certainly make people wonder, he mused.

“You like?” Tess asked as she moved to stand next to him with a smirk on her face.

“Perfection,” the photographer smirked.

“So what’re you gonna do? Just take pictures of them?”

“Oh, no,” he scoffed, “the best pictures are those that you feel, that you see in your minds’ eye. When you have subjects such as these, the pictures will naturally reveal themselves. And speaking of natural,” he motioned to Michael, “you’ll need to remove your shirt.”

He sighed and decided to not comment on that. With his right hand he grabbed the material of his shirt at the back of his neck and pulled it over his head with one smooth move.

“My, you are large, aren’t you?” Graham moved around him, nodding in approval as his photographer’s eye scanned over his subject. “Yes, you’re perfect. No hair on the back or shoulders...” he made a face, “an incredible turn-off.”

Michael shifted under the guy’s scrutiny and kept his gaze straight forward.

“Yes, yes, a perfect line of hair below the navel.” He reached out and grabbed the sides of Michael’s jeans and tugged on them.

“Hey! What’re you doin’?”

The photographer frowned at him for a moment before realizing that Michael wasn’t one of his models and therefore not used to his behavior. “Pardon me, please,” he apologized. “We’ll want them to drop a bit at the waist.”

Fuck, he knew why he’d never want to be a model. “I can do that on my own,” he muttered and opened his belt to close it again a little less tightly.

Maria followed his move with her eyes and swallowed now that Graham was so pointing out all of his advantages.

“Very well.” He turned and motioned for one of his assistants. “Carrie, get with Max and let’s turn that air back.”

“We have the spritzers, boss.”

“No, no, I want natural! Spritzing water on some models is believable, but I want the real thing here. Just the right amount of perspiration is incredibly sexy.” He frowned as a thought occurred to him and he turned to Max. “The paint won’t run if she perspires, will it?”

“No, once it’s dry we’re good.”

“Wonderful!” He clapped his hands and motioned for his assistant to move. “Go, by the time they begin to perspire the paint will be dry enough to handle it.” He turned to look at Michael. “Would you be averse to doing some shots in just your boxers?”

He didn’t want to at all, but how much of a pussy would they think he was if he refused while Maria was almost naked? “I’m good,” he said and was thankful he had decided to wear tight black ones today. Now, just don’t get it up again, he told himself.

Graham nodded. “Perfect! I couldn’t have asked for better models for this project!”

Tess moved around Maria to eye the entire paint job. “Sexy as hell. You satisfied with your look?”

She looked down at herself but before she could say anything Max took her hand and pulled her around the counter, turning her so that she was facing a full-length mirror. Her breath caught in her throat and she could only stare.

“The word you’re lookin’ for is yes,” he said with a grin.

She grinned. “Not bad, boys.”

“You had these two workin’ on you all day?” one of Graham’s assistants asked. She tossed her red hair over her shoulder and winked at Maria. “You’re one lucky girl.”

“I know I am,” she agreed.

The woman winked and went back to the lighting equipment she was setting up. Some girls just had all the luck, she thought.

“You okay?” Tess asked her when everyone else was busy with other stuff.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Maria dared to look at her. “Why? Don’t I look fine?”

“I don’t know... a little off maybe?”

She messed with her hair for a minute. “Why would I be off?” Did her voice sound high-pitched or did it only sound that way to her own ears?

Tess’ eyes narrowed. “I think the two of us need to take a bathroom break.”

“I had one a while ago.” Tess would know before they’d been in there for two minutes!

“Um-hmm, just more proof you’re hiding something.” Her gaze shifted to Michael and then back to her. “Okay, later then.”

“Why do you just assume I’m hiding something?” Maria hissed.

“Because you’re so easy to read.”

“Yeah, and what do you think you’re reading, smarty pants?”

“Not sure, but I’ll figure it out.”

The annoying thing was she was right. Maria just rolled her eyes and turned back to the mirror. “Well, you just keep trying to figure out your imaginary problem.”

Tess chuckled. “You’re such a bad liar, Maria. But we have all night. I’ll figure it out eventually.”

She waved her friend away and tried to reassure herself that there was no way Tess could figure it out.

*****

Alex went over the stack of mail he had gotten out of his box earlier and at least half of it was just advertisement crap, which landed right in the trash can next to him. He was almost finished sorting the important stuff from the garbage when a thin white envelope caught his attention. It didn’t have anything on it but four large letters written on the front: ALEX.

Immediately, his heartbeat started to pick up its pace. Was Richard contacting him directly now? Would it be a warning to stay away from Isabel? He shook his head and glanced at the door briefly before his fingers tore the glued edge open.

“What the…” he muttered when he held a simple list of phone numbers in his hand and only then did he realize what it was and he was able to breathe in relief. The phone list, of course! The hacker from college had told him he would deliver Kennedy’s personal cell list by the end of the week.

His gaze swept over it again and his attention was caught by two numbers highlighted by different colors. As he scanned the list he noticed that they appeared on several different days and times. At the bottom of the paper there was a broad stroke of the colors as well. Next to the red one was the name: Arnold Westbury, and behind it in brackets (he was in the pics). And next to the yellow stroke was a name that made Alex’ blood run cold: Richard Matthews.

*****

Graham stood back, his arms crossed over his chest and his expression thoughtful as he stared at his models. They were both photogenic and there was no denying the heat they radiated, but something about the shot just wasn’t working for him. He wanted raw sexuality – and he had no shortage of it to work with, but so far the shots weren’t translating that the way he wanted them to.

He sighed and shook his head. He needed a roaring fire and he was barely getting the flame from the tip of a match. It was there, it just needed to be stoked, and to do that he was going to need to loosen them up. Michael was so tense he looked ready to snap and that wasn’t helping. He paused to glance over the cameras lined up on the counter behind him, finally deciding on the one loaded with actual film. Digital was nice, but sometimes it paid to do it old school.

Max finally approached him after nearly 15 minutes of silence. “Is uh, is there a problem?” he asked as he scratched the back of his head.

“I need the room.”

“Excuse me?”

“The room,” Graham said and motioned to the area around him, “I need it cleared of extra bodies.” He turned to look at Max, thinking once again what a shame it was he was so straight. “Relaxed subjects translate better on film. You want this advertisement to come off sexy and for me to achieve that result I need them to loosen up.”

He smirked. “It’s Guerin, right? He’s got a little stage fright goin’ on? Little performance anxiety?”

“Sweetheart, not everyone is comfortable in front of the camera.” His gaze dropped to the camera as he made a couple of adjustments. “The camera sees things that people don’t want to be seen.” His thumb stroked over the piece of equipment slowly as he spoke. “The right picture can reveal a truth that people may not be ready to face.” He looked up and smiled. “Or it could simply be that he doesn’t enjoy acting like a trained monkey.”

“So, clear the room so you can turn up the heat over there?”

Graham’s lips turned up in a mischievous smile. “Sexy and smart.” He shook his head. “It’s a shame you don’t want to be photographed.”

Max chuckled quietly. “Not really, Graham, because then the truth in those photos might break your heart.”

The other man chuckled at the words. “Is the air conditioning still on?”

“Just at a bare minimum.”

“Switch it off.”

“Seriously?” Max pulled his already sweaty tee shirt from his upper body.

Graham just smiled as he watched his models. Heat and sweat had a tendency of making things uncomfortable and it put people on edge. Control the situation just right and the results could be explosive. “I’m serious.”

“Alright. But don’t complain about the stinky air later,” he said and turned to walk off to the back.

“I’ve worked in much worse conditions, sweetheart. Now go,” he waved him off, “turn that air off and then make yourselves scarce.” He clapped his hands to call everyone’s attention to him. “William, Shaun, Patrice... I don’t need you right now, go with them.”

The workers glanced at each other in confusion but did as they were told, leaving the main couple alone in the center of the room.

“This’s just great,” Michael muttered. “What’s this nut-job got in mind now?”

“Not sure,” Maria muttered. “And it’s freaking hot.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” It was kinda hard to ignore the fact that her skin was glistening under the lights that were only increasing the heat in the room that felt smaller with each passing minute. And the sweat creeping down his chest and back was making him irritable.

“This won’t wipe off from sweat, right?” She glanced down at her body.

“It hasn’t yet, has it?”

“Don’t be grumpy,” Graham chastised cheerfully. He turned to find Ciera and snapped his fingers when he spotted her. “I think he needs something.” He took a step back, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he eyed the couple critically. “He needs...” He frowned suddenly. “You’re a firefighter?”

“EMT,” he grumbled.

“Hmm...”

“Got it, boss,” Ciera said and located the piece she was looking for in the large case of accessories she carried everywhere.

“Oh, yes, that’s perfect,” he said as he accepted the rugged necklace with a sterling silver pendant hanging from the chain. “St. Michael, how appropriate. He’s the patron saint of police officers and EMTs.” He handed it to Maria and motioned to the grouchy man behind her. “If you’ll do the honors please.”

She frowned at the necklace. “Huh?”

“Put it on him please.”

“Okay,” she frowned again but then turned to Michael and stood on her tiptoes to lift it over his head

Graham snapped his fingers and without a moment of hesitation Bree jumped up and grabbed his camera, placing it in his hand and quickly moving out of his way.

“That’s it,” he murmured when he saw the slight relaxing of Michael’s taut features as he reached out to steady her.

Maria’s gaze wandered to the pendant when it rested on his bare chest and had a closer look at it.

The photographer shifted to a new angle, crouching down to capture their expressions. He needed to get them used to the camera, more Michael than Maria since she had done this before.

Fucking great, Michael thought when his gaze swept over her body while she was standing in front of him. The reaction he suddenly got from his body was annoying because she had gone from being best friend material to dirty fantasy material in an hour or so.

“Lean into him,” Graham instructed. “Right hand on his chest... that’s it...”

Maria did as he said although her heart was beating up into her throat and she was pretty sure Michael could tell. His chest felt strong under her touch and it didn’t matter how often she had touched it before, it felt like the first time.

“Perfect.” He slowly moved around, snapping pictures constantly. “Michael, let’s see those big hands please. Start at her waist.”

Why not bring him to full hardness, he thought in frustration but did as he was asked. His lips parted for a deeper breath when his palms came in contact with her sweaty skin.

“There we go.” His left hand shot out, accepting the camera Bree had brought over to replace the one he was using just as he neared the end of the roll of film. He nodded his thanks and continued, the exchange occurring flawlessly. “Slide them down... slowly... slowly...”

“Who had me committed to doin’ porn?” he muttered quietly and lowered his hands, clenching them when they reached the curves along her ass.

“Oh, honey, we’re not doing anything so tasteless,” Graham said, clicking his tongue in disapproval.

That actually brought a smirk out and he was glad to see her features relaxing as well.

Maria knew they needed to improve a bit so the photos wouldn’t look so forced in the end. She wrapped her hand around the pendant and pulled on it slightly while she bit her bottom lip.

“Nudity can be very sensual if shot correctly,” he went on, smiling when he noticed the easing in Maria. She knew how to work a shot, knew how to help others relax, and it was one of the reasons he enjoyed working with her. She made it easy even when it wasn’t.

This was awkward, she thought as she looked into Michael’s eyes and didn’t know what exactly she saw there. “No worries. I won’t hold it against you if you grab a little tighter,” she whispered.

“This’s makin’ a lotta things tight,” he muttered.

Graham chuckled under his breath. “It’s a natural reaction, just go with the flow. Now quit growling like a wounded bear and focus all of your senses on this gorgeous creature in your arms.”

Maria glanced down at him briefly, noticing the slight bulge that was sure to be the reason for his stiffness. Her gaze went back to his face and she winked with a smirk.

“Not funny,” he hissed.

The photographer moved in, careful not to get closer than Michael was comfortable with. “Just a fact of life. How could you possibly be so close to a beautiful woman and not react?”

“I’d be offended,” Maria whispered into his ear.

So would Court, he thought but kept it to himself.

“Maria, lean into him, chest to chest as you gaze up at him... eye contact is important.”

“Alright,” she told herself and prepared for the heat she was going to feel as soon as their skin touched.

Michael’s jaw clenched and his eyes darkened even further when her breasts made contact with his chest.

Graham switched angles again, making sure to get Michael’s arms in the shot, the corded muscles standing out prominently.

Do something, idiot, Michael thought. He felt stupid not moving at all so after an unending battle he reached up to tangle one hand in her hair.

“Beautiful,” the photographer murmured quietly. Now they were on the right track. If nothing interrupted or disturbed them they would unknowingly direct the rest of the shoot instinctively.

“Look at them,” Tess said, amused from the end of the room.

“Yeah. The way the world should be,” Max agreed.

“Graham keeps them going like this and they could be,” Liz mused.

The photographer took shots from different sides, satisfied with a few of them. If only he could get them to kiss. “Okay, I want that look on your faces that you get when you’re just about to kiss.” He grinned to himself.

“I’ve never looked at myself when I’m about to kiss a girl,” Michael said, stalling because at the moment he could easily picture himself doing more than just kissing her.

“Just imagining it will help,” Graham encourage.

He wasn’t convinced his imagination was going to do them any good because it was taking off in directions it’d never been allowed to go. At least as far as Maria was concerned. His gaze traveled over her face, her skin flushed and damp from the heat, and when his eyes lowered to her lips he found himself wondering what would happen if he did more than just think about it. How would she taste? Would her lips be as soft as they looked?

“That’s exactly what I wanted,” Graham muttered.

Maria looked up at Michael, her eyes focused on his lips. Gosh, she really didn’t need to pretend that she wanted him to kiss her with those fucking perfect lips!

“You know it’s gotta be hard for the guy to stand there, that close, and just THINK about kissing her,” Max mumbled.

Liz chuckled. “No doubt.”

He glanced down at her where she stood next to him. “We’d never make it.”

“Graham wouldn’t be able to publish any pictures of us, that’s for sure.”

“Michael for sure looks like he’s about to go for it any second,” Tess said and sipped on a Coke. Something definitely looked different and she wondered if it was just the current situation or if her earlier instincts had been right and Maria was hiding something from her.

Eva: Wow, that’s a compliment! Thank you!

That fire… well, it’s about to get a bit hotter, lol. Michael’s struggling to do the right thing but he’s definitely having a difficult time. He’s getting close to a place where he has to learn those lessons and decide what – and who – he really wants.

Natalie36: Lol, we know how you feel!

sarammlover: Oh, yeah, Courtney’s not gonna be happy. Once she takes a look at those billboards it’s gonna be hard to not see what’s right in front of her eyes. Alex does indeed have another piece of the puzzle.

CandyliciousLovah: They’re all having a good time… well, lol, most of them.

Earth2Mama: And they’re about to get hotter. Tess values her life so we’re not sure about her confronting Michael, lol.

We’ll catch up with Alex next week.

keepsmiling7: Yep, we’re thinking you’re right.

So far he’s managed to keep his pants on, lol.

Then it’s a good thing they’re not the focus of Graham’s camera lens!

Roswelllostcause: Maybe we’ll get a chance to see them show off for the camera.

Alex does have some good information. We’ll catch up with him next week.

begonia9508: Maria’s face is likely to be revealing her innermost feelings.

Lol, no, there are some things Michael just has no control over.

Oh, we’ll get to Courtney’s reactions in time. The billboards aren’t going to be able to hide the truth.

We’ll catch up with Alex next week to find out what happens with this new information.

kismet: It may be suggested in the next part… whether we get it or not, well… we’ll see.

Due to the fact that they’re getting their information illegally they have to be careful what they take to the police.



Part 132

Lecherousness


“I bet fifty bucks that he won’t,” Isabel suddenly appeared next to them with a coffee in her hand. She had overheard her sister’s statement and she couldn’t let it pass without comment.

“Sorry, your betting partner isn’t here,” Max snorted, amused.

“You guys are boring,” she smirked and leaned against the counter next to them. “What’ve I missed?”

“Tons of sexual tension,” he replied coolly. “I swear the air was so thick when he was painting on her, I had to get outta here.”

Isabel’s eyes moved over the couple in the center of the room. While Maria looked a little bit more relaxed, her brother was obviously finding it hard to breathe and she wondered if it was her or the cameras that made him so nervous. “They look good together. You made the right choice for the shoot, definitely.”

“Thanks, I had no doubts.”

“And you picked the right time as well,” she added with a smirk. “No way Courtney would’ve let him do this in front of her.”

“If there was a way for her to yank his chain from up where she is she’d be doin’ it,” Max muttered under his breath. “I don’t get how he doesn’t see it.”

Isabel snorted indelicately. “Really? It wasn’t that long ago when you were bein’ a major dick to Liz.” She held a hand up when the brunette started to speak up, most likely in his defense. “And you don’t get a free pass because you definitely didn’t miss an opportunity to give as good as you were getting.”

Liz just smiled and shrugged one shoulder. There was really no point denying it. They had been at each other’s throats. Of course, the difference was they’d done their best to aggravate each other, fully aware of why they were behaving that way. Michael really did seem to be clueless when it came to Maria. Although there was something in the taut lines of his body that suggested maybe he was starting to figure it out.

“Yeah, well, they’d better do something before the freakin’ room goes up in flames,” Tess said as she tugged the neck of her tank top away from her skin.

“How was Kyle today?” Isabel asked, deciding maybe it was time to try and steer the conversation away from Michael and Maria. Although she wasn’t sure how long that would last because the chemistry was so obvious it was hard to ignore.

“He was in a pissy mood at first, then better when he had his pizza, and then back to pissy with his parents and their drama. But I got him to agree to stay with us girls after he’s released from the hospital.”

She rolled her eyes. “What is it with some parents? I get where his dad has a reason to be pissed but they should really keep it out of his room. The guy’s got enough to deal with without all that drama.”

“I don’t think they really realize it,” the younger girl shrugged.

“That’s probably true,” Liz agreed. “Sometimes it’s hard to see what’s right in front of you.” Case in point, she thought as she watched the photo shoot.

Graham stood up from where he had been kneeling and studied his models. “Michael, I want you to wrap your tattooed arm around her waist.”

“How long does it take to take a few pics?” he grumbled, but did as the man instructed. The muscles in his arm flexed, drawing taut as his skin came into contact with hers once again. “This guy’s gotta be goin’ for some kinda world record or somethin’.”

“Okay,” the man agreed. “Now lift her up that way. Think you can do that?”

Oh, yeah, sure, and while we’re at it why don’t we just have her wrap her legs around my waist, he thought sarcastically. “Yeah, fine.” He moved bodies a helluva lot heavier than hers all the time at work.

Maria reached out to steady herself with her hands on his shoulders when he brought them on eye level. He had picked her up with such ease, like she weighed nothing more than a jug of milk and it made her – if possible – even hotter in that moment. Now, if only he wasn’t so pissed about the situation.

Why couldn’t the paint start to run or something, he wondered, shifting to keep her in position when their sweat-slicked skin made it a challenge.

“Alright, Maria... hands in his hair.”

“He really needs to lose that look on his face,” Isabel muttered under her breath. “If I was Maria I wouldn’t be feeling the love right now.”

“You do realize the position the guy’s in, don’t you?” Max asked, feeling some sympathy for Michael’s predicament.

“She makes a good point though,” Tess mused. “Maybe you should show him what look he’s supposed to have on his face.”

“Are you insane? There’s no way I’d put my hands on Maria like that. He may be in denial, but he’s also territorial, and with this heat? Fuck, no.”

She rolled her eyes. “You and Liz, dumbass.”

He frowned at her when Graham slowly lifted his head and he really hoped he hadn’t overheard Tess’ stupid idea.

“I need a real couple, Max... I know I can’t convince you for a little action in front of the camera, but would you mind a little display with your girl from behind the probing eye of the lens?”

Maria glared at Michael, frustrated. “Wonder why so many girls wanted in your bed if you always wear that look.”

“What look?” he asked, relieved to put her down and put some space between them.

Max looked at Liz with a questioning look.

“Yeah, why not,” she agreed and took his hand.

“Alright,” he muttered, letting her pull him over towards the photographer. “What’ve you got in mind, Graham?” He supposed he should count his lucky stars that the guy hadn’t wanted him to pose by himself. No way, he thought, not in a million years.

“I want to show them how a lover looks at his woman. Give her that I-want-you-out-of-your-clothes-now look.”

“That’s a little hard to do when you’ve got all these lights beating down on you and a camera in your face,” Max muttered under his breath.

“Shouldn’t be hard with the right woman,” Tess poked him from behind.

Liz chuckled at his mumbling tirade as she turned to look at him. He could be persuaded to forget everything around them with the right encouragement. “C’mon, Max,” she said, her voice dropping low in that way guaranteed to get his attention, “loosen up and let’s show them how it’s done.”

“Alright,” he gave her the slightest nod and wrapped one tattooed arm around her just like Graham had asked Michael to do.

“Maybe it’ll help if you let you mind wander to our earlier encounter,” she whispered. “Something you still need to finish by the way.”

“Anytime you’re ready.” She made it easy to forget about the lights and the other people in the room. All it took was that look and he could imagine them someplace completely different and alone. His gaze dropped to her lips and his own quirked up in response to the smile there.

“It’s gonna be getting dark outside soon,” she muttered and felt the anticipation when his body was pressed against hers. The last few weeks had been busy and full of things to take care of and worry about so they had almost forgotten how to act like a new couple that was still so crazy about each other.

Who cared? His eyes suddenly shot up to hers when he recalled their earlier conversation when they’d been outside next to the Jeep. “Yeah... we could definitely finish that... conversation sooner rather than later.”

“Perfection,” Graham muttered and pointed both of his hands at the couple while looking at Maria and Michael. “THAT is what I want.”

“Okay, well, they’re probably fuckin’ like bunnies at every possible opportunity,” Michael growled.

“Uh-huh,” the photographer nodded with a knowing smile. “I don’t think you’re innocent either, Mr. Guerin. So why not think about a woman you’re interested in during the shoot?”

Ungh, Maria rolled her eyes slightly. The last thing she needed was for Michael to think of Courtney during their shoot.

“You know, this really isn’t all that bad,” Max whispered as he lowered his head for a kiss.

“No,” she smirked against him. “Guess it’s different when you’re not together though.”

He shrugged. “Don’t see how he can’t see it after today.”

“We need to be patient,” she took his hand when he let her down again.

He glanced at the photographer. “That all you need?”

“We’re good,” Graham nodded and turned to the other couple again. “Wanna try again?”

“Yeah, let’s do this,” Michael muttered. Anything Evans could do, he could do better.

“Alright,” Maria brushed her hands through her hair and lifted it from her sweaty neck for a moment. The more time passed, the more uptight Michael seemed to be getting and she could only hope that the little break had helped.

A little competition was good, he thought. How many times had he and Maria acted out little scenes together when she’d gone through that acting phase in high school and needed someone to practice with? No one needed to know that the inspiration he was using for this scene was their earlier encounter. Let them all think he was thinking of Court. That made him feel a little guilty, but as he stretched he looked down at Maria and he realized that this was a paying job for her and while she might’ve just landed a good job, she had already accounted for the money this one would bring in. He could do this, he decided as he wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her up against him with ease.

It had helped, she mused when they went for it again. She could feel it in his gentler touch, in the way his body pressed against her now, and in the way his eyes were softer. In fact, she found herself so close to him that she had to lean her forehead against his.

“Yes,” Graham whispered as he began to snap off pictures again. “This is what we need.” The heat and the intensity were there, but without the extreme tension radiating off of Michael, that softer side was showing through and balancing out the mood.

Torture, was all Maria could think when her gaze was focused on his lips. Pure torture to get him so close and still not be able to kiss him.

“This’s almost like that one play you did, remember?” he asked quietly. “That one that Don Parsons wrote.” The guy had been 17 and so sure he was gonna be the next big thing on Broadway.

“Not really,” she whispered back, careful not to move too much so Graham could get the shots he needed. “You kissed me for that one.”

“No, I didn’t.” He’d remember if they’d ever kissed.

“Yeah, you did.” It hadn’t been like the world’s greatest kiss or anything and they’d played it off, making a big joke of it.

He frowned slightly in concentration. She sounded so sure, but was she right?

“After the performance at school you asked me if Jack Mitchell had kissed me better than you had during practice.” She smiled slightly at the memory. She had told him Jack was a super good kisser, but the truth had been that the guy had the worst breath and she had been so grateful when it was over.

“That wasn’t a real kiss,” he denied when he finally remembered it. He’d made a big joke of it at the time because it’d been weird kissing his best friend.

“No, and you hadn’t had a lot of practice back then,” she teased lightly. They had only been 16 and he hadn’t become a male slut at that point.

“Whatever,” he snorted, relaxing even more at her easy teasing. “I was born knowin’ how to kiss.”

And she really wanted to find out how his techniques had developed in all those years. Was he a gentle kisser or one of those guys whose kisses were always demanding? Did he enjoy long tender kisses or did he prefer to keep it brief? So many things he could show her. HER and not Courtney.

It was tempting to just go ahead and try it, see if it’d be any different now. Could it be any worse on the cheating scale than giving each other hand jobs earlier? He didn’t see how it could be. But Graham hadn’t said anything about having them kiss so maybe it’d be better to just wait and see what happened. Then he could blame it on the photographer.

Graham shot a look at Max and nodded with a grin and a thumbs-up. They had them right where they wanted them. “If you’re comfortable enough, feel free to kiss.”

Maria’s heart stumbled crazily and when she saw Michael’s eyes moving to her lips she knew he was, for some reason, considering it.

“You want that?”

“I don’t know. Do you?” He could see it happening, kind of wanted it to because now that he had it in his head he couldn’t seem to shake it.

YES! But for different reasons, and not with all of their friends watching them. If he ever kissed her she wanted it to be because he wanted her and not because a photographer thought it would make a good shot. After today, it’d be hard enough to deal with the things that’d happened earlier, but a kiss... she could never act as if nothing had happened if he kissed her. She swallowed and felt her heart shatter at her next sentence. “Would be hard to explain to your girlfriend I guess.”

So would havin’ my hand between your legs, he thought, but managed to keep it to himself. They certainly wouldn’t have THAT on film, but if they kissed it wouldn’t just be on film. It’d be posted for the entire city to see. “Yeah, probably wouldn’t go so well.” He lifted his gaze to scan the walls. Evans had never said anything about having cameras in the place, but it might not be a bad time to find out. He knew about the alarm system, but cameras... yeah, maybe he’d better figure out a way to bring that up in conversation.

“Guess not.” The moment they had thrown away the idea of kissing she felt the regret. Fuck! At least if they had he’d have gotten an idea how you kiss, her conscience taunted her.

Graham watched them, knowing better than to push them right back into the territory that’d had them so tense before. They were more comfortable with suggestive shots and he was fine with that. He straightened and moved back towards his crew. “I want a wall shot.” He motioned to the rough brick wall that ran along the back of the room and showcased tattoos that Max had inked. “That’s perfect and it provides a beautiful contrast to this gorgeous couple.”

“He wants to take a picture of the wall?” Michael asked in confusion.

“No, not exactly,” Maria denied, already having an idea of what Graham was going to request.

“Patrice, let’s get to work on the lighting, please,” the photographer said and snapped his fingers impatiently. “William, I want them flushed and sweaty.” He turned to Maria and smiled. “We’re nearly finished, love.”

She didn’t know if she was really happy about that or not. This day had been all she was looking forward to the past week and what would happen afterwards? Would anything change at all?

“What’s he getting us into?” Michael muttered as William started to work on Maria’s body, pinching her cheeks several times with his fingers until they looked even rosier. He swallowed when the man pulled on the waistband of her panties, rolling it slightly down so they sat even lower. What the fuck? He wanted to slap the guy’s hands away from her.

“Don’t worry, big guy,” William said when he caught the irritated look. “She’s all yours. If you had any idea how many pairs of panties I’d had my hands on the past few years you’d never believe it.”

Michael was about to say something when someone spayed stuff on his back and he made a face. Maria wasn’t his, but he didn’t like anyone’s hands on her anyway.

“He’s gonna make us pose in front of the wall,” Maria answered his question.

“What?” His expression turned wary. “How?”

She smirked. “I’m getting sandwiched I guess.”

He growled under his breath when the photographer headed their way. His dick was already not happy with the current situation and he had a feeling that the photographer was only going to further worsen his situation.

Graham smiled widely as he placed a hand on Maria’s shoulder. “You’re the very picture of sex, gorgeous.” He looked at Michael and turned to point at the wall. “This will be our final scene.” And it would be exactly what he pictured or he wasn’t the photographer he believed himself to be. “The art will get ample display this way. She’ll have her back to the wall...” he looked at Maria again. “I’d like to have your top undone. Patrice will use a little of the glue to keep it from slipping off of your breasts completely,” he said with a little wink. “And Michael, there’s really no plainer way to say it than to just say it. Your jeans will need to be undone and loose around your hips, the belt undone and the buckle resting against her hip. It’s a very close shot, so you’ll be pressed against her, nearly as close as the sexual act itself. I want you to reach down and wrap your hand around her upper right thigh and bring it up against your hip. And then you’ll need to hold that position while Patrice makes sure everything’s lined up for the shot.” He chuckled at the unintended pun. “You know what I mean.”

“You have no clue what you’re doin’ to me,” Michael muttered as he ran a hand over his face.

Maria wondered if he was talking to her or to Graham and decided it was better not to know and just hope that she was the one doing stuff to his body – stuff he’d never again forget!

Graham walked over to Max to discuss a few things and then nodded before he returned. “Alright, before we do the last shot, Max wants single shots of the both of you against the wall. Who would like to start?”

Michael wasn’t about to volunteer so he waited for Maria to speak up. Graham’s last suggestion had been enough to put a vision in his head that he really didn’t need and he had to keep reminding his dick to calm down. What a wasted effort, he thought. There was only one thing that was gonna work at this point and that wasn’t gonna happen again.

When no one volunteered, the photographer grinned. “Alright, Michael, let’s start with you! I want you to lean your back against the wall, one leg bent and your foot pressed against the wall. Look to the side as if you’re watching something in the distance.”

The man grumbled, not wanting to be the only one in the spotlight, but he walked over anyway and noticed the appreciative glances he got from one of Graham’s workers. When he had taken the position that had been requested he let out a long calming breath.

“Alright, place your tattooed arm on the wall right next to your body and turn your head enough for us to get a good shot of your eyebrow piercing as well.”

He wondered how any guy did this for a living and enjoyed it. He felt like an idiot. And, come to think of it, he kinda felt like a scarecrow hanging in the middle of a damn cornfield. He just hoped all of this insanity paid off well and Maria got some recognition and business picked up for Evans because otherwise he was really gonna feel stupid.

Gosh, he was perfection, Maria thought as she watched him. She could tell he was uncomfortable, but he did well and when she took a step back to look at the LCD display on one of the cameras resting on a stand she knew the pictures would be fucking sexy. She would have to ask Graham for one of them for her private collection.

Graham moved to the right to line up another shot and he zoomed in, capturing the expression that most women would think was incredibly sexy. They would never see the discomfort or his dislike at being the center of this kind of attention, but they would see exactly what he wanted them to see.

“Hey, Michael, how about that gorgeous smile of yours?” Maria called, thinking maybe she could get him to relax. Or maybe today she was the wrong person to relax him?

He turned his head to look at her, one eyebrow lifted in question. “What?”

She smiled at him with a wink, using the thumb and index finger of her left hand to push the corners of her mouth up more. His serious looks were sexy, but his smile was killer.

He tried to resist, but the harder he tried the easier it was to smile. When had he ever been able to say no to her?

“You know how to get the best out of that man, darling,” the photographer said with a grin and then came up from behind the camera. “Alright, that was what we needed. Your turn, beautiful,” he nodded to the wall with his eyes on Maria.

“Alright,” she agreed and walked over, not waiting for him to suggest any poses. She leaned her unpainted side against the wall and pressed her opposite hand to it while she glanced over her shoulder in the distance.

“She’s a natural,” he murmured as he started snapping off shots. It was one of the reasons he loved working with her. She was more professional than so many of the so-called professional models he’d worked with. He knew there were plenty of photographers who would turn their noses up at her because they didn’t have the ability to see what he saw when he looked at her. It was their loss though, because she was the genuine article.

Maria turned, bringing her back against the wall and mimicking the position Michael had just been in. She hooked one of her fingers into the waistband of her panties and forced a serious and aroused look on her face while she parted her lips slightly.

“Holy fuck,” Michael hissed under his breath. And minutes from now he was gonna be plastered all over her. His dick jumped at the thought and he wanted to scream in frustration.

The stunned look on his face brought a hint of a smile to hers and it worked in favor of the photos. She spun around again, showing her back to the camera now, with one hand resting on the wall in front of her and her head turned sideways. She bit her bottom lip playfully and threw a glance over her shoulder as if she was flirting with someone.

This was just ridiculous, he thought as he watched her. She was his best friend! How could he just suddenly find himself with a hard-on that wouldn’t quit? Because of her! He could rationalize some of it away. What guy could be put in his position and NOT be affected this way? And then of course, they’d scratched that itch earlier, but they couldn’t do it again. Why not? his inner voice taunted. Did she seem to you like she didn’t want it? Does she look like she’d say no if you made a move on her? Fuck! That’s not the point, he argued silently. There was Courtney to consider and he had to get his head on straight because out of nowhere his universe had somehow spun out of control and he didn’t know how to fix it.

“Babe, if I was a straight guy...” Graham winked at her and then looked at Michael. “Time to open your pants.”

He nearly swallowed his tongue. There was no denying this guy knew what he was doing. He knew exactly how to orchestrate the situation, get the models all hot and bothered and then put them in front of the camera. He’d never paid a lot of attention to the layouts or ads that Maria did but he had a feeling he’d be keeping a closer eye on them in the future. Just to look out for her, he mused, the lie consoling him for the moment.

“Oh, wait,” Graham said when Michael reached for his belt. He nodded towards Maria. “Let her do it while we shoot.”

“You want Maria to undo my belt?” he asked, hoping the words didn’t sound as strangled to everyone else’s ears.

He chuckled. “Problem?”

“Uh, no...” Not exactly. It wasn’t like she expected him to be unaffected. She was a woman and she knew what happened to men in these situations.

Maria leaned her back against the wall again and waited with a pounding heart as he approached her. Posing in front of the camera was one thing, opening up his jeans was a little more real, and she was afraid she was showing nerves everyone could see.

“You don’t have to do this, ya know,” he mumbled as he braced one arm on the wall, their bodies just inches apart. “I don’t see why it matters who unbuckles the damn thing. I mean, they’re not gonna post that.”

She nodded but her gaze was focused on her hands when they went to the belt to unbuckle it. Inwardly she was shaking but she silently thanked whoever cared to listen that it didn’t show too much on the surface. When the belt was open she went for the button of his jeans, which opened easily and left the last barrier... the zipper.

He wasn’t sure if he was breathing or not, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her hands as she hesitated for the space of a heartbeat. “Be gentle,” he murmured for her ears only.

“Sure,” she breathed and moved one hand inside his jeans, plastering it against the zipper while she pulled it down slowly. His dick was so hard against her and although she knew she shouldn’t she brushed her hand against him fully when she pulled it back out.

He had to curl his hands into fists to keep from grabbing her hand and putting it back. His entire body had drawn taut at her touch and he was certain she hadn’t been touching him by accident.

What would she see in his eyes, she wondered as she lifted her gaze again. It was hardly possible that he’d discount her touch as casual and yes, part of her really wanted him to know now.

What’re you doin’ to me, he wondered. She’d never given any indication that she wanted him like that, but everything about today would seem to suggest that she did. There was no denying that he’d always thought she was beautiful, sexy even, but he’d never thought about it beyond that. It had always been kind of just known, kinda like he knew Isabel was beautiful. It was just a fact of nature.

“Michael, move in closer and bring her thigh up against your hip,” Graham directed.

Shit! He’d nearly forgotten about the photographer. He wrapped his hand around her thigh and lifted it, the new position pressing them together as intimately as possible while still clothed.

“Now hold that position. Patrice, let’s arrange that belt and get the drape of his jeans on his hips just right. Maria, can you hold that position, darling?”

“Sure,” she croaked and cleared her throat lightly. “Yeah, I’m good.” Just horny as hell and wet like I just got out of the shower!

“Perfect, we’re nearly there and then you can relax.”

Michael lifted his gaze to the ceiling and inhaled slowly as he tried to ignore everything. In this position he was pressed right against her center and it was kind of hard to act like she wasn’t hot and wet. It was taking everything he had to keep from moving against her. And then, while he was hard as a rock, pressed right into the girl he’d always seen as nothing more than his best friend, he had some chick with green hair working around said erection as she rearranged his jeans to the photographer’s satisfaction. He was grateful she was a professional and kept any comments she must’ve had to herself as she finally backed away.

The relief he felt was short-lived though because the woman came back and worked her fingers around Maria’s top. “Your arm,” she told Maria and took it when she lifted it to press it over her breasts before she opened the zipper at her side. “Can you hold it like that or you want the glue?”

“I’ll hold it,” Maria muttered. Getting the glue off of her skin later would hurt like a bitch.

Michael couldn’t stop his eyes from dropping to stare at her skin where the material had been pulled down, revealing more of her cleavage than he normally saw. Of course, he’d felt more of it than he’d ever saw too, he thought and impossibly he hardened even more.

“Is this even about a tattoo anymore?” she whispered hoarsely, trying to make a joke, but damn, the tension couldn’t be more obvious right now.

“You’re the model,” he muttered gruffly and shifted, unintentionally pushing further against her.

“You’re doin’ good yourself,” she told him and her free hand wandered to his strong chest.

“I couldn’t make a livin’ doin’ this.”

She chuckled. “Ya sure?”

“Yeah, positive.” He had no idea how he was capable of carrying on a conversation in his current position. It shouldn’t be possible, but yet he was. Because she’s Maria, a little voice whispered.

“Alright,” Graham yelled, “that’s a wrap!”

Eva: Michael is really seeing a Maria he’s never seen before!

Lol, that’s a tall request. Should the time and opportunity ever present itself, maybe…

Natalie36: Lol, things probably won’t go as smoothly as we’d all like.

begonia9508: Yeah… she’s probably not gonna be anywhere near as happy as Graham was.

This newest development is likely to really throw things into a tailspin.

Earth2Mama: This is going to take a lot of work if they’re gonna survive it.

keepsmiling7: You and us too!

Yeah, lol, isn’t that the truth!

CandyliciousLovah: Thanks for reading!

Alien_Friend: The end of the photo shoot will reveal the answer to that question.

No, they don’t know anything about a connection there yet. We’ll catch up with Alex today.

Graham is pretty wonderful. We’ve got a little ways to go before we get to that conversation, but it’s coming.

It would be hard to hide that, wouldn’t it? Lol, you probably guess correctly!

There’s one nosy little blonde who isn’t gonna let her hide, that’s for sure.

We’ll find out today.

kismet: Thanks! Lol, Graham will make sure it doesn’t take long. And it also won’t take long for Courtney to see them.

We will be catching up with the little guys soon.

For now Liz is still working at the club.

Roswelllostcause: Thanks for reading!

sarammlover: Lol! Oh, the poor guy’s even more confused than ever now so he may not run towards Maria in the aftermath.




Part 133

Frustration


Maria breathed and while it probably seemed like relief, she knew it was partly disappointment that the shoot was now over and Michael wouldn’t have any more reasons to get that close to her again today.

Michael gently lowered her leg, his fingertips grazing her skin as he slowly dragged his hand back away from her. He grabbed the sides of his jeans and jerked them up and together, hurrying to – carefully – zip and button up so he could buckle his belt. “Finally, huh?”

“Yeah,” she said but didn’t look at him.

“A beautiful shoot,” Graham said as he carefully started to put his equipment away. “If you ever change your mind about careers it wouldn’t be hard to put you on the cover of more than one magazine, Michael.”

“Thanks, but I’ll stick with my current profession,” he told the man.

“Hey, can you zip this up again,” Maria asked him, turning sideways to show him the open zipper on her top.

He cleared his throat and reached for it, swallowing hard when the backs of his fingers came into contact with her soft skin as he brought the sides together, connecting them with the small zipper.

“Thanks.”

“No problem,” he turned and got his tee shirt to pull it over his head again.

Max reached over to drop the thermostat down to a more comfortable temperature. Not that it was likely to help his two friends, but it would sure as hell help the rest of them out.

“Hey, Graham, will you stay for the party?” Maria asked and slipped into her very low-cut jean shorts. She had agreed to show off the art at the party as well but she wouldn’t walk around in her panties all night.

“Only if you’ll agree to let me carry my camera around for some casual shots if something happens to catch my eye.”

“That’s something you have to ask Max I think.”

Max gave him a thumbs-up, giving his approval.

“Wonderful. You never know what might capture a photographer’s eye.”

“I’m gonna grab a shower at home and be back,” Michael muttered and looked around for his keys. Might as well jerk off once or twice while he was at it.

Maria watched him as he made his escape, wanting nothing more than to offer to go with him, but knowing she couldn’t. She had put herself out there, not completely, but more than she’d ever had the nerve to do with him. He’d reacted of course, but any man was certain to react under those circumstances. She wanted him to give her some signal, no matter how small, just something that would tell her he was interested too.

“See you in a while,” he muttered as he passed her, not really knowing how to look at her or how to react now. Damn it.

“Yeah,” she muttered and tried to find something else to focus on so she didn’t have to think about him.

“When’s the party officially start?” Liz asked, glancing up at Max.

“Deejay and drinks should be here in half an hour, guests in about an hour.”

“So we have plenty of time, right?” she asked meaningfully.

He glanced at the plate glass windows at the front of the shop, noticing that darkness had fallen. “As much time as we need,” he answered with a grin.

“Let’s go then,” she breathed against his lips, not believing her own boldness. It had been a while.

“We’ve gotta get some stuff for the party from the basement,” Max muttered to the rest of them and dragged her along with him until they reached his Jeep in the now very dark parking lot.

“Stuff from the basement?” She shook her head at him. “No one bought that.” Not that she cared. All she wanted was to be close to him in the most intimate way possible.

He chuckled and pushed her against the side of his Jeep. “Nothing I could’ve said would’ve sounded any more believable.”

“There’s no denying that,” she laughed, her gaze scanning the darkened windows of the buildings on either side of them as she reached for his belt. There was a time for slow and tender but this wasn’t one of those times.

“You should wear a skirt more often,” he muttered against her lips as his hand moved straight between her legs, pressing against her center and feeling the heat there.

“We’d never get anything else done then,” she mumbled and pushed against his hand as she carefully worked his zipper down.

“I do have some self control, woman.” Not that there was much of it left right now, he thought and worked on her shorts because there was no way – no matter how short her shorts were – to work around them.

“Um-hmm, but not much. Commando, Max?” She chuckled and wrapped her hand around his hard length.

He hissed and buried his face against her neck, biting the soft flesh there hard enough to leave a mark that would fade slowly. Shoving her shorts down, he only waited until she stepped out of them with one foot before he grabbed her thigh to lift her leg up.

It was amazing how much of a turn-on it was to affect a man so strongly. Sometimes it almost scared her how much she loved him, how much she’d do for him whether he asked or not. But it was right and it made more sense than just about anything else in her world. She bit her bottom lip as he touched her, skin to skin, stoking her need for him higher. He was an attentive lover and after the past couple of hours of being on edge it didn’t take long before his touch sent her flying apart.

“So damn beautiful,” Max muttered, entering her while her body was still trembling from the aftershocks of the orgasm he’d just given her. She moaned and her right hand reached up to grab onto the roll bar, her knuckles white and her breathing labored as he began to move within her.

“God, Max,” she rasped, using her other hand to thread through his hair, tugging sharply and bringing his mouth crashing into hers. “Harder…”

He wrapped his arm around her to protect her back and obeyed her guttural request, thrusting harder and deeper as his hips picked up speed. He’d been ready to blow for too long and when she suddenly shifted and brought her other leg up to wrap it around his lower back he thrust into her, sinking deeper with the new position.

His breath came in heated pants, the moisture burning her skin and making her even hotter. She could feel it the moment he reached the point of no return; the telltale signs evident in his rhythm, his muscles, and the look on his face. She whispered his name and their eyes met and locked as he kissed her hard and they hit their peaks seconds apart.

A few minutes later, their clothes put back in order, their skin cooling, and their heartbeats returning to normal, Max lifted his head to look at Liz. “Stay with me tonight.”

Her hands settled on his shoulders and she slowly slid them up his neck to settle along his jaw. “Yes.”

*****

Alex pedaled at a sedate pace, not wanting to push himself too hard in the heat that hung over the city like a hot, wet blanket. Isabel had offered to let him borrow her car but since he didn’t have a car and he hadn’t renewed his license when the time came he didn’t want to get stopped with an expired license. He had intended to return earlier but he’d stayed to visit his sister longer after talking to the nurses and learning that she had developed pneumonia and was being treated for it.

It was a hard visit and one he’d been warned to expect. They had told him it was almost certain she would develop pneumonia at some point but as time had passed he’d started to think maybe she wouldn’t. He knew it was a bad sign but he also knew that she might pull through. He glanced over his shoulder and made a waving motion with his left hand, shaking his head when the driver continued to pace him.

Some drivers were just jerks and refused to accept that cyclists had a right to the roads as well. He could see the lights of the city illuminating the night sky ahead and he knew in just a few more miles he’d be there. He didn’t know if he’d get a chance to talk to Michael alone as he’d intended, but he hoped to have the opportunity. He glanced over his shoulder when the car moved up a little closer and the driver turned the high beams on, nearly blinding him as they reflected off of the speed limit sign up ahead.

“What the hell,” he muttered and once again tried waving for the driver to pass him. “Come on, move,” he yelled even though he was pretty sure the driver couldn’t hear him. The street was pretty empty – there was no need to stay behind him.

The driver in the car didn’t seem to care though, he held his pace, driving just two feet behind him with no intentions other than to bother him.

“Asshole,” Alex muttered and began to pedal faster.

The car stayed behind him for a while longer and when he was fed up with it and ready to pull over for a stop until the idiot passed it suddenly shifted lanes to pass.

Finally, he thought in relief and stayed on his bike. Probably some jerk using his cell while driving and wasn’t paying attention to anything else. His eyes followed the black Mercedes when it passed him just slightly faster than he was going and he frowned when there wasn’t a license plate on the back. “Hey,” he yelled when the car changed lanes way too early again. In his shock he pulled the brakes until his hands hurt, but it still wasn’t enough to prevent a collision. The front wheel of his bike impacted with the rear bumper hard enough to catapult him over the handlebars.

Alex could feel the pain in his right arm and leg where his skin had made contact with the hard dry asphalt, but the anger and surprise overrode most of it when the car stopped just a few feet away and the passengers’ door was opened and closed moments later. “I am so sorry, Sir, I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Really? I didn’t notice,” he spit out sarcastically.

A large man with dark clothes approached him, the hoodie over his head making it impossible to see his face in the darkness. He grabbed the bike from him to place it next to the street before holding out a hand to help his victim up.

“I’ve got it.” Alex ignored him and got to his feet alone, wincing in pain when he felt that something was wrong with his ankle.

“I’m gonna give you a ride, where do you need to go?”

Several cars passed them, illuminating little beyond the tip of the man’s nose with their headlights.

“Or we can just call the police and they can take me home.” There was no way he was gonna let this guy get away with damaging his bike and maybe even a hospital bill.

“Alright then,” the man said and turned his head to the left and then to the right before he took a step closer.

Alex’ eyes widened slightly at the gesture – the man in front of him wasn’t worried about his health, no, in fact he had just checked to see if anyone was close enough to witness anything. His realization came too late to avoid the hard punch to his stomach.

*****

Michael’s thumb tapped incessantly against the steering wheel as he drove, his mind busy turning over the events of the day. He still didn’t know what had happened. Well, he knew what had happened; he just didn’t know why it had happened. His confused brain couldn’t reconcile what he’d done with his best friend. He wanted to go back to the way things were before, back to when he’d known what to expect from him and her.

He was sitting at a stoplight, staring at the sea of red taillights ahead of him when flashing lights and sirens caught his attention as an ambulance raced through the intersection. Out of habit he turned his head to watch the vehicle disappear from sight, taking a turn and heading toward the hospital’s emergency entrance. His eyes locked on the large engraved monument that stood near the front entrance, the hospital’s name emblazoned across the smooth surface.

How had he ended up here? He looked around and tried to remember when he’d taken the turn that would’ve put him on a course with the hospital. He didn’t know. He couldn’t seem to focus on anything right now and he needed to somehow put things into perspective. He was barely conscious of his actions as he flipped the turn signal on and headed into the underground parking garage, finding a spot and taking a deep breath before getting out and heading for the elevator.

The floor Kyle was on was quiet. He could hear the hushed conversations coming from the rooms he passed, the strained tones, and forced laughter as people tried to deal with situations that were stressful or uncomfortable. Instead of continuing down the hall towards his friend’s room he detoured to the nurse’s station and leaned on the counter while he waited for the head nurse to get off of the phone.

Rhonda Carney was a tall woman; blonde with blue eyes that expressed both concern and humor but could flash like a storm-tossed sea when riled. She was big-boned, chewed gum incessantly, had a big voice, and an even bigger heart. Her uniform was always pressed and starched, she ran her floor with military precision, and he’d had a special place in her heart since he was seven years old. She’d been there the day he’d fallen out of that tree and been rushed to the hospital. He smiled faintly. The day Maria had given him the nickname that he still carried with him to this day.

“What can I do for you, sugar?” she asked with a smile as she ended her call.

“How’s he doin’?”

“He’s doing much better and the visits he’s getting do seem to be keeping his spirits up.” She patted his arm. “Don’t you worry about him, Michael.”

“Sometimes he just seems to be…” he shrugged. “I don’t know, depressed, and none of us are really sure what to do to help him.”

“You just keep doin’ what you’re doin’ because it’s workin’. Bodies often heal faster than the heart or the spirit but he’s got both in spades. He’ll be fine.”

He nodded. “He got any visitors right now?”

“No, his parents left a while ago and he fell asleep without eating any dinner but I figure the rest is more important at this point and I can always bring him something a little later if he decides he’s hungry.” She glanced up when the quiet alert sounded, letting patients and visitors know that visiting hours were coming to an end. She waved him off with a wink. “Go on.”

“Thanks,” a smile ghosted over his lips. “I’ll bring you candy next time.”

“Don’t you dare,” she hissed and shook her head. “At my age candy goes straight to the hips.”

“Nothing to worry about for you,” he grinned as he walked backwards.

“Your charm might work with little girls your age, but not mine,” Rhonda shook her head, but smiled and waved him off when another nurse joined her behind the counter.

He walked down the hallway towards Kyle’s room, lifting his hand to knock but then lowering it again when he remembered that his friend might be asleep. He opened the door quietly and peeked into the room before moving in.

The lights were turned off, but advertisements and other buildings from across the street cast enough light to allow him to maneuver around the room without knocking anything over. The only sound came from the heart monitor attached to his friend and right now Michael thought of it as really relaxing.

He stopped next to the bed and sat down in the chair that was still pulled out from under the table. Maybe he could just sit here in silence for a while and enjoy the quiet. He knew he had to get back to the party, he couldn’t just avoid Maria and what had happened because that would hurt her and that was the last thing he wanted to do to her – but maybe he could collect his thoughts first.

Had she told anyone yet? Maybe Tess? The girls were getting back to their old thick-as-thieves ways pretty quickly and she was a girl in the end, right? She wouldn’t be able to keep it to herself – that just wasn’t in girls. They had to talk about it to deal with it and they had to make a list of pros and cons… He caught himself before he snorted out loud at the thought. What would a list like that look like when the main subject was him?

Fuck! He was screwed in so many ways that he wasn’t sure what might come next. So many things were wrong right now. Kyle was in the hospital, Maria suddenly in between friend zone and whatever, his friends’ anti-Courtney attitude, fuck – cheating on Courtney, Evans dealing with the law, and Liz trying to get Aaron back. Not to mention the little man a few floors up who was fighting for his life. When had life gotten so messed up? When you decided to date seriously, his conscience taunted.

So many things going on and it felt like a ton of weight on his shoulders. He knew that adding even the smallest thing to it – whatever it was – would really pull him down, but who would be able to get him back up like when Matt had died if his two best friends were either in the hospital or partly the reason for the mess?

“How long you gonna sit there before you say somethin’, Guerin?” Kyle’s voice startled him and made him inhale sharply. “I’m temporarily blind, not deaf!”

Michael snorted at that and slouched down in the chair, the forced casual position lasting for just a matter of seconds before he pushed himself back up and his right leg started bouncing up and down. He shifted and ran a hand through his hair before changing positions and tapping the side of his thumb against the arm of the chair.

“Y’know what’s amazing about not bein’ able to see?”

“Not really.” He got up and moved to the window to stare down at the street below.

“It cuts out a lot of the bullshit. I don’t have to be lookin’ at you to know something’s got you so wound up you can’t sit still.”

“Let’s just cut the crap. It’s been a long day, Valenti.”

Kyle chuckled under his breath and shook his head. “You can do better than that. Why don’t you just tell me about the bug that crawled up your ass and get it over with?”

He inhaled slowly and his fists clenched at his sides. Why had he come here? “Why’re you movin’ in with the girls?”

Kyle frowned behind his bandages. Was this part of what was bothering him or was it just a way to distract him from digging deeper into his shit? “That a problem for you?”

“I was just wondering why you’d rather let three girls fuss over you than come home and have a nurse come out a few times a day.”

Guerin’s tone was gruff and held a hint of agitation. Was this still about Tess? “And the rest of the day I can just sit around and stare at the backs of my eyelids? I’m gonna go fuckin’ crazy. And you know the girls; they’d just be stoppin’ by our apartment daily.”

“I wouldn’t mind.”

“I know, but that’s not the point. Why make them detour every day? They’ve got enough on their own plates. Look, if it’s a problem because of what happened between your sister an’ me then – “

“It’s not,” Michael grumbled.

“Ya sure? Because I don’t think your sister’s lookin’ for a hookup with a handicapped man anyway.”

“I’m sure, and shut the fuck up, Valenti. You’re temporary hurt, not handicapped.” Tess was sure as hell still after him.

“Whatever. So then what the hell does it matter where I stay? You’re gonna be workin’ or hangin’ out with Courtney most of the time anyway. It won’t be for long.”

The other man winced at the mention of his girlfriend. If she ever hung out with him again after the stunt he’d pulled earlier today.

“Right?” Kyle pressed when he didn’t get a reply.

“Yeah, whatever.”

Translation, something he had said before had hit a nerve. “Shouldn’t you be at the tat studio for the shoot? Or was it cancelled?” He knew the girls had put a lot of hope on today and Michael being here instead of there wasn’t a good sign.

“Shoot’s finished.” Michael leaned against the wall. “Just decided to head home because they had the brilliant idea of doin’ the shots with the air conditioning off.”

“And now you’ve come here to hang out with my pitiful self rather than party with the gang?”

“Just needed a break,” his friend muttered and sank down on the chair again. “I’ll head back in a while.” And face the mess I created.

Something was definitely wrong. “So tell me about it.” Guerin’s brain was twisted in knots but only patience could make him talk. If he talked at all.

“It went alright.”

“That’s all I get? C’mon, I kicked myself all day about not being able to see that paint on Maria’s body. The least you could do is tell me how fuckin’ good it looked.”

“Oh,” he muttered under his breath, “she looked really fuckin’ good.” He rubbed his hands together and tried in vain to block out the images that came to mind.

Kyle’s ears practically stood straight up at the barely whispered admission. “That good, huh?” He whistled low and grinned when he felt the glare that was suddenly turned on him.

“What’re you, a fuckin’ bat now?”

“Bark and growl all you want, but you’d better tell me what happened.”

“You wanna know what happened?” Michael snapped as he got to his feet again to prowl around the small room restlessly. “What happened was somethin’ that shouldn’t have happened. Not in a million years and sure as fuck not between me an’ Maria.”

“You finally looked at her an’ saw what the rest of us have been seein’ all along,” he guessed quietly.

“No, that would’ve been bad enough.” He ran his hands through his hair as he finally came to a stop near the window again. “Man, that whole seein’ her thing, that should’ve been enough to make me take a step back. But did I take a step back? No, I overstepped my boundaries; I trampled the friendship line right into the ground and I don’t know how to take it back.”

“You had sex.”

Michael winced. “Well… not technically.”

“Don’t start givin’ me that bullshit dance, Guerin. Sex is sex, either you did it or you didn’t.”

The anger and agitation suddenly fell away leaving him feeling exhausted as he was assaulted by the feelings that were harder to handle. Confusion and betrayal were at the forefront, pushing for acknowledgment and he didn’t know what to do. He forced his feet to carry him back over to his chair and he dropped down into it, rubbing his forehead tiredly as he looked at Kyle. The guy was patiently waiting for him to talk, not passing judgment, not making any accusations, not treating him like the scum of the Earth, just simply… waiting. “I think maybe for Halloween this year you should dress up like Yoda.”

“Yoda’s cool, but Han Solo had the light saber, so…” he shrugged and grinned, giving Michael time to collect his thoughts. He had known him long enough to know that there was no way to bully him into talking; you just had to wait him out. And he wanted to talk, he was sure of that.

“Yeah, definitely a plus,” Michael agreed and let his head drop forward until his face sank to the bed in front of him for a moment. He was talking bullshit to avoid the subject and it was way too obvious, but Kyle didn’t call him on it and he was grateful for that. “You wanna have some dinner?” he muttered against the mattress until he could feel his own breath on his face.

“What the hell are you doin’?”

The other man lifted his head. “I asked if you want some dinner. Rumor has it you slept through it, which by the way is really lame on a Friday night. The guys at the station would bust a gut if they knew. “

“Shut up,” Kyle kicked his leg out to where Michael’s arm was resting on the bed, but he chuckled. “And the fact is I wasn’t sleepin’; I just pretended so I didn’t have to eat that hospital crap.”

Michael made a face. “I actually believe that.”

“One more reasons to stay with the girls. They’ll spoil me with lots of good food.”

“Better watch it or they’re gonna fatten you up, Valenti. They say it’s hard to lose once you’ve packed on the pounds, but I’ll be charitable and go some extra rounds at the gym with you afterwards.” He had a feeling he’d need to hit the gym more often in the future to reduce his stress level.

“I don’t need charity,” Kyle grumbled and they fell silent again. When would Guerin finally address the elephant in the room?

“I know you don’t,” Michael muttered after such a long time that he wasn’t sure what his friend had even said last. He exhaled loudly and slouched down in the chair until his legs came into contact with the bed frame. “We didn’t have sex,” he stated when he finally got over the avoidance phase.

CandyliciousLovah: Thanks for reading!

Earth2Mama: Michael is lost, but going to Kyle was a smart move. At least we know on some level he does want to deal with it.

Alex… we’ll find out soon.

Natalie36: The fact that he went to Kyle instead of just going home and hiding for a while was a good start. We’re still waiting to hear from Alex.

Eva: No, it definitely wasn’t random. We’ll catch up with Alex soon and find out what’s going on with his situation.

The guys are in a good place as far as their relationship and we’ll see more of that today.

sarammlover: Alex definitely didn’t deserve that! Yep, Michael needed to talk to Kyle and it helps that Kyle isn’t the type to judge.

LovelyPOM83: Thanks for reading!

begonia9508: No, he doesn’t understand the repercussions fully just yet.

It will definitely always be there between them.

Lol, well, the only one who would be so obvious would be Max and he’s promised Liz to do his best to back off.

The police would definitely be interested in Alex’ situation and we have a feeling he won’t hesitate in filing charges.

Roswelllostcause: Richard really isn’t the type to get his hands dirty, so we can count him out as far as the direct attack on Alex.

keepsmiling7: Of course, lol, and why wouldn’t she?



Part 134

Sins and Absolution


The sentence hung heavy in the air and with each passing second he had the feeling that it was eating up more of his space. Maybe it wasn’t sex, but it wasn’t ‘nothing’ by any means either. “Max did the outlines for the art and I filled it in. Of course he had to be a sadistic punk and draw that fake tat so high around her thigh that…” he clenched his fists at the memory. God, even when remorse assaulted him he could feel himself hardening at the image.

That what? Kyle wanted to ask, but he reminded himself to be patient. A painting high on Maria’s leg could only mean a certain degree of unavoidable touching, something that Max would’ve done on absolute purpose for sure.

“You can only get so close before you just…”

“You pitched a tent.”

Michael snorted. “Major wood.”

“Well, like you said, you were up close an’ personal with a very sexy woman.”

“Damn it, Kyle, not just any woman!” he bit out. “Maria.” He dragged his hand through his hair and sighed raggedly. “And okay, I’m sure I’m not the only guy who’s ever gotten a hard-on for a female friend but…” he got up and started to pace again.

Kyle wanted to tell him to just spit it out but he knew any pushing would cause him to clam up again. The guy was making him dizzy with all the moving around he was doing.

“I wasn’t thinkin’ clearly. Man, she was standin’ there and I’m lookin’ at her and I’m thinkin’ what happens if I just go for it? I’m like the stupidest fucker on the planet right now.” He threw himself down in the chair again. “In the back of my mind I’m thinkin’ I’m insane for even entertaining the idea, but at the same time it’s like I have no control over what I’m doin’. Which is stupid, I know, okay? I’m a grown man and it’s not like I’m completely incapable of keepin’ my hands to myself, but I didn’t.” He gnawed on his thumbnail for a minute. “I didn’t want to and I don’t understand it.”

What the hell had they done? “So you touched her... how?”

“Do you need me to draw you a fuckin’ picture?” Michael snapped.

“No, because I couldn’t see it anyway,” Kyle answered drily and leaned forward on his bed to roll the shoulder of his injured arm slightly to get the stiffness out of it.

“Look...” he rolled his eyes when he continued to use words and phrases that probably only threw it in Kyle’s face that he couldn’t see anything at the moment. He kicked one of the wheels on the bed when he stretched his foot out and he sighed. “First off, it wasn’t just a one-sided thing. Maria went with it an’ she knows what the hell she’s doin’ with her hands.”

Well, I guess this isn’t the time to tell him I know what she’s capable of, he thought and had to concentrate to suppress the amused look on his face. THAT would drive him to complete madness. “Why don’t you just go ahead and tell me what really happened, Guerin? You might as well just spit it out now. I figure she had her hands on your dick and it’s hard to believe yours stayed in innocent territory.”

There was sure as hell nothing innocent about it, he thought morosely. “No, Valenti, my hands were nowhere near innocent territory.” And you started it, his little voice taunted. “I just said it wasn’t one-sided.” He growled under his breath when his friend just gave him a blank look. Well, as blank as it could be under the circumstances. “Hand jobs, okay?”

Kyle nodded, satisfied. “Considering the job you did on her leg... you were the one who initiated it?”

“I’m tellin’ you, Kyle, I knew it was a bad idea but I couldn’t shake it. I mean, she was into it but...” he shook his head.

“Why does it have to be a bad idea?” he countered. “Did it feel bad? I think it could be way worse.”

“Did it feel bad? What the fuck kinda question is that? Look, it felt great, but it was a bad idea! I mean, we’re best friends! I’ve got a girlfriend and I just cheated on her! I have no idea where me an’ Maria stand now! Other than it feelin’ great at the time there was nothin’ good about it.”

“The cheating’s bad, I’ll give you that much,” the other man agreed. Guerin would punish himself over it and he probably deserved it. He’d always been honest with women and suddenly this created a mess. “The fact that Maria’s your best friend is just an excuse to make it look bad though.”

“An excuse?” Michael bristled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just because it was your best friend doesn’t mean it was a bad thing to do. As you said, you BOTH wanted it. It was stupid to do it while you have a girlfriend, but it wasn’t stupid just because it was Maria.” How the hell could he make it clear to his stubborn friend that the best friend factor was the last thing he should be worrying about?

“You can’t just go screwin’ around with your best friend.” He ran a hand through his hair.

“Unless you might want to think about more.”

“More than what?”

“More than one hand job.”

“What the hell are you suggesting?”

Obviously the sexual frustration was still messing with his brain, Kyle thought. “I’m asking you to take a hard look at what you REALLY want before you tell Maria it was a mistake.”

“Kyle, I’ve got a girlfriend! How could it be anything but a mistake?” He was on his feet and making the rounds again.

“We’re going in circles. I said the cheating part WAS a mistake. You’re gonna tell Courtney, right?”

“I’ve gotta tell her. I can’t just lead her on like that. If you’re gonna screw around on someone you should at least be honest enough to man up to it.”

Kyle nodded. He hadn’t thought Michael would try to hide that important little detail – that just wasn’t him. “I doubt the relationship will carry on afterwards.”

“Well, then you’ll all be happy, won’t you?” He moved to the window and stared down at the street below, his eyes not focusing on any one thing. “Let’s just be completely honest here. No one likes her.”

“We might not see her the way you see her, but if you think I’d be happy if you two break up then you’d better leave now, Guerin,” he growled low.

“Yeah, well, you’d be the only one.”

“Let’s turn the tables. You said you’re gonna tell her. Will you fight for her to stay with you?”

Michael scratched the back of his head as he turned to lean back against the wall. Would he fight to keep Courtney? “I don’t know.”

“And what if something more could develop with Maria after this?”

“Like what? Kyle, she’d be the first one to tell you I’m not relationship material. And obviously I’ve just proven her right. How long have I been with Courtney and I’ve already screwed around on her.”

“I didn’t ask what you think Maria thinks, which by the way is bullshit in my eyes, but anyway, what do you think?”

He shook his head. Him and Maria? It wasn’t possible. She played a good game, pretended that she could just roll with the occasional hook-up, but he knew she wanted more, needed more. Deserved more. He also knew she held back because she didn’t think she could give a relationship the time and attention it deserved and no amount of convincing had ever made her believe that the right guy could handle everything she had on her considerably full plate. Maria knew him in ways no one else could and there was a bond there that had helped him hold onto his sanity when his world was falling apart. If he fucked that up... He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I think it’s too big a risk.”

At least he hadn’t said he couldn’t imagine it. That was a start at least. “An’ if she wanted to?”

“She wouldn’t.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because we work as best friends and yeah, okay, maybe what was goin’ on earlier was pretty hot,” he pulled on his collar. More like fuckin’ combustible, he thought without verbalizing it. “But, that was just us getting worked up in a situation that’ll never come up again.”

“That what you’re gonna tell Maria?”

“Why do I have to tell her anything?” He shrugged, not meaning it as callously as it sounded. “It just happened. It was a heat of the moment thing, she knows that. She won’t wanna talk about it either.”

“You just wanna leave it hangin’?”

“I’m not leavin’ it hangin’,” he denied. “She was fine when I left.”

Kyle leaned forward and waved his hand where he suspected his friend’s head was.

“What the fuck are you doin’, Valenti?”

“Trying to hit your damn head.”

“Why?”

“She was fine when I left,” he mocked in the same tone his friend had used.

“She was! Look, it happened and she just played it off afterwards.”

“And how long have you known Maria? Just because you want her to be fine doesn’t mean she was!”

“What d’you want me to do, Kyle?! Tell me and I’ll do it if you think it’ll fix this situation!”

“I want you to talk to her! I don’t know what you should tell her, but PLEASE, don’t just pretend it never happened and ignore it.”

“And if that’s what she wants?”

“Then she’ll tell you: ‘Michael, it was nice but just forget about it,’ and then you can go on.” She would never say anything like that, but he couldn’t tell Guerin that he knew about her feelings for him.

“Look, when I get back I’ll check on her, make sure she’s okay. If she wants to talk,” he shrugged, “then we’ll see where it goes.”

“I guess I can live with that,” Kyle nodded. He wished he could use his cell right now. He’d just text Maria and tell her to put her cards on the table and tell him tonight. Michael needed to hear that she had feelings for him.

“Okay then.”

“And if you could just avoid the word mistake in that conversation it’d be a bonus.”

“I’m with someone else! You can’t condone what I did just because it was with Maria.”

“Okay, let me try to formulate it a little differently. Don’t make her feel that it was a mistake because it was her.”

“Hell, it’s not because it was her. You guys all think that me an’ Maria should be together... and even if I believed it – and I don’t,” he clarified for denial’s sake, “you can’t trust a cheater.”

“If I told you something, would you just shut up and think about it without sayin’ anything?”

“Okay.”

“Alright, so when I asked you if you’d fight for Courtney to stay with you, you said you don’t know. I’d go so far as to say if you don’t know then she’s not even close to being the right girl for you.”

Michael ran his hands through his hair and sighed raggedly. He wasn’t sure he was ready to even speculate on that thought right now. “You think if you cheat on someone that dictates the kind of person you are?”

“No. I think it says more about the relationship you’re in.” Kyle sighed. “We all make mistakes, Guerin. The question is if we’re willin’ to face the consequences rather than hide.”

“So you don’t buy into that once a cheater always a cheater?”

“You shouldn’t worry about that. Maybe you should talk to one of the girls about it. They’d probably tell you that you wouldn’t even consider it if you were with the right one.”

He just snorted. “That’s your advice, Valenti? Really? What’ve they done to you in here? Drained the testosterone and juiced you with estrogen?”

“I just said it’s what they would tell ya,” he shrugged. “I’d tell you that you should just suck it up, set things straight and move on. How long have you been with Courtney? A few weeks? “

Michael shrugged. “More or less. But what’s it say about me that I blew it in such a short time?”

“It just says you’re not as serious about her as you thought you were.”

“I don’t know, man.” He scratched his eyebrow and glanced around the dimly lit room. “We have fun together and we’ve got stuff in common. I could stand with a little less of the drama that seems to be choking me here lately.”

“You went into this so quickly, Guerin, but why? Why not take the time to get to know her better before you made it official?”

“I sleep around and I catch shit for it. I decide to give the relationship thing a shot and I catch shit for that too. What the fuck am I supposed to do? Isn’t this the way it works? You sleep with a girl and then go your separate ways afterwards or you date pretty regularly and that’s what we’re doin’.”

“The only one who gave you shit was Maria,” Kyle smirked.

He chuckled gruffly. “Yeah, well, I’d be disappointed if she suddenly gave me a break.”

“I’m sure, and it’s not even a joke.”

He rested his forehead against the glass and he could feel the heat from the day that was still held there. If he’d thought his world was out of sync before it was completely upside down now. “I’m one of the lucky ones, Kyle. I’ve got a family that’s solid.” He snorted quietly. “Okay, my mom’s kind of a flake, but Nicole’s filled that hole in my life, so things there have always been good. And Maria, she’s always been there, always kept me together…” He thumped his forehead against the glass lightly. “She always puts everyone else ahead of herself and that was even before Cody was born, that’s just the way she is. Don’t get me wrong, she’s not a saint or anything, but she’s still the best person I know. If I’ve fucked that up for a damn hand job I don’t know what the hell I’m gonna do.”

“You could have so much more with her if you’d just let it happen,” Kyle muttered and let his head fall back.

“Why would you think that?” Michael straightened as his gaze followed a fire engine that suddenly appeared between the buildings, taking a turn and racing down the street. He wasn’t going to get any answers tonight, he knew that much. Everyone had an opinion about him and Maria. It wasn’t like a big surprise anymore that people thought they should be together, but he’d never seen it and based on her comments in relation to those beliefs she hadn’t either. He shook his head before Kyle could answer. “You never did say if you were hungry,” he said, changing the subject.

“Not if all you have is hospital crap.” He knew the talk was over, it was a surprise it had lasted this long and gone comparatively calm.

“I’ve gotta run by the apartment for a quick shower. I could stop and grab somethin’ on my way back. Visiting hours are over but Rhonda will let me back in.”

“You get the hell back to the studio, Guerin. I’m getting fat with all the food without moving anyway. I won’t die from one missed dinner. I’ve survived worse.”

“Yeah, you have.” He rubbed his chest as he recalled his first look at his friend buried in the rubble beneath the street not so long ago. “Guess it’s a good thing you’ve got such a hard head. When we found you in that tunnel I think that was about the only thing that didn’t seem to be crushed.”

“I’m hard to get rid of,” Kyle shrugged one shoulder.

“Just don’t ever do that to me again, Valenti.” He’d never really understood it when his dad had made the comment that one of his kids had scared ten years off of his life until he’d gone into that tunnel that day.

“You know I can’t promise you that. If I get my job back.”

“You’ll get your job back. You’re too damn stubborn to accept anything else.”

“You’re right. Now leave, Guerin. You’ve got better things to do.”

“Whatever.” He ordered his feet to carry him to the door. “You think you’re gonna get fat in here, just wait until you’ve got three girls cooking for you all the time.”

“You can always come over and help.”

“Cook or eat?”

“Cook?” Kyle snorted. “Eat, man!”

“Yeah, well, I might be able to squeeze in a meal or two.” Probably more since he’d most likely be on his own again once he told his girlfriend he’d cheated on her.

“I’ll make sure they make enough.” Hey, and if it brought him closer to Maria, it’d help in more than one way.

“That probably won’t be a problem with three of them cookin’ for you.” He shook his head. They were gonna spoil Valenti rotten. “You probably won’t even wanna come home once you’re on your own two feet again.”

“Believe me, I’ll come home, Guerin.”

He swallowed hard, refusing to give in to the emotions that suddenly seemed to be choking him. Kyle was like a brother and coming so close to losing him had brought back those suffocating feelings that had nearly swallowed him whole when Matt had died. He cleared his throat as quietly as possible. “I’m gone. Catch ya later, Valenti.”

“Yeah.” The other man nodded. “And remember what I said, Guerin.”

“No problem, Oh Wise One,” he said, his tone mocking.

*****

The party was in full swing but Max was having a difficult time enjoying himself. He hadn’t thought much about it when the suggestion of a post-shoot party had come up, but now he found himself watching everyone, worried that someone would try to set him up again and completely jeopardize any chance they had of getting Aaron back.

“At the very least people try to at least look like they’re enjoying a party,” Isabel yelled when she neared him.

“Party’s great,” he hollered back. “Just a little jumpy after the last one.”

She nodded. “Understood. Hey, have you heard from Alex?”

“No,” he shook his head. “I thought he said he was gonna be here but I haven’t seen him and,” he checked his phone, “haven’t heard from him either.”

“Yeah, me either, and when I talked to him this morning he said he’d be here after visiting his sister.”

“Maybe he’s still out there? Or he could’ve left late and it’s just takin’ some time to get back.”

“Yeah, maybe.” She gnawed on her thumbnail as she scanned the crowd. She’d called and spoken with the nurse on duty and the woman had confirmed that Alex had been there and he’d stayed late but to the best of her knowledge he’d left several hours earlier. He hadn’t called and he hadn’t answered her calls or texts and she was getting very worried.

“You could call your brother and ask him to check if he’s home and needs a ride,” Liz suggested and leaned against Max’ side with a cup of soda in her hand.

“Michael’s still not back?” Isabel frowned.

“Nope,” he shook his head.

“I’ll try to call him then,” she agreed and grabbed her cell from her bag to dial his number as she passed her friends to search for a quiet place to talk on the phone. She slipped into one of the backrooms and closed the door behind her. The music was still loud, but at least she would be able to hear something. “Michael?”

“Yeah, what’s up?” His voice was impatient, so he had probably already been on the phone while she had been out mingling with the party crowd.

“Are you still home?”

“On my way out.”

“Could you check and see if Alex is home? He’s not here yet and I can’t reach him.”

“Maybe he’s not in the mood.”

She sighed. “Could you just check and see if he’s home?” In the background she could hear the sound of the elevator in his building.

“Yeah, will do.”

“Thanks, see you soon.” She hung up and checked her cell to see if there were any messages she had missed. Nothing. That wasn’t typical for Alex.

The door swung open and Max walked in carrying something that looked like a huge paper roll. “Did ya reach him?”

“Yes, he’s gonna check. What’s that?” She nodded at what he was carrying.

“Graham went to his studio and he already got the first shots printed up on some posters,” he explained as the photographer joined them with some rolls of tape in his hand followed by Tess, who was carrying even more rolls.

“Oh, dear, could you help us hang them in the studio?”

Isabel frowned, but nodded. “Sure.”

“I thought we’d hang this, this, and this one on the long wall where we took the photos. The one of Michael to the left,” Graham went on as he handed Max one end of a poster and rolled it out with this hands. He glanced over the black and white photo of his male subject and nodded in satisfaction. Then went on and handed Tess another.

“Maria in the middle,” he said and unrolled it as well, letting his eyes travel over the poster. “Beauty.”

“It does look good,” Isabel agreed as she looked over his shoulder.

“Good?” the photographer asked dramatically and shoved the third poster into her hand to unroll it as well. “It’s more than good and together they’re perfection.”

Isabel looked down at the picture she was holding and found it hard to breathe. “Wow, that’s…”

“Sexy?” Tess helped.

“Yeah, there’s definitely no denying it.” She wrinkled up her nose. “Even if he is my brother.”

“There’s no point in trying to deny the truth,” Graham said as he stood next to her shoulder to look down over the black and white glossy print. “Don’t you think black and white just brings their sexuality out?”

“I think we’ve gone about as far as we can go with this conversation,” Isabel said and rolled her eyes.

Max smirked and shook his head. “At least you’re not gonna have them on your wall.”

“Ungh, no. I’d never get any sleep.” Although if she didn’t hear something from Alex soon she wasn’t going to be getting any sleep anyway.

“Max, where’d you disappear to now?” Liz asked as she poked her head in the room. Her eyebrows lifted when he motioned for her to join them and she set her cup down on one of the tables as she moved to get a look at what everyone was staring at.

“Graham already has a small selection printed out for tonight.” He wrapped his arm around her and brought her against his side.

“It’s just a quick print, we’ll do the Photoshop work tomorrow, not that there’s a lot to correct,” the photographer denied.

“These are really good,” Liz mumbled. Her gaze slipped over the one of Michael shirtless. “It’s amazing how the tats and the piecing show off in a black and white picture.”

“Hey,” Max wrapped his large hand around her eyes. “Enough staring at Guerin.”

She chuckled and pulled his hand away from her face to look at him. “Think you can take one of my man for me, Graham?”

“Huh-uh,” her boyfriend shook his head, amused. “You got the real thing, darlin’, what else do you need?”

The question earned him a deep sigh from the photographer. “Alright, let’s get them on the wall, people!”

Liz grinned at Max with sparkling eyes and then turned her attention back to the posters. “The one of both of them will definitely raise the temperature a few degrees.”

“The two of you know how to generate heat too,” Graham said with a secretive smile.

“Not gonna deny that,” Max said with a grin as his mind automatically wandered to earlier behind the studio.

Liz elbowed him and was just about to make another comment about Michael and Maria’s shot when the photographer pulled out an 8x10 envelope and handed it to her.

“I thought perhaps you might like that.”

She lifted the flap, the gummy glue-like substance that held it sealed creating a spider web of lines that snapped and broke apart after a moment. She pinched it open and reached inside with her thumb and forefinger to grasp the picture inside. “Graham,” she whispered as her fingertips ghosted over the shot of her and Max. “It’s beautiful.”

Max looked over her shoulder and he lifted one eyebrow. “I thought you said you weren’t gonna take any pics of us? That you just wanted us to show Guerin how it’s done.”

“I did take one but that’s it and the negatives are in the envelope.”

“Thanks,” the tattooed man nodded and had to admit that he liked the shot of his girlfriend in his arms.

Maybe one day, I can convince him to do more, Graham thought in amusement and looked for a pair of scissors in his bag to cut the tape into pieces. “Where’s our beauty?”

“Good question,” Tess mused. Something was up with Maria, but she still hadn’t figured out what it was.

keepsmiling7: Lol, we’re likely to see more of those.

Guys… whaddaya do?

We’ll be checking in on Aaron very soon.

CandyliciousLovah: The gang will come up with a plan. The guys did have a productive conversation.

sarammlover: Lol, well, he’s probably gonna be stubborn for a while longer. He is Michael, after all. Kyle’s given him plenty to think about and the gang will be working on a plan to find Alex.

Natalie36: It might take time, but Kyle’s words will be rattling around in his head.

begonia9508: Lol, isn’t that the truth?

Yep, Kyle sees plenty even if it’s not with his eyes.

Michael does have his reservations… there’s a lot at risk if he lets himself go there.

Earth2Mama: Denial can only work for so long. Eventually he’s going to have to face what’s right in front of him.

kismet: Kyle’s going to do his best. He knows Michael well. Graham really did make points with that picture, lol.

We’ll catch up with Alex soon.

Roswelllostcause: Thanks! Alex has made progress with her since the beginning!





Part 135

Quandary

“I think she was talking to the deejay,” Liz said and helped the photographer with the tape.

They moved back into the room filled with party guests; friends, customers of Max’, press, and people Graham had invited for publicity. “Good, I want to introduce her to Colton Starling.”

“Colton Starling?” Isabel frowned. Somehow the name seemed familiar, but she couldn’t put a face or a job to the name.

“Yes, I can’t believe he’s really here,” Graham said excitedly. “He’s huge in the music industry and he’s currently here in New York for a new music video for Usher.”

“Usher? Seriously?” Tess’ eyes widened.

“Eye candy,” Liz grinned at the other girl and made Max groan with an eye roll.

“The one and only,” the photographer confirmed. “And Colton’s still looking for the female lead in the video. Maria would be perfect for it.”

“Oh my God, that would be awesome!” Tess hopped up and down excitedly.

“Unfortunately there’ll be a lot of competition, but she could have the advantage of making an impression on him tonight, so I need to talk to her.”

“Yeah, you do,” Max agreed. “So, go on and let everyone admire your work.”

“Oh, sweetheart, it’s not my work they’re admiring.” He winked and shot a smile at Max before disappearing into the crowd.

Isabel waited until Graham was out of earshot before she laughed. “Wow, Max, you’re gonna break that poor man’s heart.”

“What would you like me to do about it?” He glared at her when she just looked at him. “I’m not gonna even wait for you to answer that because you’ve got that look in your eyes.”

“I’m sure he’d be a patient teacher,” she said, forcing a serious look on her face.

Liz bit back a laugh and leaned against his side. “Max wouldn’t be a patient student though and he’s already got a pretty heavy course load.”

“Teaching him new things?” Tess asked with a smirk.

“Well,” the brunette leaned back to look up at him and she grinned when she saw the way his eyes darkened as he watched her, “it’s surprisingly easy when you have his attention.”

“TMI,” both Guerin sisters said at the same time and went after Graham to help him with the posters.

“I don’t find it very hard to give you my full attention,” Max murmured into his girlfriend’s ear.

“Hmm, ya sure? I think there’s something that gets hard very often,” she teased and pressed her ass against him to prove a point.

He stopped her with his hands on her hips. “Darlin’, the party’s in full swing. It won’t be as easy to slip away again, which means ya gotta stop.”

“I will,” she promised and turned in his arms to face him. “But only if you promise to loosen up a bit and try to enjoy this. We can’t live in constant fear that someone’s gonna try to get back at us, Max. Whoever it was at Tony’s party, we’re about to find out, and that person won’t be dumb enough to come here.”

“You’re right,” he agreed, but his teeth were grinding against each other visibly just at the thought. “Lead the way back to party central, but remember that you’re going home with me tonight and sleep is the last thing I have in mind.”

*****

Colton Starling was a tool, Maria thought as she smiled and nodded at the appropriate moments. She had charmed bigger morons than him in her time; it wasn’t the first time and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. But getting cast in an Usher video could have repercussions she couldn’t even imagine at the moment. So she played the game and allowed him to believe she was as enamored of him as he was of himself. Things were already going well as far as her job was concerned and while she didn’t want to get her hopes up too high she did allow them to climb to some degree.

She hadn’t expected it when Graham had pulled her from a conversation with his people to tell her about his news. He had been terribly excited and her eyes had widened when she recognized the name of the man he wanted to introduce her to. She had no idea how he’d managed to keep that bit of information to himself as excitable as he was, but she was glad he had because she would’ve been a bundle of nerves waiting for the introduction.

After the fourth time the man checked her out under the guise of admiring the artwork on her body she excused herself to get some air. She smiled and shook his hand, hiding the disgust that danced down her spine at the feel of his clammy palm. She knew nothing would be set in stone tonight and Graham would be close by to collect any bits and pieces of information Starling might hand out.

She exited out the back entrance and leaned back against Tony’s Escalade, dropping her head back to look up at the sky and draw in a deep breath. It was muggy out but she didn’t care. After the press of bodies inside the studio this felt like heaven. Her moment of peace was interrupted when a pair of headlights swept over the small parking lot and she dropped her gaze to see who was intruding.

Michael parked the Avalanche next to Max’ Jeep, his eyes locked on Maria leaning against the Escalade and just the image of her lying against the vehicle in nothing more than tiny jean shorts and a top, which was basically a bra made him hard again. “Fuckin’ great,” he muttered without taking his eyes off of her. The headlights were still on, so there was no way she could see his face and it was for the better.

“Get your shit together, Guerin.” He ran a hand through his hair and then turned the engine off. There was no avoiding the talk and he’d made a promise to Valenti that he’d check on her, so he better get it over with quick.

Maria swallowed when she recognized the car as soon as the headlights were turned off. Of course he would finally come back when she was outside to clear her head. Not sure any clearing will be done, she thought as he opened the door to get out of his car.

He took his time getting out of the truck. In spite of his let’s-get-it-over-with thoughts he couldn’t get his feet to cooperate. His body definitely had other plans. He still didn’t know what to say or do but he knew Valenti was right. About many things, but for now he was only gonna credit him with the one thing. He couldn’t just tell Maria it was a mistake. Well, it was a mistake and one that shouldn’t have happened, but it wasn’t because it was her it had happened with. Okay, shut up, Guerin. It’s Maria. Just go talk to her.

He shoved his hands in his pockets as he neared her and he forced a smile as he tried to shake off the physical reaction to the way she was watching him. “Hey,” he said, presenting her with what had to be the dumbest greeting on Earth given the situation.

“Hey,” she tried to relax. “How was the shower?”

“Decent.” He shrugged. It sure as hell hadn’t been cold enough.

“I wish I could have one too, it’s still crazy hot in there.”

“Guess you’ve got a while to go yet.” Stimulating conversation, he thought with an internal snort.

“Seems like, yeah.” She suddenly felt totally naked in front of him and didn’t know why because she was pretty comfortable in her skin most of the time.

He jangled the change in his left pocket, an unconscious sign of his nerves. “Party’s probably gonna run for a while.” Just open your mouth and say something of substance before she starts to wonder what’s wrong with you!

“Yeah, I just needed a break. I was sweating and I don’t trust this paint. I have the feeling it’s gonna run off of my body at anytime.” She looked down at herself. “But seems like it’s fine.”

“Evans seemed to think it’d stand up to the heat.” And just stick your foot in it why don’t you? It sure as hell hadn’t stood up to the heat they’d been generating.

“It’ll probably be a bitch to get rid of it.”

“Yeah, you might need some help.” His eyes traveled over her for a moment before he caught himself.

“Wanna do that?” She winked at him, her features teasing, but inside she wasn’t far from a heart attack. The day had turned out so confusing that she couldn’t decide if she should keep up a poker face or show him her cards.

His gaze shot to hers, certain he hadn’t heard her correctly. “Huh?” He shook his head when an image of her in the shower came to mind without a single hesitation. Hot... sleek... wet... and waiting for him. He quickly slammed the door on that image. Damn it, what was wrong with him?! She couldn’t mean it the way it had sounded. Why not? She was a more than willing participant earlier, what makes you think she’s making a joke now? God, his life was suddenly way too confusing!

Huh? That was all she got, she thought, frustrated. It could mean anything and wasn’t giving the slightest insight at to what he thought about earlier. He’s made the first move, her conscience taunted, that’s something, take it further.

“Got some suggestions how to remove it? Special soap? Sponge?”

He had all kinds of ideas how they could work on removing it and all of them involved nudity. “Um... yeah, maybe just some uh...” He cleared his throat and resisted the urge to pull his collar away from his neck. “Soap, warm water...” lots of naked skin, “and you might need a hand since you won’t be able to reach some of the spots.”

“Yeah,” she glanced over her shoulder to the paint on her back. “Could be a problem.”

“Um-hmm, especially after it’s been there for so many hours.”

“True,” she lowered her gaze to the ground between them. Damn it, why couldn’t he be the one to take the first step in that direction? She had to do something and it was either play it off or reveal her intentions directly to him.

“So,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “how’s the party?” How was he gonna bring up what had happened earlier?

“Good. Max is a bit nervous, but okay. There’re lot of people from the press and I just met Colton Starling in there.”

“Who?”

“Colton Starling. He’s pretty big in the music industry; produces music videos and labels an’ stuff.”

“So... what’s he here for?”

“Graham invited him obviously. He had a look at the posters of us that were hung up and he’s gonna shoot a music video for Usher soon.”

They’d already had time to run prints off and hang them up? “He’s considering you for a part?” Why else would some producer jerk-off be there?

“Graham thought it’d be a good idea to introduce us,” she shrugged and made a face. “It was hard to play nice with that slimy prick though.”

“So just tell him to look somewhere else.”

“Are you insane?” Her eyes widened. “If there’s any chance to be in an Usher music vid I’ll suck it up and be nice as long as necessary.”

“Just make sure there’s always someone else around.”

Was there jealousy in his voice or was that just wishful thinking? “Don’t worry, I think there’ll be like a very tiny to zero chance that I’ll get the job and even if I did there’ll be tons of people and not to mention: Usher.”

“I think you underestimate your chances. There’s no way that slimy prick took one look at you and missed the fact that you’d set the screen on fire.”

Oh no, now she was... blushing? But he obviously thought she was hot enough for a job like this, which was a good thing. “Thanks.”

He wondered just how far that blush went. He shrugged. It was time to address the elephant in the room. “So...”

A stretched ‘so’ could only mean one thing, she thought and ran a hand through her hair nervously. Maria lifted her eyes to meet his and realized that he was probably just as nervous as her. The question was if his reasons were the same.

He rubbed the back of his neck, absentmindedly frowning when his palm came away sweaty. “I don’t know if I should say I’m sorry for earlier or not,” he started uneasily.

“Well,” she took a breath and it helped her to gather her courage, “I can’t tell you if you’re sorry or not, but I can tell you I’m not.” Okay, at least that was out and it was the complete truth.

He just stared at her. “You’re... what?”

Maria swallowed. “I... don’t regret it.” Gosh, it was really hard to hold someone’s gaze when you wanted the ground to swallow you. “Do you?”

“But... it was me.”

She chuckled quietly. “I know it was you.”

“And you don’t regret it.” He was so confused. “What about all those jokes we’ve made when people assumed we’re a couple or said they thought we’d make a good couple?”

“I seriously wasn’t thinking about any of those jokes this afternoon,” she shrugged and picked at the edge of her shorts nervously.

“Yeah, well, that was pretty much the last thing on my mind too, but now...” he sighed, trying to figure out what he was trying to say. “Maria, why now?”

“I guess it was just bad timing,” she admitted quietly. “You didn’t answer the question by the way.”

“What question?” he asked, playing dumb while he frantically scrambled for an answer.

She made a face at him as if she wanted to say ‘Come on, you know what it was.’ “Do you regret it?”

Damn it! So much for hoping she’d forgotten the question. “That’s um... that’s kind of a difficult...” he cleared his throat. “I should regret it. I mean, I do because I have a girlfriend and it shouldn’t have happened.” He winced when he realized just how badly that had come out.

She knew he HAD to regret if for the cheating reason – hell, she’d be disappointed in him if he didn’t feel bad about it – but yet the mention of Courtney right now felt like a slap in the face. “Yeah...” she cleared her throat, “guess that makes sense.”

“I wasn’t expecting that to happen.”

“Me neither.” She had hoped he would kinda look at her differently but it had never crossed her mind that this day would bring more then maybe a few looks. Now they stood here and she couldn’t shake the feeling that they had reached a turning point in their relationship.

“I...” What the hell was he supposed to say now? “Maria, I know the whole relationship thing’s relatively new to me, but this... this isn’t the person I wanna be.” He rushed on when he caught her fallen expression. “I mean,” he sighed, “you know what I’m tryin’ to say?”

“Yeah, I get it,” she told him hoarsely. It was stupid! All she could think was how incredible his hands had felt on her and all he could think right now was that he had cheated on someone. It wasn’t supposed to be this way, but deep inside she knew he was right. He couldn’t just pretend it was nothing. She wouldn’t like him if he was a jerk like that.

“If I wasn’t with Courtney...?” he left the question dangling, not sure he was ready for the answer.

What did he want to hear? she wondered. Go with the truth! Tell him you could let it become more easily! “Then you wouldn’t have to feel so bad about it, right?”

He nodded and looked around. “There’s that,” he agreed.

Okay, all or nothing, she finally decided. “Michael, there’s something I need to say. I…” She trailed off when his cell started to ring. She waited when he pulled it out to silence it, but from the look on his face she could easily guess the caller. “It’s Courtney, right?”

“Yeah, I should,” he waved the phone back and forth, “I should take this.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. I just was about to spill my heart out to you, that’s all. “I’ll leave you alone.”

Michael nodded and watched her walk away. He wanted to call and tell her to come back, certain that she’d been about to say something important. “Damn it,” he muttered under his breath and punched the call button viciously as he brought the phone up to his ear. “Hello?”

Maria hesitated at the door and looked back at him. Maybe it really shouldn’t be? Why else would God let Courtney call at just the moment when she was about to confess her feelings?

“Hey baby,” Courtney’s voice was loud and cheerful, her words sounded a bit slurred though. “I miss ya.”

“Hey, how’s the trip goin’?” he asked, his eyes still on Maria. She hadn’t gone inside just yet and he couldn’t ignore the feeling that whatever she’d been about to say should’ve been said.

Go in before it gets anymore embarrassing, Maria ordered herself and smiled at him, but it came across as pretty sad, before she pushed the door open and was greeted by the cooler air inside.

“It’s going good. We’re havin’ a little party,” she told him over the music in the background. “An’ they have the expensive champagne here, too.”

He made a face. “Gimme a beer any day of the week over that stuff.”

She chuckled and fell into one of the comfortable deck chairs at the pool. “How’s the shoot going?”

“Fine,” he answered shortly. “It’s been over for a couple hours now.”

“Cool. Good shots?” She really didn’t want to imagine too much of him and Maria, but it was hard when she was so far away.

“It was okay. The photographer was happy with the way the shots turned out.”

“Can’t wait to see them.” She looked up into the sky. “It’s a nice night. Lots of stars to see.”

“Yeah?” He didn’t bother glancing up, already knowing that he wouldn’t be seeing much in the way of stars. “You like it up there?”

“I’d like it better if you were here too.”

He smiled tightly. “Nah, you’ve probably got enough goin’ on without me bein’ there to distract you.”

She snorted. “Are you kidding? I worked like one hour the whole day and the rest was just eating, drinking, and relaxing. And they say it’ll be just like that tomorrow.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad. Little bit of work with your play.”

“True,” she sighed. “What shift will you be working on Sunday?”

“We’ll be pulling double shifts Sunday through Tuesday.”

“Damn, I was really hoping to see you. I miss you, Michael.”

“It won’t be long. When’re you gonna be back?”

“Sunday morning.”

“Maybe I can work it so I can go in a little later on Sunday.” He reached up to rub his eyes. He already knew that wouldn’t happen but at least that way it sounded like he was trying. He had to tell her the truth about what had happened and he sure as hell couldn’t do it in five or ten minutes.

“That’d be nice.” She smiled and glanced up when one of the other girls on the shoot joined her, carrying two new champagne glasses.

“Hey, Chica, there you are! Talkin’ to your hot boyfriend?”

Michael grimaced at the conversation. Probably wouldn’t be holding that position for long.

“Sorry,” Court chuckled into the phone. “Val’s had already too much champagne.”

“She does sound pretty happy.” He tried to inject humor into his voice and had a feeling he’d failed miserably. Hopefully she was buzzed enough not to notice.

“You’ve been working a lot lately,” she said when she noticed the exhaustion in his voice. “When I get back and you have a day off, let me take care of you, okay?”

“Yeah, we’ll spend some time together as soon as I can get a day off.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” she said and swallowed some of her drink. “Okay, I guess I should get off the phone and let you enjoy your night as well.”

“Alright, well, take it easy on that stuff, Court. You don’t know the people you’re with.”

“Don’t worry, us girls here watch out for each other. G’night, baby.”

“G’night,” he said quietly.

*****

The bass of the music made the ground under their feet vibrate while Tess and Maria downed their second shot of tequila.

“Another one.”

“Deluca, you sure you’re okay?” Tess lifted an eyebrow when her friend was well on her way to turning a good buzz into a major hangover the next day.

“I’m okay,” Maria tried to sound convincing. She really wanted Tess to know what had happened, but it would only complicate things in the group if someone found out. As soon as she had tossed back another shot, she grabbed Liz’ and Tess’ wrists and dragged them to the middle of the room where people were dancing. “C’mon, girls, let’s party.”

Something was definitely wrong, but the curly blonde let it go for now and went with her friend’s plea.

“I’m not sure if I’m able to dance to this music without any alcohol,” Liz yelled over the music, but swayed her hips anyway.

“You’re doin’ pretty fine, girl,” Tess smacked her ass playfully and laughed when she earned a shocked look. “And don’t think we missed the little fact that you had sex with Evans while we were preparing for the party.”

Maria giggled when a serious blush spread over the brunette’s face. “She’s just envious because you have sex.”

“Uh-huh, and you’re not envious?” Tess looked at her challengingly. “When’s the last time you had sex?”

Her thoughts automatically went to that afternoon. Okay, technically it hadn’t been sex, but close to it anyway. She looked up when a door was opened and Michael stepped in, obviously done with his phone call. There was no chance she’d have enough courage to talk to him again tonight.

“Earth to Maria?”

“Huh?” She turned to focus on her friend again. “Oh... yeah, well, believe me, you don’t wanna know about the last time I had sex.”

Tess made a face when it occurred to her that it had probably been with Kyle. “You’re right, I so don’t wanna know.”

“I wish I didn’t know,” Maria muttered to herself.

“Ladies,” Tony joined them with a grin.

“Hey,” the girls greeted and hugged him from both sides.

“Where’s Ava?” Tess asked.

“Home, seems like Chase is coming down with something.”

“Aww,” Maria said sympathetically. “I hope it’s nothing serious.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“Kids run through viruses and colds like crazy,” Liz agreed.

“You know,” Tony leaned in closer to Maria, his gaze locked on the wall plastered with posters now, “Courtney’s gonna drop dead when she sees those pics. Good job.”

She didn’t have to look at the posters to feel her temperature rise. “Graham did a beautiful job.”

“Doubt the credit goes to him alone.” He refused to give her his beer when she made a grab for it. “Mine.”

“You have to drive us home anyway.”

“Nope, we’re callin’ a cab.” He grinned when she pouted. “Bein’ a gentleman though, I could be persuaded to go get you ladies a drink.”

“Got it covered,” Michael suddenly appeared behind them, carrying two mugs with some kind of punch in them and a beer for himself. He felt awkward in his skin, even more so after talking to Courtney, but he couldn’t avoid everyone all night when the only people he knew were hanging out together.

Liz glanced around at the others, sensing the tension that seemed to settle over Maria and Michael. “Nothing for me?” she asked with a teasing smile.

He snorted and shook his head. “Evans said he had your drink covered.”

“Yeah, and you didn’t want to drink anything it all,” Maria reminded her, taking a mug from Michael.

“Why?” Michael asked and took a drink. “Evans hasn’t knocked you up, has he?” He winked at her and chuckled when she blushed.

“We’re trying to be responsible right now. Who knows who could be watching and we don’t need to add more reasons to that list of things to deal with to get Aaron back.”

“I like my idea better.” He shrugged. “It’s not as sinister.”

“I’m not sure if Liz being knocked up would be such a good idea right now,” Tess laughed.

“Huh-uh,” Maria agreed, “not any of us. We have enough to deal with without pregnancy hormones.”

“Yeah, remember when Ava was pregnant with Chase?” Tess rolled her eyes.

“She was pretty scary,” Isabel agreed when she joined them. “Hey, Michael, were you able to get a hold of Alex?” Please say yes!

Michael turned to look at her. “No, he wasn’t home and his phone’s goin’ straight to voicemail.”

She bit her lip when she could feel the oncoming panic. “I’m gonna try to call him anyway.”

He grabbed her arm to keep her from leaving. “There somethin’ you wanna tell me?”

Maria placed a hand on his arm to ease his grip and turned to look at Isabel. “Is something wrong with Alex?”

Tess had a very bad feeling that somehow her sister’s worry was connected to the photos she had found a few days ago. “Let’s go into the back room.”

He frowned but nodded and went along with the others.

Max glanced up when all of his friends entered the storage room where he had gone to get another keg. “Uh... What’s going on?”

Earth2Mama: That’s coming soon.

Lol, they started to and they’ll be getting another chance soon.

CandyliciousLovah: Nah, Courtney was just having a very good time.

Natalie36: Oh, they’re gonna take their time.

They’re gonna be looking for Alex.

keepsmiling7: Max and Liz will do everything they can to get Aaron back. And we’re getting closer to checking in with the little guy.

kismet: Lol, that would certainly make things interesting… but only when the time’s right.

We’ll be checking in on Alex today.

Michael and Maria… simple? Lol, are they ever?

Eva: Yes, that call interrupted a very important moment.

Nah… and well… we wouldn’t complain if she freaked either.

Isabel’s going to have to be honest about what’s been going on if they’re going to figure this out.

Roswelllostcause: We’ll check in on Alex today. Can’t pinpoint what it is you don’t like about Courtney?

begonia9508: The gang is going to get their act together today and set a plan in motion.

If she doesn’t notice that there’s something going on then there’s a serious problem.

sarammlover: Isabel’s going to have to be honest about what’s been going on if they’re going to figure this out.

Lol, Courtney is still in the picture… and speaking of pictures, well, it won’t be long before she sees the ones Graham took plastered across the city.


Author’s Note: Be warned that this part does contain a scene depicting a traumatic warzone incident.


Lost


Part 136

“We’re about to find out,” Michael said once the door closed behind him.

“Isabel,” Tess pushed gently, “tell us why you’re so worried about Alex.”

The tall blonde gnawed on her bottom lip for a moment, pulling herself together before she started to speak. “Richard’s been acting... a little off lately and I’m worried that he might do something to Alex.”

“What do you mean Dick’s been acting off?” Michael asked and went face to face with her.

Maria reached out and touched his arm instinctively, hoping to calm him down. He had a tendency to be the bull in the china shop and this was one of those moments that required a little more finesse.

“He’s been following me around and...” Isabel shook her head. Her worry for Alex was starting to get the best of her. “I didn’t think he’d go that far but now I’m not so sure.”

“How long have you felt like he was a threat?”

“I don’t know. It stated to get weird a few days ago. He rented an apartment across from my building.”

“He did what?” Tess asked in disbelief.

“He called me and made some comments,” she glared at her brother when he looked at her expectantly, “that I’m not gonna repeat. And then last night I felt like someone was following me when I left your apartment.”

“Fuck, and you didn’t think you should’ve told us sooner?” Michael hissed in frustration. “For a smart woman you act pretty dumb sometimes.”

Isabel narrowed her eyes at him. “Takes one to know one doesn’t it, little brother?”

Michael clenched his fists at his side. “Did that dick made a threat directed at Alex?”

“He hasn’t made any direct threats, Michael. He says things in a way that comes across threatening but isn’t actually a threat.”

“Well, isn’t that only part of the truth?” Tess suddenly spoke up and everyone turned to look at her in surprise. “What about the photos, Isabel?”

“The...” she glared at her sister. Tess couldn’t possibly know about them. “What photos?”

“The ones that had Alex’s face crossed out!” Oh, she was so in for some yelling about invading her private space, but right now that wasn’t important.

“Wait, that asshole sent you pictures that indicated he was targeting Alex and you didn’t tell anyone? Damn it, Isabel,” Michael exploded, “how stupid can you be?!”

“Easy, man,” Max tried to keep the other man from destroying anything in the room.

Maria frowned. “You knew?” she mouthed to Tess.

“I did tell Alex and he went to the police and told them,” Isabel defended herself uncomfortably.

“He went to the police,” her brother clarified. “But not you, right? You didn’t go to the cops, you didn’t bring it to your family’s attention, but you told the one guy who means well but in all likelihood couldn’t fend off an attack if someone went after him. What’ve you got, rocks in your head?”

“Playing the blame game isn’t helping the situation right now,” Maria stood in front of Michael to block his view of his sister. She couldn’t believe Isabel hadn’t told anyone either, but right now they had to focus on what to do in case Alex was really in danger.

Yeah, he was pissed that Isabel hadn’t said a word, but he wasn’t just blaming her. He’d asked Alex point blank at the beach house if he believed Richard was a threat and the other man hadn’t hesitated before telling him that he thought her ex was dangerous. But he’d blown him off, believing that if Isabel was in danger or being threatened by her ex she’d tell him. “When’s the last time you talked to Alex?”

“This morning. He had the day off and he was out of the city to visit his sister this evening.”

“And you’ve already called the facility she’s at?”

“Yeah, they said he left a few hours ago.”

“We can report it to the cops, but until he’s been missing 48 hours they won’t file a missing persons report.” He ran a hand through his hair. “How’d he get out there?”

“With his mountain bike I think.”

Tony glanced at the beer in his hand; he’d only had half of bottle. “I can drive out to the facility. Maybe he’s just had a flat tire.”

“I’ll go with you,” Isabel insisted.

Michael ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll make a call to Sally an’ see if she’s had any emergency calls that could he him.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Liz asked, praying that nothing bad had happened to Alex and that it was just a flat tire like Tony had suggested.

“No, you guys should just stay here at the party in case he shows up.” He shoved his hands into his pocket to get his keys out. Hell, this day was just getting better and better. “I’ll drive back to the apartment, maybe there’s a clue there or he’s made it home.”

Isabel bit her bottom lip, wondering if she should go with Michael or Tony. Alex had given her a spare key to his apartment in case she ever needed to get away for a while but she wasn’t sure if she should just give it to her brother.

“Alright,” Tony jingled his keys. “Ya got the address of the place his sister’s at, Isabel?”

“I have the name and the general area but I can get the address easily enough.” She sorted through her keys and pulled one off of her ring, pressing it tightly between her fingers for a moment before holding it out to Michael.

“You’ve got a key to his apartment?” He raised an eyebrow but took it anyway. “I’ll see if I can find anything.”

“Why do you just assume it’s for his apartment?”

“Because it’s pretty obvious to the rest of us that the two of you like each other,” Max said with a shake of his head. “Call and let us know what’s goin’ on and if there’s anything we can do besides wait.”

Maria wasn’t sure if she should offer to go with him. As his friend there wouldn’t have been a second thought, her conscience taunted. “You want me to come with you?” she asked when everyone was leaving the room.

He shook his head. “I don’t know what’s goin’ on or what I could be walkin’ into and if it is somethin’ dangerous I’d rather not have you in the line of fire.”

“Okay,” she tried to hide her disappointment, unable to shake the feeling that potential danger wasn’t his only reason.

He glanced over at Max and then motioned to the girls. “Keep an eye on ‘em.”

Tess rolled her eyes. “We’ll be fine. Better be careful yourself.” Too bad Kyle wasn’t here; he’d have gone with her brother to have his back.

“You’ll be fine as long as you listen,” Michael said, his tone warning. “Stay here.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Why don’t you just throw me a dog biscuit while you’re at it?”

“Get outta here,” Maria rolled her eyes and shoved Tess back out to the party.

“Let’s roll.” Michael shook his head, annoyed with the females in his family. He glanced over at Maria as he made his way to the door. “Stick close to Evans until we get back.” He still didn’t know much about Max’ past, but he had a feeling if anyone came after the girls he’d put a hurt on them.

“We’ll be fine.”

*****

Tony glanced over at Isabel as he took the last turn that would take them back to the studio and their friends. They had driven out to the facility and spoken with the nurse on duty but she hadn’t had anything to add since talking to Isabel earlier that evening. There were only two routes back into the city that a person riding a bike would take and they had taken their time traveling both of them in an effort to find Alex.

But they hadn’t found him. There had been no sign of him or his bike and the longer the search went on the more worried they had gotten. No one had called, which meant that Alex hadn’t turned up at the studio and Michael hadn’t found him back at the apartment. When they pulled into the parking lot behind the studio he cut the engine and they sat there in silence for a moment.

“What if something bad’s happened to him, Tony?” Isabel asked quietly.

“You can’t think like that, Iz,” he said as he dropped his head back against the headrest.

“He’s not the kinda guy who just doesn’t call or show when he’s made plans.” She sighed and looked out the windshield. “God, why didn’t I just go to the cops when he asked me to?”

“You can kick yourself over that from here till the next millennium, but it won’t change anything. Yeah, maybe you could’ve gotten a restraining order, but for someone intent on getting to the person they’re obsessed with it’s the equivalent of waving a red flag in front of a bull. It would’ve been the smart move because at least it would’ve put it on the record, but you said Alex filed a report so at the very least that’s on file.”

“What good does that do if Richard’s done something to him, Tony?”

“Hey, c’mere,” he coaxed as he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer for a hug. “We’ll find him, Isabel.” He waited a few minutes for her to calm down before he pulled away and reached out to open his door. “Let’s go inside and see if anyone learned anything, okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed, although she was pretty sure she knew the answer.

The studio was much quieter than it had been earlier and most likely the party was either over or nearly there. They walked inside and found the others scattered around the main room, picking up used cups and other trash. They all paused and turned to look at them when they heard them come in.

“Nothin’,” Tony answered. “What about you, man? Any clues in the apartment?”

Michael shook his head. “Other than the guy bein’ too neat, nothin’.”

“He did find the name of the police officer Alex talked to,” Maria corrected.

“You give him a call?”

“He’s not on duty until tomorrow morning.”

“Maybe we should go ahead and try to file a report,” Isabel suggested.

“That wouldn’t make much sense right now,” Tony shook his head. “He’s only been missing a few hours. The cops won’t do anything yet.”

She sighed miserably. Why hadn’t she just reported Richard’s behavior? Why had she been so certain she could control the situation?

“We’ll go see that officer first thing tomorrow morning,” Tess went to her side and squeezed her shoulder.

Isabel nodded. She would take the pictures to the police station and file a report against Richard and find out what she needed to do to obtain a restraining order.

“I’m staying with you tonight, alright? You shouldn’t be alone.”

“No, that’s not necessary.” She’d put enough people in harm’s way with this situation.

“She’s right,” Michael said firmly. “You girls can crash at my place an’ take Kyle’s room.” He didn’t want his sister in her apartment if Dick had leased something close by.

“I’m not interested in sharing space with your rodent.”

“Well guess what? You should’ve thought about that earlier because you have no choice now.”

“Just go with him,” Maria rolled her eyes at Isabel’s stubbornness. The day had been exhausting and all she really wanted was sleep right now.

“I can stay in Alex’s apartment.”

“Fine,” he spit out.

“Look, I can crash over at his place with Isabel,” Tony offered. “If you don’t think he’d mind.”

“That works,” Isabel agreed. At least Tony wouldn’t give her a lecture all night – something she was sure she’d have to endure with her brother.

“Whatever,” Michael growled. “Let’s just get going.”

“Wanna call a cab?” Tess asked Maria when they gathered their things up. “Liz is staying with Max and since Izzy prefers Carter’s presence over mine...”

“No,” Tony interrupted. “We can drop you guys off.”

“You could just stay with me,” Michael said. He wasn’t sure how much of a good idea that was, but going all the way back to Brooklyn seemed to be an even worse idea.

“That’s even better,” Tess agreed with a look at Maria. “And Tony’s going right to their building.”

The other girl looked at her best friend. He wasn’t looking all too confident with the idea and it was obvious why. “If you’re sure…”

He nodded. “I’d feel better knowin’ you girls weren’t by yourselves tonight.”

“Let’s roll then,” Maria agreed. “I still need to wash this thing off.”

“Let me give you something for it, just make sure you wash if off completely,” Max let go of his grip on Liz and got a small unlabeled bottle.

She gave him a small smile as she accepted the cleanser. “Thanks for everything,” she said and gave him a hug.

“No, thank YOU,” he winked at her.

Michael caught Max’s gaze and motioned at Liz, nodding when the other guy gave him a thumbs-up to let him know she was staying with him.

“Alright, everyone,” Tony hugged his arm around Isabel. “Let’s go.”

“Yeah, the clean up can wait,” the owner of the shop agreed and placed a kiss on his girlfriend’s temple.

“I’m good with that,” Maria agreed tiredly. “Let’s get outta here.”

*****

His heart was hammering against his chest uncontrollably when the car came to a stop and he was ripped outside into the muggy night. Cars could be heard, but the sound was swallowed by something he couldn’t identify.

Listen, Alex, he told himself and tried to focus on his surroundings – to distract himself and to get a clue where he was because with the sack pulled over his head he couldn’t see a damn thing.

The drive hadn’t lasted very long, so he was sure they were still in New York, probably even still in Manhattan, but he couldn’t tell for sure. Time tended to run together when adrenalin was pumping through the human body.

“Move, asshole,” the man – his kidnapper – grumbled in a pissed tone and shoved him forward. His feet collided with something on the ground that made him stumble and lose his balance. He only knew that he was standing in front of stairs when his body crashed onto the concrete steps.

Alex hissed quietly and ran his tongue over his teeth when he felt pain and tasted blood in his mouth, but it seemed like he had only bitten his cheek. A hand grabbed his tee shirt and jerked him up again. “That’s right, stairs! Go up!”

He lifted his foot carefully and felt around to get the height and width of a step before he obeyed and started to climb. Every step felt like he was sinking deeper into the nightmare of Richard Mathews’ sick brain – it had to be him behind all of this.

At some point his foot met no resistance, which probably meant they had reached the next floor. He was turned harshly until new steps began. By the end of the journey, Alex was breathing heavily under the sack, his own hot breath creating a layer of sweat over his face and making the suffocating feeling even worse.

Again he was shoved along a hallway that seemed to be empty and long. A few doors were opened and closed, but he couldn’t really see or smell anything behind the fabric. In spite of his disorientation he was sure they were still inside the same building.

“Is he paying you well?” he asked when they stopped and Alex could hear a key being pushed into a lock and a moment later another door was opened.

The man next to him just chuckled and kept his mouth closed. He gripped him tightly by the arm and dragged him forward into the room and across it. A pain at the back of his leg made him suddenly sink to the ground and he realized that the man must have kicked him hard. He pressed his lips together so his antagonist wouldn’t get any satisfaction from causing his pain.

“Home sweet home,” the man growled and released the chains from his wrists as he pulled the sack away from his head.

Alex prepared his eyes for the sudden light, but he soon realized that the room was almost as dark as the view from behind the sack. The only light came from the hallway outside but it didn’t help him to get a look at his kidnapper since the guy was still wearing his hoodie and a ball cap under it.

“What does Mathews want?” he asked when he was about to be left alone.

The tall man stopped, but didn’t turn around. Was he surprised at the mention of that dickhead? Alex wondered. “All in its proper time,” was the answer he got.

A moment later the door was closed and locked again, leaving him in a dark sticky room with nothing but complete silence for companionship.

*****

Max prowled around the darkened apartment, his footsteps silent courtesy of the plush carpeting he had put down himself to mask the sounds of his pacing. Night after night he moved through the rooms like a caged animal, driven from his spot on the couch because between insomnia and nightmares he rarely slept well. Before Liz had moved in with him he had spent very few nights sleeping in his bed, seeing no point messing it up when he wouldn’t be there more than a couple of hours at most.

He glanced at the desk by the window and the notebook lying there, its blank pages staring at him mockingly. He had agreed that he’d try Dr. Rodgers’ idea, but no matter how many times he sat down with that notebook and a pen nothing happened. It was like his mind just locked up and he couldn’t get a single word down on paper. He had a tendency to fight the memories of his time over there, so pulling them out and talking about them even if it was just writing them down was difficult.

He had woken from the nightmare before it had a chance to send him into a cold sweat and he was grateful he hadn’t woken Liz when he got out of bed. She was so accustomed to waking at the slightest sound Aaron made that might suggest he was in some kind of distress that she often woke with him when the nightmares intruded on his sleeping mind. She was so exhausted that he hadn’t woken her and he was grateful for that. He wondered if it was a combination of the situation with Alex and Dr. Rodgers’ suggestion that had somehow triggered this particular nightmare.

He could still remember that day as if it had just happened.

His squad had been on patrol and he and Reeves had been catching hell for being the new guys when an IED had gone off close enough to throw them to the ground. Chaos had broken out as they had come under fire and through the ringing in his ears he had heard Sgt. Mayes shouting out orders. He had ignored the aches in his body and pushed himself up, responding to the base instinct of survival as well as the Sergeant’s orders.

He had taken cover and shouldered his rifle as his panicked gaze searched the buildings around them for the source of weapons fire. He had heard someone screaming, the sound unlike anything he’d ever heard before, but he couldn’t see who it was. Bits of rock and sand flew into his face when bullets slammed into the wall beside him and he rolled to the side even as he was trying to determine directionality of the bullets.

His hand gripped the rifle tighter and he drew in a harsh breath as he rolled once again, this time taking aim at the rooftop of a building across the street. He would never know if it was one or more of his bullets that had dropped the man or if it was a well-aimed shot from one of the men in his squad. In the aftermath, black smoke still pouring from the vehicle that had been bombed, residents of the village slowly coming out of their homes or businesses, and Sgt. Mayes shouting into the radio for a medic that he had been able to go looking for the source of the agonized screaming.

He’d taken one look at the guy he’d only met a couple of days before and promptly turned away to throw up the contents of his stomach. The moment he’d seen Reeves he’d known he wasn’t gonna make it. There was no field dressing that would help, that would hold the shattered pieces of his body together. He had been pulled up by his collar and Sgt. Mayes had hauled him to the side.

“Get your shit together, Evans,” he snarled. “You wait until he’s gone before you puke your guts out.”

“Yes sir,” he said and snapped off a salute.

“Stay with Reeves and stand watch.”

He glanced at Reeves and swallowed down the urge to blow chow again. The screams began to die down as the morphine he’d been given started to take effect.

“Evans, get over here,” Gates barked as he quickly packed the field medic kit. “Keep pressure on his wounds.” He leaned over the prone man and patted his shoulder. “Hang in there, Reeves, med evac will be here in no time.”

“You think I’m gonna make it?”

“You fuckin’ kiddin’ me?” Gates grinned and lied right through his teeth. “You been goin’ on an’ on about that fiancé you got waitin’ for you back home. No guy in his right mind leaves his girl waitin’ just so he can eat it over here in the devil’s playground. Evans is gonna keep an eye on you until the med evac gets here.”

“I’m good, right, Evans?” Reeves slurred when they’d been left alone.

Max had swallowed hard, trying to keep his eyes on the guy’s face because there wasn’t much left of him below the waist. “Yeah, man, of course. Gates would know, right? I mean he’s a major dick but he’s not a liar.”

Reeves’ eyes had started to glaze over, from the morphine he’d been given or the fact that his life was slipping away, he didn’t know. But before long he was gone and Max was left standing guard over his fallen comrade.

He blinked as the lines on the page began to blur and he stared at the words written there for a moment as he tried to make sense of them. He hadn’t even realized that he had started to write and he was glad that he hadn’t. If he had the words never would’ve materialized. He closed the cover of the notebook and placed the pen on top of it, slowly sitting back and rubbing his hands over his face.

Exhaustion suddenly washed over him and he leaned back in the chair, stretching his arms high over his head before pushing himself up and getting to his feet. He stripped his clothes off as he walked to the bedroom, tossing them in the hamper, and crawling into bed. Liz rolled over and into his arms, sighing quietly against his neck.

“You okay?” she mumbled sleepily.

“M’good,” he slurred, already on his way to sleep. It was an unusual occurrence, but one he was going to take advantage of.

sarammlover: Alex is definitely in a bad situation. Lol, Richard will get his in the end. Max has been through a rough time but he’s finally getting to a place where maybe he’ll be able to deal with what’s happened.

kismet: It was past time for that truth to come out and they have a better chance of figuring things out now that they can present a united front.

Alex is hoping to discover something that’ll help him escape or somehow call for help.

Liz and Aaron have been very instrumental in getting Max to this point.

Natalie36: They’ll be working on it.

keepsmiling7: They are bad memories, but facing them and dealing with them will help him move forward.

CandyliciousLovah: Lol, definitely a solid sibling relationship.

Eva: That is a major advantage and one they need to use to its fullest. Lol, oh, yeah, Isabel’s definitely in for a lecture, but there’s no doubt he’ll do anything he can to help find Alex and deal with Richard. Things are dire for Alex right now, but with the group finally getting on board at the same time, we may see that change.

Max has suffered in silence for some time, but he has a solid support system and he also has a good therapist who has found the perfect way to reach him.

begonia9508: Thanks!

Oh, she should’ve gone to the cops, but she was certain she could handle it. Unfortunately, it’s a mistake too many women make.

Max has experienced some pretty bad things but he’s finally taking the necessary steps to try and move past that.

LovelyPOM83: Alex will continue trying to figure out where he is. Max may just make some headway as he begins facing his past by writing his experiences down. Unfortunately PTSD is still not as recognized as it should be and so many returning soldiers suffer from it, and by extension, so do their families. Max has landed with a good therapist and she’ll do everything she can to help him.

Roswelllostcause: Alex is in a dangerous spot, but at least everyone’s working together to figure out what’s going on now. Max has a great support system and a very good therapist to help him work through his past.




Part 137

Kitchen (En-)Counter

Maria pushed the thin blanket away in frustration and wished one more time tonight that she was home in her own four walls so she could just get up and do something to distract herself. But no, she had agreed to stay at Michael’s and now she was stuck on Kyle’s couch while Tess lay in his bed, snoring the tequila off.

No matter how often she tried to think of something else, whenever she closed her eyes she was back in the tattoo studio with Michael’s hand between her legs. And whenever she opened her eyes she went from cooling down to her worried thoughts circling around Cody, Alex, Aaron, or Kyle.

With a sigh, she sat up and glanced at the clock on the nightstand next to the bed. Half past three, she read, frustrated all over again as she ran her hand through her still damp hair from her shower. Washing the paint off had been a bitch and even with Tess’ help it had taken forever and there were still smears of blue and black on her thighs and sides, but her skin had already hurt from all the rubbing.

She got up from the couch and made a grab for her black tank top to pull it on over her underwear. She thought maybe a glass of water would help to cool her nerves, so she left the room as quietly as possible to avoid Tess’ suspicions that something was going on.

The air conditioning in the living room and kitchen was turned down to a cooler level than in the bedrooms and she shivered slightly when she opened the refrigerator to look around for water. It took a while to get past the tons of sports drinks and beer, but she finally located some in the very back. “Typical guy thing,” she muttered.

Michael watched her from his position over by the patio doors. He hadn’t been able to sleep, driven from his bed time after time because his mind wouldn’t let him rest. He had finally ended up at the doors and he’d considered stepping outside but he knew the door had a squeal that would’ve woken the girls up. He had heard the door to Kyle’s room open and before long the woman who refused to leave his thoughts had shown herself, padding softly through the apartment to the kitchen.

He was standing in the shadows, his arms crossed over his chest, his hands fisted tightly as he drank in the sight of her. He wished he knew what she’d started to say earlier. It was nagging at him and he felt it was somehow significant. His mind was turning over thoughts that he kept slamming the door on, knowing that he had things that needed to be figured out and allowing his fantasies to run wild was only going to nudge him into doing something that would only cause more problems.

“I don’t regret it.”

He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he recalled the words she’d said to him while they’d stood in that parking lot. What did that mean? Hell, he knew what the words themselves meant, but in the grand scheme of things, what had she meant? That she was open to more? That she wanted more? Since when? When had things changed to the point that they could look at each other as more than just best friends?

Maria closed the refrigerator with a nudge of her hip and turned the cap on the bottle but it didn’t move an inch. Sighing, she tried again with more strength, but it stayed in place. “Fuckin’ water,” she muttered and placed it on the counter in front of her while she rested her elbows on it as well. She stared at the bottle in frustration as if it would magically open up itself.

His gaze moved over her, taking in the pose that for all its innocence was completely provocative. The moonlight cast her body in soft light, outlining the strength in the muscles that rested beneath her skin. Skin that was so soft. Skin that he wanted to taste and touch. He forced his gaze back to the city below. Skin that he had no right to need and want the way he suddenly did. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before pushing away from his secluded position and he quietly crossed the living room to stand on the opposite side of the counter. “Need a hand?”

“Fuck,” she straightened up and put a hand to her throat, where she could feel her fast heartbeat. “Wanna scare the shit outta me?”

“Yeah, there’s an attractive thought,” he muttered and reached out to unscrew the top on the water bottle.

She rolled her eyes and grabbed the bottle from him when he opened it with ease. “Thanks.”

He shrugged and watched her as she drank from it greedily. How could a woman drinking water be sexy? He shook himself out of his thoughts and braced his hands on the counter.

“Can’t sleep?” Maria asked when she put the bottle back.

“I keep goin’ over a conversation I had with Alex.” He dragged his hand through his hair. “He knew Dick was a threat, told me, and I didn’t listen.”

She frowned. “When?”

“That weekend at the goddamned beach house,” he growled. “But I blew him off, totally ignored the warning.”

“Don’t punish yourself over it, Michael. There was a lot going on and we didn’t even know Alex that well back then.”

“No, but I’ve always known there was something off about Dick.”

“He was an out and out ass,” she agreed and turned to hop on the counter to sit there when he came around to get a water for himself.

“Yeah, he was that,” he agreed, his gaze sweeping over her as he opened the refrigerator.

She watched him while he looked around for a bottle of water with the same effort she had expended earlier. Too bad he was wearing a tee shirt, she thought when the muscles of his upper arm tensed and stretched the fabric there. “It seems like a lot of things are turned upside down lately; the situation with Alex is just more proof that life’s not fair.”

“Like we needed proof of that.” He grabbed a bottle, ignoring the energy drink he knocked over in his search, and shut the door again.

“No, we don`t,” she agreed and ran her fingers through her hair like a comb before she pulled it all to one side and started to braid it.

“We see it every day, personally and professionally.”

“Maybe we should move to some small town where there’s no such a drama,” she mused while rubbing a spot on her thigh that still showed paint. Neither of them would be happy anywhere but New York though, it was just where they belonged.

“We could,” he mused, his eyes following her hand without his permission. “I think we’d miss the excitement though.”

“We’d be bored shitless,” she chuckled quietly and lifted her gaze, surprised to find his eyes on her.

They were close enough he could reach out and touch her. He took a step closer and barely caught himself before he did just that. “You didn’t get all the paint off.” It was smeared in places and for a moment all he could see was his own hand gliding over her thigh and messing up the art as he touched her in a way best friends should never touch.

“No.” Her eyes dropped back to her thigh and the smears there. His gaze felt like a burning fire on her skin and a hand that was almost choking her at the throat. Gosh, she wanted him to touch her so badly it was almost a physical ache. “The stuff Max gave me stung like hell. I couldn’t bear it any longer than a few seconds.”

“I’ve um, I’ve got some lotion in my kit that might help.” Yeah, now you’re just looking for any excuse to touch her. He shoved the little voice away and slammed the door in its face.

If you’re the one applying it, she thought. “Whatever helps.”

“I’ll go grab it.” He hurried out of the room before she could change her mind and quickly found his kit, sorting through it for the tube of lotion. When his hand closed around it he turned and sat on his bed, forcing himself to think rationally for a moment. He shouldn’t do this. No, he couldn’t do this, he corrected himself. Explaining one slip-up to your girlfriend’s gonna be bad enough. How could you possibly explain it happening twice? “Shut up,” he snarled and shoved himself to his feet to go back out into the kitchen. “Got it.”

“Cool, it’s doesn’t sting, right?”

“No.”

“Good,” her body tensed when he stood in front of her. Now what? Would he just hand it to her? Would he put his hands to work? She definitely knew what she preferred.

He intended to hand it to her. In fact, he ordered his hand to reach out and offer it to her, but rather than obey, it remained stubbornly close to his body as his thumb flicked the cap up. And like one of Pavlov’s dogs his other hand responded to the sound and lifted, the fingers uncurling to accept the generous amount of lotion that was squeezed from the tube. Traitor! his mind screamed as he watched himself snap the cap back on and set the tube aside so he could rub the lotion between his palms to warm it up.

Okay, Maria thought with a mixture of nervousness and excitement. She spread her legs slightly when he moved in closer and it actually took quite an effort to not moan in anticipation.

Michael could feel every muscle in his body tensing at the movement and it felt more like an invitation. I’m a professional, he chanted over and over in his head. But the moment his hands wrapped around her thigh and began to massage the lotion in that train of thought completely derailed.

Was her heavy breathing too obvious, she wondered one moment, but forgot all about it the next when the grip of his hands just got a touch stronger. It was happening again and he was leading it on, or wasn’t he? Somehow it was hard to tell if she had sent him any signals or not.

He wasn’t an idiot. Well, his little voice chimed in, perhaps not a complete idiot, but an idiot all the same. He gave it another vicious shove and focused on the warm flesh he held between his hands. He was conscious of every heavy breath she took and he wanted to hear his name in tandem with those gasping, panting breaths. The blood rushed in his ears, his heartbeat pounded, and every bit of his focus was trained on her.

Without realizing it his hands stopped moving and his right hand moved to her other thigh, getting a grip and pulling her closer to the edge of the counter. What the hell are you doing? his conscience screamed at him. His gaze dropped to her breasts for a moment before lifting to her throat, watching her pulse jump with excitement.

If he had any clue how much her body reacted to him he wouldn’t believe it, she thought. There was no way he wouldn’t know after tonight that she was ready for more, but right now she didn’t care. Her hands wandered to his upper arms to get a feel of the muscles she had been admiring earlier. The material of the tee shirt was stretched taut over them, something that was so sexy it went straight to her core.

His gaze was focused on her throat and she wanted to pull him closer so he would sink his teeth into her skin, but something told her to let him decide if he wanted to or not, so her hand just wandered higher to the back of his neck where she gave his hair a squeeze.

He knew he should stop this, knew with every fiber of his being that it was wrong. The wrong timing, the wrong girl... But she isn’t the wrong girl. The thought came unbidden, unexpectedly hitting him right between the eyes. She wasn’t the wrong girl. She had been the right girl from their first meeting nearly 20 years before. Holy hell, what did that mean? He shifted back to look at her, studying every nuance of her expression as she watched him, waiting to see what he would do next. God, if he had thought he was confused before he was seriously lost now!

His expression was troubled, torn between passion and guilt and she could only guess about the inner battle he was fighting. This wasn’t fair to him! She’d done her best to shove her body in his face all day, but he had a girlfriend and it bothered him that he’d betrayed her. No matter how much she wanted him, she had to remind herself that things would be worse if she did everything she could to seduce him. “I’m making this hard for you,” she whispered.

“Bad choice of words,” he rasped as he met her gaze directly. “It’s not you, Maria, so please don’t think that or blame yourself. I mean, it is you as far as...” he sighed. “I’m only gonna make this worse if I try to explain what I mean.”

“I don’t think it was a bad choice of words,” she tried to lighten the heavy mood and sent a pointed look at the very impressive hard-on that his boxers did little to hide, “but I didn’t realize the double meaning at the time.”

He snorted softly and shook his head. She should be shoving him away, slapping him, or calling him names at the very least. But no, she was being Maria and trying to make it easier for him. “We can’t do this,” he said after several moments of heavy silence.

Although she knew it was true, his words made her heart ache. “I know.” Slowly, she let her hands slip from his shoulders.

“Maria,” he caught her hands before she could completely withdraw. “Please understand that it’s not you. No, I’m not gonna give you that it’s-not-you-it’s-me speech. It’s both of us to be honest. I don’t know what’s goin’ on, I don’t understand it, but you said earlier you didn’t regret what happened. I’m with someone and my problem is that’s my only regret. I’ve gotta figure out what all this means and to do that I’m gonna need space because I get close to you and suddenly I can’t think straight.”

She nodded and was proud of herself that she could hold back an emotional outburst. Sadness and disappointment were so close to the surface that it really was a wonder they didn’t break down her walls. But he had said that he had to figure it out and that he couldn’t think straight with her around, so that had to mean he felt something. It was just confusing him like it had confused her at first. There was hope – she had to believe that for now. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing you can’t think straight because I can’t either,” she managed a small smile and then slipped from the counter. “I’ll give you your space now.”

He watched her walk away and sighed as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on the counter and drop his head in his hands. What the hell had he gotten himself into?

*****

“What’s the matter? Did you find Alex?” Max asked without bothering with a greeting when Michael opened the door to his apartment.

“Come in first,” the other man muttered and let his friend pass before he gave Liz a short one-armed hug.

“Hey there,” Maria greeted with a wave, a mug of coffee held in her other hand.

Isabel, Tony and Tess were also in the room, their faces anything but happy which meant whatever Michael had asked them to come over for the news wasn’t the good kind.

“Alright, guys, spill it,” Liz begged when she saw their long faces. “You all look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“More like we met the Antichrist,” Michael joined the others at the counter and took his mug in his hand while holding up an envelope. “You can’t think as twisted as the truth is, Evans.”

Max frowned and grabbed it from him, pulling a small stack of paper out of it. “What is it?”

“Alex must’ve left it in my mail yesterday, I just found it this morning,” the other man explained. “It’s from his hacker friend. A list of cell numbers Kennedy called from his personal phone.”

Tony clenched his fist at his side, while he squeezed Isabel’s shoulder with the other hand. “Those punks will get what they deserve, Izzy. It’s just a matter of time.”

She leaned against his side for support and nodded, her lips pressed together tightly.

“Fuck no,” Liz muttered suddenly when her eyes glanced over the pages. Her face went pale and she shook her head like she’d suddenly been put in a trance.

“What is it?” Max demanded as he came to stand behind her, his gaze scanning the sheet she held. Names had been scrawled out to the side of the numbers and he wondered just who the hell this guy was that he could get his hands on this information. “There’re calls between Isabel’s ex and Kennedy?”

Isabel nodded and moved closer to them, her eyes immediately locking on the number next to the Mathews, R. that was listed in the right hand column. “That’s his cell number,” she said after a moment.

“So what do we do with this information?” Tony asked as he dropped down to sit on the couch. “I mean, we can’t go to the cops with illegally obtained information. That won’t get us anywhere and it won’t make our accusations credible.”

Max gnawed on his bottom lip, worrying the ring there. “Can I get a copy of this?”

Liz turned her head to look up at him. “Kathleen?”

“Yeah, maybe she’ll know what to do with the information. Carter’s right about it not working in our favor if the cops find out we’re trying to pin Kennedy with information we’ve gotten our hands on illegally.”

“Then we can’t use this when we go in to talk to that detective,” Isabel mused thoughtfully.

“No, but Alex filed the report, right?” Michael mused. The distraction of Alex’ situation was welcomed by his brain and the confusion over what was happening with Maria, but he felt guilty about it all the same. “So at least there’ll be proof that Alex was worried Richard was following him and you mentioned pictures,” he looked at his sister. “Do you still have ‘em?”

She nodded. “At my apartment.”

“We’ll get them before going to see Cooper. And then we’ll see what kinda guy he is.” If he was cool maybe they could at least drop a hint about Kennedy and the connection to their group, even if it wasn’t proof that he was involved in this.

Everyone’s eyes shot to Liz when a quiet sniffle cut through the air and they realized they had all been too wrapped up in the situation to see her despair. “Liz…” Max took her hands in his, but she shook her head and pulled them away.

Maria frowned and slipped from her bar stool. “C’mon, girlfriend, the bathroom’s this way.” She pointed to a door at the end of the room and gently made the girl follow her.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Liz couldn’t hold back her tears and she hid her face in her hands.

The other girl waited a few moments and then approached her. “Hey…” she gently pulled her hands away, “don’t you worry about that asshole!”

A shaking head and more sobs was the only thing Liz managed to give her. She let Maria guide her over to the tub to sit down on the edge and was glad when she gave her space to get her emotions back under control as much as possible. “It’s all my fault,” the sentence hung there in the room for quite a while, leaving Maria stunned.

“Trent’s just doing all of this because of me, to get back at ME, and now others… you all have to suffer from it. First Max, then Aaron, and now even Isabel, and everyone who’s even friends with Alex.”

“None of this is your fault,” Maria denied and crouched down in front of her, making her roommate look at her before she repeated sternly. “NONE of it, Liz. Do not go there. The only assholes are Trent and Richard and they’re the ones to blame, not you.”

“But if I – “

“We don’t know how Richard and Trent got involved in this mess, but think, Liz! Trent’s a cop. It makes sense that he went looking for a weak spot and he found it with Isabel’s ex. But at the same time, it’s completely possible that Richard went looking for someone in law enforcement who could cover him if and when he needed it. And I’m sure if he turned over enough stones he would’ve found a cop, Trent or some other cop, to do what he wanted. He’s got the kind of money to make something like that happen. There’s no proof that Trent’s the one who started something with Richard.”

“But it makes more sense that way, doesn’t it?” She dabbed at her eyes and wiped her nose with the tissue that Maria pressed into her hand.

“But what’s their connection?” Maria asked as she paced back and forth.

“It’s very clean in here,” Liz mumbled absentmindedly as she glanced around.

“Yeah, don’t let it fool you. Michael and Kyle are total slobs but they have a cleaning woman that’s definitely earning every penny they pay her to keep this place up. If she’s not already a saint she should be considered for sainthood soon.”

The brunette snorted. “You wouldn’t think it, but Max has like the cleanest apartment I’ve ever seen. It’s organized, uncluttered, and spotless.”

“It’s gotta be the time he spent in the army.”

“True.” She sighed and looked up at Maria. “Trent’s a user, that’s what he does. If he’s working with Isabel’s ex then it’s on his terms, and if he was sloppy enough to leave a record of the calls then he’s certain there’s nothing to incriminate him.”

“Well, okay, but we have two things, he doesn’t.”

“Yeah?” Liz looked at her. “What’s that?”

“A brain and friends we can count on.”

She chuckled hoarsely and leaned against her roommate. “True.”

They both glanced up when there was a knock on the door and a moment later it opened and Max shoved his head into the room. “Hey… you guys alright?”

Maria got up. “I’ll give you guys a minute, okay?” She squeezed Liz’s shoulder.

Max leaned against the doorframe and waited until the blonde girl had left the room before he joined his lover at the tub.

“It’s nothing,” she laid her hands on his before he could say anything. “Just a little guilt trip on my side.”

“I’m sure Maria’s already told you there’s no reason,” he replied gently and crouched down in front of her. “Liz, no one’s blaming you because you’re just one of the people Trent’s messing around with.”

“I’m aware of that,” she leaned forward until their foreheads touched. “But what your head says and what you heart thinks are not automatically the same.”

“True enough,” he admitted and wrapped her in his arm, pulling her from the tub with the move. He knew that all too well – that often logical thinking and conscience were in an endless inner battle.

“I hate that he’s involved in all of this, Max.”

“And it has nothing to do with you. He’s just a vindictive jerk-off and he’s gonna get what he deserves. Michael said he was gonna try goin’ at this from a different direction and the girls are gonna head down to the police station.”

She nodded. “I have to go in for a few hours to cover for one of the other girls who needed to leave a little early.”

“One of the girls who never wants to cover for you?”

“Don’t be like that,” she chastised gently. “And you need to get to the studio anyway. You said you had an appointment.”

“Yeah, at least it’s not a tat that’ll take more than an hour or so to ink. I’ve got a couple of piercings to do after that and then I thought maybe we could go out to my parents’ place and visit Aaron.”

“I’d like that,” she agreed. Seeing Aaron and spending time with him would be a positive distraction for once.

“Mom’s expecting us around two for a late lunch so no snacking,” he said with a wink.

“I don’t think I’m hungry anyway,” she forced a smile and prepared to go back to the others again.

Tess reached out to rub Liz’s arm when she and Max joined them again. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just a little freak out.”

Isabel nodded in understanding. Her ex was involved too and it was making this situation even worse. “Okay, so if we’re done here I think it’s time to pay a visit to Detective Cooper.”

Michael looked at Tony, who nodded. “Tess an’ I will go with her.”

“I can come, too,” Maria offered.

“Thanks,” the tall blonde woman said. “But you should visit Cody as planned.”

Maria sighed quietly. She knew Isabel was just thinking of her and how much the visit meant to Cody, but it felt like she was being nudged out of her own circle. “Yeah,” she forced a tight smile. Her brother was having lab work done this morning and she knew he was going to be cranky for a while. He needed the visit more than her friends needed her presence at the police station.

“I’ll stop by later as well,” Michael told her from across the counter. He still had no clue how to handle the new situation with his best friend but the little man shouldn’t suffer for it.

“He’ll like that. Depending on how he’s feeling I might take him down to see Kyle for a little bit.”

Hopefully he wouldn’t open his big mouth about what had happened last night, Michael thought.

“That’ll be good for Kyle,” Tess commented, her eyes following every move her brother and best friend made. Something had definitely happened between them and she was going to find out what.

“We should get moving,” Isabel started to head for the door. Alex could be suffering somewhere so they had no time to waste.

“Let’s roll, ladies,” Tony said, grabbing the door before Isabel could reach it. “Maria, you need a ride?”

“I’ll take a walk.”

“That’s a pretty long walk,” Max said with a frown.

Liz nudged him and shook her head. She didn’t know what was going on, but she had a feeling Maria needed the space.

“It’s not that long. And walking is good for fitness.” She winked. A walk around the city would be just what she needed after the sleepless night.

“Alright, we’re out too. Guerin, if you’ll fax a copy of that list over to the studio I’ll get it to our lawyer and let you guys know what she says once she’s had a chance to look it over.”

“Sure,” he agreed and watched everyone leave except Maria, who went to Kyle’s room for her stuff.

Maria was kicking herself for not having had everything ready and waiting for her at the door. It wasn’t like she had a lot to gather up, but at least if she’d been ready she could’ve just grabbed it and left with the others. Or maybe she had just unconsciously wanted a few minutes alone with him, she didn’t know. She sighed. She didn’t know anything right now. She hurried to grab her things and took a deep breath before walking down the hall, almost hoping that maybe Michael had retreated to his bedroom so she could leave without having to try to figure out what to say to him.

“You need a tee shirt?” he asked when she joined him in the living room, dressed only in the outfit from last night. “Hospitals tend to be cold.” He wasn’t sure if it was that or more the thought that every New Yorker would be getting a good look at her body.

“Yeah, maybe.” Not because it was his tee shirt or anything, she insisted silently. But in spite of the magic he’d worked with the lotion just a few hours earlier there were still places where her body was black and blue from the smeared ink.

“Wait a minute,” he walked into his room and went through his closet, looking for one in a smaller size and then sniffing several of them. He finally decided on an olive green one that he had wanted to wear last night but had changed his mind. It still smelled like his aftershave so it would work. “Here,” he threw it into her arms when he returned and watched her pull it over her hair, slip into it, make a knot on one side, and tuck a bit of it into her shorts loosely. Damn, that had been a bad idea!

“Thanks,” she said and gave him a distracted smile. Damn, it smelled so good. She had to go before she did something stupid.

He nodded. “See you later.”

She waved and hurried to make her escape.

Eva: Michael has had an eye opener. It’s going to take some time for him to figure things out and he may not know exactly what’s going on, but he’s smart enough to know he needs time and space to figure it out.

Unfortunately, it may take a little time to locate Alex.

begonia9508: Thanks!

Richard doesn’t like the fact that Isabel is spending time with Alex and he’s set out to make sure his ‘rival’ is no longer a threat to his ‘relationship’ with her.

We’re not sure just yet how long it’ll take things to be sorted out for Alex.

Natalie36: The gang will do their best to make sure that happens.

CandyliciousLovah: Having good friends on your side can make all the difference in the world!

sarammlover: M&M really did turn the heat up! We’ll be getting more of them before too long! Thanks!

Roswelllostcause: Lol, that’d be a good place for them!

keepsmiling7: Lol, that’s so true!

Yeah, they do need to get what’s coming to them.

kismet: Trent and Richard are the ones to blame for sure.

We’ll be catching up with Aaron next Sunday!

Lol, M&M are threatening to burn out of control, aren’t they?

You just never know what could happen when it comes to potential sequels!

Alien_Friend: He definitely didn’t waste any time. We’ll never know though… if Maria hadn’t had the obligation to be there she might’ve been the one to cut and run.

Max and Liz don’t let an opportunity get past them!

Thanks! Rhonda may just show up again.

Lol! Patience is about the only way to get anything out of Michael when he’s like that. We’re just glad Kyle seems to have that kind of patience!

It’d be cool to really see Graham’s work!

Oh, you’re so right! Things do have a way of getting worse before they get better.

Max does have some tragic memories, but it’s a big step forward that he’s allowing himself to remember them rather than trying to suppress them.

Michael’s worry and concern over the situation did make him harsher than he would normally be with his sister. Isabel would have a hard time if Alex didn’t make it out of this.

Alex had been able to keep his focus and that’ll help him. Richard sees Alex as a rival for Isabel’s affections and removing him was the only option as far as he was concerned.

Yep, things could be awkward between Michael and Maria for a while.

Liz finally understands that she has people she can rely on. The gang will do everything they can to find Alex.

Michael is definitely getting closer and hopefully with some time and space things will become even clearer.




Part 138

Nothing but Sorrow

Detective Cooper was just sitting down to take a sip of his first cup of coffee of the day when he glanced up and saw the statuesque blonde walking towards him. He slowly lowered the mug and almost spilled the entire thing when he hit his keyboard instead of the desk. He quickly righted it and grabbed a handful of the stiff napkins that sat on one corner, blotting up the spill and tossing them in the trash just as the woman reached him.

His gaze bounced from her to her two companions as he stood again. “Detective Cooper,” he introduced himself. “Can I help you?”

Isabel shook his hand and forced a smile as she made introductions on her side. “A friend of ours came to see you recently to file a report and now he’s missing.”

“You wanna file a missing persons report?” He nodded and gestured to the chair that sat to the left of his desk. “Have a seat.” He waited until she had seated herself and he pulled up the forms he needed as the man with them snagged a nearby chair for the second girl. “Name?”

“His name’s Alex Whitman and he was supposed to meet us last night but he never showed.”

His hand paused over the keyboard. “When did you last see him?”

“Yesterday morning, and I know he was visiting his sister and the nurse out there said he left last night around 8pm or so.”

“Ms. Guerin, that’s less than 18 hours,” he said, his tone tinged with sympathy. “I can’t file a report until he’s been missing for 48 hours.”

“We know, but look,” Isabel ran her hand through her hair to bring it over to one side, “Alex came here to see you a few days ago. Maybe you remember him.”

“Tall, dark haired guy, a little on the thin side,” Tony offered as an explanation. “May or may not have worn glasses with black frames.”

“He filed a report about Richard Mathews,” Tess added.

Detective Cooper nodded. “Sure, I remember him. He was concerned for a friend of his.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully as he watched the woman who had captured his attention from the moment she walked through the door. “You, right?”

Isabel nodded.

“He suggested there might be actual proof that you were being stalked.” He watched her. “Do you have something like that?”

She made a face when she remembered her shock an hour ago when she had stepped into her apartment. “I had pictures of him an’ me with X’s over his face. Someone sent them to me and I went to get them this morning, but they were gone.” She bit her lip. “Someone stole them from my apartment, Detective.”

He sighed and wiped a hand over his face. “Did you file a report?”

“No,” she glanced at her hands in her lap.

Tess placed her hand over hers. “There has to be something we can do, Detective. Alex was worried that Richard would go after one of them and now he’s missing.”

“Do you have any proof that he’s missing? Any proof that Mr. Mathews was involved in his alleged disappearance?”

Tony sighed, frustrated. “No, we just know that Alex was supposed to meet us last night, but he didn’t show up and that’s a totally uncharacteristic thing for him, he’s very responsible. He went out with his mountain bike and he hasn’t returned to his apartment since yesterday.”

“I understand your concern for your friend, but until he’s been missing for at least 48 hours there’s not much I can do. Legally my hands are tied.”

Isabel rubbed her face in frustration. “Is there really nothing we can do? Maybe you could go over the report he filed?”

“I can pull the report but I’m afraid it isn’t likely to be very helpful.”

“Can you do it anyway?” Tony asked.

“You understand I can’t actually show you what’s in the report.” He smiled tightly when she nodded. “I’ll pull the report.” He ran through his notes and he dug up the case file number before getting up. “I’ll be right back.” He knew the report from memory, but if it made them feel better he’d make a show of getting it.

“We’re not getting anywhere here,” Isabel mumbled.

“No, but if nothin’ else he’s gonna see a pattern with people making reports on your ex,” Tony said.

“You should tell him about Richard’s new apartment right across the street from you,” Tess said before the detective came back with a frown on his face.

Cooper sat down with a folder in his hands, leaning back in his seat as he opened it up and glanced at them over it. “There’s really not much here,” he said as he shook his head. “I did take your friend’s statement but without any physical proof that one or both of you was being stalked there wasn’t much more I could do.”

“Can I file a report now? That I have the feeling he’s stalking me?”

“Sure, I can take the report.” He closed the folder and set it aside and then logged in on his computer to pull up the forms. “We have little to go on at this point other than your statement that he’s a threat to you. I’d recommend looking into obtaining an order of protection.”

“Whatever’s necessary to get rid of him,” she agreed with a determined nod.

“Once you’ve filed for the order you’ll go before a judge and you’ll relate your story. If he feels that your statements have merit he’ll issue the restraining order. Once it’s issued they’ll present you with copies to bring back here and an officer will serve him with the order.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I do have to warn you though, some of these guys will get violent once they’ve been served.”

She swallowed. “Well, what would my other option be?”

“Your best option is to file the order, get it on the record, and if possible, try to avoid situations that could allow him access to you.”

Tony snorted. “With all due respect, Detective, the guy just recently rented an apartment across from her building so he can spy on her. He takes pictures during her private time and he broke into her apartment to get the pictures back. How do you think she could possibly avoid him?”

Cooper understood their frustration. “My advice? Stay with someone for a few days.”

“And put more people in danger?” Isabel hissed.

“Stay with us girls,” Tess told her calmly. “Brooklyn’s far away from that asshole and Kyle will be with us soon too.”

“Yeah, and I’ll be close by too,” Tony agreed and squeezed her shoulder.

“I know there’s risk,” Cooper went on, “but the sad reality is that until he does something that the law recognizes as a physical threat against you there’s nothing I can do to stop him.”

Isabel clenched her fist. She wanted to badly to tell him about the connection to Trent, but she knew she couldn’t. “Okay. I’m more worried about Alex now though. We pretended in front of Richard that he’s my new boyfriend and my ex didn’t like it.”

“Let’s get the report filed and I’ll keep an eye on the clock. If he hasn’t returned by tomorrow night at 8pm I’ll go over and question your ex personally.”

“Okay,” she nodded, but she couldn’t really feel any relief. Tomorrow seemed like a million years away. “Thanks.”

He started going through the routine questions, filling in the blanks until he had a completed report. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow evening, Ms. Guerin. In the meantime, was there any evidence that anyone had broken into your apartment? Anything missing other than the pictures?”

“No, but I just found out before coming here so I haven’t checked everything yet.”

“I’d do a thorough check and if your building has security, check with their office and see if the tapes show anyone entering your apartment.”

“That would be great, thank you,” she looked at Tony and Tess with a helpless smile.

“If you find anything ask them for a copy of the tape and bring it to me. That would give us proof that he entered your apartment illegally.”

“I’ll check that right now,” Isabel agreed and got up again.

Cooper printed off the report and glanced over it for any mistakes before handing it to the woman. “If you’ll just sign that I’ll get it filed for you.”

“Sure,” she grabbed the pen and signed it with a shaky hand.

“Stay safe, Ms. Guerin. Any chance you’ve ever taken self defense classes?”

Tess chuckled. “Isabel would rather hire a bodyguard.”

He smiled and shook his head. “Worry more about your safety than how you look.”

“We’ll keep an eye on her,” Tony said.

Isabel rolled her eyes but inside she was grateful for all of the support she was getting from her friends.

“Come on,” he guided her towards the exit, his eyes roaming over the police officers, but Kennedy was nowhere in sight, which wasn’t a surprise at all.

Detective Cooper tapped the folder he’d brought back from the file room. He turned to his computer and pulled up a search page, entering the case number that’d been assigned to Whitman’s report and frowning at the ‘no file found’ box that appeared in the center of the screen.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Hanson – a rookie fresh from the academy – said and popped a few more chips in his mouth.

He glanced up and rolled his eyes. “Brush the crumbs off your uniform, Hanson.”

The young man in his mid-twenties leaned forward and swiped his hands over his uniform a few times. “What’s up with the kids?”

“Stalker case,” he muttered. “Girl’s got an ex doesn’t know when to back off.”

Hanson nodded to himself. “I overheard someone might be missing?”

“They’re concerned about a friend they haven’t seen or heard from since last night.”

“And what’s with this?” he gestured to the monitor where the warning about the non-existent file was still showing.

He wasn’t sure why but all the questions were annoying the hell out of him. “Shouldn’t you be on your way out for patrol?”

Hanson lifted his hands in defeat. “No offense, Detective. I actually came here to talk to you about my partner. I was hoping to transfer to someone else.”

He rubbed a hand over his face. The kid was new to the force and he was always asking questions, eager to learn. “Sorry, just got some things on my mind.” Things like where the hell had his report gone? “Who’d they partner you with?”

“Trent Kennedy, Sir.”

“Kennedy,” he mused. “A lot of the guys get on well with him. What’s your problem with him?”

“Let’s just say I don’t like the guy’s karma.”

Cooper scratched his chin and leaned back in his chair as he motioned for the younger man to have a seat. “He do somethin’ that bothers you?” Gimme somethin’, kid, he thought as he watched him.

“Don’t have proof, but I think he’s the kinda guy who uses his uniform for his own benefit.” Hanson shrugged one shoulder. “Look, Detective, I don’t like the guy’s attitude.”

“Well, the Captain would have to approve a partner switch but I’ll be honest with you. He’s gonna wanna know exactly why you don’t wanna partner with Kennedy and even though not everyone agrees with the way the guy operates, the fact of the matter is he wears the uniform and it’s gonna make your life in the precinct difficult.”

“And if I had proof he’s involved in shit?”

“Then I’d have to warn you that turnin’ over evidence on another cop’s gonna mark you for the rest of your career.”

Hanson blew the air out through his nose, the sound frustrated. “So basically I’m stuck with an asshole and I should just ignore the reasons I became a cop or I should dig for proof and then look for a new job.” He got up from his chair and tapped his head. “Thanks for the help, Detective Cooper.”

“Hanson.”

“What?”

“I’m not tellin’ you to not get involved.” He nodded at the chair and waited for the man to sit down again. He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “You cross the line and go to IA with this you are marking yourself. Cops will pull together and shut you out because you reported a fellow officer. If you want my advice I’d say take whatever evidence you have and report it to IA.” He smiled tightly. “You’ve gotta be able to look at yourself in the mirror every mornin’. And doin’ the right thing in any situation defines the kinda man you are. Who knows, kid, you might have a career on the other side of the line.”

*****

“When can I go back home, M’ria?” Cody whined and pulled on the oxygen tube that wrapped around his face and ran along his bed to the portable device.

His sister reached out and stilled his hands. “I don’t know. We just have to be patient.” What other answer could she give him? None of them knew the real answer and it had to be so hard for him to wake up here day after day.

The boy turned his head to look at her, his eyes so full of tears it made her heart break a little more – and she wasn’t in a very stable place after the last day anyway. “Is that Mike’s tee shirt?” He tugged on the hem at her upper arm.

“Yeah,” she pulled on the fabric and unconsciously sniffed it, inhaling the scent of her best friend and shivering from it. “I borrowed it from him.”

Cody giggled, but it didn’t sound really happy. “It’s too big for you.”

“I know,” she smiled and leaned her head against the bed right next to his.

“When will he come here?”

“I don’t know. Sometime later.” She closed her eyes for a moment and went back to last night and their meeting in the kitchen. Cody needed Michael to be there, so they had to get their shit together.

The door opened and Amy looked into the room. “Hey, Maria, come outside for a moment, okay?”

Cody sat up slowly. “Where’re you going, Mama?”

“I’m just outside to have coffee with your sister. We’ll be back in a minute, okay?”

Maria frowned, but she kissed her brother’s head and then went after her mother to meet her in the hallway. “What’s up, Mom?”

Amy sank down into one of the chairs that sat against the opposite wall, out of the way if doctors or nurses needed to get to the rooms quickly. She ran a shaky hand through her hair and her other hand clenched around the latest set of results that had just come back from the lab.

“Mom?” she asked, her voice showing the horror she felt.

“Dr. Kinsey just came by with these.” She swallowed with difficulty, trying to maintain her grip on her sanity. “His condition’s getting worse. He’s getting weaker and he’ll have to stay on the oxygen permanently until... unless...” She shook her head and leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees, and her face in her hands as she rocked on the edge of the chair.

Maria stood there for a moment in pure shook before a sound at the end of the hallway made her snap out of it. She crouched down in front of her mom and wrapped her arms around the older woman tightly. “They’ll find a heart for him. They have to.” She could feel the tight feeling in her chest, but in spite of her expectations no tears came.

Amy’s voice was hoarse when she spoke. “If it isn’t soon...” She clenched her eyes shut and hugged her daughter tightly.

“Yeah, I know,” she whispered and wondered what the fuck was wrong with her. The weight on her chest felt heavy, but it seemed to be impossible to find a way to let it out.

“I just feel so powerless,” she whispered. “He’s just a little boy and he shouldn’t have to go through this.”

“No, he shouldn’t,” Maria leaned back to look at her mom and used her thumbs to brush the tears on her face away. “We know life hasn’t been fair to him but we won’t give up hope, right?”

She shook her head. “No.” She wouldn’t give up until it was completely taken from her. And then, then she didn’t know what she’d do.

“Why don’t you take a little time off, Mom? I was about to ask the doc if it’d be okay to take Cody to Kyle’s room for a visit.”

A part of her balked at the thought of being separated from her little boy but she knew it was just as important for her to give her children some time alone. The doctors would tell her she needed to rest and save her strength, but it wasn’t possible when one of her children was so ill. “You won’t let him get too tired?”

“No, he can hang out on Kyle’s bed. Maybe Tess will come as well. An’ Michael too, and we can read something to both of them.”

“You need to get some rest too, Maria.”

“I just slept the night at Michael’s and I’m heading back home to Brooklyn early tonight to chill out with the girls.”

She smiled weakly. “I haven’t even had a chance to come over and see your new place.”

“It won’t go anywhere, Mom. There’ll be time later.”

“You must be so relieved to be in a decent place and with your friends.”

“It’s really nice,” Maria agreed. “And it’s going better financially as well, Mom. I haven’t had the chance to tell you but I got a job with a new company. They pay really well even without a booking and just add more bonuses with each job.” She pulled up a happy face to enlighten her mother with good news.

“Really?” Amy brushed her tears away and squeezed Maria’s hands. “I’m so happy for you, honey.”

“Yeah, and last night we did that shoot at Max’ studio.”

“You said they’d be putting the advertisements up in Times Square?”

“Uh-huh. Can you believe that? I’m really lucky that Graham seems to love me. Well, him and Max.”

“How could anyone not love you?” Amy smiled when her daughter tried to brush her words off. “It sounds like things are going so well.”

“Yeah,” the young woman agreed but her smile fell quickly.

“Something wrong?”

“No, just life, ya know?” Her mother didn’t need to know the newest drama; she had a lot to deal with without that on top of everything else.

“Did the photo shoot go well?”

“It turned out really good,” she nodded. “Haven’t been able to wash it all off yet.”

“I’m sure that’ll take time.” She glanced up when a nurse rushed past them and her heart tripped over itself in the split-second it took to realize she was moving past Cody’s room. “I can’t wait to see the billboards.”

“I have one on my cell,” Maria fumbled it out of her pocket and then showed it to her mother.

Amy’s eyes widened as she looked at the shot. It was professional quality and it was... very provocative. “Well, that’ll capture the public’s attention,” she said with a laugh.

“Yeah,” she turned the cell to glance at the screen. “It’s a little weird.”

“So, you said the shoot went well.” She slowly lifted her gaze to meet her daughter’s. “Weird... in a bad way?”

Maria rolled her eyes. “Weird in an ‘I don’t know yet’ way.”

Amy nodded and glanced at the screen again. “Did the two of you enjoy yourselves?”

“Most of the time it was weird,” she admitted. “Michael and I... we’ve never been together like that.”

“And have your thoughts on that changed at all after last night?”

“You know mine have for a while, Mom.”

“But now there’s a complication,” Amy said with a smile.

Maria put her cell back and shrugged. “I don’t know how or where we’ll go from here. He’s still got Courtney and things to figure out.”

“Any chance Michael’s thoughts on the subject have changed?”

“I think there’s a chance, but I don’t wanna put too much hope into it yet.” Easier said than done after he’s had his hands in your pants, she thought, but somehow the intense moment in the kitchen was the one that made her hope for something more.

“I can understand that.” She smiled slightly. “It would certainly make Cody happy if his two favorite people were together.”

It would make me very happy as well, Maria thought.

“Well, in spite of my maternal inclination to go a round of twenty questions I promise I won’t start questioning him as soon as I see him again.”

“I’d be really grateful if ya don’t, Mom,” she bumped the older woman slightly. “I don’t think Michael would be very happy about an interrogation of that kind.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Good,” Maria hugged her mother again tightly. “Let’s be strong for Cody, okay? We won’t think about the worst until there’s no way around it.”

Amy squeezed her daughter, wondering where she got all her strength from. Of course, Maria would cry when she was alone – she knew her daughter well enough – but still, she always managed to be brave when it counted. “We’re strong,” she agreed quietly and then both of them stood again to go back to Cody, talking briefly to the doctor first to let him know they were taking him to visit with Kyle for a while.

The boy looked up when they entered the room again. “I’m bored, Mama.”

“Wanna do something about it?” Maria sat down on his bed and switched the TV off. “You know why Kyle hasn’t been able to visit you lately?”

Cody shook his head.

“He’s here in the hospital as well, you know. He was hurt at work and had to make use of the docs here just like you.”

“Do he need a new heart too?” the boy asked with big eyes.

“No,” Maria shook her head. “But his arm and his eyes are hurt and need to heal. Whatcha say, you wanna go visit him? I think he’s just as bored as you are.”

Cody nodded and pulled at the tube that came down over his ears and was tucked up under his nose. “Yes!”

“Hey, leave that on, we’re taking the oxygen with us.”

“Do we have to?” he complained.

“Yes, we have to.” She stilled his movements and kissed his cheek.

sarammlover: It looks like Cooper may just figure it out. Cody is having a tough time but he’s a little fighter and he’s got a lot of support.

Earth2Mama: Isabel won’t stand by while Alex’s life is in jeopardy. Cooper isn’t one of those cops. Yes, his hands are tied by the law but he’s isn’t sitting idle. Going to IA would be the right thing to do.

Michael and Maria are going to put everyone through the wringer on this one.

At the moment these are definitely the two couples that show the most promise.

kismet: Chances are good that plenty of the cops know Kennedy is a problem, but most of them won’t come forward. Hanson though, Hanson may be the one to start the ball rolling. Cody’s condition is hard, but he has a lot of support backing him up.

CandyliciousLovah: Oh, the evidence is all there and it looks like someone may just step forward. The situation for Amy and Maria is heartbreaking. Someone for Amy, huh? Well, we’ll have to wait and see.

keepsmiling7: That is a long time (and in reality untrue, lol, it’s just something concocted by writers and television to create additional drama).

We’re catching up with Aaron!

Natalie36: Ah, sad news for sure but they’re pulling together.

begonia9508: Thanks!

Lol, interesting comparison! Yeah, proof is the key and they need more of it.

Roswelllostcause: They’re gonna be working on it!

Eva: That was a huge move for Isabel, and definitely the right one! Cooper is on the case and maybe with Hanson’s help we’ll see progress in bringing Trent down.

Congrats on 37! Cody’s story is heartbreaking but there’s always hope! And he and his family have a great group of friends to help keep them moving forward and keep their spirits up when they start to get down.



Part 139

Human Bonds

Michael leaned against the back wall of the elevator, arms crossed over his chest as he watched the digital numbers flashing to indicate his climb to the 52nd floor. He paid no attention to the other passengers in the car. His mind was active, turning over everything that had happened in the past 24 hours. He felt like everything had suddenly changed and he didn’t know what to do. He shifted to pull his phone out of his pocket when it started to vibrate and when he saw Courtney’s name he sighed and put it back, letting it go to voicemail. He had no idea what to say to her that wouldn’t feel like a lie.

The elevator bell chimed multiple times as the car stopped, the doors opening and closing as people got on or off, but his eyes never left the panel where the floor numbers were flashing. He had been confused after what had happened at the studio, but it was even worse after his encounter with Maria in his kitchen in the middle of the night. He had to come clean with his girlfriend because he wasn’t gonna be one of those guys who tried to live that lie. She trusted him and she deserved to know that he’d managed to screw that up before she’d even been gone an entire day.

It wasn’t until the 52 flashed three times before it registered that he had arrived at his destination and he hurried to block the door before it could close again. He shoved it open and stepped out of the car, glancing around at the corridor lined with expensive and original artwork as he made his way towards his father’s offices. He entered through the double glass doors with the name of his father’s company etched into the glass and he looked up when he heard his name being called. He smiled at the older woman who had worked for Dad as long as he could remember.

“Hey, Mrs. Markinson, how’s it goin’?”

“I can’t complain. What about you?”

“Well, I can always find somethin’ to complain about, but there’s probably no point.” He nodded at the heavy door to his dad’s office that was closed. “Is Dad tied up today?”

“You know your dad’s never too tied up for his kids.” She winked as she stood up. “Just let me step in and let him know you’re here.”

He rested one hip against the edge of her desk and crossed his arms over his chest, watching her as she gently knocked on the door before stepping inside. He straightened up when he caught a glimpse of his dad pacing back and forth behind his desk, right hand gesturing erratically as he spoke into the phone. He wondered what was going on but he didn’t catch so much as a word before the door closed.

By the time the door to the office opened again his dad had ended the call and was sitting in his chair. The older man motioned for him to come in and he smiled at Mrs. Markinson when she ushered him inside and told them she’d bring coffee and something to snack on.

“I think she still looks at me and sees a little kid,” he said, leaning across the desk to shake his dad’s hand before dropping down into one of the comfortable chairs facing him.

Adam chuckled and leaned back in his chair. “I remember Matt saying the same thing.”

“Must be true then.” He nodded at the phone. “Everything okay?”

“Hmm?” He frowned and then nodded when he realized what his son was referring to. “Oh, that’s just business, nothing to worry about. If I worried about everyone who tried to block my business ventures I’d do nothing but worry all the time.”

“Yeah, guess that’s a good point.”

“So, what’s on your mind, Son?”

“You remember Alex? Isabel invited him over to the last barbecue.”

“Yes, of course. A very nice young man.” He smiled. “The kind I wouldn’t mind spending more time with her.”

“Well, he’s missing.”

Adam frowned. “Missing?” he echoed.

“Yeah, he was supposed to come by Max’s studio after goin’ to visit his sister last night. We were havin’ a party and while he’s not exactly a party animal he said he was gonna be there, but he never showed. Isabel called me and I went by and checked his place but he wasn’t there and it’s just really unusual behavior for the guy. If he says he’s gonna do somethin’ or be somewhere you can pretty much count on him.” He drew in a deep breath. “We think Dick’s involved in his disappearance.”

“You’ve expressed concern before that Richard could become a problem, but what you’re saying is very serious.”

“Completely straight face here, Dad. Isabel’s denied having any issues with Dick that she couldn’t handle, but…” he exhaled loudly and shook his head. “Last night we had a very serious talk and she told us what’s really been goin’ on.”

Adam shifted, leaning forward as his piercing gaze locked on his son. “Is she in danger?”

“Honestly?” He nodded when his dad motioned for him to give it to him straight. “Yeah, Dad, I think she’s in danger. He’s been making harassing phone calls, he left pictures of her and Alex at her apartment and she said he’d drawn red X’s over his face, he’s shown up unexpectedly in different places where she’s been, and she said she’s had the feelin’ recently that she’s bein’ followed too. And now Alex has suddenly gone missing with no explanation. Oh, and he’s also rented an apartment directly across the street from hers.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair in frustration. “She stayed with us last night and went to get the pictures this mornin’ to take ‘em to the cops, but they were gone. Dick hasn’t done anything to physically threaten her, at least that she can prove, so the best she can do is file for an order of protection and hope the judge sees that it needs to be issued.”

“Of course, because stalking cases are notoriously difficult to prove. There’s often little to no evidence and it comes down to a case of he-said she-said.” He sighed loudly and reached for the pen lying next to the phone, tapping it against the desk as he went over everything Michael had told him. His gaze locked on the engraved white gold pen that his children had presented to him as a Father’s Day gift several years ago. “How’s Isabel handling all of this?”

“She’s scared but won’t admit it. Not for herself at least,” he snorted. “She’ll admit that she’s scared for Alex with no problem.” It was amazing how fast things could change. A couple of months ago she wouldn’t have even admitted to knowing the guy’s name. He went on to explain the situation with Trent and his involvement along with Max’ pending drug conviction and Liz’ custody fight now that her ex had complicated their lives.

Adam sat back and watched his son thoughtfully for several minutes. “And you can’t take this knowledge to the police because it was obtained illegally.” He shook his head. “This’s a helluva fix you’re in.”

“I don’t know what to do, Dad.” He got up and started to move around the office restlessly. “If I was Matt she would’ve come to me and it never would’ve gotten this far.”

“Michael, Son, no one wants you to be your brother.”

“She would’ve told him what was goin’ on.”

“That’s true,” Adam agreed, “but you have to remember that Matt was older than Isabel and most children are likely to go to an older sibling for advice than a younger one.” He smiled. “If you needed advice from one of your sisters, which one would you go to?”

“I don’t know, probably Miss Know-It-All,” he admitted grudgingly.

“Alright, so you said Max is taking this information to his lawyer, right?”

“Yeah, we figured with the lawyer-client confidentiality thing he’d be able to get away with tellin’ her what’s goin’ on without anyone getting in trouble.”

“Smart move. Let’s wait and find out what the lawyer says and what the detective says and in the meantime I want you to steer clear of Richard. Don’t go looking for trouble, Michael, do you understand me?”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“And she isn’t to stay alone. If she needs to go to her apartment for anything…” he trailed off when he caught the look on his son’s face. “You’ve already got this covered, don’t you?” he asked with a chuckle.

“One of us is with her at all times and she’s not stayin’ at her place. We kinda had some words last night so she stayed in Alex’s apartment with Tony.”

“Ava’s Tony?” he asked, tipping his head to one side as he studied his son’s body language. He smiled when Michael nodded. He was pleased with the young man his youngest daughter was dating. “Solid young man and he’s certainly found a fan club with Chase.”

“Yeah, the kid’s wild about him and so’s Ava.” He exhaled slowly and rolled his shoulders. “I guess I should be getting back. It’s gonna be another busy day.”

Adam knew something was bothering his son but he also knew to tread lightly. Pushing too hard would only succeed in pushing him away. If Michael felt like he was being backed into a corner he’d never open up. “Is everything else alright?”

He shrugged. “Lotta stuff goin’ on. Y’know, Cody, Kyle, work…” he shrugged again. “Just seems to keep piling up.”

“Yeah, Nicole and I are planning to stop by the hospital for a visit in the next couple of days.” He knew how tough the situation was but he also knew they weren’t at the root of Michael’s problem. He leaned back in his chair. “How’s Courtney?”

“She’s fine. She’s away on a job right now.”

He nodded, studying the way the muscles along Michael’s jaw clenched at the mention of his girlfriend. He wasn’t necessarily evading his questions but he wasn’t offering anything either. “And Maria?” He gestured with his right hand. “Wasn’t it last night you were helping her with that modeling job?”

“Wasn’t really a modeling job, Dad,” he denied. “It’s just an ad for Max’s shop.”

“Well, I trust it went well.”

“Why wouldn’t it?”

Um-hmm, and there it was, Adam thought when he heard the defensive note creep into his boy’s voice. “Well, I’m sure with everything she has on her mind right now it’s probably difficult to focus on her job.”

“Yeah, well, you know how Maria is. Anyway, I’ve gotta get goin’. There’s a few things I’ve gotta take care of before I head to the job.”

His dad stood and walked around his desk, letting the conversation go because it was obvious that whatever was going on, it involved Maria. He pulled Michael into a hug, feeling the tension in his tall frame. “You take care of yourself,” he said as he released him. He didn’t know what all was going on, but he knew his son was doing his best to pick his way across an emotional minefield.

Michael reached for the doorknob and turned it, pausing when his dad called his name. “Yeah?” He didn’t turn, keeping his eyes locked on the door instead as he held his breath and waited for what his dad had to say.

“When you’re ready to talk you know where I am.”

“Yeah.” He swallowed hard and nodded. “Thanks, Dad,” he muttered gruffly and made his escape.

*****

Kyle was propped up in bed, contemplating his chances of talking the nurses into letting him out for a while when he heard familiar voices nearing his room. He appreciated the well-meaning and continuous stream of visitors, but it had been quiet today and as much as he’d enjoyed the relief at being left alone it was tinged with something he didn’t want to call loneliness but certainly felt that way.

He turned his head so that he was facing the open door and he smiled when he heard the breathless, but still excited, greeting Cody gave him. “Hey, little man, how’s it hangin’?”

The little boy laughed and raised his hand so he could bump his little fist against Kyle’s much larger one. “Maria said you gotta stay here too.” He leaned forward to grab onto the bedrail and his sister scooped him up and placed him on the bed when just that small effort visibly tired him.

“Careful, he’s got an O2 line,” she said and prayed neither of them noticed the slight crack in her voice. She reached for the portable oxygen tank, sliding it out of the rack at the back of the wheelchair and into the slot built into the frame on the underside of Kyle’s bed. She fussed over the wires, moving them out of the way as she watched the way Cody settled into Kyle’s side, nestled under his good arm.

“How come nobody’s made pitchers on your cast?” he wanted to know as he reached over to gently touch the white plaster.

“I guess nobody’s offered,” Kyle said, catching Maria’s hand when he felt it brush against his as she checked and double checked to make sure the oxygen line wouldn’t be in the way. He couldn’t see her but his other senses were on alert and the fact that Cody was hauling around a portable oxygen tank spoke volumes.

“Can I draw on it first?”

“Sure, but make it somethin’ cool, will ya?” Kyle squeezed her hand before she retrieved it.

“I’ll get you something to draw with,” Maria kissed her brother’s head. “Don’t move around too much, buddy. You don’t wanna hurt Kyle.”

He nodded and watched her leave, then his eyes shifted to the face of the man next to him and he frowned at the wide bandages around his head. “Does it hurt?”

Kyle barely noticed the question as his thoughts went after his female friend. Something was wrong, but it was hard to tell if her mood was because of Cody’s condition or something else – something that had happened last night between her and Guerin. “Huh?” He turned his face in the direction of his little visitor.

“Does your eyes hurt?”

“No, not really,” he shook his head. “My arm hurts more, but that’s okay. We’re men, right? We can survive anything.”

Cody chuckled and snuggled closer against him. “How long do you gotta stay?”

“I don’t know yet.” The doctor had been very pleased with his progress and was considering letting him out of the hospital sometime the upcoming week, but Cody didn’t need to know yet that he would soon be the only one there again.

“Me neither,” the child sighed in frustration.

“It’s not that bad in here,” Kyle tried to encourage him, but he knew it was the biggest lie ever. He was bored shitless and the food was gag-worthy, so how much worse must it be for a kid? “And you get a lot of visitors, don’t you?”

“M’ria said Michael will come an’ visit today.”

“Well, that’ll be fun, won’t it?”

“Yeah.” He picked at his fingernails for a few moments. “Hey, Kyle?” He tipped his head back to look up at the man.

“What’s up, buddy?”

“You don’t think he’ll bring that girl, do you?”

“No, he won’t bring her.” He was certain of that.

The little boy sighed in relief. “Do you think it’s bad if I don’t like her?”

He cleared his throat lightly. “No, no, I don’t think it’s bad, but even when we don’t like somebody we should probably try to at least get along with them.”

“She makes M’ria sad,” he murmured quietly. “Mike’s ‘posed to be her friend but he’s always with that girl.”

How could he explain this in a way a five-year-old could understand? “Y’know, it’s not unusual for people to kinda get busy with their own stuff when they get a boyfriend or a girlfriend.”

“That’s just dumb. I’m never gonna have no girlfriend. Girls make boys be stupid.”

“Well, you might change your mind about that one day. Girls can make guys do stupid things sometimes, but that’s not always a bad thing.”

Cody snorted. “You don’t got no girlfriend an’ you an’ M’ria are still friends.”

“Mike’s still her best friend, Cody.” He could just imagine the look of disagreement that would be on the little boy’s features right about now. “I know maybe it seems like he’s not, but he is. And your sister doesn’t want you to not like Courtney just ‘cause Mike’s been busy with her.”

“Do you think they’re gonna be together for forever?” the boy wondered aloud.

After last night? No! But that was nothing he could tell the kid. “I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter because he’ll always be your friend, Cody.”

“That’s right,” Maria agreed when she returned with a few felt pens in her hand. She had only overheard the last bit, but it was enough to make her stomach clench. If it had been hard to talk nice about Courtney before, it was even harder after her and Michael’s encounter at the tat studio. “Here, they didn’t have yellow or red, but I got blue, black an’ green.” She placed the pens in Cody’s lap and held the O2 line to the side when he moved around to kneel in front of the cast.

Kyle grinned in her direction, knowing she had spared him the girly colors since chances were good he’d get rid of the things as soon as possible anyway.

“Don’t put too much pressure on the arm, okay?” Maria reminded her brother gently when he started drawing.

Cody looked up at the man and then nodded. “Okay.”

“Good,” she relaxed in her chair and then thought about something and rummaged around in her bag. “I brought you a muffin from Starbucks.” After getting it out, she whipped the paper bag against the back of Kyle’s hand.

“You talking to me?”

“Yes, Cody already had one in his room. I heard breakfast was pretty bad today.”

He snorted and took the bag from her. “Thanks, it really wasn’t that great. But you don’t have to buy me stuff, you know that, right?”

“It’s just a muffin and besides that, I’ve earned some decent money recently, remember? So for once I can spoil my friends instead of living off their dime.”

“You’ve never lived on anyone’s dime, stupid,” he fumbled around with the bag until he managed to open it up with one hand. “Tell me about last night,” he said and then bit into the muffin. “How’d the photo shoot turn out?”

A few crumbs fell on her brother’s hair while Kyle ate and she reached over to pick them out. “It turned out pretty good. Just wait until you see the photos.” As soon as the words were out she made a face. Good grief, she was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she wasn’t even paying attention to what she was saying. “Sorry, I didn’t…”

“Nonsense, I’ll get a look at them eventually. Until then you guys have to be graphic.”

Maria was glad he couldn’t see the immediate flare of heat that flooded her cheeks at his innocent comment. There was no way she was getting graphic about what had happened between her and Michael. That was for sure! “They really did turn out well. Graham even managed to get a shot of Max an’ Liz.”

“How’d he get Evans to pose for a pic?” Kyle asked, not pushing when she steered the conversation away from herself.

“Oh, you know how Michael is when he’s the center of attention and he doesn’t really want to be there. Basically he wasn’t giving Graham what he wanted and to make the shot work he had to get him to loosen up.”

He snorted softly. He had a feeling relaxing had been the last thing on his friend’s mind last night. Yeah, that would’ve been hard to do considering what’d gone down between them. “So he wanted Evans to do what exactly?”

“Well,” she giggled and got up to stretch out on the unoccupied bed across from Kyle’s, “Max was basically supposed to show him how a guy looks at the girl he wants.”

There was no way Guerin had just let Evans show him up, Kyle thought. “I’m guessing Graham got the reaction he wanted.”

“Michael may only enjoy being the center of attention when it’s where he wants to be, but you know how competitive he can be when he puts his mind to it.”

“Um-hmm,” he mumbled noncommittally.

Cody leaned in closer as he colored in the outlines of the picture he’d drawn and he paused to glance up at the window across the room. “Do you got cartoons?”

“Yeah, sure.” He fumbled for the remote and handed it to the little boy, knowing he was probably a lot more adept at using it than he was. “There ya go.” He listened as Cody flipped through the channels, quickly landing on the one that was showing cartoons and a moment later the remote dropped in his lap and the little artist leaned in and went back to work on his creation.

*****

“Hey,” Max squeezed a bare tanned thigh briefly and then returned his hand to the steering wheel so he could make the right turn onto the next street.

Liz blinked to put a lock on her thoughts and turned to look at him.

“Don’t let your thoughts run into dark-land all day, okay?”

She sighed and rested her head against the backrest while she turned her gaze out towards the landscape. “I’m trying.” Now that they had reached the outskirts of the city the sun wasn’t blocked by high buildings anymore and it felt hot against her skin through the glass windows. “I can’t stop wondering how involved Trent is in everything. What if he’s in deeper than we think and no matter what we do, we’ll never get Aaron back? What if he’s watching and laughing at everything we do to fulfill the judge’s requirements while he knows that we still don’t stand a chance?”

“He doesn’t have that much influence,” he denied. He had hoped the drive out to his parent’s house would lighten her mood because she was going to see Aaron for a while, but it seemed like not even that was getting her mind away from the fear of Trent and his ability to hurt their whole group.

“You don’t know that,” she denied. “He knows a lot of people so why not the right ones who would help him? There’re a lot of corrupt assholes like him out there and they tend to find and help each other.”

“Liz, darlin’, I know this’s difficult and it’s next to impossible to see much farther than what we’ve got goin’ on right now, but it’s gonna work out.” He raised two fingers off of the steering wheel to acknowledge one of his parents’ neighbors when the older man paused in his hedge trimming to wave at him.

“I want so badly to believe that, Max.”

“Then believe it because it’s true. If Trent’s teamed up with Isabel’s ex he’s gotta be desperate. I’m still not sure why he’d get involved like that, but it’s good for us because he may know how to cover his ass, but that Richard guy? Huh-uh, he’s not the type to get his hands dirty, so it’s not a partnership that’s very equal.”

“You know him?” she asked curiously.

“I’ve met him a few times. Never really cared for him but he was engaged to Isabel so…” he shrugged.

“That’s interesting.”

He turned into his parents’ driveway and glanced at her as he parked. “Why’s that interesting?”

“You didn’t like him but I’ve never heard anything about you getting into it with him the way you do with Shitney.” She slapped a hand over her mouth and her eyes widened comically when he laughed. “Courtney. I meant Courtney.”

“You can’t compare the two,” he said, his voice still filled with laughter. “Richard never bothered to spend much time with us and while he was with Isabel there wasn’t anyone else around who was into her, so no one got hurt... If I had known back then what kinda dick he really is, it would’ve gone a whole lot different though.”

“Um-hmm, I see.”

“For now,” he reached over and squeezed her hand, “let’s forget about that and concentrate on the little man who can’t wait to see us, alright?” He gestured to the window where his father stood with the boy in his arms already waiting. “Trent doesn’t know that we know a lot more about him and at some point his attitude will work in our favor.”

She smiled. Yeah, for a couple of hours she could let it go and focus on Aaron. He deserved better than sharing their time together while her thoughts were on her ex. “He really likes your parents, Max.”

“They’re good people,” he said while he maintained eye contact with his father. Their relationship was still strained, but he truly believed that he loved the little guy just as much as he loved him.

“They’ve been good for him and I’m thankful that they were willing to take him in.” But she still couldn’t silence that little voice that kept asking if Aaron was better off with them.

“Yeah, and the good thing is they’re always gonna be his grandparents,” he winked at her and opened the door.

She couldn’t stop the smile in response to his words. “He’ll really like that.”

The front door of the house was opened as soon as they made it out of the car and Philip put the squirming child in his arms on the ground so he could take off in their direction.

She leaned over and scooped him up, hugging him tightly and trying to process the flood of information he was giving her as he wrapped his little arms around her neck.

“We baked cookies for you,” Aaron leaned back to look at his sister with a huge grin on his face. “You like cookies, Lizzie, right?”

“Of course.” She smiled at him and kissed his cheek. “What kind?”

He leaned to the side and into Max’s arms when the man held his hands out. “We made the choc’late chip kind an’,” he leaned back to look at Max, his hands braced on his shoulders, “your mommy said you like the peanut butter ones so we made them too.”

“You’ve been busy,” he chuckled. “Which ones do you like more?”

“Hmm... I couldn’t choose so we made some peanut butter ones that gots choc’late chips.”

Diane walked towards them with a smile and hugged Liz briefly. “He was very eager to get them done before you got here. I wasn’t even able to convince him to have his afternoon nap first.”

“I’m not sleepy,” he denied. “An’ Lizzie an’ Max will like the cookies.”

“Hey Mom,” Max greeted the woman when he placed Aaron back on the ground. “You look good.”

“Oh, it’s just done wonders for your father and me to have Aaron around the house.” She shook her head. “It’s amazing how alive children can make you feel.”

“Aaron’s a good kid,” Philip agreed when they reached the door. Sometimes he wondered how it was possible for a child Aaron’s age to be so well behaved mostly.

“Yes, he is,” Liz agreed, her eyes following him as he and Max horsed around on the front lawn. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for us.”

“It’s been more a pleasure that anything else, honey,” Diane assured her and let her into the house after her brother, who was impatient for her to try out his cookies.

Max smiled when Aaron ran back to them and grabbed hold of Liz’ hand with both of his little ones, doing his best to make her walk faster.

“I’m coming,” she chuckled.

“Max, make her hurry,” he insisted.

“Help the girls in the kitchen and we’ll join you in a minute, buddy,” he replied and gave Liz a gentle playful push. He needed to talk to his father about the newest developments since they hadn’t spoken in the last couple of days.

She shot a look at him over her shoulder and gave him a slight smile when he nodded. She decided he must be going to talk to his dad about the situation they had just learned about. “So, you made these, huh?” she asked, looking around the spacious kitchen and the plate of cookies sitting on the counter. Their mangled shapes were a dead giveaway that he’d had a hand in creating them.

“These ones are yours,” he pointed a finger at them and then licked it when he accidently touched the chocolate in it.

Diane watched them, smiling at their easy interaction. “Why don’t I get some milk to go with those cookies?” she asked no one in particular. She glanced into the other room, hoping to catch a glimpse of her husband and son to see how they were doing but they had moved out of sight.

“That sounds great,” Liz smiled at her brother and gave a playful groan when she picked him up in her arms. “I think you’re getting a lot of good food, huh? You’ve gotten heavier.”

“Yep, she cooks almost as good as you,” he confided in a loud whisper. “An’ they don’t got no special food shelfs like Trent did neither. It’s like at Max’s house, Lizzie! It’s okay to eat food that’s on any of the shelfs.”

Diane overheard the comment and it hurt to know it what kind of circumstances the boy had grown up around. “We do cook healthy,” she assured Liz.

She smiled at the woman’s comment. “I always tried to make sure he ate healthy.” She didn’t know why she was defending herself. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Well, other than getting involved with Trent and not getting away from him as soon as he started to change.

“It’s not always easy with the ease of fast food, is it?” The older woman chuckled. “Kids love it and it’s hard to tell them no.”

“No, it’s not easy,” she admitted, relaxing at the woman’s non-judgmental response. “And given the chance he’ll jump on fast food. Especially a certain restaurant with golden arches.”

“They all do,” Diane laughed.

“I’ve noticed that Max seems to have a preference for it as well.” She rolled her eyes. “I think if it was up to him he’d eat it every night of the week.”

“No doubt, so I’m glad he’s finally found a woman who can prevent him from that addiction.”

“Well,” she laughed, “I try, but he still gets away with it sometimes.”

“Max has always had a good metabolism.”

“Yeah, we were just discussing that the other day. How the guys seem to have such a faster metabolism than us girls.”

“Life’s just not fair,” Diana set the glasses of milk on the table. “Come on, have a seat.”

“Lizzie,” Aaron climbed up on the chair next to his sister and he leaned over the table to grab a cookie and put it on a napkin. He slid it across the polished surface and watched with anticipation when she finally picked it up.

She took a bite and chewed on it slowly, amused to see his impatient face when she didn’t speak immediately.

“Do you like them?” he asked eagerly.

“Loooove them,” she finally said with a grin. “The best cookies I’ve had EVER.”

He clapped his hands in excitement. “I made them good!” He grabbed one for himself and sat back on his knees, munching contentedly.

“Make sure you get the recipe.”

“So we can make them when I can go home with you an’ Max?” he asked hopefully.

She nodded.

“Soon?” he pushed.

“It’s still a few weeks,” she squeezed his little hand.

He rolled his eyes expressively. “You said that like a million months ago.”

Liz chuckled to downplay her sadness. “You would be very, very old right now if it was a million months ago.”

“Did you know dogs is older than peoples? Mr. Jerry, he lives next door, he gots a dog and he said she gets seven years older every year.”

“So in dog years, you’re even older than me, huh?”

He nodded. “He said Beasley, that’s his dog, isn’t that a funny name? He said Beasley’s almost 70 in people’s years! That’s old, but he likes to run an’ jump. An’ that’s kinda weird ‘cause old peoples don’t do that.”

“A few of them might, but dogs are different. They have four legs and we don’t, right?”

He giggled. “But peoples would look funny if they had four legs, Lizzie!”

“There’s someone else with four legs,” Diane glanced at the swinging door when the cat walked in.

“Garfield!” Aaron slid down off of his chair and ran across the room to pick the large cat up and give it a big hug. The cat’s tail snapped in annoyance but it lay across the boy’s shoulder dutifully, enduring the humiliation.

“Don’t squeeze him too tight, Aaron,” Liz made a face. Poor cat.

“He loves it when he gets hugs,” he said and lugged the feline over to his sister. “See?”

“Um-hmm, he can’t really talk, can he? You need to be gentle.”

He shook his head. “He can talk, Lizzie. Peoples just don’t understand what he’s sayin’.”

“That’s true,” Philip’s deep voice entered the kitchen as the men walked in. The things his son had told him weren’t pleasant, but maybe now Trent Kennedy would make a mistake and they would be able to get a hold of him. “Why don’t we pack some cookies and go out to the lake?”

Aaron’s eyes widened and he nodded. “It’s nice there, Lizzie! Grampa taked me fishin’ there an’ he said when Max was little he taked him too!” He bit his lip when he saw his sister’s gaze shoot to the older man and he dragged the toe of his shoe across the floor as he looked down. “It’s okay to call him Grampa, isn’t it, Lizzie?”

Her gaze shifted back to her brother. “Well...” and then back to Philip, “have you asked if it’s okay with him?”

“They said it’s okay but I won’t if you don’t want me to.”

If things worked out like they wanted them to, Philip and Diane would be the closest Grandpa and Grandma he would ever have, she thought sadly. “I’m okay with it if they agreed.”

“Okay.” He smiled and put Garfield down so he could grab her hand. “Let’s get the cookies an’ go to the lake now.” He tipped his head back to look up at Philip. “Is Grandma gonna make a picnic like last time?”

“How much time do you have?” Diane looked at her son.

“No plans for today,” he said with a shrug.

“I think we’re having a picnic then.”

Earth2Mama: The little guys will do that from time to time.

The guys are stepping up and doing what’s necessary to figure things out. They’re just working at their own pace.

sarammlover: That’s a big step in the right direction. Cody’s facing a tough road but he’s got a lot of support behind him. Aaron’s doing very well with his adopted grandparents.

Natalie36: Thanks! Aaron was one happy little boy!

kismet: Now wouldn’t that just be the ultimate takedown?

Aaron’s one happy little guy with his new grandparents. And you’re right, it speaks loudly about the stability of Max and Liz’ relationship.

Lol, miss that spicy kick, huh?

We’ll keep our fingers crossed for Cody.

We’ll catch up with Alex before too long.

keepsmiling7: We know you’ve been just waiting for a little Aaron time.

He’s happily adopted Philip and Diane and he’s been as good for them as they’ve been for him.

Lol, that little fella couldn’t wait to show off his cookies!

We’ll check on Alex again before too long.

CandyliciousLovah: Thanks! We’ll spend some more time with Cody and Kyle today.

Roswelllostcause: Thanks! Yeah, he’s a special little guy!

begonia9508: An illness for these little guys really does make them mature in some areas a lot faster than they should.

Michael knows it’s the right thing to do, to be honest with his girlfriend about what happened.

Aaron and his adopted grandparents are so good for each other and it really does help him while being separated from Liz and Max.


Part 140

Enmeshed

Mumbled words and soft music from a quietly-tuned TV channel were the first sounds that greeted her when she woke up. Her eyes were still closed because she wasn’t ready to be back in the here and now, but she knew it was a pointless attempt. Slowly, the real world built around her and the cloudy layer of sleep cleared in her head.

The bed she was in wasn’t hers. I must’ve fallen asleep in Kyle’s room, she mused and rolled over onto her back, using her hands to swipe the tiredness from her face. With a soft groan, she opened her eyes and blinked a few times against the sunlight. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Last night was a short night.”

“Yeah, it was,” a male voice agreed.

Maria turned her head towards Kyle’s bed, surprised to find Michael in the chair next to it with a sleeping Cody in his arms. His features were soft and she couldn’t prevent her heart from skipping a few beats at his presence. “Hey,” she greeted with a still sleepy voice.

“You were sleeping pretty hard otherwise you would’ve heard Guerin walking in like a klutz.” Kyle could’ve sworn he could feel the tension between his two friends.

“I wasn’t aware I needed to be quiet,” Michael rolled his eyes, “but I’ll remember next time to creep up to your bed and startle you.”

“Be nice, boys.” She sat up and stretched. “What time is it?”

“Almost four.”

“Shit,” she swung her legs over the side of the bed. “I need to get going.”

“Plans?” Kyle turned his head in her direction.

“Yeah, I need to meet with that slimy Colton Starling for the casting of an Usher video.”

“You’re goin’ alone?” Michael raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, but it’s not like there won’t be hundreds of other chicks who want the job and Graham said he’s gonna be there as well.” She walked over to him and crouched down to caress her brother’s head. Being this close to Michael felt a lot like last night but so very different at the same time.

“He’s getting worse, isn’t he?” She didn’t have to tell him, her features were full of worry when she looked at her brother, and the oxygen lines that had become his constant companion spoke more than words.

Maria bit her lip and nodded. “It’s going faster now.”

“Yeah…” he sighed and glanced at the boy in his arms. Things between him and his best friend were in question right now, but he wouldn’t let the little man suffer for it.

“I need to get him back to his room,” she whispered. Staying away from Michael right now was hard. It took everything to keep from asking him to spend the evening with her so she could snuggle up and cry in his arms, but that wouldn’t work right now. Not after last night and the fact that neither of them knew where they stood right now. The girls would have to be the ones she took comfort from at the moment.

“I can take him later,” he offered.

“No, they scheduled a check for him in thirty minutes, so it’s okay. Stay with Kyle and maybe you could check on Cody again before you go home?” She looked at him hopefully.

“Yeah, of course. You’ll probably be a while at the casting call so I’ll bring your mom some dinner, make sure she eats.”

“Thanks,” she tried to put on a brave face and concentrated on her brother. “Hey Cody,” she called gently. “You need to wake up, sweetie.”

He mumbled something in his sleep and snuggled in closer to Michael, his little hand flexing in the material of his shirt.

She hated to pull him away from the man and she was pretty sure he would throw a fit as soon as he was fully awake and realized that he had to go through another test today. “Come on,” Maria pulled his hand gently from the shirt.

“M’ria, no,” he grumbled when he realized his sister was doing her best to wake him up.

“Yes,” she denied his pleading and fumbled around with the tube.

“I wanna stay with Mike.” He was whining but he didn’t care who heard him.

“He’ll come see you later.”

“Yeah,” Michael pulled him into a sitting position gently.

“Bet if you behave you’ll get to come up an’ visit me again,” Kyle said, adding in his two cents in an effort to head off the tantrum that was building.

Cody looked at his sister and registered the sad look on her face. He didn’t want to make his sister sad. She was always so kind to him. “Maria, don’t cry.”

“I’m not crying,” she told him quietly, but his sentence almost made her.

He smiled slightly and leaned forward, going into her arms willingly. He didn’t want to go back to his room but he knew it was time. “You promise you’re gonna come see me, Mike?”

“Sure, I’ll be there later,” he leaned forward and kissed the kid’s forehead, inhaling Maria’s scent with it, which took him right back to last night.

Their eyes met over Cody’s head and he froze for a moment before he slowly settled back in his chair. Maria straightened and started to back away but had to stop when the oxygen line started to pull.

Michael leaned over and reached for the portable oxygen tank, holding it so she could settle Cody back into the wheelchair. As soon as the boy was in place he arranged the tank in the slot at the back and tried to ignore it when their hands brushed as they arranged the oxygen line so it wouldn’t get tangled up while she was wheeling the boy back up to his room.

“Alright,” Maria stood and grabbed the handles on the wheel chair, trying to get her nerves under control. If she was irritated and depressed like this she’d never get the job for the video. “Say bye-bye to Kyle.”

“Bye, Kyle,” he said and waved. “Thanks for letting me put pitchers on your cast.”

“Be a good boy. I’ll see you soon.”

Maria turned the chair towards the door and looked at the boys. “Take care, guys. I’ll stop by tomorrow, Kyle.”

“Lookin’ forward to it.” He raised a hand. “Good luck with the casting.”

“Tell Tess to not buy any dinner, I’m planning on cooking something for us girls tonight.” They hadn’t talked about it, but she was pretty sure the other girl would show up at the hospital as soon as her shift had ended.

He gave her a thumbs-up. “I’ll tell ‘er.”

“Okay, we need to hurry.” Her eyes landed on Michael briefly. “Bye.”

“You think maybe you should offer to give her a ride out there?” Kyle asked when he and Michael were alone.

“I think right now that wouldn’t be such a good idea,” the other man groaned and rested his face in his hands. Things were a mess and he was torn between being the best friend for Maria or not. She deserved his support, but he had no clue what she wanted anymore than he knew what he wanted right now and how could that help her in the end?!

“What’s on your mind, Guerin?” he asked.

“Better ask what’s not because I feel like my head’s gonna explode anytime.”

“Anything interesting happen last night?”

“I talked to her... planned to anyway, until my girlfriend decided to interrupt with a call.” A call right at the moment Maria had wanted to say something to him!

“Well, she’s got good timing, doesn’t she?” he muttered.

“Yeah,” Michael dropped his head until it landed on the surface of the small table next to the bed with a quiet thump.

“Guess you’re kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place.” He snorted. “You still gonna tell her the truth?”

“Yeah, I have to.” His hands clenched on the table next to his head. “Now more than ever.”

“Somethin’ goin’ on you haven’t told me about?”

Michael’s head snapped up when the door opened, expecting it to be his sister, but it was only a nurse who came to check Kyle’s vitals.

“You’re doing fine,” she told him and brushed her hand against his arm. “I admit I’m a bit sad because they’ll be letting you go home soon.”

Both guys snorted and waited until she had left again. “She’s kinda hot, could be your type, Valenti.”

“Could be.” He motioned to his eyes. “Kinda hard to tell.”

“That’s why I’m tellin’ you.”

Uh-huh, tell another one, Guerin, he thought. You just want me thinking about someone other than your little sister. “Since when are you so helpful when it comes to me an’ hot chicks?”

“I don’t know,” his friend leaned back in the chair and laid his head back, “maybe since I can’t get my own shit figured out?”

“You ever just let yourself forget that Courtney’s your girlfriend and Maria’s your best friend and just think about them as a couple of girls?”

“And where would that get me?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “I think maybe the boundaries defined by those two lines kinda blur the possibilities.”

“I had a pretty good insight into the possibilities last night,” Michael groaned. “Doubt I was thinking anything in that moment.”

“So somethin’ did happen last night.” He shifted around and sat up straighter. “Let’s have it, Guerin.”

“She spent the night with me,” he mumbled and then realized how that had sounded. “Not like that, just... in the apartment. I let her an’ Tess crash in your room.”

“Somehow I doubt it was her sleepin’ in my room that gave you an insight into the possibilities.” He made a rolling motion with his good hand. “You’d better just spit it out before you really do explode.”

“Alright.” Valenti knew the basics already, so why not the rest, he mused. Maybe it would help him deal with things if someone knew about the mess. “I couldn’t sleep and I guess Maria couldn’t either, so we ran into each other in the kitchen.” He moved around on the chair when just the image of it made his jeans suddenly tight. “Long story short, I was rubbing lotion on the irritated skin on her thigh while she was sitting on the counter in front of me. I grabbed her, she touched me, and I’m not sure how, but I did manage to put on the brakes at that moment. Or maybe it was her. I can’t really remember the details.”

Kyle scratched the back of his head and whistled under his breath. “Y’know, it says a lot that you put the brakes on. Whichever one of you did, whether it was you or her, you didn’t push it any further. So what’d you say?”

“That I couldn’t do it like that and that we needed to stop or else I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror anymore.” Well, he was sure he hadn’t used these exact words, but it had been something like that.

“How’d she handle that?”

“Okay, I guess.”

“You given any more thought to what this sudden attraction means?” He shrugged when he felt the weight of his friend’s stare. “You think it’s just physical? Or you think maybe there’s more to it?”

“Right now the only thing I’m thinkin’ about is that I can’t think straight anymore. There’s just too much going on.” He ran his hand through his hair and pulled on it. Maria and Kyle were the two people in his life who were able to ground him, but it was all turned upside down right now. “Shifts at work are kickin’ my ass, you’re here, Maria’s suddenly not only the best friend anymore, no one gets along with Courtney, Cody’s getting worse, oh, and now Alex is missing on top of that.”

He frowned. “What do you mean he’s missing?”

Only now did he realize that Kyle still had no clue about what had happened. And Maria probably hadn’t mentioned it because she’d had Cody with her. “He was supposed to show up last night, but he didn’t and Isabel freaked out about it.” He snorted and felt the anger build in his chest. “She admitted that Dick’s been following her and he’s threatened Alex as well.”

“I can’t see him goin’ after Alex. Makin’ threats and stuff, yeah, but actually doin’ somethin’ to him? Kinda find that hard to believe. He’s just not the type.”

“I know, but something’s up. Alex had received new information from that hacker friend of his and he must’ve left it in my mail before he disappeared. Guess who showed up on Kennedy’s cell phone list?”

“Who?”

“Mathews.”

“Really? If there’s a connection between them then Whitman’s sudden disappearance would make more sense.”

“Yeah, just our luck we can’t just tell the police.”

“What’s the plan then? We can’t just leave him hangin’.”

“Isabel, Carter, and Tess went to the police this mornin’, not sure how it turned out, but maybe Tess can tell us soon. I went to talk to my Dad.”

“Papa Guerin must’ve had some advice so what was it?”

“His advice was pretty much: Wait to see what Max’ lawyer has to say, wait to see what the detective has to say, and let him look further into the matter.” He snorted. “So pretty much: Just do nothing.”

“Well, considering the damage you could do to Mathews that was probably good advice. You haven’t gone to see him have you?”

“No,” he growled.

“But you’re thinkin’ about it. I know you, Michael, and you’ve got it in your head.”

“What would you do if some dick of a pervert went after your sister?”

“Kick his ass,” he said without a moment of hesitation.

“Yeah,” the other man agreed. “Break his neck, kick him off the Empire State Building... things like that come to mind too.”

“And that’s okay as long as you don’t follow through on any of them. I’d like to kick his ass too, but all that’s gonna do is get you in trouble and the last thing you need right now is more trouble than you’ve already got.”

“Amen to that.”

Kyle snickered. “You’ve gone from nice and uncomplicated to an existence so full of complications it’s not even funny.”

Michael looked up at his friend and kicked the bed. “You think that’s funny?”

“Not so much funny, no. I just know how much you hate things to be complicated in your personal life and you make one decision that no one expects and suddenly you’ve got complications comin’ outta your ears.”

“Right now I think everything I touch turns to shit,” he admitted with a nod. “Man, a few weeks back the world was right. What happened?”

“Courtney,” Kyle answered simply.

Michael rolled his eyes. “She might be a reason for some of the drama, but I don’t think she’s to blame in the case of your accident or Dick’s behavior.”

“She’s not technically to blame for anything. Well, except baiting Evans, which you know she does,” he said, holding a hand up before Michael could say anything in her defense. “She’s the catalyst, that’s all I’m sayin’. She’s not a bad person that I can tell, she doesn’t seem to be bent on causing trouble in our little group, but the fact of the matter is, it was her sudden switch from new girl to your girlfriend that started the snowball rollin’ down the hill.” He sighed and shuffled down in the bed, not bothering to stifle a yawn. “And you’re right, there’s no way she can be blamed for what happened to me or for Dick’s behavior.”

“I just don’t get why you guys seem to have a problem with her. She’s attractive, she’s cool, she listens to Metallica, she’s a football fan, she’s a model... holy shit,” he suddenly came to a stop. She definitely had a lot of similarities to a certain person he knew better than anyone else.

“Finally figure it out?” he asked quietly.

“She’s not really like her.”

“Isn’t she? There’re differences of course, but there’re also a lot of similarities.”

“If she was, shouldn’t you all adore her? You all adore Maria.”

“She’s not Maria.” He shrugged. “She’s like her, sure, but she’ll never be Maria, and I have a feelin’ she knows it.”

Michael lifted his head when the door was opened again and this time Tess walked in.

“Hey, guys,” she greeted, carrying a cup holder from Starbucks. “What’re you up to?”

“He was just tellin’ me about Alex,” Kyle lied, knowing the conversation about Maria and Courtney was over.

“Oh.” She glanced between them trying to figure out if that was all he’d been telling Kyle. “Okay, well, that’s good. Detective Cooper said he’d contact Isabel as soon as the 48 hours was up. He can’t do anything until Alex has actually been missing that long.”

“Who made that stupid law anyway?” Kyle grumbled and accepted the mug that she pressed into his hand.

“Some mean man,” she said and gave Michael one of the coffees as well.

Michael rubbed his forehead. “It’s there to help differentiate between people who’re actually missing and those who aren’t.”

“Well, but we know he’s missing and we’re losing time finding him with this shit.”

“Did Isabel file for a restraining order?”

“Yeah, she did.”

“Good,” he relaxed slightly. It would take time, but it was all they could do right now.

Tess grabbed her mug and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Was Maria here? She said she wanted to bring Cody for a visit.”

“Yeah, they just left a few minutes ago,” Kyle gestured to his cast.

She leaned in closer and chuckled when she looked at the pictures the boy had drawn on it. “I guess the one with the black spots on the arm is my brother and the one with the huge firefighter helmet would be you.”

Michael nodded. “Yeah, he wanted to squeeze in you an’ Isabel as well, but he kinda lost interest in it after Maria was done.”

“I need to have a serious talk with that kid,” she said playfully hurt.

“Hey, before I forget,” Kyle used his knee to bump her lower back. “She wanted me to tell you that you’re not supposed to buy anything for dinner because she’s planning to cook.”

“Oh, alright. Hope she’s makin’ her delicious mac an’ cheese.”

“Fuck,” Michael said when his cell vibrated. He stood and went to the end of the room before he took the call. “Guerin here. What’s up? Tonight? Alright… No, it’s okay, I can make it.”

“Problem?” Kyle turned his head in his direction when the call ended.

“That was the station. They called me in for tonight because there’s some festival downtown and the usual nightshift won’t be able to cover the security there and everything else.”

“That’s gonna make for a long day.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “I wasn’t supposed to go in again until tomorrow afternoon.” He glanced at his watch. “Which means I have to leave to run some errands now so I’ll be able to check on Cody later.”

Tess felt sorry for her exhausted brother. “Anything I can do to help?”

He looked at her for a few long seconds. “No, no, I’m good. Make sure Isabel stays with you tonight and check on Maria, alright? She’s putting everything off again, but Cody’s getting worse and she didn’t seem to be as okay as she pretended to be earlier.”

She nodded. “We’ll take good care of her, promise.”

Kyle shook his head when they were left alone and if he listened hard enough he could hear Guerin’s heavy footsteps echoing down the corridor. “If that guy doesn’t get some time off soon he’s gonna blow.”

“Yeah. How can they keep calling him in and expecting him to work these insane hours?” She wiggled around on his bed to make herself comfortable, smiling to herself when he shifted and his lower leg rested against her thigh and he just left it there.

“The job’s gotta be done, Tess.”

“Yeah, but there’s gotta be a better way than working you guys into the ground.”

He nudged her with his foot, hoping to get her focus off of something that wasn’t likely to change anytime soon. “So, did you bring me a treat?”

“Um-hmm, you’ve been drinking it.”

“Oh, c’mon, tell me you brought somethin’ else. Cookies… a cheeseburger… Ooh, tacos! You brought tacos, right?”

“What am I? Your cook?”

He snorted. “Buying food isn’t considered cooking.”

“Whatever,” she dismissed him and petted his stomach lightly. “You can’t have treats all the time, you’re getting fat.”

“Babe, I’m nowhere near fat,” he grumbled and got a hold of her hand to move it under the tee shirt he wore to make sure she felt the still hard muscles there.

In that moment, Tess was relieved that he couldn’t see the heat that spread across her face at the contact. “Yeah,” her voice sounded affected, “an’ we want it to stay that way, right?”

Kyle didn’t reply but flashed a grin at her and finally let go of her hand so she could pull it back.

“I’ll cook when you get outta here. Seems like I’ll have a few days off soon anyway.”

“You didn’t take the days off because of me, right?” He frowned.

“No, my boss plans to renovate the store, so I asked him for the days off because there won’t be much to do during that time anyway. He agreed and I thought it fit right in the plan with you coming to our apartment and Maria worrying more about Cody each day. She needs a distraction.” Okay, it was mostly because of him, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Definitely,” he agreed and once more wondered if Tess knew anything about Michael and Maria’s encounter the other night.

“Anyway,” she spoke and leaned forward to grab her bag. “I didn’t buy you food, but since you liked that book of your Mom’s the other day, I stopped at a store and got one with funny real life stories. It says it has everything from funny graveside speeches to weird radio talks between pilots.”

He felt around for the remote and switched the TV off when he found it. “Good, I’m sick of the crap on TV anyway.”

Tess looked around and then stood to grab the pillow from the other bed, shaking it out and placing it at the foot of his bed so she could lean her back on it while she faced him to read aloud.

Kyle smiled to himself when he heard the sound of her shoes falling to the ground and a moment later her feet moved onto the bed, slightly grazing his good arm. At least the accident had one advantage, he mused. After everything that had happened between them they could spend some time together without feeling awkward.

“Okay, so the first one’s about a couple fighting in the subway. It’s a police report.” She began to read and relaxed against the pillow until he moved his arm so he could rest his hand on the inside of her knee. Her eyes moved to the place where he was touching her and she had to remind herself very hard that her pause was giving her reaction away, so she cleared her throat and continued to read.