Romancing The Heart{CC,AU,Mature}The End 3/7

[L-J-L 76]

Romancing The Heart
Chapter 69

Maria poured herself a cup of coffee, set the pot down and added two spoons of sugar to her cup before she sat down. She looked up and noticed Michael watching her,

"What are you looking at?" She asked.

"I'm just looking at you. You're beautiful," Michael said.

"Oh, that is so sweet. That party was fun and interesting wasn't it?" Maria said, trying to change the subject...

"Yeah, it was a fun party. I still can't believe we never found out where Max and Liz went, I'm worried about them."

"Yeah, I'm worried about them too,"

Right at that moment there was a knock at the door and they looked at each other and then headed to the door together...when Michael opened the door he saw Toney standing there.

"Hey Toney. What"s going on?" Michael asked.

"Have you heard from Max and Liz yet?" Toney asked.

"No, not yet. Come on in. I'm going to call Max and find out what's going on though, this is not like him." Michael said.

Michael stepped aside and let Toney walk in and Maria led Toney to the living to have a seat...Michael followed her and took his place at her side.

"I'm going to call Max and find out where they are and when they think they'll be coming back," Michael said.

Michael reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone and dialed Max's number. The cell phone rang four times before someone answered.

"Hello?" Liz said tiredly.

"This is Michael Liz I need to talk to Max."

"Hold on I'll get him for you." she said

Liz reached over and pushed Max to wake him up...

"What is it?" Max asked sleepily.

"Here, Michael's on the phone. He needs to talk to you," Liz said as she handed him the cell phone.

Max took the phone and put it to his ear. He turned and watched as Liz rolled over to her side away from him.

"Hello?" Max asked.

"Hey. Max, why is Liz answering your phone?" Michael asked.

"I left my phone on the table next to the bed," Max said.

"Why did you do that? Where are you and Liz anyway?" Michael asked.

"Because Liz was upset and she wanted me to stay with her. We're staying at a hotel outside of town. Why, what is going on?" Max asked.

"Well we were wondering where you are and if you're both going to be coming home today?" Michael asked.

"I told you we are at a hotel. We should be home later. Wait who is we?' Max asked.

"Toney, Maria and I. What time today?" Michael asked.

"What time is it?" Max asked.

"It's 1:00 p.m. here," Michael said.

"Give Liz and me a little while, we should be at the house by three." Max said.

"OK. We'll see you both soon. Be careful driving back OK?" Michael said.

"We will see you both then."

When Max turned to put the phone back on the nightstand he noticed that Liz had gone back to sleep. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in close and fell back to sleep himself.

A few hours later they woke up and looked at each other.

"Who was on the phone earlier?" Liz asked.

"Oh, that was Michael, Maria and Toney," Max said.

"What did they want?" Liz asked.

"Oh they wanted to know when we would be home,I told them we would be back home around three." Max said.

Liz turned and looked at the clock...it was already three.

"Max I don't know how to tell you this but it is 3:00 p.m."

"What? Oh god hurry and get dressed." Max said.

"OK! How long will it take us to get to town?" Liz asked.

"About 30 minutes, come on we better get ready fast." Max said.

"OK," Liz said as she walked into the bathroom.

Liz walked into the bathroom and took a quick shower and changed into some jeans and an over sized t-shirt and when she walked out of the bathroom she saw Max cleaning the room. When he turned and saw Liz and what she was wearing he walked up to her and said as he cupped her cheek...

"You know you look cute in anything your wearing,"

"Thank you, I feel a little better," Liz said.

"See I know how to cheer you up," Max said.

"Yeah, I noticed that and I'm glad that you do." Liz said.

"Come on we need to check the rest of the house." Max said.

"Yeah, we better. I don't think anyone would want to know what happened here. Max who would come here anyway?" Liz asked.

"Um, I'm not sure but I think Michael would, but like I said I don't know for sure."

"But your guessing that he does come here with Maria?" Liz asked.

"Yeah, that's what I'm guessing."

"Oh, OK,"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Max I .. What I am trying to ask is...have you ever brought someone here before?"

"No. I have never brought anyone else here. I'm not a player if that is what your thinking."

"Max, I was just wondering."

"But why are you asking?"

"I was just wondering because I never heard you talk about a lady."

"Liz, I have not dated anyone since college."

"How long ago was that and what was her name?"

"That was five years ago and her name was Kimmy."

"What happened to her?"

"I caught her cheating on me, that was right when we were graduating and we broke up."

"I'm sorry that happened," Liz said.

"Yeah, well, life goes on. Lets check and make sure everything is straightened up before we leave."

They both went to work checking to make sure everything was clean and put away. When they were finished it looked like no one had ever been there. They met in the living room and Max asked...

"Liz are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, on the way home can we stop and get something to eat," Liz asked.

"Yeah, sure."

They both grabbed their costumes and headed out the front door, Max locked up behind them and then led Liz to the car where he opened her door and then put their costumes in the back seat. Max drove off through the woods and then on into town where they found a restaurant and had something to eat and then headed to Liz's house. The closer they got to the house the quieter they got.

"Max are you OK?" Liz asked.

"I'm fine."

"Do you think Michael and Maria will know where were?" Liz asked.

"No. I don't think so."

"I hope not. Because I so can't handle an argument right now." Liz said.

"Don't worry everything will be fine." Max said.

"I hope you're right,"

"You know I am."

Max turned down their road then pulled into the drive way where they noticed Toney's car was parked. They grabbed their costumes and headed for the front door and when Liz was about to open the door it was thrown open. Michael, Maria and Toney were all standing in the doorway looking at them.

"Where have you been? I have been so worried about you," Maria said.

[L-J-L 76]

Romancing The Heart
Chapter 69

Maria poured herself a cup of coffee, set the pot down and added two spoons of sugar to her cup before she sat down. She looked up and noticed Michael watching her,

"What are you looking at?" She asked.

"I'm just looking at you. You're beautiful," Michael said.

"Oh, that is so sweet. That party was fun and interesting wasn't it?" Maria said, trying to change the subject...

"Yeah, it was a fun party. I still can't believe we never found out where Max and Liz went, I'm worried about them."

"Yeah, I'm worried about them too,"

Right at that moment there was a knock at the door and they looked at each other and then headed to the door together...when Michael opened the door he saw Toney standing there.

"Hey Toney. What"s going on?" Michael asked.

"Have you heard from Max and Liz yet?" Toney asked.

"No, not yet. Come on in. I'm going to call Max and find out what's going on though, this is not like him." Michael said.

Michael stepped aside and let Toney walk in and Maria led Toney to the living to have a seat...Michael followed her and took his place at her side.

"I'm going to call Max and find out where they are and when they think they'll be coming back," Michael said.

Michael reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone and dialed Max's number. The cell phone rang four times before someone answered.

"Hello?" Liz said tiredly.

"This is Michael Liz I need to talk to Max."

"Hold on I'll get him for you." she said

Liz reached over and pushed Max to wake him up...

"What is it?" Max asked sleepily.

"Here, Michael's on the phone. He needs to talk to you," Liz said as she handed him the cell phone.

Max took the phone and put it to his ear. He turned and watched as Liz rolled over to her side away from him.

"Hello?" Max asked.

"Hey. Max, why is Liz answering your phone?" Michael asked.

"I left my phone on the table next to the bed," Max said.

"Why did you do that? Where are you and Liz anyway?" Michael asked.

"Because Liz was upset and she wanted me to stay with her. We're staying at a hotel outside of town. Why, what is going on?" Max asked.

"Well we were wondering where you are and if you're both going to be coming home today?" Michael asked.

"I told you we are at a hotel. We should be home later. Wait who is we?' Max asked.

"Toney, Maria and I. What time today?" Michael asked.

"What time is it?" Max asked.

"It's 1:00 p.m. here," Michael said.

"Give Liz and me a little while, we should be at the house by three." Max said.

"OK. We'll see you both soon. Be careful driving back OK?" Michael said.

"We will see you both then."

When Max turned to put the phone back on the nightstand he noticed that Liz had gone back to sleep. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in close and fell back to sleep himself.

A few hours later they woke up and looked at each other.

"Who was on the phone earlier?" Liz asked.

"Oh, that was Michael, Maria and Toney," Max said.

"What did they want?" Liz asked.

"Oh they wanted to know when we would be home,I told them we would be back home around three." Max said.

Liz turned and looked at the clock...it was already three.

"Max I don't know how to tell you this but it is 3:00 p.m."

"What? Oh god hurry and get dressed." Max said.

"OK! How long will it take us to get to town?" Liz asked.

"About 30 minutes, come on we better get ready fast." Max said.

"OK," Liz said as she walked into the bathroom.

Liz walked into the bathroom and took a quick shower and changed into some jeans and an over sized t-shirt and when she walked out of the bathroom she saw Max cleaning the room. When he turned and saw Liz and what she was wearing he walked up to her and said as he cupped her cheek...

"You know you look cute in anything your wearing,"

"Thank you, I feel a little better," Liz said.

"See I know how to cheer you up," Max said.

"Yeah, I noticed that and I'm glad that you do." Liz said.

"Come on we need to check the rest of the house." Max said.

"Yeah, we better. I don't think anyone would want to know what happened here. Max who would come here anyway?" Liz asked.

"Um, I'm not sure but I think Michael would, but like I said I don't know for sure."

"But your guessing that he does come here with Maria?" Liz asked.

"Yeah, that's what I'm guessing."

"Oh, OK,"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Max I .. What I am trying to ask is...have you ever brought someone here before?"

"No. I have never brought anyone else here. I'm not a player if that is what your thinking."

"Max, I was just wondering."

"But why are you asking?"

"I was just wondering because I never heard you talk about a lady."

"Liz, I have not dated anyone since college."

"How long ago was that and what was her name?"

"That was five years ago and her name was Kimmy."

"What happened to her?"

"I caught her cheating on me, that was right when we were graduating and we broke up."

"I'm sorry that happened," Liz said.

"Yeah, well, life goes on. Lets check and make sure everything is straightened up before we leave."

They both went to work checking to make sure everything was clean and put away. When they were finished it looked like no one had ever been there. They met in the living room and Max asked...

"Liz are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, on the way home can we stop and get something to eat," Liz asked.

"Yeah, sure."

They both grabbed their costumes and headed out the front door, Max locked up behind them and then led Liz to the car where he opened her door and then put their costumes in the back seat. Max drove off through the woods and then on into town where they found a restaurant and had something to eat and then headed to Liz's house. The closer they got to the house the quieter they got.

"Max are you OK?" Liz asked.

"I'm fine."

"Do you think Michael and Maria will know where were?" Liz asked.

"No. I don't think so."

"I hope not. Because I so can't handle an argument right now." Liz said.

"Don't worry everything will be fine." Max said.

"I hope you're right,"

"You know I am."

Max turned down their road then pulled into the drive way where they noticed Toney's car was parked. They grabbed their costumes and headed for the front door and when Liz was about to open the door it was thrown open. Michael, Maria and Toney were all standing in the doorway looking at them.

"Where have you been? I have been so worried about you," Maria said.

[L-J-L 76]

Romancing The Heart
Chapter 70

"Um, Hi Maria. What's going on?" Liz asked.

"Nothing...we were just worried about you and Max." Michael said.

"We're fine...you guys called us twice to see how we were." Liz said.

"I know, but it still doesn't stop us from worrying about you." Maria said.

"Oh, OK. You can stop worrying now, we're here, okay." Liz said.

"Where were you two?" Toney asked.

"We were at a hotel outside of town." Max said.

"Why did you go there?" Toney asked.

"Because I needed to get away from the party." Liz said.

"What happened that made you need to leave early?" Maria asked.

" I um...I saw something that made me sick. Max saw me and asked if I wanted to leave and I said yes." Liz said.

"Max...is that true?" Toney asked.

"Yeah, that's what happened. I was being a friend to Liz that's all." Max said.

"Well that's nice but what made you so sick that it made you leave?" Michael asked

"Oh, um, things I never thought would happen, especially at a party. Liz said.

"Still, what was it?" Maria asked.

"I don't want to talk about it, so can we please drop it?" Liz asked.

"Well yeah, sure. So what is everyone going to do today?" Maria asked.

"I'm going to take a nap before going to the club." Liz said.

"I'm going with Liz to the club...I want to see if those guys come back." Max said.

"I'm going back to the house and see if I can find out anything about these guys." Toney said.

"Michael and I are going to stay here and see if that black van comes back." Maria said.

"Do you think they will come back?" Liz asked.

"I don't know. But I'm hoping they will so maybe we can find out who they are." Michael said.

"Well that sounds like a plan. I better go. Call me if you find out anything." Toney said.

Liz turned and watched Toney walk out the door and then walked to the window and watched as he got in his car and drove off and then she turned and noticed the other three looking at her.

"Liz are you sure you're okay?" Maria asked.

"I'm fine. How long has Toney been here?" Liz asked.

"Since 8:00 a.m. why? What's going on?" Maria asked

"I think Toney and Alice are sleeping together," Liz said.

"What? Wait I thought she was with Eric," Maria said.

"Yeah, well she must have been with both. All I know is I haven't had a date with Toney since Alice showed up." Liz said.

"Yeah, But how do you know they are together?" Michael asked.

"Because I just do. I need to lay down before we leave." Liz said.

"Okay, I'll wake up you up in an hour." Max said.

"Okay, that sounds good to me." Liz said.

Max, Maria and Michael all watched Liz go upstairs to her room and when Max heard Liz's bedroom door shut he turned and looked at Maria and Michael.

"Is she really okay?" Maria asked.

"Yeah, I think she's fine but Maria you need to make sure, okay?" Max said.

"Max, what happened at the party? Why did you and Liz leave early?" Michael asked.

"Liz saw something that upset her...that's all I can tell you." Max said.

" Whatever Liz saw must have been bad." Maria said.

"Yes it was...but I told Liz that we wouldn't talk about it." Max said

"Poor Liz. Do you think she'll be okay?" Michael asked

"Yeah, she 'll be fine but watch out... if she has a temper tantrum or tries to argue with you be careful." Max said.

"That should be easy. We can all tell when Liz gets mad." Maria said.

"Yeah. But we should be ready just in case it surprises us. You never know with Liz." Max said.

"That's true. Hopefully what ever made her mad will go away." Michael said.

"I don't think she'll be calming down anytime soon." Max said.

"Well, let's hope she does." Maria said.

"Michael, if the black van does come back let me know." Max said.

"Yeah, sure, no problem." Michael said.

"I'm going to go check on Liz." Max said.

"Okay, we'll be down here if you need anything." Maria said.

Michael and Maria watched as Max walked up the stairs and then settled themselves in the living room.

When Max got to Liz's door he knocked, waited a few seconds and then opened the door and saw Liz looking out the window. He walked into the room and shut the door and walked up to her and stood next to her.

"Liz are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Max. I can't believe Toney was here. He thinks I don't know about him and Alice but I do know and just how am I suppose to hide that?" Liz asked.

"I don't know. All I can tell you is I'll be here if you need me."

"You know... that is the nicest thing you have ever said to me."

"Well, it's the truth."

Liz turned and looked at Max.

"Yeah, but it's still nice to hear it."

"Liz, you are a good person and what Toney did was wrong. I think you should tell him that you know about him and Alice." Max said.

"Max I need time before I tell him that I saw them in bed together." Liz said.

"Okay, but when you're ready to tell him I'll be with you." Max said.

"Do you promise you'll be there with me when I tell him?" Liz asked.

"Yes of course I promise to be there with you."

"Thanks you're the best."

"Come on... now you better lay down and get some sleep."

"Will you stay with me while I'm sleeping?"

"Yeah, sure, I'll stay... now lay down."

Max watched as Liz walked over to her bed and laid down and he walked over to the chair next to the bed and sat down, they looked at each other and smiled and a few minutes later they were both fast a sleep.

Meanwhile down stairs in the living room:

"What do you think Liz saw that made her mad?" Maria asked.

"Who knows. But we need to wait until she tells us in her own time." Michael said.

"Do you think she'll ever tell us?" Maria asked.

"Yes...I do. She'll tell us when she's ready." Michael said.

Michael walked over to the window and looked out, he didn't see anything unusual going on outside and soon Maria walked over to join him. They both looked outside before turning to look at each other.

"Maria what are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about how everything is getting more crazy and dangerous all of the time."

"Well that's certainly true."

'Yeah...so do you think we will find out anything about that van?" Maria asked.

"I hope so because, as of right now, we've got two guys looking for us, we've got a black van watching us and we've got Liz's father looking for you girls." Michael said.

'Wow! When you put it like that there is a lot of things going on." Maria said.

"Yeah, and we've got to figure out out how we're going to handle all of this." Michael said.

"Michael, come and sit down with me for a while." Maria said.

"Okay, lets sit for a few." Michael said.

Michael and Maria walked over to the couch and sat down and Michael retrieved the remote and turned on the TV. He kept flipping through channels until he found a movie called "Children Of The Corn" and then set the remote down and started to watch the movie. Maria scooted closer to Michael and they watched the movie together

[L-J-L 76]

Romancing The Heart
Chapter 71

A couple of hours later Max and Liz came down stairs and walked into the living room where they found Michael and Maria asleep. They looked at each other then looked at their friends...

"Maria , Michael wake up. We're leaving now." Liz said.

Michael and Maria woke up and looked at Max and Liz in surprise...

"What's going on?" Michael asked.

"We just woke you up to let you know we're leaving," Max said.

"Oh, okay.... be carefu." Michael said.

"You know we will." Max said.

"Yeah, I know." Michael said.

When Max and Liz left the house they found that it was very clear out as they headed to Max's car. As Max drove to the club Liz kept watching out the rear window to make sure they weren't being followed, it seemed to be okay and when they reached the club a few minutes later they both got out of the car and headed into the club. Liz opened the door with her key and then locked it behind them. When she turned around to enter the club she found Max standing in front of her.

Max leaned in and was about to kiss Liz when she walked right past him and headed down the hallway to the office. He followed her and when he walked into the office he didn't see her anywhere. When he turned Liz was standing in front of him. She had a smile on her face as she looked at him and she pushed the door closed and walked up to him. Max reached out and grabbed Liz by the hips and pulled her closer to him and they leaned in and kissed each other. Max wrapped his arms around Liz's waist and Liz reached up and wrapped her arms around Max's neck. The Kiss started out soft and tender and then it turned hot and passionate. They pulled away when they needed air and they looked at each other and smiled before they leaned in to continue kissing each other.

Max walked Liz towards the desk while still kissing her and when they got there Max sat Liz on the desk and pulled away to look at her. He could see that she cared for him just by looking into her eyes. He leaned in and started kissing Liz again and Liz started to kiss Max's face and his neck and he started to kiss Liz's face and neck. They were touching each other everywhere, Max slipped his hands under Liz's shirt and raised his hands to her breasts and started to rub them. While Max was doing that Liz reached down and started to rub her hand against Max's manhood. Max pulled Liz's hand away and pulled her close to him and they started to rub against each other. Max and Liz started to move against each other quickly. A few seconds later Max and Liz went over the edge calling each others name.

They stood against each other for a few seconds and then they pulled away and looked at each other.

"God! Are you okay?" Max asked.

"I'm fine. What about you?" Liz asked.

"I'm fine. We better get cleaned up," Max said.

"Yeah, I agree."

They both walked to the office bathroom and cleaned up and straightened their clothes and a few minutes later they walked out of the bathroom and into the office where they heard a knock on the door.They both looked at each other and they walked to the door. Max opened the office door and walked down the hallway to the front door where he looked out and saw Toney standing there. Max turned to tell Liz and found that she was standing behind him.

"Who is it?" Liz whispered...

"It's Toney. Do you want to see him. Or pretend you're not here?" Max whispered back...

"Let's see what he wants."

"Are you sure you want to?"

"Yeah, sure let's see what the asshole wants."

Max unlocked the door and took a step back and Toney walked in and saw Liz sitting at the bar. He walked up to Liz and sat next to her. Max walked past Liz and Toney and walked into the kitchen. When Max was out of the room Toney and Liz looked at each other.

"What are you doing here Toney?" Liz asked

"I wanted to come and check on you. I haven't seen you until this morning." Toney said.

"Yeah, well as you can see I'm doing fine." Liz said.

"Liz what is wrong with you?" Toney asked.

"Nothing is wrong." Liz said.

"Why is Max here with you?" Toney asked.

"Because he wanted to see if those guys would be back." Liz said.

"Well, that's nice of him. So, are we going to get together and have another date?" Toney asked

"I don't know...aren't we all supposed to go to your house for dinner or something?" Liz asked.

"Yeah, well that's what I wanted to talk to you about. We're going to have a big dinner Friday night. Will you please come?" Toney asked

"Who's coming?" Liz asked.

"Well...it will be Me, you, Alice, Max,Maria and Michael and a couple of friends of mine. We're having the dinner Friday night at 8:00 p.m." Toney said.

"Fine. Sounds like it will be fun." Liz said.

"Great...in two days... dinner. Wear something cute." Toney said.

"Sure." Liz said.

"Well I'd better go. I'm going to make this dinner really special." Toney said.

Toney walked up to Liz and kissed her and then he walked out the door. Liz walked over to the door and locked it and then she turned and saw Max sitting at the bar. She walked up to Max and sat next to him and Max looked at Liz while she looked at the ground.

"So you heard what Toney said?"

"Um, yeah. Then I saw him kissing you."

"Max that kiss didn't mean anything."

"I know that Liz but I hate seeing you with him."

"What do you want me to do? You wanted to keep this a secret."

"I don't know what I want you to do. Hell I don't even know what I want to do. We both agreed to keep this a secret."

"Max are you ever going to tell Michael about those men?" Liz asked.

"Liz, I'll tell Michael I promise. But for right now leave it alone."

"Fine. I'll leave it alone if you let Michael help you."

"You know that is not...."

That was all Max got out before Liz knocked him on the ground and sat on him. She had her legs on either side of him and held his arms down and they looked at each other...

"Liz...that was not nice. Now let me up." Max said.

"No. Not til you agree to tell Michael and let him help you." Liz said.

"I could move you off me." Max said.

"You wouldn't." Liz said. almost grinning but not quite sure she should...

"Why is that?" Max asked, keeping her guessing...

"Because of this." Liz said as she moved down and on top of Max's manhood

Liz started to move against Max's manhood. She moved up and down. Max closed his eyes trying to calm down. Then he heard a zipper being unzipped. He opened his eyes and looked at Liz. He watched as Liz reached into his pants and started to rub his man hood up and down a little quicker. Max didn't know how much more he could take and then he somehow got his hands free from Liz's hold. Max flipped them over and now he was on top of Liz. He started to kiss her lips then her neck and shoulder. While Max was kissing Liz his hands found their way under Liz's shirt. Max moved his hands up til he got to her breast. Max wanted to see her. So Max pulled Liz 's shirt up and over her head and tossed the shirt to the side.Then unhooked Liz bra and put it with her shirt. Max kissed down Liz's chest til he got to her breast and he started to kiss one breast while rubbing the other breast.

While Max was kissing Liz's breast Liz had her hand in Max's pants rubbing up and down on his manhood. They were both driving each other crazy with want. Max and Liz took off the rest of their clothes and he entered Liz in one quick movement. They started to move quickly against each other .When they both got to the edge they looked at each other. With the final thrust they both went over the edge calling each others name.. Max and Liz laid next to each other for a few minutes. Then Max and Liz sat up and got dressed. After they were dressed Max and Liz both looked at each other.

"Wow! That was, um wow!" Liz said.

"Yeah, that was different," Max said.

They walked up to the bar and sat down, they didn't know what to say or do then Max turned and looked at Liz and said...

"Liz are you okay?"

[L-J-L 76]

Romancing The Heart
Chapter 72

"Yeah I'm okay." Liz said.

"Okay... so are you going to go to Toney's dinner Friday night?" Max asked as he popped a bar nut into his mouth.

"Max you do realize Toney's dinner is in two days?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Are you going to go?"

"Um, Yeah, I'm thinking of going,"

"Good! If you go, I'll go." Liz made up her mind...

"Great. There, we both agree to go."

"Yeah... I wonder what this dinner is about?"

"We'll have to wait to find out I guess." Max replied.

"Do you think it could be good or maybe bad?" Liz pondered...

"With Toney you never know," Max said, "It could go either way."

Yeah, I'm beginning to realize that." Liz said.

Liz stood up and walked behind the bar, over to the cash register and opened it. When the drawer opened a letter fell out and as she reached down and grabbed it she saw that it was addressed to her...tearing it open she began to read...

Dear Liz,

I know I may not be around, but I wanted to let you know that Toney is a mob boss and Max and Michael are his doers. I'm guessing you might already know this but Liz you need to know this also, Toney can be a very dangerous man when he is mad. I think you should know this too, I think Toney and Alice are sleeping together... No, I mean I know that they are sleeping together. I think they have been together for almost as long as Alice and I were dating. Therefore I think the child of Alice's might not be mine but Toney's child. I thought I should let you know this.

Liz, if there is danger I want you and Maria to trust Max and Michael, I know they will never let you and Maria get hurt. They would protect you with their lives. I've left you letters everywhere and I want to let you know I'll be with you in spirit. Be careful and trust only Max and Michael.

From,
Your boss

P.S I was trying to make you laugh.

After Liz read the letter she looked up and saw Max looking at her.

"Liz what's wrong?" Max asked.

"Here, read this." Liz said and she handed the letter to Max.

He looked from Liz to the letter and then proceeded to read. After he read the letter he looked up and they just looked at each other.

"Max what did he mean by Toney was a mob boss and you and Michael were his doers?" Liz asked.

"Liz you know what it means."

"Yeah... I know, dumb question... I just wish he was here." Liz said.

"I know, but Liz we need to try and move on with our lives."

"I know that."

"Liz, what is really wrong? Tell me."

"Max did you read what he said about Toney and Alice? How long they have been together?"

"Yeah, I read it."

"I can't believe they would do that to the poor guy," Liz said.

"I can't believe they would either."

"Max...you know the couple of times Alice was hanging all over you when Toney was around, I think Alice was trying to make Toney mad." Liz said.

"Yeah I think you're right , but why?"

"Maybe Toney is trying to find those guys." Liz said.

"Yeah, And Toney is the guy you can make mad really easily. I'm wondering why he hasn't come after me yet for hanging around you." Max said.

"Maybe he thinks you are protecting me."

" Yeah, that could be it." Max said, thinking that over...

"Yeah, and besides he thinks we are just friends." Liz said.

"That's true. We'll have to see how the dinner party goes, hopefully everything will be alright."

"Max you and I both know that when Toney has any kind of party things go crazy." Liz said.

"I know. I just want everything to be normal for once." Max said.

"With Toney there is never normal." Liz said with a giggle.

"When did you finally realize that?" Max asked, smiling.

"Oh I realized that when we went to the last two parties he threw." Liz said.

"Yeah, those parties were wild and crazy." Max said.

"What shocked me the most was you and Michael making out with those naked ladies in front of us." Liz said.

"That was bad but at least we are past that now right?" Max asked.

"Yes we're past it. But it was the worse thing I think I've ever seen." Liz said.

Max walked over to Liz and when she noticed how close he was they looked at each other and smiled.

"What?" Liz asked.

"You know since the costume party I have come to realize that you are a great person." Max said.

"Thanks, I think." Liz said smiling

"Ah isn't that sweet," A voice said.

Max and Liz turned and saw the two men from before standing in front of them. Max pushed Liz behind him.

"What do you want?" Max asked really angrily.

"We are here to have a nice chat with you." The first guy said.

"A chat about what?" Max asked

" Max our friend said you owe him and he wants pay back." The first guy said.

"Well you can tell him I said 'fuck you'!" Max said.

"Well we have a message for you." The second guy said.

Both men walked towards them pulling out their guns. Max watched as they got closer and then He turned and picked Liz up and tossed her over the bar. When Max turned both of the men were standing in front of him.

"Come on Max." First guy chided...

"No!" Max yelled.

The first guy turned and punched Max then the second guy punched him. As they were punching him he kept leaning over. They punched him in the stomach and then the face. Both men gave Max a black eye and a bloody lip. They were about to pull their guns out when all of a sudden they looked up and saw a shot gun pointed directly at them. Max turned and there was Liz aiming the shot gun right at them.

"Get your hands off him and step away." Liz said

"Lady put the gun down. We don't want to see anyone get hurt." First guy said.

"No! You don't want to get hurt now let him go!" Liz shouted.

"Lady put the gun down." Second guy said.

"Not til you let Max go." Liz said.

Both men looked between Max and Liz. Then they turned their attention back to Max.

"Max did you tell her?" The first guy asked.

"No. Leave her out of this." Max said

"What are you talking about?" Liz asked

"Oh man she doesn't know." The second guy said.

"Know what?" Liz asked.

"Max here tried to kill our friend. And our friend put a hit out on him. And he took something from our friend that we need back." The first guy said.

"Max whatever you took from them give it back to them." Liz said.

"I can't give it back." Max said.

"Why not?" Liz asked.

"Because I don't know where I put the map for it." Max said.

"Well in that case. We will have to do this." The second guy said.

Both men walked up to Max and started to beat him up and Liz came from behind the bar, grabbing a beer bottle on her way. She was about to hit the second guy over the head when the first guy grabbed her arms and held them behind her. The first guy and Liz watched as the second guy continued to beat Max up. Liz tried to get free from the first guy that held her arms behind her but she couldn't escape his hold. A few minutes later the guy that held Liz let her go and the other guy stopped beating Max. Liz ran to Max and leaned down to look at him. As Liz was looking at Max she started to cry. When she turned and looked up she saw the two guys were gone. She stood up and ran to the door and locked it and then ran back to Max. She touched his face and he looked up at Liz.

"Max?" Liz asked.

"Liz don't worry I'm okay." Max said.

"No you're not. We need to get you to the office couch. Can you move?" Liz asked.

"Yeah, I think I can if you help me." Max said.

"Okay. lets try." Liz said.

Liz helped Max stand up and had him lean on her as they walked down the hall to the office. When they got there Liz helped Max to the couch and helped him lay down and then went to get him an ice pack, wash cloth and a pillow and blanket. A few seconds later Liz came back with what she needed.
*************

[L-J-L 76]

Romancing The Heart
Chapter 73

Liz walked up to the couch and put the pillow under Max's head and an ice pack on his eye...she stood up and covered him with a blanket and was about to walk away when Max grabbed her arm. She turned and looked at him...

"Are you okay?" Liz asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How about you?" Max asked.

"I'm fine. I was so worried about you. God Max those guys were.. I don't know?!?" Liz said with worry, fear and anxiousness all at once...

"Liz don't worry I won't let them hurt you." Max said.

"Max I'm not worried about me, I'm worried about you. What will happen the next time they come back?" Liz asked.

"I don't want to think about it." Max said.

"What are we going to tell Michael and Maria? I don't think you should be trying to move around." Liz said.

"We don't tell them anything." Max said.

"Where does that leave us? I mean we can't stay here, but what do we tell the others?" Liz asked.

"I'll just tell them that we are going to stay here and do a few things that we need to get done and that we'll be home later." Max said.

"Fine. You tell them. I'm not going to." Liz said.

"Okay. Fine. Hand me my cell phone. I'll call them and let them know." Max said.

Liz walked up to the table beside the couch and grabbed Max's cell phone and handed it to him. Max grabbed the phone from Liz and dialed Michael's number. The phone rang four times before Michael picked up...

"Yeah?" Michael said.

"Michael, it's Max. Liz and I are staying at the club, we found a lot of paper work to go through and we don't know how long it will take us to go though all of it." Max said.

"Okay. You both be careful. Make sure everything is locked up while you're in there." Michael said.

"You know we will. If we don't see you and Maria tonight we'll see you both in the morning." Max said.

"Same here. I better go, talk to you later." Michael said.

"Later dude." Max said.

Max closed his cell phone and looked at Liz who he saw looking at him.

"So... what did Michael have to say?" Liz asked.

"He said to make sure we are locked in and stay in the office." Max said.

"Okay. Then I better go and lock everything thing up. You stay here and rest," Liz said.

"No. I'm going with you. I don't want you to go out there alone."

"Fine. Do whatever you want."

"Fine. I will,"

Max and Liz stood and walked out of the office and headed into the main part of the club. Max followed Liz to the front door and watched as she checked the lock and then Liz turned and looked at Max....

"Are you ready to go back to the office?" Liz asked.

"Yeah lets go," Max said.

Max and Liz walked back down the hallway to the office and entered where Liz went to sit on the couch. Max reached up and locked the office door behind them and pulled Liz down on the couch.

They both moved around til they were comfortable. Max laid on his side spooning Liz who was laying on her side facing the door and in a few minutes they were both fast asleep. Sometime during the night woke Liz up and she looked at Max. She reached up and touched Max's face.

When Liz touched Max's cheeks she felt that they were warm but what Liz didn't know was as she touched Max's cheek Max woke up and was watching Liz. Liz moved her eyes from Max's cheeks up to his eyes and she saw that Max was looking at her. They leaned in and kissed. As they kissed Max pulled Liz in close to him. The kiss started out soft and tender and soon became more passionate, with the need of wanting each other. While Max and Liz were kissing they took off each others clothes looked at each other and then leaned in and kissed.They moved around til Max was on top of Liz and he entered her in one quick movement. They started to move against each other, moaning each other's names as they made slow and easy love. They yelled each others names as they went over the edge and then lay in each other's arms exhausted from their passionate love making. Then they got up and got dressed. After they were dressed Max and Liz both laid down and a few minutes later they fell fast asleep once again and In the middle of the night Max's arms somehow wrapped around Liz's waist. as they slept they shifted closer to each other.

In the morning:

as Max and Liz slept they didn't hear anyone walk into the club, down the hallway and into the office. Max woke up when he felt someone watching him and when he looked over toward the desk he saw Michael and Maria staring at him. He sat up and looked at them.

"What are you both doing here? And what time is it anyway?" Max asked.

"We wanted to check on you. And to our surprise we find you and Liz on the couch together." Michael said.

"Michael." Max said.

"Max it's 9a.m. We were worried when we didn't hear from you." Maria said.

"As you both can see we are both fine." Max said.

"Yeah we can see that." Michael said.

"That reminds me, Toney is having a dinner party Friday night. All four of us have to go." Max said.

"I wonder what it"s about." Michael said.

"I don't know, all I know is we need to be there." Max said.

When Liz turned away from Max they heard . . . .

"Max, Toney and Alice....," Liz said.

"Liz I know. Go back to sleep." Max said.

"You know what?" Maria asked.

"Lets just say Liz is pissed at them and leave it alone." Max said.

Max stood up and turned. He covered Liz with the blanket and after Liz was covered Max turned and looked at Michael and Maria.

"Come on lets go down the hall for coffee."Max said.

"That sounds good to me." Michael said.

Max, Maria and Michael walked out of the office and down the hallway, took a seat at the bar and sat and looked at each other...

"So um, where did you get the black eye from?" Maria asked.

"Oh um..." Max hedged...

Right at that moment Liz walked up to the bar. She went behind the bar and grabbed some coffee. She turned and saw Max, Maria and Michael sitting at the bar.

"What are you guys doing here?" Liz asked.

"We came to check on you. And when we walked in we saw you and Max sleeping on the couch together." Maria said.

"Maria please don't start. What were you talking about when I came in?" Liz asked.

"Oh I was wondering where Max got the black eye, bloody lip... do you know?" Maria asked.

"Oh um ...," Liz said.

"Liz can I talk to you alone in the kitchen? Now?" Max asked.

Max walked up to Liz and dragged her to the kitchen and when they got there Max locked the door and turned and looked at Liz.

"What?" Liz asked.

"Liz you can't tell them about what happened with those two guys." Max said.

"Max, you need to tell someone because this is getting dangerous."

"Liz I can handle this. I don't want anyone to know."

"I still think you should tell Michael." Liz said.

"I'll tell Michael when I'm ready."

"Fine, whatever. What are you going to tell them caused your black eye and bloody lip," Liz said.

"Don't worry I'll think of something."

"I still say you should tell Michael."

"Noted. We better go back out there before they think something is going on."

"Max you need to stop worrying and try to find out who those guys were and how to stop them before things get worse." Liz said.

"Liz I know that."

"Whatever." Liz said as she walked to the door and opened it.

Liz turned and looked at Max.

"If one more thing happens then I'm telling Michael."

"Liz?" Max asked.

"Max I mean it. If one more bad thing happens to either you or me I'm telling." Liz said before walking out the door.

"Liz that is not your choice to make." Max said.

Max followed Liz into the hallway and grabbed Liz by the arm and forced her to look at him.

"Liz you know it is not you who gets to decide." Max said.

"I know that. But I swear if anything, and I do mean anything, happens I will tell Michael." Liz said

[L-J-L 76]

Romancing The Heart
Chapter 74

"Fine. I promise if anything happens you can tell Michael." Max said.

"Good. What are you going to tell everyone about your black eye and bloody lip?" Liz barked back...

"Easy, I'll just say I pissed you off. This is what happens when someone makes you mad." Max yelled back.

As Max and Liz were bickering back and forth they didn't notice Michael and Maria listening to them.

"Max, you have no idea what will happen when I get mad." Liz said.

"I already know that Liz!" Max yelled back...

"Trust me Max, you really don't." Liz said warningly.

"Okay, Fine. I promise not to make you mad." Max said in a calmer tone of voice.

"Good... Now what time is it anyway?" Liz asked.

Max looked at his watch and saw that it was 10:00 a.m. then looked back at Liz.

"Its 10:00 a.m., why?" He asked.

"We need to go home. I need to be back here by 8:00 p.m." Liz said.

"What are you coming back here for?"

"Because I need to open tonight." Liz said.

"Well then, if your coming back then I'll come with you."

"Are you sure you want to after what happened last night?" Liz asked.

"Liz, I'm going to make sure you're safe." Max said.

"Well, whatever!" Liz said.

When Max and Liz turned to leave they saw Michael and Maria looking at them.

"We want answers and we want them now." Michael said.

"What kind of answers?" Max asked.

"How did you get a black eye and a bloody lip?" Maria asked.

"Easy... I hit him because he made me mad." Liz said.

"What really happened last night?" Maria asked.

"A couple of drunks came in here and started some trouble. It took me over an hour to throw them out." Max said.

"Is that what you and Liz were talking about?" Michael asked.

"Yes that's what we were talking about." Liz replied.

"I think the both of you are hiding something from us." Michael said.

"We are not hiding anything from you." Max said.

"So what are you and Michael up to tonight?" Liz asked.

"Nothing. Why are you asking?" Maria asked.

"Well I was thinking how about we all come here and have some fun. What do you say Maria?" Liz asked.

"I say hell yes. We need to have some fun." Maria said.

"Great... then let's do it." Liz said.

"Yeah. And we can get the guys to tend bar too." Maria said.

Max and Michael turned and looked at Maria and Liz in shock...

"We can do what?" Michael asked.

"You guys can be bartenders and help us out." Maria said.

"Now wait just a minute. Who said we wanted to be bartenders." Michael said.

"Because if you and Max don't tend bar and help us out, you can sleep outside in the cold." Maria said.

"Maria we have our own house and cars." Michael said.

"We'll see. But anyway, we should have some fun." Maria said.

"What?" Michael asked.

"Oh, never mind," Maria said as she walked past Max.

Michael, Liz and Max watched as Maria walked into the kitchen. They turned and looked at each other and the young men noticed that Liz had a smile on her face.

"What are you smiling about?" Michael asked.

"Oh just the fact that Maria got both of you confused. She does that sometimes." Liz said.

"How do you know that's what she did?" Max asked

"Because you're both confused about what happened." Liz said.

Okay, now I'm a little worried when she does that." Michael said.

"Don't worry. She does that all the time." Liz said.

"So, you think she does this a lot?" Max asked.

"All I can say is be ready for the unexpected with Maria." Liz said.

"Let me guess... you have had this happen to you." Michael said.

"Yes... Maria can give you a headache if you're not careful." Liz said.

Right at that moment Maria returned from the kitchen and joined everyone, they all turned and looked at her.

"Liz do we have enough of everything for tonight?" Maria asked.

"Yes. I'm sure we have everything we need Maria." Liz said.

""Great. Come on we'd better go home so we can get ready for tonight." Maria said.

"Maria..." Liz said.

"Come on." Maria said as she grabbed Liz by the arm

As Maria was pulling Liz, Liz grabbed Max's arm and Max didn't know what was going on, he just followed along. When they got to the front door Maria turned and looked at Max and Liz.

"Max, good, come on we need to lock up and leave." Maria said.

Max and Liz both looked at each other and then at Maria.

"Maria, don't forget Michael." Max said.

"Like I could forget Michael." Maria said.

Michael walked up to Liz and Max who turned and looked at him and then he turned and looked at Maria.

"Maria lets go. Do either of you have the key to lock up when we leave?" Michael asked.

" Yeah, I have the key. I'll lock up." Max said.

Liz looked at Max and then reached into her pocket and grabbed her keys and handed them to Max.He smiled a thank you then took the keys.

"Lets go." Max said.

They all walked out the door and then Max turned and locked the door while the others went to the cars. When Max walked to his car he saw Liz waiting for him while Michael and Maria got into their car. When Max got to the car he handed Liz the club keys and unlocked the car doors, he opened Liz's door for her and then Max got in and started the car, he saw Michael driving off at that time. Max followed Michael to the girls place and when Michael and Max pulled into the driveway and parked the car Maria got out of the car and ran and to get Liz. Maria opened the car door and dragged Liz into the house without waiting for anyone else and when they got into the house they ran upstairs to their bedrooms and started to change clothes.

In Liz's room:

Liz walked to her closet and started to look for something to wear.. A few seconds later she found a pair of hip hugger jeans and a black halter top, grabbed some clean underwear and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. When she was showered and shampooed she went back to her room and walked over to her bed and sat down. She leaned down and grabbed a pair of black high heels to wear from the floor of her closet. She then walked up to the mirror and fixed her hair and put on make up and some matching jewelry.

In Maria's room:

Maria walked over to her closet and started to looking for something to wear also and a few seconds later Maria found a pair of hip hugger jeans and a blue tube top to wear. She waited until she heard Liz leave the bathroom and headed in to take her own shower and when she returned to her room she sat on the bed and grabbed a pair of ankle boots from the floor of her closet to wear. Maria walked up to the mirror, fixed her hair, put on make up and some jewelry just like Liz had done.

After Liz and Maria were ready they both walked to their bedroom doors and went into the hall where they met each other. When they saw each other they both smiled an approval and went down the hallway together and down the stairs. They went into the living room where they found the guys waiting for them.

"Hello." Maria said.

Michael and Max turned and saw Liz and Maria standing in the doorway, they were very surprised to see what the girls were wearing.

"Well what do you think?" Maria asked as she twirled around.

"You both look great, I really hope we all have some fun tonight." Max said.

"Max you need to relax. Everything will be fine." Maria said.

"Oh, yeah." Max said.

Liz looked at Max and rolled her eyes then turned and looked at Maria.

"Lets go, it's time to party." Maria said.

They all just smiled at each other as they walked towards the door. Maria locked up after everyone had stepped out of the house and then turned to head on over to Mitchael's car. After Michael took off Max was right behind him and a few minutes later they were at the club. Liz reached into her pocket and retrieved the key and unlocked the door and they all entered. Maria and Liz went to turn on the lights and music while Max and Michael went behind the bar to get ready to be bartenders.

[L-J-L 76]

Romancing The Heart
Chapter 75

8 p.m.:

The club was packed! Liz and Maria were sitting on the stage watching people dancing, drinking and having fun while Max and Micheal were getting drinks for the customers. Maria and Liz watched as Max and Michael served drinks and when Max looked up and saw Liz watching him they smiled at each other then went back to what they were doing.

"Do you think Michael will ask me to dance?" Maria asked.

"Maria, give him a chance. they're busy right now. When things calm down I'm sure he'll ask you," Liz said.

"I hope your right."

"You know I am."

"So, are you ready to go to Toney's for dinner Friday night," Maria asked.

"Yeah...it should be fun," Liz said.

"Come on lets dance and have some fun," Maria said.

Liz and Maria walked onto the dance floor and started to sway and move fast to the music, laughing and having fun.

Meanwhile at the bar:

Max and Michael looked up and saw Liz and Maria dancing to the music and both thought the girls looked hot dancing together. As the song ended Max and Michael watched as two guys walked over to the two girls.

"Do you want to dance?" One guy asked.

"No thank you," Maria answered before walking back to the stage to sit down.

"Um, sure, thank you." Liz said.

Liz and her dance partner moved fast with the music, Liz was swaying in time with the rhythm of the song and the guy put his hands on her hips. Liz twisted and looked at her partner and he smiled at her and leaned in and tried to kiss her. Liz immediately pulled away from him...

"What?" The guy asked.

"We are only dancing, nothing more," Liz said.

"Whatever you say baby." The guy said.

Liz pulled away from the him and looked him in the eye.

"I said No," Liz said.

"Come on sweet cheeks," The guy said as he grabbed Liz by the hips.

Liz got free from the guy's grip and punched him hard in the face. She watched as he fell to the floor, she looked around and saw no one was looking and walked quickly off the dance floor and down the hall to the office. When she got into the office she shut the door and sat down on the couch and started to cry.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and when it opened there stood Max. He walked into the room and shut the door behind him, walked over to the couch and sat next to Liz and noticed that Liz would not look at him.

"Liz what"s wrong?" Max asked.

"A guy I danced with thought I wanted more then dancing...he kept pulling me to him, I finally pulled away and punched him and then I came in here," Liz said.

"Oh. Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Max asked.

"I'm okay and no I'm not hurt," Liz said.

"Wait did you say you punched the guy?" Max asked with a grin...

"Yeah...I punched the guy," Liz said, semi smiling...

"Wow," Max said.

Liz looked up at Max and that's when he noticed that she had tears running down her cheeks.

"Liz I know you weren't flirting with that guy so please don't cry," Max said.

"Why are you being so nice?" Liz asked.

"Because I want to," Max said.

"You know your weird. Right?" Liz said.

"Yeah, I know but that makes me fun," Max said smilingly.

"Okay," Liz said, smiling as well.

"Well since we are both in here how about a dance?" Max asked.

"Really? Okay," Liz said and she stood up.

Max turned and walked to a shelf on the wall and turned on a radio, a slow song was starting. He walked over to Liz and looked at her, he put his hands on Liz's hips and Liz put her hands on Max's shoulders, he pulled her in close to him as they started to dance. They watched each other as they danced and they enjoyed the feeling of being together. They didn't know what was going on but they both knew they liked it, they leaned in and kissed. The kiss started out soft and tender and then became very passionate. While they were kissing Max danced Liz backwards to the couch where they sat down and started to make out with a vengeance.

Meanwhile in the club:

Michael and Maria were on the dance floor grinding against each other and kissing as they were dancing; twisting and turning on the dance floor. They were laughing and having fun along with every one else.

What no one noticed was Toney and Alice coming into the club. When they walked in they saw everyone dancing, drinking and eating and they were shocked by how close everyone was dancing.They looked at each other then looked around for Max, Liz, Michael and Maria. They found Michael and Maria on the dance floor but they couldn't find Max and Liz anywhere.They walked farther into the club and continued to look for them and after looking through the club/restaurant they decided to go to the office.

Meanwhile in the office:

Max and Liz pulled away from each other and Max stood up and walked over to the desk while Liz stayed on the couch. They looked at each other and then looked away and back at each other again.

"Liz, are you okay?" Max asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for um, being here for me."

"I told you no problem. Hopefully, when you need to talk to someone you can count on me." Max said.

"You know I will. I wonder how Michael and Maria are doing out there?" Liz said

"I hope they're doing okay." Max said.

"Yeah, I hope so too."

Max and Liz both started laughing at how Michael and Maria could handle the club.

Right at that moment the office door opened, Max and Liz turned and saw Toney and Alice standing in the door way, they all looked surprised.

"So here you are? We walked into the club and didn't see you anywhere." Toney said.

"Oh, we were just talking , what brings you by?" Max asked.

"We wanted to check on you and to let you know that we found out something," Toney said.

"What did you find out?" Max asked.

"Do you want me to say it in front of Liz and Alice? Besides we need Michael in here to hear this," Toney said.

"Liz and Alice can stay if they want. And I'll go get Michael." Max said.

"Liz, Alice do you want to stay?" Toney asked.

""I'm staying. Max is my friend," Liz said.

"I'll stay too," Alice said.

"Whatever," Liz said sarcastically...

Max looked at Liz and then walked out of the office and went down the hallway and looked around and saw Michael and Maria sitting at the bar. He walked up behind Michael and tapped him on the shoulder. Michael turned to see who it was and found Max standing there.

"What is going on?" Michael asked.

"You and Maria better come to the office. Toney needs to talk to us," Max said.

"Where is Liz?" Maria asked.

"Liz is in the office with Toney and Alice. Come on we need to go now," Max said.

"Why?" Michael asked.

"It seems Liz and Alice can't stand each other. And if we don't get to the office soon I have a feeling something not so nice is going to happen," Max said.

"We better go," Maria said.

Max, Maria and Michael all walked away from the bar, through the crowded club and down the hallway. When they got to the door they heard.

"What is going on with you?" Alice asked.

"It is none of your damn business Alice," Liz said.

"Gee someone is being a major bitch," Alice said.

"You want to see a bitch just piss me off," Liz said.

"Girls please atop it. We don't have time for this," Toney said.

"Whatever! Alice, don't think you've had the last word here, bitch!" Liz said.

About that time Liz's cell phone started to ring, she reached into her pocket and pulled it out and said very angrily...

"What?"

"Is that anyway to talk to your father you little bitch," Mr. Parker said.

"What the fuck do you want?" Liz asked.

"You know I'm close to finding you and Maria. When I find you you're going to be sorry," Mr. Parker said.

"What are you going to do?" Liz asked.

Max, Maria and Michael walked into the office about that time and they all stood in the doorway watching Liz. Liz turned and looked at them..

[L-J-L 76]

Romancing The Heart
Chapter 76

"I'm going to have you watch me kill Max, Michael and Toney in front of you. And then after that you and Maria will get punished for running away," Mr. Parker said.

"You know I think it's great that you can't find us." Liz said.

"And why is that?" Mr. Parker asked.

"Because if you come near me or my friends I'll kill you. You don't scare me anymore and you never will again. Goodbye!" Liz said before she closed her cell phone.

As soon as closed her phone she started to shake. Maria walked up to Liz and wrapped her arms around her and she felt tears on her arm. Max and Michael just looked at the girls, they knew it was Liz's father on the phone...Toney and Alice didn't know what was going on.

A few minutes later Liz pulled away and she and Maria went and sat down on the couch while Max and Michael sat on the chairs.

"What is going on?" Toney asked.

"The phone call was from my father. He is, um, wanting to talk." Liz said.

"Okay. So the reason why I asked all of you here is because we might know why these guys are after Max and Michael." Toney said.

"Why are they after us?" Michael asked.

"Because someone claims that you both killed a very important persons brother.That's why he has a hit out on both of you and he is looking for the both of you too." Toney said.

Liz looked at Max and then Toney.

"Who was the guy they killed?" Liz asked.

"Well here is where it is very confusing. They can't figure out which brother you killed, so it was either Richard or Steven." Toney said.

"Oh my God. Michael! You and Max killed someone? Why didn't you tell us?" Maria asked.

"Maria, we never killed anyone. I remember we got into a fight with some guy, we hit the guy a few times and left, that's it. That's what happened." Michael said.

"Someone is blaming you for killing the guy, that's why you are being followed and getting shot at."

"Great. Is there anything else we don't know about?" Michael asked.

"Yeah, there is one more thing you should know. The guys are claiming you took something from them." Toney said.

Liz turned and looked at Max and saw that Max was looking at her too. They both turned and looked at Toney.

"Did they say what we took from them?" Max asked.

"All I know is that someone said you took a file and a case," Toney said.

"Great. So now we've got to look over our shoulders and watch our backs." Michael said.

"Yeah, you will. But hopefully they will figure out you didn't do anything," Toney said.

"I don't think they will. If we find them and talk to them maybe we live," Michael said.

"Don't worry. I'll keep trying to figure this out and I'll see if I can find anything else out," Toney said.

"Hopefully we'll find something soon," Maria said.

"Yeah, hopefully. But til then we all need to watch our backs," Toney said.

"Toney can you take me to the house. I need to call my mom and check on my daughter," Alice said.

"Yeah, sure. See you all tomorrow night for dinner," Toney said before leaving the office with Alice.

After Toney and Alice were gone Liz ran to the door locked it. Then she turned and looked at the other three.

"What did your dad want?" Maria asked.

"Oh, he just threatened us again. But this time it's bad," Liz said

"How bad?" Maria asked.

"He is going to have you and me sit in a chair and watch him kill Max, Michael and Toney. After that we will be punished for running away," Liz told Maria as Michael and Max listened...

"What did you tell him?" Max asked.

"I told him if he comes near me and my friends I'll kill him," Liz said.

"I can't believe he would do that," Michael said.

"Michael that is how Mr. Parker is," Maria said.

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"He has been like this since my mother died. And when he gets like this I'm always at Maria's. Maria and I stay away from my house," Liz said.

"God. No wonder you don't like your father," Michael said.

"Michael, my father is someone you don't mess with," Liz said.

"Yeah, after what happened to your last 3 boyfriends," Maria said.

"Maria.." Liz said warningly...

"Wait what did he do to them?" Michael asked.

" He turned 2 of them into people that work for him. And the third one is um, dead!" Liz said.

"Wait, dead? How?" Max asked.

"Okay. See here is the thing, my boyfriend, Maria and I went to a party. There was drinking and dancing and it was a great party. When my boyfriend dropped us at home we said our goodbyes," Liz said.

"Okay, here is the weird part," Maria continued, "while he was driving home, out of no where a black van rams into his car a couple of times, his car crashes. The guy had a broken arm and a broken leg, he hurt his neck and back. He was in the hospital for about an hour when he suddenly dies. No one could figure out why or how he died. I say Mr. Parker did something to him." Maria finished...

"Yeah, I know my dad did it. But we can't figure out how or why he did it," Liz said.

"Liz I'm sorry to say this but your father is insane." Max said

"Tell us something we don't know," Liz said.

"What is the deal with Alice?" Maria asked.

"I don't know. But I think she has a stick up her ass," Liz said.

"What is going on?" Michel asked.

"All I'm going to say is Alice made me mad and leave it at that," Liz said.

"Alice has changed. She went from nice and shy to an, I don't know what," Maria said.

"I wonder if Toney noticed the change in her," Michael said.

"Oh, I'll bet he has," Liz said.

Max looked at Liz then looked at his watch and noticed it was midnight.

"Um what time did you want to close the place down?" Max asked.

"Midnight why?" Liz asked.

"Its midnight. we better get the people out," Michael said.

Max walked to the door and opened it and he noticed that it was quiet. He turned and looked at Liz, Michael and Maria. They shook their heads. They all walked out of the office and went down the hall to the club part, they noticed the club was empty. Everyone was gone.Liz walked up to the bar and found a note for her, she looked at Max.

"Max?" Liz said.

"What?" Max asked.

"I found a note," Liz said.

"What does it say?" Max asked.

"Dear Liz
I got everyone to leave the club at 11pm. Me and Alice cleaned up the club for you. All you have to do is lock the doors when you leave. See you all tomorrow night at dinner.

From:
Toney," Liz said.

"Okay. Now that is strange," Maria said.

"I know. But it was kinda nice too," Liz said.

"Yeah, it was. We better go," Max said.

"Does everyone have everything ?" Michael asked.

Liz and Maria checked their pockets and jackets then they looked at Max and Michael.

"Yeah we got everything. Lets go," Maria said.

They walked to the door and Max held it open as the others walked out then Liz turned and locked the door, suddenly Max started to get a weird feeling and he started looking around.

"Michael come here," Max said.

Michael and Maria walked back to Max and Liz.

"Do you feel that?" Max asked.

"Yeah, someone is watching us. But I can't see them," Michael said.

"What are we going to do?" Maria asked.

"We're going to take the long way to the girls place. Hopefully we will lose them and they won't follow us to the house," Max said.

"Do you think that will work?" Liz asked.

"It has too. When everyone gets to the house we stay there and wait," Max said.

"Wait for what?" Maria asked.

"To see if they've followed us... remember Michael take the long way to the girls place," Max said.

"What do we do if they follow us?" Liz asked.
*************
Author's Note:
Hey everyone
I just wanted to say Thank you for reading and for leaving feedback. I hope everyone will keep reading and leaving feedback til the end of the story. I hope everyone will like the chapters to come. I hope everyone will keep reading to find out what will happen next for Max, Liz, Michael and Maria. I wanted to let everyone know after this week I will not be on the computer for a week. March 8 I will be getting my teeth pulled out.So for a week I will be bed resting. I hope everyone will be understanding. I everyone will keep reading Princess Of Antar and Romancing The Heart til the end. And I promise as soon as I can I will post a new chapter to Princess Of Antar and Romancing The Heart.

From:
Lizza{Known as L-J-L 76}
**************

[L-J-L 76]

Romancing The Heart

Chapter 77
*
"We try and lose them!" Max said.

"Come on, lets get to the cars and get going!" Michael shouts.

Liz and Maria turned and looked at each other and said,

"Be careful."

Max and Liz walked to Max's car while Michael and Maria walked to Michael's car and then they got into their cars and drove off.

While Max was driving Liz noticed that a car seemed to be following them.

"Max I think we have a small problem."

"What? What's the small problem?"

"I think there's a car following us, it's about three cars back."

Liz turned and looked at Max and saw that he was holding the steering wheel super tight...

"Max what are we going to do?"

"Liz you need to trust me okay..."

"Okay, but what are you going to do?"

"We're going to try and lose them."

Max turned for a second and noticed that Liz looked scared and worried and immediately turned his head back toward the road.

"Liz just relax we'll lose them."

"I hope you're right, because this is getting very dangerous."

"I know, hold on Liz."

Max looked behind him and then made a quick right onto a side street and drove fast while Liz checked behind them, she didn't see the car and turned to look at Max.

"Max, I don't see the car behind us anymore do you think we lost it?"

"I don't know but I'm going to try another route to your house."

"I hope you know what you're doing." Liz said, sounding very concerned.

"Liz, stop worrying, I know what I'm doing. Hopefully we've already lost them." Max said.

"Well, I hope your right." .

"Liz, try to think about something else and I'll drive...okay."

"Like what?" Liz asked ... she was getting a little mad.

"I don't know, how about the dinner party at Toney's tomorrow night?" .

"Oh yeah... that's going to be a blast. Do you know what it could be about?" She asked.

"No... I don't know what it's about but whatever it is it must be important." Max said.

"So... in other words there could be a few surprises?"

"Yeah, with Toney you never know what's going to happen or what he has to say." Max said.

"What do you mean by that?" Liz asked.

"Lets just say at Toney's last dinner party things were a little crazy." Max said.

"What happened at the last dinner party?" Liz asked.

"All I know is one minute everything was fine and the next minute Toney and Eric were fighting. Micheal and I still can't figure out what caused the fight." Max said.

"Max, did you and Michael stop the fight?" Liz asked.

"Yeah, we did, and we both got black eyes and bloody lips." Max said.

"That seems bad... what do you think is going to happen this time?" Liz asked.

"Like I said, with Toney you never know."

Liz then saw a car pulling out in front of them.

"Max,look out." Liz said.

Max made a quick turn down a side road and then turned right onto another road.and looked behind him then toward Liz.

"Are you okay?" Max asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, this is scary." Liz said.

"Liz don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you."

"Max I do trust you, which is saying a lot."

"That's great now hopefully everything will go good."

"Huh?"

"Liz I think that it's great that you trust me."

"Max, what is wrong?"

"Nothing. we're almost to your house."

"Max you know you're acting weird."

"I'm sorry, I'm just trying to get us to your house safely, call Michael and find out if they were followed? And where they are?"

"Okay."

Liz reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone and dialed Maria's cell number. The phone rang three times before someone picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Maria, were you followed?"

"Liz... no, we weren't followed. What about you?" Maria asked.

"Yeah, we were... Max just lost them. Where are you?" Liz asked.

"We're at the house. Why? Where are you?" Maria asked.

"We're on on our way now. We should be there in about fifteen minutes." Liz said.

"Okay, we'll keep an eye out for you." Maria said.

"Maria what is wrong?" Liz asked as she looked at Max.

"Liz we'll talk when you get here." Maria said.

"Maria I know something is wrong. Tell me now." Liz said.

"Liz someone blew up our cars. They were on fire when we got home." Maria said.

"Wait!!! My car and your car were on fire? What about the house?" Liz asked.

"Yes both cars were on fire. The house is fine. Michael said we all need to talk when you get here. Where are you?" Maria asked.

"Hold on a minute." Liz said.

Liz pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at Max.

"Max, Maria and my cars were on fire when they got home and Michael said we all need to talk when we get there. Maria asked where we are."

"Tell her we just turned onto your street and we should be there in 10 minutes."

"Maria, Max said that . . . .,"

"I heard him. Okay, see you in a few." Maria said.

Liz closed her cell phone and put it back in her pocket. Ten minutes later Max and Liz pulled up to the house and saw the cars were burnt beyond recognition. They got out of the car and walked to the front door and when they got to the door Max opened it and pulled Liz into the house with him and locked the door behind them. He walked to the back door and made sure that door was locked also and then he walked towards the front again and saw Liz waiting for him. He took her by the hand and walked into the living room and when they got there they saw Michael and Maria waiting for them.

"Michael what is going on?" Max asked.

"Max, we need to decide what we're going to do?" Michael said.

"Do about what?" Max asked.

"Max, whoever is watching and following us isn't going to stop so we need to come up with a plan." Michael said.

"What are we going to do?" Asked a worried Liz...

" I don't know. All I know is that we should stay some where else...together. They may come back and do something worse." Michael said.

"But what can we do?" Liz asked.

"Oh, I got it. Liz do you still have that thing we did to that guy?" Maria asked.

"Yeah, I do why?" Liz asked.

"Liz it might help us get out of this mess. Think about it." Maria said.

"Fine. But how am I going to pull this off? They know we're here." Liz said.

"Don't worry leave it to me." Maria said.

"What is she up to?" Michael asked

"Trust me you don't want to know." Liz said.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Max asked

"Max you always have a bad feeling." Liz said.

"Yeah, I always do when it involves you." Max said.

"Liz, go change clothes and here is your wig." Maria said as she tossed Liz the wig.

"Okay. I'll be back in a second." Liz said as she walked away.

"Liz walked up the stairs and down the hallway to her room, entered and changed clothes. She put on her very sexy black lace bra and underwear, then she put on her auburn wig and after she was dressed she walked out of her room, down the hallway and down the stairs and into the living room where everyone was waiting.

Meanwhile, when Michael and Max saw Liz standing there in her lace underwear they both stood there stunned with their mouths wide open and speechless. Maria just stood there smiling at how the guys were reacting to Liz, then Liz looked at Max and Michael...

"Max can I please borrow your button down shirt?" Liz asked all innocent and coy like,

"Um, ye... yeah." Max said as he unbutton his shirt.

After Max took off his shirt and handed it to Liz she put on the shirt then walked up to Max and messed with his hair and undid his belt a little. Liz took a step back and looked at Max.

"Perfect. You're ready too." Liz said.

"I'm ready for what?" Max asked.

"Just come on." Liz said.

Max and Liz walked up toward the front door while Maria had Michael hide with her. When Liz reached the front door with Max she looked at him and said...

"Okay. We just need to act like we're lovers, you start to leave and then I pull you back in. Can you do that?" Liz asked.

"Yeah, I can do that." Max said.

"Good lets do it then." Liz said