Deceptions: Chapter 9

Chapter Nine 

I could either burn
Or cut off my pride and buy some time
A head full of lies is the weight, tied to my waist
The River of Deceit pulls down
The only direction we flow is down
~Mad Season – River of Deceit

____________________________________

Max was trembling after ‘exiting’ Logan’s apartment. She’d just had a bomb dropped on her and barely any time to process things. She’d just heard Logan – and if she wasn’t mistaken, Hailey – planning…something. Recognizing that fact alone made her angry and everything inside of her screamed to find out why he’d done it and what the extent of his deception really was.

But when she had felt Alec’s almost desperate plea to give him a chance to do things his way, tapped out frantically against her skin in code, she had held back and agreed. It went against her instincts to just walk out like that and let him take the reins, but she also believed that Alec, unlike herself, wouldn’t let emotion rule his actions and would get results. Besides, she owed him and this wasn’t just about her, it was about him, too.

She leans against the wall and waits, wishing she hadn’t been so quick to agree, wishing she’d heard more – like Alec obviously had – so she could understand what was happening. But Alec’s suggestion that she ‘wait it out’ outside so that he could get to the bottom of things without her interference – okay, so he hadn’t exactly said that, but it was implied – (she growled) and she knew he was probably right. Logan might be more open about things if he thought he was alone with Alec.

____________________________________

“Why?”

A single word; but that one word was edged with steel and it sent shivers down Logan’s spine. His tongue felt as if glued to the roof of his mouth and he swallowed thickly.

Alec chuckled darkly and added. “Oh, I understand why you fucked me over, but the question is, Why do this to Max?”

His eyes bored into Logan’s, cold, hard and unmistakeably hostile.

“I don’t expect you to understand,” the older man said finally.

“Understand?! You can’t seriously believe you could rationalize this!”

The initial feeling of fear following the revelation of his deception passed, now that Max was gone and Alec was the only one left. Alec; the reason Logan had put his plan into effect in the first place. He knew the X5 still had feelings for Max and felt justified in rubbing salt in open wounds; especially after Alec had exposed Logan’s secret.

“Of course I can,” he said smugly. “I love her. We were meant to be together. We have a history you could never hope to compete with. I did what any man would do – I fought for the woman I love.”

“Fought for her? God, you’re a bastard! Going behind Max’s back and manipulating things, so that she’d come back to you, isn’t love.”

“Only a fool would let a girl like Max get away. And I’m not an idiot. I seized the opportunity when it presented itself. You can’t fault me for that.”

“You’re unbelievable! Are you listening to yourself?!” Alec ran a hand over his face in disbelief. “A fantasy. None of it was real, Logan. You’re just the safe choice. Don’t delude yourself into thinking that Max loves you.” Alec was deliberately taunting the older man, his hurt and emotional distress getting the better of him. “I don’t think she even knows what love is. Or if she’s capable of it,” he muttered bitterly.

“Why? Because if she were, she’d still be with you?” Logan watched with satisfaction as the younger man’s eyes darkened in anger, and pressed on.

“You thought she loved you. But if she had, she would have chosen to stay with you.” He grinned smugly. “What is love without trust? Max didn’t trust you enough to tell you what was really going on. She came to me.”

And stayed with me. The words were unspoken but the meaning clear.

____________________________________

Outside the door to the apartment, Max was listening in rapt attention, growing increasingly furious with each word coming from Logan’s mouth.

She still stood by her reasons for keeping her secret from Alec, but hearing Logan slam Alec with the cold, hard truth made her sick. The knot of guilt and despair that she’d carried around since the day she walked away from Alec grew tighter.

Wrapping her arms around her stomach, she leaned her head against the door and closed her eyes.

____________________________________

Alec had had enough. He was blind with rage by that point and his fist shot out without warning, crunching bone and knocking Logan back a few steps. Logan grunted in pain and grabbed his nose, blood seeping through his fingers.

“You’re one to talk!” Alec snarled. “You’ve been lying to Max from the moment you two got back together – before that, even! Trust? You’re so full of shit, you make me sick.”

Logan steadied himself and wiped at his upper lip with the back of his hand. He should have known better than to provoke the Transgenic further, but couldn’t help himself as his lips curved in self satisfaction. “It kills you, doesn’t it? That she came back to me. You always had a thing for her and when she should have trusted you, she didn’t. She came back to me. I told you, Alec. Max and I are meant to be.”

The X5 tried to keep a level-headed despite his fury.

“But you had no future!” he hissed venomously. “The virus was still in play.”

Alec’s eyes glittered with hatred. “Max’s feelings changed and you couldn’t accept that. You stole her freedom. Can’t you see how utterly selfish that is? Forget that you took away my chance at happiness with her, you took hers. For someone who’s supposed to love her, you have a really fucked up way of showing it!”

Guilt flashed briefly across Logan’s features but disappeared as quickly as it had come.

Logan’s eyes burned with madness. “We have a future now. I found the cure and we’re together.  She’s mine. Burns like acid, huh, Alec? Mine.”

Logan threw caution to the wind. Later he would wonder at his own stupidity, at the sheer recklessness of baiting an angry Transgenic male who was capable of snapping his neck with two fingers, but presently he couldn’t care less.

“She screams like a wildcat, did you know? ‘Logan, Logan, Logan!’“

Alec saw red and leapt forward, encasing the Ordinary’s neck in an iron grip. He squeezed, grinning in satisfaction when the man’s eyes began to bulge and his form start to weaken visibly.

But Alec, while physically and mentally superior, was still vulnerable to attack. Logan struggled fiercely and finally succeeded in bringing a leg up between Alec’s thighs. This resulted in him loosening his hold enough for Logan to escape, all the while gasping for air. Alec dropped to his knees.

Logan edged his way towards his desk but Alec, despite the searing pain shooting through his groin, straightened.

The possessive manner in which Logan had spoken of Max and the images the man’s words raised in his mind brought blinding rage back to the surface. Alec whipped out his gun and aimed it at Logan’s who froze in his tracks.

“You have no idea how much I hate you right now,” he growled. “I should put a bullet between your eyes and end your miserable life.” He laughed sharply when Logan backed up and tripped over the coffee table, landing flat on his back.

____________________________________

Max had held to her end of the deal. When Alec had first played the recordings she’d been shocked and furious and the first thought was to run; run hard and fast and never look back. Then the feeling was replaced with outrage. She couldn’t deny the voice on the clip had been Logan’s and his eyes had confirmed that fact. Max may not have had much time to process it all, but in that split second of realization she had wanted to rip him apart with her bare hands.

Only Alec’s hold on her had grounded her and the insistent tapping on her back had spelled out a request for her to leave so Alec could get answers. Answers he wouldn’t get if Max were present. She didn’t like it but she’d understood; understood both the need and the reasons.

But now, hearing the exchange from behind the wall and the subsequent crash just moments ago, she knew it was time to intervene. Logan’s final shot at Alec would have set his blood boiling. Alec was an X5 Alpha male, and she knew in her heart of hearts that they were meant to be mated. He was her equal in every way, a perfect match, her other half. And if he felt the way she thought he did…

He’d be going on instinct fighting for me.

____________________________________

Max entered the penthouse silently and crept towards the study, unsure of what she might find there but with a pretty good idea. She stopped cold in her tracks when she saw Logan sprawled on his back and Alec’s gun aimed at his bruised and bloody face.

Max knew about Alec’s past but felt she knew him well enough to say he wouldn’t go through with killing someone in cold blood, not anymore, not really. She assumed he was trying to frighten Logan and from the looks of it, succeeding. She continued to observe in silence and was slightly surprised by Logan’s reaction.

“You won’t kill me,” Logan spoke with surety. “Max loves me, Alec. She’d never forgive you for taking away another person she loves.”

A look of incredulity spread over Alec’s face. “You think Max wouldn’t want to kill you herself? Or that she could ever love you after betraying her like this?!” Alec laughed mirthlessly. “You’re out of your mind. Besides, it’s not just her life you screwed with. I think she’d understand.”

Fear gripped him as the weight of the situation finally hit. I’m gonna die! And so Logan pleaded, “Please…!”

Alec narrowed his eyes, thumbed off the safety and steadied his hand. “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you,” he snarled, as he took a step forward.

Oh god, he’s really gonna kill him! Max thought wildly, as she opened her mouth to stop him. The shout died in her throat when she heard Logan’s words and saw Alec freeze up.

“Your son comes to mind,” Logan said quietly,

Alec lowered the gun. Logan exhaled a sigh of relief. Across the room, Max did the same, silently.

Alec paused and gazed thoughtfully at Logan before raising the gun once more, a grim smile forming on his lips. “Doesn’t mean I can’t rough you up a bit.”

“Alec! Stop.” Max barked, stepping into the room and striding towards the X5 whose focus hadn’t wavered from his prey. “Don’t.”

Logan looked up at Alec, eyes communicating a triumphant ‘I told you so.’

Max shot Logan a look of disgust. “I want answers,” she demanded. Logan relaxed at the reprieve but it was short lived. The fury smouldering in her eyes caused his skin to crawl and the terror he’d felt when Alec had pointed the readied firearm at his head returned when she added grimly, “…first.”

He gulped and scrambled back when Max advanced on him but didn’t get far. She grabbed him by the collar and hauled him up, slamming him against the wall.

“Talk. Now.”

“Hailey and I had a deal,” he began hastily, “she doctors your files, and in return she gets ten grand,” his gaze swung to Alec, “and you.”

“Why Hailey?” Max asked, truly curious.

“Max, it’s not important,” Alec stated gruffly.

Max wasn’t paying much attention to Alec, she wanted to know why Logan chose Hailey.

“How did you know she would help you?”

“Oh, come on, Max,” Logan scoffed. “Anyone with eyes could see how into him she was. It was easy.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Though she didn’t seem to think it was enough to get the man she wanted. She asked for ten thousand dollars.” A pause. “Makes you wonder what she wanted it for,” he mused aloud.

“Just tell her why,” Alec ordered, standing stonily and staring blankly ahead. Max realized, belatedly, that talk of Hailey pained Alec far too much to rehash so soon after discovering her betrayal. Turning back to Logan, she raised an eyebrow as if to ask, ‘So?’

Logan sighed and continued, “I knew Max would walk away from you – knowing she couldn’t be a ‘real’ woman.” He cringed when her eyes and nostrils flared. “From what I understand, Transgenics always look for the best partner. You would have denied her if you’d known. She knew that. I knew that and I exploited that knowledge.” Logan crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to one side, showing defiance and no regret. He watched with great interest when Max’s face fell and she turned away from her fellow X5.

Angry shadows fell across Alec’s face. Smug bastard. Careful not to put too much force behind the action, Alec pistol-whipped Logan across the jaw. Logan’s head snapped sharply back. Quirking an eyebrow and ignoring the pain the movement caused, he raised a shaky hand to his mouth and wiped at the fresh blood that trickled from the cut on his lower lip. He narrowed his eyes but kept silent.

Noticing the set of Max’s shoulders and her refusal to face him, Alec wavered. Drop the gun and go to  Max or keep it on Logan and deal with her later? He was pretty certain that Logan wouldn’t make it out of the room without catching their notice, – or a bullet cutting him down – but he wasn’t sure of her receptiveness to him at the moment.

Instead, he chose to address her. “Max,” he said softly, “He’s wrong.”

Logan knew that his future with Max was shattered. But while he might not have the girl, Alec certainly didn’t.

“I almost feel sorry for you, Alec,” he said evenly, the admission earning him a sharp glare from the younger male. “Your – what should I call her, wife? Mate? – is a self-serving bitch. Considering she was getting you, what she wanted to begin with, she sure drove a hard bargain when it came to the money. And I was doing her a favor.” He dipped his head and pouted in mock sympathy. “Like I said, I almost feel sorry for you. You’re mated to Hailey and you’re a father. You won’t leave your family.”

His words were like a bucket of ice water to both Transgenics.

Alec knew that he would always be tied to Hailey through Kaie, no matter what happened between Hailey and himself.

Max’s guilt was eating at her and mixing with that recurrent sense of hopelessness. She now had Hailey and Kaie as an added burden of responsibility. Her unwillingness to explain things to Alec back when it had mattered had led him to this. She refused to show any outwards signs of weakness, though her heart was breaking again knowing they could never have a future together.

Her emotions threatened to overwhelm her and so, turning towards the Ordinary, she forced down everything that made her Max and called up the resilience of the soldier to fortify her.

Directing her question at Alec but keeping her eyes locked on Logan’s, she asked, “What are the chances we can wipe his entire system out?”

Alec’s face creased in a genuine smile for the first time in ages. “Dix.”

“If I leave you with him can I trust you not to kill him?”

Alec grinned. “Oh, yeah. I think this will hurt a lot more than any bullet ever could.”

She nodded and walked towards the door when Alec called after her, “Where are you going?”

“Gotta blaze.”

He looked after her regretfully, understanding the unspoken words. He flipped open his phone, dialled a familiar number and spoke quickly when the call was answered, “Dix? I want one of those server EMT doodahs that Axel got hold of a couple months ago…”