"Maximista is understandably angry with the Jackal," he winced, still feeling the sting of Maxie's palm on his cheek.
"Damn right, I am. How could you? You just left. You didn't tell me you were leaving, you didn't take me with you, hell, you didn't really even say good-bye. We were supposed to go on a date the evening you disappeared, and you couldn't bother to tell me you couldn't make it, that you'd actually be leaving the country. You had the courtesy to leave Jason a note, but not me. And worst of all, I find out that Winifred, the FBI bitch who set you up in the first place, is your new BFF, traveling companion, and it turns out, as Claudia Zacchara just told me over the phone today, your wife."
"The Jackal is not actually married to the Priestess, it's merely a cover to avoid any…"
"I don't care what it is. I looked for you for months. I continuously badgered Diane into getting the charges dropped against you, which she finally was able to do since Sam and Jason stole the evidence the FBI had against you. And I thought, hey, once the charges are dropped, Spinelli will come home to me. But you didn't. That was months ago. Johnny, Lulu and I even went to Florence to find you, because we had a lead on your whereabouts. We tracked you to your hotel, we left multiple messages. And then nothing. You were just gone."
"The Jackal is here now, Maximista."
"And that makes it all better? I trusted you, Spinelli. I thought you trusted me too. But you lied to me, and you left me. Just like everyone I love leaves me."
"You love me?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah, I did, Spinelli."
"You don't now?"
"I don't know." She looked away with tears stinging her eyes, turning away from him to look into the garden. She had missed him so much, and all this time had wanted nothing more than to find him. Sure, she'd been angry and hurt, but she thought having him back would heal all of it. She was painfully aware now that it had only made things more complicated.
"Maximista, I told you before I left that you'd always be in my heart. That has not changed. The Jackal deeply regrets the hurt he has caused his fair Maximista," he said gently, cautiously laying his hands on her shoulders.
"Spinelli…" she whispered.
"Maximista?" he stepped closer, tightening his grip on her.
"I missed you." She continued to stare out into the perfectly-landscaped garden of the Zacchara estate under the moonlight.
"And I missed you. Maximista was on the Jackal's mind every moment. The entire time the Jackal has been absent… I… I'd wake up every morning knowing part of my very soul was missing," he said softly into her ear.
Her lower lip trembled as she blinked away tears. She could feel his breath on her neck and the warmth of his hands on her shoulders. She had missed him so much.
Her need for him finally overcame her hurt and anger. She turned and fell into his embrace.
"The Jackal seeks Maximista's forgiveness and hopes that in time, she can love the Jackal as he loves her."
"You love me?" She pulled away and looked up at him.
"I love you," he whispered tenderly, then pressed his lips to hers.
* * *
"What do you think's going on out there?" Lulu asked, pulling up the straps of her blue satin chemise and covering herself with a matching robe.
"I dunno, but I just hope Spinelli won't blow it," Johnny replied, opening the doors leading to the balcony. They stepped out to enjoy a bottle of wine in the moonlight.
"Johnny, I'm so grateful for everything you did to find him. I know I've really come down on you about your family lately, but I know you aren't like them, and I really don't want to keep harping on you about Claudia. I promise I'll find some way to get along with her."
"I appreciate that. No matter what, Claudia's my sister, and I'm gonna stick by her the way she does me. She saved my life, lying on the stand at my trial. I owe her everything."
Lulu sighed. "I know, and I owe her too. And she really took an interest in helping us find Spinelli, which I appreciate. I know I can be a real brat sometimes, but I do love you."
"I love you too," he smiled and kissed her. "Oh, hey, look. Spinelli didn't blow it after all."
He pointed out the shadowed figures on the back patio, which they could clearly see from their balcony, were kissing passionately.
"Oh, ew," Lulu downed the rest of her wine. "Let's go back inside and hope I can get that image out of my head."
Johnny smiled as he followed her back into their bedroom. "I have a few ideas how."
* * *
Spinelli broke away from Maxie's lips and kissed a trail across her neck. Between kisses he asked, "Where is Maximista's bedroom?"
"Just down the hall," she answered breathlessly. "I'll take you there."
"Allow me," he replied, sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her back into the house.
They made it into her bedroom on the opposite end of the house, their kisses becoming more frantic. They had ached for the other's touch for so many months, that the sensation now was overwhelming.
With trembling hands, Spinelli unzipped Maxie's champagne colored gown and, pushing the straps off her shoulders, let it fall to the floor. Normally Maxie would be appalled at such treatment of her haute couture, but she simply stepped out of the abandoned gown and quickly relieved him of his clothes.
Their lovemaking was needful and intense, a culmination of their raw emotions. The feeling of his lips on her skin, her nails on his back, her legs wrapped around his, was overwhelming.
* * *
Spinelli opened his eyes groggily, and looked down to find a mess of blonde hair sprawled across his bare chest. He smiled happily, glad his memories of last night hadn't been just a dream.
He knew he must have called out for Maximista in his sleep during his time in exile. The Priestess would always be in poor spirits the next morning, indicating he had been talking in his sleep again. Sharing a room made it difficult to keep his dreams to himself and he'd always felt guilty for hurting his loyal friend. But to spend the night with the woman he loved, to cry out her name in passion, to wake up in her arms, was exactly what his dreams had been. For the first time in over six months, he was happy.
"Spinelli?" Maxie mumbled, just waking up.
"Yes, Maximista. It is I, the Jackal," he replied, kissing her tangled head of hair.
"So I wasn't dreaming," she smiled, opening her eyes.
"Not unless Maximista shares the Jackal's dreams. This is indeed reality."
Maxie was quiet for a moment, then asked, "Can I ask you something?"
"Certainly the Jackal will oblige Maximista of all she inquires."
"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"
Spinelli took a deep breath and exhaled. "The Jackal came to Crimson to see Maximista the day he left."
"Yes, but you didn't tell me you were leaving." Maxie sat up in the bed, with the sheet wrapped around her.
"The Jackal had intended to say goodbye, but found he lacked the courage to do so." He sighed again, sitting up himself. "Selfishly, I suppose I wanted my last memory of you to be happy, and did not have the courage to see you hurt."
"Didn't you know I would have come with you?"
"Maximista could not leave her career and her family, it would have been unfair. The Jackal did not wish for you to have to make such a difficult decision, and perhaps the Jackal feared that you would opt to stay behind. Even though it was for the best, such a decision would have been unbearable to live with."
Maxie took a deep breath of her own before acknowledging the elephant in the room. "So how did Winifred end up going with you?"
"When the Jackal boarded his flight in Port Charles, he found the Priestess was already on board. She had followed the Jackal, knew of his acquisition of a fake passport and plane ticket. She said that while she should arrest the Jackal, she wanted to accompany him instead.
"The Priestess was a most helpful and loyal travel companion. It was she who took us across Europe to various locations, and finally to Morocco where the Federal Ones would be unable to detain the Jackal and spirit him back to stand trial. We have been in Casablanca for the past three months, posing as a married Canadian couple. The Priestess is employed by the nation of Belgium in their diplomatic mission."
"Is that where she is now? Does she know you're here?"
"She does not know the Jackal's true whereabouts. I did not wish to alarm the Priestess by taking what I thought was a risk to travel to Milan to see Fair Maximista. The Priestess is in Casablanca preparing for Monday's arrival of the Top Diplomat from our sovereign nation, and so the Jackal expressed that he would be taking a pilgrimage to Rabat for the weekend. The Jackal traveled to Rabat and boarded the plane to Milan, and here we are."
"Here we are," Maxie agreed. "Spinelli, I know you think she's loyal, but she had to have known the charges against you were dropped. If she's working for the embassy, she would have had access to that type of information."
"No, the Jackal does not believe that the Priestess would withhold such pertinent information when she knew how badly the Jackal wanted to return to Port Charles and to his Fair Maximista."
"That's exactly why she didn't tell you. She didn't want you to go back to Port Charles. And she definitely didn't want you to be with me. She wanted to keep you with her. She lied to you again."
"The Jackal knows Maximista's feelings about the Priestess, but I must disagree. She has been a faithful and loyal friend," he adamantly replied.
Maxie sighed. "Well, it doesn't matter now. We can spend the rest of the week here in Milan if you like, or we can go back to Port Charles as soon as possible if you'd rather get home. I'm sure you've had enough of foreign travel for awhile, it's whatever you want."
"The Jackal will first need to return to Casablanca to relay the news to the Priestess that we may return."
"What?" Maxie said, her temper flaring. "Why? Just call her or email her or something if you really have to even bother to tell her."
Getting out of bed himself, he looked at her with surprise. "Maximista, the Priestess has been a loyal friend, I cannot simply abandon her."
As soon as he saw the look on her face, he realized he had misspoken and touched a raw nerve. His words were a slap in the face to Maxie, who still felt betrayed by his actions six months ago. Saying nothing, she put on her robe, walked into the bathroom and slammed the door.
He was about to follow her and apologize when his cell phone rang.
* * *
"I could really get used to living in Milan on your family's mob money, John," Lulu said, taking a sip of her cappuccino.
"Morning, Spinelli," Johnny nodded as he noticed him walk into the kitchen.
"Oh, hey, Spinelli. I take it things went well with Maxie after we left?" Lulu smiled over her mug.
"Fair Maximista has been gracious enough to forgive the Jackal for his transgressions. I think," he replied, muttering the last statement. "But for now the Jackal must return immediately to Casablanca to retrieve his loyal friend the Priestess."
"Winifred? Spinelli, are you nuts?" Lulu exclaimed. "She's the reason you had to go on the run in the first place. And she obviously didn't bother to tell you that you could have come home nearly four months ago because the charges were dropped against you. Have you told Maxie you're going back to get Winifred, she can't possibly be okay with…"
"The Blonde One's concerns have already been expressed by Maximista. However, the Jackal now has no choice but to return to Casablanca as he just received a phone call of a most distressing nature. The Priestess has been detained by the Belgian Diplomatic Ones on suspicion of espionage. In preparing for the arrival of our sovereign nation's Top Diplomat, the Diplomatic Ones ran additional security checks and discovered the Priestess had given a false identity, that she worked for the Federal Ones, and now believe her to have been in the country for nefarious purposes."
"Spinelli, it seems to me she made her own bed. You don't have to go back and risk getting yourself in trouble on her account," Johnny observed.
"I agree. You are not going back to Morocco for that bitch," Maxie demanded, as she appeared in the doorway.
"Maximista, the Jackal cannot abandon a friend in need…"
"Spinelli, let me put it to you another way. If you leave me again, if you go back to Morocco, to Winifred, don't bother coming back," Maxie turned and walked out of the room.
* * *
"Maxie? I brought you some lunch," Lulu knocked on Maxie's bedroom door.
"Thanks, but I'm not hungry," she said, as she opened the door.
"I know you're mad at Spinelli for going back for Winifred, but he's a good person, he just wants to do what's right."
"What about what's right for us, Lulu? He couldn't abandon Winifred, but he had no problem leaving me."
"I'm not trying to excuse him, Maxie. But…"
"Lulu, I don't want to talk about it. I'm through with Spinelli, I just want to go home after this trip is done and move on with my life. And maybe now I've gotten the closure I need to do just that."
* * *
Winifred sat in the detention center, knowing the world had crumbled around her. Even if Spinelli showed up to clear things up for her, she knew he would never forgive her lies. He had been gracious enough to forgive her for gathering evidence against him and having him arrested for the very same charge she was currently facing. But he surely wouldn't forgive her for keeping him from going home and of course from the arms of his Fair Maximista, she thought bitterly.
Her eyes full of tears, she began to cry when she saw Spinelli appear in the window. He had come for her after all.
* * *
"Maxie, come on, it's time to go," Johnny knocked on Maxie's door. It was now dinnertime, and she hadn't left her room since Spinelli left.
"Go where?" She opened the door and looked at him like he was crazy.
"To Morocco. Come on, your flight leaves in two hours. I'll have a car waiting at the airport in Casablanca, your connecting flight is at Charles de Gaulle in Paris."
"What? I'm not going," she crossed her arms stubbornly.
"The hell you aren't." Johnny stared her down.
"No, Johnny, I'm not doing this anymore. He did it again, he left me and he left me for Winifred."
"Maxie, this time you know exactly where he'll be. If you'd known that the last time, wouldn't you have gone to him immediately?"
"Yeah, but…"
"Since when does Maxie Jones let some mousy girl with no sense of style come between her and the man she wants?" Lulu piped in, suddenly appearing in the doorway. "Come on, Maxie, you have to go after him. If you don't go, you'll regret it."
"Maybe not today…" Johnny quipped.
"Seriously? Did you really just do that? You two are so lame. Ugh. Fine. I'll go, just to get away from the two of you." Maxie rolled her eyes and snatched the plane ticket from Johnny's hand.