~Part Seven~
Confessions
Logan entered his penthouse shaking the rain from his hair. Hanging his jacket on a hook, he went to the bathroom and grabbed a towel. Vigorously rubbing it over his wet head, he walked to his bedroom to change his shirt. Putting his glasses down on the night table, he yanked his wet shirt over his head.
He'd gone out to look for Max, but the pouring rain had driven him back inside after a short walk around the area. As if to reinforce the violence of the weather, lightening split the sky in a jagged flash of light, followed by an intense blast of thunder. The lights flickered as Logan looked up at them through the neck of the shirt he was pulling over his head. "Great," he muttered, "another blackout. At least this can be blamed on the weather."
He went to the dinning room and got candles out of a drawer in the sidebar before the lights actually went out. Lighting them, he placed them around the kitchen and the living room. In the kitchen, he grabbed the teakettle and filled it with water. He placed it on a burner and turned on the stove, hoping that the water would boil before the lights went out.
As the lights continued to flicker in time with the tempo of the storm, he grabbed a book off of the shelf and put it on the coffee table. Max would be back soon enough if she wasn't at Kendra's, and with the lights threatening to go out, he may as well let the hack he was working on sit for a while.
The teakettle whistled. Logan grabbed a mug and poured the steaming water into the cup. He got a box of tea bags out of the cupboard and, while he was dipping one into the hot water, he grabbed the phone and dialed Kendra's number.
"Hello," Kendra picked up the phone just as the lights went out all across the city.
"Hey Kendra, it's Logan. You haven't seen Max, have you?" he asked, cradling the phone between his head and his shoulder.
"No, I haven't seen her. Is something wrong?"
"No, everything's fine. I'm sure she'll turn up soon. Besides cats hate the rain."
"What?" Kendra was confused by Logan's last remark.
A sudden breeze rolled through the air with a harsh crack of thunder. The candle near the end of the counter flickered and went out. Logan smiled. "Nevermind, Kendra," he said, hanging up and placing the phone back in its cradle. Taking his cup of tea with him, he wandered into the living room.
Sure enough, the window was open and rain was blowing in. Logan put down his mug and shut the window. He turned around to face a dripping Max.
"Sorry about the mess," she whispered.
"It's okay." For a moment they stood, staring at each other. Max's wet clothes were clinging to her in just the right places to show off her curves. Logan cleared his throat and tried to get his head back to business. "We should get you out of those wet clothes."
"Yeah," she whispered. They stared at each other again, Max noticing the way Logan's shirt hugged his muscular torso and arms. Then, turning on the tips of her toes, she disappeared into the bedroom to change.
Logan smiled to himself as he wiped up the water that had rained in the window. They'd been living together for almost a month now, and in some ways it was still like the first night she'd dropped in and surprised him.
Just as he was finishing wiping up the drips, Max sauntered into the room, wrapped in the red terry robe he'd let her borrow years ago. Ever since then it had been hers. "Hey," he said, "Feeling dry yet?" Great line, Logan. They stared at each other again.
"Logan, I think I know who the X-5 Beta is," Max blurted at the same time Logan said, "I should have told you about Karen's murder."
They both stopped and looked at each other. The corners of Logan's mouth turned up in a small smile. "Ladies first," he said to Max.
A smile flitted across Max's face. She loved to hear Logan refer to her as a lady, even if she prided herself on not being one. But the smile quickly faded as she remembered the suspicions she'd come to tell him.
"I think Brandon is the X-5 Beta," she said quietly. "I remember a strange birthmark on the back of his neck. I didn't know what it was then, but the pictures Jace sent of Maxito, and Case . . ."
"You're right," Logan agreed, "I remember it, too. Karen was going to have it removed when he got older."
"Which means if Brandon is at Manticore, then Lydecker killed Karen."
Logan looked away. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I should have told you that they knew she was murdered. I wasn't exactly lying when I said that Matt had called to update me about the situation. But I should have told you."
Max put a hand on his arm. "Logan, next time, just tell me, ok?"
He looked back at her. A smile played across his lips. "Sure." He stood up and walked to the kitchen. "I've got all the ingredients needed for pasta tricolore. What do you say?"