Disclaimer and Spoilers: Same as previous chapters
Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reviewing!! It's nice to know people are still hanging in there. Mucho gracias to my fantastic beta, lareinaSelena!! You rock girl!!
Max shrugged, " 3 months ago? Give or take a month."
As the impact of her statement dawned on her, she looked over at Alex. " You don't think...?"
" Zach," Alex said, reached out to grab his arm, her gaze never leaving Max's. " Sniff the air."
Zach took a deep breath, his heightened senses working to locate pheromones in the air. The look that came over his face was all the confirmation they needed. " Oh God," Max whimpered.
" It's okay," Jondy said, quickly, biting her lip. Jumping to her feet, she began to pace. " Alex, you and I will stay up tonight, keep Max company."
//And to make sure she won't do something she'll regret// Alex thought to herself.
" Zach, lock yourself in your room and don't come out until tomorrow morning when either Alex or I call you, ok?" Jondy directed, turning to Zach with pleading eyes.
Zach nodded slowly. Moving very deliberately, he got up and walked to his room.
" Max, first thing in the morning, we'll phone Dave and see if we can get you the day off with one of us, ok?" Jondy was quickly and effectively taking control of the situation.
Max curled up in a ball and nodded miserably. //I hate this. I hate how completely out of control I become. I hate how horny I get, craving sex with every guy I see. I despise how that if I'm not careful or being watched every single second I might end up in some strange guy's bed in the morning. Thank heavens THAT has never happened before. Sweaty gropes in the corner of some bar, pushed up against the wall making out, but never jumping in bed with some guy I don't even know the name of. I can thank my boo for that.//
Alex noticed how miserable Max was getting by the second. " Max?" Alex asked gently, sitting down next to her big sister. " You ok hun?"
Max wiped away a single tear that had fallen from her eye. " I hate it," she whispered. " I hate how I lose control over my own body. And what for? I have to go through this because my fucked up genes decide that every 4 months, I have to scratch an itch. It seems like as soon as one ends, another begins. I detest Manticore for making me who I am. I'm supposed to be a soldier, but I can't even control my sexual urges. I hate this," Max stated, her pain clearly visible.
" We know how you feel Maxie," Jondy said softly, sitting on the other side of Max. " We can beat this bitch together."
Max gave a sad smile and hugged her sisters. " I'm so glad I got you two with me right now."
" Us too," Alex replied.
With Val now out of the way, Logan went back to concentrating on finding out just why the search for Max had been called off. But even with Val gone, all Logan could think of was the kiss.
//Why in the world did she kiss me? She knows Cale Industries has gone out of business. I still got the trust fund mom left me; after all, Eyes Only can't exist without back-up funding. But Val never knew about the trust fund. I didn't even know of it while we were married. I found out afterwards. Only Max, Bling and Alex knew about it. So if Val didn't know about the money, what was in for her if we got back together? She couldn't possibly care for me, she cheated on me, lied to me and used me during our entire relationship. So why did she kiss me?// He quickly shook that thought off and got back to work, feeling slightly guilty of even thinking of that kiss with Val.
" Dave, you have GOT to let Kate take the day off!" Jondy exclaimed.
" Lily, I told you already, I don't CARE how incredibly ill you claim she is! Kate seemed perfectly healthy yesterday and she is coming in today no matter what. We're already short handed as it is and we can't afford to have another person off!"
" But Dave-"
" No buts! Kate comes in today or it'll cost BOTH of your jobs!" Dave snapped.
" We leave in less than a week," Alex whispered to Jondy. " Do we need the money that badly?" Alex had been listening to the entire conversation, thanks to her super hearing.
Jondy covered the receiver. " Yeah. We need to pay off the rent on this place, have enough money for a few more meals and to get back."
" Why don't we just work our cat burglar skills?" Alex suggested quietly.
Jondy shot her a look, " Because the reason why we're here is to stay unnoticed!!"
" Jondy," Max spoke up, " Tell the bastard I'll be in. You got my back, right?"
Jondy nodded. " Fine, we'll be there," she told Dave, making no attempt to hide her aggravation.
" Good." With that, Dave slammed the phone down. //Kids these days// He thought wryly to himself.
" Argh! I don't WANT to play another game of I Spy!" Max exclaimed, jumping up and pacing around. She had gone through the entire day so far without anything happening, but just barely, all thanks to Jondy. Every time Jondy sensed Max was gong to the Dark Side, she found some way to distract her.
" Well, what do you suggest us doing Maxie?" Jondy asked tiredly. She had been looking out for Max the entire day and it was beginning to wear her down. " We've already played 20 Questions, I Never, Scrabble, Snakes and Ladders and Pictionary."
" All of which you've managed to knock up to an R rating," Alex chimed in. " I'll never be able to look at Pictionary the same way ever again," she sighed dramatically.
Hours later, they were watching a movie at home and Jondy and Alex made the mistake of dozing off at the same time, each thinking the other was awake and watching Max.
Seeing that Jondy and Alex had fallen asleep, Max grabbed the car keys off of the coffee table and seized this opportunity to sneak out of the house in search of some action.
Max drove around aimlessly; trying to decide where the best place would be for her to do some much needed scratching. When she passed by Starbucks and saw Chris emerging from the coffee shop, she lost all control and pulled the car into reverse.
Chris noticed Max's car stopping near him and he grinned sleazily, sauntering over. " My, my, imagine seeing you here at this hour Kate," he purred. " Must have wanted some of this, huh?"
The scent of a male so close to her right now was intoxicating. " Get in the back," she said, tipping her head in that direction.
" Whatever you want baby," he answered in a seductive growl.