Chapter Eleven: Awkward

The first thing William Lucas-Patterson III did when Max and Logan entered the shadowy, and, thankfully, bustling coffeehouse was rush forward to wrap Max in his arms. The second thing was give her a strange look when she deftly avoided his lips, which had hurriedly attempted to plant themselves upon hers. The third thing was to step back defensively when he recognized Logan behind her.

"What's going on?" he asked, his voice hitching slightly with what sounded to Logan like genuine fear. "Grazia, what's he doing here?"

"Sit down and I'll tell you," Max replied coolly. The edge in her voice seemed to make him nervous, as he looked her over suspiciously. She'd changed since the last time he'd seen her, and he knew it. Logan could see it in his eyes. The Max whom Logan had fallen in love with was back, and the Grazia that Will adored was completely forgotten. It gave Logan an almost giddy feeling, but it obviously, and quite reasonably, seemed to cause the opposite reaction from the young Patterson heir.

"Sit down," Logan echoed, attempting to sound at least a little friendlier. "We'll explain."

Settled deep into the darkest corner of the coffeehouse, the three sat in awkward silence. For his part, Logan wasn't sure where to even begin. He didn't trust this kid… at all, really, so he wasn't going to give up his identity. He knew Max would never do that, especially without consulting him first. So, they continued to stare at each other while the other patrons around them continued to buzz merrily.

Finally, Max reached across the small table and took one of Will's hands. He jumped slightly, but then seemed to relax immensely. Once again, Logan tried to disengage his emotions from the situation, but, as usual, he was finding it a bit difficult. Will was gazing at Max like she was made completely of diamonds and rubies, and the adoration caused another surge of jealousy within Logan. He knew that it was the wrong emotion for the moment. If anything, he should feel embarrassed, maybe even a little ashamed. After all, he had just slept with the woman who was still, technically, Will's girlfriend. Even if he did have what he considered to be a greater, better, stronger claim to her, he knew that the line of right and wrong had blurred a bit overnight. Of course, that didn't mean he wouldn't do it again in a heartbeat. Hell, he was planning on doing it again that night, providing everything went according to plan.

"Will," Max said quietly, taking a deep breath, "I know that the other night at the ball you thought that I was meeting Logan for the first time, but I've actually known him for more than two years." A look of panic that Logan couldn't help thinking wasn't inappropriate for the situation crossed Will's features for a moment. He looked like a scared little kid. Poor guy's dad was a murderer and his girlfriend was cheating on him. It wasn't a good day for William Lucas-Patterson III.

"We used to work together," Logan decided to chip in, "For Eyes Only." Those were the magic words. Will nodded, but he still didn't say anything. Instead, he stared at his hands, the nails of which were jagged and stained with red. Will, apparently, was a nervous nail biter.

"You can trust him," Max added. "Tell us what happened."

"I went over to my Dad's early this morning," Will explained haltingly. "I know all the passcodes to get in, and I guess he didn't hear me drive up. I mean, he would have stopped if he heard me, right?" They nodded. A single tear dropped from each of Will's glassy eyes, "I heard him fighting with someone. I thought, I don't know, it was weird that someone would be over so early in the morning. So I followed the voices into the garden. My father and this guy – I don't know who he was – they were fighting, and then my Dad grabbed him, and shoved his head into the fountain, under the water. The guy fought it, there was water splashing everywhere, but my Dad just held him down, and then… and then the guy stopped moving." He looked as if he was about to vomit. Logan shivered. He remembered that feeling. That moment when you first realize that, yes, you really did see someone die, is one of the worst experiences a person could have. Realizing you killed someone is undeniably worse, but, nevertheless… he couldn't help the twinge of sympathy.

"Why did you go over there?" Max asked cautiously.

"He invited me for breakfast," Will shrugged. "I thought I'd go early and get a few laps in the pool to work out a kink in my shoulder."

"Wait, he invited you for breakfast?" Logan asked quickly, exchanging a quick glance with Max.

"Yeah…"

"Did he hear you leave?"

"I don't know…"

"Will," Max asked sharply, "how long ago were you supposed to be at breakfast?"

"A couple of hours," Will answered, and it looked as if the realization of what he'd done was dawning on him as it had on Logan and Max.

"Has he tried to call you?" Max asked.

"Yes…" Will answered weakly.

"Shit," Logan groaned.

"He knows I saw him, doesn't he?" Will asked, and the way the fear was growing in his eyes and his expression was painful to watch.

"He probably suspects it," Logan replied carefully. He met Max's gaze again, and he recognized the determined set of her countenance. She was already rethinking her plan.

"Will," she said quietly, squeezing his hand, trying her best to convey 'reassuring' without losing the authoritative tone that assured Will would do as she said. "Will, is there any chance that your father would be willing to hurt you?"

"I'm… I'm an only child," he stuttered. Right, because his mother had been the first to 'disappear.'

"Good," Logan replied calmly. They had to keep this guy calm. He looked to be on the verge of a breakdown, and Logan didn't think that the guy collapsing in a fit of hysteria would be very conducive to their intended inconspicuousness. "Now, you need to call him…" he stopped when Will shrank back, terrified. Logan continued, his voice firmer, "You need to call him and tell him you're sorry. You're running late. You'll have to reschedule. Tell him…" he thought for a moment, "Tell him Grazia forgot to set the alarm. Can you do that?"

Will gulped. He really was terrified, but he nodded. "I call him, and tell him Grazia forgot to set the alarm… but what about…"

"Don't worry about it," Max cut him off. "Just call. You need to do it now."

Will looked at Max, really looked at her, as if he was seeing her for the first time. She nodded and handed him her phone. A good move, considering Will's probably had GPS, or worse, a bug. The company wasn't called Patterson Electronics for nothing. Taking one last deep breath, Will flipped open the phone and dialed his father's number.

TBC...

A/N: Yes, I do, actually, write this fast. However, I've had the last several days off from work, so I've had time to really sit down and think out where I'm actually going with this story. Sadly, tonight, I must return to work, and classes start in another week or so, so I'm trying to finish before then. I honestly didn't think it would end up being this long. Thank you to everyone who's sticking this out with me. Your thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated.