Chapter 4

Max was momentarily bewildered by the insistent noise coming from his pocket. He was even more bewildered when he opened his eyes and saw where he was. For a few blissful seconds, he thought that perhaps the last four years had been only a nightmare. He was in the bedroom in his and Greenlee's Paris flat – the retreat that they had both loved so much. Greenlee was snuggling in his arms. He heard her moan in her sleep, "Turn that thing off!"

Max slipped out of bed, ruefully acknowledging the fact that both he and Greenlee were fully dressed, and crept out of the room. He had not immediately recognized the ringtone on his cell phone. It was the special one that sounded when Ian entered a specific code into his own phone. The intent of the code was simple: Answer your fucking phone or you are dead meat. While Max was used to ignoring Sophie's calls, he was not quite stupid enough to blow off Ian.

He pressed the green button. "Yeah?"

"Glad to know the cheese hasn't completely fallen off the cracker. Where are you?"

Max glanced towards the bedroom. "Hold on, I can't talk here." He left the flat and took the stairs down to the street. "I was sleeping off a pretty spectacular night. Renee is now in the palm of my hand, and I'm sure her father has been sufficiently bedazzled by Sophie."

"Don't give me that shit. Sophie ratted you out. You were with Greenlee all night. She said you two ran into each other in a café."

Max let out a breath. "I told you assigning us to Paris was a huge risk. Greenlee comes here often, and Bianca and Maggie friggin live here, for chrissake. I don't know how many times I've had to turn and go in the opposite direction when I saw one of them. A few weeks ago I quite literally ran into Miranda when she was running from her mom at the park. Do you know how hard it's been to see them, to not be able to talk to them? When I saw Greenlee not once, but twice, it was more than I could take. "

"I put you in Paris because I wanted to see if you could handle being close to people you care about without blowing your cover. Obviously you failed miserably. Jesus, Max, do you think that any good at all is going to come from you connecting with Greenlee again?"

"You may be a cold-blooded son of a bitch, but there was no way I could blow off Greenlee. Goddamn it, Ian, she's eight months pregnant and completely alone."

"She's alone because she's hurt and angry. When she calms down - when she looks into the eyes of her baby - she'll forgive Ryan and go back to him. At least that's what she'll do if you leave her the hell alone. If you keep seeing her, she's going to attach herself to you. And then what? Do you really think that you can have any sort of long-term relationship with her, given the secret you're hiding?"

Max stared at the little art gallery across the street where Greenlee had spent obscene amounts of money to decorate their flat. "Maybe I'll tell her the truth. Maybe I'm sick of being dead."

"Don't be stupid, Max. Telling Greenlee the truth is the worst thing you can do to her. You've been gone four years. Ryan pretended to be dead for less than four months. His death was devastating for Greenlee. His subsequent resurrection destroyed her. She still hasn't forgiven him. Learning the truth about you, when she hasn't recovered from the last blow, will finish her off. You might as well fit her for a goddamn straightjacket."

Max fought for control. "You son of a bitch. She would never have had to go through any of that if it weren't for you."

"You and Vanessa would have drowned if my men hadn't fished you out of the river. Greenlee would have gone through the same mess, regardless."

"Don't even pretend like that was the turning point! If you had just done your job by the book, Ian, you would have eventually gotten enough evidence on Vanessa to arrest her. But you were too impatient. You fed her anti-psychotics so she'd lose control. Well she lost control alright. Greenlee almost died because you couldn't be bothered to do things the right way. Then you save my life – yeah, what a joke that was, huh? Funny how all the shit in my life goes directly back to you."

"All the shit in your life is because your mommy is a fucking murderer and you can't bring yourself to let her pay for it. Let's not forget the sterling behavior of your other two brothers. Your troubles began the day you were born into that family."

"Go to hell!" Max hit the end button. It was a tired old argument that he and Ian had whenever this life got to be too much.

Max went back into the building and trudged up the stairs. Ian was an asshole, but he was right. Greenlee had been through enough. She was about to have a baby. She might very well reconcile with Ryan. Her future could be happy when she was ready to forgive her husband. Inserting himself into her life now, whether it was as Max or Leo, could bring nothing but more pain.

Kendall stretched lazily and sleepily opened her eyes. The light coming in through the window was dim. It must be just after dawn. She yawned, trying to decide if she should go into Fusion first and work on the plans for the nightclub, or go see her baby first. She decided to call Nurse Hoolia and find out if Spike…uh Chris…was awake. If he was, then she'd definitely go see him first.

Kendall felt Zach shift slightly in his sleep, his arm tightening around her. She lightly caressed his forearm as she contemplated Spike's new name. Maybe instead of shortening it to Chris, they could shorten it to Topher. That was the name of one of the actors in that Tad Hamilton movie. She wondered what Ryan would think of Topher. Hmm… Maybe his name could officially be Christopher, but his nickname could be Spike. She had a hard time thinking of him as anything else but Spike.

"You think you could keep it down over there?" Kendall felt as well as heard Zach's rumbling voice against her back.

She smiled. "What are you talking about?"

She felt his nose nuzzle her ear. "All those wheels turning in your head are causing quite a racket. Why aren't you asleep? Weren't you the one who said we needed all the rest we can get?"

Kendall turned in his arms. "I know, but it's a shame to waste time on sleep when there's so much to do – spend time with my ruggedly handsome husband, cuddle with my baby boy, run my very cool and prosperous conglomerate."

Zach chuckled. "Conglomerate?"

"Yeah, now that we've branched out into the nightclub business, that means Fusion is a conglomerate."

"Of course. My wife…the corporate mover and shaker."

Kendall smiled. "Oh, I think you're the one with all the moves. Like that one you pulled last night." She snuggled closer, reveling in the feel of her skin sliding against his.

Zach raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, I think I pulled more than a move. My gracilis muscle is feeling a bit sore."

Kendall frowned. "Your gracilis muscle? Where is that?"

Zach grinned wickedly. "Why don't you try and guess?"

Kendall giggled, and was about to place her hand over a particular spot when her cell rang. "Who could it be at this hour?"

She scrambled out of bed and fished in her purse for her cell. "Hello? Ryan?"

Zach admired her delectable backside for a moment, before shifting his eyes to her face. She frowned. "What do you mean, he isn't there? Maybe Hoolia took him for a walk. She told me she does that sometimes. Oh. What about the pediatrician? Maybe they're running tests." Kendall started to pace. Zach got out of bed and came over to stand beside Kendall, fear coursing through him at the panicked look on her face. "I know you just said he isn't scheduled for anything, but something could have come up! No! Damn it, Ryan, he's there somewhere. I mean, who would take our baby? How could someone take him? The neonatal unit is practically Fort Knox. No! No, he has to be there."

She started to sink to the ground, and Zach caught her up in his arms. Taking the cell from her hand, he told Ryan that they would be there as soon as they could. Turning off the cell, Zach swung Kendall into his arms and took her over to the bed. She was shaking like a leaf. "It isn't true, Zach. It's just some sort of mix-up. Spike is there somewhere."

Zach rubbed her arms. "Of course he is. PVH has state of the art security. Let's get dressed and you can tell me about it on the way. I'm sure by the time we get there, Spike will be back in his father's arms and everything will be fine." He gathered her in his arms and held her till she stopped trembling.

Ian woke up with a start. Something was wrong, he could feel it. He snatched up his cell phone. Damn! The piece of shit had gone dead again. This was the second time this week. It was fully charged, yet it kept turning itself off. He turned it on and saw that he had two messages. Dixie had called to let him know that she and Tad were going to board a plane soon to Minneapolis. Tommy had also called less than an hour ago with an urgent message to call him back. Ian hit the speed dial. "T? My phone went dead so I'm just getting your message. How's our patient? All patched up?" Ian's blood ran cold when Tommy solemnly told him the latest development. A little more than an hour ago, Tommy had gone to check on Madden and discovered that he was gone. The nurse who had been attending him was out cold on the floor.

Ian sprang up from his cot. "He escaped? That madman is on the loose? How could this happen, Tommy? What the fuck is the matter with you? Goddamn it! Find him, Tommy! Call in whoever you have to, use whatever resources you have to! Jesus Christ, I don't believe this."

Ian pressed the end button and took deep breaths, gripping the edge of the desk. He needed to get to Erica. Madden already tried to kidnap her once, he might do it again. He had to find her and keep her safe, even if it meant blowing his cover. Ian grabbed his keys and raced out the door, diving into his rental car. He started the car and peeled rubber in his haste to get to the Montgomery mansion. He hoped like hell that Madden would be smart and crawl into a hole somewhere where no one could find him. But he knew it was a foolish notion. Greg was way too arrogant for that.

Greenlee opened her eyes and peered at the clock on the dresser. She hadn't gotten much sleep, but she knew she wouldn't be able to stay in bed. She was too excited. She stretched as she contemplated the night before. Max was wonderful. He had shown her such a good time. When they finally came back to her place, they had stayed up even later talking about nothing in particular. Max had been a complete gentleman. Greenlee was attracted to him, but she wasn't ready for anything sexual. He had known that without her even telling him. He had also figured out that while she didn't want sex, she did ache to be touched. As they talked, he held her in his arms on top of the covers. It had been pure bliss.

Greenlee crawled out of bed and looked in the mirror. She made a face. Well, she had some time before Max got back from taking that call. She wanted to look presentable for whatever they were going to do today. Max was such a wonderful respite from all the grief and misery that she'd been feeling almost non-stop since she left Pine Valley. The loneliness had been so bad that there were times when she felt tempted to go back.

Greenlee had just finished repairing her bed head when Max walked into the flat. She gave him a beatific smile. "I have this great idea for where we can get some brunch! There's a superb little bistro that makes the most fabulous omelets." Her voice trailed off at the expression on his face. "What? You don't like omelets? They have other stuff."

Max gestured for her to sit down. "Greenlee…I can't go to brunch with you. We can't see each other again."

Greenlee was barely able to make out his jumbled excuses over the roaring in her ears. This couldn't be happening. She had felt such a connection with him. A connection she hadn't felt since…since…

Max broke off when she started to sob. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Greenlee…"

She shoved his hands away. "Shut up! Shut the hell up! You're just like all the rest. You draw me in so that I start to feel, start to have hope…and then you cut me off!"

She stood up, and almost lost her balance. Max shot up and put his arms around her to steady her. She struggled to get away from him. "Get your hands off me!" Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Just go away! I don't ever want to see your face again!"

Reluctantly, Max started moving towards the door. Greenlee clutched her abdomen and moaned. He stopped. "Greenlee…are you okay?"

Her eyes widened. "Oh God. Something's happening. That felt like…like a contraction. I think. I don't know, but it didn't feel good." She doubled over and moaned again.

Max sped over to her and scooped her up. "I'm taking you to the hospital."

Erica unlocked the door to her car, making sure not to spill her coffee. She really didn't need the caffeine. Despite the early hour, she was wide awake and bursting with excitement over her upcoming interview in New York with Angelina Jolie. Angelina would be at the taping with her new baby – a perfect tableau for the New Beginnings theme. Erica sighed as she slipped into the driver seat. The clouds of her life were finally starting to lift. If she could get her relationship with Jackson back on track; somehow manage to get Kendall to throw Zach over for Ryan; and if Jeff would disappear like Greg, life would be near perfect.

Erica thought about her newest little grandbaby as she put the key in the ignition. She paused before turning it, frowning at the noise she heard. It sounded like a baby gurgling, as if thinking of Spike had conjured him up. Maybe she did need the caffeine.

The hairs on the back of her neck lifted and she knew without a doubt that she was being watched. She slowly turned her head. Her mouth fell open in horror. Greg Madden was in the back seat. He was holding Spike in his arms. "Oh Dear God. This can't be happening. Spike. You have my daughter's baby."

Tears welled in her eyes as Greg cradled Spike with one arm, and with the other he lifted a gun to her head. "Drive."