Accident Prone

Liz woke up cocooned in Max's embrace.

She smiled and rubbed her cheek against his firm chest while taking a deep breath to inhale his scent.

"Do you need to go to work today?", Max asked.

Liz looked up at Max with a puzzled expression. He didn't wish her a good morning, and his brows are furrowed. What happened? They caught the bad guys who were plotting against the Alpha group, so he should be in a better mood.

She decided to answer his question. "It's Friday so… no."

"Good."

"Good morning, Max.", Liz said.

Max let out a long exhale and tightened his hold on Liz. "Good morning, love."

"Why are you in a bad mood from early morning?", Liz asked with a drowsy smile while trying to cheer him up. She noticed dark circles around his eyes and gently ran her fingers over his cheek. "Did you even sleep?"

The whole night Max thought about how to tell Liz about that phone call recording but he couldn't find a good way to break the news, so he went to the point. "Irene is after you."

"We know that. She wants to use me to get to you."

Max put his hands over Liz's to stop the cheek-cuddling which was making him smile a little. She needed to understand that this was serious.

"No, I mean… for real. Liz, Irene wanted to hire assassins to kill you."

Liz's eyes widened. "You are kidding."

"Do you think I would joke about something like that?"

"I don't know… is it April 1st?" Liz asked and saw that Max was not in the mood for jokes. "Why would she want me dead? Why would anyone want me dead? I don't remember harming anyone. And it's not like I am important. I am just a doctor."

"Irene is crazy, and she does not like that I am happy without her in the picture. You might be just a doctor to many, but for me, you are my whole world, and Irene knows that. By hurting you, she will hurt me. I am so sorry Liz, for dragging you into this mess. If I realized what kind of a person Irene is, a long time ago, none of this would happen."

Liz looked at Max with sparkles in her eyes. "I love you, Max."

Max observed Liz's goofy smile. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Yes. You said that I am your whole world.", Liz said dreamily.

Normally, Max would be ecstatic to get a reaction like this from Liz. But this is not normal.

"Liz, this is serious."

"Yes, Max. I am seriously in love with you.", Liz purred.

Max wanted to hug her and kiss her, and at the same time to shake her violently so that she stops the lovey-dovey mood. She is in danger! "I think you should go to New York."

"Only if you come with me."

Max refused. "I need to find Irene and stop this madness."

"How will you find her?"

"I don't know.", Max admitted. "We are watching her phone, email, bank accounts, and if that does not work, I will turn every rock to see if she is under it."

Liz thought that he is adorable. "That is a lot of rocks, Max, and it will take a lot of time. If you do that, Irene won."

"What do you mean?"

"Her intention is to separate us. If I go to New York and you stay in Seattle, she won."

"Elizabeth, if she kills you, I…"

"Shh…", Liz put her finger over Max's lips. "If she went to the length of hiring assassins, here or New York, or anywhere else, it will not make any difference. And before you say that I should go into hiding, I can't do that. I have a life and a job, and it might take a while to find Irene… or what if you don't find her? She might be in the Maldives or at the top of a snowy mountain, enjoying her life. Am I supposed to be stuck in a bunker? Besides, if my days are numbered, I want to spend what is left of them with you."

Max's heart ached and expanded at the same time. Liz said that she wants to spend the rest of her life with him!

"What am I going to do with you?"

Liz realized that she won this argument. "You can kiss me, to begin with." She pursed her lips, indicating the location where she wants to be kissed.

Max pecked her lips. "I wish that you take this situation seriously."

"Max, our whole lives are nothing more than a string of days and none of us knows when the string will end. I choose to live my life on my own terms. I choose to be happy, with you."

"Don't leave my sight.", he said firmly.

"Done."

"You will have security around you all the time."

Liz smiled. "As long as they give me privacy when it's necessary, I don't mind. Today, I don't have work, and I will accompany you to your office."

Max exhaled helplessly. He ran out of points.

"Max? How do you know that she hired assassins?"

"Irene called Mia's dad so… Mia and Hunter are in Portland."

"Oh, OK."

Max was confused. He expected all kinds of reactions, but Liz is unusually calm. "Is that all you have to say?"

"It's early to say anything. I have no idea what is going on outside, but right here is just the two of us and I feel safe. Let me enjoy this. Now I only want to cuddle with my handsome boyfriend.", she said and snuggled closer to Max who hugged her tightly with the hope that they can merge into one, and then he wouldn't need to worry about her being hurt because she would be part of him. Forever.

…

That day Liz spent the day in Max's office, as promised.

Max would rush to his office after every meeting and relax visibly when he saw her unharmed, even though he knew that there is security in the hallway and on the top floor where his office is, and that cameras are capturing everything, and that there is no way for Irene or anyone else to sneak in.

Just as Max guessed, Irene didn't call Fabricio back and with that, her trail went cold, and they had no other leads to find her.

Mia and Hunter returned on Sunday afternoon from Portland and they all had dinner in Max's apartment. Other than Liz, Max, Mia, and Hunter, Quentin and Brianna joined as well.

They all discussed issues related to Irene and how to ensure Liz's safety, but they couldn't come up with anything solid other than to keep their eyes open and hope that Irene will make a mistake that will allow them to trace her.

Mia looked at the reports Ian provided and pursed her lips.

"She is smart…", Mia had to acknowledge that Irene is not simple. "Since she joined the Alpha group, Irene withdrew thousands of dollars in cash. If she got them all in one chunk, it would alert the bank, but she did it systematically over time in small batches, so it went undetected."

Hunter agreed with Mia. "And she made sure to leave substantial amounts on each account, so no one would suspect that she is planning to bail out."

"Is there nothing we can do to catch her?", Brianna asked with concern obvious in her voice.

Max shook his head helplessly. "I have my men and associates keeping their eyes and ears open for Irene Brooks. They have her photo and information. However, if she changed her name and hairstyle, she became invisible. With all the money she withdrew, she is sitting on a lot of cash, or maybe she deposited it in an account under a different name."

"Irene has a few relatives, but she is not close to any of them.", Quentin said after reading Irene's file. "Considering that she was not seen exiting the Silver Club after meeting with Mr. Bolton, she knew that she was being followed. She probably had a disguise ready..."

Liz looked at five people who gathered and were concerned about her wellbeing and her heart warmed.

To say that Liz was not stressed would be a lie, but what can she do? How does one defend against unknown dangers?

Irene tried to get her hands on Max and failed.

Irene tried to sabotage the Alpha group and failed.

Irene tried to hire assassins to kill Liz and failed.

Liz accepted additional security from Max and promised to be careful, even though she was not sure what to be careful of.

Irene waited six years before she returned to Max's life, and that told Liz that Irene holds grudges for a long time.

Liz's assumption was that Irene will lay low until they all relax and forget about her and then Irene will make her move when no one expects it. But Liz didn't want to say that aloud because it would only worry Max more.

Liz was angry that Irene broke up with Max six years ago, yet she still has the power to turn his life upside down.

Liz had no idea how Irene's brain works, but Liz decided to cherish every day she has with Max and not to allow Irene to spoil her happiness.

---

If you are not reading this at 'W e b n o v e l .. c o m', then the content you're reading is stolen! Please support the author by reading this novel from the original source.