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Author�s Note: You�ll want to read �Beautiful Angel� series before this one, but I suppose it could stand alone. Even though it�s sort of explained in the first paragraph, Max and Logan are now married.
I tried to put the wedding in, but it just wasn�t working for me and my friends didn�t like it that much :) hehehe
Thank you to everyone who encouraged me during Beautiful Angel. Sorry this sequel�s taken so long :) Let me know if this is as good as you�d hoped... thanx!

Chapter 1: Prisoner

**One Year after "Beautiful Angel"**

Max walked back into the Penthouse she and Logan lived in. She passed a side table with a
picture frame on it. The picture was one of Logan and Max on their wedding day. She wore a
dress that was a replica of the one in her dream more than a year ago. She walked into Logan's
office and leaned against the desk.

He looked up from his computer screen. "How'd it go?"

"Couldn't get to close, so I didn't hear anything they said. I did see your guy Chase pass some
money over. I didn't recognize anyone but Chase."

"Good. I'll talk to my contacts and see if I can rustle anything else up."

"Cool. So, what's for dinner...hun?" Max asked laughing.

She pushed off the desk as Logan stood, "Funny." Max stopped laughing and put a hand to her
head.

"Woa," she said softly.

"What's wrong?" Logan asked putting a hand on her waist.

"Um... I don't know what that was, but it's gone."

"Do you think it's from whatever they put in your head last year? I mean, it has been a year and
nothing's happened."

"I think you destroyed everything they did by smashing that... thing. I'm okay."

They headed into the kitchen when Logan's cell phone rang. He picked it up as Max continued
into the kitchen. "Hello?... This is he... Okay... Great, thank you... Yes, I'll inform Eyes Only."

He walked into the kitchen to find Max snacking on an apple. "Who was that?" she asked.

"My informant. Chase has been spotted at a warehouse in sector 6."

"I'm up for it."

"Are you sure?"

Max walked over to Logan and stared him in the face. "Logan, I can still take care of myself. I'll
be fine."

"I just worry about you."

"I know. And I love you for that, but just because you're my husband, doesn't mean you have to
be the big macho man."

Logan leaned down and kissed her. "Be careful."

"Always."

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When she arrived at Chase's warehouse, she hid her motorcycle and snuck up to the side door.
Looking inside, she didn't see anything happening; in fact, she didn't see anyone at all.

'That's odd,' she thought. 'Maybe I'm too late. They must have-' She stopped her train of
thought when a wave of dizziness hit her again.

As soon as it passed, she slowly opened the door and stepped silently into the warehouse. She
saw a table and a filing cabinet sitting on one side and, looking around, she snuck over to open
the cabinet.

Doors and windows opened all around her, the sides, from the ceiling, and guns pointed at her. 'I
am seriously losing my touch,' she thought.

A couple of men lowered their weapons and moved closer to their catch. "So," said the one on
the right, "you must work for Eyes Only."

"I'm just looking for a good party." Usually she wouldn't mind a fight, but she wasn't feeling to
well and wanted to head home.

The man shrugged. "It's not important."

"This party's boring. I'm just going to head home." Max started walking towards the main door
when the man that had been on the left grabbed her arm.

"Not so fast, girl." Max sighed and flipped him on his back.

"Like I said. I should head home."

The other man rushed her and they engaged in a short fist fight with Max winning. The other
people surrounding her started shooting and she ran up the side of the warehouse and jumped
through the roof. She fought the 4 men on the roof and ran to the edge. She jumped off and as
she was falling, one man struggled to him feet and pulled up his weapon. He aimed at the
jumping girl and fired.

Max hit the ground harder than an X5 from Manticore should have and ran to her motorcycle.
She hopped on and with the shouting men's words lost behind her, she rode off into the
darkness...

And right back to her and Logan's Penthouse. She parked and secured her motorcycle and went
up the elevator to her home. Standing on the elevator, the adrenaline running off, she noticed the
pain in her side.

The doors opened and she got off the elevator. Logan was waiting for her and his face grew a
look of concern when she came limping in.

He stepped forward and without a word followed her to the couch, where she sat down.

"What happened?"

"Ambush. Chase's people were waiting for Eyes Only."

"I wonder how they knew."

"Probably that informant of yours. I didn't even see Chase there. He's most likely on the other
side of the world by now."

"It doesn't matter. The good thing is that you're okay."

Max shifted a bit. "I don't know about that..." She lifted up the side of her shirt to how a
bleeding wound.

"Oh, God," Logan whispered. Scenes from when he had found her on the ground that day they
decided to attack Manticore flashed through his mind. Kneeling beside her and whispering words
of comfort that, even to his own ears, were lies. Then, watching his beloved die in his arms, her
blood covering his hands.

Max could see it in his face. "No, Logan, it's okay. It's just a graze."

"I shouldn't have sent you out there. I should have realized you weren't feeling well..."

"No, Logan, this was my choice. I just need to go to the bathroom and wrap it."

"I'm going to take you to the hospital."

"No. Logan, it's not going to be like before."

Logan sat back down and ran a hand through his rumpled hair as Max walked back to the
bathroom. Almost 5 minutes later, he heard something from the bathroom.

He stood up. "Max? Are you okay?" No answer. "Max?" He walked to the door and saw she
had left it open just a bit. He pushed the door open and saw Max laying on the bathroom floor
with a roll of gauze on the floor next to her.

He fell to the floor and checked for a pulse. It was there, but a little jumpy. "Max!?" She moved
her head a bit, which Logan took as a good sign. He ran back into the bedroom and picked up
the phone. He dialed, but after about 5 rings, there was no answer.

Against his better judgment, he went back into the bathroom and picked her up in his arms. He
cradled her against his chest and left the Penthouse.

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Chapter 2