BountyHunterpart23

Isabel Evans was waiting on the front porch of the little house she rented. She was wearing a pair of cut-off's and a T-shirt, no shoes. When Michel Guerin pulled her car up front and got out, he stared at her.

"What are you doing?"

"I was packing," she placed one hand on her hip and invited him in. "There's no answer at Max's and he's not answering his cell or his pager." She slammed the door in back of them. "Do you really think he did something?"

"Maria told me he knows where Liz is," he ran his hands through his hair.

"Where is she?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, I don't think he actually told her that."

"What did he tell her?" Isabel folded her arms over her chest, irritation running rampant, obvious in the twitch of her eye.

"She didn't say," he said while thinking that he didn't give her a chance to tell him what Max had told her. All he had been concerned about was laying her out on Isabel's car. "He's your brother, what do you think he's thinking?"

"What is Max thinking?" Isabel began to pace amid the clutter of scattered boxes. "I have no idea what Max is thinking."

"You gotta do better than that Iz," Michael hated the worry he was feeling. "But I can't figure out why she would go with him and leave her purse laying on the ground and her key in the lock�"

"She wouldn't have," Isabel threw her hands in the air. "There's no way she would do that. She's a trained professional Michael; she's not stupid. He would have had to catch her off guard."

"Like if her mind was on something else�" Michael damned himself and every parking lot in Roswell. "Where would he take her and why?"

"To reason with her," Isabel nodded. "Okay, Max is like the most non-violent person on the planet, he wouldn't hurt her. He might talk her to death and analyze her until she wishes he was just violent, but he wouldn't hurt her."

"What about Liz Parker?"

She shook her head. "I don't know anything about Liz Parker."

"Okay, get shoes on we're going out to find your fucking brother and kick his ass."

* * *

As Maria stepped into the apartment, she knew it hadn't been lived in very long. The furniture was sparse and there was nothing personal sitting around. A couch, coffee table and TV were the predominant fixtures in the living room. A small table and three chairs sat just outside the kitchen entry.

She let Max lead her to the couch and sat down in a plopping movement. The hem of her dress was high; the V of her panties was as about as close to visible as possible, but Maria didn't seem to care. When Liz sat down next to her and reached her hands out to fix Maria's dress, she glared until Liz backed off.

"Maria," Max sat on the coffee table facing her. "You just need to listen to Liz and then you'll understand that she's not a bad person and doesn't deserve to spend any time in jail."

"Uck oou." Maria didn't think that Max deserved better than that right now.

"If I remove the tape from your mouth, will you not scream?"

Maria raised one eyebrow and nodded. She closed her eyes when she saw the hand of Max Evans coming at her and waited. The inevitable ripping of tape, skin and hair made her cringe and fight a scream. "Bastard!"

"I'm sorry," Max rolled the tape up into a ball and set it next to him.

"You should be, what the hell are you thinking kidnapping me?" She directed her anger at Max because she knew that if she had looked in Liz's direction she would have gotten even more pissed.

"We're not kidnapping you-"

"The fuck you aren't. I'm bound and until seconds ago, I was gagged. I am here against my own free will. That Mr. Evans constitutes kidnapping and kidnapping is a felony and is punishable by a dime in prison. Maybe you and your girlfriend here could get a twofer deal."

"Max�" Liz's voice was shaky and it drew the attention of a very hot and very pissed off Maria DeLuca. "I'm sorry-"

"Shut up, you're the last person I want to hear anything from. I can't believe that you'd drag a respected person like Max down with you."

"She's not dragging me down," Max touched Maria's bare leg to draw her attention back to him. "Liz came to me for help and I'm helping. Getting you here was my idea."

"You know, " Maria licked her lips feeling some of the left over adhesive residue under her tongue. "That makes it even worse."

"It does?" A smile played on his lips.

"Yeah, it does. Your sister and your friend are trying to do a job and you're standing in their way like an ass. You're helping a felon, turning into a felon, while your sister is trying to make a living."

"They'll understand-"

"I wouldn't. I don't. Why me Max?" Maria shifted on the couch feeling the rough tweed on the back of her bare thighs. "Why not go to them if you think they'll understand?"

"Because you're the one who counts," Max raised his eyebrows. "You're not going to give up until you have Liz."

"You're right," Maria cast an evil glare towards Liz Parker. "And you, you little bitch, you clocked me when I thought about listening to you in Vegas. There are no second chances with Maria DeLuca."

"I'm sorry," Liz looked down to the folded hands in her lap. "I was scared. I'm still scared."

"You should be, you're going to end up being someone's bitch in prison," she shifted her eyes back to Max, "You both are."

"Just listen to her, then decide what to do. Okay Maria?" Max asked, his deep dark eyes pleading.

"How about we call your sister and Michael over and then we can all listen together?"

"You first." Max nodded towards Liz.

* * *
"Oh my God!" Isabel screamed as she held on the dashboard. "Please tell me you haven't been driving my car like this all night!"

Michael smiled to himself as he straightened the car out after an incredibly sharp turn. "You don't think Max would do anything really stupid, do you?"

"I don't have any- Oh my God! Do you not see those people?" Isabel screamed and closed her eyes as Michael barreled through a crosswalk.

"They didn't have the signal," he replied nonchalantly.

Isabel took a deep breath before opening her eyes. "Okay, where are we going?"

"To the hotel, maybe you'll see something I didn't since I was in a state of�Pissedoffness when I was there."

"I think you mean you were in a state of worry," Isabel looked across to her partner. "You got it bad Guerin, it's written all over your face."

He didn't answer her. He didn't have to. She'd had his number since she'd first seen him and DeLuca together. He did have it bad. Real bad. He drove in silence to the hotel and parked in the same spot as before right next to Maria's jeep.

"You have her key?" Isabel asked getting out of the car and looking around the lot.

Michael grabbed the red purse from the backseat and produced the card key from inside. "She never made it in her room."

"Maybe she did, maybe she got in and was leaving again?" Isabel shrugged. "Maybe she left a clue about where she was headed."

Michael nodded although filled with doubt and followed Isabel's lead. When she stopped in the middle of the lot and cocked her head to one side, he ran into the back of her.

"Jesus Michael, we look like two of the three Stooges out here," she sighed as only Isabel can. She pointed to a parking place not far from where they had parked. "Over there, do you see something?"

Michael followed her gaze, then followed her over to the empty parking spot. He watched as Isabel bent down and picked up something.

"What is it?"

Isabel shook her head and handed Michael what she had picked up. A pen. A silver pen engraved with the name: Max Evans.

"I gave it to him for Christmas last year." She rolled her eyes. "Stupid."

"I am really going to kick his ass when I find him. I'll show him anti-social personality disorder until he can't see straight!"

TBC