It had been three weeks since Marie had walked into Logan’s life and changed it for the better. Three weeks since he had told her he loved her. Three weeks since she had broken down in his arms and told him everything.
He didn’t know what to think at first. After all, Stryker could have sent her out to keep tabs on him. But eventually, he had seen sense; the way she knew everything about him, the pictures she had of the two of them, the way she spoke of their last night together. Logan didn’t need his heightened senses to know she wasn’t lying, he could tell by the raw emotion in her voice and eyes. So he had held her while she cried and watched her as she slept.
When Marie awoke it was light outside, and the birds were chirping happily outside the bedroom window. She leaned over Logan’s side of the bed and looked at the clock on the nightstand, sighed when she realised it was only 6:15, and forced herself out of bed. Wrapping one of Logan’s shirts around her, Marie went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Logan had made a fresh pot before he went to work and, feeling that it was still warm, she frowned at the thought that she had just missed him.
Marie was halfway to the bedroom when heavy footfalls were heard on the front porch and she stopped in her tracks. Smiling to herself, Marie made her way to the door, thinking Logan must have forgotten something. But it wasn’t Logan who greeted her when she opened the door.
Her smile faded as Marie looked up into the face of David North. Logan’s brief memories of this dangerous man flooded her mind, only for a nano second, but he saw her freeze momentarily. Before Marie had time to react, a large, rough hand was wrapped around her throat and she was forced against the wall.
“Well,” he breathed against her lips as she struggled to regain her own breath. “Logan’s got himself a pretty sweet deal here, hasn‘t he.” When Marie tried to talk, David shushed her, placing a finger over her lips. He slowly began moving his free hand down, over her soft curves, and further until he reached her apex. When he lifted the hem of Logan’s shirt from where it lay against Marie’s thighs, she swiftly brought her knee up to collide with David’s balls. He immediately let her go to cradle his aching manhood, and she fought to stay on her feet as she got her breathing under control.
Marie took in David’s appearance as he moved to pin her again. He was about the same height as Logan ,his hair was short and black, and he wore green army fatigues.
“Let me go.” she said when David spun her around, pressing her forward against the wall so she couldn’t fight him. Marie could also feel something she both assumed and hoped was a gun pressed against her lower back.
He took both of her wrists in one hand and pinned them above her head, breathing against her neck as he did. “I don‘t think so, sweetheart.” David leaned in further, pressing his still tender hardness into her lower back. “I think I want to have a little fun before we get interrupted.”
“Too late for that.” David’s weight was suddenly gone, and Marie turned in time to see him on the floor at Victor Creed’s feet. She almost gasped when she saw his dark brown talons, the tips glistening with David’s blood. She didn’t have time ask what the hell was going on before Logan came running in, still bleeding from a rapidly healing his head wound.
“Oh my God, are you okay?” She ran her hands up Logan’s arms and her fingers caressed his jaw and lips. He took her hands in his when he answered.
“I‘m fine, baby.” Logan looked Marie in the eye and kissed her palm. “But I need to get you somewhere safe.” Marie looked into Logan’s eyes for a moment longer before her thoughts were interrupted by Victor.
“This is all really touching, but you need to get moving if you don‘t want your girlfriend to end up in some lab.” Logan nodded silently to Victor, and pulled Marie gently to her feet. Guiding her to the bedroom, he told her to dress and she did so absently while trying to understand what the hell was happening.
“Who is he?” she asked, pulling her jeans up over her long legs when Victor flipped David over and took a small black device from the unconscious mans sleeve.
“He‘s a very bad man.” Victor told her. “Be quiet.” Victor pushed a little button on the side of the gadget and spoke into it. “They‘re gone. What now?”
“Victor?” the voice on the other end asked “Where‘s Agent Zero?”
“Out cold. Looks pretty beat up, too, but he‘s still alive.” Victor said as Marie got to her feet, dragging the dark denim over her hips and looking around for her boots. She heard Stryker heave a sigh and he was silent as he gathered his thoughts.
“He‘s not that beat up.” Marie argued. Victor looked down at David to confirm this and thought for a moment, reaching down to grab the oblivious man by the collar. Marie was about to ask what he intended to do when Victor landed a solid punch to David’s face and dropped him rather unceremoniously onto the floor again.
“Happy now?” Victor asked facetiously.
“Overjoyed.” Marie deadpanned before turning to Logan and enquiring “What the hell did you do with my boots?” Logan stopped in his tracks to think, turning to face the bed and miming throwing something over his shoulder.
“Under the dresser?” Marie got down on her knees to look under the dresser and frowned when she stood up, boots in hand.
“How did they get under - oh.” Marie blushed as she thought back to the night before and pulled on dark brown ankle boots.
Victor was about to chime in with some inappropriate comment or another when Stryker cut him off. “What are you doing there anyway?” Logan shot Victor a worried look before the larger man replied.
“You sent that ass-hat after her alone.” he stated. “You really thought he could just walk out of here without a scratch?” It was the truth. He couldn’t argue, right?
“So you thought you‘d go back him up.” Stryker finished for him.
“Looks like I‘m kind of late though.” Victor was starting to worry. He knew Stryker wasn’t stupid and he was probably keeping tabs on all of them.
“I don‘t believe you, Victor.”
“What?” the feral mutant was clearly annoyed when he spoke again.
“You could never do what needed to be done when it came to your brother.”
“Twist!” Marie was sincerely shocked by what she had just heard, but she knew that Logan would have came clean about his brother trying to kill her, had he remembered.
“Stryker?” Victor barked into the tiny black comm unit, but answer came there none. He threw the device to the floor and shouted “Shit!”
“What the hell is going on?” Marie demanded when Logan re-emerged from the bedroom with both of their bags.
He ignored her, instead asking Victor “How long do you think we have?”
“Half an hour tops.” Victor told him, running a large, taloned hand over his face. The two of them set about packing up the truck, not wanting to hear the cleanup team’s helicopter coming over the ridge. Marie walked out onto the front porch, not really knowing what to do, or even what was going on.
“Is anybody going to explain this to me or do I have to guess?” she asked, clearly agitated.
“Simple.” Victor said, “In about twenty five minutes, this place is going to be levelled by a big-ass helicopter. Any other questions?” Marie opened her mouth to speak when Logan cut her off.
“We don‘t have time for a Q and A, we need to get on the road.” he said as he tied a tarp over the flatbed. He held out his hand for Marie, and half smiled when she moved forward and took it in her own smaller one. She climbed into the truck ahead of Logan, sitting between him and Victor as the engine roared to life. “We‘ll drop you on the way.” he told Victor, swinging the wheel around and heading quickly down the mountain road.
“Any idea where you’re going?” Victor asked with a certain softness and concern in his voice Logan hadn’t heard in some time. Marie thought for a long moment before responding, unsure of how they would react.
“I know where to go."