CONFLICTED LOYALTIES

Marcus Taggert strode quickly through the hallways of Wyndemere, the Cassadine family home.  He looked every bit the picture of what he was – a man upon a mission.  Clad in a simple black linen suit, the detective managed to give the clothing the air of an expensive designer label.  The unbuttoned jacket hugged his broad shoulders; the sharply creased trousers drew attention to his long, muscled legs.

Under any other circumstances Marcus would have anticipated his time among the Cassadine family.  Well, he admitted to himself, he would have anticipated his time with one Cassadine in particular.  At that moment, however, Alexis Davis was not on his mind.

Marcus turned the corner and virtually collided with the object of his thoughts.  Alexis pressed a hand against his hard chest to halt the detective’s progress.

“Alexis?”

“The launch captain called me.  He told me that you were on your way up.”  Alexis could feel the heat of Marcus’ mocha-hued skin burn her fingertips through the pressed white shirt he wore. “Let’s talk for a moment.”

“That front page picture of your nephew told me everything I need to know,” Marcus replied tersely.

Alexis reluctantly removed her hand.  “We both know that picture isn’t what it seems.”

“It seems,” Marcus tilted his cleanly shaven head to one side, “to be the picture of a guy who left his wife at home to run off to the side of some other woman he used to know.  Is that about right?”

Marcus took Alexis’ silence as an admission that his words were true.  “Yeah.  I thought so.”  He tried to sidestep Alexis and continue on to his destination but she merely moved with him and blocked his path once more.

“Nikolas loves Gia.”

“You Cassadines must have a very different definition for the word ‘love’.”  Marcus drew closer to Alexis.  His gaze was intense and Alexis instinctively attempted to escape the pull of it.  “You see, there isn’t a woman on this earth – except my mother or Gia,” he clarified, “that could pull me away from your side.”  Marcus backed Alexis up until she felt the cool unyielding stone of Wyndemere’s walls at her back.  “Much less your bed.”  The handsome detective took note of Alexis’ open-mouthed astonishment at what was essentially a declaration of his feelings for her.  He had no time to enjoy or explore the situation, however. 

Marcus abruptly turned away.  “My baby sister needs me.”  He paused in the doorway.  “You wanna know,” he looked back over his shoulder, “what love is?  Ask Gia.  Her love for your nephew is the only thing keeping me from finding him and beating him to a bloody pulp.”  

~ Over in Llanview, that same night ~