The Marriage of Nathan West

The Demand

"I'm sorry, what?"

Chelsea blinked innocently. "You heard me. Marry me and I won't tell the police anything else about your precious Maxie Jones. You did say you would do anything for her, didn't you?"

Nathan stared at her in stunned silence. She was completely serious. Chelsea fully expected him to consider the idea of marriage to keep her from telling lies about Maxie. He shook his head in disbelief. This woman sitting in front of him was not the same girl he had loved years ago. Not even close.

"Chelsea, do you hear yourself?" He asked, his brow furrowing in concern. "I mean, really hear yourself. You're blackmailing me into marriage. This isn't you. I know you were angry when I left but this... This is wrong. What happened to you?"

She recoiled as if he had slapped her. "What happened to me?" She echoed. "What happened to you? Who the hell is Nathan West? Not anyone I know! I want James Reeves back."

"I will never be James Reeves again, Chelsea. He's gone. Honestly, he never really existed in the first place."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh right, because you were adopted by Madeline. Whatever, James."

"It's Nathan."

"Fine. Nathan. Look, there's two ways this can go," she said calmly. "You agree to marry me and I tell the police I was wrong and Scott was fine when I looked in on him. Or you turn me down and I tell the cops I saw your precious Maxie bash Scott's skull in with a lamp. Which is it going to be?"

"You honestly think I would marry you just to keep Maxie out of prison? It's your word against hers and there's no evidence linking her to the murder." He shook his head. "My answer is no. I won't marry you. I'm in love with Maxie and I'm not going to let her get arrested for something I know she didn't do."

Chelsea sighed heavily and got to her feet. She picked up her purse off the side table by the door and rummaged through it, pulling out a business card. "You give me no choice...Nathan. Let's see, Josh has probably been pulled from the case by now all because you and he are friends. So who should I call? Do you think I should just call the homicide department and ask for the detective in charge of the Chambers' murder? Or I could just call Detective Alvarez again. I do have her number." She gave him a pained smile and turned her back on him. "You know, you mentioned evidence. That's interesting. I wonder if they've found a murder weapon yet. Probably not. They don't know where to look do they?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Chelsea shrugged. "I don't know. You're the detective, you figure it out. Now, I have a phone call to make."

Nathan's phone rang interrupting them. He answered it without thinking. "Nathan West."

"Nathan? Oh yeah," Eric returned. "Look, Jay, that Detective Marinelli was just here. He took Maxie to the police department for questioning."

"What?! When was this?"

"About five minutes ago. He wouldn't let me go with her."

Nathan swore under his breath. He'd spent too long away from Maxie. If he'd been there, he might have been able to talk some sense into Marinelli. Or at the very least, keep Maxie from saying anything that might implicate her in Marinelli's eyes. He caught a glimpse of Chelsea, grinning at him like the Cheshire Cat, and felt his anger welling again.

"Eric, can you find her a lawyer for now? I'll call someone I know in Port Charles but she's going to need help today."

"Sure, I bet I can talk Dan Maxwell into it. He owes you one."

"Thanks. I'll be in touch." He ended the call and rounded on Chelsea. "Maxie is being questioned at the station."

"Oh, that is terrible." She shrugged her shoulders and smiled at him. "Oh well. Excuse me, but I have a phone call to make. I just remembered something that might help with the investigation."

She knew. It hit him hard, like a blow to the gut. Chelsea had seen something and she knew enough to really hurt Maxie. If she made that phone call, Maxie's life as she knew it would be over. He had to do something.

Nathan took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "Wait."