Outspoken Angel (20 page)

“Max,” she huffed. “If I knew you were going
to throw such a hissy fit, I wouldn’t have told you.”

He paused long enough to growl under his
breath then picked up where he left off.

“I’ll be just fine.” She touched her fingers
to her temples to quell the dizziness from his pacing. “I’ve got to
get some work done. Besides, Rachel will be with me.”

“Rachel isn’t much bigger than you, Short
Stuff.”

She beckoned him with a crook of her finger.
“Come here.”

He quit pacing and sat down beside her.

“Now,” she began patiently, “I know you want
to protect me, but you can’t do that forever.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Yes, I can.”

She pressed one pink polished nail over his
lips. “I won’t let him win.”

His silence almost convinced her Max
understood her need to leave him behind. Until he spoke. “Rachel’s
pregnant.”

“The house is two miles away!” she squealed,
throwing her hands in the air.

He reached to wind his fingers through her
side curls. “You really want to go alone don’t you?”

“Yes. I need to maintain some sense of
normalcy for my own sanity.”

He yanked a curl before dropping his hand.
“You’re not sane.”

She smiled at his gentle teasing. “I must not
be to keep you around.”

The ringing telephone saved her from his next
jab at sanity. She picked it up and glanced at the caller ID. Max
cleared his throat.

Cameron laid a hand on his forearm. “Relax,
it’s Holly.”

Max nodded and eased back against the
couch.

“Hi, Holly.”

“Hey, Cameron. Are you busy?”

Cameron glanced at Max and raised an eyebrow.
“Actually, I was just on my way out.”

“Alone?”

The concern in Holly’s voice made Cameron
frown. “No, Rachel and I are supposed to finish a house today.”

A small silence captured the
conversation.

“Holly, is everything okay?”

Holly sighed. “Yes. I just called to ask a
huge favor. One of my aerobics instructors can’t teach his classes
today and I wondered if you’d fill in.”

Cameron checked her watch, amazed by Holly’s
phone call. Very rarely did Holly ask for help.

“What time?”

“The first one is in thirty minutes. The
other two are later this afternoon.”

“Tell you what. If you can find someone else
for the morning, I’ll take the two afternoon classes.”

Another tense silence fell over the line.

“Holly?”

“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking. Are you sure
you can’t teach the morning class? It’s a beginner class and a lot
less stressful.”

Cameron bit her lip. Why was Holly so
persistent? “I’ve already given Rachel the extra hour she needs to
get ready.”

Holly’s lighthearted giggle soothed Cameron’s
guilt. “Say no more. Thanks anyway. I’ll see you this
afternoon.”

Cameron placed the phone back on the table,
still curious about Holly’s call.

“Well?” Max prompted.

“She asked to teach a few aerobics classes
today.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me. You’d
probably be safer at the gym.”

“I agreed to teach this afternoon.”

“Why don’t you and Rachel reschedule?”

Cameron pinned him with a pointed glare.
“What is it about interior decorating that upsets you people?”

“You people?”

She shook her head. “Holly nearly insisted I
teach the morning class.”

“Why?”

“I have no idea, but you heard me. I can
teach after Rachel and I are finished.”

His lips trembled as his eyes held hers for a
brief second. “You’ll go straight there and straight home.”

She lifted her chin. “I’ll let that order
slide because I know you’re worried.”

He captured her wrist with his fingers.
“Promise.”

“Okay! Geez, Max, straight there and straight
home.”

“Do the doors have locks?”

She nodded. “The structure is completely
finished. We’re working on the inside.”

His thumb caressed the back of her hand as
she waited for his next ultimatum, most likely something to do with
mace or eye-jabbing.

“On one condition,” he said finally.

Of course. She attempted to distract him.
“You’re obsessed with your head rub.”

A sly smile replaced his scowl. “That’s not
the condition.”

“What then?”

He drew her into his arms and tucked a
wayward curl behind her ear.

“I want to ring your bell once before you
leave.”

When Cameron finally managed to extract
herself from Max’s hold, she was twenty minutes late. Luckily,
Rachel wasn’t keeping time. Cameron glanced casually into her rear
view mirror as she weaved her Lexus in and out of traffic, and
grinned mischievously as she accelerated.

“Look who we have here, Rachel,” she sang.
“The invisible man is following us.”

Rachel leaned forward and glanced into the
side mirror. “I thought you said he agreed to let us go alone.”

“He lied.” Cameron changed lanes again.

Rachel leaned back against her seat. “He’s
just concerned.”

Cameron pointed at the department store
swiftly approaching. “Look! Bergmann’s is having a shoe sale!”

Rachel turned and winked. “Should we?”

“Oh, we should,” Cameron answered
matter-of-factly, already steering into the parking lot.

Cameron shifted the car into park and turned
off the engine. She walked to the passenger side and waited
patiently for Rachel to unbuckle, then offered a hand.

“Need a boost?”

Rachel smiled and accepted Cameron’s help.
“Thanks. What about Max?”

Cameron set the car alarm and they headed
inside. “What about him?”

“Do you think he’ll come in?”

Cameron almost laughed out loud at Rachel’s
question, but caught herself. Max’s position as bodyguard for Hawke
and Rachel was a whole different matter. He guarded them as a
matter of life and death. He guarded her ... well, because he loved
her. Cameron’s heart swelled at that thought. As much as she loved
him in return, he would just have to accept her independence.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she uttered. “Max
wouldn’t be caught dead shopping, let alone shopping for
shoes.”

Damn
. Max slapped his hands against
the steering wheel. Of course she couldn’t go straight to the
house. No, that would be too easy. He glanced up at the gigantic
red and white sale sign and cursed again. What the woman saw in
shoes he’d never know. Sighing heavily, he parked in a secluded
spot to wait.

Seconds felt like minutes as they ticked by,
his frustration increased. Squinting, he scanned the length of the
parking lot. Not impressed by the crowd of people shopping, he
stepped out of the truck and inched his way to the employees’
entrance under cover of the shadows of the afternoon sun.

Once inside, he spotted Cameron and Rachel
immediately near the Louis Vuitton display. He patted himself on
the back when he remembered those were Cameron’s favorite. He eased
back against a corner rack and settled in to wait them out.

Cameron giggled as she slipped another pump
on her foot. “Bigfoot on your left.”

Rachel lifted her head. “Where?”

“Don’t look!” Cameron scolded. “He’s in the
far corner by the employees’ entrance.”

“Should we say hi?”

“Nah, let’s have him paged.”

Rachel balanced several shoe boxes against
her protruding midsection. “Somehow I don’t think he’d
respond.”

“Oh, he’d respond, alright,” Cameron argued
as she juggled her own purchases, “but only to cause a scene.”

“Be nice, Cameron,” Rachel scolded
playfully.

Cameron couldn’t help but smile as she and
Rachel walked back to the car. The day just got better and better.
A shoe sale always made her happy, and even Max’s tagging along
couldn’t dampen her spirits.

Cameron squeezed the button on her remote to
unlock the car doors. The ear-piercing yelp of the unlocked signal
echoed off the dry, humid afternoon as she popped the trunk and
stowed their loot inside. Once inside the car, she noticed Rachel’s
strawberry-red face flash discomfort from the passenger seat.
Cameron started the car and blasted the air conditioner.

“It’s too hot to lower the top,” she said,
fastening her seatbelt.

Rachel adjusted the vents to blow cool air on
her face. “Trust me, it’s even hotter than you think.”

Cameron pulled out of the parking lot and
headed toward the house located just outside the city limits. The
traffic lightened as they neared the edge of town which made Max a
prominent fixture in her rearview mirror.

Cameron pressed harder on the gas pedal. “I’m
going to lose Max.”

Rachel gave a half laugh. “I don’t think
anybody can lose Max.”

“Watch me,” she said, determined to do just
that.

She checked the rearview mirror and changed
lanes twice before she glanced into the mirror again, disappointed
to see Max’s driving lights wink at her. Gliding up to a stop sign,
she pushed the brake pedal all the way to the floor before she
coasted to a rolling stop.

Cameron frowned and pumped the pedal again,
relieved when the car came to a complete stop.

“Problem?” Rachel asked.

Cameron gave her a confident smile. “No,
guess I’m a little low on brake fluid.” She accelerated and kept
her pace.

The arrogant sports car topped a hill and
picked up speed as it raced down the other side. Anticipating the
upcoming curves, Cameron smashed the brake pedal with one Louis
Vuitton peep toe heel. The car smirked and continued its outrageous
pace. She tapped the pedal a few more times.

“Cameron, don’t you think you should slow
down?” Rachel suggested meekly. “This road is dangerous if you’re
going too fast.”

Cameron squashed the brake pedal on the
floor. “I’m trying, Rachel! The car won’t stop, or even slow
down!”

“What about the emergency brake?” Rachel
braced one hand against the door and placed the other hand over her
stomach.

Cameron’s ears rang as she yanked the
emergency brake. The lever clicked in the chilling tenseness,
unable to convince the rebellious sports car to slow down.

“The brakes aren’t working at all, Rachel,”
she said helplessly. “We’re going to crash.”

Determined to minimize the impending damage,
Cameron steered off the road onto the grass, hoping to distract the
car from its race. The thick grass hugged the spinning tires and
slowed the car somewhat, but not before a clump of trees appeared
directly in its path.

Cameron made a last minute decision and cut
the wheel so that her side of the car collided with the trunk of
the nearest tree. An evil hissing resounded in the baited silence
that followed.

“Max,” she murmured as the blackness
swallowed her.

Max cursed as he matched Cameron’s speed,
concerned when she didn’t attempt to slow down. The curves ahead
would swallow her at the speed she traveled. Ice spread through his
stomach as he tightened his fingers around the steering wheel.
Something had to be wrong. Cameron was carefree, not careless,
especially where Rachel was concerned.

His heart stopped as he helplessly watched
the shiny silver bullet leave the road, spin twice, and then
sideswipe a tree before coming to a dead stop. Smoke flew from his
tires as he skidded to a stop and jumped out of the truck as soon
as he jammed it into park. He swallowed the nausea in his throat at
the sight of twisted metal and concentrated on dialing 911 from his
cell phone.

His shoulders heaved as he forced himself to
stay calm. He approached the car cautiously, oddly relieved to see
Rachel frantically fighting her seatbelt and screaming Cameron’s
name.

“Rachel, calm down,” he ordered.

“Max! My seatbelt is jammed. Get me out and
check on Cameron. She won’t answer me.”

Max jerked on the metal door handle, only to
find it stuck. He braced his left foot against the side of the car
and pulled on the door with all his strength. The door croaked and
moaned, then came loose in his bulky grip.

“Try to relax.” He kept his voice low with
deceptive calmness.

He pulled a knife from his boot and sliced
through her seatbelt with steady hands, thankful the airbags
deployed.

“Are you hurt?” He ran his hands over
Rachel’s arms and legs, checked her eyes for dilation and felt her
head for bumps, bruises or cuts.

“I’m fine. Just see about Cameron,” Rachel
said meekly, obviously distraught by her unresponsiveness.

Max carried Rachel to his truck, placed her
in the seat and handed her his cell phone.

“Call Hawke. I already called 911.” He left
her dialing and ran back to Cameron.

He crawled through the passenger side and
placed two fingers against Cameron’s creamy neck. The strong,
steady pulse throbbed at his touch. He exhaled. What he wouldn’t
give to hear her smart mouth sass him right now.

“Cameron! Talk to me. Wake up, Sweetheart.”
He tried to nudge her awake.

Not knowing where she was hurt, he was afraid
to touch her. He brushed his fingers cautiously over the cuts on
her forehead and her left arm from the broken glass. With one
smooth flick of his wrist, he cut her seatbelt loose and punctured
a hole in the airbag.

“Max?” she whispered as her eyes fluttered
open, and then closed again. “Get me out of here.”

“I wish I could, but it looks like we’ll have
to wait for the fire department. Where do you hurt?”

She moaned. “Everywhere. Rachel? Where’s
Rachel?” Her eyes flew open as she began to panic and struggle to
escape her steel cage. “Is she okay? What about the baby?”

“Easy there, Tiger, you’re stuck under the
steering column. Rachel is fine. She’s in my truck.” He stroked her
forehead with his index finger. “Why did you take this tree out
anyway?”