Outspoken Angel (21 page)

“My brakes wouldn’t work, not even the
emergency brake.”

She reached up to touch her head and flinched
as he backed out of the car.

“Don’t leave me!” she shrieked. “Where are
you going?”

He laid a hand on her shoulder. “I’m just
going to look under the car for a second.”

“Why? Is there a gas leak? I’m going to blow
up, aren’t I?”

“No, Baby, I won’t let that happen. I just
want to check out something before the car is moved. I’ll be right
back.”

“Hurry!”

Max squatted next to the passenger side of
the car and looked underneath. Other than tangled metal, nothing
appeared unusual. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found the
gas tank still intact and no visibly severed hoses or wires. So why
couldn’t she stop?

Boisterous sirens echoed in the distance and
prompted him to save his analysis for later. He slid from beneath
the car and heard Cameron whimper from the driver’s seat.

He stood and walked around to the driver’s
side. “I’m here.”

In an effort to keep her calm, he squeezed
her hand through the window. Cameron opened one eye, rolled her
head toward him, and then raised her free hand to smooth his
wrinkled brow.

His self control wavered at her slight touch.
“Your hands are cold.”

Before she could speak, a firefighter
appeared at the window.

“Cameron? It’s Rick. Need a little more
practice with those curves?”

Max bit his lip. As bad as he hated to admit
it, humor just might keep her calm. Even if it was Fireman
Rick.

“Funny, Rick. Hurry up and get me out of
here.”

“Working on it now,” Rick assured her.

Rick handed Max a blanket. “Put this over
both of you to protect you from the glass when we use the Jaws of
Life.”

Max opened the heavy blanket and draped it
over Cameron.

“I don’t suppose you’d get out of the way and
let us handle this?” Rick asked.

Max raised an eyebrow and sneered.

Rick shook his head. “Didn’t think so.”

Max knelt on the ground next to the car and
ducked his head under the blanket. He took Cameron’s hand in
his.

“Okay,” Rick shouted, “here we go.”

Max squeezed Cameron’s fingers in support as
the sound of metal against metal filled the air. “Just a few more
minutes,” he said over the noise.

Max breathed a sigh of relief when the
obnoxious noise stopped and the crew peeled the convertible’s top
back.

“Okay, Cameron.” Rick lifted the blanket.
“We’re going to remove the steering column now. Try to relax and
take deep breaths.”

Max inhaled and prepared for her response. If
her legs were broken, she’d really feel it now.

Once the steering wheel popped free, he heard
her exhale loudly before she began to struggle to break out.

“Don’t move. They need to get a collar on you
and put you on the gurney.” He hoped like hell he had disguised the
quiver in his voice.

Silently, he cursed himself. He could have
lost her today. Some bodyguard. It was a whole lot easier guarding
a rock star and a whole band than this one tiny package of
dynamite.

Cameron batted Rick’s hands as he tried to
fit her with a neck collar. “I don’t want that ugly thing around my
neck, and I want you to take me to the ER, Max. I want to be with
Rachel.”

“She’s going in the other ambulance,” he
explained. “You are going to do what they tell you.”

He braced himself for another tantrum.
Instead, she rolled her neck to the side and sighed. “Okay, Maxie.
If you say so.”

His brow furrowed at her quick agreement. No
argument? Hell, she must be hurt.

“Let’s go,” he bellowed.

“Are you her husband, sir?” The paramedic
asked, as Max stalked towards the ambulance.

Max considered his response for a short
moment before he answered. “No.”

“Then you can’t ride in the ambulance. You’ll
have to follow us.”

Tempted to change the paramedic’s mind, Max
checked his anger and hopped in his truck.

Max slapped both open palms against the
steering wheel as he followed the ambulance to the hospital.
Sonuvabitch, his heart hurt. He didn’t want to analyze why Cameron
threw him off balance, but after having tasted what it was like to
love her, he didn’t need an analysis. No more bullshit. She
possessed his heart – all four chambers, squeezed in the grip of
her tiny little fist. His whole body vibrated with tension as he
mentally fumbled to figure out what to do next.

* * *

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Members of his security team met Max at the
Emergency Room entrance of Diablo Memorial Hospital with
information that Rachel had already been admitted and her room was
secure. After he gave them explicit instructions to park his truck
and then meet him at Rachel’s room with a clean t-shirt, Max gave
the admissions clerk information on Cameron and then followed her
to the cubicle where Cameron had been assigned.

Alarm shot up his spine as he saw her lying
on the cot, her skin made even more pale by the white sheets and
her face several different shades of blue and purple. For once in
his very reserved, insanely controlled, unemotional life, Max
wanted to cradle her like a baby. Instead, he took a very deep
breath, stepped near her, and squeezed her hand, partly to reassure
her and mostly to reassure himself that she was really in one
piece.

Thanks to Huntington’s phone call to the
Emergency Room before Cameron and Rachel arrived, the rooming
process was quick and discreet. Keeping Cameron from climbing the
walls, however, would be almost impossible.

She rolled her head toward him and gave him a
small smile. “Max?”

“Yeah,” he grunted.

“Turn on the light so I can see what they’re
doing to me.”

“The light is on.”

“Fabulous!” She threw her arms into the air
and then groaned. “I’m blind.”

“You’re not blind, Lone Ranger.” He smoothed
her curls from her face.

“Then why is it so dark in here?” she
fussed.

“Your eyes are swollen. Just relax. The nurse
went to get ice.”

“What about Rachel?”

“She and the baby are fine. Hawke said
they’re going to keep her overnight just to be sure.”

“What about my car?”

“Totaled.”

“My shoes?”

“Your shoes?”

She wiggled her bare feet. “Yes, I’m pretty
sure I had a pair of shoes on this morning. Louis Vuitton to be
exact. Both of them black with an ankle strap.”

He chuckled under his breath. He didn’t have
the heart to tell her she’d broken one of them in two when she’d
jammed the heel under the brake pedal.

“I’ll take you back to Bergmann’s
tomorrow.”

She attempted to squint one eye. “You hate to
shop.”

He shrugged. If she only knew how she’d
scared the holy living hell out of him, she wouldn’t be surprised
at his gesture. Now that he was convinced she was not badly
injured, he’d promise her the world to ease her pain.

She pushed herself to sit. “This hospital
gown doesn’t work for me. Do you see my clothes anywhere?”

He glanced at a brown paper sack beside the
bed and thought back to the tight black skirt and silk blouse she’d
worn earlier. No way would she be able to squeeze her muscles back
into them.

Desperate to make her more comfortable, he
pulled off his t-shirt and handed it to her. “Here.”

She took the shirt from him and then tipped
her head to the side. “This isn’t my blouse.”

“Just put it on, Cupcake.”

She attempted to squint again. “Are you
shirtless now?”

He snickered. “You really can’t see?”

“No,” she huffed. “I feel like a Siamese cat
with cataracts.” She bunched the t-shirt with her fingers and
grimaced when she attempted to raise it over her head.

“Let me help.” He grabbed it and poked her
head through the top. “Can you shake the gown loose?”

She wiggled her shoulders slightly until the
hospital gown slid down her arms. He licked his lips as she lifted
each arm and gave her bare breasts a sweet eye-catching bounce.

“What about my bottom?” She eased the black
cotton over her curves until it met her hips.

He felt a muscle tick at the base of his jaw.
“Huh?”

“I need pants. I can’t run around in what
I’ve got on.”

His breath left his lungs in a whoosh. At
least she had something on.

“I’ll go see if they’ve got a pair of
scrubs.”

Five minutes later, he helped her into them,
and once he caught a glimpse of the scrap of lace she wore over her
hips, he found himself shamelessly wanting to help her out of
them.

“Good news, Mrs. Tremaine,” the doctor
announced as he and his nurse returned to the cubicle with
Cameron’s x-rays. “Nothing is broken. Just some nasty bruises.”

Although relieved by the doctor’s diagnosis,
Max felt a little uneasy at the way the nurse ogled his chest. Good
thing Cameron’s eyes were swollen or he’d never hear the end of
it.

“So I’ll look like Zorro for awhile,” Cameron
drawled.

“Afraid so,” the doctor agreed. “Apply ice
for the next twenty-four hours and I’ll give you something for
pain.”

Cameron flinched as the nurse pressed a cold
pack against each eye.

The doctor glanced at Max. “You’ll need to
wake her every hour for the next twenty-four hours.”

Max nodded as the doctor handed him Cameron’s
prescription before he and the nurse left the cubicle.

“He thinks we’re sleeping together,” Cameron
grumbled.

“We are,” he said nonchalantly. “Besides, he
thinks we’re married.”

“Married?” she squealed behind her ice
packs.

“Sshhh!” he hissed. “They only allow family
back here and the way you look at me, there’s no way I’d pass for
your brother.”

She lowered the ice packs. “What about my
father?”

“Watch it.”

“You’re the man, Max.” She tossed the ice
packs to the side and swung her feet over the side of the gurney.
“Take me to see Rachel.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He helped her into a
wheelchair.

“I don’t need a wheelchair,” she groused.

“Would you rather walk barefoot with a
cane?”

“Ha. Ha.”

“Here.” He handed her a pair of black
sunglasses. “Thought you might appreciate these.”

She accepted his offering and attempted to
smile as she rested the glasses on her face. “Thanks, Max.”

Satisfied she wouldn’t jump out, he wheeled
her down the sterile halls. Cool air caressed his bare chest and
several passing nurses paused to gawk.

He cleared his throat nervously and broke the
unusual silence. “What would be so bad about marrying me,
Pipsqueak?”

Her momentary silence encouraged him.
Obviously, she hadn’t anticipated his question.

“I’ll make you a list,” she mumbled.

As they approached Rachel’s room, Max heard
Hawke’s attempt to comfort Rachel from the hallway. The security
guard posted outside handed Max a fresh t-shirt. Max stretched the
shirt over his body and nodded before he wheeled Cameron into the
room.

“Cameron!” Rachel climbed out of the bed
Hawke had just coaxed her into and rushed to Cameron’s side. “Are
you hurt?”

Cameron patted the top of Rachel’s hand. “Not
much,” she denied, “I’m just blind.”

“Blind?!” Rachel squealed, her eyes wide.

Max pinched the bridge of his nose. Did she
ever think before she spoke?

“No! Sorry, Rach,” Cameron said quickly, “I’m
not blind. My eyes are just swollen shut.”

“Oh, thank God!” Rachel sat down on the side
of the bed.

Cameron turned her head toward the sound of
Rachel’s voice. “I’m so sorry this happened. Are you sure you and
the baby are okay?”

“We’re fine, Cameron. I’m more concerned
about you.”

“Don’t worry. I have a bodyguard,
remember?”

Hawke glanced at Max. “Any idea what
happened?”

Max nodded. “Working on it as we speak.”

Rachel leaned back against the pillows. “You
take her home, Max, and make her stay there until all this mess is
over.”

“Sure, Rachel,” Cameron mumbled, “now
there’ll be no living with him.”

Hawke tossed Max a grin. “Greg’s on his way
to drive the two of you home.”

* * *

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Max’s heart pounded with rage as Huntington
parked Hawke’s sleek, black SUV in Cameron’s driveway. Stone had
pushed too far and now Max was out for blood. No matter what it
took, Max would find him and then there would be hell to pay.
Reigning in his temper, Max slid out of the passenger’s door and
casually hoisted Cameron into his arms.

She pushed her sunglasses up on her nose.
“What are you doing?”

He knocked the door closed with one hip.
“Carrying you inside.”

“I can walk.”

“Sure you can, but I’d have to alert the
neighborhood watch to keep you from getting lost.”

She stuck her tongue out at him.

A flare of lust drove him to continue his
teasing. “Don’t pull your weapon unless you intend to use it,” he
whispered across her ear. Her tongue quickly disappeared back
inside her mouth.

Before Cameron could respond, the sound of a
panicked female voice penetrated the silence.

“Cameron!”

Max turned just in time to see Holly rush
across the driveway and stop next to them. Huntington froze.

“Greg?” Blatant curiosity filled Holly’s
voice.

Max’s eyes bounced between Huntington and
Holly and he wondered why Huntington was so freaked out. Then it
dawned on him. Holly had no idea who Huntington really was or why
he’d enrolled in her Pilates class. Hell.

“Come on in, Holly,” Cameron interjected
quickly. “I’ll introduce everyone.”

Once Max directed Huntington to open the door
and disarm the security system, he placed Cameron on the sofa and
Holly sat down next to her.