Outspoken Angel (22 page)

“I heard about the accident,” Holly said
worriedly. “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” Cameron reassured her, absently
removing the sunglasses. “Just bruised.”

Holly gasped.

“Put your glasses back on, Elvira.” Max sat
in the recliner next to the couch. “You’re scary.”

“Sorry.” Cameron replaced the glasses with a
frown.

Holly wrung her hands. “I’m not one to add
insult to injury, but you should’ve come to the gym instead.”

Max eased back into the chair to analyze
Holly’s gentle reprimand. By Cameron’s own admission, Holly seemed
to
know
things. Until now, he’d chalked it up to
coincidence. Did she know they would have an accident?

“Do they hurt?” Holly asked.

“Not much, they just look awful.”

“You should call Antonio. He’ll be able to
tell you exactly how to stop the swelling.”

“Antonio?” Max raised his suspicion another
notch on his anxiety meter.

Cameron turned her head to face Max and he
bit his lip to keep from smiling. If she could roll her eyes, this
would be the time. “My spa guy, Prince Charming,” she explained
patiently before she swung her head back toward Holly. “Max is my
bodyguard.”

Max watched Holly’s eyes shift from Cameron
back to him as if she could see right through that explanation.

As if she anticipated Holly’s next question,
Cameron added, “It was his day off.”

Holly’s brows came down in suspicion. “You
hired a bodyguard?”

Cameron nodded. “I have a knack for
attracting lunatics.”

“Lunatics?”

“Cameron’s being stalked,” Max said
bluntly.

“By who?” Holly asked.

Max took the opportunity to intervene. “Do
the names Vince Stone or Calvin Thomas mean anything to you?”

Holly frowned. “No. Are they
responsible?”

“Possibly. Someone left her a gift. Have you
seen anyone unusual in the neighborhood?”

Holly’s ponytail moved the air as she swung
her head. “No, but I don’t get out much. What kind of gift?”

“Lingerie,” Cameron muttered.

“Oh, Cameron!” Holly squeezed her forearm.
“Do you need me to stay?”

Max pinched his forehead between his fingers.
That’s all he needed – the naked sun goddess from next door in the
same house with Cameron. He’d be doubly hen-pecked, Steele and
Huntington would never leave, and Stone would run free.

Much to his relief, Cameron declined Holly’s
offer. “Thanks, Holly, but Mad Max has everything under
control.”

Again, Holly paused a full second before she
averted her eyes from Max and Cameron. He shifted uneasily, not
quite comfortable with Holly’s silent analysis.

Finally, she turned her attention to
Huntington. “And how do you fit into the puzzle?”

Interested in hearing Huntington’s response,
Max chuckled and stretched his legs in front of him.

Cameron laid her head back against the top of
the sofa and sighed. “He’s playing chauffeur.”

“I haven’t seen you in class,” Holly told
Huntington.

Cameron snorted. “He couldn’t move for a week
after the last one. Besides, he wasn’t there for the exercise.”

Huntington’s face reddened and Max felt a
surprising wave of pity wash over him. “Loud mouth,” he hissed.

Cameron shrugged.

Huntington cleared his throat. “I need to get
back to the hospital.”

“Chicken,” Max muttered under his breath as
Huntington slipped out the front door.

“It’s amazingly exciting around here.” Holly
giggled and squeezed Cameron’s hand. “I’m glad you’re okay. Call if
you need anything.”

Cameron raised her head and managed a smile.
“Thanks again, Holly.”

“Keep your doors locked,” Max told Holly as
he walked her to the door. “There’s extra security in the
neighborhood, but we haven’t caught him yet.”

“Will do,” Holly agreed.

Max waited to hear the click of the door
before he returned to the sofa and lifted Cameron from the pillows.
“How about a nap?”

Cameron yawned and laid her head on his
shoulder. “Okay.”

Thankful she was too exhausted for a temper
tantrum, he cradled her in his arms and climbed the stairs to the
bedroom.

“You don’t have to carry me, Max.”

He tightened his hold and silently dared her
to make him turn her loose. “You can’t see to climb the
stairs.”

Her body stiffened. “I could manage.”

He felt the fight leave her body as he
snickered and kissed the top of her head. “I want to.”

“I could get used to this, Hercules,” she
mumbled as he tucked her into bed.

She gave him a sleepy smile as he lifted the
sunglasses from her face and placed them on the table next to the
bed.

“Me too, Angel.” He planted a soft kiss on
her swollen cheek. “Me too.”

As Cameron drifted off to sleep, Max left the
bedroom and headed back downstairs to call Steele. Just when he
reached the bottom step, the doorbell rang several times in a row.
He opened the door to Holly, who chattered like a magpie.

“Max, I’m glad you’re still here!” she
babbled as she flew inside. “When you mentioned those two names
earlier, I went home and checked my gym enrollment records. I may
have some information.”

She took another breath and shoved a file
folder at him. “He joined the club about two weeks ago and enrolled
in Cameron’s aerobics class. The instructor tells me he’s not very
good, lacks basic coordination I guess. He could really benefit
from –“

“Have you seen him?” he prompted, attempting
to put her back on track.

“Oh, yeah. Open the file,” she demanded,
lifting her breasts to his eye level with each labored breath.

A feeling of utter satisfaction overtook him
as he opened the file. There, before him in vivid Technicolor was
Vince Stone, registered as Calvin Thomas. And, even though his
appearance was altered, the stupid son of a bitch posed for the
picture.

“Bingo,” he muttered.

“Is that the guy you’re looking for?”

He nodded. “Do you know if he’s at the gym
now?”

Holly glanced at her watch. “Cameron’s class
finished a couple of hours ago. I could call to see if he’s still
signed in. Shouldn’t we call the police?”

“We have to find him first. When is her next
class?”

“Tomorrow. Is anyone else in danger?”

Max rubbed the back of his neck. “Hard to
say. He seems to be focused on Cameron right now, but sometimes
these things escalate.”

“Do you think he’ll show up at the gym
tomorrow?”

“Probably not. If he’s still watching, he
knows she’s too weak to exercise. How many of your employees are
women?”

“Only me and two others.”

“I don’t think you have anything to worry
about, but I’ll arrange for a police officer to be there just in
case.”

He took a breath to calm his nerves and curb
his excitement.

Holly placed a hand on his forearm. “She
won’t leave, will she?”

He chuckled and gave her a small grin. “She’s
determined to let him know who’s boss.”

Holly giggled and gave his arm a squeeze.
“That’s our Cameron.”

Max sighed. “I was serious about locking your
doors. Do you have a security system?”

She nodded. “Don’t worry. I’m on lock down
over there.” She released his arm and reached for the doorknob to
open the door. “I’ll be back tomorrow to help her work the soreness
out of her muscles. Let me know if I can do anything before
then.”

Max nodded and closed the door behind
her.

Apprehension and anger knotted inside him as
the reality of the day’s events began to overtake him. Fear, stark
and vivid, overwhelming and foreign, burnt his gut. What if his
protection wasn’t enough?

As he fought his emotions, Max sought the
comfort of the sofa. In all of the high-tech, top-secret missions
he’d run, he’d never left a man behind. Even when the most insane
madmen chased him through overgrown jungles or across the burning
desert sand, he managed to outwit them, hunt them down and bring
them to justice. Since most hostages were glad to see him, the
rescue operations normally went without a hitch. This time, the
hostage was beautiful, sexy, cunning and ... difficult. And, there
was another small problem.

He loved her.

He leaned forward with his elbows on his
knees and rubbed his aching forehead. He’d never forgive himself if
anything else happened to her.

Pulling himself together, he attempted to put
things into perspective. He knew now that Stone and Thomas were one
in the same and hell-bent on getting to Cameron. A no-brainer. Yet,
there was something strange about Stone’s method; as badly as he
wanted Cameron’s attention, he maintained a substantial distance.
Even both times he’d attempted to kidnap her, he’d disappeared when
she managed to cause a scene. Could Stone be so pissed off that he
would kill her?

He lowered his hands and sat up. He knew that
any attempt to understand the criminal mind was a lost cause. Max
felt a small wave of encouragement. Maybe his presence intimidated
Stone after all.

He glanced at his watch. Time to wake
Sleeping Beauty. He climbed the stairs, nudged the bedroom door
open, eased inside and made his way to the bed. Cameron was still
asleep, curled into a ball with her hands tucked under her face. He
smiled secretly to himself. Even with her face swollen and purple,
she was the most beautiful woman on earth. He laid a hand on her
shoulder, hesitant to wake her as he heard her strangled moan. Was
that pain or a warning that she’d come up swinging?

He stepped to one side and shook her gently.
“Cameron.”

Her eyes opened in small slits. “What?”

“Count to three.”

She turned over with her back to him. “You
are out of your mind.”

Convinced her response was better than
counting, he chuckled. “Do you know where you are?”

She lifted her head and squinted over her
shoulder. “In my bed. Asleep.”

He leaned down and kissed the goose egg on
her forehead. “I’ll be up in a little while.”

With a half-smile, she returned her head to
the pillow and pulled the blanket to her chin.

Closing the door quietly, Max headed down the
hall and dialed his phone on the way. He stopped in front of the
peeping-tom window and peered around the neighborhood. “Keep on,
Stone,” he muttered under his breath. “It’s only a matter of
time.”

He gave a cursory glance at the tree next
door before he lifted the phone to his ear. “Steele,” he growled,
“we had an incident.”

“Man, somebody has a death wish. What
now?”

“Cameron and Rachel were in a car accident
this morning.”

“What happened?”

Max gave Steele the abbreviated version and
purposely neglected to mention the department store. “And someone
punctured Cameron’s brake line.”

“How did they get past you?”

Max hesitated. So much for dodging the
question. “Must have been while we were at the department
store.”

“Shoe sale?” Steele mocked.

Somewhat relaxed by Steele’s jab, Max ran his
hand over the surface of his head and sighed. “Fifty percent
off.”

“Did she not notice brake fluid under the
car?”

“Cameron? No. Besides, there probably wasn’t
any there. The line was punctured, not cut. I knew something was
wrong when Cameron accelerated around the curves. She lost control
and hit a tree.”

“Shit!” Steele cursed. “How bad were they
hurt?”

“Rachel is spending the night under
observation at the hospital. She and the baby are fine. Cameron may
start calling me Tonto.”

“Airbags?” Steele asked.

“Yeah.” Max shuddered as the crash resounded
in his head. He would never forget the sound of the crunching
metal, the image permanently burned into his memory. “They were
damn lucky.”

“Nothing broken?”

“Only the car and Cameron’s shoe.”

Steele jabbed again. “How did she take the
loss of her shoe?”

“Haven’t told her yet,” Max mumbled.

“And you called me so I can tell her?”

“No, Smartass. I want Stone and I want him
yesterday, damn it.”

“Okay, okay. Don’t get your panties in a wad.
I’ll get him. The sneaky bastard is just really good at
hiding.”

Max ignored the panty comment. “Have you
found anything?”

“Maybe. What time was the accident?”

“About 11:30 a.m. or so. Why?”

“I talked to the owner of the coffee shop
across the street from Fitness in the Buff this morning. She placed
Thomas in there about 10:00 a.m.”

“She knows him?”

“That’s what was weird. When I asked her
about Calvin Thomas, she knew exactly who I was talking about. She
even went so far as to tell me he goes in most mornings about ten
minutes before Cameron and Holly. Never speaks to either of them
just makes an appearance. But when I showed her Stone’s mugshot,
she didn’t recognize him.”

“Stone is Thomas,” Max told Steele. “I’ve got
a recent picture. He’s dyed his hair black and grown a beard and
mustache. Looks like he’s wearing blue contact lenses in this
picture.”

“Hot damn,” Steele muttered. “What’s your
plan of action?”

“I’ll leave the picture locked in my
truck.”

“You want me to break in your truck?”

“Hell yes, Steele. He’s watching and that
will convince him you’re working against me.”

“I’ll be by sometime before morning.”

Satisfied Steele would make perfect bait, Max
decided to put things aside for the night. After placing the
photograph in his truck, he returned to the house, made sure the
doors were locked and the alarm was set, then he crept up the
stairs and into Cameron’s bedroom. Shucking his t-shirt and
unbuttoning the top button of his jeans, he placed his gun and cell
phone on the night stand before he crawled under the covers and
spooned her. Thank God for denim. With the lacey thing she called
underwear stretched over her ass and pressed to his groin, the
heavy material would provide a temporary barrier anyway.