Outspoken Angel (6 page)

“For what?”

“Stalking.”

“Stalking you?”

She nodded. “Me and several other women.”

Incredible
. No one challenged Cameron
on purpose, did they? “What makes you worthy of a repeat
performance?”

“Believe it or not, Max,” she said
defensively, “I’m worthy of lots of things.”

Ouch.

He grasped her shoulder in a calming gesture.
“Why you?”

“Because I stood up to him. He wants me
because I told him to go straight to hell.”

He inclined his head. She probably told him
that and then some.

“Vince thinks he can intimidate me,” she
added, ”but he can’t. Believe me, I can handle him.”

“Subduing him with hooker heels and pantyhose
won’t work again,” he said easily.

“How did you know?” she squealed.

“I know.”

Max braced himself for the third degree and
breathed a sigh of relief when she tossed her head back against the
sofa and threw her hand over her forehead. “So now what?”

“What about your father?”

Even though she appeared unaffected by his
question, tension vibrated from her body and traveled the distance
between them. He caught a slight twitch of her lip. Maybe an
eyebrow moved a millimeter. He knew body language; he might as well
have branded her ass with a hot iron.

“What about him?” she asked finally.

“He’s a federal judge, Princess, he has
resources and a helluva lot of influence. Besides, he knows Stone
is out by now.”

She dropped her hand but didn’t open her
eyes. “Under no circumstances is my father to know about this.
Vince is harmless. I took care of him once and I can take care of
him again.”

He knew better than to state the obvious.
Daddy
took care of him. “I think you should move in with
Rachel.”

“No,” she said without hesitation.

“The place is a fortress. He can’t cause you
trouble there.”

“No,” she repeated. “I can’t live there
forever anyway. He’ll just wait me out.”

As much as he hated to admit it, she had a
point. “Then there’s only one more option.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“You stick to me like glue.”

She raised her head. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“No.” She returned her head to its former
resting place.

“Yes,” he insisted. “Don’t worry, I won’t
cramp your style.”

She squeezed her eyes closed. “For how
long?”

“As long as it takes.”

“So, every time I leave my house you’ll be
with me?”

“No.”

“You’ll watch me through binoculars?”

“No.”

“What then?”

“I’m moving in.”

Cameron opened her eyes and sat up. “Think
you can handle it, Superman?”

Max carefully considered his rash decision.
Not one to react before thinking, he beat himself over the head.
Now you’ve done it
.

“Seriously,” he admitted slowly, “I really
don’t know.”

She tapped her nails against the arm of the
sofa and studied him for a moment before she spoke. “I need
distraction.” She stood and reached for her purse.

Max took charge with quiet assurance as he
heard a bell signal round two in his brain. Now that she’d worked
through her fear, she was up and ready to swing the next punch.

He grasped her elbow. “Where are we
going?”

She raised one fine eyebrow. “We?”

“We.”

A sweet, syrupy smile covered her mouth.
“Shopping.”

“No.”

“Yes,” she insisted, “you need some
color.”

“I don’t shop.”

She snorted. “Obviously. I promise it won’t
hurt, Max.”

Bossy female. At least she’d stay out of
trouble this way. Knowing full well she wouldn’t hesitate to leave
without him, Max followed her out of the office, cursing himself
the whole time.

* * *

From deep within the shadows of the scorching
Arizona sun, he watched Cameron lead the bald guy around by the
balls. He laughed evilly. A bodyguard was no match for him,
especially that one. He knew all the secrets and security
techniques the bodyguard would use to protect her. Getting to her
would be easy. Much easier than he originally thought.

* * *

“Hawke!”

Hawke rounded the corner of the living room
just in time to see Rachel rush through the front door and pause
only when the sirens wailed from her intrusion.

He grinned and tapped the security code into
the pad by the door. “Rachel, honey, you’re supposed to enter the
code before you come through the door.”

“I know,” she said breathlessly as the sirens
quieted, “but I have something to tell you.”

He took her hand, led her to the den, pushed
her down on the couch, and propped her swollen feet on the coffee
table.

“What’s got you so excited?” He planted a
kiss on her forehead and sat beside her.

“We called Max about the pictures Cameron
received, just like you suggested.”

“What did he say?”

“I don’t know.” A satisfied grin separated
her lips. “I left before I burnt up.”

He tilted his brow in confusion.

“Max and Cameron!” she shrieked. “The
electricity is unbelievable.”

“Max?”

Several pieces of her auburn hair fell from
her barrette as she bobbed her head.

As he sat mulling the possibility of Max’s
insanity, the phone interrupted any chance of explanation.

“Hello?” Rachel sang into the receiver.

He frowned when nothing else was said and she
hung up.

“Who was it?”

“No one was there.” She shrugged. “Anyway,
the two of them are fighting some strong, primal urges.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she insisted, only to be interrupted
by the telephone again.

“Hello?”

Again, she hung up without another word.

“No one was there?” he asked.

“Probably just a wrong number.”

“Rachel, our number is unlisted.”

“People push wrong buttons all the time.” She
rolled her eyes at his wariness. “Besides, twenty percent of all
phone calls are hang ups.” She took a breath. “Anyway, you’ve got
to see Max and Cameron in action.”

* * *

CHAPTER FIVE

Squeezed into Cameron’s sports car, Max rode
with his stomach muscles clenched tight as she wheeled her silver
speeding bullet down the expressway and into the parking lot of the
mall.

He released his breath when she finally
shifted into park. “Sit.”

Peeling himself off the seat, he walked
around the car, opened her door, and extended a hand.

“Here’s the deal, Princess,” he said, lifting
her from her seat, “you stick close, remember?”

“This really is ridiculous. He’s just trying
to intimidate me.”

“I mean it,” he reiterated, “one false move
and your delectable little ass will be sitting back in that
seat.”

She bumped the car door closed with a swing
of her hip. “You like my ass, Maxie?”

Oh, hell yes
. “No comment.”

“Coward.”

He exhaled a frustrated growl as she pulled
him inside the mall and led him to the men’s section of the closest
department store.

“Good grief,” she fussed, “it’s just a little
shopping!”

Max cringed as he assessed the layout of the
store. The place was a security nightmare. Displays of clothing
blocked aisles and plastic mannequins lined the edges of each
department, creating an almost inescapable maze. He cursed under
his breath as he attempted to locate the security cameras or better
yet, a security guard. He finally spotted one camera positioned
over the service desk and two aimed at the checkout counters. He
took a deep breath and armed himself for battle. He’d have to keep
a close eye on her.

Oblivious to the danger, Cameron babbled as
she sorted through clothing and tossed selective items over one
shoulder. Max leaned against the nearest rack and waited until she
finished.

“Here.” She pushed the pile of clothing into
his bulky arms. ”Try these on.”

“All of this?”

“Yes, you need a major makeover.”

“I don’t wear pink.” He tossed the
offensively colored shirt back at her.

“Pink is the new brown.”

“No pink.”

“Fine.” She led him to the dressing room.
“There’s nothing wrong with the rest.”

He motioned her through the doorway. “Lead
the way.”

“What?”

“You’re coming with me.”

She appeared ready to smack him. “No, I’m
not.”

“Then I’m not trying these on.”

She lifted her chin and gave him a pointed
look. “Max, I’ll be perfectly fine out here. It won’t take you
long.”

Max clenched his fists to restrain himself
from throttling her. Knowing full well he could easily conquer her
belligerence, he weighed the consequences carefully. A temper
tantrum would draw attention, and even though her tantrums aroused
him, they couldn’t afford to be in the spotlight. The place was
packed with people. If she screamed, and she would scream, someone
would notice.

“Stay right here.”

“Of course. You have to show me what they
look like.”

“They’re shirts.”

“Yes, but I need to evaluate the color.”

He shook his head and mumbled under his
breath as he turned and crashed through the dressing room door.

Cameron tapped her toe impatiently while she
waited for Max to change. What was taking so long? Her eyes swept
around the room casually until a large display of women’s shoes
caught her attention, called her name, and begged her to come and
browse. She glanced from the dressing room to the shoes and back
again. Just a peek.

Throwing one last look over her shoulder, she
glided to the rack of shoes and fulfilled her need to investigate.
So many to choose from and a great sale. She caressed a leather and
snakeskin Prada pump, basking in her newfound happiness. Distracted
by the enticing ankle strap, she jumped when a cold hand grasped
the top of her shoulder.

“Jeez, Max,” she began, intending to let him
have it for scaring her.

“Hello, Cameron.”

Her heart pounded double time and she felt
the blood drain from her face when she turned to find someone other
than Max standing there.

“Vince,” she whispered.

“Let’s you and I take a walk.”

She shook her head so hard her ears rang.
“No.”

“Come on, Baby,” he coaxed, “we need to catch
up.”

Cameron drug her eyes from his hand on her
shoulder to meet his stone cold stare. His eyes perused her evilly,
full of venom. Instinctively, she knew he would not turn her loose
without a fight. So she did the one thing she did well.

Scream. Hysterically.

Obviously misjudging her reaction, he dropped
his hand from her shoulder and ran through the store until he
disappeared out the door.

Cameron’s piercing scream caught Max’s
attention as he yanked another shirt off over his head.
Sonuvabitch
. Bursting through the dressing room doors, he
sprinted across the men’s department toward the sound of her voice.
She met him halfway and flung herself against him. Desire consumed
him as her eyelashes tickled his bare chest like butterfly wings.
Her shoulders shook as tears trailed down her cheeks and burnt his
skin.

His brow furrowed as she trembled. Tears?
Hell
.

He didn’t count on that. He pressed her
closer with a protective hand and stroked her back. “I’m here.”

His body tightened as she snuggled into the
depths of his arms. Once her trembling subsided, he reluctantly set
her out of his embrace and rubbed the mascara from under her eyes
with his thumbs, startled once again by a familiar ringing noise.
What the hell is that annoying sound?
Chalking it up to the
store elevators, he concentrated on Cameron.

“Stone?” he asked, his body cursing the
separation from hers.

“Yes.”

“Are you hurt?”

“No, he just grabbed my arm.”

He looked closer at her milky skin. The red
marks he discovered made his blood boil.

“Max, I’m fine. You’re naked.”

He glanced at his bare chest then twisted his
lips as he answered. “Only half.”

“You’ve got an audience.” She tugged on his
arm and attempted to pull him back to the privacy of the dressing
room.

He stood solid and ignored her struggle to
move him. “I told you to stay put.”

“I wanted to look at shoes.”

“That was worth being hurt?”

“They’re Prada, Max!” She rolled her eyes.
“Your fashion sense really sucks.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he tried to
wrap his brain around her explanation.
Prada
. Damn.

“Excuse me, Sir, is there a problem?”

He opened his eyes and looked up to see a
short, roly-poly man in a suit and tie standing in front of them.
Glowering at the newcomer through his rage, he attempted to remain
civil.

“Hell yes, there’s a problem. A big problem.
Someone just tried to kidnap her right here in your store! She
stood here screaming and no one responded. Don’t you have a
security guard?”

Beads of perspiration shone on the portly
man’s forehead as he took a few steps backward. Cameron placed a
hand on Max’s forearm, then turned to address the suited
gentleman.

“Excuse his caveman attitude. Are you the
manager?”

”Yes, I’m Bernard Kingsley, the store
manager.”

“Well, Mr. Kingsley, where is the security
guard?”

Mr. Kingsley loosened his tie. “He’s taking a
break.”

Max felt the veins on his forehead throb.
“Oh, for the love of-“

Cameron squeezed Max’s arm. ”Bernie,” she
said sweetly, “you should probably call the police.”

“The police are already on their way. One of
the clerks called 911 when she heard the scream.”