Outspoken Angel (3 page)

“Oh, brother,” Cameron murmured.

“Was he not down there when you came in?”
Rachel asked Cameron.

“No.”

“Obviously, I’m missing something about this
Max.” Holly raised Rachel’s arms. “Lean left.”

“Oh, there’s something about him all right,”
Cameron grumbled as she tossed her sketchbook and pencils into her
bag. “He’s a bully.”

Holly cocked her head and stared at Cameron
for a brief second. “You don’t say.”

Rachel coughed.

Holly grinned and pushed Rachel to the other
side. “Well, bully or not, he’s hot.”

“I’ve gotta go, girls.” Cameron stood from
the sofa and then bent to give Rachel a hug. “I have an
appointment, but I’ll leave the fabric samples for you.”

Rachel returned Cameron’s hug. “Call me
later.”

Holly laid a hand on Cameron’s forearm.
“Maybe you shouldn’t go alone.”

Cameron frowned again. “Why?”

Holly cleared her throat and gave a half
smile. “I just worry about you. We single girls have to keep tabs
on each other.”

“Thanks, Holly, but I’ll be fine.” Cameron
straightened and headed for the door. “And Rachel, please go lie
down after you exercise. I think pregnancy has made you temporarily
insane.”

Cameron replayed her conversation with Rachel
as she drove down the driveway. She and Max? She twisted her lips
in consideration. She’d be a fool to deny her physical attraction
to him. After all, he was a quite impressive mountain of male.

Pure, rugged, rock-hard male. But he was so
controlling. She enjoyed being a free spirit and wasn’t about to
let anyone, especially Max, harness her. Besides, he considered her
just another groupie. And the last time she checked, bodyguards and
groupies didn’t mix.

Expecting the iron gate to open as she
approached, Cameron frowned when it remained closed. Curious, she
stopped her car and lowered the window. She waited several seconds,
clicking her fingernails against the steering wheel and
anticipating the opening of the gate. Growing increasingly
impatient, she picked up her cell phone to call Rachel just as Max
stepped from the security building beside the gate and ambled
toward her.

Unable to stop it, Cameron’s gaze traveled
the length of him and gave an appreciative perusal of his massive,
muscled biceps and tight, toned midsection under his black t-shirt.
And lower between his legs, the obvious bulge confined by his snug
black jeans made her want to slobber like a rabid dog.

Eye candy. For sure.

She took a deep breath to slow her heartbeat
as he appeared at the car window.

"You have ID?" he drawled with a smirk.

"Funny. Open the gate."

"You're not logged in as a visitor."

"I have clearance."

Max shook his head. "Nobody told me."

"Not my problem. Open the gate. I have an
appointment and you're making me late."

"You're always late."

Distracting her temper, Cameron remembered
her earlier sketch of the nursery. "Look, Puff the Magic Dragon,
either open the gate or I'll do it myself."

He lifted an eyebrow over his sunglasses.
"Give me the password."

Cameron sighed and unbuckled her seatbelt.
Why must he push me?
She threw open the door and Max grunted
as it smacked him in his iron stomach. With her heels
click-clacking against the pavement, she walked to the guard shack,
opened the door, and punched a button on the wall. As the gate
creaked, she passed him with her best syrupy smile and got back in
the car. He gave her a slight smirk and motioned her through.

Cameron tossed her curls over her shoulder
and dismissed her absurd thoughts of the mysterious Max as she
drove through the neighborhood toward her own house. After parking
sideways in her driveway, she ran through the front door, only to
be slowed by the one stable thing in her very hectic life, her
overweight, spoiled, finicky cat. The only male she thoroughly
trusted. Purring loudly, he rubbed himself against her legs and
welcomed her home.

“Don’t get too excited,” she warned, bending
to pick him up. “I’m only here for a minute.”

Cameron toted the cat through the house as
she gathered supplies, stroking his back and cooing gently in his
ear. Cracking the patio door leading to the backyard, she noticed a
family of sparrows bathing in the shallow end of the swimming pool.
Unfortunately, he saw them too and squeezed through the crack to
welcome his guests.

“Wonderful,” she grumbled while she followed
him out the door.

The sparrows sensed their host immediately
and took flight into a large oak tree. Determined to catch them,
the cat hooked his claws into the bark and climbed after them. The
sparrows tittered at him before finally soaring into the bright
sunny sky. As if panicked, he looked down at Cameron and
meowed.

“No way, Mister,” she scolded. “You got up
there all by yourself. Now you can get down all by yourself.”

She settled into the nearest lounge chair and
waited for him to run down the tree. Ten minutes later, she still
waited and he still meowed. Cameron bit her lip.
Maybe he really
is stuck
. She glanced at her watch then tilted her head to look
up into the tree. A thin sheen of sweat broke out on her brow. She
had two options - climb the tree or call for help - both of which
made her ill. Still, she could do this. Only for him.

“Okay, you naughty cat.” She reached down to
remove her sandals. “I’ll get you down.”

Cameron glanced around the yard to make sure
she didn’t have an audience before she padded barefoot across the
lawn, grabbed a bottom branch of the tree, and looped one leg
around. With a death grip on the thick branch, she felt her short
skirt ease up her legs to hug her waist. No way would she let go
and besides, it was too late to worry about her minuscule red lace
panties flashing like a stoplight in the sunshine. Swinging herself
to straddle the branch, she looked up to see the fat cat eyeing her
mischievously.

“You sure got quiet all of a sudden.”

The lazy beast responded by licking his paws
and yawning before he stretched out on the branch.

“Sure, get comfortable,” she huffed, reaching
for the next branch.

Once seated on that branch, Cameron made the
one fatal mistake she knew she shouldn’t. Looking down. She groaned
as her head spun and her vision blurred. Taking a deep breath to
quiet her rolling stomach, she once again looked up at the overhead
branch and tried to inject authority into her voice. “Come here,
Kitty.”

Obeying her, the cat pushed himself off the
branch and easily stepped from branch to branch until he reached
Cameron’s branch. And then nonchalantly passed her, tossing his
tail in mockery. Within seconds he left the tree, stretched out in
the grass, and licked his paws.

Cameron stared in horror.
This did not
just happen
. She swallowed hard and attempted to quell her fear
as her panicked eyes gauged the distance between solid ground and
her position in the tree. A feeling of relief swept over her as she
remembered her cell phone. She slid her hand into the pocket of her
skirt only to find it empty. As if psychic, the cat growled. The
phone rang. Inches from his paws.

* * *

After shift change at the gate, Max headed
for the main house to report to Hawke. He snickered. Who was he
kidding? There wasn’t anything to report, other than Cameron’s
antics.
Puff the Magic Dragon
? Where in the hell had she
come up with that one? Although she tried so hard to aggravate him,
she was harmless. In fact, he found her game stimulating. Most of
the time.

He approached the front door, punched the
security code and stepped inside before re-arming the system. As
much as he hated to admit it, he might just miss her if she wasn’t
around.

Since Hawke’s marriage to Rachel, super
stardom had taken a back seat to reality. According to Hawke, rock
and roll just didn’t pack the same punch as it once did. And since
the whole fame and fortune began as an undercover gig, Hawke didn’t
think twice about fading out of it. In fact, rather than tour the
world and live the high life, Hawke had settled into somewhat of a
normal lifestyle. As normal as could be expected, anyway. There was
still the occasional unexpected visitor who attempted to scale the
gate around the property or determined reporter trying to make a
quick buck from the tabloids, but those things were easily handled
by the expert security team Max had in place.

He smiled as he headed to the living room. It
would be nice to hang out without the threat of being mauled by
overzealous groupies.

“Hey, man.” Hawke sat with his feet propped
on an ottoman in front of the couch. The 3D television blared a
baseball game.

Max sat in an oversized recliner opposite
him. “Who’s winning?”

“Diamondbacks, six to four.”

“Good game?”

Hawke nodded. “Decent. The team’s pretty good
this year.”

Max cleared his throat. “Did Huntington
corner Pirelli last night?”

Hawke snickered. “You know Greg. He tried to
keep it business-like. Guess that’s why he’s the manager. I voted
for a swift kick in the ass.”

“How’d Pirelli take his reassignment?”

“After a few choice words, amazingly
well.”

“How big of a hurry are you in to replace
him?” Max asked.

“Not a big one. Greg’s working on a
replacement for the Professionals for People concert and then we’ll
go from there.”

“Rachel still doesn’t want to reschedule the
concert?”

“No. She insists everything go as
planned.”

Max swallowed his argument. He knew it
wouldn’t do any good to challenge Rachel’s determination when it
came to her charity. She and the other business professionals in
Diablo spent a lot of time rebuilding needy communities. She’d just
flash him her regular sweet-as-honey smile and put him in his
place. Or sic Cameron on him.

“Besides,” Hawke continued, “with the baby
coming, I’m not going anywhere for a while anyway.”

Max fought the urge to hurl when the word
baby left Hawke’s lips. He quickly redirected the conversation.
“I’ve just about got security wrapped up for the concert. Has
Rachel scheduled you to volunteer on her new neighborhood
project?”

Max knew the answer before Hawke answered.
And from experience, Max knew security would be a nightmare. Max
had fallen for that once. Using Rachel as bait, Cameron managed to
manipulate both Hawke and him to help rebuild a neighborhood
destroyed by fire. Max hadn’t minded volunteering, but working with
Cameron had been a true test of self-discipline.

Hawke smirked. “Yes, and because you won’t
let me go anywhere alone, so are you.”

Max lifted an eyebrow. “You volunteered me
too.”

“Yes. Cameron said she needed more muscle and
you’re the first one that came to mind.”

Although Max respected Rachel’s dedication to
her charity, he wasn’t quite so respectful of her decision to put
Cameron in charge. Somehow, taking orders from a pint-sized piranha
wasn’t entirely his idea of charitable contribution. Especially
since he was the boss and she refused to acknowledge that well
known fact.

Max scrubbed a hand down his jaw. He and the
rest of his SEAL team had managed to build a successful private
security firm. Maybe he could convince Hawke to cut him some slack.
“One of has to take care of business.”

Hawke gave a shit-eating grin. “Nice try. If
something comes up, I’ll make sure you’re covered.”

Max prepared to release a big fat
NO
when he was distracted by the sound of footsteps running down the
hall.

Rachel slid to a stop next to the sofa. “Oh,
Max,” she wheezed, “I’m glad you’re here.”

Hawke dropped his feet and stood to push
Rachel to the couch. “What’s wrong?”

Rachel batted Hawke’s hands away. “I can’t
find Cameron.”

“So?”

“She just left here not two hours ago and I
can’t get her on her phone.”

“So?” Hawke repeated.

Max frowned at Rachel’s uncharacteristic
panic.

She took a few deep breaths before
continuing. “You know as well as I do, that Cameron always answers
her phone.”

Hawke shrugged. “She’s probably just shoe
shopping.”

Max nodded. “Or at the spa.”

Rachel ignored Max’s suggestion and gave her
husband a pointed look. “I’m not joking. Something’s wrong. Holly
was right. She told Cameron not to go alone.”

Max frowned. “Holly?”

“Rachel’s personal trainer.” Again, Hawke
attempted to sit Rachel on the sofa, but she still wouldn’t
budge.

“Relax, honey. I’m sure she’s fine.”

“Hawke!” Rachel all but screeched. “She’s not
fine! She’s missing!”

Realizing the panic in Rachel’s voice, Max
stood and threw Hawke an irritated sneer before turning to Rachel.
“I’ll find her. Where do you think I should start?”

Rachel’s shoulders sagged and she eased
herself onto the sofa while Hawke elevated her feet on the ottoman.
“Try her house first. She had an appointment but I called and Mrs.
Forrester said she didn’t show. Sometimes she’s late, but she
always keeps her appointments.”

Max reached for the door. “I’ll have her call
as soon as I find her.”

* * *

CHAPTER THREE

“M - a - a - x - x!”

Max swung his head around at the sound of
Cameron’s voice. Did she see him? No, she couldn’t. He was too
smooth.

“Max!” she hollered insistently. “How could
you do this to me?”

What the hell?
He didn’t do anything
to her. He was simply here out of duty.

“I just wanted you to come to me.” Her voice
wavered in mid-sentence. “Now look what’s happened.”

Max eased his way through the gate, careful
to let the bushes disguise him. As he moved closer, he heard the
muffled ringtone of a cell phone echo off the fence.