Maxine Read Online Free PDF

were so many people hurt there was no way to take care of them all at the same time. But if Max didn’t get that leg treated, she could lose it.
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    The boat came an hour later and the paramedics prepared Max to go to the hospital.
    “Come with me, Nick. Please.” She begged him with her eyes.
    “Are you her husband?” asked one of the paramedics.
    Without hesitation, Max said, “Yes, he’s my husband.”
    Nick had planned to send her alone and have her family come and get her, but she looked so scared, he played along. He grabbed a coat and her purse, left a note for Tony on the kitchen counter, and pulled the door closed.
    Although they had the heater turned up in the boat cabin, Max shivered uncontrollably. Nick sat beside her, rubbing her hands, pulling the blankets around her, trying to keep her warm. He would have wrapped his arms around her, but he was afraid of hurting her shoulder.
    Someone asked her name and she said, “Max.”
    “Maxine Donatelli,” said Nick. He winked and she smiled, a shaky smile, but definitely a smile. “My wife,” he said more to her than to the paramedics.
    An ambulance met the boat at the dock in Tacoma and took them to the emergency room at Tacoma General Hospital. Nick paced in the waiting room while they x-rayed her shoulder, and then he found a quiet corner and sat down to wait, her purse by his side. He pulled out her wallet, which was stuffed full of bills. Hundred dollar bills.
    Good Lord, how much money does she have in here?
    He found a thick bank envelope with another wad of hundreds and a cashier’s check for ninety-eight thousand, six hundred and fifty-three dollars and sixty-two cents.
    Who in the hell is this woman?
    She didn’t have black hair in the picture on her California driver’s license. And he’d seen this woman’s picture before, in the check-out line at the grocery store, on the covers of tabloid magazines. No wonder she offered to pay him. His wounded houseguest was Cara Andrews, one of the richest women in the world.
    The nurse called, “Mr. Donatelli.” Nick dropped the wallet in her purse as if it were on fire and rushed to the desk.
    “The doctor would like to speak with you.”
    He found Dr. Taylor in the tiny exam room with Cara. He was examining her leg, which was an angry shade of red. “Ah, Mr. Donatelli, I was just telling your wife that her leg is infected.”
    “Yeah, that’s what I thought. What about her shoulder?”
    “I’m sure it’s painful, but it should heal with rest. Her leg is my primary concern. I’ll clean it up, give her some antibiotics, and send her home, but I want to see her back here if that fever doesn’t stay down.”
    Nick shook his head. “The roads are out.”
    “We can keep her here a day or two if—”
    “No,” said Cara. “I can’t stay here.”
    He understood why she didn’t want to stay in the hospital. She was afraid someone would recognize her. If they did, it would be on the news and her husband would know where to find her.
    Nick held her hand. He’d done his part, but it looked like he was stuck with her, at least for now. “If she has to come back, I’ll find a way to get her here.”
    Before the doctor fixed her leg, Nick leaned down close and gazed into Cara’s eyes. She whispered, “I owe you big time for this.”
    “No, you don’t.” Nick kissed her forehead, squeezed her hand, and left the room. She may be rich and famous, but right now she was a scared little girl.
    He sat in the waiting room, drinking lousy coffee, flipping through magazines without seeing anything, and thinking about Cara. He remembered a news report when her mother died last fall. The reporter said Cara would inherit everything, because she was the only one left in her family.
    Someone turned on the television and Cara’s face appeared on the screen. He listened closely as a slick, muscle-bound man talked about her disappearance. That’s her husband? He seemed distraught, but Nick knew better.