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Max’s eyes scanned the crowd sitting at the table and then around the perimeters of the park, wanting to laugh at the amount of undercover security that surrounded them. Already knowing Sam and Simon would have the park surrounded, he hadn’t bothered to include his small security team in this event. Now, he was really happy that he hadn’t. It would have definitely been overkill. The Hudson siblings practically had an entire SWAT team around the park to guard their wives. Not that Max really blamed them. Maybe if he had been firmer with Mia about her security, maybe if he hadn’t let her convince him that she didn’t need to be followed every minute of the day, maybe…
He was reaching for a hamburger bun when he sawher, his hand stopping abruptly before it reached the platter, his entire body frozen in place as he met the stare of a woman about fifteen feet from him, her body still and half hidden by a palm tree. His heart surged and then plummeted to his feet as his eyes locked with hers, eyes so very much like Mia’s. He might have been able to blow off the fact that her eyes were the same azure blue as his deceased wife’s, but he couldn’t ignore the sense of recognition he felt and saw reflected back at him from her gaze.Sweet Jesus.“Mia,” he whispered huskily, his hand lowering to the table as he openly gaped at her.
Hearing Max’s quiet declaration, Kade looked at Max, following the direction of his stare, looking at the woman for a moment and then back at Max. “Don’t do this to yourself, man. It isn’t her,” Kade told him harshly.
Yeah. Sure.For the first year after Mia’s disappearance, Max had seen her everywhere he went, in every crowd. But this wasn’t the same thing. “I feel her,” Max answered, his eyes never leaving the woman, his body tensing as he rose to his feet.
Kade grasped his arm. Hard. “Her eyes are the same color, but that’s all. It isn’t her. Look at her, Max. She has short, dark hair. She’s thin. Nothing is the same except her eyes. There are lots of women with blue eyes. Stop torturing yourself. Mia’s gone and she’s never coming back.” Kade’s voice was low, grating, his head turned so only Max could hear him.
Max ignored him, shrugging off his brother-in-law’s hold as he stood, the sorrow that he felt coming from the woman beckoning him, calling to him. Stepping over the bench seat of the picnic table, he kept his focus on her. The sense of recognition he felt made every sound fade around him until all he could hear was the thundering sound of his heart pounding in his ears, and all he could feel was the eerie sensation of knowing the woman who was so close to him, yet too far away.
Déjà vu.
Those were exactly the same sensations he had experienced the moment he’d first looked at Mia and had fallen into her deep blue eyes.
As he took a step toward her, she bolted. Breaking his gaze, she pivoted and started sprinting away from him, her slim, bare limbs exposed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, moving gracefully in quick, fast strides.
Dammit. No. Don’t run. Please don’t run.
Desperation seized him as his body kicked into motion, his feet pounding the dirt as he ran after her, covering the distance between them quickly. “Wait. I just wanted to talk to you,” he yelled, close enough to almost touch her.
Her head jerked around while she was in motion, startled by his voice so close to her, her expression panicked. Concentration lost, she stumbled, not seeing the elevated sidewalk in front of her. She went down hard, her head the first thing to hit the pavement. Because she had been looking back at him, she’d never had a chance to throw out her arms to break her fall.
“Fuck.” Max’s breath left his body as he leaped to avoid landing on top of her, cringing as he saw her head connect with the cement as she went down. He slowed and turned, dropping to the ground beside her, hating himself for chasing after her like a madman and causing the brutal fall. “Are you okay?” he asked hoarsely, turning her body over gently, cradling her head.
She was dazed, her expression befuddled as though she was trying to figure out what had happened. “You didn’t shave today.”
It should have been an odd thing for her to say, but it wasn’t. He used to be meticulous about shaving, sometimes having to do it twice a day to keep the stubble from his face. He didn’t worry much about it anymore, shaving only once in the morning and ignoring his five o’clock shadow.
The sultry, confused voice flowed over Max and then sucker-punched him in the gut so hard he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. “Mia?” He could barely get her name past his lips as he gathered her fragile form into his arms, his whole body quaking with shock.
The woman shook her head, a gesture that looked like she was trying to clear her brain. “No. I’m not the woman you want,” she said as she continued to shake her head, her expression going blank as her eyes fluttered closed and her entire body went slack in his arms, her head flopping against his chest.
Bullshit. You’re exactly the woman I want.
As Max clasped her tighter against his chest, he whispered fervently, “No. Wake up. Stay with me.” The palm cradling her head was damp, and as he moved it slightly away, it was saturated with blood from a cut on her head.
Head wounds bleed a lot. It might not be as bad as it looks. Stay calm. Oh hell, who am I trying to fool? She’s out cold.
Sam, Simon, and Kade arrived as Max stood, holding the woman’s slight weight in his arms.
“Have you lost your damn mind? Why did you take off like that?” Kade stared at the woman Max was holding. “What happened to her?”
“Fell. She’s unconscious, smashed her head against the concrete. We need to get her to a hospital. Call an ambulance.”
For once, Kade didn’t argue, his hand diving into the pocket of his jeans for his phone.
Max started walking, his rational mind working automatically, knowing he needed to get her through the park and to the road where they could meet the ambulance. He could feel her warm breath against his skin, her pulse beating rapidly underneath his fingertips that were resting against her neck.
She’s alive. Mia’s alive.
Thatparticular fact was astounding on more than one level, but Max knew he couldn’t think about that now. He’d figure everything out eventually. Right now, Mia needed him to take care of her medical needs. If he didn’t focus on that and only that…he’d totally lose it, and his famous Hamilton control would desert him completely.
Max moved as quickly as he could through the park, trying not to jostle the woman in his arms too much, Simon and Sam flanking him silently on each side. Kade was behind him, still on the phone, briskly directing emergency personnel to their location.
“I can carry her for a while,” Sam said quietly, putting his hand on Max’s shoulder to try to make him stop walking.
“No,” Max growled. It would be a cold day in hell before he relinquished his hold on her. He’d just gotten her back. He wasn’t letting her go. Shrugging off Sam’s hand, he kept moving.