The Billionaire's Salvation: (The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Max) (3 page)

He was reaching for a hamburger bun when he saw
her
, 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.

That
particular 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.

“You can’t hang on to her until the ambulance gets here. It could take awhile.” Simon tried to reason with
him.

“The hell I can’t,” Max answered harshly, his hold tightening on his woman involuntarily as he lengthened his stride. “She’s my wife. I’ll carry her as long as I need to.” He needed to keep her, needed to hold
her.

He didn’t notice Sam and Simon’s astonished looks as they both gaped at him like he’d suddenly lost his
mind.

“You think that’s Mia?” Sam asked, confused.

“It is Mia,” Max answered confidently.

“Max, she doesn’t look like
Mia—”

Arriving at the parking lot, Max jerked his head around to look at Sam, telling him belligerently, “It’s her.” He knew his own wife. She smelled like Mia; she felt like Mia; she
was
Mia.

The woman in his arms began to stir just as Kade joined the three men. Sirens were wailing distantly, rapidly moving closer. “Ambulance is coming,” Kade muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets, his expression concerned as he looked at Max. “Max, I know you think that’s Mia, but you must know that she really
isn’t.”

Max watched Mia’s eyes flutter open slowly, blinking like she was trying to focus her vision and looking around warily. “What happened? Why are you carrying me?” she
rasped.

“You fell and hit your head, sweetheart,” Max answered
softly.

“Can you put me down please?” she requested, squirming.

Scowling, he answered, “Not happening. You’re
hurt.”

Irritated, she looked at her brother. “Kade, can you tell Max that I’m fine? Where did you get that horrible shirt? I think that’s worse than the one with the purple birds.” Her confused eyes moved over Simon and Sam. “Why are Simon and Sam here? Where the hell are we? Dammit! I feel like I got run over by a semi-truck.” She rested her head against Max’s shoulder and closed her eyes, no longer arguing about Max holding her, her lucid moment apparently
over.

The four men all looked at one another, none of them moving as they stared at the female Max was holding.

“Holy shit,” Simon and Sam grumbled in
unison.

Max’s heart accelerated, his mouth going dry. He found himself incapable of speech as he tried to wrap his mind around what was happening…and failed miserably.

Kade yanked the phone from his pocket and punched one of the buttons. Raising his voice to be heard over the sirens of the arriving ambulance, he shouted into the phone, “Travis? I need you to meet us at the hospital. We think we found Mia, and she’s
alive.”

Maddie, Kara, and the rest of the guests for the picnic arrived, everyone talking at once as a paramedic hopped out of the ambulance and rushed over with the gurney. Max reluctantly laid Mia on the board that rested on top of the pristine sheet, but he gripped her hand and never let go. Ignoring the chaos around him, he followed wherever his wife was going. Hopping into the ambulance, he sat near her head and let the paramedic do his job, but he gripped her hand, squeezing it lightly, needing to keep the connection.

“Are you hurt, sir?” the brisk voice of the young medic
asked.

The question barely penetrated the fog around Max’s brain. Slowly, he glanced down at his t-shirt, realizing he was covered in blood from Mia’s head
wound.

“No,” he said huskily, shaking his head. “Not anymore.”

The perplexed young man in uniform looked at Max for a moment and shrugged, obviously convinced that the blood on Max belonged to Mia. Setting back to work, he stemmed the blood from Mia’s head wound, stabilized her head and neck, and started peppering Max with medical questions about his
wife.

Yanking himself brutally from his own thoughts, Max went into autopilot, answering every question, responding coherently, giving the paramedic every bit of information he could to help
Mia.

Mustering every bit of the Hamilton control he could find, Max calmed and buried his emotions. It should have been easy. It was something he’d done most of his life. But right now, it was an enormous effort, one that he almost didn’t care whether he accomplished or
not.

Do it for Mia. She needs you to be sensible and get a grip on yourself.

With that thought, Max was able to totally rein himself in, become the rational man she had always expected.

By the time the ambulance arrived at the hospital, Max was in command of himself; the only signal that he hadn’t quite managed to completely bury his emotions was the steadfast, unwavering grip he retained on Mia’s
hand.

By some unknown phenomenon, Max knew he was actually getting a second chance. As improbable as it was, his wife had been given back to him, and he wasn’t going to fuck it up this
time.

His face grim, he never left Mia, even when he was instructed to wait somewhere else. He’d waited long enough. He had his wife in his grasp, and he wasn’t ever letting her go
again.

“I
’ve talked to all of her doctors, Max. Even the consulting psychiatrist. Her traumatic brain injury is fairly mild; she’s experiencing some symptoms of post-concussion syndrome with retrograde amnesia. She really doesn’t remember the last two and a half years or what occurred during that time.” Maddie was using her doctor’s voice, but her expression was concerned as she sat down next to Max in the hospital waiting room and covered his hand with
hers.

Max released an exhausted breath before replying, “Could you put that in layman’s terms, Maddie? What does it mean?” Running a frustrated hand from his forehead to his jaw, he looked at his sister, unable to hide his pleading expression. He wanted someone to tell him that Mia was going to be okay. Anything else was just not acceptable.

“It means when she smashed her head into the cement, it scrambled her brain around inside of her skull and screwed up some of the tiny cells that exist inside the brain. She’s fine, Max. Really. There’s nothing significant on her MRI. The headache and dizziness will eventually subside and her memory should come back.” She removed her hand from his as Sam entered the room with a cardboard holder filled with foam cups of coffee, silently handing both him and Maddie a cup before taking one for himself and plopping beside his
wife.

Max knew he should feel some sort of relief from hearing the words Maddie was saying, but every time he saw the vulnerability on Mia’s face, it made him want to kill someone. Problem was, he had no idea
who
to hurt for what had happened to his wife. Hell, he didn’t even know
what
had happened to her. Most of the time, he didn’t dare question the fact that she was back and whole. But he couldn’t help having a few moments of doubt, wondering where in the hell she’d been, what she’d gone through during the last few years. He was a man of reason, and nothing was making
sense.

As though reading his mind, Sam commented slowly but dangerously, “We’ll figure out what happened,
Max.”

Max could hear in Sam’s tone the words he didn’t say aloud…
and the bastard or bastards responsible will pay if they hurt her.
Max looked across his sister and saw Sam’s expression. As the two men’s eyes connected, Sam nodded once at Max, letting him know he meant business. Max inclined his head slightly, acknowledging Sam’s support, so damn glad that someone understood his irritation and frustration, his raw male need to get revenge for whatever had happened to Mia. Yeah, he wasn’t sure she had even been hurt, but someone had taken her away, and he wanted that person’s head right
now.

“You need to sleep, Max. You’ve been here for two days straight. Go home and get some rest. Mia can go home in the morning.” Maddie’s voice was pleading, her eyes troubled.

Oh, hell no.
They’d need an entire damn army to drag him away from Mia. She was confused and scared, and though Maddie didn’t know it, that was a rarity for Mia. He needed to be here with her. His wife was back, and nothing was taking her away from him again. With the uncertainty of what exactly had occurred, why she had disappeared, there was no way he was leaving her. “I’m staying. I’ll sleep when we go home,” he answered stubbornly, pulling the lid from his coffee and taking a healthy gulp. “You two need to take off. I’ll be fine here.” Shit, he wanted to get up and dance because his wife had been returned to him. He probably would if he wasn’t so damn tired and worried.

Kade and Travis had left for the day, but Maddie and Sam had stayed behind, Maddie hunting down the doctors to get the whole story after getting Mia’s permission to do so. Thank God his sister was a physician. Max needed to hear what was happening from someone he trusted, and in a language he understood.

Sam stood and clasped his wife’s hand, pulling her to her
feet.

“I don’t want to leave you alone here tonight, Max,” Maddie said softly, her sympathetic gaze running over her brother and his disheveled appearance.

Max looked up at her, his heart warming from her sisterly concern. Putting his coffee on the table beside him, he stood up and pulled her into a bear hug. Sam plucked the coffee from his wife’s hand deftly as Max swept Maddie into his arms and squeezed her tightly. “Thank you for being here when I needed you, but I’m not alone anymore. Mia’s here. I’m exactly where I should be.” His voice was hoarse, his emotions getting closer to the surface with exhaustion.

Releasing Maddie, he told Sam, “Take her home. She’s pregnant with my nephew.”

Sam snorted. “You mean my daughter?” He raised a brow at
Max.

Max rolled his eyes. “My nephew,” he argued good-naturedly. He knew Sam didn’t care whether Maddie had a boy or girl, as long as the baby was healthy. But since he’d learned that Sam was dreaming of a little girl cousin for Simon’s soon-to-arrive baby girl, Max immediately had to be contrary. It just wouldn’t be natural
not
to argue with
Sam.

Sam took Maddie’s hand and slapped Max on the back. “Now you can have one of your own, buddy. See you tomorrow.” Sam exited the waiting room with Maddie, his parting words still echoing in Max’s
brain.

Max had barely started to dare to believe Mia was alive, back in his life again. It was too early to start thinking about kids, but it didn’t stop the longing when he thought about the fact that he might have something other than a bleak future. His heart racing, he exited the waiting room, striding quickly toward Mia’s
room.

His wife had been in the hospital for two days, yet he’d barely had a chance to talk to her. Someone was always taking her away for tests or exams, and when she was in her room, someone was always visiting. He wanted some time alone with her, needed
it.

He didn’t knock. The door was ajar and he pushed it open gently with his shoulder, his eyes immediately drawn to the bed. Max didn’t know what he had been expecting, but he exhaled hard, expelling the breath of relief he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Maybe he was afraid he was delusional, or that she’d be gone. But she was there, her head down and looking at the screen of her laptop, her teeth worrying her lower lip as she tapped on the keyboard.

She’s scared. I know that worried expression.

Her hair was still short, but it was blonde again, the color that she’d used apparently temporary. Most of it had washed out after the nurse had helped her shower. Max couldn’t deny that he wanted to know why she had wanted to cover her blonde locks, why she’d cut her beautiful hair short, but he pushed the questions away. He wasn’t getting any answers—not right now anyway. Instead, he just stared at the short curly locks that framed her beautiful face. Dressed in a pink pastel nightgown with fuzzy slippers, she looked much younger than her actual twenty-nine
years.

I missed two of her birthdays. We missed two anniversaries.

No matter. Max planned on making up for every moment they’d lost. Never again would he tell himself he had time, that he had years to enjoy life with Mia
after
he’d created his empire, and especially
once he’d learned
to control the intensity of his emotions around her. The latter was the primary reason he’d focused on his business. The way he’d felt about her was too intense, too raw, too hard to hide. She’d been his one vulnerability, a major crack in his Hamilton control, and he’d had a very hard time keeping his possessive instincts in check. Now, he couldn’t care less whether he was in control or not. Everything had stopped mattering to him the moment he had lost
her.

Learned your lessons, dumbass?

Oh yeah, he definitely had. Life was short, and nothing really mattered except the people you cared
about.

“What are you doing?” he asked curiously as he moved into the room, letting the door click closed behind
him.

Her luminous blue eyes looked up from the computer, her lips curling into a happy smile as she saw him. The look was so familiar that it nearly brought him to his
knees.

“Research. I’m trying to find out more about what happened to me and why I can’t remember.” She closed the laptop and gave him her full attention, a familiar action that had always disconcerted him and fascinated him at the same time. Now, he found it enchanting and seductive, something that helped quench a deep-seated
need.

He sat in the chair next to the bed, unable to tear his eyes away from her face. “And what did you find out, Madame Detective?”

“Not much. Nothing the doctors haven’t already told me. I did find it a little spooky reading about my own supposed death.” She sighed and rested against the pillows behind her back before continuing, “Losing over two years of my life is scary. It seems like just yesterday that we were attending the Bannister Charity Dinner, but I can feel the hole in my life, that everything’s changed.” She paused and whispered softly, “I’ve changed.”

“We’ll figure it all out, sweetheart. I swear. Everything will be okay,” Max answered, taking her hand in his and scooting the chair closer to the
bed.

“I’m glad you’re here.” Her eyes moved from his face and looked at their joined hands. “Obviously I haven’t been living a life of leisure. My hands are
rough.”

Max flipped her hand over, noticing her ragged nails and callused hands for the first time. “You’ve never lived a life of leisure. You’re the busiest woman I
know.”

But her appearance was always perfect, always impeccably groomed and stylish.

The changes
were
odd, but he wasn’t about to tell her
that.

“Oh well. At least I’m thin,” she said wistfully.

Yeah. She was. Too damn skinny. Another thing that was perplexing. Mia always had herself on some kind of diet, and Max had hated it. She’d had perfect curves, and an ass that made his cock hard every time he got a glimpse of her swaying hips in front of him. “It’s nothing that some good Italian food won’t fix,” he told her with a
grin.

She groaned. “Pasta is my
enemy.”

“You love it,” he reminded her, wanting to laugh at a comment she’d muttered every time she’d put away a plate of fettuccini, usually followed by a healthy serving of tiramisu. Honestly, he didn’t care how she looked; in his eyes, she’d always be the most beautiful woman on the
planet.

She pulled her hand gently from his and set her laptop aside. Twisting her hands nervously together, she mumbled, “I had them do a DNA test. My brothers provided their blood for me to have it done. It wouldn’t be as conclusive as it would be if my mom was still alive
but—”

“Why? I know you’re my wife. You
know—“

“I want you to know for certain. I disappeared for over two years. You deserve some sort of scientific
proof.”

“I don’t need it. I have no doubts. I knew the moment I saw you in the park, Mia,” he replied, slightly annoyed that she felt she had to prove herself to
him.

“I think my brother wants it,” Mia said quietly, the disappointment evident in her
voice.

Bastard. I’ll rip his damn heart out.
“Travis,” Max said aloud, his tone vibrating with
anger.

“No. I think Travis believes me. But I’m not so sure about Kade,” Mia admitted, her expression vulnerable.

“Kade? Why the fuck does he want it?” Okay…Max could believe that Travis would want proof. He could be a coldhearted bastard who believed only in concrete facts. But Kade? “I’ll kill him,” he grumbled, thinking of the many ways he could torture his brother-in-law for asking this of Mia right
now.

“He didn’t really ask. I offered. And I think it’s important that we get rid of any doubts for a lot of reasons. Kade just seems different, distant, and hesitant to accept that I’m really his sister.” Mia sighed. “Maybe it’s just from the disappointment of the accident and his girlfriend breaking up with him. But he seems uncertain, and I don’t want anyone to have any doubts.”

“I’m still fucking killing him,” Max answered irritably.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you drop the f-bomb before,” Mia said teasingly.

“Yeah…well…things have changed. I’ve changed,” Max admitted, knowing it was true. He wasn’t the same man she had known
before.

“I’m different, too. I remember our life together before I disappeared, but I don’t feel like that same person anymore,” she whispered just loud enough for Max to hear her. “I’m
sorry.”

“Hey.” Max stood and tipped her chin up so he could see her gorgeous eyes. “It doesn’t matter. I never stopped loving you. And I never will. We’ll start over, get to know each other again.” He’d take his time, let her recover, but Max was determined that Mia
would
know
him.

He wanted to tell her that he knew how empty his life was without her, how his heart had bled each and every day that she’d been gone, that he wished he had died with her when he thought she was dead. But she wasn’t ready for that right now, and he ruthlessly shoved the thoughts away. Right now, he just wanted her whole, healthy, and
happy.