by SUE FINEMAN
One day soon she’d take control of the estate and throw those people out of her home. If she wasn’t such an emotional mess, she’d go home and do it now. And then she’d find a good attorney and end her marriage. The trustees in charge of her grandfather’s estate had an attorney on staff, but she couldn’t call him and risk her guardians finding out. If they knew where she was, they’d undoubtedly tell Lance.
She peered in the bathroom mirror and sighed. Her eyes were still swollen from crying so much, and her hair looked awful. Changing the color had changed her appearance enough that people may not recognize her. The box said the color was temporary, that it would wash out in time. Maybe by then she’d have her life in order.
The dumpy little cabin she rented was fairly secluded, and Lance would never believe she’d live in a place like this, so she should be safe here until she figured out how to end her marriage on her terms. He didn’t deserve to profit from their brief union, but California was a community property state. Washington probably was, too. There must be a way around that law, a way to end her marriage without paying him off.
The setting sun sparkled on the water and a man walked by on the beach. He looked up and waved, and she waved back. He must live in the little house at the other end of the beach, the only other one along here that looked lived-in. She hoped he didn’t recognize her.
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Lance Berkshire had a dread in the pit of his stomach. Cara didn’t come home last night, but his wife wouldn’t have snuck out of the house and cleaned out their bank accounts unless she intended to stay gone. She must have heard him on the phone with Sally.
He worked and re-worked scenarios in his mind, trying to figure out what to do about her. If he couldn’t take her out of the picture, he couldn’t get his hands on her money. He could kill her, but he’d be the prime suspect, and he didn’t want anyone investigating him. If the cops took his fingerprints, they’d know his true identity. Killing her wasn’t an option unless he could make it look like an accident or suicide. Even then it was risky.
Discrediting Cara, claiming she was crazy like her mother, seemed the best way. Nobody trusted rich people anyway, so he’d have public sympathy on his side. Yes, that might work. If he didn’t find her in the next day or two, he’d ask the public to help him find his ‘sick’ wife. If she thought she could get away with leaving him high and dry, she didn’t know who she was dealing with.
The private detective he hired tracked Cara to a car rental place at the airport. The car she’d rented had been returned two hours later, and she didn’t use her credit cards to rent another one. She probably bought a car, but there were hundreds of car dealers in the Puget Sound area. It would take time to track her down.
A wave of anger tore through him. Bitch! If Cara wanted to play games, he’d handle her the same way he’d handled that stupid woman in San Diego. Nobody screwed him and got away with it. By the time he finished with Cara Andrews, she’d be as crazy as her mother.
Or dead.
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Nick had just finished washing off the deck Sunday afternoon when a strong jolt nearly knocked him off his feet. What the hell was that? Seconds later, another one hit, this one even sharper than the first, and the ground shook like a giant vibrating bed gone out of control.
Earthquake.
Sounds of timbers snapping and glass breaking down the beach pulled his attention away from his own house. The Martin place was unstable without an earthquake, and a woman lived there. As soon as the shaking stopped, Nick jogged down the beach to see if she was all right.
He passed one cabin where the deck had broken loose from the foundation and rested on the ground. Another cabin had several cracked windows, but every window in Mrs. Martin’s little house was broken or shattered by the strong jolts. From the amount of debris under the living room, the floor must have given way.
The living room wall exploded out and the roof came down over that side of the house. The foundation beams, perched on pier blocks and eaten away by termites, had failed, pulling everything else out of kilter and weakening the entire structure.
A woman’s terrified scream came from inside the house, raising goose bumps on his arms. He ran closer and yelled, “Are you all right?”
“I’m scared, and the cabin is still moving.”
It sure as hell was. “Where are you?”
“In the bedroom,” she called back. “I can’t get to the door. The living room floor is gone.”
One of the supports under the deck snapped and the deck caved in. The place was falling in on itself. If that woman didn’t get her fanny out here in the next few seconds, she might never get out. Maybe she could jump out the window. “Can you get to the bedroom window?”
“I think so.”
He saw her moving near the window, but she disappeared in a scream as the roof came down and the floor dropped into the crawl space. Nick jumped back, his heart pounding in dread, and watched the front of the cabin fold up like a piece of damp cardboard. The woman’s scream ended abruptly. She was either badly injured or dead.
The beam under the outside bedroom wall was still holding. He prayed it held long enough to get her out of that death trap. If she was still alive.
He ran up the hill on the left side of the cabin, fighting his way through the salal and huckleberry bushes. The house was completely off the foundation, but the beam felt solid. Crawling under the beam, he picked his way through the rubble toward the place he thought the woman had fallen, knowing one wrong move could bring it all down on top of him. He should have his head examined for doing this, but there wasn’t time to call for help. He had to get her out now.
A few feet in, the woman lay face down, buried in debris and bedroom furniture. The low moan that came from her still body told him she was injured, but alive.
The cabin creaked and settled above them, raining more plaster dust. Nick’s heart pounded. They had to get out of here, but he couldn’t move her until he knew how badly she was injured. “Can you hear me?”
She moaned and answered, “Yes.”
“Good. Can you move your hand?”
She moved her left hand, the one nearest him.
“What about the other one?”
She moaned again, and he asked, “What hurts?”
“Mostly my right shoulder. Am I going to die?”
“Not if I can help it. Can you feel your toes?”
“Yes, but it’s hard to breathe.”
“That’s not a surprise. You have half the house on top of you.” He carefully moved a dresser and pushed pieces of the bedroom ceiling off her. A big board across her right shoulder held her down. He couldn’t move it and pull her out at the same time, and if he moved it much, neither one of them would get out alive.
“My hair is caught.”
He pushed at another beam and the structure above them began to move, spilling more insulation and plaster dust. He fought the urge to flee and save himself, but he couldn’t live with himself if he left her here to die.
He went at it from a different direction, trying to pull her hair out, but it wouldn’t budge. “Damn. I can’t get your hair loose.”
“Do you have a pocket knife?”
“Yes.”
“Cut it off. Please,” she begged. “Get me out of here.” She sounded terrified and he couldn’t blame her.
“I’m doing my best,” he said gently.
“I know,” she whispered. “I’m so scared.” Scared didn’t touch it. Cara was hurting and unable to see or move, and the cabin was folding in on her as if she were being closed in a coffin. A scream bubbled up inside her, but she held it in.
His knife tugged at her hair, freeing her head. “Can you move your feet?”
“Yes. My left leg feels wet.”
“It’s probably blood. You have a cut on your leg. I’m going to lift the beam off your shoulder, and I want you to crawl out. Okay?”
“Yes, okay.”
The beam lifted slightly. �
��That’s as far as I can move it. Get out of there. Now.”
Cara pushed with her toes, inching forward, the only direction she could go.
“Hurry. I can’t hold this much longer.”
The glass cut her hands and arm and sliced through her knee. Her shoulder hurt more with every breath, every move, but she kept going until she was free of the beam.
The house shifted above her again, bringing more dust. With a grunt, the man slowly lowered the beam. Squeaks and groans came from above them, and Cara’s heart raced with fear.
He grabbed her arm and guided her through a small opening under the side of the cabin. Her eyes burned with plaster dust, something sharp stung her knee, her head pounded, and the pain in her right shoulder snatched her breath away, but she was out of that make-shift coffin.
The man helped her down to the beach, to a big rock. Still shaking, she sat on the rock. Her eyes burned and watered, but she had dirt and glass on her fingers, so she couldn’t wipe them out. “I can’t see.”
“Yeah, I know. Hold on a minute.” He stood back and brushed off his clothes and hair and then pulled a clean handkerchief from his pocket. Lifting her chin, he gently wiped the corners of her eyes. “Better?”
She blinked several times. “Much better. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m Nick.” He spoke with a New York accent. “What’s your name?”
He didn’t recognize her, and Cara couldn’t tell him who she was. “Max. Call me Max.”
Nick ripped her pants over her left knee and pulled out a piece of glass. Blood spurted out and Cara looked away, sick to her stomach. She never could stand the sight of blood. He held his handkerchief over the cut until the bleeding stopped.
Numb with shock and pain, Cara stared at what remained of the cabin she’d rented. There was nothing left but a pile of rubble. She thought she’d be safe in that little cabin until she ended her marriage. Now she wasn’t sure she’d ever feel safe again.
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I hope you enjoyed this preview of Maxine. If you’d like to read the book in its entirety it’s available on Kindle and Nook.
Books featured in the Donatelli Series
MAXINE
The Donatelli Series - Book 1
Newlywed Cara Andrews overhears her husband talking to his girlfriend about locking Cara in an institution so he can steal her inheritance. Frightened of the man she thought she loved, Cara sneaks away from their home in Seattle and rents a run-down cabin in Gig Harbor, intending to hide out there until she can end her marriage.
When the cabin collapses in an earthquake, a neighbor, Nick Donatelli, risks his life to rescue Cara. The roads are damaged, power and phones are out. They’re trapped in Nick’s cabin on the shores of Puget Sound until the paramedics come by boat to take her to the hospital. She’s afraid to go alone, afraid someone will recognize her and tell her husband, so she claims she’s Nick’s wife, Maxine Donatelli.
Nick is warm and friendly, and she enjoys his company. But Cara is one of the wealthiest women in the world, and Nick is a man who works with his hands. When he learns who she is, he’s uncomfortable with her wealth. She’s falling in love, but her husband is a ruthless man who’ll do anything to get his hands on her estate. Cara intends to leave before her husband tracks her down, before he hurts Nick. Before he kills her.
BLIND LOVE
The Donatelli Series - Book 2
Catherine Timmons comes up with a new television reality show with a twist, but before she can develop the show, she’s called home to take care of her father, who was injured in a fall. Catherine has to call the security company to help her evict her father’s latest bimbo.
Tony Donatelli helps her remodel the house to accommodate her father’s wheelchair, and Catherine realizes he’s the perfect bachelor for her show. He’s handsome and charming, with a killer smile and buff body. She’s committed to doing the show, but after getting to know Tony, she’s reluctant to share her dream guy with a bunch of love-starved women.
Tony has spent most of his adult life chasing women, but after a frightening experience with a crazy woman, he’s reluctant to get involved again. He can’t help himself with Catherine. He’s falling in love, but she wants to give him to another woman on a stupid television show.
The first night of filming, Tony is stunned to learn the concept of the show, but it’s too late to back out now. Then the bimbo who tried to trap Catherine’s father into marriage decides she wants Tony, and she’ll do whatever it takes to get him.
THE INHERITANCE
The Donatelli Series - Book 3
Blade Banner inherits his grandfather’s estate. He’s given a million and the old man’s mansion, but the rest won’t be his until he marries. He’s been alone since he was fifteen and has never had a long-term relationship. What woman would want to marry a man whose best friend is his Harley? He promised his grandfather he’d help maintain the integrity of the family shipping business, but he can’t get his hands on the company stock until he finds himself a wife. Another company wants to take over and gut the company, but without the stock, there’s nothing Blade can do to stop the take-over.
After a bitter divorce, Maria Donatelli, mother of four, gets roped into working with Blade on a house plan. From the beginning, sparks fly between them, and even though she tries to keep her distance, she can’t stay away from him. She doesn’t tell him she can hear his thoughts, a gift she inherited from her mother.
Blade tries to convince Maria to marry him to help him claim his entire inheritance, but he can’t tell her what she longs to hear – that he loves her and wants a real marriage.
Maria isn’t Blade’s only problem. People are dying, and he’s sure the deaths have something to do with his inheritance. He’s afraid they’ll come after Maria and the kids, and he’ll do everything in his power to protect them.
THE INN AT DEAD MAN’S POINT
The Donatelli Series - Book 4
Alessandro Donatelli, the youngest of the Donatelli brood, has a promising career as an architect, but he needs a quiet place to work. He buys the run-down inn at Dead Man’s Point from a ninety-year-old woman. She gives him a good price, but part of the deal is that he has to let her live out her life in the inn, the only home she’s ever known. He wants the inn, so he accepts the deal. How many more years could a woman that age live?
When the old woman breaks her arm, her great-niece comes to take care of her. Jenna Madison’s parents supposedly bought into the inn before they died. Uncle Charlie said the inn would be hers someday, but she can’t find a record of her parents’ investment. And Al Donatelli claims he owns the inn.
Jenna and Al knew each other in high school, when he was a shy nerd and she was the class slut. One kiss is all it takes to forget the past and fuel their passion, but life at the inn isn’t easy. The old woman has other plans for the inn, and she doesn’t care who gets in her way.
BONUS STORY
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The Frogtown Flasher
by
Sue Fineman
Grandpa’s booming voice woke Caitlin Harrigan before the alarm went off. “Damn dog is doing her business in my yard again.”
Cait pulled the pillow over her head, but it didn’t muffle the sound of the slamming door. One of these days, Grandpa and the neighbor, Zola Santino, would come to blows over that sweet-natured basset hound.
Please don’t let it be today. She had a presentation to make to an important client today.
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Three hours later, Caitlin had nearly finished her presentation. The clients smiled at her new ad campaign, and she could almost smell the interior of the new car she’d buy with her bonus.
The department assistant quietly stepped into the conference room and handed Cait’s boss, Evan Greene, a note. “I’ll finish the presentation, Miss Harrigan. You have a situation that needs immediate attention.”
“Excuse me,” she said calmly, although she didn’t feel calm. Far from it. What cou
ld be so important he’d send her out in the middle of her presentation?
Hands shaking, Caitlin stepped out the door. The assistant said, “Sorry to interrupt, Cait, but a policeman is here about your grandfather. He’s waiting in your office.”
Heart pounding, she rushed into her office and saw a man looking out the window. “Is my grandfather all right?”
The man turned toward her, a man she once knew quite well. “Henry’s in jail,” he said.
Rico Capelli. He didn’t wear a uniform like before, but he was still a cop. So much time had passed, she didn’t know whether to rush into his arms or smack him for running out on her without saying goodbye.
She did neither.
She and Rico were once lovers. Although he hadn’t officially asked her, they had an understanding that someday they’d get married. Then they had a little spat about something, and he disappeared from her life. His aunt, Zola Santino, the neighbor Grandpa loved to hate, told her Rico was going to marry someone else. Cait cried for weeks. Now she couldn’t even remember what they fought about. Not that it mattered now. He’d obviously moved on.
Rico got himself a wife, and Cait decided if she couldn’t have the man she wanted, she wouldn’t have any man. Seeing Rico again brought a lump to her throat, but he didn’t come to rekindle a dead romance. He came about Grandpa. “Why is Grandpa in jail?”
“He flashed my aunt.”
“Flashed? As in…”
He waved his hand as he talked. “As in letting it all hang out. He put a paper bag filled with dog poop on her doorstep and rang the bell. She opened the door and caught him with his zipper down.”
A little laugh burst from her mouth. “You’ve got to be kidding. The paper bag I can understand, because Grandpa has been complaining about Zola’s dog doing her business on our lawn, but he wouldn’t deliberately—“