Read Online Breaking Point by Suzanne Brockmann - Free Book Online Page A

“You may not think of
me
as a friend,” he said, “but I think of you as one. You’ve always treated me with kindness and respect so I’m going to return the favor, whether you like it or not. I’m not going to pretend to know what you must be feeling right now, but Gina was my friend, too, and I
do
know how badly
I’m
hurting. So, go ahead, sweetie. Have at me. Be as rude to me as you need to be. Or you don’t even have to talk to me—I won’t take it personally. I’ll just sit next to you on the flight. I’ll handle all the arrangements. I’ll take care of the details about where we need to go and what we need to do, so you won’t have to. And whether you like it or not, I’m going with you to that morgue. Because no one should ever have to do something like that alone, especially when a friend who loves them is standing by.”
    Max didn’t say a word for a very, very long time. He just sat there, trying to incinerate Jules with his eyes. “I should just kill you and stuff you into the trunk,” he said, when he finally spoke.
    Shit.
Jules worked hard not to react. He just nodded, and even managed to shrug nonchalantly. “Well, I guess you could certainly
try . . .
”
    Max just sat there, glaring. But then he shook his head. He got out of the car and started the trek toward the terminal, not bothering to wait for Jules.
    Who grabbed his raincoat and his bag and followed.
    S HEFFIELD P HYSICAL R EHAB C ENTER , M C L EAN , V IRGINIA
N OVEMBER 11, 2003
N INETEEN M ONTHS A GO
    “Don’t,” Max said, closing his eyes to keep Gina from taking another picture with her new digital camera, recording for posterity just how much of a wimp he was—dressed in his jammies and tucked in his bed here at the Sheffield Physical Rehab Center at four in the afternoon, ready for a nap.
    “How’d it go?” she asked.
    “It was fine,” he lied. In truth, the session had hurt. Like hell. He’d been discouraged, too, by how weak he was, how quickly he’d tired. How exhausted it had made him.
    Gina crossed to the desk that was built into the wall beside his bed, and carefully put down her camera. She’d gotten the damn thing for her trip to Kenya. Max hoped the fact that she’d taken it out of the box and was learning how to use it didn’t mean she’d rescheduled her flight.
    Kenya. God.
    He’d been trying to talk her into embracing the excitement and adventure of law school. He had an in at NYU. Gina would be accepted there, based on Max’s recommendation, in a heartbeat.
    “Kevin said he thought you were in some serious pain but that you just wouldn’t quit,” she told him as she nudged his legs over and sat down on the bed. “He was very impressed.”
    Kevin was one of those touchy-feely physical therapists who had his cheerleading pompoms ready to wave for even the most insignificant events. Old Mrs. Klinger, recovering from a stroke, had lifted the index finger on her right hand a whole half an inch! Rah-rah-rah! Ajay Moseley held a pencil and wrote a note to his grandmother for the first time since the car accident! Whoo-hoo! Forget about the fact that the kid would never walk again. Forget about the fact that he’d suffered so much damage to his skinny little body that he needed a new kidney, that he was on dialysis just to stay alive.
    Max gazed impassively at Gina. “If you already asked Kevin how it went, why bother asking me?”
    “Because I love it when you do that stoic he-man thing,” she said, leaning toward him, her mouth now dangerously close to his, her hand burning his thigh. “It makes me really hot.”
    She was kidding. It was supposed to be funny. A joke. He knew that, but his mouth went dry anyway.
    He found himself gazing into her eyes at a very close proximity.
    And wanting her. Badly. Yup, Doctor Yao was right. He was definitely starting to feel far more like his old self again.
    He had to use every ounce of self-control that he owned to keep himself from reaching for her.
    Every