Search Me (11 page)

“Should we look for some candles or something?”

“When I was scoping out the garage, I think I saw some Coleman lanterns. I’ll go get them.”

I nodded. Since it had gotten darker, the part of me that was a chicken didn’t want to be left alone, but at the same time, it had been a long, long time since I’d been to the bathroom. With my flashlight, I searched the open room for doors that might lead to one. I found one and dipped inside. I had just finished when Maddox returned.

Before I could say anything to him, my phone rang in my purse. I fumbled for it and glanced at the ID. “Oh shit, it’s my parents.” I looked up at Maddox. “What should I tell them?”

“Nothing unless they ask. Just pretend that everything is fine.”

I widened my eyes. “But I’m a horrible liar. I never get away with anything,” I protested.

Maddox rolled his eyes. “For Christ sake, Lane, you’ve spent two years in college, and you still can’t lie to your parents?”

“That’s not who I am and you know it.”

“Well, you better put on a good act.”

“Easier said than done,” I grumbled. With shaky hands, I pressed the button and brought the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Hey sweetie, it’s Mom.”

“H-Hi. Did you guys just land?” I cringed when my voice cracked.

“We sure did. It was such a smooth flight. Your father is tracking down our luggage as we speak. I told him not to check a bag because of our luck with lost luggage, but you know him.”

Even though Mom continued rattling on, I began to tune her out. It was too painful hearing her voice. More than anything, I wanted to be with her—to have her wrap me in her arms so we could cry together about Maudie. And I wanted to be with Dad so he could protect me from all of Jensen’s craziness.

“Lane? Are you still there?”

“Oh, um, sorry. Yeah.”

“Everything okay at home?”

I gulped and met Maddox’s eye. As he cocked his eyebrows, I said, “Yeah. Sure. Everything’s just fine.”

“That’s good. Now don’t stay up too late. Remember to set the alarm—”

I gripped my phone tighter. Honestly, the last thing I needed right now was Mom being overprotective. I had to fight myself from saying,
You know what, Mom? I’ve been chased by thugs, and I even shot a man today, not to mention leaving Maudie behind in a pool of blood. I think I’m a little past alarm systems and a bed time.
But instead, I replied, “Mom, would you please remember I’m nineteen. I’ve lived in a dorm for goodness sake.”

“I know, sweetie. It’s just the over-protective mom in me. I worry no matter where you are—Oh, you’ve got the bags, Stephen? Wonderful. Lane, honey, I’ve got to go. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure Mom.”

“I love you bunches. Daddy sends his love, too.”

“I love you, too.”

When I hung up, I met Maddox’s questioning eyes. “She thinks everything is fine.”

“Good.”

“Yeah, it’s good she thinks that, but it’s the farthest thing from the truth.”

“So?”

I threw my hands up in exasperation. “So? I just totally concealed everything that’s happened today. My parents are up in Charleston on their way to their hotel room with no idea that Maudie’s been shot and could be dead, and we’re on the run from gangsters who want our treasure map!”

He stared at me for a moment before giving a slight shake of his head. “You look like hell. You better get a shower. Even though this place seems like it’s all closed up, I better keep a watch out while you get cleaned up.” He motioned down the hallway. “The first door on the right is the guest bedroom and bathroom. The next door is the master bedroom and bath. Pick either one you want.”

Now it was my turn to stare in disbelief. I mean, no words of comfort or even an acknowledgement for my feelings or for what had happened to Maudie? Instead, he’d gone full-on jerk by taking a jab at my appearance. I balled up my fists and fought the urged to give him a punch in his perfect face.

He’d bent over and started rifling through his bag. When I remained rooted to the floor, he whirled back around. “Dammit, Lane, are you deaf? I said go get cleaned up.”

“Stop it!”

“Excuse me?”

“Stop acting like some Drill Sergeant barking out commands. I have feelings, you know, and I think in spite of everything, I’m doing a pretty decent job of keeping my shit together! But you just can’t ignore what happened today.” As Maddox’s expression darkened, I said, “Yes, we have to keep it together, but I
know
you have to be upset about Maudie—”

“I don’t want to talk about her!” he shouted, his face reddening.

“And why not? I know how much you love her—she’s been a mother to you.” Maddox took a step towards me and held up his hand as if to silence me. But I quickly blurted, “I love her too, you know. I can’t help thinking about her every second—like, if she was already gone when the paramedics got there, or if they were able to help her. And I’m sure you can’t help doing the same thing.”

Maddox closed his eyes as if he was trying to count to ten to remain calm. “Lane, I’m not discussing this anymore.”

“But—”

“I swear to God if you don’t get your ass down the hall right now, I’ll drag you to the shower myself!!”

“You wouldn’t dare,” I countered.

With a low growl from deep in this throat, Maddox stalked over to me. The intensity of his glare made me shudder. “You have always been and always will be an epic pain in my ass,” he roared before grabbing me around the waist.

“Stop it,” I screeched, trying to wriggle out of his grasp.

Despite my protesting and thrashing around, he threw me over his shoulder in one swoop. My chin banged against his shoulder blade as he adjusted his hold on me under my butt.

“Put me down!” I pounded his back with my fists before sending a stinging smack along the curve of his backside.

“Ooh, Lane, I didn’t know you could be so kinky,” he mused as he hauled me through the bedroom and into the dark bathroom.

“I’m not kinky, you asshole. I’m pissed off.”

Shifting my weight on one of his arms, he used his other to turn the shower on. “Maddox, no—”

My cries were drowned out as he plopped me onto my feet directly under the stream of water. I screamed as the icy pellets stung against my skin. When he started to pull away, I fisted his shirt with both hands and jerked me to him. We stood there, inches apart, my chest heaving, and me shivering so hard my teeth chattered as we gave each other death glares. “Y-You’re a f-fucking c-caveman!”

He inched closer, his mouth hovering precariously close to mine. The heat from his body slightly warmed my freezing one. Memories of our one night together assaulted my mind—the way his lips felt on mine, the way his strong hands had worked over my body. Cocking his head to the side, he smirked down at me. “You know you’re kinda sexy soaked to the bone like that.” He licked his lips. “It highlights all your delicious curves.” With his breath scorching against my cheek, he said, “It makes me want to kiss you.”

Be strong, Lane. Don’t fall for his bullshit like before.
“You know what you throwing me in the shower makes me want to do?”

“What?”

“This,” I replied before lightly kneeing him in the balls.

“Ummph,” he muttered.

“Now, if you’re done with your little tirade, I’d like to take a shower.”

After huffing and puffing for a few seconds, Maddox staggered out onto the tile. I followed on his heels, soaking the floor. “Where are you going?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“I need one of the lanterns.”

“I’ll bring you one.” When I opened my mouth to protest, he held up his hand. “You don’t need to be dripping all over the house.”

“Okay.” While he was gone to get the lantern, I poked around under the counter for shampoo and soap. Luckily, I was able to come up with some good stuff by the time he returned.

“Here,” he grumbled before shoving the lantern at me.

“Thank you,” I replied sweetly.

When Maddox rolled his eyes, I slammed and locked the door behind him. I then made the mistake of glancing in the mirror. Dammit, he was right. I was a mess. My hair was matted and tangled, not to mention I had to pick out a few stray leaves. Dirt streaked across both of my cheeks, and my clothes were caked with mud. I quickly disrobed and then hopped back into the shower.

As I slipped under the stream of steaming water, I moaned. After a full day at work coupled with being on the run, my muscles screamed in agony. I turned the water on full force and let it pound my body. I closed my eyes to try to shut out the events of the day. Instead, they crashed over me again and again.

The thoughts caused a boulder-sized lump to lodge in my throat as the sobs built in my chest. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the image of Maudie crumpled on the floor out of my mind. Sobs began to roll through me, and I didn’t bother fighting them. Instead, I clung to the sides of the shower and gave in to the desperate heaving of my body. I knew with the water on Maddox couldn’t hear me. I shouldn’t have cared what he thought, but I was tired of appearing to him like a total and complete emotional weakling.

When my sobs finally dried up into hiccupping sighs, I scrubbed the mud off my body and shampooed the grit out of my hair. I could’ve stayed in the shower forever, but then I remembered that Maddox needed hot water too. After I turned off the water, I stepped out and eyed my muddy, torn, and soaked clothes. I guess I would have to check the closet for something to change into. Of course I was a little scared of what I would find in there after the pictures in the hallway of the owner and his trophy wife.

I was contemplating wrapping the towel around me when I spied a robe hanging behind the door. I pulled it off the satin hanger and cocked my head. It was a slinky, red silk robe. It looked like something you would see in a Victoria’s Secret window.

Reluctantly, I slid it on. A glance at my shadowy reflection in the mirror reiterated how little skin the robe actually covered. But it would have to do until I could find something to wear.

I opened the door and smacked right into Maddox outfitted only in his boxer shorts. I jerked the barely there fabric tighter around me. “W-What are you doing?”

“While I was waiting on you to finish, I thought I’d hit up the master closet for some clothes.” He held out his arm where he’d draped a pair of jeans and a polo shirt.

I barely heard his response. Instead, my gaze trailed over his broad chest. While he’d boasted the chiseled abs before, the multicolored tattoos were new since the last time I had seen him shirtless. Suddenly, my mouth ran dry. I glanced up to see he was smirking at me.

“Nice robe,” he mused.

“Whatever,” I grumbled, pushing past him. Knowing his eyes were still on me, I tugged at the hem to keep my ass from showing. Thank goodness for the dim lantern lights. I had a feeling the shadows were keeping me covered from his leering gaze.

I stopped for a tissue on the dresser. “You’ve been crying,” Maddox noted.

The sudden tenderness in his voice caused me to freeze. I refused to turn around to let him see my face again. “No, it’s just the steam got to my eyes.”

In an instant, he appeared at my side. “Listen Lane, I, uh, I shouldn’t have talked to you that way before. And I sure as hell shouldn’t have thrown you into the shower like that. I’ve been kinda programmed to handle my emotions a certain way in the last few years.”

I snorted. “The last few years? Try your entire life.” When he didn’t respond, I glanced back at him over my shoulder. In the shadows, he didn’t look like the hardened jerk-face I usually saw. Instead, he had the puppy dog expression he used to wear when we were kids and he truly wanted me to accept his apology.

He rocked back and forth on his heels as he tried to get the words out that always gave him so much trouble. “I know that. But anyway, uh, I’m sorry.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

He gave a slight nod and turned to head to the bathroom, but I reached out for his arm. “Maddox?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m here for you whenever you want to talk. Okay?”

Instead of acknowledging me, his gaze honed in on something on the ceiling. He cocked his head. “I’ll be damned. I’ve never actually seen one of those in real life before.”

Craning my neck, I peered up to see a mirror. I gasped when I realized it was directly over the bed.

He collapsed onto the mattress, gazing up at his reflection. “That’s hot.”

“Ugh, I think it’s disgusting—it and the obvious sex fiend people who live here.”

“Of course you do, Princess.” He propped up on his elbows and grinned at me. “But I agree with you on the owners being freaks. I mean who still owns a waterbed?”

For the first time, I noticed he was swaying on the rolling bed. “Ew, is it really?”

“Yep.” He patted the spot next to him. “Wanna try it?”

“No thank you.”

He chuckled. “No matter how long I’ve been gone from home, some things never change. You’re always going to be the cautious good girl.”