Search Me

by Katie Ashley

  “I threw them in the grill’s washing machine downstairs after you puked on them.”

  My brows furrows. “Wait, I puked on you.”

  “The first time, yes. The second, it was all over you.”

  Moaning, I rubbed my forehead. “How mortifying.”

  He grinned. “Hey, it’s perfectly normal to toss your cookies the first time you get good and drunk.”

  “If you say so.”

  Maddox playfully trailed a finger back and forth across my collarbone. “I knew you’d be pissed that I stripped you down, but I kinda had to.”

  “No, it’s okay. It would’ve been worse to wake up lying in puke.” Propping up on my elbow, I smiled at him. “Besides how can I be mad at you when you were only taking care of me?” I tenderly kissed the left side of his chest. “You really do have a good heart, Maddox.”

  “It’s all yours, babe.”

  “I’ll take it.” Leaning up, I bestowed a kiss on his lips. When I pulled away, I giggled. “Who would have thought it would take being on the run from treasure seekers to bring us back together?”

  “Or that being in such shitty surroundings would get us so hot,” Maddox mused.

  I took in our dismal surroundings and nodded in agreement. “Maybe when all the craziness has died down, we can combine our share of the gold and go somewhere really romantic?”

  He groaned. “Now I’m going to have to be romantic too?”

  I giggled and nuzzled my face against his chest. “Oh yes. And you’re going to have to be in a relationship. Just you and me.”

  “Haven’t you ever heard of baby steps?”

  “Not where this is concerned. It’s all or nothing. Better yet, I’m all or nothing.”

  “Fine,” he huffed. But when I brought my head up to meet his gaze, he smiled. “Okay, I think it’s time for us to get some sleep.”

  When I started to pull away for my side of the bed, he wrapped his arms tight around me. “No, we can stay just like this.”

  I didn’t try to hide my goofy grin as I laid my head back on his chest. As I started to drift off into a contended sleep, I knew even if we didn’t find Pretty Fawn’s gold, this whole adventure had been worth it to hear Maddox tell me he loved me.

  I woke the next morning to sunlight streaming through the broken plastic blinds and something warm and heavy draped across my chest. No wait, it wasn’t something—it was someone. Blinking my eyes, panic overcame me as I desperately tried remembering where I was and who could possibly be lying on me. Then last night’s events came flooding back to me, and I flushed from head to toe.

  When I recovered from reliving every mortifying as well as delicious detail, I gripped Maddox’s shoulders and tried rolling him over. He was a lot heavier than I thought. With a grunt, I finally pushed him to where he flopped over onto his back beside me. I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped my lips when he still remained dead to the world. In a sing-song voice, I said, “Maddox, wake up.” I tickled his left bicep with the Screaming Eagle tattoo.

  His brows crinkled, but he didn’t open his eyes. I had a pretty good idea he was awake and testing me. I didn’t want to give him the upper hand, so I leaned over and started kissing a hot trail up his neck to his mouth. I reached his lips to find he was ready because his tongue darted out to meet mine. He brought his hands to my head, tangling his fingers through my hair and drawing me closer to him.

  Maddox’s eyes popped open, and he grinned. “Morning beautiful.”

  Warmth flooded my cheeks at his greeting. “Good morning.”

  “Feel okay?”

  “I’m fine. Why?”

  “I was afraid you might be a little hung-over.”

  Cringing, I replied, “Oh, um, no. I think my whole embarrassing puking escapade took care of that.”

  He chuckled. “I’m glad to hear something good came out of it.”

  We fell into an awkward silence then—both of us just staring at the other, taking in every facet of what had transpired between us. The fact we had had sex again was huge, but then there was the even more epic and phenomenal matter of professing our love. But now in the morning light, I was terribly afraid that it had all been part of some dream—one that had been warped by what we were going through with the treasure.

  I dropped my gaze from Maddox and toyed with a frayed thread on the sheet. “What’s going on in that head of yours?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “Nothing really.”

  “Lane, you stink at lying, remember?”

  After a few moments, I sighed. “I guess I’m just worried about what happens now.”

  “With the treasure?”

  “No…with us.”

  Maddox scooted closer to me. He brought his fingers to my chin, lifting my head, so I could stare into his dark eyes. “You’re afraid that last night wasn’t real, right?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. The world is spinning out of control around us with Jensen and what happened with Maudie and being on the run.”

  He shook his head. “I meant everything I said and did last night. Didn’t you?”

  “Of course I did.”

  “Then stop worrying.” He leaned over and gave me a very reassuring kiss. “Okay?”

  I smiled. “Okay.”

  He nuzzled my neck. “But since you’re a chick and need the reassurance, I’ll say it again.” Pulling back, he gave me his most genuine smile—the sincere one I’d known since we were kids. “I love you, Lane.”

  I couldn’t fight the broad grin that curved on my lips. “I love you, too. Very, very much.”

  He snaked a hand down over my stomach and slid it between my legs, causing me to gasp. “How about a quick birthday present?”

  My eyes widened both by the declaration and by what his magic fingers were doing. “I almost forgot. It is my birthday.”

  “Happy Birthday, baby,” Maddox whispered into my ear before slipping a finger inside me.

  “I’m not so sure this is more of a present for you than it is for me,” I teased.

  He slipped another finger inside me while he pressed his thumb against my clit. “So you’re saying this isn’t good for you?”

  I sucked in a breath. “No, it’s good.” It became even better as he increased his tempo. “Hmm, Maddox,” I moaned as his fingers pumped in and out of me. His warm mouth latched onto my nipple, and I couldn’t help arching towards him. As my hips pumped in rhythm with his fingers, I felt myself going over the edge, and I pinched my eyes shut. “Maddox!”

  “You’re so beautiful when you come,” he murmured in my ear.

  “Even with ratty bed hair and morning breath?” I countered as I tried to get my breath back.

  He chuckled. “Yes, even with all that.” Without taking his gaze from mine, he slid his finger in his mouth. “Mmm, I’d forgotten how good you tasted.”

  I couldn’t help the warm flush that filled my cheek at his actions and words. “You’re so bad,” I finally replied.

  With a wink, he replied, “But you love me anyway.”

  I grinned. “I suppose I do.” When he started to pull away, my brows furrowed in surprise. “Where are you going?”

  “Babe, when I said that was your birthday present, I meant it.” His lips nipped the tip of my nose. “Besides, we used my only condom last night.”

  “So?” I countered as I rose up on my knees. With a teasing grin, I slid over to straddle him.

  Gripping my hips, he shook his head wildly. “We’re so not doing anything that could knock you up.”

  “I realize that,” I murmured as I began kissing down his chest. He hissed when my tongue stopped to flick over one of his nipples. I knew to file that little fact away for later when it came to what he enjoyed. When I got to his chiseled abs, his stomach tightened, but the rest of his body relaxed back on the mattress.

  I’d barely gotten to give him any oral attention last night before he pushed me away, and this time, I intended to see it through to the end. Taking his erection in m
y hand, I flicked my tongue over the tip before sliding it down his length. “Oh Jesus,” Maddox groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes. I giggled before taking him into my mouth.

  “Mmm, baby,” Maddox murmured as I worked my hand up and down his shaft while he slid in and out of my mouth. One of Maddox’s hands sought out my hair, and he threaded his fingers through the strands. “Oh fuck yes.” I didn’t have to work long before I felt him tightening up. Even though I was fine with him coming in my mouth, he gently slipped himself past my lips. I kept working him with my hand as he spurted onto his stomach and the sheets.

  When he was done with his spasms, he gently took my hand in his and wiped it clean on the sheet before doing his stomach. “Thanks my love.” He brought his lips to mine to give me a long, lingering kiss. As he pulled away, a totally satiated smile formed on his face. “I guess we better get a move on, huh?”

  “Yup. We’ve got to get to Talking Rock and find us some gold.” I placed one last kiss on his lips before I scrambled off the bed. As I did, Maddox playfully popped me on the backside. I giggled as I swatted his hand away. “I’ll grab a quick shower, okay?”

  Maddox nodded. “I’ll go see about borrowing a couple shovels and some other tools from West.” He untangled himself from the sheets and then hopped out of bed. “That is unless you’d like me to join you in the shower?”

  I couldn’t help my eyes widening in astonishment. “You’re insatiable!”

  He winked. “What can I say? You bring out the sex fiend in me.”

  “Yeah and what about the whole ‘no condoms thing’?”

  He shrugged. “I could bum one from West.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Ew, don’t even go there.”

  Maddox chuckled. “Can’t blame a guy for trying though.”

  With a playful nudge, I said, “Yeah, you just go on and get the tools. Oh, and get my clothes out of the dryer.”

  “Your clothes are already here.” Maddox pointed to where my jeans and shirt were draped across a kitchen chair.

  “Oh, I didn’t know you brought them up.”

  Maddox scratched the back of his neck. “I didn’t.”

  “What?”

  He shrugged. “I guess West did.”

  I gasped. “You mean he saw us…you know?”

  Maddox swept his hand over his mouth while his eyes widened in mock horror. “Oh no. He saw us…sleeping in bed! How shocking!”

  Rolling my eyes, I grabbed my clothes and started for the bathroom. “You’re impossible.”

  After taking another record-breaking shower, I dressed and then dried my hair with an ancient hair dryer I found under the sink. I came out to find Maddox had grabbed us some biscuits and juice. “You get the tools?”

  “Yeah. I couldn’t find West around anywhere, so I just left him a note saying I’d bring them back,” he replied, through a mouthful of food.

  We were then interrupted by the sound of my phone going off. I glanced down at the ID and winced. “Shit, it’s my dad.”

  Even Maddox made a face. “You better answer it.”

  My hand trembled slightly as I quickly brought the phone to my ear. “Okay, look, I know I’m in a lot of trouble but—”

  “Yes, I do believe that summation is true, Miss Montgomery,” a harsh voice replied.

  “Oh God.”

  Icy fear crashed from the top of my head and ran down my body, sending me shaking. It only took a second to recognize who it was.

  “From the tone of your voice, I assume you know who this is.”

  “Jensen,” I murmured.

  At the sound of Jensen’s name, Maddox dropped the juice in his hands, sending it cascading over the worn linoleum. A mixture of fear and fury flashed on his face.

  “I knew you were a very perceptive girl.”

  “But how…how do you have my father’s phone?”

  “Good question. After our little map mishap, I decided it would be better to pay your father a visit, rather than running all over the countryside after you and Mr. Diaz. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it to his next tour stop—I hate to be the cause of disappointed fans. It’s quite ironic when I made the connection between you and Stephen Montgomery. You see, I read all of his books during my unfortunate incarceration. He’s a damn good writer, and he had quite the following with inmates.”

  I gasped as the world around me tilted and spun. My hand flew to my forehead to try to still the spinning. “Y-You k-kidnapped… my dad?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  Tears stung my eyes, and my legs wobbled, threatening to crumple beneath me. Just before I thought I would break in two, Maddox grabbed me and held me upright. “Why?” I demanded feebly.

  “I just told you Miss Montgomery. Because now that I’ve had time to think and reflect since our last time together, I realize every plan needs tweaking, especially after your little tussle with my men at New Echota. Once my associate, Terrence, persuaded Dr. Bretsky to give him the map’s translation, I realized how much work decoding would entail. I also realized that you and Mr. Diaz would be slaving away at the decoding. It just seemed to make more sense to have you do all the hard work. Detaining your father was merely a bargaining tool to make sure you did as I asked.”

  I summoned what strength I had left to scream into the phone, “I want to speak to my father!”

  “I’m afraid he can’t come to the phone right now. He’s a little tied up.”

  “What have you done to him? And where’s my mom?” I demanded.

  “I let Mommy catch a break and just took your father. I’m sure she’s wondering why he hasn’t come back from his stop at the bookstore.”

  “What have you done to my dad you—you psychotic ex-convict?”

  “Now don’t get so upset. I’ve only detained him so far. After all, I didn’t spend time in prison for murder, Miss Montgomery.”

  “Yeah but what about Maudie?”

  Jensen growled at the mention of her name. “I had to take care of Mrs. Sinclair because she got in my way.”

  I gasped. “And my dad…is he in your way?”

  “Anything else that happens to him will depend on you and that friend of yours.”

  Tears flowed down my cheeks, and I fought to keep from losing it. “Please don’t hurt him! He has nothing to do with any of this. I swear.”

  Jensen ignored my plea. “Do me a favor and put me on speaker phone. I want to talk to both you and Mr. Diaz.”

  My fingers trembled as I brought the phone away from my ear and hit the button. “Okay, he’s listening too."

  “Good. I’m sure you are both going to do exactly what I ask. Then nothing will happen to Darling Daddy.”

  “But how did you even know where to find Lane’s dad?” Maddox asked.

  “An associate of mine, who knows his way around computers, happened to owe me a favor or two.”

  “An associate like a buddy from prison or something?” I asked.

  Jensen chuckled. “Yes, I met Parker from my days of serving a sentence for an armed robbery or two. While the authorities might call Parker a dangerous computer hacker, it is fortunate for me because he was able to find out your father’s tour schedule when we hacked into your family’s cell records. That way we had an exact location of when and where to find him.”

  “Cut to the damn chase, Jensen,” Maddox snarled.

  “With Parker’s help, I was able to find Mr. Montgomery to bring him back to Georgia, and I also know that you two are at West’s Roadside Bar and Grill in Calhoun.”

  I exchanged a horrified look with Maddox. “If you know where we are, why even bother with the phone?”

  “Because busting in on you wouldn’t serve my purpose at all. No, I get to rest easy knowing that I’ll make the demands, and you will be doing all the dirty work for me.”

  “What do you want us to do?” Maddox asked.

  “I think it’s safe to assume that you two have probably figured out the location of the gold. Am I right?”

>   Maddox tensed beside me. I could tell he didn’t want to tell Jensen anything, but what choice did we have? “Yes,” I murmured.

  “Okay then. Here’s what’s going to happen. You are going to go get the gold and bring it to me. The reward for all your hard work will be that I don’t hurt either of you or Mr. Montgomery. Then I’ll take the gold, and we’ll forget that we ever had the pleasure of meeting each other. Understood?”

  Maddox scowled. “Yeah, whatever.”

  “See how easy this can be?” Jensen teased, an irritating smile in his voice.

  “Just tell us what to do!” I cried.

  “So impatient, aren’t we?” When I didn’t respond, Jensen continued, “Now the little GPS devices in your phones that helped track you down are also going to tell me just exactly where you go and what you do. I consider it my insurance policy against you pulling any funny business. Don’t try to call anyone, especially the police. Don’t make any extended stops along the route because I will know the moment you do, and we’ll have a problem. If you throw your phones away or I lose the GPS connection, then Daddy gets hurt. Bad. And I’m sure you don’t want that to happen.”

  I choked on the sobs rising in my throat. “No, please, I’ll do anything. Just don’t hurt him.”

  “Now, now, don’t get so upset. You’ll need your strength and all your focus on finding the treasure. Where is it you’re supposed to go?”

  “Talking Rock in Pickens County,” Maddox answered.

  “Parker, give me an ETA from Calhoun to Talking Rock please.” Seconds ticked by. “That should take you approximately an hour. I’ll be generous and give you an extra ten minutes this time to get your heads on straight. The moment you arrive at the location, call me on this number and check in. We’ll go from there.”

  Jensen then disconnected the phone. My legs turned to rubber and could no longer hold me up. Even with Maddox’s arms around me, I collapsed onto the ground, shaking and sobbing. Maddox dropped down beside me and pulled me into his arms. I guess he realized the enormity of the situation because he didn’t even bother trying to tell me not to cry or that everything was going to be okay. He just held me tight and let me howl and scream like a crazy person.