Search Me(16)

His face contorted in agony. Although he remained rooted to the spot, I could tell he wanted nothing more than to go busting into the office. “Dammit to hell! I left my pistol in my Jeep.” he growled.

With an ashen expression, he appeared to be weighing in options about going back to get it when two heavy-set men came out of Maudie’s office. Maddox jerked us down to the floor.

Jensen stalked out of the office and started barking orders. “All right boys. Fan out. I want every inch of this place gone over thoroughly. There’s no telling where she could have hid it or where she might have a safe.”

One of the men remained rooted to the floor. “Search the place? You promised us this would be an easy score. There sure as hell wasn’t anything mentioned about killing people or having to hunt down the map.”

Whirling around, Jensen narrowed his eyes. “Look Parker, this isn’t just some hacking scheme that you do from the sidelines. You knew when you signed on that this entailed legwork. So either shut the f**k up and start searching or take a walk.”

Parker grumbled under his breath before reluctantly following Jensen. When they had started out the backdoor to the warehouse, Maddox and I raced into the brightly lit office. The room appeared ransacked. Papers and books littered the floor while the drawers of the filing cabinets were opened and files strewn about. “Maudie?” I called softly.

Finally, I saw her body crumpled behind the desk. Her eyes were closed, and I’d never seen her so pale. My hand shook as I reached out to touch her shoulder. “Maudie, can you hear me? It’s Lane.”

Her eyelids fluttered before she finally opened them wide. “You have to get out of here!”

I shook my head. “We’re not leaving you like this. The police and an ambulance are on their way.”

“No! Leave now."

Maddox made a strangled noise in his throat. When I glanced up, tears shone in his eyes. “We won’t leave you to die,” he argued in a strained voice.

Her breaths started coming in raspy pants. “Get the map. It’s in the safe. The one behind the bedroom painting.” I nodded, and she drew in a ragged breath. “The combination…the commission date on the back… of the painting. Inside are the map and my will." She glanced up at Maddox and grabbed his arm, her eyes filled with desperation. "Don’t let anything happen to Lane. Protect her with your life. Promise me."

He bent down beside me, taking Maudie’s hand in his. His jaw clenched and unclenched, and I could tell he was fighting to keep from truly losing it. As for me, the tears streamed freely down my cheeks. “I promise I will,” he said.

“Keep yourself safe, too. And your sister.” She tenderly stroked Maddox’s cheek. “I love you with all my heart, sweet boy. You are my son.” She then gave us a weak smile. “I love both of you so much. Remember that…always.”

Maddox squeezed Maudie’s hand. “I love you, too.”

Sobs rolled through my chest so hard that I could barely murmur the words.

“Now go before they come back. Hurry!”

“No, I won’t leave you,” I protested.

Maddox’s Army training took charge, and he pulled me up off the floor. “Maudie told us to go, Lane, so come on.” Desperate not to leave, Maddox had to drag me out the door. “Stop it! We can’t do anything else for her. She wants us to get the hell out of here and get the map, so that’s what we’re going to do.” His fingers jerked my chin up to meet his intense gaze. “Got it?”

I nodded weakly while wiping my eyes and trying to clear my head. It obviously wasn’t fast enough. Maddox grabbed my purse strap wound around my shoulder and gave me a harsh tug. “Move!” he barked.

We then started running through the darkened store. Before we got to door that led outside, Jensen and his men huffed inside, and we had to duck behind some shelving.

“I’m telling you that I heard voices in here when I stopped to take a leak,” one of the guys said.

Jensen growled in frustration. “We should’ve split up. This place is big enough that someone could easily hide out.”

As they broke apart and started spreading throughout the store, Maddox motioned his head to the backdoor. We ran, hunched over, so that we could remain hidden. My heart was beating so loudly in my chest that I was sure Jensen and his thugs would be able to hear it. As I hurried ahead of Maddox, I plowed through the backdoor with such an adrenaline rush that I thought I would knock it off its hinges.

The door flew back, sending the metal bar careening into Maddox’s crotch. He gave an agonized groan before he could stop himself.

“What was that noise?” Jensen demanded.

“It came from the warehouse.”

“Dammit,” Maddox hissed. He closed the door behind us and pushed a crate in front of it.

In a whisper, I replied, “I’m so, so sorry about your…” When I realized that I would have to acknowledge his balls, I pinched my lips together.

“Whatever. Come on.” He grabbed my arm and dragged me to the far side of the warehouse. When we heard the door open again, we dropped down behind a tall stack of crates.

Maddox peeked around the side, trying to catch a glimpse of Jensen.

It seemed like only a second before a voice rang out, echoing off the metal walls and closing in around us. “All right, whoever’s there better come out right f**king now because the longer me and my men have to look for you, the angrier we’ll get. And trust me when I say, you do NOT want to make me angry.”