Search Me(18)

Maudie’s house loomed in front of us. We pounded up the front porch steps. Digging into his pocket, Maddox fumbled for his keys. Once he unlocked the door, the house alarm started beeping until he entered the code. He turned back to me. “You get the map. I’m going to grab a little ammunition, and then I’ll have the Jeep waiting.”

I nodded and headed down the hall to Maudie’s bedroom. The moment I opened her door the scent of her perfume bombarded me. It hung so heavy around me that I felt like at any moment she would appear. Rising sobs burned in my throat, but I pushed myself forward to the antique dressing table across from me. Above it hung a painting of an Indian maiden wrapped in the arms of the warrior she loved.

I gave it a momentary glance before snatching it off the wall. I flipped it over to read the commission date. “10…17…49,” I murmured as I twirled the knob that reminded me of the dial on my locker, back and forth and past zero. I heard the catch and then the safe door swung open. I grabbed the map and then a thick blue envelope with the words Fletcher & Smith Attorney’s at Law. I was about to close it when a flicker of green caught my eye. It was stacks of hundred dollar bills. Not knowing what lay ahead for Maddox and me, I grabbed them as well.

With one last glance at Maudie’s room, I hurried out into the hallway. I stuffed everything into my purse that had miraculously stayed wrapped around my neck and shoulder. As I rounded the corner into the living room, I could hear Maddox revving up the Jeep’s engine in the garage. Rushing through the kitchen, the wail of police car and ambulance sirens filled my ears.

For the first time all evening, I felt a little hope.

Chapter Seven

I jogged out of the kitchen and into the garage. When I hopped in the jeep, Maddox asked, “You get the map?”

“Yeah, it’s in my purse.”

He then threw the gear into reverse, sending us flying backward into the driveway. Just as he spun the steering wheel around to straighten up the Jeep, we faced what could only be Jensen’s coal black Mercedes sedan.

“Oh, shit!” I cried. We didn’t face off for long before an arm came out of the passenger side window and pointed a gun at us.

“Duck!” Maddox ordered, and then we both doubled over as far as we could. My stomach muscles constricted in agony.

When the bullet pierced the windshield, it sounded like a canon going off all around us. I screamed, startled from the noise and shards of glass falling down on me. After a few breathless seconds, Maddox questioned, “You okay?”

I jerked my head up and gave myself a quick examination. No cuts or blood. “Yeah,” I squeaked.

“Hold on tight.” Maddox gunned the engine, sending us lunging forward past the Mercedes. My heartbeat accelerated along with the Jeep’s engine as one of Jensen’s men fired another two shots. Each crack of the gun caused my body to shudder. Thankfully, the bullets didn't make it through the Jeeps' metal frame. The tires squealed out of the driveway as we headed to the main road of the Lauren Valley Hideaway Subdivision. My chest clenched at the site of my house. I wanted nothing more than the safety of its familiar walls. But Maddox roared right on past it and decided to ditch the interstate for the heavily tree-lined, traffic-free backwoods roads.

The Jeep careened on and off the pavement while my fingers formed a death grip on the sides of the seat. The woods melted in a blur of emerald greens, sending my stomach churning. As we headed further away from civilization, the houses and cabins dotting the landscape started becoming fewer and fewer. Maddox had made a sharp right turn hoping to lose Jensen, but they fell in behind us.

“Do you have any idea where you’re going?” I asked.

“Not exactly,” he replied, his knuckles white from his too tight hold on the steering wheel. I glanced over at him, and for the first time, I noticed the sweat trickling down his temple and his hardened set jaw. The strain of keeping his emotions in check was visible, but somehow he was managing to keep it together. I was thankful for that because I felt like every molecule in my body was going to scatter at any given moment.

If Maddox didn’t know where he was going, I was clueless. We’d gone farther past the real estate developments than I’d ever been, and we were deep, deep into the woods. The road was no longer paved, and we tumbled along the gravel and dirt path. I couldn’t make out any houses—instead it was all trees, along with a creek rushing along the right side.

Maddox had almost careened past a dirt trail when he whipped the Jeep through some bushes and back onto the path. A horrible screeching noise along with the sound of whooshing air jolted me in my seat. Frantically, I turned to Maddox.

“Dammit, just when we had an advantage on them, they shot out the back tires.” He glanced left and right before settling on taking the dirt road to the left.

“What are we going to do now? I mean, we kinda need tires in the middle of a car chase.”

Maddox turned to give me what I could only classify as a ‘Keep your hysterical self calm because I really can’t take your bullshit now!’ look. He sucked in a breath before replying, “As soon as the Jeep stops, we jump out and start running like hell into the woods.”

I widened my eyes as icy fear pricked my skin. Running through the woods while trying to dodge a hail of bullets? Was he crazy? It took me a few seconds to find my voice, and even then I could barely choke out, “That’s it? That’s the plan?”