Search Me(65)

He brought his gaze from the road directly to my chest. “Move around a little.”

I sighed and twisted to the right and left and then leaned forward. The next thing I knew Maddox’s hand had reached over to grab at the front of my shirt. “Hey!” I squealed, knocking him away.

He rolled his eyes. “Jesus, Lane, I had to see if you could feel it right off. Like if Jensen or someone brushed up against you.”

“I’m sorry, but you could have given me a little warning,” I argued.

Shaking his head, he gave a bark of a laugh. “You know what? You really should do that if Jensen or one of the other men get too close. Let them think you’re all insulted by their manhandling instead of trying to hide something.”

“Trust me. If they do what you just did, I don’t think I’ll have to pretend.”

Maddox cut his gaze over to mine. “Glad to know my touching your tits warrants a total freak out.”

I giggled. “Normally, I like when you touch my boobs.”

“Not your tits?”

Wrinkling my nose, I replied, “I’m not a fan of the word.”

He grinned. “But you are a fan of me touching your boobs?”

“Oh yes, a very big fan.”

“Good to know.”

Glancing down at the shirt, I asked, “So you think I’m okay?”

Maddox nodded. “I think so.”

I pulled my shirttail up and over my knees. “Just to be safe, I’ll try to stretch it out some. It’ll hide it better if the material is looser.”

“Whatever you gotta do to make it work.”

Just when I finished readjusting the shirt, a rusted Shell sign came into view. “Shit. Here we go,” Maddox said.

Chapter Twenty

We turned into the abandoned parking lot. The truck rattled along the broken-up pavement. As I peered around the desolate surroundings, my eyes caught the infamous, coal black Mercedes almost hidden on the other side of the boarded-up convenient store. All I could see was the front bumper and part of the hood. Maddox eased the truck to a stop next to it, then killed the engine.

“Oh God, I think I’m going to puke,” I murmured.

Maddox gave me a tight smile. “It’s all going to work out. You’ll see.”

I hoped rather than believed him. Terrance, the taller of the two henchmen, stepped out of the Mercedes. “I guess we’re on,” Maddox said, opening his door. With shaking hands, my sweaty palms slid on the door handle. It took two tries before I was able to get it open. My shaking legs barely supported me when I hopped down. Maddox waited for me at the front of the truck. He slipped his equally sweaty palm into mine and led me over to where Terrence stood.

“Glad to see you two made it on time. Mr. Jensen appreciates your punctuality,” he said.

“And just where is Jensen?” Maddox asked.

“He’s at the location with Mr. Montgomery.”

“Location?” I repeated.

“The trade-off doesn’t happen here.”

I exchanged a look with Maddox. “So where does it happen?”

“You’ll find out. First, I need you two to get into the backseat.”

At that moment, a man I’d never seen before got out of the Mercedes’ passenger side. With his towering height and bulging muscles, he had to be the bouncer of the outfit. He lumbered towards us. The sight of something in his hands caused me to gasp.

Blindfolds and rope.

Maddox followed my gaze. His body tensed before he glared over at Terrance. “That’s bullshit! No one said anything about blindfolding or tying us up.”

“I’m sorry. But Jensen has insisted—for your protection as well as his own. We’ll get you in the car before you have to put them on. But first, I’m afraid we’re going to have to search you.” He gave me a tight smile. “Ladies first.”

When I didn’t budge, Maddox squeezed my hand reassuringly. He’d anticipated this much, but not the rest. Now that it came right down to it, the idea of being frisked not only creeped me out, but terrified me as well. Terrance yanked my arm, tearing me away from Maddox. I yelped as he pushed me forward against the brick wall, forcing my arms above my head. His hands swept to my still wet hair, raking his fingers through it to jerk it off my neck. “I-Is this really n-necessary?” I asked.

“I’m afraid so. Strict orders there are to be no weapons or no communication devices,” he replied, sweeping his hands down the sides of my body. As they swept over my abdomen, I sucked in a breath, hoping and praying he wouldn’t go any further up and discover the phone lodged in my bra. Finally, he moved down to my waist. I cringed when his fingers dipped inside the waistband of my jeans before digging into my back pockets.

I glanced over my shoulder at Maddox. His fists clenched at his side, and I knew he had to fight himself not to break Terrance’s neck. “She’s clean, ass**le!” he snapped.

Terrance ignored him and felt down each of my jeans legs. “Shoes off,” he demanded. I hurriedly kicked out of my sneakers. Once he was satisfied there was nothing in them or my socks, he nodded and turned to Maddox. “All right, now you.”

The bouncer then took me by the shoulders and shoved me towards the car. His manhandling didn’t sit well with Maddox because the next thing I knew he had pushed away from Terrance and rushed over to me. “I swear to God if you touch her like that one more time, I’ll break your neck,” he snarled.