Search Me(67)

“Dammit.”

“Sorry.” I rolled away from him and staggered to my feet.

Hands gripped my shoulders, and then Julius unceremoniously ripped my blindfold away. The intense noon sunlight burned my eyes, and I snapped my lids shut until they could adjust. After a few seconds, they fluttered opened. My gaze flickered around my surroundings, desperately trying to take in everything at once. I glanced over at Maddox. He shook his head as if to say, “Where the hell are we?”

With all the turns we’d made, we were definitely off some rural road. High grass grew all around, and a rustic barn sat in the center of an overgrown field. Past the barn, I could see where there had once been an old farmhouse because two crumbling rock chimneys still stood.

Nudging our backs, Julius urged us forward through the grass towards the barn. Once we got to the door, he knocked. “Come in,” a voice called from inside.

We stepped over the barn entrance, and Julius quickly shut the door. Movement came from a stall to my left. Suddenly, Jensen stepped out. Without a word to us, he turned back and jerked someone forward.

“Dad!” I cried, breaking free of Terrance.

Chapter Twenty-One

With Dad’s hands tied behind him, I could only throw my arms around his chest. Squeezing him tight, I didn’t fight the tears that pricked my eyes.

He leaned his head down to kiss my cheek. “Thank God you’re all right. I’ve been so worried, sweetheart,” he murmured, his voice cracking.

“I feel the same way.”

Trying to ease the tension, he mused, “My daughter, the treasure hunter.”

Even at his joke, I couldn’t fight the sobs escaping from my lips. “I’m so, so sorry.”

Dad gave me a ghost of a smile. “It’s okay.”

And then our brief reunion shattered with Jensen creeping up behind me. I stiffened when I felt his breath on my neck. “I do hate to interrupt such a touching scene, but I believe we have some business to attend.”

I knew he wanted me to follow him, but I refused to budge. I remained rooted to the floor with my arms around Dad. “Miss Montgomery, please cooperate,” Jensen said. He pried me off of Dad and led me over to a ratty couch that was set up where an animal-feeding trough used to be. Maddox stood by the couch, rocking anxiously back and forth on his heels. I knew he was thinking the same thing I was. Where the hell were Agent Montrose and the GBI?

I glanced over my shoulder to see Terrance grab Dad. “Want us to take him back in the stall?” he asked.

Jensen shook his head. “Just keep an eye on him. If everything is in order, he won’t be here too much longer.” He motioned for me to have a seat, but I remained standing. His jaw clenched in disapproval, but he didn’t force me. “I assume since Julius swept your truck clean and didn’t find the gold, it is somewhere on you?”

“Yes,” I murmured.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you trying to play games with me, Miss Montgomery?”

“No.”

“Mrs. Sinclair wanted to play games with me about the map. You saw how that ended for her.” He pulled a pistol out of his jacket pocket. “Be a smart girl and give me the gold.”

I momentarily hesitated before my trembling hand went to the zipper on my purse. Jensen smiled at my compliance. “I know what you’re thinking. It isn’t fair that you’ve gone to this much trouble to get the gold and now you have to give it up. But it really isn’t yours. It really belongs to my family.”

“No, it was Pretty Fawn’s gold. If it belongs to anyone, it’s her ancestors.”

Jensen narrowed his eyes. “Now you listen here. My great, great-grandfather, Arch, was Avery Jensen’s brother. After Avery was killed, Arch spent most of his life searching for the map and the gold—it drove him batshit crazy. Right before my grandfather died, he found out the map had been hidden in a painting—a painting done by the grandson of Notley, Pretty’s Fawn’s brother. He made me swear on his deathbed to find the painting no matter what it took.”

When he hungrily reached for my purse, I stepped back. I tried to think of some way to keep him talking and to give Agent Montrose and the GBI a little more time. I chewed on my lip for a minute before blurting, “But why now? Why didn’t you try for the treasure years ago?”

Jensen growled in frustration. “Well, if you must know you nosy little bitch, it was because I had better things to do with my time than go on a damn wild-goose chase for treasure that might not even exist and had driven my family insane. But after landing myself in prison for the second time, I happened to be bored out of my mind one night. I started thumbing through an art magazine that some schmuck had donated. And what do I see? The very painting my family has been salivating for.”

I gasped. “You saw where it was going to be sold at the auction in North Carolina? The one that Maudie went to.”

“Aren’t we perceptive? Fortunately, my parole date happened to coincide with the auction,” Jensen mused.

“But why didn’t you just steal it from the auction house?”

Jensen rolled his eyes. “Oh please, those places are almost as heavily armed and guarded as a Brink’s Armored Truck. It made sense that if I didn’t get to buy the painting then I would just persuade the next owner to let me buy it…or take it.” At what must’ve been my expression of disgust, Jensen chuckled. “You see, Miss Montgomery, I had a lot of time in prison to think about how to take the treasure. I also met some very important people who were to help me take it—for a cut of the treasure of course.” He motioned around the room at Parker and Terrence. “It’s my key to disappearing off the grid and not ever having to worry about going back to prison. There’s got to be at least a million dollars in there, if not more, and it’s going to be mine.”