Search Me(70)

Our attention was then drawn to the GBI SUV’s tearing down the road, kicking up a cloud of dust behind them. They wheeled to a stop at the clearing, and agents and sheriff’s deputies charged out. Terrance, Parker, and Julius were led out of the barn and ushered toward the clearing. Each was loaded into a separate SUV.

“I can’t say I’m going to be too sad to see them go,” I mused.

An agent who didn’t appear much older than Maddox jogged over to us. He thrust out his hand. “I’m Agent Greenburg. If you all will follow me, we’ll head back to the Sheriff’s Department where you can be debriefed and then released.”

Dad wrapped an arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head. “Come on, let’s go home.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

On the way back to the Sheriff’s Department, I sat wedged between Dad and Maddox. Agent Greenburg had offered me the passenger seat in the SUV, but I wasn’t ready to be separated from Dad or Maddox, and the feeling was mutual for them as well. Dad kept his arm around me while Maddox held one of my hands. I was a total Lane sandwich between the men in my life. My purse filled with Pretty Fawn’s gold rested on my lap. Even now that everything was over, I still didn’t want to let it out of my sight for an instant.

We crested the hill above the Sheriff’s department, and I gasped. TV news vans packed the parking lot—their tower antenna’s stretching into the sky. Leaning over Maddox, I pressed my face against the window. All the local Atlanta stations were there along with some from far away as Chattanooga.

Agent Greenburg could barely get into the parking lot much less ease into a parking space. He honked his horn in frustration, but it didn’t do much good. Reporters and cameramen lunged at us. Even with the windows rolled up, they peppered rapid-fire questions while flashbulbs blinded me.

“Holy shit!” Maddox exclaimed, taking in the chaos.

“All this hoopla is for us?” I asked.

Dad chuckled good-naturedly. “Hey, it isn’t every day you get kidnapped and held for ransom while your daughter and her boyfriend hunt for buried gold.”

Maddox laughed while I blushed at Dad using the word ‘boyfriend’ to describe Maddox. “I guess you’re right,” I said.

“You folks hold on, and I’ll get the door,” Agent Greenburg said. He flung himself out into the throng. “All right everybody, back-up right now. These people have had a harrowing experience and deserve some rest. I know that we’re planning a press conference for later today, so you’ll get all your questions answered. But for now, please just let them get inside.”

He might as well have yelled, “Stampede!” because the reporters totally ignored him. Instead, they pushed and elbowed their way towards us.

“Is it a true an agent was shot?”

Agent Greenburg grimaced. “Yes, he’s been taken to a local hospital only as a precaution. We’re all thankful his Kevlar saved him.”

The reporters asked more questions about the GBI takedown and Jensen. I tried cowering behind Maddox and Dad, but a female reporter’s dark eyes honed in on me. “Lane, is it true that after you witnessed the attempted murder of Maudie Sinclair, you were then forced on the run by Jensen and his men?”

My tongue felt cemented to the roof of my mouth, and heat rushed into my cheeks under the camera’s intense scrutiny. “Um, well, yeah.” I surveyed the reporters who salivated for more of the story. “It was so scary. He tried to kill us several times—Maddox was even wounded.”

That one statement sent the reporters diving at Maddox. He widened his eyes at me. “Sorry,” I called over the roar.

“How bad were you hurt?” a tall man asked.

“Where were you shot?” the persistent female reporter demanded.

Maddox eyed the microphones thrust into his face. “The left bicep. And really it was nothing—just a little scratch. I mean, I’ve been in the Army, so it takes a lot to take me down.” The reporters laughed, and Maddox gave them a genuine smile.

Just when I thought I was safe, another reporter asked, “Lane, how did you feel when you found out your dad was being held hostage, and that if you didn’t find the gold, he could die?”

“Devastated,” I replied, my voice choking off. Dad reached over to put his arm around my shoulder. I glanced up at him, tears filling my eyes. “It was unbearable to think of him being hurt or killed over something that was my fault. Rescuing him was the only thing that kept me sane—although I did kinda lose it a few times.” I wiped my eyes and then met Maddox’s gaze. With a smile, I added, “And Maddox gave me the strength to get through it all.”

A chorus of “aww’s!” rang over the crowd. “So, Maddox and Lane, this is a true ‘happily ever after’ type ending then?” someone asked.

Maddox grinned. “I don’t know about all that fairy tale kinda stuff. The way I see it, I got to do a heroic rescue while putting some bad guys away, and I got to track down hidden treasure.” He turned to me and winked. “But most importantly, I got the girl.”

Dad cleared his throat. “Yeah, just remember she’s my little girl, too.”

The reporters chuckled heartily, especially when I flushed red. “Stephen, did your ordeal give you any ideas for your next novel?”