Search Me(71)

With a toothy grin, Dad replied, “Yes, actually it did. The minute I get home I’m pretty sure I’ll be in front of the laptop for a long, long time.”

Agent Greenburg then held up his hand. “That’s enough questions for now. You guys can stick around for the press conference later on.” He motioned for some sheriff’s deputies who had come out of the office. They escorted us inside and into a break room that had couches and chairs. “We’ll bring in some fresh coffee and some sodas for you guys. Just have a seat and make yourselves comfortable,” Agent Greenburg said.

I flopped down on one of the leather couches. My body felt like a rung-out ragdoll. Any remaining adrenaline I had got depleted with the rush of reporters.

“Damn, that was intense. I’m seriously in a sweat.” Maddox fanned his shirt before quickly doing a smell check of his armpits. When he caught my expression, he laughed. “Can’t meet my adoring public smelling like a stinky beast now, can I?”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re going to let this go to your head and start signing autographs?”

“Just be glad we were official before all the screaming fan-girls try to get a piece of me,” he replied, with a wink.

“You are impossible,” I muttered.

Raised voices in the hallway interrupted us. The door swung open and my hysterical mom burst in. Everything about her, from her wrinkled clothes to her disheveled hair, screamed that she’d been in freak-out mode for a long time. Her tear stained face lit up at the sight of us. “Oh, thank God! You’re both all right!”

She threw her arms around both Dad and me, alternating between kissing our faces. When she finally stopped to catch her breath, Dad asked, “How did you get here?”

“The GBI was nice enough to send a helicopter for me. There was no way I could wait for a commercial flight or drive.” Tears spilled down her cheeks, but she didn’t bother wiping them away. “I didn’t feel like I could breathe until I saw you two were all right.”

I glanced over Mom’s shoulder at Maddox. He was staring down at his hands. My heart ached for him that he wasn’t having a reunion like this. Neely would be all over him, but she was with Maudie. But Mom, being the intense nurturer that she is, saved the day by reaching over and throwing her arms around Maddox’s neck. “Thank God you’re all right, too. I can never thank you enough for taking care of our sweet Lane. You’re a guardian angel, plain and simple.” She pulled away to kiss his cheek, and he blushed.

“I think he’s a little more than a guardian angel for Lane,” Dad said, an amused smile on his face.

Mom appeared momentarily puzzled before her eyes widened when she got Dad’s meaning. “Oh, well, we might have to discuss this a little.”

“Mom!” I protested at the same time Maddox blurted, “What, am I not good enough to date Lane?”

“Oh honey, it’s nothing like that. It’s just she’s not yet twenty, and you’re twenty four.”

“No, I’m twenty. Today is my birthday, remember?”

Dad cleared his throat. “And I was twenty-two and you were eighteen. What’s your point?” The mischievous glint in his eyes brought a smile to Mom’s face, and she wagged a finger at him. Normally, it would have been enough to make me gag, but after all we’d been through, I could let them be a little flirty.

Thankfully they were interrupted by the sound of a phone going off. Maddox sat straighter in his seat at the sound of the ring tone. “Hey, that’s mine.”

Officer Greenburg pulled a phone out of his coat pocket. “Yes, we found this on one of Jensen’s men.”

Maddox jerked it from Greenburg’s hands and then grimaced at the ID. “Oh shit, it’s Neely. She’s probably caught the news and is ready to ream me a new one.”

He hesitated answering it, so I smacked his arm. “Hurry up. She’s just going to freak out more if you don’t take her call.”

Maddox grumbled, but then brought the phone to his ear. “Okay, I know you’re pissed, but—” He sucked in a breath and then glanced up at us. A wide grin spread across his face. “Maudie’s awake?”

Epilogue

Three Months Later

“Would you hold still?” I demanded, trying desperately to straighten Maddox’s tie.

He fidgeted like a little boy and made a horrible face. “Do I seriously have to wear this?” He gestured at the electric pink tie. “I look like an absolute tool.”

“You do not.” I stepped back—letting Maddox get a view of himself in the full-length mirror. “See? You look very handsome and distinguished.”

He snorted. “Like I need to look distinguished. It’s just a party for Maudie returning to work, not dinner at the White House.”

“You better not let Maudie hear you say that. She’s gone all out—there’s even a tent on the lawn and a band.” I eyed myself in the mirror, smoothing down my deep pink chiffon dress with its sequined and beaded bodice. “Besides, it’s not just about her going back to work. She’s going to present her share of the gold to Dr. Bretsky for the new educational facility at New Echota.”

“If you ask me, it’s a waste of a perfectly good Friday night. Especially now that you’re back in school, and I only get to see you on the weekends.” Standing behind me, he wrapped his arms around my waist before nuzzling my ear. Immediately, my pulse began to race as the warmth and power of his body overtook me. “We could be cruising the lake on my boat—you wearing that sexy bikini of yours.”