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?”
“Look, as soon as I can get some cover behind a downed tree or something, I’ll start returning fire. I’ve got enough ammunition to buy us some time.”
His plan didn’t seem all that comforting. Sure, he had Army training and had parachuted out of planes, but me? I was a helpless and hopeless ballerina. And I was pretty sure I couldn’t pirouette my way out of this one.
A quick peek in the rear view mirror showed Jensen’s car stuck on the same path. His tires spun, sending clumps of mud flying. They started inching forward. At the same time, I heard the thumping sound of our tires going completely flat.
“Okay, we’re breaking to the right over that hill,” Maddox instructed as he grabbed his backpack along with a shiny barreled shotgun. “Go!”
My fingers momentarily fumbled with the door handle. Finally, I threw it open. I barely let my feet hit the ground before I started running, darting over tree limbs and logs while trying my best not to slip and fall.
Maddox appeared at my side, pushing me in front of him so he could act as a human shield. The gesture made me feel a little more confident, and I pushed myself to run faster. I didn’t dare look back, and fear gripped me when I heard Jensen’s car screech out of its mud prison and start speeding towards us.
The next sound I heard was the pop of a pistol. I screamed just before Maddox threw us to the ground. Fortunately we landed next to an upturned oak tree whose massive roots stretched six feet in the air. By now, I was so scared I was shaking so hard my teeth were chattering. “Come on.” Maddox ordered, pulling me forward to crawl behind the tree roots. I covered my head with my hands as Jensen and his men started firing rapidly. It sent clods of dirt raining down on us along with exploding tree bark.
I peeked through my hands to see Maddox lifting the shotgun to the base to his shoulder. Tentatively, he peered around the tree roots. Aiming in the direction of the gun shots, he then fired off two quick rounds before stopping to reload. Just as he finished putting in the ammunition, his right shoulder jerked back, causing him to drop the gun.
“SHIT!” he shouted, his voice echoing over the ridge.
Horror-stricken, my eyes trailed down to his bicep. The arm of his t-shirt had been ripped by a bullet, and blood oozed from his skin. “Oh my God! They shot you.”
“Thanks Captain Obvious,” he grumbled, pressing his hand tight against the wound to stop the bleeding. “It’s just a nick. Nothing life threatening.” He grimaced as he tried reaching for the shotgun again. “I better try the pistols.”
Bullets continued to whiz over and around our heads. Maddox groaned and spat out a string of expletives as he reached for his bag with the pistol. I warily eyed the shotgun at his feet. Since I wasn’t raised around guns, I’d never shot one before. I had managed to shoot the fake ones in the gameroom at Dave and Buster’s, so how hard could it be?
Before Maddox could protest, I snatched the shotgun. Rising up, I steadied myself while taking a deep, calming breath. Copying Maddox, I lifted the gun and aimed, honing in on the shorter of Jensen’s thugs. My finger pulled the trigger just as Maddox demanded, “What the hell?”
The next thing I knew an unseen force sent me flying backward. The gun dropped from my hands, and I started flailing my arms for balance. But it was no use. My back smacked flat onto the ground.
“Oomph,” I muttered, my breath exhaling out in a harsh pant. Okay, so maybe in my adrenaline rush I’d forgotten about the whole ‘guns having kickback’ thing. It wouldn’t be something I would easily forget.
Just as my eyes focused on the sky above me, Maddox’s face blocked it out. I stared up at him, his expression was one of utter and complete shock. That’s when I noticed raised voices and swearing across the ridge.
“I’ll be damned,” Maddox muttered, tearing his gaze from mine to stare through the trees.
“What?” I croaked, barely able to breathe let alone talk.
“You hit one…you actually freakin’ hit one.”
It took me a minute to process what he was saying. “You mean I…shot a guy?”
“You sure as hell did. You got the short one in the shoulder.” He reached out his right hand—the one not covered in blood. I grabbed it, and he pulled me to my feet. “We need to make a break for it while they’re distracted with him.” He took a shiny, silver gun from his bag. “Start running, and I’ll cover you.”
I stared open-mouthed at him. “With your bummed up arm?”
He rolled his eyes. “Trust me, I can still shoot.”
I doubted it seriously, but what choice did we have? “Fine. But watch out for yourself, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. Just get the hell out of here.”
I didn’t bother looking over my shoulder before I started sprinting for the ridge. Fear drove me, my breath coming in frantic gasps and pants. But no matter how hard I ran, it felt like I would never reach the trees. At the sound of gunfire, I jolted to a stop. Panic reverberated through me. Oh God, please don’t let Maddox be hurt. Please don’t let Maddox be…dead. I prayed over and over in my mind as I started running again. I jumped over the rocks and fallen limbs before pressing myself behind a tree to wait for Maddox. Just when I thought my heart would pound out of my chest, he hopped over the ridge.
“Lane?” he questioned in a whisper.
“Right here.”
“I think they’re about to leave the short one behind to come after us.” He grabbed my hand and jerked me forward. “We gotta haul ass.”
We started running at top speed. It was like an extreme obstacle course where you had to dodge tree limbs, scale small rock formations, and climb steep hills and ridges. After about fifteen minutes, I began to run out of steam. My legs started feeling rubbery, and my lungs burned with every breath. While Maddox powered on full throttle, I started lagging behind. It didn’t take him long to miss me.
He whirled around. “Would you mind picking up the pace a bit? You do remember we have armed men on our asses, right?”
I scowled at him as I fought to catch my breath. “Excuse me Drill Sergeant,” I gasped, “but in case you haven’t noticed…my legs… aren’t as long as yours!” After a few long seconds of glaring at each other and wheezing oxygen in and out, I snapped, “Not to mention, I haven’t spent the last year doing military workouts like you have!”
He smirked. “Right, you’ve been doing ballet instead.”
Choosing to ignore his sarcastic attitude, I bent over and propped my elbows on my knees and finally regulated my breathing. “I think it’s safe to say we lost them awhile back.”
Maddox scanned the tree-lined embankment for any sign of Jensen and his thugs. Then he cocked his head to the right and took in the sounds of nature around us—the squirrels scurrying around in the grass coupled with the birds calling from their perches overhead. When he was satisfied that no one was crashing through the woods after us, he said, “I think you’re right.”
“What happens now? I mean, do we just keep running?”
“At least until we come to a house or a business or something.”
I bit my lip to keep from saying that I was pretty sure we were lost out in the middle of nowhere. Not to mention there was probably a pretty good chance we were going to come up on some toothless hillbillies playing the banjo.
I motioned to his bicep that was trickling blood. “Think we ought to clean that up now?”
“I guess.”
I grabbed a bottle of water out of my purse as Maddox rolled up what was left of his shirtsleeve. A deep gash cut along the skin where the bullet had nicked him. He took the bottle from me and started pouring water over the wound. Immediately he sucked in a breath and winced at the pain.
“Are you okay?”
“It’s gotta be done.” When he finished, he nodded towards his bag. “Get me out an extra T-shirt and my Bowie knife.”
“Um, what is a—”
He gave a frustrated grunt. “It’s the really big one in the leather sheath.”
“Got it.” I bent over and started rustling in his bag. I found the case and did a double take. “Whoa, that’s some knife,” I murmured, handing it and the shirt over to him. The enormous blade caught the fading sunlight and momentarily blinded my eyes. “What are you planning on doing?”
“I need a tourniquet or something to stop the blood.” He started slicing up the shirt into long pieces of fabric.
He handed one to me, and I stared at it dumbly. “What’s this for?”
“Once I clean up the wound, I’m going to need you to tie it off so the bleeding stops.” He poured water onto another strip and started removing all the blood.
I swallowed hard as I eyed the gaping cut. Nausea crept into my stomach, and I took a few deep breaths.
When I caught Maddox’s eye, his lips curled up in a smirk. “Don’t tell me you’re still afraid of blood?”
“How do you even remember that?”
“Well, it’s hard to forget when someone almost passes out whenever she sees blood.”
At my hesitation, he rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll tie it up myself.” But when he reached for his arm, I stepped forward and knocked his hand away.
“I think you’re going to find, Maddox, that I’m not a little kid anymore.” I huffed, bringing the strip around his bicep. His intense gaze warmed my cheeks as I pulled the cloth tight. It might’ve been a little too tight because he gave a slight yelp. “Sorry,” I murmured.
He chuckled. “Oh no, you’re not.”
Shrugging, I started gathering up the materials and stuffing them back into his bag. I turned back to see Maddox rolling his shoulder and then grimacing in pain. I dug into my purse and took out the gigantic bottle of Advil I always carted around. While ballet looked all dainty and delicate, it could be excruciating on the body. After digging out four, I held my hand out to him. “You need to take these.”
“I’m fine.”
“Oh please. Stop trying to act all Chuck Norris commando. You’ve been shot for goodness sake. Besides, it’s Advil, not Morphine.”
Maddox eyed me before finally relenting and taking the pills. He guzzled down the last of our water. If we were going to be on the run for much longer, we would need to start looking for another stream to replenish the bottles.
“Come on. Let’s get going again,” he said.
I fell in step behind him. Fortunately, we walked rather than ran. Gnarled tree roots pressed into my shoes as I ducked in and out of the canopy of trees. The sun started sinking in the west, and dusk was settling over the woods. I started to get an uneasy feeling about being out here with creatures of the night like wolves and coyotes.
“Think we’ll find some form of civilization before its dark?” I asked, breaking the silence.
“Hope so.”
We continued on for a few minutes before I said, “Yeah, um, speaking of civilization, what exactly is the plan whenever we get there?”
“Why the hell are you asking me?” he snarled.
His tone momentarily stung me. I tried to ignore it considering the Advil hadn’t had time to take effect, and he was probably in a lot of pain. “I dunno. I guess because between the two of us you have the most survival training being a former soldier and all.”
Maddox grunted. “Yeah, I didn’t get a whole lot in Basic on what to do when you have a treasure map in your possession that crazed thugs want.”
“And to think Jensen looked so harmless earlier. A creep, yes, but certainly not some gun wielding psycho with a pair of equally psychotic henchmen.” A horrible thought crossed my mind, and I let out a choked sob.
Maddox whirled around before his eyes started darting from left to right. “What’s wrong? Did you hear something?”
I shook my head. “I was just thinking about Eula and Drew and the other workers. What if Jensen goes after them or something? You know for information about us?”
“Seriously?”
I nodded. “You know like when they take someone hostage to get information about someone else’s whereabouts. They could torture them to get to us.”
Maddox snorted. “I think you’ve read too many of your Dad’s detective novels.” He rubbed the back of his neck before giving me a crooked grin. “You sure you weren’t getting all bothered at the thought of maybe Drew being taken hostage rather than Eula?”
My brows furrowed in confusion. “What is that supposed to mean?”
He shrugged. “I guess I thought you and Drew were kinda hot for each other…well, as much as two people like yourselves get hot.”
I skidded to a stop in the high grass. “You’re a real a*shole, you know that?”
Maddox turned around and quirked his brows. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me just fine.” Without taking my eyes off his, I stalked determinedly over to him until we were standing toe to toe. I jerked my chin up. “That was a cheap shot at Drew and at me. Not that there’s anything more than friendship between Drew and me, I know that it’s probably hard for your inflated ego to grasp that you’re not the only guy I’ve ever cared for. After you treated me the way you did, I didn’t cling to the hope you were coming back for me, nor did I just waste away pining for you to come home.”
Maddox’s jaw clenched. “I never said you did.”
“Well, just for the record, I did love someone else, and when we finally had sex, he didn’t run away, making me feel used and horrible. And even though you turn your nose down at him, Drew has more integrity and character than you ever will when it comes to caring for women!” I brushed past him and started power-walking up the clearing.
“Damn, Lane, watch the claws,” he replied.
I whirled back around and jabbed a finger at him. “Get used to them, Big Boy. I’m going to keep them out as long as you keep acting like a jackass. I was making a serious comment about the fate of the people we work with, and somehow you managed to twist it into something else.”
“Whoa, whoa, don’t get so riled,” he replied, holding his hands up in surrender. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sure the others will be fine. Jensen knows we have the map, so he’s probably not going to involve anyone else. Okay?”
Maddox actually sounded sincere, so I nodded. “And Maudie?” I questioned in a whisper.
He glanced away from me, but I could see emotional anguish flicker on his face. “All we can hope is that the ambulance got there, and she’s getting the help she needs. She has to be okay. We have to keep ourselves together to get through the next few hours.”
“I’ll try,” I replied, sounding surer about it than I felt.
He rocked back on his heels. “And speaking of getting through the next few hours… I’m going to be totally upfront and honest with you. I don’t know what the hell to do. Part of me says to call the police the first chance we get. The other part wonders if this is all too big for the police.”
An icy feeling crashed over me. “That’s so not comforting.”
“Sorry, but I was trying to shoot straight with you.”
“I know. And I’m glad. Sorta.”
Reaching over, Maddox plucked a leaf out of my hair, causing my stomach to do an irritating flip-flop. “I promised Maudie that I would take care of you, and I will.”
The determination in his voice coupled with his intense stare caused my breath to hitch. Although I hated myself for it, I couldn’t help but find what he said very, very romantic. “Thank you.”
Once he realized we were dancing precariously in the landmine territory of ‘feelings’ and ‘emotions’, he quickly looked away from me. Rubbing his hands over his eyes, he sighed. “Yeah, I guess there’s the really heinous third option of handing over the map to Jensen.”
I gasped. “No, we couldn’t! Not after what he did to Maudie! Not to mention that she wanted me to get the map before Jensen—that has to mean something.”
His expression darkened. “I said it was a heinous option, didn’t I? Jensen doesn’t impress me as the type who gives up easily. It’s pretty obvious that he has been researching and tracking the painting with the map for a while. And he knows his shit. He’s most likely done prison time and learned from the best on how to fight and scheme his way to getting what he wants. There’s all that plus his merry band of thugs, which makes for a surprisingly brilliant combination.”
I shivered in spite of the hot summer evening. “So with all that, would you actually ever consider giving Jensen the map?”
He cocked a dark brow at me. “Do you even have to ask?”
“Well, I—”
Maddox shook his head. “I’m a man of my word, Lane. You know I made a promise to Maudie that I’d keep you safe. So if it came down to your life, yeah, I’d hand over the map. No questions asked.”
“Oh, I see,” I murmured. I knew it wasn’t just the stifling, Georgia heat that caused my cheeks to flame. It was Maddox’s words and his actions. The very guy I’d written off as being an utter and complete a*shole was actually heroic when the chips were down. It was emotionally unsettling on so many levels. Were his actions just his Army training taking hold? When it came down to it, I didn’t know if he honestly gave a rat’s ass about me or whether it was truly all about honoring Maudie’s promise. Or maybe...deep down, he really felt something for me. After I took a few moments to recover, I said, “Let’s just hope it never comes down to that. You know, my life… or yours.”
He pointed in the distance. “Well, looks like for the moment, our luck has just changed.”