Free Search Me by Katie Ashley Page B

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 asshole, 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