Chapter Twenty-Five
Max
Today felt different from all the other days that we’d been at the safe house. The chief had called the night before to say that the court case was finally happening, and was scheduled for the following morning. We were excited that he had managed to pull it off so quickly, although not that surprised. The chief always got what he wanted when he put his mind to it, and he clearly wanted to see this guy behind bars. He’d even told us that we could go out for a bit if we wanted to, but we told him that we were happy to stay in the safe house until it was time to go to court. We’d already stuffed things up once before, and anyway, we were having a better time in the safe house than we cared to share with the boss.
I woke up late that morning, and when I turned to face Madison, I saw that she was awake. She was staring at the ceiling, completely lost in thought. I couldn’t help but smile at her. Madison was not one for makeup, which meant that she was just as beautiful when she woke up in the morning as she was during the day. I liked that she didn’t try too hard. I liked that everything about her was so natural.
“You’re beautiful,” I said.
She turned to look at me and smiled. “Good morning.”
“Good morning to you. You seemed deep in thought there.”
“I guess I was.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything is fine. This whole thing has really been something else, hasn’t it? From a year of working undercover to catch a big drug dealer, to you getting shot, to us hiding out in a safe house. It’s all a little surreal sometimes. And tomorrow it all comes to a close.”
I reached out for her hand, and together we both looked up at the ceiling as if it had all the answers. If we were outside, I was sure we would’ve been pointing at the clouds. Instead, we focused on the cracks in the paint.
“I think we make this day memorable,” I said and turned to look at her.
“Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?”
“How about a Scrabble revenge?” I said.
She laughed. “Scrabble? Wow, we sound like we’re retired now.”
“Please, you’re just too scared to play with me. The last time was just beginner’s luck, and now you’re too afraid to play it again. You know I’m going to win.”
She chuckled. “Is that so? Okay then, it’s a deal. Loser makes dinner.”
“I’d like another spaghetti bolognese please,” I said.
“No problem at all. You know how to make it.”
I laughed. “Okay, okay, it’s game on for sure. Now, let me get us some breakfast. Coffee first?”
“Yes, please. I’ll come down and get it,” she said.
“Nah, I have a better idea. Why don’t you wait here? I’ll make us breakfast, and we can eat in bed for a change. Let’s be honest; we’re not going to get this opportunity again for a long time. Things are going to be a bit crazy with the court case, and who knows what’s going to happen afterward. Let’s view this as our final day of holiday.”
“Breakfast in bed, huh? Yeah, I could get used to that. But are you sure I can’t help you?”
“I’m sure. I want to make it for you,” I said and reached over to kiss her on the mouth. “You know, Madi, I’m sure going to miss this,” I said.
“Really? You haven’t gotten sick of me yet?”
“Are you kidding me? How could I get sick of such a pretty face?”
She chuckled. “Buttering me up is not going to help you with the Scrabble, I hope you know.”
“It isn’t? Well, you’re lucky I still think you have a pretty face then.”
I chuckled and walked over to the kitchen to make the breakfast. We’d had a great few days together and I had every intention of making this one as memorable as possible. Whether I won the game of Scrabble or not I was going to make her dinner tonight, and I even had plans for a dessert that involved more than just eating chocolate. Perhaps before we went to bed that night we could finally talk about what was going to happen once we got out of the safe house. We needed to have the discussion before we left, and I had a feeling it was all going to happen later than I’d have liked. But until then, I was going to give her the best day of her life. There was no chance that she’d be able to turn me down after that.
As I cooked the breakfast I thought about what Madison had become to me over the past few weeks. She was more than just a friend, and even though I still had a lot of blanks missing from my memory, I was certain that I had always felt that way about her. The missing memories, in a way, had been a blessing in disguise. It had given me a chance to air my true feelings for her. And I was more than happy to tell her that I was ready for more than just friendship. And I didn’t care that we worked together either. We were an incredible team, and I was sure that being a couple would only strengthen it. I just hoped that it was something that she wanted to.
I made my way to the bedroom with the tray of food and coffee and set everything down. Madison sat up and smiled sleepily at me.
“I almost fell asleep again,” she said.
“Did I take that long?”
“No,” she said and chuckled. “I’m just so relaxed. I’m making the most of it. I think all my years of stressing has finally caught up to me. Who knew being lazy could be so much fun?”
I handed her a cup of coffee and climbed back into bed with her. “I know. I will never look down on anyone who sleeps in ever again. There’s something to be said for it. Although, it’s nice to have someone to be lazy with. I’m not sure if I’d enjoy this quite as much if I were on my own.”
“I agree,” she said. “Team Maverick work better together. Hey, this coffee is great. Thank you, Max. Here’s to a great day ahead,” she said and stuck out her cup to touch mine.
“Here’s to a great day. Of food, coffee, relaxation and winning Scrabble.”
“Ha! We’ll see about that,” she said and grinned at me.
We spent the entire morning relaxing in bed. The longer we lazed around together, the surer I was that I wanted something to happen outside of the safe house. Things were just so easy with Madison, and I couldn’t imagine that it would be any different on the outside. Madison just seemed to get me, and I truly believed that I got her too. After everything that I had been through, I was surprised at just how much she seemed to understand me. It was almost midday when we rolled out of bed.
“I’m going to take a shower,” she said. “And then get ready for the big game.”
I laughed. “The time has finally come. So, what happens if I do win? Because then we’ll be tied. Are we going to just leave it like that?”
“That’s not going to happen,” she said. “But let’s say it does—which it won’t—but then we’ll have to play another game tonight to determine the winner. We can’t leave this place without knowing who is the ultimate Scrabble champion out of Team Maverick.”
“That is true,” I said. “If there is one thing in life we need to know, it’s that.”
While Madison showered, I lay in bed a little bit longer, savoring the moment. There was no chance that I’d be able to sleep in the next day knowing that the court case was looming so close ahead of us. Today, at least, I could put the thought behind me for a little bit longer. Thankfully I had Madison with me to help distract me. Then I climbed out of bed and got changed. I went to the living room to set up the game and Madison made us each a cup of coffee.
“Okay, my game face is on!” she said as she walked through the door. She was wearing a simple pair of blue jeans and a brown cardigan over a white tank top. I thought to myself that I’d never seen her look so beautiful before. “I hope you’re ready to make that dinner tonight.”
“You did such a good job of it the last time,” I said. “I definitely think that night was just preparing you for tonight to make it again. I feel hungry just thinking about it.”
“Just give me my letters, buddy. Then we’ll see who is making that dinner.”
We were about halfway through the game when we heard a noise from outside, and we jumped.
“Must be the chief,” I said. Although I found it weird that the chief hadn’t called to warn us. I’d also spoken to him the night before, and he’d said nothing about coming over that day. There was no point as we were seeing him tomorrow for the court case anyway. I got up and peered outside and jumped out in fright when I saw a figure emerge. I burst out laughing when I saw it was Blake, although the laughter was purely from nerves.
“Blake, you scared me,” said. “Come on in.”
I expected Blake to come in and tease us about playing Scrabble. But when he walked in, I noticed that he had a strange look on his face, and he wasn’t looking at me in the eye. He also still hadn’t said a thing.
“Uh, is everything okay? What’s going on, Blake?”
Blake walked over to the other side of the room and stared at us. He looked a little crazed, as if he hadn’t gotten any sleep. I was just about to walk over to him when he pulled out a gun from his jacket. Madison and I gasped.
“Blake. What are you doing?” I said nervously. I half expected him to burst out laughing and say that he was just kidding, but I could see from the look in his eyes that he was completely serious. Had he lost his mind?
Blake sighed. “This was never how I wanted this to happen,” he said. “This was not how I wanted it to go down.”
“What do you mean? What did you want to happen?” I asked.
“I had it all planned out, but you went and messed everything up. You’ve left me no choice. Why are you making my life so difficult?”
“Uh . . . Blake. What are you talking about?” I said as gently as I could. “I thought we were friends. Why are you doing this? Can you please put the gun down so that we can talk? Please, Blake. Put the gun down.”
But Blake didn’t put the gun down. He continued to hold it up with shaking hands. “Max, you were supposed to die in the warehouse,” he said.
“What? What do you mean? Why did you want me to die? You’re on my side. Aren’t you? I thought you were part of our team?”
“You were supposed to die in the warehouse,” Blake said again. His voice seemed stronger as if confidence was seeping back into him. “And now I’m running out of options. I don’t know how you keep evading it. But I’m running out of options for the boss now. There doesn’t seem to be any other way than this.”
“The boss? Blake . . . you’re . . . you’re working for him? I thought we were friends?”
Blake shook his head. “You thought a lot of things, Max.”
While we were talking, I had inched my way closer to Madison. Blake didn’t seem to know what to do, and he kept pointing the gun at me and then at her. I had to make sure that I got in front of her so that she didn’t get hurt. I couldn’t let anything happen to her. Blake was pointing the gun at us, and I noticed his hands were shaking when he did it. He looked nervous, but he also looked like he was about to pull the trigger. I heard a noise, so I jumped in front of Madison. The moment I did a gun went off.