Chapter Fourteen
Madison
I never thought I’d sleep at the chief’s house, but after a good meal and a movie, we all fell asleep early, and I had one of the best sleeps I’d had in a long time. There was something nice about knowing Max and the chief were close by. I felt safe. All this time I thought I couldn’t sleep because I was worried about Max, but I hadn’t realized how unsafe I had felt either. I wouldn’t be surprised if we all had to go and talk to a shrink once this was all over, but for now, we still had a lot more to get through. It wasn’t officially over yet. The boss would still want to come after Max. And he’d more than likely come after me to do it. That morning, we all woke up late because the chief had told us not to come down before ten. I surprised myself by waking up at nine-thirty even though we’d gone to bed so early. I took a shower and made my way downstairs where the chief had made us all scrambled eggs and bacon. I hadn’t known the chief was so good in the kitchen. I sat down and told him so.
“Thank you,” he said and smiled. “I never used to be. Before my wife died, she was the only one really allowed in the kitchen. She was amazing. There was no reason for me to cook with someone like her around. When she died, I spent about year on microwave meals,” he said, and I saw Max flash me a look. “Then, when I finally got around to clearing the house, I found her recipe books. She’d written out everything in such an easy-to-understand way, I decided to give it a try. And, as it turned out, I wasn’t so bad in the kitchen either. Maybe it just reminded me of her or something.”
“I think she’d be very impressed. Everything is amazing,” I said and smiled at him. I wasn’t used to hearing about the chief’s personal life. For people that worked so close together, we didn’t know all that much about him.
“Thank you, Madison. So, are you all ready for today? We’re going to go for a cruise later. It’s kind of a far drive. Also, we’re going to make it longer by making sure we confuse the hell out of anyone that might be following us. Although, I don’t think anyone is just yet. I think they’re still planning their next move. We’ll pop around to both your houses first, though.”
After breakfast, we made our way to my house, and I threw whatever I could think of bringing into a suitcase. It was hard to know what to bring and what to leave behind, but in the end, I figured as long as I had clothes to wear, I’d be fine. The chief assured me that I would have a washing machine so that it wouldn’t be such a big deal if I ran out of clothes. Next, we went to Max’s house and did the same. We threw everything in the car and went on our way.
The chief was right. We did so many twists and turns that by the time we arrived, I had no idea where we were. There also seemed to be no house at all where we were. It was so hidden from the outside road that if you didn’t know it was there, you would never even suspect it. The safe house was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. I was half expecting it just to be a room. But it was a full house, with more amenities than I even had in my own house. The chief had made sure that everything was fully stocked and that we wouldn’t go without anything.
“You have enough food here to last you for a few months, but I honestly don’t think it’s going to take that long. We’ve got all our best guys on this case, and we have eyes and ears everywhere. The work you did in this past year was not in vain. You got some valuable information for us, so at least we have some ideas of where they might be. The sooner we get them, the better, but for now, just try and act like this is a vacation. Don’t worry and leave the rest up to us. Max, I don’t want you stressing at all. Okay?”
Max smiled. “I don’t think it’s possible to stress here. It’s very peaceful.”
I looked around. He was right. There was a sense of calm about the place that was impossible to ignore.
“I can’t thank you enough for everything you have done,” I said to the chief.
“Nonsense. You would do the same. Anyway, the two of you are the best on my team. I can’t have anything happening to either one of you. We’ll have a big celebration once this is all over. For now, lay low. As I said, you can access the town from here, so when you start going a little stir crazy, you can go. There are people watching the safe house, and there will be people watching you. I’m sure going out won’t be a problem. But try to at least spend a few days not going out. Now, I better get going. It’s a long drive back. I’ll be in touch. We’ve made sure that your phones have not been bugged. The line here is safe and secure.”
Once the chief was gone, I turned to look at Max, and the two of us started laughing. I wasn’t sure if it was from nerves, but the sudden realization that we were in a safe house all alone was a strange and daunting one.
“Is this really happening?” I said.
Max chuckled. “Looks like it. Hey, maybe there will some big natural disaster while we’re in here and you and I will be the only people left on earth.”
“Max! Don’t say that.”
“Why not? I’m just kidding. But imagine. We’d have to make kids and make sure that the earth becomes populated again.”
I groaned. “How will we populate the earth with just our kids? They can’t sleep with each other. The population will just end there.” I tried not to look at him when I was talking. Making kids entailed sleeping with one another. I was sure he was only trying to embarrass me again with his flirting.
I walked around the house again and wondered for the first time what we were really going to do with our time.
“You know, the two of us are terrible at doing nothing. In a way, this might be torture for us.”
Max laughed. “I’ve gotten used to relaxing now. Ever since the coma, I’ve started to love sleep.”
“Really? Well, maybe I’ll learn to love it too. Oh, look here, the chief left us a recipe book. I wonder if it was his wife’s? That’s sweet. Okay, I’m going to make dinner.”
“What? No microwave meal?”
“Doesn’t look like there are many of those here. I’m going to attempt. Okay, choose a page number. I’m going to leave it up to fate.”
“Page five.”
I flipped open the book to page five and laughed when I saw what it was. “No way,” I whispered.
“What?”
“Page five is spaghetti bolognese.”
He laughed. “Serendipity strikes again. Can I help you?”
I shook my head. “Nah, I’m going to attempt to make this one myself. If you smell smoke though, come running.”
Max went to watch some TV while I cooked the food. It was nice to have something to do, and the instructions were fairly simple. I surprised myself by not only making something that smelled amazing, but also enjoying myself while making it. I put everything in a bowl and walked over to the living room to hand one to Max. We decided to eat on the sofas instead of at the table.
“Wow, are you sure you made this? Madi, this is delicious.”
I grinned. I had just taken a bite myself. “I’m shocked. This is really good, if I say so myself. I’m not as bad in the kitchen as I thought. I just needed some instructions to follow and nothing else to do.”
“So, does that mean you’re the resident cook?”
I shook my head. “No way. I think we play the choose a page number game every night and take turns cooking.”
“I like that idea. Madi, tell me more about what happened at the drug bust,” Max asked suddenly. It was obvious that it had been playing on his mind, and while I would prefer to avoid the conversation, I knew it was important to him to know.
I took him through the events of the night and ended by telling him that his flashback hadn’t been wrong.
“You took a shot in order to save me instead of protecting your own life. You knew that by shooting that guy, the boss would shoot you too. You did it for me.”
“And that’s why I’m getting a medal?”
“That’s why. You saved my life, Max. I can never really forget something like that. I’m just so glad your life wasn’t taken too. The boss obviously shot you in a panic because he missed your vital organs completely. You, on the other hand, shot the guy dead within seconds.”
“I might not remember it all. But I would do it all over again.”
I smiled. “Maybe you are a maverick.”
“And maybe you aren’t really Microwaveable Madi.”
The two of us sat for a bit longer, just talking about life and getting to know one another. I knew Max well, but I’d never really sat with him like this before. I had discovered things about him over the years, but never over dinner and a chat. I was surprised to find myself really enjoying myself. I told him all about my sister and how she was going to be upset to know that I had gone away again.
“I was away from her for a year. She begged me to reconsider my job, but obviously, I never would. We all knew how dangerous this would be when we signed up for it. Anyway, she has a new boyfriend now, so that makes me feel better. At least she has someone to get her mind off me. You’re tired,” I said when I saw Max yawn. I immediately did the same. “And so am I. I think we should call it a night. Let me take these bowls away.”
“I’ll do the dishes,” he said.
I shook my head. “Nah, the cook does the dishes. It’s your turn tomorrow.”
Just as I finished with the dishes, Max came in to tell me that there was only one bed.
“Clearly the chief didn’t think that one through,” I said and chuckled nervously.
“It’s yours,” Max said. “No arguments. You take it. I’ll make a makeshift bed on the sofa.”
I thought about arguing but decided against it. I knew that Max would only make me take it in the end. I thanked him, went to the room, and closed the door behind me. It had been a great night, and the thought of Max sleeping so close to me made me feel strange. I was almost certain that if Max were to walk back into the room and kiss me, I wouldn’t fight him. I lay in bed wondering if he would come, and found that I was disappointed when he didn’t. What was going on? I needed to get a grip. Who knew how much longer we had to be alone together.