Cowboys & Navy SEALs

Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

A ddie held her breath as Maddox pushed the key into the lock on storage unit number twenty-seven. Anxiety clutched Addie’s stomach as she looked at Piper. Her poor friend looked like she was barely holding it together. “Are you okay?”

Piper gave her a strained smile. “I’m hanging in there.”

Addie stepped up beside Piper and took her arm, patting her hand for reassurance.

A second later, Maddox turned the key. Addie felt a burst of exultation when the lock opened. Maddox pulled up the metal door. At first, it was too dark to see anything. Then, the sunlight filtered in. Addie surveyed the unit with a quick glance. There were a couple of filing boxes on the floor, a tandem bicycle, and a shelving unit along the back wall. Otherwise, the unit was empty.

“The good news is that it shouldn’t take long to look through these items,” Maddox said.

By unspoken consent, Addie and Piper walked over to the boxes, while Maddox headed for the back shelves.

Addie turned on the flashlight on her phone. She lifted a lid and peered inside. The box contained pictures of Jordan’s family. Addie recognized Jordan’s younger brother and sister in the photos, along with his parents. They were taken at all different stages of their lives.

The other box was full of bank statements and bill stubs. She picked up a statement, inspecting it. Jordan’s mother’s name and address were listed on the top. It was dated ten years ago. She rifled through the bill stubs, all belonging to his mother. Her heart felt heavy in her chest. At first glance, there was nothing here but old pictures and outdated paperwork. Why did Jordan leave her the key? Maybe the clue was hidden in one of the boxes. They’d have to dump them out and sift through the contents piece by piece.

Piper leaned over and picked up a photo of Jordan as a teenager, his arm slung around his younger brother Steve. They were in a boat, smiling broadly for the camera, holding up open, soft drink cans. Addie heard a muffled sound and realized Piper was crying. She slid her arm around Piper’s thin shoulders.

“I still can’t believe he’s gone,” Piper stammered. “The two of us were going to change the world.”

“You have. Once PZT hits the market, the world will know you two as heroes.” A lump formed in Addie’s throat. She hated that Piper was going through all this turmoil and loss. When Addie thought Maddox was dead, she’d nearly gone out of her mind with grief. Of course, Maddox came back, but Jordan wouldn’t.

Gratitude simmered in Piper’s luminous eyes. “Thank you. You’re such a good friend.”

Her voice cracked. “I’m so sorry you got caught in the middle of this.”

“Me too,” Addie sighed, “but it’s not your fault.”

“Hey guys. I think I found something,” Maddox said.

For an instant, they looked wide-eyed at each other. Addie removed her arm from Piper’s shoulder. Hurriedly, Piper wiped her eyes as they rushed back to Maddox. In one hand, he held a large padded envelope. In the other, a black rectangle box with a cord attached that Addie recognized as a computer accessory.

Piper frowned. “That looks like the external hard drives we have at Therapia.”

Maddox turned it over in his hand as Addie shined her flashlight. On the back, was a small white label with two words: Therapia. PZT.

Addie’s heart began to pound. “This has to be what Jordan wanted me to find.” She looked back and forth between Maddox and Piper and could tell from their expressions that they agreed. “Do you think Jordan’s copy of the formula is on it?” Addie asked, eagerness rising in her chest.

Piper nodded. “Probably so.” Her tone grew speculative as she turned to Addie. “I’ll bet Jordan realized someone was after him that day he had lunch with you. He probably dropped the key in your purse for safe keeping.”

Addie thought back to the events that occurred. “Yep, I believe you’re right.”

Piper reached for the hard drive. “If I know Jordan, it’s probably encrypted, but I can take it back to Therapia and have my tech team look at it.”

Maddox held it out of her reach. “Not so fast. I’ll hold onto this for now.”

“But it’s my property,” Piper protested, her voice going an octave higher. “If that drive contains the formula, I can’t risk it falling into the wrong hands.” Her voice quivered with intensity. “It could undermine my business, everything Jordan and I worked so hard to achieve.”

Maddox squared his jaw. “This could be the missing piece in all of this. I have no intention of relinquishing it until I get to the bottom of what’s going on.”

“You have no right,” Piper fumed, her hand going to her hip. She turned to Addie. “Tell him.”

Addie felt like a pebble caught between a car tire and the hard pavement—with Piper being the tire and Maddox the pavement.

“Please, Addie,” Piper continued. “You know how important this is to me, how important it was to Jordan.” Piper’s gut-wrenching expression cut Addie to the core.

Addie homed in on Maddox. “Piper’s right. Once that hard drive leaves your hands, you can’t guarantee that the wrong person won’t get ahold of it.”

His eyes were as unyielding as stone. “I’m sending it to Sutton.”

She lifted her chin. “And who will Sutton get to look at it? Someone you don’t know.”

“All right, I’ll insist Sutton makes sure it goes to Logan Steele. He served with me in the SEALs. I trust him implicitly.”

She leaned closer. “Uh, huh. You trust him because he’s a close friend, right?”

“That’s right,” he snapped, wariness creeping into his eyes.

Triumph surged through her, and she knew she had him. “Well, Piper’s my closest friend. I trust her implicitly.”

Maddox’s brows crinkled. “Don’t turn this around.”

The two of them going head-to-head wouldn’t accomplish anything. Addie gave him a pleading look. “Would it hurt to give it to Piper? That way, we can make sure the formula won’t fall into the wrong hands. Piper can keep us updated on what her tech team learns.”

“You bet I will,” Piper said quickly.

Maddox belted out an incredulous laugh. “Are you listening to yourself, Addie? Whatever’s on this hard drive could’ve cost you your life. You’re still in danger. No way am I handing it over to anyone—” he looked at Piper “—best friend or otherwise, until we find out what’s on it.” He stood there glaring. In another situation, Addie would’ve thought him magnificent with his tall stature, rock hard muscles, chiseled features and blazing eyes. He was every bit the diehard warrior.

“Come on, Maddox,” she urged. “Piper’s business is on the line. She lost her husband. Like Piper said, Jordan most likely dropped the key into my purse because of the situation. Had Piper been there, he would’ve given it to her instead.”

“Maybe he would have, maybe he wouldn’t.” He blew out a breath, his eyes never leaving Addie’s. “While I appreciate your loyalty to your friend, my job is to protect you, even if that means protecting you from your good intentions.” His jaw clenched. “The hard drive stays with me.”

Piper gave him a rigid look. “How do we know we can trust you?”

“I trust him,” Addie countered. She was surprised that the admission had come blurting out. Even so, the truth of her words hit home. She trusted Maddox more than anyone outside her family, even more than she trusted Piper.

“This doesn’t concern you,” Piper argued, eyeing Maddox.

“Anything that concerns Addie, concerns me,” he countered, locking gazes with Addie for one, long moment.

Addie felt the blood quickening through her veins, then came the wave of familiar desire. What she didn’t expect, however, was the blanket of comfort that covered her. Addie was so very grateful to have Maddox in her corner. Maybe there was no hope of them ever getting back together. Maybe her stupid fear of his dangerous profession had pushed him into the arms of another woman. But here and now, she knew that a part of him still cared about her. Right now, that was enough. Time to step up to the plate, even if it meant ostracizing her best friend.

She turned to Piper. “You know, maybe Maddox is right. The man he works for is honorable. If the formula for PZT is on that hard drive, we’ll make sure it stays safe. After it’s checked out, we’ll return it to you. You have my word.”

Piper’s jaw worked like she wanted to say more. Instead, she clamped her lips shut and waved a hand of dismissal as she turned to go.

Addie’s gut tightened. “Wait! Don’t leave upset.” She was about to charge after Piper when she heard a series of loud pops.

“Get down!” Maddox shouted, lunging for her. They toppled to the cement floor, his body shielding hers. She became aware of the weight of his body and was appreciative of his protection. Her heart sank, however, as she looked up.

A masked man wearing all black had Piper in a choke hold, pointing a gun at her temple.

“Hand over the drive,” the man ordered, “or the woman gets it!” He tightened his hold on her neck. Piper gurgled and coughed.

“P—please, don’t hurt me,” she stammered, her eyes wide with fear.

Addie felt Maddox move slightly. It occurred to her that he was reaching for his gun. Of course Maddox had a gun, but she’d not thought twice about it until now.

“Don’t move!” the man growled in a raspy voice like he had a frog in his throat that he couldn’t clear.

Maddox froze.

“Push the drive towards me,” the man ordered. “Now!”

Addie realized that the drive was a foot to their left. Maddox must’ve let go of it when he rushed to protect her.

Piper’s voice trembled as she spoke to the gunman. “You don’t have to do this. Whatever someone’s paying you, I can pay more.”

“Shut up!” he screamed, clutching her in a vise grip. She yelped in pain.

Terror clawed down Addie’s spine. “Do what he says,” she said in a low tone to Maddox. She couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to Piper.

Time seemed to stop. Finally, Maddox cursed under his breath, pushing the drive forward.

The gunman released Piper. “Give it to me,” he ordered.

Piper stumbled forward and reached for it with shaky hands. She turned and went back to the gunman. Addie expected him to jerk it from her hands, but he grabbed Piper instead.

Piper let out a cry, sobs bubbling from her throat.

Addie felt her own eyes mist. “You’ve got what you want. Let her go.”

The gunman held Piper as a shield as he backed out of the storage unit.

Maddox sprang to his feet. “Stay here,” he ordered, charging after the gunman with his gun drawn.

The next instant, shots were fired. Addie’s heart nearly stopped. Had Piper been shot? Maddox? Shakes rippled through Addie’s entire body as she stood. Not heeding Maddox’s command to stay put, she rushed outside.

Piper was crumpled in a heap on the grass, her hand clutching her throat as she gulped for air, half-crying, half-choking. A stab of fear shot through Addie. Where was Maddox?

Her knees went weak when she saw him jogging toward them, a furious expression on his face. “He got away,” he growled.

Numbly, Addie pushed her feet forward. When she reached Piper, she dropped to her knees. As she pulled Piper into a hug to comfort her, a tingle of thought pricked Addie’s mind. The gunman’s voice was raspy.

Strip that away and there was something familiar about it.

For the life of her, she couldn’t place it though.