Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

MADELINE

Where was everyone?

That singular question kept ricocheting in her mind because this didn't make sense. Were they waiting outside? Had they taken what they needed and just left? Were they so confident that she and Noah were going to die back there, that they'd abandoned the site… fleeing themselves?

Madeline made her way slowly, trying to remain silent, down the ascending passageway that led deep into the pyramid. Thankfully, some of the heat from earlier in the day was dissipating, telling her it was later into the evening, and she paused as she heard a noise behind her from Noah.

Looking back at him, she saw his pinched expression and the white lines of pain around his lip. Climbing down this ramp was forcing him to use his leg much more than ever before. She imagined the pain had to be intense for him to look so grim.

"We're almost there," she whispered, trying to give him some hope or encouragement. This was officially the craziest thing she had ever done – and now she was putting her complete faith, her life , in the hands of a stranger because she ‘ felt' she could trust him. "Just a little further."

Noah nodded silently and then grabbed her shoulder just as she turned back around to move to the opening in the distance. It had to be less than ten feet away, and she could already feel a cooling breeze on her face. At his touch, she looked at him warily, wondering if he heard something she didn't.

"Let me go first," he breathed, looking at her. "If they're out there, you have a better chance of getting away than I do right now. I'm only going to slow you down."

"We're not discussing this."

"You're right – we're not," he retorted softly in the silence, meeting her eyes… and she hesitated. Something flickered in his gaze, something she somehow knew or understood. Noah was scared for her and trying to hide it. While that was a very unsettling thought since he had been her rescuer, it touched something deep inside.

"You're a good man…" she murmured in realization, not bothering to hold back or hide the words – and saw him roll his eyes.

Uh… that was rude?

"No, I'm really not," he countered. "I'm having very dark thoughts about the man who pulled the trigger on me. A ‘good' man wouldn't be thinking of injuring another soul at the same time he was fantasizing about what sex would be like with you, especially after that kiss. I'm not a good man, so don't paint me that way in your head. There's a reason I'm still single and have been for a long time. I'm selfish, terrible at relationships, and always leaving home because of my commitment to the military. I'm a cheap date, snore like you wouldn't believe, and…"

"Are you finished?" she interrupted softly, not really wanting to hear any of this. Right now, this person before her was her partner in getting her butt to safety, and hearing what a ‘loser' he was, didn't help her confidence.

"No," he chuckled under his breath and looked at her, holding her gaze. "I just don't want to disappoint my pseudo-wife."

"You're not. I have zero illusions as to what this is, but your pseudo-wife is ready to leave."

"Me too – now wait behind me," he ordered, moving past her in the narrow corridor. It was so tight that he practically had to press himself against her to manage to get past. She was trying not to think about their kiss, but feeling him so close, his breath mixing with hers, was making it extremely tough. "Madeline?"

"Yeah?"

"This is kinda nice," he muttered under his breath with a small laugh as he squeezed past her. "Can you add ‘masochist' to my list of flaws?"

"Sure, why not?" she chuckled softly, not expecting him to say that.

Noah climbed out of the passageway and stood, wincing, before limping forward to look out the entrance from the shadows. She slowly stood up, trying to remain silent, and moved to his side instinctively.

Her eyes took in the landscape around them. The moon was illuminating the dunes, and she could see a few wild camels in the distance, resting. The city lights seemed so far away, but now that there was light, she could also see the blood stain on Noah's jeans. He was going to call attention to them .

"We need to get you another set of pants or a caftan to cover your wound."

"I'm not worried about the stain right now. I'm more worried about sticking out like a sore thumb for anyone who might be just out of sight. I'll worry about my bloody leg once we disappear into town. One thing at a time."

Nodding, she slipped her hand into his – and his head turned swiftly toward her with wide, surprised eyes.

"Hush," she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," he smirked, teasing her, but he didn't look like he minded her reaching out to hold his hand to keep her nerves at bay.

"Are you ready?"

"Let's go," Madeline urged – and Noah hesitated, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her advance. "What now?"

"Keep your head down, hurry," he paused, meeting her eyes. "And good luck. I hope we can have that congratulatory kiss someday when this is all over."

"Me too – and good luck, Noah."

He swallowed, nodded, and removed his hand from her shoulder. Holding up their hands between them where they were clasped, he adjusted slightly and laced his fingers with hers. There was a grim determination to his gaze, and she knew he was about to give this panicked race across the dunes everything he had within him.

Noah turned away, facing the door, and they both stepped out into the moonlit night. They moved hurriedly, no longer worried about silence and not waiting to see if anyone was out there. They both ran like the dogs of hell had been unleashed, racing behind them close on their heels.

Her lungs were burning with effort, each step harder than the last because the sand would slip away at times underfoot while in other spots there were rocks or pebbles causing an instability. He was running beside her in a strange fashion due to his leg, keeping pace.

When they hit the halfway mark, she heard a noise in the distance – and a shout. They had been noticed by someone, and if she wasn't scared enough already, the volume of sheer terror pumping through her veins combined with all the running was going to give her heart failure long before a bullet finished her off.

Madeline stumbled.

The muscles in her legs were seizing from exhaustion. In fact, her whole being seemed to be reacting to the heat earlier in the day and cramping badly. She always used to think that the air smelled so alive, so ancient yet fascinating, but now all she smelled was foul in ways she never imagined. Camels, sand, bodies, dirt, debris, and death. Her body was going to fail her if she was cramping like this and would someday just add to the stench in the air – and her mind was pointing out all sorts of ridiculous things.

Maybe she should have laid off the coffee and drunk more water on a regular basis. Maybe she should have dated more. Maybe she should have gone into a different field of work.

Before she could say anything or start crying in defeat, Noah was already there. He was scooping her up from the sand where she fell, her hands stinging as the sand scraped them. His arm was wrapped around her waist, almost protectively, as he pulled her along beside him. The gates were getting closer. She could now hear someone shouting and running in the distance.

"Keep going!" Noah bit out. "I'm not leaving you behind. "

"I'm trying…"

"I know. We're almost there."

Sure enough, they were coming up on the fences and gates fast – which meant they needed a plan of action because the sounds behind them were getting closer. Madeline was shocked no one had shot at them yet unless they needed to keep things quiet. Maybe they had knives or something else.

No! Stop thinking like that, would you? Fatalistic, much? She chided silently as they came up to the chain-link fence. Noah immediately scooped his hands together.

"Gimme your foot! Quickly!" – and Madeline didn't have time to argue with him, nor was she so inclined. This last burst of adrenaline was pushing her harder than she'd ever been, and she wasn't about to give up now that she was so close to making it out of there. She was, wasn't she?

Madeline put her shoe in his hand without question and Noah was lifting her as she pulled on his shoulders, grabbing the metal bar across the top of the fence. Before she knew it, she was over the top and falling to the ground on the other side, knocking the breath out of her, only to hear his voice. "Graceful, huh? Didn't you ever hop fences as a kid?"

Throwing a rock at him as she got to her feet, dragging air into her lungs painfully and froze, pointing behind him as she choked out a single word in warning.

"Noah…"

He cursed swiftly and immediately began dragging himself upward using only his hands and one foot before swinging his injured leg upward. His sneaker hung on the fence, holding it up there while he somehow managed to pull himself over. He said several more foul words that didn't bear repeating, but she couldn't blame him either. As he got to the top, he dropped down, knees buckling as he made a terrible noise in his throat.

A wounded animalistic sound.

That had to have hurt badly. The injury on his leg was bleeding heavily, and the stain had doubled in size already – yet he picked her up and practically dragged her with him at his side. She grabbed him, trying to help him to his feet, and met his watery gaze.

"I'm not gonna cry, dang it…" he said hoarsely. His entire face was pale under his tan, his lips colorless, even in the moonlight.

"I wouldn't blame you," she volunteered, dragging him upward and pulling at him toward the shadows of an alleyway nearby.

The chain-link rattled noisily as they darted down the alley, ignoring whatever debris was around them. She needed to get to a main road, hail a taxi, a car, anything , just so they could finally stop running. The urge to put some distance between them all was almost overwhelming, but she needed to stay focused.

One thing at a time, just like Noah had said…

As they emerged into the street, Noah's arm was around her shoulders, and she had an arm around his back. Somehow, they were managing to keep it together by sheer will at this point because she had never been so mentally or physically worn out in her entire life. Raising a hand wildly, Madeline practically stepped out into traffic to get a car to stop.

"What in the heck are you doing? Haven't you ever played ‘Frogger' as a kid? You're going to get smeared across the pavement!"

"Hush!" she snapped without looking at him. "This works. "

"This… is insane."

Sure enough, a car careened toward them, halfway pulling in between two parked cars yet sticking out into the street boldly. People here didn't drive in an organized fashion – they just drove, and you hung on. She heard several honks and saw several vehicles swerve away as she leaned into the window, looking at the man. In Arabic, she spoke swiftly and bluntly.

"I need a ride – quickly. No questions."

"How much?" he answered, not blinking an eye.

"My gold watch – and my necklace," she volunteered, still speaking to him in another language for multiple reasons. There needed to be no miscommunication at this point as their gap between whoever was chasing them had to be getting smaller, and she didn't want to argue with Noah.

"Get in," he said nodding – and looked past her.

"Hurry!" she hissed to Noah, bodily shoving him into the back seat and nearly landing on him in her rush to get inside the vehicle. "Yalla! Yalla! Yalla!" she yelled at the driver, urging him to ‘go' in his native tongue.

Thankfully, he listened.

The car surged forward into traffic before they even got the back passenger door closed. As it slammed shut due to inertia, she looked at the man she was practically seated on and let out her breath. They weren't out of the woods yet, but any sort of distance was welcomed at this point, and started slightly.

She met Noah's eyes.

Her ‘escape partner' looked exhausted and full of pain. There was something else there, lingering in those depths, that she couldn't put her finger on. Their faces were so close together in the car because of how she'd thrown herself inside. She should move away, yet she didn't. As frantic as things seemed earlier, they now slowed to a crawl. Her mind raced with so many questions, comments, and ideas, that she couldn't put into words. She stared into his eyes as they softened.

"Hi," he breathed silently as a smile touched his lips. "I'm Noah. I saw you this morning on the street."

"Hi yourself," she murmured in a hushed voice, realizing he was trying to start over things between them, trying to put the nightmare behind them both. He was being casual, friendly, and coming on to her… instead of the sweaty, injured man that he currently was – and her heart flopped wildly in understanding. "I saw you too – and I'm Madeline."

"It's nice to meet you."

"You too."

And before either could say anything else – the driver interrupted them.

"Where to, woman? Why are you doing the talking and not your man?" Madeline practically rolled her eyes as she moved to sit next to Noah, realizing she'd never given him directions or any other orders except to go. "I need my payment now."

"You'll get half now - and half when we get there."

"Where are we going?" the driver asked again, looking more and more irritated in the rearview mirror where he was glaring at her. Madeline yanked off her watch and dropped it into the seat.

"What is the driver saying?" Noah interrupted quickly in a rush. "Are you giving him your watch? Is that payment? What's happening, Madeline?"

"I'm going to tell him to take us to the hospital and…"

"No!" Noah snapped and then cleared his throat. "Let's just go to your place or a hotel. I'll go to the clinic on the carrier when I check in."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes – and I'll get you another watch," Noah said grimly, not looking too, happy about being helpless right now.

Madeline wasn't sure why he was so dead-set against going to the hospital, but then again, if she went home then there was other benefits. She could change clothes, look at his wound, drink and eat something, plus figure out her next steps because she was never going back – even if Travis hadn't fired her. She gave her apartment address to the driver before sitting back and looking at Noah.

"How's your leg?" she whispered.

"Hurts," he said simply. "I think the bullet went through my leg because it burns badly on both sides of my thigh."

"That's good, right?"

"I guess. I've never been shot before."

"I'm a horrible nurse," she said in a flat voice, hoping that he picked up on her teasing him. Noah looked at her sharply and then cracked a slight smile before nodding.

"Good to know," he smirked for a moment and then it faded. "How far away is your place?"

"Not far. I have a small apartment on the fourth floor of a building. It's pretty quiet, and I have good neighbors."

"Where does Travis live?" he began gingerly, looking at her… and she felt heat stain her cheeks. How could she have ever been so stupid as to date her boss – and why had she stayed after she found out what a sleazeball he was? "Do we need to worry about him showing up with a key to the door?"

"No," she said quickly, looking at him. "We went out just a few times and talked for about six months. It wasn't serious, and I kept having all these red flags in my brain for different things. I broke it off, and he kept trying to talk to me. I should have just pulled myself out of this mess long ago, but I never imagined… all of that. "

"Because you're a good person," Noah interrupted softly, his fingers barely touched hers where both of their hands sat on the seat between them.

Should she hold his hand again?

He was giving her mixed signals, saying that they were married, then they weren't. He even referred to her as a pseudo-spouse and she withdrew her hand silently.

Getting into a relationship was asking for yet another mistake. She sure didn't need to be diving into one with a perfect stranger, especially if he wasn't fully interested either. When was she going to learn that it was okay to say ‘No' to someone because they deemed her ‘convenient'? You can be friends, but that is not love; at some point, she would need to learn her lesson.

Someone just being a decent human being did not mean that they were interested in you or a relationship. She was a fool to think that this could ever turn into something, not to mention the fact that Noah was leaving. He hadn't hidden the fact that he was in the Navy. They could remain friends, and she could use a decent friend in her life, but that was all that it could ever be.

As the car came to a stop, she removed her necklace for the remainder of the driver's payment and heard Noah mutter something under his breath. Yeah, while she wasn't a fan of giving up her watch or small necklace – she also wasn't exactly a huge fan of walking several miles in the dark with an injured person .

"We're going to talk about this," Noah said grimly before jerking open his door and getting out of the taxi.

"There's nothing to discuss. Let's get inside, lock the doors, and I'll make us something to eat. I think I could drink a gallon of iced mint tea right now," she said, opening the doorway to the building before hesitating.

Stairs.

Four flights of stairs.

She was not going to take the stairs this time but moved slightly toward the back of the hallway to where the tiny elevator was. It had seen better days and she convinced herself that avoiding it would provide exercise instead. Pressing herself into the corner of the tiny contraption, she swallowed.

It was like a tiny closet and she was pretty sure that if this was a bathroom, there wouldn't be enough room for a toilet because it was so cramped. She pushed the button with a ‘4' on it – and hesitated – having to press it three times for it to light up.

Noah stepped a foot onto the elevator, and it wobbled precariously. He quickly withdrew that same foot and looked at her.

"Is this thing safe?"

"I sure hope so."

"It's like a coffin."

"Gee. Thanks for that visual. Are you getting on here or not?"

Noah stepped inside and steadied himself as the elevator began to hum, drawing them upward. He planted his hand against the wall covered in a variety of stickers, taped papers, and other things – directly beside her head. She looked up at him in that moment and felt that flare of attraction within her once more and hesitated before looking away.

"Have I done something to offend you?"

Her eyes met his again, and she swallowed nervously.

"You haven't offended me," she began quietly. "This is just a bad situation, and I think it's affecting both of our heads. A lot has happened, intense things, and…" her voice trailed off as she tried to put her thoughts together in her mind. "Noah, I need a friend right now, you know?"

"That I think I can do easily," he offered and nodded. "And you're right. We both have a lot on our plates; this has been quite a set of extreme circumstances, but I do think you are nice… extremely beautiful… and maybe we can stay in contact or meet up for coffee or dinner sometime in the future."

"I would really like that… and we're here," she hedged nervously as the door opened up revealing four sets of doors. "This is my floor and I have the corner unit on the right."

Walking up to her door, she lifted up on her toes and grabbed the emergency key from the ledge – only to hear Noah's groan.

"Hush. It's a safe apartment."

"You just reminded me that they have your keys and your purse."

"Oh."

"Yeah, that's a big ‘Oh'. Do they have your passport - or is that inside?"

"It's here, in a lockbox, along with a gun."

"Well, thank goodness for that."

She opened the door and slipped inside, turning on the lights. Noah walked in and immediately went to look around, searching for anyone there .

"There's nowhere for anyone to hide. I mean, the apartment is five hundred square feet. I've got four kitchen cabinets, a two-burner stove, and a bathroom not much bigger than the elevator. I think we're safe in here."

"I'm just double-checking," he offered and then slid a sly smile in her direction. "And I'm nosy when it comes to my pseudo-wife and new best friend."

"Ohhh big talker, huh? Now I'm your best friend? How'd I move up so quickly in the ranks?" she retorted, crossing her arms and pursing her lips at him.

He shrugged, as he looked out the window toward the street and then pulled the blinds down as well as the curtains closed. That simple movement giving them privacy rang something in her mind – and she snapped her fingers.

"Tea, bandages, and you need some shorts or something. I think I have peroxide as well as Bactine," she started listing off items and darting around the apartment, gathering them. Putting the kettle on, she was going to need it to clean the area or to make some tea to steady her nerves. Fishing out a basket from the cupboard, she pulled out an unopened pack of large bandages and some gauze. Glancing over her shoulder, she tossed him a grin. "Lucky for you, if we are taking on all these pseudo roles, then maybe I am a pseudo-nurse, too… eh?"

"I'll take it," he joked and hesitated. "I'm going to go into the bathroom to try to peel these off. Hopefully, the blood isn't too caked on there."

"Just get in the shower and soak it off. It's going to take me a few minutes to dig out some shorts anyhow. Just leave the door unlocked, and I'll hang them on the doorknob for you."

"You're my pseudo-wife, remember? You could just…"

"Don't even finish that sentence," she blurted out, rolling her eyes and smiling at his easy laughter even in moments like this. Noah had kept a bad situation from feeling so much worse to her and she would be forever grateful for it.

"Does that mean you won't wash my back?"

"Want me to dig for a bullet?"

"The shower would hide my tears," he retorted, chuckling, as they shared a smile. Yeah, this was nice, and they had an easy friendship beginning between them.

"Would you just go," she sighed dramatically. "Enjoy the shower, soak your leg, and I'll make us something to eat. We'll doctor the wound first, wipe away your pretty-boy tears, and then fill our bellies."

"You think I'm pretty?"

" That's the part you latched onto?"

"I'm handsome, sexy, and…"

"You're a twerp who is still standing there, dawdling."

"Will you show me where the soap is?"

"I can show you where the front door is."

They shared a look again and started laughing together. They must be losing their grip on sanity because they both were in pretty shabby states. He had blood dried on his pants from his thigh to his shin and was covered in sand, dust, and debris. She could feel the layer of filth on her own skin, mixed in with sweat from working in the stifling heat. Both of them were at their lowest lows, hungry, beyond tired, and yet – they were still here, cracking jokes and bantering back and forth, and it was wonderful.

Truly wonderful.

Before she could comment, Noah turned, still smiling, and moved toward the bathroom doorway, closing it behind him. She heard the water turn on at the same time that the kettle started singing.

Life had certainly turned upside down very quickly.