Hard to Hold. Karen Foley

curse, he turned on his heel and strode from the cabin.

      * * *

      SHE WAS A fool to have believed the cabin would hold the key to her brother’s release. When her grandfather had become too frail to continue living alone in the cabin, Maddie had made the difficult decision to move him to a nursing home in Elko, where she could visit him every day. Toward the end, he’d suffered from acute dementia, insisting he needed to return to his cabin. He claimed he had a fortune hidden there.

      Maddie knew about the tin box he kept hidden beneath the floorboards. Her grandfather had stashed his spare money there for years, but it had never, to her knowledge, amounted to much. Even though the rational part of her brain insisted the tin contained little, if anything, of value, her grandfather’s words had come back to her. During the ride into the mountains, she had actually begun to fantasize that perhaps he had somehow managed to put away a substantial hoard of cash.

      She was such an idiot.

      Maddie drew in a shuddering breath and swiped her palms across her wet cheeks. The money lay in a messy heap on the table. Her heart had leaped when she first saw the thick wad of bills inside the tin, but hope had turned to despair when she realized there was barely five hundred dollars there. Even combined with what she had, it didn’t come close to satisfying the debt her brother owed. She glanced over at the gaping hole in the floor and the scattered contents of the tin. But it wasn’t until her gaze fell on the discarded crowbar that she remembered.

      Colton.

      While she had been crying her heart out over the lack of money in the tin, he had slipped away. With her luck, he had a spare key and had taken the truck, as well. She couldn’t afford to be stranded here. With her heart slamming in her chest, Maddie leaped to her feet and bolted from the room. In the deepening shadows of early evening, she nearly collided with Colton as he reentered the cabin, carrying a large cardboard box.

      “Oh! I thought you were gone, that you’d taken the truck.” She felt a little weak with relief.

      In the indistinct light, he peered at her. “I’m not going to get too far without my keys, am I?” He indicated the box in his arms. “It’s getting dark, and with the gas tank on empty, we’re not going anywhere tonight. I have two weeks’ worth of food and supplies in the bed of the truck. I thought the least I could do was fix us something to eat.”

      Still flustered by her own incompetence, Maddie followed him back into the kitchen and watched as he set the box of provisions on the table, sweeping the money aside with a careless gesture.

      “How about some sandwiches? I have ham or roast beef.” He glanced at her over his shoulder as he spoke, pulling bread and condiments out of the box.

      Maddie hesitated. There was no way she was going to spend the night here at the cabin. She couldn’t afford to waste any more time. Her overactive imagination conjured up lurid images of what the moneylenders might do to her brother. He was still such a kid. Jamie might act cocky, but Maddie knew that’s all it was—an act. He must be scared to death. She desperately needed to come up with fifty thousand dollars in cash, and she couldn’t do that here in this cabin. Jamie was the only family she had left in the world. She’d practically raised him since he was a toddler, and she wouldn’t abandon him now when he desperately needed her.

      But the sight of the food that Colton was pulling out of the box reminded her how long it had been since she’d last eaten anything substantial. Surely an hour or so couldn’t do any harm, and she needed to eat something. She had to keep her strength up if she was going to help Jamie.

      “Fine,” she replied. “But we’re not spending the night. As soon as we finish eating, we’ll head down the other side of the mountain. I’m sure that old gas station is still there.”

      She saw a muscle flex in Colton’s jaw, but he didn’t say anything. As he fixed the sandwiches in silence, Maddie got the pump working and made short work of wiping down the kitchen surfaces. They sat at the small table and ate by the glow of the kerosene lantern. She thought she’d never tasted anything as delicious as the thick ham sandwiches he’d prepared for them. She finished eating and sank gratefully back in her chair, satisfied. The toy gun dug painfully into her stomach where it was still tucked into her waistband. She was tempted to place it on the table, but was reluctant to destroy the uneasy camaraderie she and her hostage shared. Besides, she couldn’t risk Colton taking it from her.

      He sat back in his chair and drained the remnants of a water bottle he’d retrieved from an enormous cooler. Maddie couldn’t help it; she stared, fascinated by the muscles working in the strong column of his throat. He set the empty bottle on the table, laced his hands across his flat belly and arched an eyebrow at her.

      Maddie flushed and looked away, more uncertain than she’d been since this whole nightmare started. She cleared her throat. “We should go before it gets too dark. There’s a tank of gasoline in the shed. Maybe enough to get us down the mountain.”

      She risked a glance at him. He was watching her carefully, his expression a mixture of compassion and resignation. He leaned forward and placed his palms on the table.

      “Look,” he began, “we’ve both had a long day. It’s late and it’s dark, and we don’t know if this gas station you’re talking about even exists anymore.” He studied his hands for a moment, before turning his dark gaze back to her. “I don’t know what kind of trouble you’re in, but it’s obvious you need some help.” He held up a palm to forestall her when she would have spoken. “I think the best thing you can do now is get a good night’s sleep. In the morning, I’ll drive you into Winnemucca and you can turn yourself in to the local authorities.”

      Maddie was helpless to prevent the soft gasp of dismay that escaped her. “What?”

      He held his hands up in a supplicating gesture. “Listen to me, Madeleine. You have no food, no car, and I’m guessing not much money. What you’ve done by taking me with you is considered a felony. You could find yourself behind bars for a long time. Whatever the problem is, you’re only going to make it worse by running.”

      He was doing it again; speaking in a way that was almost hypnotic. His tone was soothing and rational without being patronizing. Maddie had an overwhelming urge to fling herself against his broad chest and tell him she’d do anything he wanted.

      She lifted her chin and met his gaze squarely. “I can’t go to the police.” She hated the way her voice quavered, despite her resolve to remain in control. “You don’t understand.” She gave a laugh of disbelief. “There’s absolutely no way I can involve the authorities.”

      Colton sighed. “I’m sorry, Madeleine, but you already have.”

      Before she knew what he was doing, he reached into the back pocket of his jeans and drew forth a slim wallet. He flipped it open and held it out for her to see.

      Appalled, Maddie stared at the badge inside. It was a silver star inside a silver circle, with the words United States Deputy Marshal emblazoned in blue around it. On the opposite side of the wallet was an identification card with Colton’s picture beneath a federal seal of office.

      She felt the blood drain from her face as she raised her eyes to look at him. “You’re a U.S. Marshal?” Her voice was scarcely more than a husky whisper.

      “The game’s up, Madeleine.”