With Me Now Read online

  “It’s been like, a week.” Mike squeezed Madison’s hand and smiled at her. “I’ll see you later.”

  “She’s already been picked to give the keynote at the Smithsonian’s gala next month.” Brad cocked his head toward them. “Hi, Madison.”

  “Hey there.”

  “You and Liam can work on the barn pit today. Expand it a little more toward the actual structure.”

  “Got it.” She watched them load into the Jeep, Brad grumbling the entire time about Dr. Williams, and then lumber back down the farm road. His sudden, adamant hate of Jan Williams was a little surprising. She was an authority called in to assist. It wasn’t like she’d been picked over Brad to work on the remains.

  Cianna cleared her throat.

  Madison looked back at her. “Did you need something?”

  Cianna looked down at the dirt parking area for several moments and then, finally, lifted her eyes to look at Madison. “Mike’s a good guy.”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “I hate you.” Cianna crossed her arms over her chest, rapidly running her hands up and down her flesh as if to warm herself. It made her look helpless, like she was holding onto herself for protection. “Just so you’re aware.”

  “Good to know.” Madison walked away. Further response would have simply been a waste of her time.

  * * * *

  Three hours later, Brad and Mike still hadn’t returned to the site. Cianna simply left for the day.

  “You know, I’m getting paid a stipend of seven dollars a day.” Madison used the bristles of a toothbrush to clean dirt off a small chunk of white porcelain. “She’s getting paid how much to not work?”

  “It’s more than seven dollars a day.” Liam dropped his shovel in the dirt and crossed to his backpack. “I think Brad tried to dump her today. They were screaming at each other in very impressive whispers before you and Mikey got here.”

  “I got the impression we were walking into the middle of something delicate.”

  “Bitch, please, he called her out for being the whore she is.” He squirted a small dollop of sunscreen into the palm of his hand and then rubbed it into the top of his head. “Don’t judge me.”

  “I’ll be honest—”

  “I’m bald, I get it.”

  “No, not that.” She suppressed a giggle. “I was just going to say, this is not what I expected the life of an archeologist to be. I pictured…I don’t know. Less drama. More digging.”

  “More like Howard Carter finding Tut’s Tomb in 1922.”

  “Something like that.” Madison’s cell phone buzzed in her pocket. Maybe it was Mike texting her, maybe with some kind of scandalous report of what was going on at park headquarters. Maybe something more like Tut’s Tomb in 1922.

  It was a text, but she didn’t recognize the number.

  Hey, Madison, it’s Ranger Carson. Mike’s Army buddy? I’m up here at the entrance to the Spangler Farm with some questionable looking guy named Jack Kornick. He’s got a photographer with him and says you’re expecting him.

  Madison groaned. Great, just when the day couldn’t get any worse. “Liam, just hit me in the face with the shovel now.”

  “I don’t think Mike would appreciate that.”

  “Not only is that stupid photographer from Archeology Magazine here, but somehow Jack Kornick invited himself along for round two.” She fired off a response to Ranger Carson. Yeah, regrettably I knew they were coming. Don’t let them near the site. I’ll be down.

  “I wouldn’t meet up with him alone, if I were you.” Liam paused. “But, if I were me, I’d meet up with him. Alone. Teams. Whatever.”

  “If you were you?” She cast a sideways glance at him. “There’s an LE Ranger down there. I’ll live.”

  “Drew Carson?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Bitch.”

  “Hey, I’ve got Mike.” She eased the piece of porcelain into a plastic container and then headed toward the parking lot. “Feel free to do as you wish with the other dudes up there. Especially Jack, take him as far away from me as possible.”

  “If only.”

  Madison wiped her hands on her jeans as she walked down the dirt driveway leading to the main road. What a waste of time. She had work to do. Test pits to dig, experience to leech off Liam and Mike and to a lesser extent, Brad. Somehow, instead of being a boost to her career, finding the woman’s remains was turning out to be a huge stumbling block in the way of getting anything done. She wanted to punch someone in the face.

  Namely Jack.

  He was leaning casually against a sporty black car, his hands flailing about as he talked about whatever nonsense he was discussing with Ranger Carson. She didn’t care. One picture, one quick handshake or whatever pleasantries needed to be exchanged and she was done. Check, please.

  Jack’s eyes lit up and he noticeably straightened from his casual position. “There you are. You’re a hard person to track down.”

  “I’m usually here or at my hotel.”

  Ranger Carson rested his hands on his belt. “How are you, Madison? Sorry for the text. I tried to get a hold of Mike first and he gave me your number.”

  “That’s okay.” She smiled at him. He was a nice guy, she had to admit.

  “We won’t keep you long, Madison. We just needed a few pictures for the article.” Jack extended his hand to her. “It’s nice to see you again.”

  “Thanks.”

  The photographer was female—disputing Madison’s assumption that only men were getting jobs in the area—and she nodded in the direction of a split rail fence bordering the property. “Maybe you can stand there to start.”

  Madison trudged to the fence and awkwardly shoved her hands in her back pockets, looking back toward the site. There was so much work to do. “I can’t take too long of a break. We’re…shorthanded today.”

  “It won’t take long.” The photographer lowered her camera. “That one’s actually really pretty.”

  “See, Madison, you make this easy.” The oily quality of Jack’s voice was almost more offensive than if he’d simply walked up and stuck his hand down her shirt. “Beautiful girl, beautiful scenery.”

  “So, uh, Drew…” Madison brushed her hair out of her face. “Did Mike mention when he’s coming back?”

  “He said they were just finishing up.”

  “Good. It’s hard to excavate three test pits with only two diggers.”

  “Can we get some shots of the test pits?” Jack patted the pockets of his blazer and then pulled out a pad of paper. “That would be so great for the article.”

  “You’d have to ask Brad about that. I don’t really have that kind of authority.”

  “Come on, Madison, just a few pictures. We’re not going to touch anything.”

  There was a certain creepiness factor to the way he said it, almost like he wasn’t talking about the site at all. God, she hated him, almost as much as she hated Anthony.

  “Mr. Emerson will be back any minute.” Ranger Carson shifted his stance. “I’m sure if you really want the pictures, you won’t mind waiting.”

  “That’s cool, I don’t mind.” Jack narrowed his eyes. He did mind. It was obvious.

  “Maybe you could try leaning against the fence?” The photographer frowned. “Or, maybe, better yet, sit on the ground there and lean back against that central post.”

  Madison groaned. It was borderline degrading.

  The camera whirled and whizzed as she snapped the photographs. Madison stared off toward the road, not even attempting to smile. Somehow one picture from the cover was turning into one roll of film.

  Finally, like the sound of the bell at the end of a day of high school, she heard the familiar rumble of Mike’s Jeep. He slowed as he pulled into the drive, bringing the vehicle to a stop next to Drew Carson’s white and green park service SUV. “Well, hey there team.”

  Madison scrambled to her feet. “Good, my ride’s here. Do you have enough shots for the cover?”

 
; The photographer nodded. “I can make something work.”

  “Drew, it’s always nice to see you.” Madison glanced at Jack. “And then there’s you, Jack. Just let me know when the issue is out so I can send a copy to my mother.”

  “I’ll bring over a few personally.” He caught her hand in his and squeezed it. “I’ll call you.”

  “Great.” She pulled away and hustled to the Jeep. Time to make a getaway so Jack could stop molesting her with his eyes; too bad Drew couldn’t arrest him on that alone.

  Mike leaned out the open window and raised his eyebrow. “Looks like you’re having a blast.”

  “I’m going to cross supermodel off my list of things to fall back on if this whole archeology thing doesn’t work out.” She glanced at Brad, firmly planted in the passenger’s seat. It didn’t appear he was going to offer her a front spot next to Mike. “Hi, Brad.”

  He glared at her, his jaw set in a firm line. “What’s all this?”

  “Jack’s from Archeology Magazine, remember? He demanded pictures to go with the story.”

  “This kind of thing shouldn’t be going on during work hours, Madison.” He swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to reflect this in your evaluation at the end of the dig.”

  “If you’re upset about the time I missed, I just won’t break for lunch today.”

  “That’s not the point. We’re not paying you to have your picture taken, Madison, we’re paying you to excavate a site. So, you’re not only wasting our time, but you’re wasting our money.”

  “Jesus, man, lay off.” Mike’s voice oozed authority, probably the same tone he’d taken when he was giving orders in the Army. “Cianna has spent most of her time not working and you don’t say shit to her.”

  “Well, Cianna’s off the dig. And unless Madison wants off the dig, too, she needs to get back to work.”

  “Wait, what?” Mike stared at him, his mouth gaping slightly. “Why is Cianna off the dig?”

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “You fired her?”

  “She resigned.” Brad turned his stare to Drew. “This area is private property, Ranger Carson. Can you show these people the way out?”

  Drew glanced from Brad to Mike. Mike tipped his head down in a quick nod.

  “Okay, folks, thanks for stopping by.” Drew motioned to Jack’s sports car. “Time to go.”

  Jack started to speak. “But, can’t we—”

  “Jack, now’s not a good time.” Madison tried to plead with him with her eyes. Just shut up, idiot. “Please.”

  He looked at her and took a few steps backwards. “I’ll call you, Madison.”

  “Whatever.” She looked back to the Jeep and to Brad. He was staring straight ahead toward the Spangler Farm, his face seething with anger. It was as if she and Mike had completely faded from his sight and he was only focused on one thing, his obvious hatred.

  She knew without asking: that obvious hatred was directed at her.

  Chapter Eighteen

  At one o’clock on the dot, Mike pulled the Jeep down an unlit farm lane leading to a small, stone house. Madison had tried to pay attention to the winding battlefield roads they’d followed, but in the dark, the moon hidden by thick cloud cover, and without any street signs, she was lost almost instantly. “I have no idea how you can find your way around this park in the dark.”

  “I’m good with maps or, rather, the lack thereof.” He shrugged. “When I was overseas, we had operators who drove the up-armor vehicles for us, but I could remember our routes even after only one circuit. It’s a good skill to have when you’re in a firefight and trying to get the hell out of there.”

  “I once got lost on my own college campus.”

  “That happens to freshmen sometimes.”

  “True, but I was a junior.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. The night air was crisp and the cold seemed to soak through the sleeves of her hoodie. Maybe it was nerves, the unbridled excitement of possibly contacting Ben—and how illegal the whole thing was. The park closed at dusk.

  The farmhouse was small and squat, two windows on the upper floor and two windows on the lower floor, evenly spaced around a red painted door. Electric candles glowed in the windows but, otherwise, the house looked deserted. “This is park housing?”

  “This is it.” Mike slowed the Jeep to a stop. “If that little jerk is in there sleeping, I’m going to drag him out by his face.”

  “Tell me again why we’ve been staying in a hotel room verses a stone farmhouse in the middle of the battlefield?”

  “Well, namely, because the hot water in here lasts about ten minutes before it runs out and our showers….typically last longer than that.” He pulled out his phone and fired off a quick text. “And, second, because it’s supposedly haunted. I never saw anything, but you…”

  “Good call.”

  “That’s why they pay me the big bucks.” He looked down at his phone as the screen lit up with a text response. “Drew says he’s down at the farm. As long as we stick to the main roads, we should be fine. We’re lucky it’s on the outskirts of the park, otherwise, they have all the gates locked down this time of night.”

  “It was nice of him to come out again tonight, after being at the site all day.” Madison twisted a silver ring around her index finger. “He didn’t have to do that.”

  “Drew’s a good guy. He…uh…he knew Cam too.”

  “So, what exactly have you been telling people about me?” She turned in her seat to look at him. “He always looks at me like he knows this big time secret, like that time I slid down a pile of gravel and ripped open the back of my pants, resulting in having to walk to my mother’s car backwards so my friends didn’t see my underwear.”

  “Weird things happen to you, Maddy baby.” He slid his fingers down her thigh. “I just told him I met this girl and…and I’m kind of crazy for her.”

  “You’re sweet.”

  “I also told him you can do a really hot back bend in bed.”

  Madison’s jaw dropped. “You told him that?”

  “It might have come out in a conversation.” Mike paused. “Or two.”

  “Oh my god.”

  “He thinks you’re gorgeous. I told him to back off, because you were spoken for.” Mike tapped his finger against the steering wheel and then cocked his head to the house. “There he is.”

  Liam held his hands in front of his face as he exited the house, blocking the headlight beam from his eyes. He crawled in the back of the Jeep. “Christ, do you think you could turn the high beams off?”

  “Oops, sorry, Liam.” Mike got back into the driver’s seat and shifted the Jeep into reverse. “Did you bring the glass?”

  “Yes.” Liam held out a clear drinking glass. “Maybe after we’re done talking to the dead, we can fill this baby up with some whiskey. You know, to celebrate not getting arrested.”

  “Oh, there’s still a chance we’re going to get arrested.” Mike turned back onto the main road. “I have discussion points prepared in case the cops or more LE rangers show up, but I’m not sure how believable, ‘I forgot my cell phone and just happened to have a glass with me’ is really going to be.”

  “See how much we love you, Madison?” Liam patted her shoulder. “We’re willing to put our professional reputations and personal freedom on the line so you can talk to a ghost.”

  “I wouldn’t want to share a jail cell with anyone else.”

  “Well,” Liam sniffed, “let’s just hope it doesn’t come down to that. I want to meet men, but not convicts. White collar crime, maybe, but I don’t think you can categorize this as white collar.”

  “You’ve got to get your priorities straight, man.” Mike slowed to a stop in front of a stop sign, then turned onto a larger road. The road they’d been following led into the heart of the battlefield; it was blocked by a padlocked gate. “What happened to the guy you met from San Francisco? Kevin? Keith? Something like that.”

 
“Nothing like that, his name was Al.” Liam grunted. “See how much he pays attention to me, Madison? No, I couldn’t deal with him anymore. He had mother issues. And, when I say mother issues, what I mean is that he lived with his mother and he’d text her through our dates just to ‘check in’. There were enough red flags with that boy to lead a parade.”

  “Did you meet him online, too?” Madison stifled a giggle. “Because you need to meet men the right way. You know, the grocery store. The book store. Archeological digs.”

  “Believe me, I’ve tried. Mikey, remember that guy in Guam a couple years ago?”

  “Yeah, what was his name? Jose?”

  “Jose, ah, now that was a man.” Liam sighed deeply. “He made these pork tacos you’d sell your soul for.”

  “What happened?”

  “He was a summer fling, like a camp boyfriend or something nonsensical. I left my heart in Guam. And my figure too, because girl, I gained twelve pounds while we were there.”

  Mike turned the Jeep onto the dirt lane leading to the Spangler Farm. He switched the headlights off. “If anyone is having second thoughts, they need to speak up now. Once we’re in, we’re in.”

  Neither Liam nor Madison spoke.

  “Good.” He drove at a slower than normal pace, making the pot holed road seem that much more bumpy. Even in the dark, Madison could see the outline of a white and green park service SUV. The headlights flicked on and off.

  Mike did the same with his lights and kept driving.

  Liam was the first to speak. “I am scared shitless.”

  “Not half as much as I am.” Madison reached for Mike’s hand. She could see movement in the dark, faint echoes of souls long departed still moving about the farm grounds. The barn seemed like it was buzzing with activity, faint moans and groans easily audible, even from her position in front of the vehicle. “They know we’re here.”

  Liam cleared his throat. “Who?”

  “All of them.” She tightened her grip on Mike’s hand. “It’s like this place is alive with the dead. So many lives ended here, so many souls left wandering.”