Page 135 of Fought and Freed

Maddy looked down at her hands, picking at her nails. “I’m not sure if I could pull the trigger, to be honest, but he needs to be stopped after everything he’s done. If he goes to court, I’m afraid he’ll somehow weasel his way out of it.”

“We’ll have to make sure that doesn’t happen.” He touched the side of her cheek. “Let’s snuggle up on the couch and get a few more hours of sleep.”

* * *

The next morning, Maddy paced back and forth in the living room while she waited for everyone to finish breakfast.

Today, she’d learn if Grant was still with them, and she’d have to make a decision.

“Maddy, you need to eat something,” Cody said from the kitchen.

“I can’t.” The thought of food made her nauseous. “My stomach is too upset.”

Skylar came up behind her and hugged her. “Hmm, I missed being with you yesterday, Princess.”

“I missed you, too.” She turned in his arms and smiled at him. “I can’t believe Amber is due in two weeks. The time flew by. Are you excited?”

“I’m nervous. I’ve never held a tiny baby before.” His face pales. “What happens if I drop him?”

“Then, he’ll turn out like you,” Cody snickered.

He pointed to Cody. “I knew you dropped me on my head.”

Maddy laughed at the two brothers.

There was a knock at the door, and Skylar said, “I’ll get it.”

A second later, he came back with Lucca trailing behind him. “Maddy, you have company.”

Maddy stiffened. She wasn’t in the mood to be yelled at again. Not today. “Lucca, I don’t have time right now. Can we do this later?”

He shook his head. “I’ll be quick, Maddy. First, I’m sorry about not telling you about Uncle Marco. He begged me not to tell you. I tried many times to get him to talk to you, but he’s just too stubborn.”

“At least, we understand where Maddy gets it from,” Ryder joked.

Maddy reached over the couch and punched his arm.

He chuckled as he rubbed the sore spot.

“I also heard about Grant’s test.” Sympathy filled Lucca’s face. “I understand he has no family other than his missing sister, and we’re in full force searching for her. If the news is bad today, I want to pay for his funeral. He can even be buried in the family plot.”

“Why would you do that?” she asked. “You’ve never met him.”

“If he wasn’t a good person, you wouldn’t have been friends with him. He had a chance to hurt you and didn’t.” Admiration colored his words. “Instead, he took the consequences of defying Mike. That’s a true friend.”

Maddy took two steps forward and hugged her brother. “Thank you, Lucca.”

He hugged her back. “It’s what family does.”

Maddy sniffled and stepped back. “Congratulations on your engagement, by the way.”

“That’s right!” Skylar came up and patted him on the back. “Congrats, bro.”

They each came over to congratulate him.

“Thanks, everyone.” Lucca beamed with pride. “We’re going to wait until she graduates college before we get married.”

“That’s a good plan.” And one Torr’s parents would approve of.

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