Page 97 of Fought and Freed

She explained how Torr was running late this morning and how they had to park on a side street, then took in a deep breath before telling them how they’d been jumped in the alley.

Before she’d even gotten to the mad stuff, they were all swearing up a storm.

“Was this the same guy that jumped Grant?” Jace demanded.

Maddy frowned. “I hadn’t considered that. The guy said Mike sent him, and that Mike plans on ripping you away from me before he comes after me. His exact words.”

She had no idea what he meant by that, but he’d killed Ryan, so he was capable of anything. She would do everything in her power to not let what happened to her cousin happen to her men.

The guys settled down for her to continue. “Our attacker recognized Torr, and he planned to take her with him. I wasn’t going to let that happen, so I stabbed him.”

She clasped her hands together. “Torr kicked him in the balls, too, and we got out of there unharmed, but Torr was really upset and couldn’t drive very far, so I called Cody for help.”

“Let me guess,” Skylar said. “Cody was pissed.”

Surprised by his calm tone, Maddy glanced at the phone. “Yeah, he was.”

“I’m not happy, either, but you’ve been training, and from what I can tell, you can take care of yourself,” Skylar said. “Do I want to keep you safe, locked up and away from anything that can hurt you? Hell, yeah. But I know better than to do that.”

“Thanks, Skylar.” Maddy let out a deep breath, breathing easier now that this wasn’t going to turn into another fight. “I’m worried about you guys. Mike said he’s coming after you four first. He blames me for taking everyone away from him, and he wants to return the favor. But the only person I can think of is Nikki, and I didn’t do shit to her.”

Ryder frowned. “They’d been together since you were all in the foster home, right?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Though, I didn’t know that until she showed back up after Mike revealed who he really was. When Mike and I first met, he’d been on his way to see her.”

“And she was with him before the fire?” Ryder said.

“Yes, she was, and something the creep said made me think whoever he was talking about was someone special to him. He said Mike was going to rip you away from me just like I did to him. I love all of you, and if you were gone, it would destroy me.” She frowned as she remembered something. “Did they ever figure out who the Jane Doe was at the hospital? The one who was hurt by the fire?”

“I don’t know,” Jace said. “But I’ll look into it.”

“I’ll be home on Tuesday for Amber’s doctor’s appointment,” Skylar said wearily. “This driving back and forth is going to get old.”

“Hang in there, babe. Hopefully, something happens with Sal.” Jace crossed his fingers.

“We can only hope. I better go,” Skylar said. “Talk to you all later. I love you both.”

“Love you, Skylar,” Maddy said. “Be careful.”

“Same,” Jace said. “Bye.”

“Bye,” Skylar said before hanging up.

Ryder picked up Maddy’s hands and ran his thumbs over the smudges of color on her fingers she hadn’t been able to wipe off. “Did you do some painting today?”

“Yeah, it helped relieve some stress when I came back.” Maddy threaded her fingers through his. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and I want you to be part of the exhibition Cody set up.”

Ryder shook his head. “He got that for you.”

“And I want you to display some of your artwork.” She squeezed his hands. “Share this with you. You have a ton of completed pieces downstairs. It’s another way to make some money, and you’re crazy talented.”

He chewed the side of his cheek before nodding. “If you’re sure you want to share the exhibition, then I’m in.”

She smiled. “We have two months to figure out what we want to display.”

“I need to go to work. I won’t be home until after closing time.” Ryder stood and pulled Maddy into a hug. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt, Silk.”

“Please be careful, Player.” She hugged him back. “We don’t know when Mike will attack.”

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