Page 42 of Deserving Maddie

"I think we've overstayed our welcome, princess."

"Fine, I'll leave. But just know, once Maddie and I become besties, I'm going to get all the dirty details."

Trista dashed out of the room, not giving Ray or anyone else the chance to rebuke her claim.

"Send the footage over to the team. There's only one person we've pissed off lately and this feels like something they would do."

Maddie waited for Falcon to leave and Ray to come back to the living room before she spoke up.

"I just want you to know, I willabsolutelybe sharing details with Trista. I happen to like her."

Ray only sighed. "I knew you would, and any other day I pretty much encourage her antics, but whoever slashed your tires ruined our night."

The weight of what happened caught up with her and she fell back onto the couch. Dropping her head into her hands, she finally realized the gravity of the situation.

"Someone slashed my tires. How am I going to explain this one?"

Gabe and Charley didn't even know she was gone. Like a rebellious teenager, she snuck out and left Kat in charge. Now she was going to have to explain to them how she ended up without her vehicle once again when she should've been home in bed.

"You ran to the store for some milk and it happened while you were inside." Ray shrugged.

The explanation was so absurd, the only dignified response she could come up with was a roll of the eyes.

"Yeah, it sounded much better in my head," Ray admitted.

"Why do you think someone did it?"

Maddie knew she wouldn't like the answer, when Ray suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable.

"The current assignment my team is working on might be the reason. Trista owns a bunch of safe houses and runs an organization called Second Chances, which helps women who've been abused or trafficked. She came to me a week or so ago because one of the women she's helping is seeking shelter from her ex."

She liked Trista a whole lot more now. Back in North Carolina, the firm she worked for did a lot of pro bono work for abused women. Maybe she could do something similar here in Texas as well.

"So you think the ex found out about you and is behind it?"

"Maybe not him exactly, but he's a prospect in a local MC. From everything I've learned, they're into some nasty shit."

The only thing Maddie knew about motorcycle clubs came from books she read, and since those were romance novels, they always ended with a happily ever after. From what Ray was describing, this MC was nothing like that.

"Whoever it was, probably assumed the vehicle belonged to me. I'm sorry you got caught in the crosshairs. I'll have Anders come over and pick it up. You're free to borrow my car again while you wait for yours to come back."

"Thank you."

Exhaustion suddenly took over; the last three days were catching up to her. She barely registered Anders towing her car or the drive back to her house. This time, instead of Hollywood following them, it was Falcon. Ray had a lot of close friends and it was nice to see that they were so willing to help him out.

By the time she walked into her house, she didn't have the energy to explain what had happened. Kat must've recognized how she felt because, for the first time, her best friend didn't badger her for answers. Instead, Maddie climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.

The last thought she had before falling asleep was of Ray. She was both excited and scared to see where their future was headed. Especially if someone was after him.

Chapter 19

Raywaslivid.Hestayed up most of the night rewatching the security footage, but no amount of enhancement gave him a clear image of who the person was. They were a master at covering their face and their tracks. Whoever it was ran away on foot. Falcon's footage didn't pick the person up, and Ray tried hacking into his other neighbors’ securities as well. Two didn't have systems at all; they were families, so he would be speaking with them about that. For the few that did, he couldn't see anything useful and there was one he wasn't able to hack. It was a relatively new neighbor, so Ray made a note to dig deeper into who the person was.

"What did you find out?" Wes asked as he walked into the situation room.

"Not a fucking thing." He had to take care not to slam his laptop down on the metal table like he wanted to. Breaking equipment wasn't going to get him the answers he needed.

"Have you pissed anyone off besides the MC lately?"

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