Page 152 of Mad As Hell

“You talked,” I agreed, handing the key to Ash. “I never agreed to anything. Besides, Gary didn’t care. In fact, I think I even got him believing we’re on the same side.”

“How the hell did you do that?” Ash asked in bewilderment.

I relayed the conversation I’d had with Gary. How I’d convinced him that I wanted to hurt Ryan and that we were better allies than enemies. Nervous energy bubbled in my veins when I told them how I’d used Ryan’s initiation as proof. I also admitted that Bex had clued me in on where my twin’s favorite hiding spot was.

“Please don’t be mad,” I whispered, looking at Ryan, who was still on the other side of the room.

He sighed. “I’m not mad. Impressed, yeah, and maybe a little worried at how easily you can lie your ass off at the drop of a hat.”

“I was kind of banking on the fact that Gary would know about the initiations.”

Ash nodded. “You’re right. Gary’s part of it, so he knows what we’ve all done. But there’s no way you should have known unless Ryan trusted you enough to tell you, so you made the right call. The info you gave him wasn’t damning, but it did prove that you can manipulate Ryan.”

Ryan’s middle finger shot up at his best friend, but Ash just laughed. “Dude, this girl’s got you by the balls and we all know it.” He glanced at the key in his hand. “There wasn’t anything else with this?”

I shook my head and went to sit on the sofa. I kicked off my shoes before tucking my legs under me. “No. Just that key in the vent.”

“It might be to a safety deposit box or a storage locker,” Ash mused, running his thumb over the ridges. “But there’s no logo or identifying markers. I’ll see what I can figure out, but it’s kind of a long shot.”

“Beckett mentioned paying Madelaine for her part in the engagement party disaster,” I added. “Maybe there’s a financial trail there?”

“Not a bad idea. I’ll check it out.” Ash wrapped his fist around the key and gave me a tight smile.

“Did you look at the rest of Madelaine’s video files?” I asked, curious to know if there had been more.

Ash nodded. “Yeah. Neither my nor Linc’s initiations were on there.”

“Thank fuck,” Ryan breathed.

“She did record a few more of Gary’s conversations. One of which he admitted to defrauding investors in a side project that went south a few years ago.” He gave a small shrug. “It’s not a lot, but I’ll take whatever dirt we can get.”

Pleased, I settled back against the couch, my gaze darting to the guy who had been quiet the last few minutes. “Ry?”

He glanced up and blinked, like he hadn’t been paying attention. He looked at me and then Ash. “See what you can find out, man. I’m staying with Maddie.”

Ash snorted and shook his head. “Right. Because if Maddie hadn’t dealt with Gary’s bullshit tonight, you planned on sleeping alone.”

“No, I didn’t.” Ryan smirked at him. “The only guy sleeping alone tonight is… you. Now get out so I can finish talking to Maddie before I finish paying up on our arrangement.”

My cheeks instantly turned red, and Ash started to smile.

“What kind of arrangement?”

“The kind where—”

I vaulted over the back of the couch and launched myself at Ryan, slapping a hand over his mouth. “Goodnight, Ash!”

He was still laughing as he left us, and I didn’t remove my hand until he’d closed the door. The second I dropped it, Ryan invaded my space. He pressed his chest to mine, peering into my eyes for a heartbeat before his mouth slammed onto mine.

I gasped in surprise at the force of his kiss, my back bending over as he dominated me and took what he wanted. I stumbled back a step, and he chased me until my butt hit the edge of the sofa. My fingers clutched at his shoulders to keep from toppling over.

His hand slipped between us and came to my neck, his fingers laying dangerously close to where Gary’s had hours earlier. He applied enough pressure to break our kiss and left me panting as I blinked up at him.

The heat in his gaze was like a soldering iron to my heart as he branded me as his with nothing more than a look.

His fingers tightened, not enough to hurt or scare me. Unlike the way Gary had grabbed me, there was control in Ryan’s grip. The fire in his eyes didn’t terrify me; it consumed me.

His thumb swept across the curve of my jaw, his touch demanding and gentle at the same time, erasing the memory of the way Gary had manhandled me earlier. Longing replaced fear, want eclipsed panic.

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