Page 137 of Mad As Hell

“At least I can stop sending her a grand every month.”

My eyes rounded. A thousand dollars?

Gary had been sending Mom a thousand fucking dollars every month?

Adam howled with laughter. “That’s fucking spare change for you, Gary. I bet I could find double that in your couch cushions. Besides, the money was for your kid. Not the bitch who birthed her.”

“Madelaine is my daughter,” Gary snapped coldly. “And only because I need her. The other one… We both know that Lainey is a means to an end. All I need is one kid to make the will stick. I sure as shit don’t need two of them running around here.”

“An heir and a spare,” Adam taunted. “You know, I’ve seen her around that trailer. She’s already got a perky little set of tits. She’s cuter than Madelaine. You might want to consider bringing her to Peter’s clubs. You’d make a fucking fortune. Especially if you can get to her before someone pops that cherry.”

“My dad,” Linc whispered, his wide-eyed gaze jerking to me.

Ryan’s hand squeezed mine almost to the point of pain. I didn’t think he was aware he was doing it, rage rolling off him in waves as he listened to their conversation.

Gary scoffed. “They’re identical, you halfwit. And I’m not doing shit until I get what I need from Madelaine. That spare might come in handy one day.”

“I wouldn’t mind her in my hands,” Adam commented.

“One of these days your predilections are going to get you in trouble. Again.”

Adam laughed. “That’s what I have you and your army of attorneys for.”

“Motherfucker,” Court hissed, his dark eyes blazing.

“I could always break her in, you know,” Adam added. “Next time I see Angie—”

“Fucking hell,” Gary huffed. “One of these days your addiction to underage pussy is going to land you in a cell.”

“Fine, I’ll leave her tight little cunt alone. But her mouth could be fun,” Adam pointed out. “Next time Angie’s passed out, I might see who’s better. The mother? Or the daughter? I can just picture the little bitch’s face if I woke her up choking on my dick.”

“He didn’t,” I said quickly, turning to Ryan, who looked seconds away from finding someone to resurrect Adam just to kill him again. “I didn’t know who Adam was until I came to California.” I framed Ryan’s face with my hands so he had to look at me. “Ryan, no one touched me.”

The fury in his eyes was a terrible sort of beauty that sent a forbidden thrill through my chest. It vowed pain and retribution to any and all who would have even considered harming me.

There was something breathtaking about watching the man you loved want to kill for you.

The video on the screen stopped, and silence hung in the room.

“That must have been when she found out about you,” Bex offered. “She probably overheard them and went looking for the birth certificates.”

I nodded, my gaze moving from her to Ash. “Is there anything else?”

“You want to keep going?” He seemed a little surprised.

“Yeah.” I shored up my resolve before looking at Ryan.

He still looked pissed, but a little less murderous. He turned and gave Ash a jerky nod. As soon as Ash queued the next video, Ryan moved me from the couch onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me like he needed to make sure I was still safe and whole.

The start to the next video was grainy and the camera seemed to bounce along in the dark as the person holding it ran. The screen jerked as if someone tripped and hissed, “Shit!”

A split second later, the movement stopped and the camera lifted. It took a second for everything to come into focus, but when it did, the camera showed four people standing in front of a brick building. It looked like an old, industrial warehouse with a cracked parking lot and dark windows. The only light came from a streetlamp overhead that cast long shadows on the ground.

“Holy fuck,” Ash breathed, his eyes wide as he gaped at the screen.

“Christ,” Linc swore, rubbing a hand down his face.

“What?” I demanded.

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