Page 145 of Mad As Hell

“Does this mean they’re forgiven?” I asked.

“Is Ryan forgiven?” she shot back.

“Yes,” I answered without hesitating. “I mean, I’m human, so the doubts creep in, but I do trust him again. Maybe even more than before since now everything’s on the table between us.”

She nodded. “That’s how I feel about Court and Linc. It’s scary how quickly I fall back into old habits with them. We were close when we were little, and I felt so blindsided when they stopped talking to me. It was a lot like when Madelaine abandoned me, although the guys never went out of their way to hurt me like she did. They just… seemed to forget I existed.”

“And you have no idea why?”

She sighed and shook her head. “No. I mean, I remember so much about when we were little, but also things are kind of muddled, too. It didn’t help that I was sick back then.”

“Sick?” I tilted my head.

She flashed me a wan smile. “Yeah. Sorry, I forget that you didn’t grow up with us. I had cancer when I was ten.”

“Holy shit.” I gaped at her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’ve been in remission for years now. That’s why I had the doctor’s appointment a few weeks ago? They were checking my blood.” She gave me a thumbs up. “Good news I’m still healthy.”

I threw my arms around her. “You damn well better be.”

She hugged me back with a laugh. “Honestly, I don’t even need the scans anymore, but Mom is a worrier, so I humor her.”

“And Madelaine still made your life hell?”

She wrinkled her nose and nodded. “Yeah.”

“That’s insane,” I murmured, still reeling that she’d survived such a serious illness. I’d always assumed that being rich was the answer to a lot of problems, but the deeper I got into this world, the more I realized that money was often just another issue. Another complication.

And the balance of your bank account definitely didn’t seem to matter to things like cancer.

She laughed and tried to dismiss the severity of the situation. “Seriously, I’m good.”

I didn’t stop staring at her until my phone went off. A text alerted me that my car had arrived. A second later, Ryan texted that he could see the car from where he and Court were waiting.

“Guess it’s time to see what Gary wants,” I said, standing up.

Bex hugged me. “Be safe, okay? Don’t take any stupid risks. Just get in and get out.”

“That’s the plan,” I assured her, my stomach tightening as I wondered why Gary would be calling me to his house. I doubted it was to tell me he’d changed his mind.

I opened my front door and jerked back, surprised to see Linc on the other side. I hadn’t seen him since he’d stormed out of the beach house. But now he was all smiles, his darkness held in check.

“Hey, Maddie,” he greeted before nodding over my shoulder at Bex and grinning. “Ready for dinner?”

“Sure,” she agreed.

Relief surged through my veins as I realized Bex wouldn’t be alone. We headed down the hall and into the elevator. Once inside, Linc turned to me and pulled something from his pocket.

“Ash said to give you this.” He quickly looped a chain with a silver pendant around my neck.

I lifted the silver circular pendant. “Uh, thanks?”

“It has a tracker in it,” he explained. “And if you get into trouble, squeeze the circle. It’ll send off an alert. Ryan and Court will come get you, no matter what.”

“Smart,” Bex remarked as I nodded and let the pendant fall against my chest.

The elevator doors opened, and we walked outside. A sleek black town car idled at the curb, a man in a suit waiting by the back door.

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