Page 146 of Mad As Hell

“Be safe,” Linc murmured. “The guys won’t be far behind. Use the panic button if you need it, Maddie.”

“Got it,” I whispered before walking to the car. I felt their eyes on me as the driver wordlessly opened the door and I slid into the back seat.

Here goes nothing.

CHAPTER 38

MADDIE

A two hour ride in silence to Gary’s house did nothing to calm the butterflies rioting in my stomach. As the car turned onto the long drive that led to the Spanish-style mansion on top of the bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, my insides cramped with anxiety.

The driver stopped in front of the main doors. The last time I’d been here, I’d been dragged through those large front doors.

I stared at the front of the house as the driver waited by my now open door.

“Miss Cabot?” he finally asked in a quiet voice.

I blinked, shaking myself out of my funk, and stepped out of the car without a word.

He cleared his throat and blocked me. “Mr. Cabot requested you leave your purse in the car.”

My fingers tightened reflexively on the small bag that held my keys, lip gloss, and phone. Odds were it was the phone he didn’t want me having access to, and that sent a new wave of nauseating anxiety rippling across my nerves. With a grimace, I tossed the bag onto the back seat.

I fingered the chain around my neck, trying to calm myself as I walked up the stairs. When I ascended to the landing, the front door opened, and Mrs. Delancey appeared.

She gave me a tight-lipped smile and moved back to let me in.

“Any idea what’s going on?” I asked softly as she closed the door. I didn’t see Gary in the wide foyer, but his office was off the hallway to the left. He could easily be in there.

“No,” Mrs. Delancey replied, her voice just as hushed, “but he’s been in a mood since he returned home from lunch with the Cains. Tread carefully, dear. He’s asked that you go to his office.”

“Great,” I muttered, starting down the hallway. I paused at the closed door, took a deep breath, and knocked.

I waited almost thirty seconds before the door opened and Gary appeared. His expression unreadable, he stepped back to allow me in. As soon as I crossed the threshold, his hand was around my throat as he shoved me into the wall.

A shocked squeak of alarm was all I managed before his grip tightened. I clawed at his forearm, panic spiraling through me.

After a second, he released me as abruptly as he’d grabbed me. My legs gave out and I slid down the wall, coughing and gasping as I covered my raw throat. I looked up at him through tearful, blurry eyes.

“What the hell?” I hissed, my voice cracking.

He glared down at me as he slammed the door with enough force to rattle the pictures on the walls. “Did you really think I wouldn’t find out?”

My mind spun with possibilities. “Find out what?” I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to fess up to something until I knew exactly what he was fishing for.

“Ryan knows who you are.”

Oh, shit.

“Don’t even think about lying,” he warned, tugging at the neck of his starched blue shirt while glaring down at me. “I should have seen it from the start. The way he calls you Maddie, the way you two seemed to have such a fast relationship. How long has he known? Since the beginning?”

I stared up at him for a heartbeat and tried to figure out how to handle this. “Since a few days after I went to Pacific Cross.”

Gary seemed surprised that I’d given up the information so quickly, but he masked it with a scowl. “How?”

I swallowed, carefully trying to select my words. “He bugged Madelaine’s room. He didn’t trust her after what happened with his coach last year.”

His scrutiny only intensified. “And what exactly did he hear? More specifically, who did you say it to?”

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