Page 204 of Mad As Hell

“She had a hard life.” I felt compelled to defend my sister, especially since she couldn’t do it herself.

He leveled me with a stare. “Look around, Maddie. Everyone in this house has had a hard life. But none of us let that define us. We rose above it and are trying to be better people. Your sister never did that. She let men like Gary and Adam Kindell and Beckett control her, and she ended up dead for it.”

I jerked back, stunned into silence.

He had the decency to appear mildly ashamed. “Look, I’m sorry, but it’s the truth. Your sister was—”

“A bitch,” I cut him off coldly, pushing back from the island. “I’m well aware. But you also don’t know the shit that those men did to her. She never had a chance, and if you think you get some kind of prize for beating your father at his own game when she couldn’t, then you’re just an asshole.”

He shrugged one shoulder, the cold mask of indifference back in place. “I’ve never claimed to be anything else, but I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

I was still staring at him when Ryan appeared in the doorway. The easy smile on his face slipped as he caught the tension in the room.

“What’s going on?” His gaze swung from me to Royal and back.

“Nothing,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair and turning to give him a tight smile. “Everything go okay?”

“It went fine, and you’re upset,” he answered, crossing the room to hold my face in his hands. His eyes searched mine, and then he scowled at Royal. “What the fuck did you say to her?”

I lifted my hands to hold his wrists. “We just had a difference of opinion.”

Royal got off the stool, his expression still stony.

Ryan let me go and stepped between Royal and me. “Let me clear it up then. She’s always right.” He hooked a thumb at me. “Got it?”

“Message received,” Royal affirmed. His gaze jerked to me. “I’ll see you later, Maddie.” He exited through the back door.

Ryan’s gaze snapped to mine. “What happened?”

“Exactly what I said. We had a difference of opinion.” I resisted the urge to rub my head, but I felt a headache building behind my eyes.

“What opinion?” He wasn’t letting this go.

“Madelaine.”

Ryan’s lips pressed together. “I can talk to him—”

“Believe it or not, I can actually handle disagreements with others by myself,” I reminded him. “Not everyone has to agree with me, Ryan.”

“No, but if they upset you, then I can kick their ass until you feel better,” he shot back, only half-kidding.

“Or you can take me back to the cottage and—”

His lips collided with mine. “I wish. Grandpa actually wants to see us.”

I shoved aside my disappointment. “Is everything okay?”

He nodded, sliding a hand down my arm and tangling our fingers together.

We walked past the closed door of his grandfather’s office. I eyed it suspiciously until we turned a corner to the hallway that led to the back of the house.

“Ash said we should let the device run out of power on its own,” he explained when I shot him a questioning glance. “We’ll walk in there, say a few things that don’t mean shit, just so Gary doesn’t get suspicious.”

“Sounds good.”

He gave me a wry smile. “I could always take you in there and let Gary hear—”

I shuddered, and not in a good way. “No. Absolutely not.” My tone came out harsher than I’d anticipated, but he’d stepped a little too hard on the memory of Gary knowing all along that Madelaine was being abused by his lackey for years.

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