Page 233 of Mad As Hell

“You expecting someone?” Ryan asked, only half-teasing as he got up and grabbed his pants from the floor. His phone fell out of his pocket and he picked it up. “Shit.”

“What?”

He turned back to me with a guilty look. “It’s Ash. He’s been calling. I had it on silent mode.”

Another knock, this time more insistent. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and started to get up as Ryan left the bedroom, closing the door.

I hurried and grabbed some clothes when I heard Ash’s voice as Ryan let him in. Tying my hair into a messy bun, I checked the mirror and wiped the mascara and eyeliner smudges from under my eyes so I looked less like a raccoon before going out and joining them.

I paused in the doorway as they both turned to me. “What’s wrong?”

Ash shot Ryan a look before facing me. “The chip you found in Madelaine’s room—were there any others?”

I shook my head. “No. Not that I saw. Why?”

Ash sighed loudly, rolling his neck. “Because somehow your sister got ahold of the security tapes inside the clubs. No fucking clue how she did it, but she has footage of some very powerful men doing some very serious shit.”

I gaped at him. “What?”

“Fuck,” Ash muttered. “Look, this is serious, Maddie. She’s got videos of my dad, Beckett, Gary… Hell, there’s even shit she has that I didn’t know about. But the footage is recent. And there’s a number five on the chip.”

Ryan blew out a hard breath. “There are other SD cards out there.”

“That would be my assumption. Guys, this is what we need. If we can get more proof, it’ll blow their whole operation wide fucking open.” Ash’s green eyes had a touch of desperation in them. “Is there any chance there are more in her room?”

I spread my hands wide. “Maybe? I mean, I found that one by accident. Then again, I don’t see her keeping this shit lying around where Gary might find it. She would hide it somewhere safer than her bedroom if they were that valuable, right?”

Ash grimaced. “In a place like Pandora.” He looked at Ryan.

“No,” Ryan snapped. “Absolutely not. We already said it’s too much of a risk.”

“I’m well aware,” Ash countered, “but Ry, this is exactly what we need, man. We go public with this shit? It’s game over for a lot of people. We’re talking Interpol involvement that will put these people behind bars for life. Not just shutting the clubs down, and our dads, but a permanent fucking solution.”

Ryan glared at him, his muscles tight like he was seconds away from punching Ash for even suggesting it. “Maddie isn’t taking that risk.”

“Isn’t that a decision Maddie should make?” I chimed in.

He stared at me. “Did you miss the conversation where if they find out you aren’t Madelaine, we might never see you again?”

“We’re talking about weighing the value of me against hundreds, maybe thousands, of people being trafficked,” I argued.

“Exactly,” he spat, eyes blazing. “There’s no fucking choice.”

“Ryan,” I whispered, shaking my head. “Think about what you’re saying.”

He crossed the room in three long strides, taking my face in his calloused hands. “I’d sacrifice every person in this world for you. You are what matters to me.”

“And what about little girls Cori’s age that are being moved through those clubs?”

He flinched, but held fast. “I can’t worry about the whole world when you are my whole world.”

“I love that you want to protect me, Ryan, but you’re not changing my mind. I’m doing this,” I informed him as gently as I could. I glanced over his shoulder at Ash. “Can you figure out—”

“No!” Ryan roared, the look in his eyes wild. “Maddie—”

“Ryan,” I snapped, grabbing his wrists and digging my nails into them. “If you really think I can ride off into the sunset with you at the expense of others, then you don’t know me at all.”

His eyes closed, as if this was causing him physical pain. “Do you have to be so fucking selfless?”

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