Page 235 of Mad As Hell

The Knights had just ended the first half of the game with a solid lead, and the cheerleaders ran onto the field as the guys jogged to the locker room.

Imani clutched my arm, all smiles. “They’re playing so well!”

I nodded back at her. “They’ve earned it.”

Hell, we’d all earned a break.

The guys had been working tirelessly to get everything settled at Cain Industries as Phoenix officially annexed the company under their helm while balancing a hellish practice schedule in preparation for this game.

But last night we’d finally gotten some good news: Beckett was gone.

Ash had found a trail that indicated he’d fled to somewhere in the Caribbean. Ryan had already filed paperwork to be listed as Corinne’s legal guardian, citing Beckett had abandoned her. For the interim, she was living with Mr. Harris at Brookfield, where there were plenty of people who loved her and would watch out for her. Ryan had also gotten her accepted into the school he’d talked about; Corinne would officially be enrolled after the first of the year.

I couldn’t help but look at my wedding ring and smile. Ryan and I had already started looking at potential places to live next semester in Pacific City with the guys. They were all on board with our plan. I’d miss living so close to Bex, but she’d already told me her mom would never let her move in with the five of us.

Was it a weird arrangement? Yeah, but we were family. I wanted them all by my side as we started this new chapter.

Hopefully full of a lot less violence and betrayal and heartache.

Now we just needed to figure out where the hell Gary had gone with my mom. Ash hadn’t found any hints as to where they could be. No travel tickets, none of Gary’s numerous credit cards had been touched… It was like they’d vanished.

Not that I believed I’d seen the last of Gary. Not by a long shot.

But that was a fight for tomorrow.

Today, I was doing what Bex had suggested earlier and counting my wins where I could get them. And, judging by the way the guys were playing, we’d have another win to add to our growing tally.

“Charlie!” Imani shouted, waving a hand at the Brit ambling up the stairs.

He paused at our row with an impish smile. “Ladies. You all look lovely.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Imani teased, linking her arm through his and flashing us a bright smile. “How about you escort me to the snack bar? I’m craving a pretzel with extra salt.”

“Make that two!” Bex chimed in.

My stomach growled at the mention of junk food. “Nachos for me, please.”

Charles inclined his head at us, the picture of formality even as his brown eyes sparkled with amusement. “I live to serve.”

“We’ll be back in a bit!” Imani called with a small wave.

I turned my attention back to the field as the cheerleaders began their halftime routine.

“Do you miss it?” Bex asked.

I shrugged a shoulder. “Sometimes? But it also feels like a lifetime ago. So much has happened, you know?”

She nodded. “I get it.” She grabbed her soda from the cupholder and sucked up the last of it. “I should’ve asked Imani to get me a drink, too.”

“I’ll get it,” I offered, already getting up. “I need to go to the bathroom anyway.”

“You sure?” Bex looked doubtful and hopeful at the same time.

“Yeah,” I assured her with a grin. I shimmied out of our row and started up the concrete stairs along with another wave of people.

As always, the line for the women’s bathroom snaked out the door and around the corner while men came and went from their assigned bathroom without waiting.

“Men have it so easy,” a soft voice huffed behind me.

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