Page 53 of Mad As Hell

I shrugged. “I’ll figure it out.” Then I looked at Linc. “And you were the one dragging O’Shea’s ass into the dining hall. If you had an issue, you should’ve spoken up.”

Linc raised his hands. “I didn’t have a problem. Shit he did to Bex was fucked. Messing with Maddie was the final nail in the motherfucker’s coffin. That was long overdue.”

Court let out a low growl beside me. “I still think you should’ve given me five minutes in a room alone with him before we dumped him on the cops.”

“There’s a lot we should’ve done,” I murmured to no one really, but my friends nodded along in commiseration anyway.

The song changed to some overly synthesized version of a pop song that was blowing up on every radio station, and a cheer rose from the crowd. A second later, Maddie kicked off her heels and—fucking hell—started climbing onto a nearby table as Bex walked back inside.

I was on my feet before Charles even put a hand on her hip to try to get her back down.

People cleared a path for me as I stalked to where Maddie was raising her hands above her head and starting to dance.

A new chorus of cheers rose, but this time they were mostly male as guys fixed their eyes on the gorgeous girl putting on a show.

I elbowed Charles out of the way before reaching up and grabbing Maddie’s ankle. “Maddie, come on. You’re done.”

She looked down at me, her blue eyes unfocused and bright. “No. Go away, Ryan. I’m dancing.”

“Yeah, Ryan,” a voice called behind me. “Let her dance!”

I turned and glared at the guy—a random douche whose name I’d never bothered to learn. His leering smile slipped, and he damn near tripped over his feet backing away.

Fucking pansy-ass.

That problem settled, I looked up at Maddie. My teeth ground together when I realized I could see up her skirt to the lacy pink panties.

Which meant everyone around the table could see them, giving these assholes spank bank material until they OD’d on Viagra in their nursing home.

“Maddie, get down!” I snapped, my voice harsher than it probably should’ve been.

“I tried to stop her,” Charles muttered from next to me.

I shot him a scathing look. “Congratu-fucking-lations, dipshit. You failed.”

His eyes narrowed. “Somehow I have a feeling she wouldn’t be up there if it wasn’t for something you did.”

A shot of anger heated my blood along with a chaser of guilt, because I knew he was right.

“Why don’t you fuck off?” I growled. I couldn’t take my frustrations out on Maddie, but this guy would be an awesome substitute. I was thinking of all the ways I could rearrange his face when Maddie’s foot slipped on a wet napkin and she started to go down.

I caught her as she fell, anchoring an arm around her waist and under her legs as I held her to my chest.

She blinked sluggishly up at me and then frowned. “How did I get here?”

“You fell,” I replied dryly. “I think it’s time for bed, Mads.”

Her nose wrinkled. “But I was dancing.”

“And now it’s time for sleeping,” I corrected as gently as I could.

“I can take her home,” Charles cut in.

I stared at him, wondering if it would be a complete violation of dude-code to kick him in the nuts, since punching was currently out of the question. Maddie required both hands on her—which, conveniently, was where I liked my hands to be.

“Walk away while you can,” I ordered instead with as much coldness as I could infuse into those five words.

His shoulders straightened. “No. Maddie’s my friend, and I know she wouldn’t want to go anywhere with you.”

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