Page 5 of Mad As Hell

“I don’t know,” I replied in a clipped tone, my anxiety ratcheting up several notches. “See if you can find anyone down here. I’m going to find Maddie.”

I didn’t wait for them to respond as I ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time and not slowing my pace until I was outside Maddie’s room. I shoved her door open.

“Maddie?” I called into the darkness as I stepped inside and flipped the light switch.

My breath caught as I realized she wasn’t here. Her bed was made and clearly untouched. Everything looked normal and pristine, but it felt wrong.

I checked her bathroom and closet even though I knew it was pointless. By the time I came out of her room, Ash had made it upstairs, his expression grim.

“They’re gone,” he announced.

“No shit,” I spat. “Where the fuck are they?”

“No idea,” he admitted tersely. “I checked the security tapes, but they’ve been wiped.”

I froze, panic clawing at my insides. “What do you mean, wiped?”

“I mean, someone erased everything,” he replied. “The whole weekend is gone. The party, them leaving… It’s gone.”

I growled in frustration. “So, they’re what? Fucking gone? They can’t just vanish. That makes zero fucking sense.”

Ash spread his arms wide. “I can’t magically make them appear, Ry. Maddie’s gone.”

I clenched my fists, wanting to smash them into something.

No.

Into someone.

But right now, I needed to be smart. Think smart.

I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to ignore the way my head was starting to throb. “Okay, let’s go.”

“Go where?” Ash demanded as I pushed by him and hurried down the stairs.

Linc and Court were waiting by the front door.

“Call Bex,” I ordered them as I kept going toward the car.

Linc frowned. “Bex?”

I glanced back over my shoulder as I yanked the door open. “She was the last one to see Maddie.”

Linc and Court exchanged looks as Ash joined them.

“Dude, it’s like three in the morning,” Court objected. “Bex is probably asleep.”

“Then wake her the fuck up,” I demanded, getting into the car and slamming the door so hard the entire SUV shuddered.

I didn’t care if Bex was asleep or not. I would raze the entire world until I found my girl, and God help anyone who got in my way.

CHAPTER 2

RYAN

Lights were on at the Whittier residence, but it was just security illumination around the perimeter since it was the middle of the night and people were clearly sleeping. The two-story brick monstrosity with manicured gardens was only a few streets away from Maddie’s house, and it looked slightly out of place among the Tuscan-inspired homes of the gated community. Bex’s mom had designed this house specifically to remind her of her East Coast roots.

Once Ash stopped the car, I opened the door, and his hand shot out to grab my arm. I stared back at him, annoyed at the interruption.

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