Page 79 of Mad As Hell

He stepped closer, staring down at me hard. “I hurt you, yes. But I’m not the reason you’re jumpy and look like you haven’t eaten in a fucking month. You’re not just scared, Maddie, you’re terrified. I can see it in your eyes.”

Biting the insides of my cheeks, I didn’t speak.

He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Keep quiet, baby. I have no problem digging into every single facet of your life until I find out what’s wrong.”

“Can’t you just leave me alone?” I asked, suddenly exhausted and wanting my bed.

He shook his head. “No. I love you, and that means I’m going to fix whatever’s wrong.”

“You can’t fix everything!” I cried. “Don’t you get that? You just can’t.”

“Agree to disagree,” he replied firmly. “We’re on the same side. I’m going to help you, whether you like it or not.”

“I hate you,” I hissed, frustrated and over the way he thought he could make everyone and everything bend to his will.

“No, you don’t,” he answered with another annoying smirk. “You talk a lot when you’re drunk. It’s cute.”

I don’t hate you. I love you.

Ugh. I was never drinking again. Ever.

“Good night, Ryan,” I snapped, whirling away and stalking to the entrance.

“Sleep well, baby!” he yelled in an obnoxiously loud voice that had people outside turning to look.

I hunched my shoulders and opened the doors. Since almost everyone was at dinner still—and Ryan’s scene earlier had pretty much guaranteed I would be left alone—I took the elevator up to my floor.

Still pissed off, I shoved the key into the lock and twisted it hard enough to almost break the damn knob. I kicked it shut with a shout into the dark room before slapping my palm against the wall to find the light switch.

As soon as the lights turned on, I stopped dead.

People always talked about how there were two responses to fear: fight or flight. They never seemed to mention the third option.

Freeze.

And that’s exactly what I did. My feet froze to the floor as all the air was sucked from my lungs. Because Adam was sitting on my couch waiting for me, and the leering grin on his face told me whatever happened next, I was going to hate it.

CHAPTER 22

MADDIE

Adam stood up from the couch, and that finally seemed to help my brain reconnect with my body. Unfortunately, it was too late. I turned and had barely laid my hand on the doorknob before he slapped a meaty palm across the door near my head. Instead of trying to wrestle control of the door from him, I ducked away before he could pin me.

I managed to get a few feet of space between us. But my pulse was thundering, and blood roared in my ears as I stared at him.

“Calm down, you fickle bitch,” he groused, looking annoyed and turned on at the same time. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

“Right, because guys frequently break into women’s places intending just to chat,” I muttered, shaking my head as my phone began to ring in my purse. “Why the hell are you here?”

“Answer the phone,” Adam prompted like I was a stupid child.

Frowning, I unzipped my purse and fished out my phone while keeping my eyes on him to make sure this wasn’t some kind of trick. Worry swirled in my gut when I realized the caller was Gary.

“Hello?” I whispered into the phone when I answered.

“Adam will be arriving at your room. I expect you to behave yourself.” Gary’s clipped voice was cold and unfeeling as he told me.

I barely resisted rolling my eyes. “He’s already here. And I’ve been behaving myself. Why is he here?”

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