Page 102 of Mad Love

Linc snorted. “Oh, they’re gonna love that. Hope your dick enjoyed the action in Vegas, because it’ll be a while before it sees anything more than your hand when she finds out you’re planning to leave her behind to play hero.”

“Fuck off,” I muttered, glancing back down at her. A tiny frown creased her brow, and my heart twisted at the mere thought of her having a bad dream. I stroked my thumb over the worry lines until they smoothed out and she sighed softly, snuggling against me.

This girl, man. I was so fucking gone for her it wasn’t funny. It was downright dangerous how much I loved her. The kind of love that set the world on fire and demolished kingdoms in mythology. Those stories had never made sense until Madison Porter tumbled into my life.

“I want Gary Cabot dead,” I murmured, venom in my tone. I more than wanted him dead; I wanted him suffering and writhing in agony as everything he’d done to her, I did to him, tenfold. I wanted him begging for death before I put a bullet in his head.

“He will be,” Linc assured me, the same fire in his gaze as he grinned at me.

Court nodded in agreement. “His days are numbered, but I’m not sure I like the idea of splitting our resources. If the place in Henderson is as fortified as the one in Wyoming, we’ll need all seven of us to get in and out.”

“Or we could let your brothers blow something up again,” Linc suggested.

Court snorted a laugh. “I’m not crazy about leaving Bex and Maddie alone, though.”

“We could always leave a few people behind,” I pointed out. Maybe there was a way to split our forces up because Court was right—I didn’t want to leave either of them exposed just in case. “Maybe Ash.”

Court shook his head. “No, we’ll need him for communications.”

I gritted my teeth. “There has to be someone we can spare.”

Linc shot me a smirk. “What about your new buddy, Chase? Think the future duke is up to protecting the girls?”

“Fuck no,” I huffed, irritation rippling across my skin. I hated that fucker. He annoyed the shit out of me and was constantly finding a reason to be around Maddie. And I hadn’t forgotten their fake engagement.

Asshat had probably loved that, even if it was for show.

“The Rippers owe us a favor,” I hedged, wondering if now was the right time to cash in on that. MCs weren’t exactly known for their subtlety, but I wasn’t sure I cared if it meant Maddie being rid of her father once and for all.

Linc gave a low whistle. “That’d be ballsy, but we don’t know how those guys operate. It’s kinda soon to rely on them.”

“We’ll see,” I murmured, dismissing the idea for now. “I’ll wait until Royal’s run all the options before we figure that shit out.”

“Big brother sure loves planning a mission.” Court smirked, affection in his eyes. For years, he and Royal had struggled to connect. It had taken a long time for Royal to accept that Court wasn’t like their father. The man didn’t trust easy, but when he did, he was loyal to the bitter end. It was why I knew I could always count on him.

I exhaled and leaned against the seat, my fingers sifting through Maddie’s long hair. “Where are we with the legal shit?”

Court scoffed at the way I dismissed the hoops he and Linus were jumping through to make things right. Starting with the fact that me being this close to Maddie was currently a fucking crime.

“There’s no undoing the marriage being annulled,” he started, and I grimaced. “Sorry, bro.”

“Doesn’t change shit,” I replied. “A piece of paper isn’t going to tell me whether or not Maddie’s mine.”

“If we can prove Gary was manipulating Maddie and the courts, the restraining order will be easy to overturn.” Court shot me a wry look. “I don’t have to tell you that it doesn’t help your case that you technically kidnapped her from her court-appointed guardian.”

“Her court-appointed guardian was a sadistic fuck intent on selling her to the highest bidder,” I growled. “He locked her up in an asylum, pumped her full of drugs, and removed her fucking birth control. Who does that?”

Linc ticked up a finger. “Sadistic fucks?”

If Maddie hadn’t been sprawled on my lap, I’d have kicked his seat into the dash. Instead, I settled for flipping him off.

“We need proof,” Court stressed. “That’s what matters. And right now, on paper, Gary makes a compelling case.”

I glanced at the purse on the floor. Maddie hadn’t been willing to pack it in the back with the rest of our stuff. She needed to keep the drives close until she handed them over to Ash.

“Hopefully Madelaine can help us out with that.” I barely believed I’d said that with a straight face.

Linc’s jaw tightened. “Is it weird I feel kinda bad for her?”

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