Page 127 of Mad Love

I nodded in sympathy, because I got it. When I’d come back to PC after Ryan screwed me over, I’d wanted to lash out and hurt him, but ultimately, I would’ve hurt myself more. “It’s okay to take your time, is all I’m saying. Do things you want for you. Not for the guy who can’t get out of his own way to see how freaking amazing you are.”

“Emotions suck,” Bex declared with a huff, her lips pulling down as someone knocked at the door. “You can come in.”

Malcolm stuck his head in, his expression somber. “Becky.”

She was instantly on her feet. “What?”

He cleared his throat, tugging on the collar of the shirt he’d changed into. “The hospital just called. Your mother developed a clot, and they’re taking her back into surgery. I was going to head back—”

“I’m coming, too,” she declared, already throwing on a hoodie over her pajamas and shoving her feet into shoes.

“Sweet pea, there won’t be much you can do,” he murmured, shaking his head.

“She’s my mother,” Bex snapped, close to tears. “I’m going.”

“Want me to come too?” I offered.

She looked at me and shook her head. “No. I’ll call when there’s news, okay?”

I nodded and watched her go, my heart heavy for my friend. A moment later, the front door to the suite closed, and I was alone in the silence.

CHAPTER 45

RYAN

Movement caught my eye as Royal signaled us to move forward.

It had taken a little more work to get inside the community than we’d anticipated, especially when someone had decided that the perfect place to let their fluffy poodles take a midnight shit was right in front of the bushes we’d been hiding in.

We’d left the SUVs and gone on foot through the streets, keeping to the shadows and staying as hidden as possible. Ash handled everything, checking for blind spots and hacking the pathetic excuses for security systems the houses around here had. They might’ve been top of the line for the public, but they were no match for my best friend’s hacking skills. Once he put the digital footage on a continuous loop feed, we could’ve walked down the middle of the road, and all the security tapes would’ve shown the next day was an empty street.

Working in the dark, we moved as a unit. The unit Jasper Woods had always wanted his sons to be; efficient, tactical, and lethal. Surrounding the two-story brick house at the end of a nondescript cul-de-sac, we took up positions and got ready to hit hard and fast.

Adrenaline churned in my blood, heightening my senses as I prepared to end my former father-in-law once and for all. The only regret I had was that it would be quick. I wouldn’t have time to carve him into pieces the way I craved, the way vengeance demanded.

Three guards wandered around the backyard, looking bored but alert as they scanned the eight-foot-tall hedges we’d hidden behind. They weren’t idiots; they’d been trained by one of the most ruthless killers the United States military had ever created. The only people I’d met more dangerous than Jasper Woods and the men he commanded were his own sons.

Most of whom were standing with me tonight, about to help me take down the monster who had nearly killed the woman I loved.

Thunder rumbled overhead, ominous and providing the perfect cover for our plan.

“Thirty seconds,” Ash warned, his voice crackling across the com in my ear.

I drew in a deep, slow breath, waiting for the moment we’d all agreed upon. Part of the reason Royal had insisted we strike tonight was the storm that was rolling in. It would muffle some of the sounds of whatever fight happened and give us the perfect excuse for—

A bolt of lightning split the dark sky a second before the world plunged into darkness as Ash cut the power to the entire community.

The three guards were immediately alert, reaching for their radios, but it was pointless; part of Ash’s blackout included a jammer that rendered their technology useless.

“Go,” Royal whispered, his voice a sharp command as we surged forward from the shadows as a unit.

Court, Linc, and Bishop were on the other side of the house from Royal, Knight, and myself.

Our dark clothes concealed us as we stepped through the hedges and moved fast. Heavy clouds that blotted out the moon and stars split open, and rain began to fall in sheets around us.

Satisfaction surged in my gut as the rain provided even more cover. I reached the man closest to us. His back was turned. My hands went to his jaw and the back of his head, twisting with a sharp crack that was swallowed up by the rumble of thunder.

Another guard cried out, the shout of surprise dying fast as Knight snapped his neck, too. Royal had already handled his guy and was staring at us like we were taking too long. “Three down,” he reported to us all.

---