Page 136 of Mad Love

As soon as the gag was gone, Bex quickly rushed out, “Don’t tell him anything, Maddie.”

Gary growled in frustration and flicked a finger. A moment later, one of the guards punched Bex in the stomach. She doubled over with a pained wheeze.

“Stop!” I cried, unable to watch them hurt Bex.

Shit, shit, shit. I hadn’t thought this through.

Pressing the barrel of the gun under my jaw, Gary tipped my head back to the point of pain. “Unless you want to watch those men take turns breaking her in for the trip ahead, I suggest you start telling me what I want to know.”

I met Bex’s terrified eyes. She slowly shook her head.

My hesitation cost us both.

The sound of her shirt ripping made me jolt. “Stop, okay? I’ll tell you.”

“Maddie, no!” Bex stared at me from across the room, her shirt gaping open where they’d split it down the middle and exposed her pale torso and pink bra. “I can take—”

A roaring sound filled my ears, and I wanted to scream, but I started to shake instead.

“Fuck!” someone yelled, and I realized it wasn’t me who was shaking; the whole damn room was shuddering. The crystals of the chandeliers tinkled as they bounced until, with a booming crash, one fell just feet from Bex and the guys holding her.

As a crack spread across the ceiling, they backed away from Bex and fled the vicinity. “Earthquake!” one of them roared, running for cover.

Gary just stood there and gaped, and I used the moment of surprise to push him aside as the floor under us trembled violently and began to break apart. I pitched forward and tripped toward Bex.

“Get back here!” Gary yelled, and amidst the sound of shattering glass, a louder crack sounded. Something whizzed past my ear as I tackled Bex to the floor.

“We need to get out of here,” Bex gasped, looking around desperately.

Gary was on his knees now, and the gun had slid several feet away. I saw it the same time he did, and determination licked a fiery path through my soul. I scrambled for the gun as he began crawling toward it.

“Maddie, stop!” Bex's sharp cry made me freeze in time to glance up and see another chandelier break free, along with chunks of plaster and wood from the beams above.

I rolled away, covering my head, and the world crashed down around me.

CHAPTER 48

MADDIE

The silence was almost as deafening as the roar of the earthquake had been. In the distance, I could hear car alarms blaring, but it was mostly quiet.

Quiet and… dark.

My head was killing me as I lifted it off the floor and looked around to see the room silhouetted in shadows and debris. I gasped when I looked at where the windows should have been. The entire wall was gone. Hell, a good chunk of the floor was, too. It had broken off and gone down the side of the mountain. The entire city was dark, just a bunch of shapeless ridges and lines against the moonlight.

Bex.

I needed to find my best friend. I reached into my back pocket for my cell phone and turned it on, frustrated when I saw there was no service. The screen was cracked from how I’d landed on it, but the flashlight app worked.

Turning to look for Bex, I sent the light glancing over a lump near the door. My stomach roiled as I realized it was one of the guards, but his head had been partially caved in when part of the ceiling fell. His sightless eyes stared at me until I lowered the light.

Bex. I need to find Bex.

I tripped over pieces of floor and ceiling as I made my way to where I thought I’d left her.

“Bex?” I whispered, trying to discern a girl-shaped bump from a rubble-shaped one as I slipped on a large chunk of crystal and nearly wiped out. “Shit.”

A soft moan came from in front of me. “Mads?”

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