Page 41 of Mad Love

I cried out and tried to twist away, but there was nowhere to go. Gasping breaths clawed from my chest as the pain splintered from my finger up my arm. I bit the insides of my cheeks until I tasted blood, waiting for the digit to crack and the pain to amplify.

“What the fuck is going on here?” a voice boomed from behind us.

Gary looked up with a sneer but stopped where he’d been about to break my finger. “You’re early.”

“And you’re touching what belongs to me,” the voice replied in a dangerously familiar accent. “Let her go. Now. I’m not buying damaged goods.” A pause. “Well, further damaged goods. I see she’s got a few marks already.”

Gary chuckled, the sound ominous as he let me go. “I’m sure you understand what it takes to discipline someone as willful as she is.”

A barely muffled scoff. “Indeed, but I’ve never needed an extra set of hands to help me control a woman.”

Gary’s cheeks turned crimson. “Until she's yours, I’ll handle her as I see fit.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Gary looked at Evan and jerked his head. A second later, Evan released me, and I turned to see the newcomer, not entirely sure why I knew that voice or why hope fluttered in my chest as he spoke.

That quickly, hope fled as I looked into cold, emotionless eyes. This wasn’t the guy I knew. The guy who’d sort of been my friend.

Charles smiled down at me, no warmth or caring in his expression. “Hello, Maddie. Or should I say, hello, my darling future wife?”

CHAPTER 16

MADDIE

“I’m not marrying you,” I blurted out, recoiling in my chair even as Charles stared at me with those mossy green eyes. In a formal charcoal-gray suit and white shirt, he looked like he was going to a board meeting.

His head tilted. “Not today. But soon enough.”

“Why?” I whispered, ignoring the fact that Gary and Evan were still in the room and watching.

He chuckled, the sound familiar and foreign at the same time. “Business, of course, sweetheart.”

I flinched. “Don’t call me that.”

His eyes hardened, his jaw going tight. “I’ll call you whatever I bloody well please.”

I bristled, forgetting where I was and seeing him only as the guy who had been nice to me. “Like hell—”

“Enough,” he snapped, then turned to Gary. “I see what you mean.”

Gary crossed his arms and leaned on the edge of his desk. “She needs a firm hand.”

“Obviously,” Charles agreed, shaking his head and glancing at me. “But she’s pretty enough and will be able to give me heirs. That’s all that matters.”

I clenched my jaw to keep from saying something that would get me slapped or worse. It was disgusting to hear them talk about me like I was nothing more than a broodmare to be traded and bought.

Freaking awesome.

All I could do was glare at the floor until Gary started laughing.

“See? Apparently she can be taught,” he commented. “But she isn’t yours until I get what I’m owed.”

“I have my associate working on locating the funds. It shouldn’t take more than a day or two.” Charles straightened and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Ash Newhouse is good, but Tyler is better.”

I perked up at the mention of Ash. My gaze flickered back and forth between them.

Gary smirked. “Even better, but that doesn’t help me at this present moment. And until the money is in my account, I’m afraid I can’t let my precious daughter go.”

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