Page 103 of Mad Love

“I don’t know,” I muttered, not sure where I stood on the matter of my ex-fiancée anymore. That video Maddie had shown us had definitely given me more perspective, and shit, yeah, I felt kinda bad for her. On the other hand…

Court practically snarled at us. “She made Bex’s life a living hell, remember?”

“This is true,” Linc agreed. “But I’m questioning her motives.”

Court made a strangled sound of disbelief. “What possible motive could there be for destroying the life of a girl who was nothing but innocent?”

Ah, shit.

“Fuck,” Court whispered, realizing his misstep as he glanced at Linc. “Dude, you know I didn’t mean—”

Linc held up a hand, his voice hard. “We’re not talking about that.”

“I’m sorry,” Court offered. “You know none of us blame you.”

“What part of we aren’t talking about it aren’t you understanding?” Linc snapped, glaring across the console. “Christ.”

Court sighed. “If anything, it’s me.”

I shot him a curious look. “Huh?”

“I isolated Bex,” he explained. “It was my decision for everyone to cut her out of their life after what my father did. I thought a clean break would be easiest. If I ignored her, she’d be safe.”

“She almost died, dude,” Linc grumbled. “You did what you thought was best to keep her alive.”

“Yeah, and look where that got her,” Court replied, his tone full of self-loathing. “I was so fucked up by what happened that I put her out of my mind. I ignored that Madelaine was tormenting her for years.”

“That’s not fair,” I protested. “She’s three years younger than us. After that summer, we never ran in the same circles. We went to a different school most of the time, and our schedules sure as fuck didn’t overlap. How were you supposed to know what was going on in her life?”

Court shook his head. “All I’ve ever wanted was for her to be safe. Do you know what it’s like to realize you’re the one who fucked that up?”

“Yeah,” I confessed, looking at Maddie again. “I’m well aware.”

Court winced. “Fair.”

“This trip has turned into such a bitchfest,” Linc muttered. He pointed at Court. “You need to man up and grab onto the chance Bex is giving you.” He turned and aimed a finger at me. “And you need to accept that Maddie’s stronger than you think. And both your whining asses need to stop blaming yourself for not being all-knowing gods who can control the fucking universe. Life happens.”

“Dick.” I rolled my eyes.

“Fine, I’m a dick,” Linc agreed. “Now can we try to enjoy the rest of the damn trip before we get back to the house and start planning all the ways we’re going to kill Gary?”

Court snickered and shook his head. “Whatever you want, man.”

Linc perked up. “Whatever I want, huh?”

Worry tugged at me. “If you turn on the radio and start singing, I’ll make sure every single girl who crosses paths with you for the rest of your life knows you have an incurable case of crotch rot that’s highly contagious.”

Linc actually pouted, but he pulled his hand back from where he’d been about to turn on the radio. “You guys suck ass.”

CHAPTER 37

MADDIE

“Holy shit,” Ash breathed as I piled the flash drives on the dining room table.

Chase moved to look over my shoulder, but Ryan positioned himself at my back, his hands settling possessively on my hips. I turned my head to kiss his jaw while he shot Chase a glare that would’ve made most men run.

Chase rolled his eyes and moved to my other side, but I noticed he didn’t touch me. “This is insanity.”

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