Page 144 of Mad Love

“That's not my call,” the nurse said, “but I’ll pass along your request to Dr. Rice.” She gave me a warm smile and stepped out.

With a heavy breath, Ryan moved forward and perched on the edge of my bed, not nearly close enough for me. He reached forward and held my hand, tangling our fingers together. “Gotta admit, Mads, I’m torn between screaming at you and kissing the shit out of you.”

“I vote for kissing,” I said as seriously as I could manage, even as the corners of my mouth turned up.

“I’m serious, Madison.” His thumb stroked the back of my hand. “Tonight… Fuck, you could’ve been killed.”

“But I wasn’t,” I felt the need to point out.

“Saving Bex, I get,” he admitted, looking down for a second before meeting my eyes. “But going back in after Gary? With fucking Chase?”

“And a guard,” I muttered, but that sounded weak. “I just had to see for myself if he was dead.”

“He wasn’t,” Ryan snapped, heat flashing in his eyes. “And if we hadn’t shown up when we did…”

I lifted my other hand and touched his face. “Did I say thank you for saving my life?”

He looked annoyed and frustrated. “I shouldn’t have had to save your life. You should’ve been safe.”

Sighing, I shook my head. “I told you before that if you want the girl who’s going to sit back and let you handle everything because you have a penis and I have a vagina, you need to look for someone who isn’t me.”

A low growl worked its way out of his throat. “This has nothing to do with the fact that you’re a girl, babe. I’m pissed because you went into a situation where you knew you’d be hurt. You fucking hung up on me when I was miles away. Do you honestly think that’s fucking fair?”

I shrank back a little as guilt settled in my gut.

“And then, by the grace of fucking God, you actually had a shot at getting free, and you went back inside.” Now he was really pissed. “I was seconds away from being too late, Maddie.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, a tear sliding down my face. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

With a groan, he leaned forward and hugged me. “I’m not mad, baby. I was fucking terrified. I still am. It’s gonna take a little while for me not to see you standing there with a gun aimed at your head.”

I wrapped my arms around his back as a tremor rippled down his spine and across his frame. I kissed the side of his neck and added a soft, “I’m sorry.”

He exhaled hard and drew back to look me in the eye. “I know.”

I tipped my head to the side. “Still feel like kissing me?”

The intense expression melted a bit, and the side of his mouth kicked up before he leaned in to brush his lips across mine. “Always.”

CHAPTER 50

MADDIE

Ryan might not have been mad at me, but he was sure as hell taking it out on anyone else who dared come near.

First it was Dr. Rice, who declared I probably didn’t have a concussion, but the only way to be a hundred percent sure was if they did a scan of my head. Problem was, the earthquake had caused a lot of injuries and there were people who needed the machines more than me, so there was a massive backup.

They’d used a portable X-ray machine on Bex to determine her ankle was sprained, not broken, and she’d gone upstairs with Court to see her mother and father, who’d been losing his mind wondering where she’d gone. Thankfully the hospital had been spared any real damage from the quake, and her mom’s surgery had gone off without a hitch.

Ryan had all but bitten off the nurse’s head when she’d come back to stitch up my wounds and I’d flinched before the numbing cream fully set in. I tried to apologize for his behavior, but his glaring wasn’t helping her finish any faster. I tried to distract her by asking questions about Chase’s condition.

There was no official word yet, but from what we’d been able to find out, the bullet had just barely missed his heart. She’d left, and then Bishop, Ash, and Knight were crammed into the small couch and chair we’d squeezed into my room. They’d all checked in on me, but didn’t come closer, considering the guard dog wearing a path into the floor.

I could hear chaos outside my door as Ryan paced in front of it. With every revolution he took around the walkable space in my room, my anxiety ticked higher and higher.

“Dude, sit down,” Knight finally muttered, rubbing his jaw. “You’re making me anxious.”

Ryan flipped him off.

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