Page 20 of Mad Love

The rusty knife that had been stabbed into my chest when she’d gone missing twisted a little deeper, robbing me of my breath for a beat.

“No,” Ash answered for me, “but we’re preparing for when we do, and we think living off campus, away from prying eyes, will be best.”

“Of course,” she agreed. Bex was easily the softest and the most selfless of us all, and it didn’t take a genius to see why Court was so damn protective when it came to her. “Maddie will need somewhere safe to…” She trailed off, unsure.

None of us knew what Maddie would need. To heal? Rest? Sleep? Recover?

Not knowing what was happening to my wife was like having my insides dipped in acid. It was slowly corroding my organs and shutting me down.

“You’re coming, too, B,” Linc informed her.

Bex let out a small squeak. “Me?”

“You,” Court confirmed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders when she tried to step back. “You’re one of us.”

“My parents—”

“We’ll handle them,” Linc replied.

Her eyes rounded. “Oh, no. They’re my parents. I get that my dad has made mistakes, but you guys can’t—” her voice dropped to a frantic whisper “—handle them.”

Linc barked out a laugh that startled us all. “Christ, Bex. We’re going to talk them into letting you stay, not off them.”

Her cheeks turned pink as she ducked her head. “With you guys, I never know.”

“That’s fair,” Linc agreed with a grin.

Bex peered up at Court through a fringe of dark lashes. “So, are you asking me or telling me that I’m moving?”

Court swallowed, looking like someone had handed him a bomb. “Asking?”

She smiled up at him. “Then yes.”

I exchanged an amused look with Ash, because Court might have said he was asking, but we both knew if she’d have said no, he’d have been telling her where her ass was sleeping tonight.

“What about school?” Bex asked, as if suddenly remembering she was still in high school and we all had a few weeks of classes left before winter break was officially upon us.

“I’ll drive you back and forth,” Court stated, like the answer was that simple.

“Or I can,” Linc jumped in.

Bex sighed and shrugged, giving in. I’d noticed her doing that a lot since Maddie had been taken. Bex seemed determined to rock the boat as little as possible, and I had a feeling it was because she still blamed herself for Maddie’s kidnapping.

Fuck knew there was more than enough blame to go around.

Ash’s phone chirped with an incoming alarm, and he dug it out of his pocket. My pulse ratcheted up several notches when he met my gaze.

“Maddie?” Bex whispered, hope wavering in her voice.

Ash’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Not exactly, but I finally found the doctor who Gary paid off.”

Emotion wrapped around my throat like barbed wire. “Where?”

“Wyoming,” he answered. “Dr. Sharon Browne is the chief of psychiatry at the Highwater Institution, a reform school for troubled rich kids.”

“Guess we’re going to Wyoming.” Linc twisted his neck, popping the joints.

Court pulled out his phone. “I’ll call Royal—”

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