Page 199 of Mad Love

She whirled. “It’s Paisley.”

“I was close,” he mumbled, frowning.

“Baby,” Paisley simpered, sauntering the three steps to him and running her hands across his chest as she shot me a dirty look, “who is this?” She lifted to her tip toes and bit his earlobe.

My disgust must’ve shown on my face, because Court was quick to push her back a step.

“Maddie lives here,” Court told her, his tone going from sleepy to snarly in a flat second. “You don’t. Get the fuck out.”

Okay, now I felt a little bad for Paisley.

Her jaw dropped with a screech of disbelief. “What the fuck, Court?”

He shrugged a massive shoulder. “No, no. We already fucked, and now we’re done.”

“You bastard,” Paisley hissed, tears in her eyes.

Court snorted. “Actually, I’m the only one who isn’t a bastard, but whatever. Time to go, Patsy.”

“Paisley!” Her scream echoed off the walls and ceiling.

I winced and stepped around them but shot Court a withering look. “Handle this shit,” I growled as I went to my bedroom at the end of the hall and pushed open the door.

I went in and kicked the door shut with more force than necessary just as Ryan stepped out of the bathroom, a towel slung low on his hips. His brows shot up. “Everything okay out there?”

I started ticking things off with my fingers. “Let’s see. Linc needs a personal maid, and Court is still coping with Bex not being here by sleeping his way through all the willing women in a ten-mile radius.”

“Want me to make your day better?” he offered with a smile, coming toward me until I was in grabbing distance. He pulled me against his chest and kissed me hard.

I sighed and leaned my head back to look him in the eye. “If your way of cheering me up includes no less than three orgasms, then I’m all in. Otherwise, I have a perfectly good vibrator that’s up for the task.”

His eyes narrowed. “You’re hilarious.”

I lifted a shoulder with an impish grin. “You know you love me.”

“Fuck yes, I do,” he agreed, kissing me again and walking me toward our bed until the backs of my legs hit it. He pushed me down, and I felt my insides heat as I prepared myself for whatever he did next.

He grabbed the remote for the TV from his nightstand and turned it on.

I stared at him, because that wasn’t what I’d been preparing for. “Uh, Ry—”

“Shh,” he admonished, coming to sit beside me and picking a channel. “The news is coming on.”

“Are you kidding me?” I demanded.

He turned and smiled at me, his blue eyes glittering. “Trust me, Mads.” He jerked his chin at the screen and turned up the volume as the newscaster turned the program over to a field reporter.

“Thanks, Marcia,” the man dressed in a blue suit that matched his eyes said, his tone solemn. The screen cut to an older man being led out of a building in handcuffs as FBI agents swarmed the area. “Earlier today Peter Lansing was arrested on charges of disseminating and creating child pornography. The Fortune 500 CEO’s assets, along with his company, have all been seized by the federal government after an anonymous tip. Sources tell us that recordings of Lansing engaging in lewd and unlawful acts with a teenage girl were sent in by what they’re calling ‘a concerned citizen.’”

I gasped softly, my hand flying to my mouth as I turned to Ryan. “The drives?”

He turned off the TV and nodded, his expression smug.

With a joyful laugh, I climbed over and straddled him so I could wrap my arms around his neck, part of the weight on my heart lifting.

Peter Lansing would be the first of many to fall, thanks to the recordings my sister had collected. Tyler and Ash had spent nearly a month organizing them, and last week, Phoenix had made the decision to start releasing the dirty secrets to the world and holding people accountable for their crimes.

“We’re really doing this,” I whispered, pulling back to look at Ryan.

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