Page 28 of Mad Love

She lifted her chin. “I’m not going to risk my patient—”

“Oh, lady, cut the bullshit,” I snapped, the last threads of my patience dangerously close to snapping. “We both know the real risk to Maddie is her fucking father.”

Her cheeks flushed as her gaze darted away.

“I want her back,” I went on, leaning forward and lowering my voice. “And you’re going to help me.”

“I can’t.” Dr. Browne sucked in a deep breath and met my eyes.

“Then you’re of no use to me,” I replied, nodding to Royal who stepped forward with a gun drawn. He didn’t hesitate to press it to her temple.

“Wait!” Dr. Browne shrieked, trying to scramble away from the weapon. Royal simply used his other hand to grab the nape of her neck and hold her still. “Please! Wait! I can help you!”

Royal yawned loudly, like this was the most boring part of his day.

“Then let’s go get her,” I growled, getting up.

“You can’t. We can’t,” she amended, holding up her hands. “You’ll have to wait until next week.”

“Not a fucking chance.” My chest heaved as I stared down at her, wishing I could wrap my hands around her thin neck and squeeze. “We’re going now.”

“You can’t.” Dr. Browne all but wailed as Royal dragged her to her feet. “You don’t understand—she’s in our lockdown ward. It’s a separate facility. She’ll be there for another ten days.”

I clicked my tongue against my teeth and reminded myself we still needed this woman alive. “You run the fucking facility. I’m sure you’ll think of something, doc.”

“But—”

I stepped forward, crowding her space and grinning when she swallowed, her wide eyes fixed on me. “We’re going to get my wife. Now.”

Royal shifted on his feet, the only sign he wasn’t okay with my announcement. The plan was to get Dr. Browne to agree to help us get Maddie, but not necessarily this very second. Royal was a planner and would want to make sure every possible outcome was accounted for. We’d run through scenarios where Maddie was in a room on the fifth floor, a space that seemed more like juvie than anything else.

We hadn’t planned on her being in a lockdown ward. There was no telling what kind of problems we might run into there. I was switching up the plan by insisting we go tonight, but Royal would just have to fucking adapt, because I wasn’t letting my girl sit in a cell for another night. If I had to go alone and leave his surly ass here, I would.

After a long pause, Royal gave me a curt nod, accepting the situation for what it was. Satisfaction unfurled in my gut, and I turned to the doc with another vicious smirk. “Let’s go.”

* * *

For all the security guards and protocols in place to keep people in Highwater, there was barely a pause at the front gate when Dr. Browne drove up with Royal and I in the car to get access shortly after midnight.

The guards nodded at her, clearly unwilling to question their boss’s motives even with two strangers in the car.

Dr. Browne parked in her assigned spot near the front entrance and cut the engine. She braced her hands on the steering wheel. “You both should reconsider—”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “You should really shut the fuck up before you piss me off even more.” I turned to face her in the passenger seat. “But I’ve gotta know—why?”

Her brow furrowed.

“Why are you doing this? Is Gary paying you? Blackmailing you?” I watched her closely and felt Royal doing the same from where he sat in the middle of the back seat.

“No,” she replied, blanching a bit before her gaze darted away.

Royal laughed, the sound chilling. “Fucking hell. You love him.”

My eyes narrowed, because no way… but sure enough, Dr. Browne’s cheeks turned red. “Seriously?”

Her jaw clenched as she stayed silent.

“That’s kind of pathetic,” I mused, rubbing my jaw. “Weren’t you trained to spot a sociopath in psych school, doc?”

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