Page 50 of Mad Love

Now he glanced up. “Aw, honey. That’s sweet.”

“Fuck off,” I retorted.

“I’m fine.”

“You look like shit,” I countered.

He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. “And you look like a douchebag. We all have our crosses, bro.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

A low growl rumbled in my chest. “Dammit, Ash—”

“What, Ryan?” He cut me off with a glare. “What do you want me to say, huh? It’s my fucking… You know what? Forget it.”

I leaned forward. “No, hang on. You think Maddie going missing is your fault?”

His jaw clenched. “He fucking outsmarted me. Gary motherfucking Cabot outsmarted me. Twice. What the fuck am I supposed to do with that?” He looked absolutely disgusted with himself and the situation.

“Ash—”

He shoved away from the table with a hiss. “We should’ve known his bitch ass would try something. I should’ve… I don’t know. Fucking put a tracker in Maddie’s ass.” His eyes lifted to the ceiling. “Maybe I should do that for Bex.”

“Maybe you should take a break,” I suggested, knowing full well he’d never agree. I mean, I wouldn’t either.

“How about you take a break?” he snarled, glaring at me. “You go lay down and take a nap while the rest of us worry about what Gary’s doing to Maddie. I mean, at least Kindell is dead, so we know he’s not there.”

My throat tightened, and I reminded myself he was lashing out because he was tired and frustrated, like me.

Ash openly mocked me. “And we all know Kindell was the only friend Gary had that would’ve loved getting his hands on—”

With a roar, I shot to my feet. “Shut the fuck up!” My fist clenched with the need to drive it into his face. I’d never wanted to hit my best friend as much as I did at that moment.

His chest heaved as he stared at me from across the table, that eight feet of space the only thing saving him from being on the ground.

“She’s out there alone.” His voice cracked at the end, and he cleared his throat before looking away. “I care about her, okay? I spent the better part of a decade turning a blind eye to what my aunt and uncle were doing to Victoria. I can’t fail Maddie, too.”

“Victoria wasn’t your fault.” I blinked back my anger as I realized why he was twisting himself up over Maddie.

He looked at the table. “She had a setback.”

I started and narrowed my eyes. “What?”

He swallowed hard and met my eyes, looking miserable. “I’m her emergency contact for the facility. She… she tried to kill herself two days ago.”

“Jesus,” I swore, stabbing my fingers through my hair. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because I can’t help Victoria, but I can help Maddie,” he replied.

“Ash.” I blew out a hard breath. “Victoria isn’t your fault, and you’ve done everything you can to get her the best possible help.”

I knew for a fact he had. Since rescuing Victoria from his sadistic aunt and uncle, Ash had made sure she wanted for nothing. He’d set her up with a beachfront condo on a small island Grandpa’s family owned in the Maldives.

Part of what we’d done when setting up Phoenix International was make sure we had a safe haven for people who needed it. Anyone too scared to return home or try to rejoin society. There were no extradition treaties in place for the Maldives, and with a single dock and a tiny airstrip on the island, it was easy to control access. Even still, Royal and Bishop had helped us recruit several of their former military buddies to guard the island as an extra security measure.

There was a small hospital with state-of-the-art equipment, including several therapists who’d had no problem giving up busy practices in congested cities for a fully paid cabana in paradise with a lighter case load.

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