Page 63 of Mad Love

She sighed. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me.”

“He knows he can’t control you. That you’re beyond… Tonight was about him unleashing his own fury, but I know that it won’t be the end. I tried to tell you, he always wins. The threats he made… they aren’t idle.”

“Then let me use your phone,” I begged. “We won’t leave you behind. We’ll help you and your son.”

She sucked in a ragged breath. “I need to think about it.”

I wanted to scream because what was there to think about?

She pulled back and exhaled. “All right, the only thing left is to stitch up some of the deeper wounds.” Despair flashed in her eyes. “It’s going to hurt.”

My muscles tensed before I forced myself to relax. The cream she’d rubbed into my back seemed to have a bit of a numbing effect, but I suspected that would vanish as soon as she started sewing my flesh together.

“I can take it,” I vowed, meaning it in every sense of the word.

I was down, but I wasn’t out. It would take more than fists and belts to break me. Not while I still had everything left worth fighting for waiting for me.

CHAPTER 24

RYAN

“How are you, son?” Grandpa was one of two people I’d ever let call me that. The other was my football coach, but he wasn’t exactly someone I was speaking to right now, since I’d walked off the field in the middle of our first playoff game and ended the team’s season.

I exhaled, letting his concern crack the hard exterior I’d erected to keep from falling apart. I’d had to shore up those walls several times since Ash had announced Maddie’s accounts had all been drained, two days earlier.

Gary officially had all of her money, which was exactly what he’d wanted. The only things he didn’t get were the shares of Phoenix and Brookfield, since Grandpa was, thankfully, still alive.

The news outlets hadn’t said much beyond publicizing Maddie’s newest engagement, and I kept waiting for a date to be announced.

Or worse, a follow up saying they were married.

My gut twisted.

The last few days had been… “Not great.”

On the other side of the video screen, Grandpa’s head dipped. He’d lost even more weight in the few weeks since I’d seen him at Thanksgiving. I hadn’t wanted to believe the doctor’s prognosis that his disease was rapidly progressing, but there was no denying it.

He was dying, and it wouldn’t be much longer.

If I lost him before I found Maddie…

I’d lose my fucking mind without either of them. If Grandpa was the anchor that kept me grounded, Maddie was the compass that kept me on course.

Without them, I was lost and adrift.

I cleared my throat, locking down my emotions. I needed to be strong for Grandpa. “Ash has narrowed down a few properties in North America where Gary might be. We’re planning to split up and do recon starting tomorrow.”

When Ash had relayed this info at dinner hours earlier, I’d been ready to run out the door, but Royal had adamantly shut me down. I’d argued with him, with all of them, until Bex yelled that I was being an idiot and needed to think logically, the way Maddie would want.

Seeing Bex—tiny, timid Bex—stand up and shout at us had finally gotten through to me. I hated it, but they were right. Gary had already proved he was capable of outmaneuvering us, and we needed to play this carefully to make sure Maddie wasn’t caught in the crossfire.

After dinner we’d planned which locations we’d hit. Ash was going to stay behind with Bex while Royal and I went to Nevada, Court and Knight went to Montana, and Linc and Bishop hit South Dakota. All were remote properties and perfect places to hide a kidnapped girl away from the world, and all were owned by small companies that buried the name of the parent company, Cabot Global.

Unable to relax, I’d finally called Cori. After excitedly telling me about her new school and rattling off her wishlist for Christmas—a horse was now at the top—she’d asked to talk to Maddie, and I’d come up with a bullshit excuse and hung up. Then I’d called Grandpa. I’d needed to hear his voice reminding me it was going to work out.

Even if that was a lie.

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