Page 75 of Mad Love

“I’m fucking starving,” Knight whined, rubbing his stomach.

“I made breakfast,” Bex said with a quick smile.

Linc came around the truck and grabbed her from behind, hugging her to his chest as he placed a noisy kiss on her cheek. “You’re a goddess, B.”

Bex blushed, and Court glowered at his best friend until Linc let her go and traipsed after Knight and Bishop, presumably to find food.

I used the handle above my seat to maneuver myself backwards out of the car. I heard Bex’s fast intake of breath when part of my shirt rode up. Ryan’s jaw tensed, and I forced myself to smile at him.

“I’ll be okay,” I promised.

“I’m holding you to that,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair and wincing.

I finished putting my feet on the garage floor and waited for him to get out. When he walked around to meet me, he was paler than he’d been in the SUV. Or shit, maybe I hadn’t noticed.

“Ryan—”

He kissed my forehead. “Inside. Food and then sleep, okay?”

“Medical, food, and then sleep,” Knight called as we made our way into the house.

The door from the garage led into a small mudroom and then a massive kitchen that would’ve made a chef drool. Across the large island in the middle was a spread of food—eggs, pancakes, waffles, hash browns, bacon, sausage… And half of it was already piled onto the plates of the four men sitting at the banquette near a large window overlooking the rear of the property.

My gaze moved around the room, landing on each person and feeling the utter rightness as the pieces of my world slid back into place.

Standing in the walkway between the stove and island was Ash. He wiped his hands on a towel and smiled at me, then came around the island and kissed my forehead. “Hey, Mads. Hungry?”

I gently prodded the inside of my cheek with my tongue, suppressing a flinch when it still ached. “Maybe some eggs.”

“Girl, you need protein and carbs,” Bishop called.

Knight pushed his mostly eaten plate away and stood, knocking his brother across the back of the head. “Look at her face, bro. Probably hurts like a bitch to chew.” He moved in front of me. “You good if I check you out now?”

I shook my head and turned to the man at my back. The man who always had my back. “Ryan first.”

Ryan shook his head. “No, babe. I’m fine. You first.”

Narrowing my eyes, I poked the side he’d been favoring.

“Fuck,” he hissed, twisting away from me, jaw clenched tight enough to break teeth.

I lifted my hand to my face, stunned at the smear of blood across it. For a second it didn’t make sense.

“Shit. You pulled your stitches again?” Knight moved around me.

I stared hard at Ryan, my heart pounding. “What happened?”

He opened his mouth, and I knew he was about to tell me it wasn’t a big deal. But he was hurt and bleeding.

A memory surfaced. Gary had taunted me at Highwater. He’d had Ryan arrested… and attacked in prison.

“Stitches from when you were stabbed?” My hands balled into pointless fists at my sides, because Gary wasn’t around for me to pummel.

Ryan grimaced as Knight lifted his shirt and revealed a patch of gauze-soaked crimson. “Maddie.”

Holding up a hand, I shot him down before he could even try. “Uh uh. You sit your ass down and let Knight take care of you, or you can plan on spending a lot of quality time with your hand for the next decade.”

It was a bluff, an outright lie. But of the two of us? I wasn’t the one bleeding in the damn kitchen. And I’d say anything to get him to accept the help he needed.

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