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I nod quietly. It’s the same thing I’ve been thinking about myself. Regardless of what happens, the families of Adam’s victims deserve closure. I know what it’s like not to have the answers, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
I want to believe I can protect Bianca without involving her. She’s been traumatized to the point that her mind shut down that part of her life completely and pushing her to recover those memories no longer even seems humane. Knowing what I know now, it’s a miracle she survived as long as she did.
I’ve been so fucking angry with her over her denial of our history together. I resented her for it. I assumed the worst and hurled accusations at her like it was my full-time job. I couldn’t see through all the bullshit, and I take the blame for that. I’ve never been so ashamed, and at this point, I’m not even sure I’m worthy of her forgiveness. I’ve failed her in more ways than I can count, but if she gives me the chance, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to her. I’ll keep her safe. And nobody will ever fuck with her again.
“It’ll all work out, brother,” Ace says, seemingly reading my thoughts.
A minute later, his phone rings, and he looks relieved when he sees it’s Birdie. She’s been checking in with him via text for the most part, but I know they can’t go long without talking to each other. I’m expecting this conversation to be a simple catch-up since she hasn’t texted me to relay anything of importance. But I can sense something is wrong when Ace turns his gaze to me.
“What is it?” I pull over to the side of the road, and he hesitates before he puts his wife on speakerphone.
“Madden,” Birdie sobs.
“What’s going on?” I ask her. “Where’s Bianca?”
“She—” Her voice fractures. “She’s in the hospital. There was an incident with Eden, and she’s been hurt.”
I’m already pulling back onto the road, laying on the gas, when Birdie issues another blow.
“The cops are here, and they know who she is. I’m so sorry.”
“Madden,” Lucian calls after me as I stalk toward her hospital room.
I don’t slow down. It already took me far too long to get here, and I just need to see her. I need to know that she’s okay.
“They had no choice,” he says from behind me. “Eden lost it in the middle of the highway, and Bianca needed medical care. The cops showed up when another driver reported it.”
“And your wife just gave them her goddamn name?” I turn around and glare at him.
“That’s what she wanted,” he tells me. “That’s where they were headed. Bianca was going to turn herself in.”
I shake my head, refusing to believe it. None of this makes any fucking sense.
“They were supposed to protect her.”
“That’s exactly what they were doing,” he says. “Once she was in the hospital, it was out of their hands, anyway. If they didn’t give them her name, they would send her to a facility to keep her there until they decided what to do with her.”
My stomach drops. “Why the fuck would they do that?”
His eyes move to the door behind me, and I don’t like the look on his face. “There’s something you should know—”
I don’t wait for him to finish. Whatever it is, I have to see it for myself. But when I try to enter the room, I’m met by a police officer who blocks my path to Bianca, and I’m not fucking having it.
“You can’t come in here,” the officer tells me.
I look him dead in the eye and snarl. “The fuck I can’t.”
“He knows her,” Lucian says as he joins me. “He’s with us.”
I don’t wait for a response from the officer as my eyes move to Bianca. She’s lying in bed, her face beat to hell, and her expression is dazed as she turns to me.
“Hey, peaches.” I rush to her side and reach for her hand, leaning down to kiss her. But she pulls away and stares up at me in confusion.
“Who—” Her voice cracks. “Who are you?”
Chapter 68
Madden
—PAST—
Ranger and I take our time on the road, stopping at a few of the tourist traps along the way, but I don’t know that I really absorb any of it. The tension never leaves my body, and Ranger can sense it, no matter how well I try to hide it.
My pain seems like it’s getting worse with every mile that passes, and nothing I take is doing jack shit for me anymore. I have to stop more frequently to stretch, and I’m gritting my jaw so hard at times it feels like my teeth are about to break.
On top of that, I can’t stop replaying the past week in my head. The shit that went down with Stefan, Adam’s erratic behavior, and Bianca’s complete one-eighty. I go over it to the point of insanity, trying to make sense of it.
