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Pulling out the key from my pocket, I unlock her door. It’s two o’clock in the morning, so I’m sure she’s asleep, but I’ll be waking her up for a good reason.
As I tiptoe quietly toward her bed, a strange feeling comes over me. Maybe it’s the way her body is laid out,which isn’t her usual position.
But when I’m standing at the foot of her bed, looking down at her face resting against my best friend's chest, I lose it.
In one fell swoop, I grab Maddox’s leg that’s peeking out of the blanket and I tug hard. I pull him until his head flops over the footboard and his body crashes to the floor at my feet.
Riley flees from the bed, wearing nothing but an oversized tee shirt and—for the love of fucking God, she better have panties on.
A light comes on and my eyes pin to Maddox’s, who’s staring up at me wide-eyed. His mouth moves, but I don’t hear the words that come out as I climb on top of him.My fingers tangle around his throat, and I scream in his face, “What the fuck have you done? I put my trust in you. I left you alone with her, and this is what I find.”
“Ridge! Stop!” Riley shouts and pulls at me, but I fling my arm back, not realizing how hard. She crashes into a dresser and I gasp at what I’ve done.
Dropping my hold on Maddox, I crawl over to her as she pacifies the back of her head with her hand. “Shit. Shit. Shit. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“Get the hell out of my room,” she cries. And for the first time ever, I listen.
Pinning Maddox with a glare, I grit out, “If I have to leave, you’re leaving, too.”
“No,” Riley sneers, “I want Maddox to stay.”
“You don’t mean that?”
“Actually, I do.”
I get to my feet, remorse heavy on my heart, and I cross the room to the door. When I pull it open, I pause. “You are the only star in my sky, Angel. Guess I never realized you were also shining in someone else’s.”
Walking out of the Willamette House, I feel empty. Like I’ve left my heart behind. Maddox betrayed me in the worst way imaginable. He was holding her. She was curled up on his chest, sleeping peacefully in his arms. She was safe with him.
He shouldn't be giving her that security. I should. Instead, I’m out fighting demons on her behalf, just so she can keep her wings.
And that’s the thanks I get. I’d rather she spit in my face and tear my heart from my chest.
An hour, maybe two, later, I find myself inside the house of a stranger. My hands wrap around his throat and I revel in the way his eyes bulge from their sockets and his Adam’s apple bobs beneath my palm.
His legs flail and he tries to fight, but when his air supply is depleted and he’s unable to refill his lungs, he gives up the fight.
As he slowly slips away, all I can think about is her.
Dennis Mathers
Robby Nelson
Andy Porter
Eric Mathers
“I did this for her, Andy. Everything I do is for that girl, and this is the thanks I get from her? Can you believe it?” I chuckle. “Of course you can’t.”
With my prey dead in his bed, I strike a match and toss it at him. Then I watch him burn.
CHAPTER23
RILEY
“You’re sureyour dad will keep this under wraps from The Elders until we know who’s behind everything?”
“I’m positive. Especially since he doesn't believe you were framed.”
