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Chapter Nine
Zion
"Getyourstupidphone,"Makenzie groans, her finger jabbing me between the ribs. "It's too freaking early for it to keep ringing."
Her words pull me from sleep, plunking me down in reality. I fell asleep with my good ear against the pillow and didn't even hear it.
"Let me up, baby."
She grumbles a complaint I don't hear, then reluctantly shifts forward, allowing me to sit up to grab the phone from the nightstand. I grab my hearing aid, too, switching it on while I fumble the phone to my other ear.
"It's about fucking time," Madden growls as soon as I answer. "I've been blowing your phone up for the last hour."
Makenzie steals my pillow, snuggling in with an exaggerated sigh.
"What's wrong?" I ask, fully prepared for the likelihood that I'll be going to jail sometime real soon.
There isn't a single thing I'd change. Actually, that's not true. If I had it to do over, I'd break both of his arms and his jaw. Maybe with it wired shut, he'd learn some manners.
"You haven't seen the video."
"What video?" I growl, instantly fucking worried someone busted me getting her off at the table last night. If some sorry son of a bitch filmed and posted it…
My growl brings Makenzie fully awake. She drags my pillow away from her face, looking at me with wide eyes. I don't have to ask to know her mind is in the same place. It's written all over her face.
"I dropped every shred of evidence my PI dug up against him," Madden says. "The whole goddamn world knows he's been making shady deals for his clients and pocketing most of the money that should have gone to them. They know he's spent a small fortune on coke and has gotten violent with a few female clients. He's pissed."
"Good." I take a certain immense satisfaction knowing his world is falling apart. I take even more knowing he'll never get his hands on Makenzie again.
"Not good. He released a video statement this morning."
"Saying what? That he's a Nice Guy?" I snort. It's the same defense they always use.
Madden doesn't immediately respond, which sets my teeth on edge.
"What's he saying, Banks?" I growl.
"You need to check Makenzie's social media," he says quietly. "It's not good."
My heart sinks into my fucking stomach, settling like a stone. I put the phone on speaker so I can pull up the app. Her profile is already loaded. What? Zayne isn't the only one who knows how to do a little stalking.
I don't immediately see anything out of place. The last thing posted was a picture of her in that damn dress from last night, a playful smile on her face as she poses in front of the door.
"What am I looking for?"
"What's going on?" Makenzie asks.
I hold up a finger, asking for a minute. She doesn't know that Madden and I agreed to publicly release everything his PI dug up on Taggert. Last night was about her and about us, not about him. I wasn't giving him a fucking place in her mind or in our bed. He's stressed her out and worried her for long enough.
"Check her tagged videos."
I tap the icon to take me to her tagged videos. His ugly mug immediately pops up on my screen in half a dozen different videos. What the fuck? I click the first one, and his face fills the screen. It's a repost of his video, along with a caption that's nothing more than a steaming tea cup.
"Why the fuck is he tagging her, Banks?" I demand to know, pissed and suspicious as hell. This isn't how things were supposed to play out. We didn't plan for this.
Makenzie gives up getting an answer from me and scurries to a seating position, peering at the phone over my shoulder. "Why is he tagging me?" she demands. "What's going on?"
"I've had a PI looking into him," Madden says gently. "Yesterday, Zion and I agreed to make the information he uncovered public. I released it last night."
