Hunting Grounds (Maddie Castle Book 3) by L.T. Ryan & C.R. Gray

Author:L.T. Ryan & C.R. Gray [Ryan, L.T. & Gray, C.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Liquid Mind Media
Published: 2023-08-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

Alright. Maybe I took things a bit too far.

In my defense, I was sleep deprived, hungry, and still under an influence. Also, Ox had told me not to mention anything to Bentley. I should’ve trusted my instincts and asked him directly. But I did give Bentley the opportunity to bring me up to speed. He chose not to.

Supposed it was time to hear him out.

Slowly lowering the gun, aiming the barrel at the floor, I took a step back. “Are you just going to tell me, ‘I don’t know?’”

Bentley frowned, but there was still annoyance in his eyes. “Maybe if you would’ve asked me a direct question instead of, ‘why did you come back here?’ I would’ve had a better answer for you.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have tried to make me think you walked out of a damn Hallmark movie if you’ve got this many skeletons in your closet.”

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he ran his tongue along his teeth. “Look, do you want to know the story? Or do you want to be mad at me?”

Propping a hand on my hip, I said, “Both.” An unwilling smile twitched at the corners of his lips. I nodded to the couch. “But let’s start with the former.”

Walking past me, Bentley pointed to his usual seat on the sofa. “It’s not rigged with a bomb or anything?”

I glared.

“Well, you just held a gun to my head. Pretty sure it’s still cocked.” He held up his hands in surrender as he sat. “Forgive my paranoia. I guess we both have it.”

“Do you want me to be mad at you?” Gun still in hand, I walked around the coffee table and sat on the opposite end of the couch. I did need to decock it, but that wasn’t the sorta thing I wanted to do inside the house. Plus, wasn’t a hundred percent sure I wouldn’t need it yet. Keeping it aimed at the floor for now seemed best. “Or do you want to tell the story?”

“Touché,” he said under his breath. Resting his elbows on his knees, Bentley held his hands together and avoided my gaze. “Where do you want me to start?”

“The beginning. I guess when you met her.”

“She was a kid. Six or seven, I think.” Raising a shoulder slightly, he gave me that offended look again. As if to say, ‘How dare you accuse me of being attracted to her?’ “She was my girlfriend’s baby sister, and then my wife’s baby sister. She was almost like my kid.”

Well, if that was true, I couldn’t blame him for getting defensive. That did sound a lot more like the Bentley I knew than the version I’d conjured up. “How so?”

Another breathy exhale, finally meeting my gaze. “Bella grew up like we did. Her mom was a lot like yours. When she graduated high school, she moved to her college campus, but every day, she went home to take care of Daisy. Made sure she got a bath before bed, ate dinner, laid out her school clothes.

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