Tyler lets out a breath. “Dude. She’s a psycho, and it doesn’t surprise me at all that she used you. They were sneaking around so much that I’m honestly surprised no one found out. If Johnny did, he’d disown her. At this point, she has more to lose than you do. What do they call that in poker?” he mocks.
“Shut the hell up,” I say. “But thank you so much. Knowing the truth and actually having proof might actually take her down. For the first time, in a long-ass time, I think I might actually be in shock.”
“You owe me, man.”
“I do. I owe you everything. My life, actually. I don’t know how I’m going to repay you,” I admit, feeling so fucking thankful.
By the sound of his voice, I can tell he’s smiling. “I’ll think of something, I’m sure.”
“I’d much rather pay my debt to you than Victoria, but I’m not going to pretend to be married to you,” I jokingly warn. “Seriously, thank you.”
“I know, I know. But I am a catch,” he jokes, and for the first time in weeks, I genuinely smile.
“So Maddie, how is she? Where are you? Where are you going?”
“Hold on, Tonto. Not so fast. She’s right here, and she’s fine, but first, we need to activate the next step in my brilliant plan. You need to get all of the proof I have as soon as possible. Once Victoria discovers we’re gone, no one’s safe until you have your evidence.”
“Got it,” I say. “Tell me what to do.”
“You’re gonna need to go to my apartment and get everything as soon as you can break away. Make sure you’re not followed because I don’t want her to be tipped off when Eric manages to get into contact with her. Once the live feed on the cameras doesn’t return, and I don’t answer her calls, she’ll grow more concerned and send someone out here. You’re a bounty hunter, so you know how to be strategic, but right now it’s going to be so fucking important.”
“I understand,” I tell him, my heart pounding hard. I can’t afford to screw this up.
“I’ll text you the passcode to get into my apartment when we hang up. You’ll need to go into my bedroom and under my bed is a laptop. It has files of photos and audio recordings of her with Mickey. It’s all labeled, so it shouldn’t be hard to find. Once you have that, go through everything and print out the pictures, then send the audios to your phone so you can present it all to her. I have everything uploaded to my iCloud so even if she destroys what you show her, I have backups. If any of that just so happened to make it to Johnny, Victoria would lose everything and be out of the business just as she said she wanted but without her trust fund. I don’t think the mafia princess could handle being in the real world. Most people can’t.” There’s more in his statement than he leads on, considering his past, but I don’t comment. “I’ll keep Maddie safe until all is clear. You need to secure your freedom, so until she signs the divorce papers, none of us can go home.”
I soak in everything he’s just said, my mind spinning as I try to absorb it all. This bitch is about to have the shock of her life once I get my hands on the proof I need. “Thank you so damn much.” I can’t say it enough.
“Now on to your other questions. We’re out of Montana, but honestly, I think it’s best if I don’t tell you where we’re heading just yet. If you don’t know, then she can’t torture it out of you or something. You’ll be the first person she confronts, but I can assure you, Maddie will be more than safe with me.”
My heart races just thinking about her. I haven’t seen her in two weeks, and I miss her so much. “Now don’t go fallin’ in love with my girl.”
“I don’t know. She’s pretty charming.”
Maddie chuckles in the background, which confirms she’s heard the whole conversation.
I groan. “If you weren’t saving my ass, I’d be kickin’ yours.”
“You have nothing to worry about, man,” he reassures me, though I know Tyler would never betray me.
“Can I talk to her?” I ask eagerly.
Tyler laughs. “I’m surprised it took you this long to ask. Just one second.”
It seems as if time stands still as I wait for him to take me off speakerphone and hand it over to her.
“Hi.”
I nearly fall to my knees at the sweet sound.
It takes so much for me not to bombard her with questions. “Mads, are you okay? I’ve been worried sick about you.”
She snorts with a low laugh. “Never been better. Your friend has been taking good care of me.”