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"Miss, just tell us your name," the second one suggested, sounding bored even while he unhooked handcuffs from his belt and clipped them over my wrists. Shock turned me numb. "M-Madison Kate," I said in a hoarse voice. "Madison Kate Danvers." One cop froze while the other smiled a weird, creepy kind of smile. I had to assume it was because of the power my surname held. Little did I expect the next thing they told me. "That would be hard," the first cop said, "seeing as Madison Kate Danvers was just murdered inside The Laughing Clown tonight."
"I said, Steele. My name's Steele, not Gray." His infuriating grin grew wide again, flashing the metal of his tongue stud, and he winked one of those steel-gray eyes. "Close, though."
Steele. What a stupid fucking name. It suited him.
"Sorry, babe, just wrapping my brain around the fact that your dad never mentioned to you that his new girlfriend's son—and your future step-brother—is Archer D'Ath."
I didn't even know Zane had a brother." "Half-brother," Bree explained. "Cherry was Damien's second wife, much younger. Have you met the boys yet? Kody and Steele? I'm not even going to lie here; you're officially the luckiest bitch in Shadow Grove. Probably the world. Those three are thermo-nuclear hot." Nice change of subject, Bree. Good save.
"Those three are the pricks who framed me on Riot Night." There was a long pause on the phone, followed by "Oh, shit." "Yep." "So... not going to be creating your own reverse harem out of your new living arrangements then?"
"Zane murdered my mom, and now Dad has invited the devil's own family into his house. Either he has the shortest memory in history or Cherry's vagina is made of diamonds."
There was no way in hell I'd share the house with those three. Not after what they’d done and not knowing who he was. Nope. There was only one course of action here. Archer D'Ath and his boys needed to go.
It wasn’t until I stood underneath an admittedly chilly stream of water that I even realized my father's gate code spelled KATE.
"Me?" the girl—Drew—damn near shrieked. "What am I doing here? What are you doing here, Kody? And with the goat? What the hell?" My eyebrows shot up. Goat? What the fuck was that supposed to mean?
"Goat," he repeated, crinkling his nose in a grimace. "Short for scapegoat. It's what everyone started calling you during the trial. Everyone knew you weren't the one responsible. Anyone with even a quarter of a brain could have told the prosecutor that pretty little Princess Danvers hadn't orchestrated an event like Riot Night."
"But your father let them charge you anyway. He stood by while they put you on trial, never lifted a finger to close the court and protect your identity... then stood up for the mayor during the elections and preached to the people of Shadow Grove how he loved this town so much not even his own blood would be given a free pass. That's what he called it. A free pass to… what? Be released of charges for crimes you didn't commit?"
"It was so painfully obvious what it all was. A publicity stunt. Riot Night needed a scapegoat, and you were it."
"I fucking hate you, Kodiak Jones," I told him in a cold, detached voice when we eventually pulled into the driveway of Danvers Mansion. He released a long breath, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. "At least you're alive to feel that hate, Madison Kate."
“I’m Professor Barker, and before anyone asks, yes, that Neanderthal trying to chat up the prettiest girl in the room is my son, Rhett.”
"Cool." He grinned. "I'll pick you up around eight?" I gave another nod, seeing Bree coming from across the lot. "Sure. You need my address?" Bark laughed. "You're funny, Madison Kate. Catch you later." He walked away, still chuckling, and I wrinkled my nose at his back. "Weird," I muttered,
well, what was it you said? All's fair in love and war?" I glowered. "I said hate and war." He shrugged. "It's a fine line.
the excess spirit from my lips. Steele's eyes flashed with unmistakable desire, and he raised his hand to my face. His thumb swiped over my lower lip, then he placed it in his own mouth, sucking the flavor from it. "I think I found my new favorite drink," he commented in a rough, lust-filled voice. Fuck. Me.
"Huh," Kody murmured, taking the driver's seat. "Note to self: Drunk Madison Kate is less combative than sober Madison Kate."
take that statement back," he murmured. "Drunk Madison Kate is six million times more combative. Good to freaking know."
"Madison Kate, you don't get it. Dallas is—" "A gangster? Yeah, I'm aware. I'm also aware that the tattoo you, Archer, and Steele all share isn't just ‘cause you're BFFs. Those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, Kodiak Jones."
It was time to force their hands. Once they fought back, things would be clearer again. Surely. Resolute, I opened my bedroom door and grinned at my two friends waiting on my bed. "I hope you brought your A game, Dallas. We've got some work to do."
"Well, if you're trying to tell me it's a prank and not something leaked from your personal archives, I'm not so sure I believe you. Nor will lots of people. But if such a prank were to be executed so beautifully... I might question just how many nearly nude images there are of you floating around the internet." I shrugged, grinning. "But hey, at least now I know why Archer is so threatened by me. You really should stop flirting with me in front of your boyfriend."
I looked around until I spotted Bark sitting two rows away, the hood of his SGU Ghosts sweatshirt pulled up and his face ducked low over his books. Almost like he could feel me staring, though, he looked up, and I gasped. The side of his face was a puffy, mottled purple, like he's run into something hard. Repeatedly. It could have been a football injury, but based on the way he glared at me, then skipped his gaze away again... yeah, I doubted it. Fucking Steele.
"Anyway, how are you dealing with the whole stalker situation? You okay?" I stopped dead in my tracks. "With the what situation?"
"You've got a stalker, Hellcat. And they don't seem content to watch from a distance any more."
"Wasn't your whole mission to get rid of us?" I frowned slightly. "Still is." A mean smile touched his lips. "Sitting in Kody's lap like you're about to ride his dick probably sends the wrong kind of message, then. Come to think of it, so would letting Steele finger fuck you over the sink in a dirty public bathroom."
"Knowledge is power, Princess Danvers," he said eventually, his voice rough with some undecipherable emotion, "but ignorance is bliss. You decide for yourself which one you prefer."
I'll cut his touch from your skin, then clean the wounds with my tongue.
"Archer, this is getting out of control. Fix it." He sounded deadly serious. It was a side of him that I'd only ever glimpsed before. Archer scoffed. "Fix what? I gave her the photos. What more do you want me to do?" Surprisingly, it was Steele who answered. "Tell her the truth," he said, so quietly I almost didn't hear him. "The whole truth." The sound of a fist hitting leather—probably the punching bag—echoed down the hall. "No." That was it. Archer always had the final word.
"Last time that little shit put his hands on my daughter, I had him sent to Mantworth for two years. You're not seriously telling me he hasn't learned his lesson?" My blood turned to ice. He was talking about Dallas.
"Good luck with that," my father scoffed. "That girl is just like her useless fucking mother. All looks and no brains. Wouldn't know common sense if it came up and bit her right on the ass."
"It doesn't matter what we planned. What matters here is what he said." I nodded, bitterness rising up in my throat again. "Yeah. That he thinks I'm a vapid bitch, that he somehow arranged a two-year prison sentence for the guy I lost my virginity to, and that he's known about my stalker for years and doesn't care enough to do anything about it. God forbid he even make me aware of it."
"Girl," she said with a laugh, "the sexual tension between you two just made me wet. Please tell me you're planning on riding him like your personal pony. Soon."
"What... the fuck... is that?" she breathed, sounding just as terrified as me. I shook my head, crouching beside the car to take a closer look without touching it. "It's..." My voice was hoarse, and I licked my lips before trying again. "It's a doll." A Barbie, to be more specific. Or something of that style. Hard plastic, about twelve-inches tall... that in itself was enough to spark fear in someone with mild pedophobia—a fear of dolls—but that wasn't the part that made me want to scream. Her long hair was pink, and she wore a doll-sized version of sweatpants and a tank top. The leather seat
...more
I knew better. I knew there was no freaking way Archer and his boys were behind this prank. They couldn't be... because they couldn't have known what significance dolls like that had to me. They didn't know that one had been left on my mother's grave a year after her death. It had been a replica of her looking exactly as she had when I was released from that closet the night she was murdered. Bloody and beaten, her lilac-blue eyes lifeless and flat.
This was real. I had a stalker. I could only pray I didn't end up like my mother.
was just going to say you're welcome to come mope about your shit decisions in the gym. You know, if you don't want to be alone right now." Just like that, Archer D'Ath proved me wrong again. His words touched my soul, alright. Just not in any way I'd been prepared for.
"Babe, life gave you more than lemons. You got like... I don't even know. Tomatoes. When you ordered strawberries."
From the very first notes he played, I was lost to his music. He poured his entire fucking soul into the piece he played for me. All his emotions, his hopes and fears and desires. It was utterly spellbinding. At some point I found myself shuffling up his bed and laying down with my head on his pillow, closing my eyes and just letting the raw energy of his song wash over me.
"We haven't heard him play in over a year," he said in a quiet voice. "I had no idea he'd started writing again."
me, I chucked my bag down on the floor and cringed at all the sparkly pink. "I need to paint this fucking room," I murmured to myself. I’d thought I could handle it. It was just a bit of pink glitter, right? Who cared? I did. It made me physically nauseated.
Same
I could hardly reconcile the two versions of Archer. This one seemed determined to rule my life like he had some kind of ownership over my actions and choices. Deluded prick. He'd already tried to give me a lecture on the drive over about being "responsible" and "safe" while we were at Bree's. Such a downer.
"Fuck," he cursed, then slammed his mouth against mine. There was zero hesitation on my part as I kissed him back with equal intensity and hunger. Anger. Hate.
It dimly occurred to me that Archer was busy looking for Steele and Kody, so no one was watching me. If my stalker was at the party looking for an opportunity... I'd just handed it to him on a platter. Maybe I was as stupid as my father thought, after all.
tonight." I caught a small, pointed head dip in Archer's direction, and Drew's eyes widened a bit. She seemed... scared of Archer. Why? He'd already told me he wouldn’t beat anyone up just for the sake of it. He wouldn't risk his MMA career like that. But if his power didn't come from physical violence... what else did he have going on? I seriously doubted he was one to use his brother’s position at leader of the Reapers to his advantage. They hardly seemed close.
"Just don't hate us for what happens next," he said so quietly I wasn't totally sure I was meant to hear. I did, though, and so did Kody, if the stiffness in his body was anything to go by. The question was, though... what the fuck were they about to do? And why was I so damn excited to find out?
"Stay silent, MK," he urged me. "Anything you say can and will be repeated back to Zane. Better to give this prick nothing to work with, yeah?"
These boys were turning out to be much, much more than I'd given them credit for, and I was craving the depths of their darkness like a drug. It was a shame they'd tried to screw me so hard a year ago because I might have just found my soulmates.
"All I want to know right now, Madison Kate," he finally continued, releasing my breast and sliding his hand across my flat stomach. Then lower. "Is whether you have any condoms in this little girl’s room. Because I need to fuck you more than I need to breathe right now."
