Hate (Madison Kate, #1)

by Tate James

Six foot four, two hundred and two pounds, twenty-three wins, zero draws, zero losses. Zero losses. This guy was freaking born for MMA.

the mysterious, the undefeated, The Archer!"

"Someone just got shot," she told me. "We need to get the hell out of here. Now."

"Madison Kate," Zane called out again, clearly not giving up so easily, "I know you're still here. I can practically smell your fear. Where are you hiding, little mouse?"

My captor’s lips curved into a smile against the side of my neck, but he made no move to create space between us. "What you told me to, bro. Keeping Princess Danvers from screaming."

"You shouldn't fucking be here, Madison Kate. What in the hell were you thinking? Do you have any idea who was just chasing you down? Huh? Do you have any concept of what would happen if the Reapers got their hands on the Princess of Shadow Grove? And there wouldn't be a fucking thing your daddy could do about it because you made the dumb-fuck move of coming here."

They'd kept me safe so far, so... fuck it.

"Seems we’ve found how they all accessed the park tonight. A Laughing Clown Amusement Park master key."

"That's not mine," I quickly told them. "Like I said, this isn't my hoodie."

"That would be hard," the first cop said, "seeing as Madison Kate Danvers was just murdered inside The Laughing Clown tonight."

It'd been eight months since I'd left the only home I'd ever known. Eleven months since I'd been charged with a slew of offenses and sentenced for crimes I'd never committed.

"You got a rough break,

kid. Your daddy should be ashamed of how he handled things after Riot Night."

"Yep, he really should."

If he was here... did that mean I was going to run into the other two? Blue-eyes and

Green-eyes, the two gorgeous boys who'd saved me from Zane D'Ath and probable, painful death on Riot Night, then hand-delivered me to the police for their crimes.

target. Someone had deliberately tried to murder his daughter... so I'd been sent away. For my own safety.

"I said, Steele. My name's Steele, not Gray."

"You didn't know? My mom is dating your dad. He was kind enough to offer the three of us a place to live while we're attending the shiny new Shadow Grove University."

"Literally nothing you say will make up for what you three took from me on Riot

Night,"

"No pretty words or apologies can fix what you three broke. Just show me where my room is, then ...

"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."

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."

"So... not going to be creating your own reverse harem out of your new living

arrangements then?"

"Oh, for the record, Princess Danvers? You can't set your pubic hair on fire

when you don't have any."

"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."

Archer D’Ath was their ring leader. The clown who bore the worst of my anger over Riot Night. His significantly older brother, Zane, was the leader of the Shadow Grove Reapers—he’d taken over when their father had died several years ago in a shooting.

Archer had recently signed a contract with the UFC—Ultimate Fighter Championship—and had already picked up several lucrative sponsors in the form of athletic brands and sports drinks.

Kodiak Jones, also known inside my poisonous thoughts as Green-eyes. An MMA fighter, like his buddy Archer, but on a promising path as a trainer rather than a star.

as some kind of fitness model, personal trainer, and all around social media pinup boy. He, Archer, and Steele seemed to have some kind of cult following for their edgy, shirtless, bad boy pictures, which were so painfully staged it was laughable. Posers.

Gray-eyes. Max...

"Princess Danvers would rather stick rusty pins under her toenails than have a four-way with us,"

"Or what else was it? You'd rather set your pubic hair on fire?"

"If I had any, as you already point...

I didn’t expect to find Kodiak fucking Jones stark freaking naked and dripping wet as he exited the attached bathroom. “Fuck!” I shouted,

If I didn’t hate the guy on principle, I’d be probably offering to— Stop it! Stop sexualizing the enemy!

"What could you possibly want from me, Kodiak Jones?"

"I want plenty of things from you, Madison Kate Danvers," he replied, and I seethed. "But for now, let's keep it simple. Coffee. Come out with me for coffee today."

"See, I'm not such an asshole. I could have asked you to blow me."

"I'd just as soon bite your dick off."

"And I knew that. See, I already get you on a deeper level, babe. We're practical...

"Five-two-eight-three," he told me

"Now, I was about to get dressed, but if you're sticking around I'm happy to stay naked."

"But...

disclosure, I won't be held responsible for how hard my dick gets around you. He's got a mind of his own and keeps fantasizing about ...