HATE: MADISON KATE #1

by James Tate

  I ate my breakfast in silence, watching Steele from under my lashes as he moved around the kitchen. By the time he’d dropped his plate and mug on the counter beside me, I'd given myself a sufficient mental pep talk, reminding myself that no matter how badly my body craved his... it didn't change the past.

  "So, it's like that, huh?" he asked after sitting on the stool beside me. He didn't sound annoyed or pissed off, just resigned. It tweaked something painful inside me, but I ignored that weird reaction and gave him an impassive shrug.

  "We all make mistakes, Steele," I replied in a cool tone.

  He stiffened, finally showing an edge of anger through that calm, unruffled exterior. "Yeah, Hellcat, we do. You'd do well to remember that."

  I sucked a breath in, grinding my teeth together in irritation. He wasn't even remotely subtle, implying that their framing me was a mistake. If it was such a fucking mistake, why had none of them come forward to clear my name?

  I shoved back from my seat, grabbing my dishes and taking them over to the enormous sink. "Maybe we do," I said softly, not looking at him while I rinsed my bowl and cup out, "but it's how we deal with those mistakes after the fact that defines us."

  A frustrated sound came from Steele, but before he could say anything more, the doorbell rang.

  Thank the gods of good coffee, Bree and Dallas were early.

  "Madison Kate," Steele called after me as I hurried out of the kitchen and went to answer the door. "Wait, don't just walk away like that."

  "Sorry, Steele," I replied over my shoulder, sounding anything but, "would love to stay and chat, but I have plans today."

  I reached the front door before the butler—a mostly silent, rarely seen older gentleman named Steinwick—and swung it open, ignoring the sudden rush of butterflies in my belly.

  "You made it," I exhaled, my eyes taking in the blast from the past standing on my doorstep beside Bree.

  My bestie smacked a kiss on my cheek, then breezed past me into the house. "I love when you're excited to see me, MK," she teased.

  I rolled my eyes and couldn't fight the grin spreading over my face. "Hey, Dallas. Long time, no see."

  The huge guy still standing on my doorstep gave me a lopsided smile, stuffing his tattooed hands into his pockets. "When Breezie told me you were back, I had to see it for myself. Damn, Kate. You look great."

  I couldn't hold myself back any longer, launching myself at my old friend and wrapping my arms around his neck in a tight hug. When he hugged me back, he lifted me off the ground, thanks to the almost foot difference in our heights. He'd definitely gotten bigger since the last time I'd seen him, and I'd bet he would give Archer a run for his money in the tall, dark, and strong-as-shit department.

  "Fuck, Dallas," I laughed. "You got huge. When the hell did that happen?"

  His body rumbled under me, but he didn't put me back on the ground. "Probably sometime in the four years since you last saw me?"

  "Uhh, has it been that long?" I did the math in my head, but he was right. The last time we'd seen each other had been the Christmas before I’d turned fifteen. After that, I'd become busy with my life as the perfect little private-school girl, and Dallas had gone to prison. He’d been released almost two years earlier, but I'd never worked up the courage to contact him again before the events of Riot Night, then Cambodia...

  Dallas carried me into the house because I was still hugging him like I was a hungry squid, then set me back on my feet in the foyer.

  "Oh, hey, man," he did one of those tough-dude head nods, and I peered over my shoulder to see Steele standing there with his arms folded and a face like thunder. "I'm Dallas. I didn't know Katie had a new boyfriend." He gave me a side-eye and I whacked him in the seriously hard abs.

  "I don't," I snapped, giving Steele a glare. "Why are you still lurking?"

  He glowered back at me, ignoring Dallas's introduction. "Because we were in the middle of a conversation, Madison Kate."

  "No we weren't," I replied, my tone hard and final.

  Bree let out a low whistle, looking between Steele and me with raised brows. "Well, I for one can smell the sexual tension from here."

  I scowled at my friend, then spotted the tray of coffees in her hand and smiled once more. "Oh, you angel. Come on, let's go up to my room."

  Just my fucking luck, before we could escape the foyer, the echo of footsteps and male voices came from the direction of the gym, and I groaned inwardly. I'd hoped to get a moment alone with my friends before dealing with Archer and Kody as well, but it wasn't to be.

  The two of them emerged from the hallway behind the staircase and paused when they saw the four of us all standing there.

  Dallas noticeably tensed beside me, and his eyes narrowed on the biggest, blue-eyed fuckwad of the house.

  "Archer D'Ath," he ground out from clenched teeth, then shot a sneering look at Steele. "I knew you looked familiar."

  Crap. I'd known Dallas being here would piss the guys off—Archer in particular—but I hadn't banked on them having crossed paths already.

  "Okay cool, we've all met. See ya." I gave Dallas a shove to get him moving and tried to escape up the stairs to my room. Kody grabbed my hand as I passed him, though, and held me back.

  "Madison Kate," he said quietly, "can we talk a minute?" He gave a pointed look at Bree and Dallas. "Alone?"

  I wanted to jerk my hand free and tell him to stay out of my damn face. But there was something in his tone...

  "Please?" he added, and I exhaled heavily.

  "Go on up to my room," I said to Bree and Dallas. "I'll be two seconds."

  Dallas looked like he wanted to argue, but Bree slapped him on the ass and hustled him up the stairs with her tray of coffees balanced on one hand.

  When they were out of sight, I yanked my hand out of Kody's grip and folded my arms under my breasts. "What?"

  He glanced over at his friends and nodded toward the kitchen. "Give us a moment."

  Archer looked like he wanted to crush someone's skull between his hands, but stomped off anyway. Steele was considerably more reluctant to leave. His clenched jaw and folded arms radiated stubborn anger, and his gray eyes burned into me like lasers.

  "Steele," Kody barked, his voice brokering no arguments. "Go away."

  I half-expected him to refuse, but after a tense moment, he stalked off in the direction Archer had gone, cursing under his breath.

  I waited as Kody turned his attention back to me, curious to see what was so important he needed to send the other two stooges away before telling me.

  He sucked in a deep breath, studying my face as he released it. Sweat still glistened on his muscles, and there was a towel tossed over his shoulders like he'd been on his way to the shower. Not that I was looking.

  "Madison Kate, how..." He trailed off, shaking his head like he was trying to rearrange his thoughts. "That shit with Steele last night—"

  "Was nothing," I interrupted before he could, I don't even know, warn me off his friend or something? "I just wanted to piss Archer off for that bullshit comment about training me. That's all."

  Kody arched a brow, his gaze dropping to my neck and pausing there. Shit. I’d thought I'd done a good enough job of hiding the marks Steele had left. Apparently not.

  "Uh-huh. Sure. How the hell do you know Dallas Moore? And why is he in your bedroom right now? Is this today's plan to piss us all off enough that we move out? Because you'll need to try a hell of a lot harder to make that happen."

  A flicker of satisfaction warmed my belly. "Dallas and I are old friends," I told him with total honesty. "He's here to help me on a project. Not everything has to do with you three assholes, you know?" Okay, that part wasn't so true. Whatever.

  Kody's brow dropped, and he ran a hand over his damp blond hair. Fuck, even with his hair all messed up, he was still heart-stopping level gorgeous. Those green eyes that had haunted my dreams for eleven months were almost too much in real life. Too freaking observant.

  "Madi
son 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." I mean, not that I was admitting to having spent way too long checking out their ink when they didn't think I was looking. But if I had, I might have noticed all three of them had matching grim reaper tattoos woven into their other ink. I'd lived in Shadow Grove all my life and wasn't ignorant enough not to recognize that as the symbol of Zane's gang—the Shadow Grove Reapers.

  Kody's nostrils flared as his green gaze hardened. "Then you damn well know you just invited a fox into the hen house. What the fuck were you thinking?" He stepped closer, invading my personal space as he towered over me, and his hand grabbed my upper arm like he wanted to shake some sense into me and barely suppressed the urge.

  I refused to step back, though. I refused to give ground and let Kody think he intimidated me because he didn't. At least... not in the traditional sense.

  "I was thinking that I just got back from a year in exile, and I'd love to catch up with an old friend," I half lied, tilting my head back to meet his furious gaze. "And I was thinking that I don't give two shits whether you three have a problem with it. Better yet, if it bothers you that much... leave."

  I wasn't actually as reckless as I was making out. The reaper tattoos on their skin had all been modified in some way—something that Zane would never allow if they were actually still part of the Shadow Grove Reapers. Not that I'd ever heard of anyone leaving a Shadow Grove gang before, but there were exceptions for everything and I was hardly the expert authority.

  Kody's jaw clenched so hard I could almost hear his teeth creaking. "The more you try to make us leave, the longer we're going to stay."

  I scoffed. "Don't be childish, Kody. If that's all you had to say, I think I'll go and join my friends now."

  His grip on my arm tightened, and my breath hitched as he leaned down and hovered his lips near my ear. "Don't push us, Madison Kate. You won't like it if we retaliate."

  It was a threat, and it should have pissed me off. Or worried me. It definitely shouldn't have excited me, but there it was, that spark of exhilaration burning inside my chest.

  I really should have taken Aunt Marie's offer of professional therapy.

  Oh well.

  "Do your worst, Kody," I whispered in response before brushing a feather light kiss over his cheek. "I know I will."

  I stepped away and he released my arm, but I could feel the weight of his stare on me the whole way up the stairs. It wasn't until I reached my bedroom door that I let out a breath and scrubbed my hands over my face.

  Everything was getting tangled and distorted. It should have been a clear-cut war on my enemies, merciless and brutal. Instead there was all this tension and hurt all mixed up into the cold hate, and it was starting to mess with my head.

  Maybe it was because they hadn't really retaliated yet? Aside from Archer's stupid stunt with the juice on Monday, they'd not given me anything to work with. All I had was the lingering resentment from a year ago, and even that was starting to fade with every sexually-charged interaction.

  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."

  19

  Hours later, within which time Bree and I mostly lay on my bed talking shit and catching up on gossip while Dallas sat in front of my computer, the job was done.

  "I'll leave this in your hands, Kate," he announced, spinning around in my desk chair and stretching those massive arms over his head. To anyone who didn't know Dallas, all they'd see was a thug. He was covered in ink all the way up to his jawline and down to his fingertips and held the physique of someone who spent half his life lifting weights. They wouldn't see what was under the surface: a full-fledged tech geek and digital artist. I'd never met anyone quite so talented at photo manipulation.

  "It's all queued up from an untraceable email; just hit send if you decide to go ahead." He raised his brows at me like he was advising me against that move.

  "Thanks, Dallas," I replied with a wide grin. "You rock, you know that?"

  He smiled back at me, standing up to accept my appreciative hug. "I do know that. Now, I better go or I'll be late for work. Breezie, we good?"

  Bree yawned and clambered off my bed, where she'd made herself cozy with a book about an hour ago. "Yep, let's roll. You going to be okay here if you hit send?" She gave me a concerned frown, and I waved her off.

  "Of course," I replied with a casual laugh, ignoring the anxiety building in my gut. "This is just the first in what I expect to be many blows traded. It'll take more than this to send them packing."

  Dallas sighed, sharing a look with Bree before turning back to me. "I'm worried about you now, Katie. If I'd known who you were mixed up with..." He shook his head. "Girl, those boys are dangerous as fuck. Even I'd be cautious messing with them, and you know I've got no sense of self-preservation."

  My smile dropped. "Yeah, well, they didn't try to frame you. They thought I was an easy mark that night, some prissy rich girl to take the fall for the whole Laughing Clown event." The familiar acid of hate and resentment burned through me, and I welcomed it with open arms. "I probably could have let it go—eventually—but then I come home and find them living in my house? Acting like they have some right to control my life? Nope. No way. Nobody tells me what to do."

  Dallas sighed and tugged me into another tight hug. "Ain't that the truth, girl."

  "Come on, lovebird," Bree said, poking Dallas in the side and heading out of my bedroom. "Work waits for no man. Especially an ex-con."

  I followed them downstairs to see them out and was all too aware of Archer, Kody, and Steele playing video games in the den... in full view of the foyer.

  Apparently Dallas noticed them, too, because the hug he gave me at the front door lingered and his hands caressed my back in a less than platonic kind of way. His chest vibrated with a dark chuckle, and I knew he was messing with our audience. Or I thought that was what he was doing.

  "It was good catching up, Kate," he told me when he put me back on the floor. "Let's hang out this week. Just like old times." The wink he gave me was evil as fuck, and I didn't hold back my answering chuckle.

  Dallas headed out of the house, swaggering his fine ass toward Bree's convertible while she air-kissed my cheeks and said goodbye.

  "What old times is Moore referring to, Princess Danvers?" Archer demanded, tossing his PlayStation controller on the couch and stalking over to where I stood in the foyer. "Sure as shit sounded like you have history there."

  Bree, bless her heart, had paused in the doorway at the sound of his voice and whipped around with her blonde hair flying. "Oh, Archer, honey," she answered for me, laughing a throaty sound, "I'm sure Dallas just meant how the three of us used to hang out and get milkshakes while MK was supposed to be at vocal lessons."

  I breathed a small sigh of relief that was all she said.

  Too soon, though.

  "Then again, maybe he's talking about the times he climbed through MK's window and, you know, spent the night." She waggled her brows suggestively. "You're capable of reading between the lines there, right?"

  I'm going to kill her.

  Then again, based on the way Archer's vein over his temple was throbbing again, maybe I'd give her a high-five instead.

  "'Kay, cool, I'll leave you to play that scenario out inside your head." Her smile at Archer was wicked as sin, and I snorted a laugh. "Bye, babe. Let me know if you go through with the thing." She gave me a pointed stare, and I nodded.

  "Oh, Bree babe, you'll know." I closed the door after her, then turned to race back upstairs, only to find my path blocked by a bad-tempered douchecanoe. "Oh, what now?" I drawled. "The who
le big-man intimidation bullshit is getting tired, Archer; pick a new tactic."

  I stepped around him, making it up two steps before he replied.

  "Have you fucked him?"

  Turning slowly, I glared pure death at him. "Excuse me?"

  Archer's eyes sparked with something frightening. Disgust, maybe? "You heard me, Princess. Bree just implied you and Moore have sexual history, so is she stirring shit or have you fucked him?" His question was dark and threaded with warning. Every instinct screamed at me not to poke the bear... but what the fuck did they know?

  "Not that it's any of your business, Archer, but yes. Multiple times. And I'm really looking forward to catching up on old times with him again soon. I hope you sleep deeply ‘cause I'm a screamer." I smirked pure, smug satisfaction and left him standing there with a dumbstruck look on his face as I scurried up the stairs.

  I paused when I turned the corner, out of sight, and took a moment to catch my breath. My heart was thumping wildly from the confrontation and from my half-truth, but it was thanks to that momentary pause that I heard the solid thump and cursed shout of Archer punching a wall.

  The rush of emotions that flooded through me were too complex to even try and unpack, so I rushed into my bedroom and slammed the door behind me. My fingers trembled as I clicked "send" on my computer, but I knew it needed to be done. I needed to hit them harder, if only to make them hit me back. Make it easier for me to hold onto all my hate.

  * * *

  Somehow I managed to avoid all three guys all weekend, choosing to eat in my room for dinner—thank goodness for my father's household staff—and duck out early to hang with Bree all Sunday. Not that I would have run into the guys, anyway, seeing as they’d left before dawn for some photoshoot.

  By Monday morning, the pictures I'd emailed out to the entire SGU mailing list had gone damn near viral.

  "Madison Kate!" The enraged roar echoed down the corridor as I made my way to class, and I flinched. Fuck.