Until You (Fall Away Series)(111)

Sliding the screen, I answered. “Yeah?”

“I have something for you,” she sang, her voice slow and sultry and way too unnerving.

I straightened my shoulders, tensing. “I’m sure I’m not interested,” I said flatly, turning on the shower.

“Oh, you will be.” I could hear the smile in her voice. “I’m at Madoc’s house. Hurry or we’ll start without youuuu.”

Jesus. I wasn’t one to judge, but K.C. could be a little stupid sometimes. Right now, however, she just seemed drunk.

“Put him on the phone,” I ordered, my patience circling the drain.

I heard her giggle before the rustle on the other end.

“Dude, just get over here,” Madoc laughed, keeping his voice low. “You’ll want a piece of this.”

What the f*ck? “Of K.C.?”

“What?” Madoc got defensive. “K.C.’s awesome. She got you a present. He’s waiting in the hot tub right now. I’ll give you a hint. His name is Nate.”

My pulse throbbed in my throat, and my face got hot.

“So get your f*cking ass over here!” he shouted at me and hung up.

Oh, man. I breathed in and out, wanting to laugh and kick something at the same time.

Okay, I guess K.C. wasn’t stupid, after all.

I had no idea how she wound up with Nate—and at Madoc’s house—but it was perfect.

I would pound the shit out of him for myself, but I’d kill him for Tate.

When I thought of how she’d cried, having to face her father last week. Or of how I’d escorted her to every class to make sure no one said shit to her.

Every tear down her face, every shake of her chest, and every time she’d closed her eyes in embarrassment was pain that I’d caused. Nate and Piper didn’t have a problem with her. They retaliated against me.

I walked into the spare bedroom and shook my brother awake. “Wanna go pick a fight?”

After we’d gone into Chicago today for Tate’s present, he’d crashed at my house. Even though I hated that he wasn’t with us, I was relieved his foster parents were lenient with the visitations. He’d slept over every night this week, driving an hour to school every day.

“Hell, yes,” he mumbled groggily and got out of bed.

He pulled his hair back into a long ponytail, and we both slipped into our Trent trademark black hoodies before walking out the door. My mom was asleep, and I briefly thought of trying to grab Tate and take her along, but it was better that she stayed home. No use taking the chance of getting her into more trouble.

We climbed into my nearly repaired Boss, and set out.

Jax yawned at my side as we cruised the slick, black streets to the other side of town.

“You don’t get in until late, and you’re always up early. You need more sleep.” I tried to catch glimpses of him out of the corner of my eye.

He shook his head. “You should talk. I wake up to you cussing in the f*cking shower at two a.m. every morning. You need to go grab that girl and take her for a nice, long drive tomorrow. I’m sure she’s hurting for it as badly as you.”

I narrowed my gaze out the window but couldn’t keep the laugh out of my voice. “It wouldn’t make any difference. I’d still need a cold shower. When you’ve got someone you love, you always want more.”

“Oh, Jesus,” he whined. “Just don’t get her name tattooed on your body, please. The only chick’s name a guy should ever have tattooed is his daughter’s.”

I shook my head but couldn’t help the vision of a little brown haired girl with storm-blue eyes riding on my shoulders someday.

Jesus Christ.

I stared out the window, trying not to think about how my ideas of my future were changing.

Jax and I drove the rest of the way in silence to Madoc’s house, which was about ten times classier than the neighborhood Tate and I lived in.

Don’t get me wrong. We lived in a great area. Lots of well-kept houses, parks, and cozy neighborhood block parties.

But Madoc? He lived in a place too rich for the town’s lawyers and doctors. It wasn’t a place for just professionals. It was a neighborhood for surgeons and corporate CEOs who kept their families hidden away while they worked in Chicago.

Driving up to the 12-foot black metal gate, I punched in the code.

During the day, there was security on duty to check visitors in and out, but at night, the staff was spread thin and usually spent their time patrolling the community in their SUVs.