"You're fucking pathetic, little brother," Zane snarled down at Archer. My friend was on the ground after that last punch, and blood splattered the wooden floors. "Is that the best you've got? Grandfather must be getting weak in his old age if that's as good as you've got for me." He delivered another heavy kick to Archer's ribs, and something snapped.
MK flinched this time, just the slightest bit, but I squeezed her hand in warning. I knew she wanted to say something to try and stop Zane from beating up Arch, but it wouldn't do any good. In fact, it'd only make it worse.
A few more kicks with his steel-capped boots and Zane decided he was done. He spat on the floor in front of his brother's body and sneered.
"You'll never go far in the Reapers, little brother. You're too weak." His disgusted gaze ran over me, then flickered over MK with somewhat more interest. It made my blood boil because she was a fucking kid. No bastard should be looking at her like she was a woman when she was barely even in a training bra.
I stepped forward, blocking her from Zane's line of sight and ready to stick my neck on the line. But he turned away before seeing the defiant glare in my eyes.
"I've got a hot date with my girl tonight," he told us with a lazy grin as he wiped his bloody knuckles on a rag. "Don't burn the fucking house down while I'm gone, yeah?"
He shot another sly smile in MK's direction, like he’d just remembered that his girl was her mom. Thankfully, he left before shit got any worse, and a few moments later we heard the roar of his motorcycle peeling out of the driveway.
The moment it was safe, MK dropped my hand and rushed over to where Archer remained lying on the ground.
For a second, I thought she was going to burst out crying. But then she slapped him across the face—hard, too, if his answering groan was any indication.
"What the heck is wrong with you?" she demanded, her little hands curled into fists as she glared down at him. "Why didn't you fight back? You could have killed him, and you know it!"
Archer just rolled onto his back, groaning as he laughed. "It's hilarious that you can't curse, Princess."
She whacked him in the chest, making him hiss with pain and cradle his ribs. Something was definitely broken there. A deep frown marked her brow, but she didn't apologize. It was cute as hell.
"You're so dumb, Arch," she mumbled, sitting back on her heels as I offered my hand to help him sit up. "Why did you pretend you couldn't fight?"
He flashed her a grin, and it tightened a knot in my stomach. Arch liked MK, despite treating her like an annoying tagalong. He saw something in her that spoke to his stained and damaged soul. I saw the darkness in her too, but I wanted to protect her from it. Arch wanted to draw it out and make her embrace it.
"Strategy, little princess," he replied with a grunt as he pushed himself up from the floor and limping over to the bathroom.
She wrinkled her adorable nose, and turned to me for translation.
I just shrugged, offering her a hand to stand up too. "He means by not revealing our strengths to Zane—or to Damien—we're holding the power. If they don't know what we're capable of, they can't ever see us coming."
Her big, long lashed eyes widened, and she followed Arch into the bathroom, where he'd started assessing his injuries. He'd pulled his shirt off. Bruises were already spreading across his midsection. Fucking Zane would pay for that one day. Just another mark against him when the time came.
"You guys are planning something?" MK demanded to know, folding her arms and raising her chin with stubborn determination. "Good. No offense, Arch, but people like your dad and Zane shouldn't have power. They just abuse it to make themselves feel better about their tiny dicks."
I choked on air, my cheeks heating in shock that she'd actually just said that. "Cat... what the fuck do you know about their dicks?"
Archer just snickered as he dabbed blood from his mouth. "You said dick. That's just one step away from fuck. I reckon we'll have corrupted you by the time you leave here."
Her cheeks turned pink, her gaze ducking to the floor. "Whenever that is," she mumbled.
"Hey," I said, reaching out for her again. I couldn't seem to stop touching her—in a totally platonic way. "It'll be soon. Did you say your dad comes back from Europe next week?" The one week forced vacation her mom had brought her on was now coming up on three weeks... but selfishly Arch and I liked having her around.
She sighed, her shoulders rising and falling. "Yeah. I guess." Her gaze returned to Archer, and a deep frown creased her brow. "You're doing that wrong."
He raised an eyebrow at her in the mirror. The unsplit one, that was. He was trying to apply butterfly stickers to the other one, but he hadn't cleaned even the worst of the blood away, which prevented them from adhering.
"You think you can do better, Princess?" He wasn't even subtle in taunting her, but she'd take the bait. She always did. I was starting to think she enjoyed the verbal sparring as much as he did.
Fucking hell. We needed to get her home to her cushy mansion before this life really did corrupt her irreparably.
She just huffed and slid out from under my arm to take the wash cloth from the edge of the basin.
"Sit down," she snapped, shoving Arch to the side of the bathtub like he wasn't twice her weight. "Stupid boys," she muttered under her breath as she went to work cleaning up Archer's eyebrow.
He shot me a smug look while she was distracted with his wound, and I flipped him off behind her back. I didn't even know why we were being so competitive about her attention. She was a full four years younger than us, and neither of us was interested in her like that. But... there was just something there.
Like a past life connection or some shit. I dunno. Karma.
Present...
Every time I started to slide into the darkness, her voice pulled me out again. I clung to that sound like a lifeline, using it to drag myself back from the abyss when the pain became overwhelming.
Her hand gripped mine hard as my dying body was lifted from the back of the car and placed on a gurney.
My lids flickered as her hand tugged on mine like someone was trying to separate us, then they succeeded and her fingers fell away. I focused my eyes just in time to see her ball up her fist and punch a hospital security guard in the face.
I wanted to laugh. I really did. But my body wasn't under my control anymore.
The hospital staff raced my gurney through the doors, and my lids drooped. I needed her. Could I make it through without her voice, her touch pulling me back?
I had to. There was no other choice. I had to survive... because my Hellcat had finally said she loved me.
Love conquered all, right? Even a bullet to the chest.
2
Madison Kate
"I can't do this," I whispered, my hands balling into fists and bunching the heavy white skirts of the wedding dress I wore. "This is insane. I can't marry Archer." And certainly not in a dress that made me look like a fucking meringue. What the hell had I been thinking when I let him talk me into this ludicrous idea?