Then he stomps down the stairs, leaving.
“He’s fucking impossible.” I shake my head, annoyed with Peyton for planting me here. Which reminds me…
“I’ll be back in a second, I just have to grab something.” I shoot up the stairs and leave Madison waiting for me near the front door.
Pulling out my phone, I dial Peyton’s number. She picks up on the fourth ring.
“Talk.”
“Remind me again why I’m doing this, without using Micaela…”
She pauses. “Because Micaela.”
I close my eyes, sinking down onto Daemon’s bed. “I don’t trust you, Peyton. I don’t trust anyone right now and it’s making my brain somersault in my head because I don’t know what way is right.”
“Well how about this. My way is right so if you have something to say, say it…”
I swallow past the large boulder stuck in my throat. If I do this, there’s no going back. I have two roads to choose from right now. I can hang up the phone and tell Madison, or I can tell Peyton, the woman who actually has my daughter in her care and keep her alive. “They’re getting ready to come for you tonight, Peyton. To get Micaela. So, here’s the deal, if you give her to me right now, they won’t end you…”
There’s a long stretch of silence, and then she laughs. “Honey, they can’t end me. I have The Circle—”
“—Peyton! The Circle are just old Kings who have gone rogue. Underneath their rebellion, they’re still Kings and your ignorance might not allow you to see how very important that is, but trust me when I say, this is a war you don’t want your hand in…”
She ignores me. “Tillie, The Circle are not just old Kings…”
I hang up the phone because Madison opens the door. “You okay?”
I smile, trying to hide my reaction. “Yeah, it was just Ridge. I can meet with him another time.”
“Okay, well come on then! We need some more pink in that hair.”
Nate
“I don’t trust her.” I turn my car off and lean back in my seat, watching as Tillie walks into the salon with Madison.
“I get why you wouldn’t, because I ain’t fucking with it either. She’s hiding something…” Brantley says. He’s almost always riding shotgun with me now that Bishop is all loved up with Madison and beside that, what with Madison killing his dad, Brantley has been left with too much money, houses, and cars, and he’s found himself, for the most part—bored. “But what are you going to do if you find out she is hiding something, bro? She’s not just Tillie to you. She’s that chick to you, and then you had to go and be a dumb fuck and knock her up. Now she’s your baby mama, and you’re stuck with those bitches for life.”
My lip curls. “For a smart fucker, you sure say some dumb shit.”
He pulls out a pack of smokes and lights up. I crank our windows down and blaze a joint to counter the smell of nicotine.
“So we just gonna stay here until they’re done?”
I blow out a cloud of smoke. “Yup. Then I’m going to fuck with her for a bit until we leave. She’s hiding something and I ain’t about to walk into a fucking trap.”
Brantley grins around the cancer stick between his lips. “Got any ideas?”
I lick my lips and smirk. “Yeah, Tillie is the opposite of Madison when it comes to fear. Madison cowers, gets scared and does a bunch of dumb shit that would have gotten any other girl murdered on the spot.”
Brantley turns his attention to me. “And what does Tillie do?”
Tillie
“You know, for a brunette, your hair is pretty high maintenance,” I tsk Madison as we’re leaving the salon. The sun is setting in the background, igniting burnt hues in the sky. It’s beautiful the way it kisses over your skin.
“Because it’s not brunette, you heard her, it has tints of red in it too…”
I roll my eyes. “This is why I have pink hair. When it runs out, it has a faded punk look that is totally okay to rock.”
Madison clears her throat. “For you!” She beeps her pretty turquoise Ferrari and I slide into the passenger seat. I want to ask why she’s not asking me about Micaela, but deep down I already know why. It’s because she has complete faith in Bishop.
“I’m naturally blonde so I guess it’s fine. Have you heard from Tatum?”
We’ve been dancing around the T-word all day and I’ve noticed how any time I even steer the conversation toward her, Madison clams up.
“She’ll be coming over tonight, actually, and she’s okay. I just don’t want it to be weird between the two of you, you know?” Madison drives us out of the parking lot outside the salon.
“It won’t be. Honestly, Madz, Nate is not my property. If they could just not rub it in my face, though, that would be great.”
Madison doesn’t answer, turning the stereo on. I get it. I know that it must be hard for her to be in the middle of this cluster fuck, and deep down I know I’m the outsider out of the three. They say three’s a crowd, and even though Madison does her best to not let it fall that way, it doesn’t stop how I feel when her and Tate are together. They just…exist with each other. And although Madison and I have a bond and so do Tate and I, I haven’t really felt like I fit into the puzzle when we’re all together at once. Or maybe that’s just my own insecurities getting the best of me.
Madison growls and then hits the stereo before pulling onto the shoulder of a gravel road. I look out the window, the angry sky now dark enough to awaken nocturnal creatures.
I shiver. “What are you doing?”
“Here’s the thing,” Madison declares. “I love you, and you know this. I also love Tate, and I hate lying to
