I turned to him.  “And you need to stay out of shit that you know absolutely nothing about.”

His eyes narrowed and he took the time to look me up and down.  “You recovered fast from your hangover.”

“Didn’t have a fucking hangover.”

“What’s the real story then?  Where were you last night when Madison thought you were here drunk?  And I hope to Christ that answer doesn’t involve another fucking woman.”

“I’m going to let that one go.  But just because you’re Madison’s brother doesn’t give you the right to come in here and treat me like shit.  If you must know, I was here last night, alone and sober,” I snarled.

His forehead creased in a frown.  “I’m listening.”

I gestured at the chair next to me.  “Take a seat, and let me tell you a fucking fairy tale about your father.”

That got his attention and he sat, his full attention on what I was about to say.  I proceeded to tell him about what happened in Adelaide.  When I’d finished, he shook his head and murmured, “Jesus.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, “It’s put me between a rock and a hard fucking place.  I don’t want to break Madison’s heart even more where her father’s concerned.”

“Yeah well, I can tell you that if you don’t share this with her, your days together are numbered.  Marcus is a prick and she knows that.  She can deal with this so long as she has you and the rest of us to support her.”

I blew out a breath.  He was right.  “Okay.”

“Today?” he pushed.

“Yeah, today.”  I stood up.  “Give me your number in case she needs you later.”  I hadn’t had a lot to do with Blade but I was starting to see what Madison saw in him; he genuinely cared for her.

We swapped numbers and then he left.  I was just heading out myself when Marcus texted me.  He wanted to see me in his office as soon as possible.  He obviously had no clue I was here.  I stalked into his office.

“What do you want?” I snapped at him.

He gestured to the seat in front of me but I remained standing.  This wasn’t a friendly meeting and I had no fucking intention of sitting with him for a chat.

Annoyance flashed across his face before he started talking.  “Proved yourself while you were in Adelaide, J.  Knew you had that darkness in you, just didn’t know if you’d show it.”  I wasn’t sure why he was sharing this with me now, two months after the fact.

I snarled at him.  “The only thing I proved was what a cunt you are.”

“No, you proved a whole lot more than that.  And, I’ve got some more jobs for you coming up now that I know where your talents lie.”

“You can take your fucking jobs and shove them up your fucking ass.  I’m not your lap dog.”  My head was buzzing with the anger that he brought out in me; I was about ready to explode.

He stood up and leant both hands on the table, a threatening look taking over his face.  “I’ll remind you of those photos I have of you and the blonde in Adelaide.  Perhaps that will encourage you to change your mind.”

Fucker.  “This conversation is over, asshole.  And stay the fuck away from me and Madison.  She doesn’t want you in her life anymore and I sure as hell could do without being reminded of what a prick of a father in law I’m going to have one day.”

“You don’t seriously think that I’m going to allow her to marry you, do you?”

I studied him for a moment.  He was fucking delusional if he thought he had any say in Madison’s life anymore.  “Try and fucking stop her.”

“I won’t have to; she’ll come to that decision on her own after I’m done with you.”

“Like I said, stay the fuck away, Marcus.  You think you pushed me in Adelaide?  What I did there was for someone I didn’t even fucking know.  You don’t want to know how far I’d go for someone I love.”  I had to get out of there; my rage towards him was only just being contained.

Leaving his office, I ran into Nash in the hallway.  Christ, of all people.  I scowled at him and continued walking.

“Hey, asshole,” he called out.

I stopped and turned back to face him.  “What?” I snapped.

“What the fuck’s your problem?”

I stalked back to him.  “You, motherfucker.  I don’t like the way you look at Madison.  Never have.  She’s mine, so back the fuck off.”

“You’re a moody, jealous fuck, aren’t you?  Got no idea what you’ve got right in front of you.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”  Jesus, Nash could get under my skin without even trying but when he said shit like that, it really made my blood boil.

He leant his angry face closer to mine.  “What it fucking means is that you’ve got a good woman doing her head in over you.  You’re right, she is yours; she’s completely fucking yours but she doesn’t feel it.  So, instead of worrying about me, go home and worry about her.”

Jesus, fucking Christ!  Between Marcus and now Nash, I was itching to punch someone.  My arm swung back, ready to take a shot.  However, someone grabbed me from behind and stopped me.

“Not the way to settle this, brother,” Scott warned.