I stood outside, leaning on my car with a group of people around me including Madoc and Fallon as we watched the two cops confront her about the noise as they all stood in the doorway of Tate’s house.

I grinned, and everyone started laughing around me as she stormed past the cops in her cute little pajama shorts, short T-shirt that showed a sliver of her stomach, and bare feet.

Her arms swung back and forth as she stomped right toward us, growling the whole time. “Keeping me up for hours with your racket, and you file a noise complaint on me?” she shouted. “I’m going to make you hurt, Jaxon Trent!”

My chest shook with laughter. Damn, she’s so cute when she acts like she’s five.

She rushed up, straight toward me, swung her hand back, and I ducked just as she was about to slap me. Crashing myself into her thighs, I hauled her off her feet and swung her over my shoulder, her ass rubbing against my cheek.

“Whoa, Tiger,” I chided, rubbing the back of her thigh.

She kicked her legs. “Put me down!”

I tightened my grip around her knees and looked at the cops. “Thanks, guys. I’ll take it from here.” And I jerked my chin, letting them know they could leave.

“Seriously abusing our friendship here, Jax,” Wyatt, one of the officers, grumbled as he walked away with his partner.

“Put me down!” She slapped my T-shirt-clad back and I grunted, struggling to hold her as she thrashed.

Turning around, I walked up the steps and into the house, the tremors of the music pulsing through my feet and up my legs as we walked in the door.

“Listen up!” I called out, ignoring her shrieks. “This is K.C. She’s queen of the castle tonight. She tells you to fuck off, you fuck off. Got it?”

I didn’t wait for responses as I swung K.C. back over my shoulder, plopping her on her feet again. Before she even had a chance to react, I circled her neck with my arm and yanked her in close, nose to nose.

“If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” I said, and reached over to yank a Seagram’s Jamaican Me Happy wine cooler out of the tub of ice by the door. Twisting off the cap, I shoved it into her chest and turned to Fallon and Shane, having noticed that everyone had trailed in behind us.

“Fallon and K.C. You remember each other, right?” And I looked at K.C., hooding my eyes in a warning as I spoke to Fallon and Shane. “Get her drunk, ladies. But don’t let her take any drinks from anyone other than you, Madoc, or me, okay?” I smirked at K.C.’s narrowed eyes and mouth hanging open. “Have fun,” I whispered to her, and walked away.

Even though I knew she was pissed at me, I also knew she’d stay. Fallon and Shane were there to hold her hand if need be, and it just so happened that I had just planted her favorite alcoholic beverage in her grasp.

And even though I barely ever got wasted, I was very interested in seeing her get a little loose tonight. Maybe she’d finish what she had been doing to me in the car last week.

When Shane had finally trailed over a couple of hours ago, she mentioned K.C. being upset about seeing her mother, something about journals she wasn’t able to get back, so I decided to lure her out. Every time she called to file a noise complaint, I got word of it and jacked up the music more.

Now here she was, friends at her side, drink in her hand, and—I looked over as she and the girls plopped down on the couch—a smile on her face.

Score. God, I’m good.

I tried not to grin as I played pool with Madoc and snuck glances at her from time to time. K.C. was such a little thing. Not so little that you’d mistake her for a child, but she was definitely more petite than Tate, Fallon, and Shane. Her small, flat waist would take absolutely no effort to circle using only one arm. Which I proved in the weight room. I swear her legs had absolutely no fat and she possessed the sexiest damn toned thighs I’d ever seen on a woman. Even her calves were toned, and her tanned feet and peach toenails had me drinking in every naked inch of her body.

I liked that she dressed colorfully, and I liked pretty things. I’d seen too much darkness growing up, and K.C. was like a red flag to a bull.

Her dark brown hair, the color of chocolate, spilled to the middle of her back and was parted in the middle, swinging in her eyes every so often. I’d never thought green eyes were attractive, but K.C.’s were beautiful. Like summer’s first grass with the sun shining on it. Light green with gold glitter.

I squeezed the pool stick clutched in my fingers, having a sudden urge to haul her upstairs and take a shower with her.

What the fuck? That was random.

“So you’re still into her, huh?” Madoc’s voice broke into my head, bringing me back.

Turning back to him, I leaned on my upright pool cue and evened out my expression. “K.C.?” I clarified, trying to sound casual as I grinned. “I might still like to do a few things with her.”

“That’s what I thought about Fallon.” He nodded. “It was like ‘whoa, this is fun!’ Now it’s like ‘whoa, I’m married!’ ” He gave a shaky laugh, and my chest shook with amusement.

I couldn’t help being still shocked at Madoc and Fallon getting married when they were eighteen. First year in college, and they’d never even dated each other. But so far, so good. They kept an apartment in Chicago, where they lived while they attended Northwestern during the school year, and they spent their summers either traveling or at their house here in Shelburne Falls.

“Listen,” Madoc started, looking between me and the table. “Fallon wanted me to talk to you about something.”

I raised my eyebrows, noticing Madoc was staring at the table, mulling over a shot when he was already whipping my butt, because I was too preoccupied trying not to stare at K.C.

And when Madoc couldn’t meet my eyes, I knew he was having trouble saying what needed to be said, which was also probably something I didn’t want to hear.

So I waited.

He leaned down to take his shot. “She knows you’re working for her father, Jax. Ciaran Pierce might be a nice guy, but he’s a dangerous man. What are you doing?”

I hooded my eyes, bracing myself.

“Jax?” Madoc prompted, and I could tell he was looking at me. “Fallon doesn’t like it. Hell, I don’t like it. And Jared definitely won’t like it.”

I straightened my back, his chiding backing me into a fucking wall.

Of course Jared wouldn’t understand. He was perfect. He did right even when he was doing wrong. He judged, laid down the law, and called the shots according to his assessment of how he thought things should be. There was no gray area with my brother.

So I had learned a long time ago not to tell him certain things. He didn’t know what I did in Chicago on my nights alone in the city. He didn’t know that I used my computer skills to hack and create illegal software for Fallon’s father, who lived in Boston and worked outside the law.

And he didn’t know what had happened in that basement at our father’s house six years ago.

“Jared sees everything as black and white,” I said, leaning down to take my shot. “There’s just no talking to him about some things.”

“He’s your brother, and I’m your friend. We have your best interest at heart.”

I let out a bitter laugh, shaking my head. “Because I’m too young to take care of myself?”

Walking to the wall, I sat down on a stool and slouched with my hands in my pockets.

“I may be a whole year younger,” I explained, “but I’m also bigger and have taken more hits than the two of you combined. I’ve been feeding myself since I was five, and you don’t even want to know how, so just stay off my back.”

Awareness vibrated off my skin, and I knew others in the room had heard me, but I didn’t give a shit. My brother and Madoc—as much as they tried to act otherwise—had no fucking clue how sick the world was. Who cared how I made my money as long as I ate?

When they were five they were raiding their refrigerators, trying to decide between the orange soda and the grape soda. I was rummaging through the trash for my father’s leftover McDonald’s and drinking beer because the water had been turned off.

And while Jared’s mom—Katherine—was as close as I’d ever had to a mom, I wasn’t about to be a burden on her even though I knew she didn’t see it that way. She tried spoiling me with clothes and gadgets she thought I’d enjoy, but I spoiled her right back. I had to pay my way.

Madoc narrowed his eyes, probably stunned by my sudden irritation. He wasn’t used to it, but I didn’t feel bad. Questioning my decisions was an insult.

“Jax—,” Madoc started.

“Don’t,” I cut him off. “I don’t want your sympathy, and I don’t want your concern, so fuck off.” Every muscle in my face tightened. “I just want you to shut your mouth and go back to worrying about what kind of board shorts you’re going to wear for your next trip to Cancún, okay?”

He looked away, sucking in an angry breath and hardening his eyes. Placing the cue back on the rack, he stopped in front of me on his way out of the room.

“You’re my brother,” he pointed out in a low voice. “You have choices now. That’s all I’m going to say.”