Jace was still fuming. He didn’t need to be a genius to know what Drake was up to. The man had two women draped all over him and clearly used to be something to Maddie, yet he expected her to drop everything and go with him for a ‘talk.’
Jace had done that ‘talk’ often enough, and there was no talking involved unless it was dirty.
As they went out onto the sidewalk, Jace slowed up in surprise. What had just happened back there? He didn’t act possessive with women – they weren’t worth his time – but suddenly he had been standing up for Maddie and acting like a white knight, something Jace had vowed never to do.
What was it about this woman that had him getting all screwed up?
Maddie swung around on him, scowling at him.
“I didn’t ask you to stand up for me like that. I could’ve handled him.”
“You didn’t need to.” Jace glanced back at the bar. “Bastards like him have a sign above their heads that says, ‘Please punch me because I can’t punch myself hard enough.’”
Maddie snorted.
“I didn’t realize Drake had one of those until too late.”
She turned and started walking away. Jace hurried to catch up with her. There was a solemn look on Maddie’s face, as if she was hiding her emotions and keeping them in check. Her body was strung taut with the tension.
“I take it he’s an ex.”
Maddie sighed.
“He is. I dated him off-and-on for three years. We fought, broke up for a week and got back together. That happened too many times to count. And I kept doing it because I thought I loved him and I wanted someone to love me.”
Jace looked at her and knew what she meant. She wanted someone to love her for who she was, not love her when she lived up to expectations.
“Was there any violence?” he asked.
“His side, yes. He was a control freak.” Maddie bit her lip. “My side, only when I was being attacked. I fight back when I’m threatened. Drake made sure nobody saw my bruises. If Jeremy had seen any, he would’ve killed Drake and hidden his body in the desert.”
Jace didn’t doubt that. Jeremy had been a bastard to him, and vice versa, but Jace didn’t doubt Jeremy’s loyalty and love for his sister. If anyone threatened Maddie, he would be there giving them a ‘friendly’ reminder not to do it again.
Then again, he couldn’t have been all that good a brother since he’d had no idea Jace had been mean to Maddie.
Now Jace was feeling guilty. He had tried to find a way to lash out at school and Maddie had ended up becoming a target because she was there at school and at the club. She couldn’t get away from him, so whenever he needed an outlet he went to torment her. For the first time in his life, he was beginning to feel awful. Maddie hadn’t deserved that.
But he hadn’t deserved to be treated the way he had been, either.
“It sounds like your brother is very protective,” he said lightly.
“He is. And I think Drake was a bit in awe of him.” Maddie stopped and briefly shut her eyes. “Shortly after Jeremy became president, I met Drake and he was always talking about wanting to be in Broken Hounds. I suspected a few times that he was using me to get into the club, but I got too blinded by infatuation.” Maddie opened her eyes and went to a telephone pole, leaning back against it. “I think Jeremy sensed something was not quite right about him and kept delaying saying anything about bringing him into Broken Hounds when Drake mentioned it. Then last month Jeremy said to Drake’s face that he didn’t like the way Drake treated me and he wouldn’t have anyone he couldn’t trust in Broken Hounds.”
That was no surprise. From the way he was acting, and the way Maddie was about him, Jace wouldn’t have let him in, either.
“How did he take that?”
That sounded like a stupid question.
“Not well.” Maddie sighed and rested her head against the pole. “He came back, told me about all the girls he had fucked while with me, not just in the breaks, and where he had been the night before.” She scowled at the bar. “He was under those two girls he had draped over him in there. Then he said he was leaving and simply walked out. I put his things into trash bags and left them outside. He didn’t get them when I told him to, so I donated everything.”
Jace founded himself laughing at that.
“Serves him right.”
“Well, he said he’d get them when he wanted and expected me to keep hold of everything.” Maddie shook her head. “Not a chance.”
That man didn’t deserve in be in Broken Hounds. He had used Maddie to get close to Jeremy and had messed Maddie around. If he were an honest man, he’d Maddie like a queen. There would be no chance of any other woman once he’d made his commitment to Maddie.
But that wasn’t him and he wasn’t interested in love or commitment. Unless the commitment involved a night of sweaty sex, he was not going there.
“I don’t feel like going to Jeremy now.” Maddie grinned at him. “Fancy hanging at my place? It’s not far.”
Jace had been waiting for her to invite him back. Considering who she was, getting her into the clubhouse would have her realizing who he was. And he wanted to enjoy her, every single inch of her. He grinned.
“That sounds like a very good idea.”