Caged (The Defiant Kings Book 1)

Maddie Facetimed with Daphne as we drove to the game. It was funny listening to this side of the conversation. Daphne was giving her the lowdown on how to handle my family like an old pro, and my chest expanded, yet again, for my brother’s wife. For the way she was boosting Maddie’s confidence. And for the hesitance I recognized in her voice when she started talking about being initiated into our family.

I like that my girl found her tribe, and that they’re fiercely protective of each other.

We valet park at Kings Stadium, and I hold her hand in mine as we walk in, greeting most of the security and vendors as we go.

It’s been a few years since Scarlet took over control of the Kings from Max when he moved over to the Revolution hockey team. One of the first things she did was buy the new family suite to insulate us from the constant eyes of reporters and guests, who were always present when we watched the game from my father’s owner’s box back in the day.

It was how we’d all grown up.

Constantly having to be on.

To behave a certain way.

To carefully curate the way we spoke, what we wore, and the things we said.

To be part of the Kingston brand, not just part of the family.

She didn’t want to raise her kids in that environment. She didn’t want any of us to have to do that. And suddenly, we didn’t. During football season, Sunday family dinners are at the stadium in this box. Admittedly, it’s a little different from your typical family when you consider where we are and what we’re doing. But it’s also that we all try to make it to as many home games as we can, just to be with each other, that makes it special. Playpens and toys are scattered around the room for the kids. Brynlee insisted on a swear jar that sits on the bar each week, and when Maddie and I walk in, I retrieve a twenty-dollar bill from my wallet and drop it in.

“What are you doing?” she asks before anyone realizes we’re even here.

“Prepaying the swear jar.” And with that announcement, the horde swarms.

Max and Daphne are the only ones not here today, which leaves a whole lot of my family to contend with. Within seconds, Lenny has an arm linked through Maddie’s as she tugs her toward Amelia and Scarlet, who are sitting in the corner with babies crawling around their legs. If Maddie doesn’t want to be touched by my family, she better speak up now because we’re a touchy-feely bunch. But she doesn’t say a word. Just spares me a quick, forced smile and lets my sister drag her away.

Becket waves a beer in front of my face to get my attention. “Come on, champ. She’s only across the room.”

“Fuck off, Becks.” I take the beer from his hand, and we join Jace, Sawyer, Cade and our brother-in-law, Sam, who happens to be both Amelia’s husband and Lenny’s husband’s older brother.

We stand in front of the window of the box and watch the team line up on the field. Len’s husband, Sebastian, takes his spot out there, and Lenny points with Maverick’s hand toward the glass. “Wave to Daddy.” Mav claps, and my smile grows.

Guess the little dude is finally sleeping again.

“How are you feeling?” Jace asks, and I sip my beer while wicked thoughts of last night come to mind.

I clear my throat and stifle a laugh. “I’m good.”

Cade glares as he takes a long pull from his bottle of beer.

“Knock it off, Saint. The fight is over. And the no women rule will never work again.”

Becks looks between me and Cade. “And why is that?”

It’s my turn to take a long pull of my beer, then look over at Maddie. She’s laughing at something Lenny has said and already has Amelia and Sam’s daughter, Caitlin, sitting in her lap. She’s my why. “Because she’s mine,” I tell the group.

Everyone starts talking all at once. Wallets are pulled out, and money is exchanged. Sawyer ends up with all of it in his hand as he thanks me.

“What the actual fuck?” I ask, having no clue what the hell just happened. But Cade’s scowl has just turned into a shit-eating grin.

“I thought you’d at least wait a week, shithead. You just lost me enough money to feed the fucking swear jar for six months,” Cade groans and shoves his wallet back in his pocket, then bends down to pick up Killian, who’s just wandered over with a toy football in his hands.

“Not me, brother.” Sawyer counts his money. “I knew you were done for.”

Jace shoves two crisp hundred-dollar bills in Sawyer’s palm. “I fucking knew it too, but I thought it would take him longer than this to figure it out. Fucking Philadelphia’s most eligible bachelor, and you just blew your load in one damn shot.”

I smack the back of his head. “Watch it, jackoff,” then mutter under my breath, “It was way more than once.”

Sam hands over his money, shaking his head. Sam never loses. “When did you think I’d get my head out of my ass?” I ask, knowing Sam knows fucking everything.

“I didn’t think you’d make it to the fight. I thought you’d figure it out last week.” He taps his crystal bourbon glass to my beer. “Amelia likes her.”

“I didn’t realize Amelia knew Maddie that well.” I look over at her again, and I swear to God, it’s like my chest hurts just looking at her.

Sam shrugs. “Maddie handles Sweet Temptations’ social-media accounts.”

After a few plays, Maddie stands and cheers when her brother tackles a guy so hard, he has to be carried off the field.

“Try not to piss this one off, Hud.” Scarlet moves in next to me. “I think she’s got a hidden mean streak.” She watches Maddie, who seems to be explaining football to my niece, who’s too young to walk or talk in complete sentences yet.

“There’s not a mean bone in her body, Scar. But she’s loyal to a fault and would go to war for her brother.” I throw my arm around my older sister. “Kinda like another woman I know.”

Scarlet levels me with an intimidating scowl. “Don’t fuck up my reputation, Hudson. I’m scary. It stops there. Period. Keep the mushy stuff to yourself.”

“Whatever you say, sis.” I turn back to the bar. “Want another drink?” I ask, eyeing the water bottle in her hand suspiciously. “No wine today, Scar? You feeling okay?”

Jace walks over to us and smirks. “She turned down the sushi earlier too.”

Becks spins around. “Again? Can’t we have a single year without crazy and emotional pregnant sisters?”

Scarlet pours the remnants of her water bottle over his head. “Nope.”

Becket’s eyes practically pop out of his head as he wipes the water from his face. “I was fucking kidding.”

“Are you really pregnant?” Sawyer stands between Scarlet and Becks, trying to limit the carnage. When her eyes water as she shakes her head, Cade wraps her in his arms and whispers in her ear while we all stand there, dumbstruck.

My sister is an ice queen.

Always has been.

But damn, she’s an emotional pregnant person.

Maddie crosses the room and slides in next to me to congratulate them. And I love that she’s here for this. I stare at her for a minute. At the way the sunlight is hitting her golden hair. At her beautiful smile. At those damn freckles I want to kiss, and the dimples in her cheeks that tell me she’s genuinely happy right now. Then it dawns on me. I don’t love that she’s here for this. I love her.

The thought hits me like a sucker punch to the jaw.

Holy shit.

She really is it for me.

It’s like my world tilts on its axis for a moment before righting itself again.

She’s it. She’s the center. She’s the sun.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, but I ignore it and wrap my arm around her, rubbing my thumb over the spot covering her tattoo. And an idea forms. Until my fucking phone vibrates again.

Maddie looks up at me when I pull it from my pocket, and I can’t help myself. I brush a quick kiss over her lips and step away to answer my agent.

“Hunter, man. What’s going on?” I ask, but a long moment passes without him saying anything. “Hunter?”

“Hudson, I got some bad news this morning.” Shit. My stomach drops. The last time he said that to me, someone had gotten pictures of me and a one-night stand from Vegas—probably from her fucking phone—that we had to buy back so they couldn’t be sold to any of those shitty celebrity magazines.

“Whatever it is, Hunt, just deal with it if you can. I’m enjoying my win. I’m enjoying my family. I’m not ready to think about work.”

“Are you at the game, Hud?” he asks, and I realize what I hear in the background. Hunter was in town last night for the fight, but he represents a few of the guys on the Kings team. He’s probably in the owner’s box right now.

“Yeah, man. I’m here.” I look around the room at all the smiling faces—except Maddie’s, who’s watching me and has already tuned in to something being wrong.

There’s a knock at the door before security moves aside to let Hunter in.

Heads swing our way as my family realizes someone has just joined us. Hunter lifts his chin toward my family, and Cade and Scarlet immediately walk over to him, followed by Lenny. Her husband is one of Hunter’s clients.

“Hey, guys. Could you give Hudson and me a moment?” Hunter asks but then changes his mind. “Actually . . .” He turns back to me. “Up to you, man. Do you want them to stay?”

“What the fuck, Hunt? What’s going on?” I feel Maddie before she makes it to my side and links her fingers through mine.

“I just got a call from Mason McGuire’s agent.” Hunter’s tone drops low, and my stomach drops with it.

“Does he want a rematch already?” Jace asks.

“No,” Hunter answers carefully. “He’s dead.”

I take a step back. Floored. “What happened? He was fine after the fight last night.”

This can’t be right.

The noise in the suite comes to a standstill. Someone must have asked them to shut off the audio pumping in from the stadium. The only thing I hear is my heart racing.

“According to his agent, he wasn’t feeling right last night, and his wife made him go to the hospital sometime around midnight. But it was too late. They did a CT angiogram when he wasn’t improving after a few hours, but the damage had been done, and he bled out before they could get him into surgery.”

I fall into the seat behind me and drop Maddie’s hand.

“It wasn’t your fault, King. They called it a berry aneurysm. It was a defect in the lining of his blood vessels in his brain. He was a walking time bomb. It’s amazing he managed to fight this long.” Hunter might say something else, but the buzzing in my head drowns him out.

All I hear was that I killed Mason McGuire.

Maddie

Hudson’s family goes into crisis mode while he sits quietly, in shock.

If I had to guess, he’s completely numb.

They’re all talking over each other as Scarlet and Becket both try to take control.

I look between all of them and decide to go for Sawyer. “We need to get him out of here.”

Sawyer turns to me, quiet for a second before realization dawns. “You’re right. Can we take him to your house? Once the news gets hold of this, they’ll have his place and Crucible surrounded.”

Scarlet overhears our conversation and joins us. “You’re right, Maddie. He needs to leave now. Why don’t you two take him back to your house, and Jace . . .” She grabs the back of his hoodie and drags him toward us. “You need to go get a bag from Hudson’s place and take it to Maddie’s.” She shoves him away. “Go now. Maddie will text you the address.”

He looks between his sister and me, then nods and walks out the door.

“Hand me your phone.” Scarlet holds her hand out, waiting, and I do as I’m told. Her fingers run over the screen before she hands it back to me. “Jace’s contact is in there. Text him your address.”

I stare at my phone before lifting my eyes to hers with a newfound respect. She’s not as scary as I used to think, now that I see her in this light. She’s in protection mode, the way Brandon always is, and I get it in a different way than I ever have before.

I wrap my fingers around my phone, but she holds tight. “Can you handle this, Madison?”

I grab the phone from her fingers and meet her eyes. “Watch me,” I tell her before looking at Hudson, who’s sitting there, looking broken.

A slow smile spreads across her face. “Nothing like baptism by fire. Welcome to the family.” She turns away from me and kisses her husband, then turns to Hud’s agent. “Hunter, let’s go downstairs to my office. We’re going to need a game plan.”

Sawyer hugs his sister. “Call me when you’ve got a plan.”

He moves to where Hudson’s sitting, but Hud doesn’t look up until I join them and take his hands in mine. “Come on, King. Let’s go home.”

This man doesn’t say a word to me or anyone else. He just stands and lets me take his hand as we follow Sawyer out of the stadium and into his sleek sports car.

I text my brother and let him know what’s happening and to expect some Kingstons to be at the house when he gets home, hoping not to catch him too off guard. Then I tuck myself in next to Hudson for the drive. He still hasn’t said anything, but he wraps his arm around me and holds onto me like a lifeline.

That changes when we get to the house.

The three of us walk in, but Hudson heads right out into the backyard. When I move to follow him, Sawyer grabs my shoulder, and I manage not to knee him in the nuts. “Give him some space, Maddie.”

I peel his finger from my shoulder and look him straight in the eyes. “Don’t ever assume a woman is okay with being touched, Sawyer. You don’t know me. So I’ll give you that this time. But don’t tell me what to do either.”

“Damn,” he whistles. “I thought you were the quiet one.”

“Being quiet and choosing not to say anything are two completely different things. I like you. You seem like a good guy, and anyone with eyes can see how tightly knit your family is, but you’re not stopping me from going out there.” I take a step toward the sliding-glass doors before Sawyer calls out my name.

“Maddie . . . Don’t let him freeze you out. Hudson’s good at shutting down.”

It won’t be the first time I’ve had to fight for something I’ve wanted in my life.

When I step outside, Hudson has the phone to his ear, and he’s yelling at Hunter.

“I want her goddamned number, Hunt. He has a pregnant wife. I want to talk to her.” He looks over at me, then gives me his back as he listens to whatever Hunter says. “I don’t care. Get me her number and get me her address. They’re local.” He ends the call and shoves his phone in his pocket.

“Hudson . . .” I approach slowly, like I would a wounded animal. “Can I get you anything?”

He shakes his head no but won’t look at me.

I slip his peacoat off my shoulders and hand it to him. “If you’re going to stay out here in the snow, will you put this on for me?” I tack on a please, then stand there and wait until he slips his arms through it and walks away.

Sawyer and I are sitting at the kitchen counter, having tea, when someone knocks on the door. Then Jace lets himself inside my home.

My jaw hits the floor. “You know, when you knock, it’s customary to wait until someone opens the door before you just walk into a house, right?”

The giant hockey player grins. “Family doesn’t knock.” He holds up Hudson’s bag. “Where should I put this?”

“My door’s open at the top of the stairs,” I tell him before Sawyer walks into the room, and Cinder decides to wind herself through his legs before moving on to Jace and swishing her tail at him while she purrs.

Yeah, girl, I know. These men are blessed with some incredible genes.

“Don’t trust him in your room, Maddie. He might steal your underwear.” Sawyer takes the bag from Jace and punches him in the arm before he walks up the stairs.

Jace turns to me. “It was one fucking time, and in all fairness, she’s a fucking supermodel now.”

“Oh, gross.” I take a step back from him and stare. “I don’t want to know.”

He shrugs and looks around, his face turning serious. “Where’s Hudson?”

“He’s outside. He wanted space.” My heart cracks a little at the admission, and Jace slings his arm around my shoulder. “Seriously . . . what’s with you guys and touching?”

“What?” he asks, looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. “I’m not hitting on you.”

I roll my eyes and silently beg for strength when the back door opens and Hudson walks in. He shakes off his coat and lays it over a chair, then kicks off his wet sneakers. “Hunter is going to come over. Is that okay, Mads?”

I nod my head but don’t move.

Hudson’s eyes focus on Jace’s arm around my shoulder. He crosses the room and smacks him off. “She doesn’t like to be touched, asshole.”

“She’s part of the family now,” Jace counters, and my mind spins.

Since when?

“Keep your fucking hands to yourself,” Hudson growls as Sawyer walks back into the room. “Have either of you talked to Scarlet?”

“Yeah, brother.” Sawyer pulls his phone out and opens his texts. “She’ll be here soon and says don’t talk to anyone until she gets here.”

There’s a knock at the front door, and Jace answers it, like he belongs here. Then he lets Hudson’s agent, Hunter, and a beautiful woman into my house. Jesus. How many of them are there?

“Maybe I should order some food.” I don’t wait for an answer before walking into the kitchen and grabbing the menu from the local sandwich shop.