Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Maddie
My phone buzzes on the coffee table, and I grin when I see Kade’s name.
Kade
Need someone to check on Princess Buttercup while I’m away. You free?
Me
Always free for my favorite niece.
Kade
She’s a cat.
Me
Yet she’s still better company than you.
Kade
Rude. Leaving tonight. Be back in a week.
I’m mentally packing before I even look up at Ace, though he’s watching me from across my living room with an expression that indicates he already knows what I’m about to say.
“Kade needs someone to cat sit,” I announce, “so I’m staying at his place.”
Ace’s jaw tightens slightly. “For how long?”
“A week.” I set my phone down. “Before you start, his house is more secure than a government facility. You approved the security system yourself.”
Rhodes, who is next to Ace on the couch, looks up from his laptop. “You want to stay there alone?”
“I won’t be alone. Princess Buttercup will be there.” I cross my arms, daring them to laugh at her name.
Vander shifts slightly by the window, his version of paying attention. Ace is quiet for a moment, and I can see his cogs ticking over. “When does Kade leave?”
“Today.”
More silence. I wait, ready to argue my case.
When Kade first offered me a room in his house after the stalker incident, I refused.
I would not let someone chase me out of my own apartment.
So instead, Dad bought every other apartment on this floor.
He gave one to Ace, one to Vander, and now one to Rhodes.
“We’ll take you,” Ace finally mutters. “But I’m doing a full sweep first.”
I blink. “Wait, really? No overprotective bodyguard excuses, or ‘I have to call your father’ nonsense?”
“Really. But you check in with us daily. And never leave the house alone.”
“Deal.” I quickly head for my bedroom before he can change his mind, yelling behind me, “I need to pack! Princess Buttercup likes when I bring my fuzzy blanket.”
I hear Rhodes mutter something about the cat’s name, but I don’t care. I’m too busy going through what I need. Clothes, camera equipment, laptop, phone charger, and that blanket Princess Buttercup loves to sleep on.
A week of freedom. This is going to be perfect.
Two hours later, I’m practically vibrating with excitement as we pull up to Kade’s house. “I haven’t seen Princess Buttercup in weeks.”
“That is the most ridiculous name for a cat,” Rhodes murmurs from the front seat.
“She’s a princess, and she deserves to be recognized as such,” I retort.
The property’s front gate opens automatically as we approach, the scanners responding to the tag in our vehicle combined with our number plate.
Kade’s place sits on two acres in an exclusive gated community, which even I have to admit is impressive.
There is a fountain in the circular driveway, a perfectly manicured lawn, and stone columns at the entrance.
“This is over the top,” Rhodes comments.
“My brother is a rock star with more money than sense,” I say, as when I first saw this place, I thought the same.
We pull up to the entrance, and I’m out of the SUV before anyone can open my door. Rushing forward, I unlock the front door with my fingerprint. I barely make it three steps inside before a fluffy orange-and-white cat appears, winding around my legs and meowing.
“Princess Buttercup!” I scoop her up, and she immediately starts purring. “Did you miss me? Of course you did. Your dad abandoned you.”
While I’m hugging my fur niece, the guys are already moving through the house. Ace disappears toward the kitchen, Rhodes heads upstairs, and Vander does a slow sweep of the main floor.
I watch them work with a small smile of amusement. Ace and Vander have been here before, and Ace oversaw the security installation, yet they’re still checking everything. Every window, every door, every camera angle.
“Kitchen is secure,” Rhodes calls out, as if my stalker could have been hiding in the pots-and-pans cupboard, waiting for his moment.
Ace reappears from the direction of the garage. “Back entrance is locked and armed.”
They continue like this, clearing each floor.
I take Princess Buttercup into the kitchen and open the cabinets, looking for her food. The automatic feeder is working, but she’s giving me those big eyes that say she deserves a treat. I would need one if I had to live with my brother.
“You’re spoiled,” I tell her, finding a can of the fancy wet food Kade keeps stocked. “Just like your dad.”
I feed Princess Buttercup in her crystal dish that probably costs more than most entire kitchen sets, and the security sweep continues above me. I can hear them moving through the second floor and then the third.
As I wander into the living room, Princess Buttercup follows behind me. The house is exactly as you would picture a single rock star’s mansion: guitar collection mounted on one wall, platinum records on another.
When the guys return, I’m curled on the couch with Princess Buttercup purring on my lap.
“Panic room code?” Ace asks.
“051223, Princess Buttercup’s birthday.”
They disappear again toward the basement, and I hear the distinct sound of the panic room opening, followed by a muffled conversation, then they’re back.
“Everything checks out,” Ace announces. “Cameras are all operational, the locks are functioning, and the panic room is accessible and fully stocked.”
“So . . .” I say, preparing for the worst. “Are you leaving, or are you three camping out here for the week?”
Ace shakes his head. “No, the house is secure enough. We’ll check in daily, but you don’t need us here twenty-four seven.”
I stare at him. “I’m sorry, what?” For sure, I thought he would change his mind and stay. Ace takes this job very seriously.
“The security system is the best money can buy,” he explains. “You have a panic room, and the neighborhood has private security. Also, you now know how to handle yourself if something goes wrong.”
All that training with him and Vander—learning to fight, to run, and to react in different scenarios—is finally paying off. They actually trust me to be here alone.
“You’re serious?” I ask again slowly.
“Completely. You have all our numbers. The panic button on your phone is activated. The security company will report directly to me.” Ace pulls out his phone. “And we’re only ten minutes away if you need us.”
“Fifteen in traffic,” Rhodes adds.
I glance between them, waiting for the catch—some ridiculous rule or restriction—but nothing comes.
“So I actually get a week of freedom?” I try not to sound too eager, to give him a reason to change his mind. “Just me and Princess Buttercup?”
“Within reason,” Ace warns, but there’s almost a smile on his face.
“I’ll take it.” I scratch behind the pampered feline’s ears. “Hear that, Your Majesty? It’s just us ladies.”
After they leave, I spend the rest of the evening settling in. I unpack my stuff in the guest room, set up my laptop in Kade’s studio, and take approximately thirty photos of Princess Buttercup for my Instagram.
Around nine, I curl up on Kade’s massive sectional with my furry companion sprawled across my lap while I scroll through my phone. The house is quiet. It feels weird not having one of the guys here watching over my every move, or even just knowing they are across the hall.
Then the lights go out.
All of them at once.
My phone nearly slips from my hands in my fright, but I quickly pull up the security app. It shows as offline.
The whole fucking system is offline. I stare at my phone, watching the security app go dark. One by one, the green indicators flip to red, then disappear entirely. All of it. Gone.
That’s not possible. The system has a backup power supply. It should not fail even if the power goes out.
Cold dread crawls up my spine, and my hands start to shake.
This is it. This is how I die.
My heart thunders against my ribcage as I stand.
The panic room. I need to get to the panic room.
I’m halfway across the living room when I hear a sound coming from upstairs.
Someone’s in the house.
I freeze. Every self-defense lesson I’ve had runs through my head.
The panic room is in the basement, but I am on the main floor. It’s the smart choice, though; that’s what it’s built for. Get there. Lock the door. Call for help.
The moment I turn toward the basement stairs, I see him.
A figure at the bottom of the stairs blocks my path—and he’s wearing a glow mask.
“Oh thank fuck!” I gasp out in relief.
Now that I know it’s him, and hopefully his friends, I run. I wonder where they will catch me.
I take the main stairs up, panting with exertion and adrenaline. Behind me, I hear footsteps closing the distance between us.
The second floor is darker, with fewer emergency lights. I run past the bedrooms, heading for the third floor. Toward Kade’s studio.
Two figures appear at the top of the third-floor staircase, and I’m trapped between them and the man chasing me.
Vander’s training mantra kicks in—assess, adapt, act. But there’s nowhere to go. No escape route. There are three of them, and only one of me.
My lungs burn, my pulse hammers in my ears, and for a moment, no one moves. Then the one chasing me steps up close behind me and lifts a finger to my cheek.
“Good girl,” the distorted voice says. “You know what to do when the lights go out.”
The words melt the fear, soothing my terror at thinking my stalker was breaking in.
His hand brushes the side of my neck, tracing down to my shoulder, mapping the curve of my collarbone before moving away.
“Blindfold,” the leader orders from his spot above us on the staircase.
Before I can even attempt to resist, a strip of black fabric slides across my eyes. Deft fingers tie a knot at the base of my skull.
Someone exhales near my ear. Another hand steadies my hip. My body tilts toward the contact, knowing how much I love this.
“Beautiful.”
My lips part, but no sound comes out.
A thumb traces the edge of my jaw.
“Good girl.”
The touches multiply—one at my shoulders, one low on my back, another along my thigh. Heat blooms everywhere they touch. Their hands are on me, and my body responds. I have never had an orgasm from touch alone, but I swear I am close, and I squirm as I let out a needy whimper.
“Not yet. You’ll come when we say.”
The command makes me want to beg. I would fall to my knees and plead for them to keep touching me like this.