LOGAN KADE (Fallen Crest Spin-Off)

Chapter Three

MOTHER F&CKER LOGAN KADE

TAYLOR

The house party had spilled out into the backyard. A river, down from the backyard’s slope, was lit up by floating candles anchored in place. It was beautiful. It gave the entire scene an almost magical feeling. My last college had parties—for the short time that I’d been there—but they were distinctly different from this. They were about beer, wine, rum, and deep conversation. I’d gotten into a few philosophical debates about religion and society’s selfishness, with Eric, the boyfriend, at my side.

He’d been at my side in high school, too. Those years had been about pretending to be mature while people hooked up, got drunk on whatever they could score, and kept one eye out for the cops. No one was running around naked tonight. A few were making out, but all in all, this Cain U party seemed tame. People were drinking and talking. Those who were swimming were doing just that: swimming. A few guys were pretending to dunk some girls, but that was the closest to shrieking anyone came.

Claire headed off to find her friends, and when she came back, I took the drink she offered. Gesturing with it around us, I asked, “Why couldn’t we have parties like this in high school?”

“We were too busy pretending to be cool?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Jason came over then, a scowl on his face. “I couldn’t get one. You were wrong, Claire. They do remember me.”

She almost choked. “You’re kidding.”

He rolled his eyes, and took the one she was holding. “Nope, sweet chickadee. They remember me. This is Blaze’s party. I didn’t know this house was his. He moved. He was closer to Cain campus last year.”

Claire held her hands up. “Chill, okay. I’ll get you a drink, and stop worrying. If they were going to throw you out, you wouldn’t have been allowed back here.”

“Mmm-hmmm.” He glowered at her retreating back over the drink he still held. “She’s off to get her own self a drink.” He raised the glass to me. “And I’m no i***t. They’re waiting for Logan Kade to get here. Then they’ll see what he wants to do with me.”

“Okay.” I shifted closer to him. “What happened, and who is Logan Kade? His name sounds familiar.”

“His name’s familiar because his brother is a football god around these parts: Mason Kade. I’m sure your dad’s mentioned him.”

I scratched at the corner of my mouth. Was that where I’d heard that name before?

“So his brother is a big football guy. What does that have to do with Logan and whoever this Park guy is? How were you involved?”

“Mason Kade hated Sebastian Park last year, so that meant his brother hated him, too. I don’t know the reason why. There are rumors, of course,” Jason said, fluttering his hands through the air. “But who really knows? What I do know is that I took bets on some fights for Park last year. Logan Kade wanted me to open it up to his buddies at a party, and I wouldn’t do it. It was a conflict of interest. I owed Sebastian. Everyone knew about the beef between the two. I was protecting myself.”

He ran a hand over his face. “Since then, I’ve not been invited to any Cain University party. Park basically got run out of town, and the Kades took over, kind of. I mean, a lot of people have no clue about the rivalry, but everyone who matters knows, and they paid attention. Once Kade gets here, they’re going to throw me out…” His voice trailed off as his gaze fixed on something over my shoulder.

He suddenly resembled an owl. His eyes got big, and his chest rose as he sucked in a quick breath of air.

Someone new had arrived at the party, and turning around, I assumed it was Logan Kade. I could only see the back of him. He was talking to a group of guys right outside the back door, and someone motioned in our direction.

Jason groaned.

Logan lifted his head, looking right at us.

From the back, he was the finest specimen I’d seen in a long time. Tall. Lean. Broad shoulders. Trim waist. His shirt clung to his form, outlining his lithe build. He was obviously an athlete. Guys couldn’t get that look unless they played sports on an almost-daily basis and for hours at a time. Others might try to mold and sculpt their bodies to look as good as this one, but their efforts never played out.

Even the back of his neck was delicious. His shirt hugged the muscles of his shoulder and the ridges where his neck and shoulders became one. His hair had a crew cut. When he finally glanced over his shoulder again, looking in the direction the other guy had pointed, his eyes found mine. They held firm.

I swallowed, feeling like I’d just gotten the wind knocked out of me. He was breathtaking.

Dark chocolate eyes. Long eyelashes I would’ve killed for when I was younger—hell, I still would. He had an angular face with high cheekbones, and the front of him matched his back. His biceps bulged, and his shirtsleeves tightened around them for a second before they relaxed. The outline of washboard abs was visible through his shirt. His jeans sealed the image, making my mouth water, and I finally pulled my eyes away.

I had to. I hadn’t reacted to a guy like this in a long time. It didn’t feel right. A breeze picked up, sliding across the back of my neck, and goose bumps formed. I felt a shiver go through my body, and I turned, as if to shield myself from the wind. Maybe I was shielding myself from this guy. I didn’t know. He was just…too much. His charismatic pull still tugged at me, even when I wasn’t looking at him.

I swallowed over a knot. Claire hurried over toward us, holding two big glasses in front of her. She almost tripped in her haste. “He doesn’t even remember you, Jason,” Claire said once she arrived. “You don’t have to leave.”

“No.” Jason shook his head. “I’m going. I’m not sticking around and waiting for whatever Kade is going to do.”

“Come on—”

“He starts fights, and he finishes them,” Jason said firmly. “Don’t try to tell me you’re not hoping he’ll come over. I know you’ve got the hots for him. Honestly, Claire. He’s a manwhore. He’s had a different girl with him every time I’ve seen him. And look at him.” Jason pointed as Logan Kade approached. “Tonight’s no different. There are two girls with his group. I’m not—”

Claire huffed. “Believe it or not, not every girl is enamored with him. I’ve got my own set of friends and—”

Jason’s voice rose higher as Logan approached. “Like you said before, he’s up here…” His hand rose to his head, then lowered to his waist. “And we’re down here. Isn’t that the way it is?”

Ten feet away.

Jason’s breaths came in quick gasps.

Eight feet.

Claire threw him a look. “Maybe we can remember why we even came tonight?”

Six feet.

Jason wasn’t listening anymore. He was frozen, his gaze fixed off to the side. He watched Kade coming from the corner of his eye and let out a shrill breath through his nose.

Four feet.

I didn’t know the guy, but now I was on edge too. I turned so I couldn’t see him, but I could still feel his approach. His presence was even more overwhelming up close. Two feet away—one—and he walked right past us. His group followed, taking over a bunch of loungers that surrounded an empty bonfire pit. A keg sat in the center and as Kade got a drink, his friends filled theirs after him.

Jason wheezed. “I was pissing myself there for a moment.”

Claire cursed under her breath. “I told you it’d be fine, and look what happened. He asked where the keg was. They pointed it out for him. If you would’ve let me talk, I could’ve explained that, and also that no, they didn’t bring up your name.” Her eyes blazed. “Whatever. I’m going inside to hang out with friends who are actually nice to me.”

She took off, and Jason rolled his eyes. He shifted closer to me, his arm brushing against mine. “She’s the one who told me I was beneath Kade. Whatever, my ass. Maybe he is above me. Maybe I’m small potatoes compared to him, but so is she. She hangs out with the philosophy club.” He laughed. “Does that sound like someone Kade would date? Someone who’s into philosophy? He’s all about s*x, fighting, and having his brother’s back. There’s only one girl I’ve heard he’s ever been loyal to, and it ain’t her. That’s for sure.”

My insides had begun to churn. My mother. My dad. Even my ex. I didn’t need this. “Can you stop? I thought we came to get drunk tonight.”

Jason caught himself before he could speak further and swung his gaze my way. “I’m sorry, Taylor. I…Claire…” He finished his drink, and after tossing the cup on the ground, he wrung his hands together. “We’ve grown apart since school.”

The knot was back. It took root at the bottom of my throat. “I’m beginning to see that.”

I should’ve asked what happened, why they’d grown apart, or how they had put up a good front for me over the last nine months, but the truth was that I didn’t care. I would someday, but I didn’t that night. I looked over at Kade and his group, my eyes lingering on a beautiful girl who sat next to him. She had jet-black hair and a stunning face that could’ve graced any magazine cover. She wasn’t touching him, he wasn’t touching her, but they were close. That was obvious.

I jerked my head toward them. “Looks like you don’t have to worry about him now.”

“Yeah. Guess not.” He linked elbows with me. “Come on, friend. You said you wanted to party, so let’s go do that. Let’s drink ourselves all the way back to high school.”

“That sounds fanfuckingtastic.”

Jason chuckled, and a couple of pitchers later, we were in two lounge chairs on the front lawn. I lost track of time, but I was happy. Or I had the buzz to make me feel happy. The world was a little blurry, just how I liked it. Jason just came back with the third pitcher and he plopped down when a girl came around from the back of the house. She was headed for the street, but before she could slip through two cars, some guys surrounded her. They seemed to have materialized from the road, stopping the girl.

She backed up at the same time Jason leaned forward in his chair. “Oh no.”

I looked. “What?”

“Move, assholes. I’m leaving,” the girl said. She wasn’t scared. She was annoyed.

Jason said to me, standing up, “That’s Samantha and those are Sebastian’s guys. This is so not good. Not at all. Hold on.”

“Who’s Samantha?” I asked, but he didn’t answer. I looked over and saw he wasn’t there.

As he disappeared around the house, a few people had followed Samantha to the front. Those people stopped, saw what was going on, and turned back to their friends. Pretty soon, more and more people started to come around the house. Soon a crowd started to fill in around her. I stood up, going over too. Maybe it was the beer in me, or maybe it was because of my own tragic douchebag ex-boyfriend, but I wasn’t going to let her stand there to be gawked at alone. My confidence that anyone would help was at an all-time low, so f**k it. I was going to help.

Damn the consequences.

I stepped closer, recognizing the girl now as Jason’s words clicked. This was the girl who came with Logan Kade. She stood now with her hands at her sides, her feet set apart. Her shoulders were back and ready as she watched the guys. She was ready to fight, and a nervous flutter moved through me, but there was an excited flutter right next to it. No. That was an angry flutter, but it was bordering on excitement. I was ready to fight, too, and remembering a time when someone who hadn’t stuck next to me, who should’ve, spurred me on.

“Get Logan,” someone yelled.

Another girl asked, “Where is Logan?”

I heard other people saying the same thing, but I focused on the girl.

She raised her chin, and a warning flashed in her eyes. “Touch me. I dare you.”

There were three of them, all tall and, not to be stereotypical, but they looked like preppy douchebags. Each was good looking, with bodies built like they rowed every morning for hours. They looked like money. It practically dripped from their clothes. Their jawlines were rigid enough to form glaciers.

Their eyes were icy, too, as they stared back at the girl. They weren’t backing down.

I broke from the crowd, planning to go stand next to her. But before I could move, the crowd broke in half. An actual opening formed, and Logan Kade strode forward.

My foot jerked back into its spot, stepping back as he brushed past me.

Kade stopped beside her, and the three guys turned their attention to him. They didn’t move or say anything, but the air shifted. It’d been dark and ominous before, and I still felt a battle brewing.

“Kade starts fights, and he finishes them.”

A low tingle went through me, warming me. I remembered what Jason said and the nerves/anger/excitement took on a whole other feeling. My mouth was almost watering. I wanted to see what would happen. I wanted to see this Logan Kade in action, and for some reason, I was thirsting to see this fight.

“Kade,” one of them grated out his name.

Kade glanced at the girl, and then settled back on the spokesman. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s a party. We were invited.”

“And that’s why you’re facing off with Sam?” He moved forward a step.

“We weren’t facing off...”

Samantha folded her arms over her chest. “Yeah, right. You were just walking past me? That’s why you wouldn’t let me get past you to the car. We just ‘happened’ to block each other and you didn’t hear me when I told you to move.”

A little laugh slipped from me.

Kade threw me a sideways look.

I should’ve clamped a hand over my mouth. I should’ve let them know I wasn’t involved, because really, I wasn’t. I didn’t know this girl. It wasn’t my place to say anything or join in, but I didn’t. A dark part of me had opened up, seeing that this girl might need help. I wanted something to happen. I was almost egging it on in my head and as Kade watched me, his eyes lingering, the dark part grew into something else. My body grew warm and my pulse started to pick up. It was like he knew what was going on in me, and I swallowed over a lump, because that wasn’t right. He couldn’t know. He didn’t even know me...

But I felt like he did. I felt like he knew exactly what was going on in me, and a flash of anger flared up in me. I turned away. He could see inside of me, and that was too much. I didn’t want that so I slipped back into the crowd. As I pulled further away, enough so I wasn’t on the front line, my insides were still charged up.

“Come on. Who invited them?” someone near me asked.

“Who are these guys?”

“Park’s lackeys,” another voice answered. “And they weren’t invited.”

More and more partygoers were talking. They were annoyed, and an excited buzz filled the atmosphere. People wanted a fight. They wanted to see some action.

The three douchebags scanned the crowd. Two stepped back. They seemed wary, but the third focused his attention on Kade. He moved closer, stepping so he was right in Kade’s face. His lip curled in derision, and his mouth moved, saying something I couldn’t hear.

Oh boy. I swallowed.

I recognized the look in Kade’s eyes. His anger wasn’t fading; it was increasing. And then it didn’t matter.

Kade’s hand flew and punched the guy right in the face. Douchebag One’s head flung backward, and he stumbled a few steps before recovering. His two friends shared a look, seeming unsure what to do, but Douchebag One made the decision for them. He wiped the back of his hand over his mouth, locked eyes on Kade, and charged.

The fight was on.

“No, no, no!” Jason shoved his way through the crowd. “Cops have been called,” he yelled. “Everyone scatter—”

Before he finished talking, sirens began to wail. They were faint, still in the distance, but he was right. They were coming.

Douchebag One reared back. He was going to hit Kade.

“Stop!” I yelled.

Kade heard me and turned to look. I pointed behind him. Before he turned around, he ducked, and Douchebag One’s arm went over his head. Kade caught it, twisted around, and rammed his elbow into the guy’s gut. He hit him with an uppercut, then bent over and tossed him over his back. The two other guys ran to their friend and pulled him away as they took off with the scattering crowd.

I watched, frowning. We weren’t in high school. We didn’t really need to worry, did we? But Jason grabbed my hand and yanked me after him.

“Come on,” he said. “There’s illegal s**t here. We don’t want to get caught. Trust me.”

I was still revved up. I didn’t know what from: from Kade or from the fight, but Jason took off and I followed right behind. As we zipped past a car, Kade was right there. He was heading to a different vehicle and for a moment, our paths crossed.

Kade looked at me. His eyebrows furrowed together, like he wanted to say something, but Jason yanked on my hand and we were past him.

“Logan!” Samantha called from farther down the road.

She waved from an Escalade. Jason veered toward them, pulling me along. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, but he continued right past the vehicle. I glanced back and watched as Kade sprinted for it. He leaped, took hold of the top of the Escalade, and somehow threw himself into the front seat as Samantha clambered into the back.

Once inside, Kade reached out and pounded on the top of the vehicle. “Let’s go,” he barked.

The driver took off, and they were past us in two seconds, just as Claire pulled up.

Jason hurried into the passenger seat, and I threw myself into the back. Claire gunned the engine, and we turned off the block and onto another street as the cop cars began pulling up in front of the house.

“That was close.”

I wasn’t sure who said that, but it didn’t matter. We were all thinking it.

Then I grinned. I wanted to do it again.