Thunder - Willow Summers Page 0,34

of her. I bet she paid him just to make James jealous, as if that would help. She always was a slut. She’s probably hoping for a pity lay.”

“Like James would screw trash, no matter how much she spent on plastic surgery.” They cackled, the sound echoing through the too-small bathroom.

Madison’s stomach churned. What they were saying about Colton hit a little too close to home. Not only was he clearly too hot for her, but yes, she’d had to pay someone of his caliber to be seen with her. She couldn’t even hold on to Frank—how could she have ever thought she could sell someone like Colton as her boyfriend?

Breathing laboriously, trying to ignore the heat prickling her eyes, she pushed up her chin and strode for the door, not letting them see how deeply their words had cut her. Trying not to feel the pain of being hated so vehemently. She couldn’t understand what she’d done to deserve that treatment. That raw anger. It bothered her now just as much as it always had. She didn’t need people to like her, but being hated like this—blindly and for no apparent reason—was intolerable. She shouldn’t have come. She knew that now.

Pushing through the door, needing to get away, she ran right smack into a male body. Apologizing, she tried to get around the human barrier, but hands grasped her and pulled her to the side.

“Are you okay?” James asked, holding on to her shoulders.

Panic flooded her. “No! I can’t be seen with you. Sorry, James, but—”

The bathroom door opened again and the two women walked out. It took two seconds for them to notice James holding on to Madison, her hand on his chest, the two standing close together in a darkened area.

Madison yanked her arms, trying to break free of his grasp. He held on tightly.

“What’s going on?” Patty asked, jamming her fists into her hips.

“I’m going to go tell Becky,” the other said, and hurried away.

“I ran into him. That’s all. He just kept me from falling,” Madison said.

“Get lost, Patty,” James said, turning his back on her. He leaned closer to Madison. “Hey, I wanted to talk with you really quickly. Can we go somewhere else?”

“I’m not going anywhere, James,” Patty said. “We all know what’s going on between you two, even if Becky won’t admit it. That woman there has always done nothing but cause problems. She won’t stay gone.”

“You’ve got nothing to do with this, Patty,” James said, his anger showing on his face.

“Let me go, James.” Madison struggled, finally getting free.

“Don’t let those hags chase you off.” James reached out again as he shifted, blocking her in. “I just want to catch up, is all. Don’t listen to them. They meddle in everyone’s lives.”

Madison’s heartbeat sped up. “Let me pass!”

Her breath caught when James’s body was suddenly ripped to the side. Colton, all strength and brawn, slammed the smaller man against the wall and held him there for a moment. When James made no move to defend himself, Colton stepped back, his hand curling around Madison’s waist and pulling her in protectively.

“When a lady asks you to move, you move,” Colton said with a dangerous edge to his voice. “From now on, don’t try to contact her. After she blocks you on social media, don’t try to friend her using a dummy account. Don’t even think about her, unless you want me showing up to teach you a lesson. Got it?”

“Don’t trust your girl, huh?” James asked, the contempt in his voice ruined by the quavering.

“I trust her implicitly. What I don’t trust is a man who doesn’t hear the word no. That’s when I need to step in. And I will step in, James. Hard. Think on that if her face ever crosses your mind.”

“What’s going on?” Becky rushed into the fray. When she saw Madison and James, her eyes narrowed. To Madison, she said, “I was trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, but clearly you are the home wrecker everyone says you are.”

“Oh my god, I literally came out of the bathroom and he was there,” Madison said, gesturing at James. Tears welled up. “I tried to get by him and he wouldn’t let me. I’ve done nothing wrong. I’ve never wrecked anyone’s home!”

“I’d like you to please leave,” Becky said, hands on hips. The bridesmaids gathered behind her, the other mean girls from the bathroom in their midst. They were clearly lapping it up. “We don’t need