Liar

Liar is a novel in the Madison Kate series, a contemporary romance and romantic suspense story continuing from the first installment, Hate. It follows Madison Kate (MK) Danvers as she contends with a dangerous stalker, an attempted murderer, and the three young men living in her father's mansion in the fictional city of Shadow Grove.

The novel opens from the perspective of Kody (Kodiak Jones), one of MK's three housemates. Two weeks have passed since Halloween night, when MK was attacked at The Laughing Clown, stabbed, and left for dead. Kody, Archer D'Ath, and Max Steele rushed her to the hospital, but MK accused them of attacking her. Police cleared them, yet she removed all three from her visitor list. Archer, an aspiring fighter in mixed martial arts (MMA), lost his debut Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight the morning MK woke screaming at the sight of him. When the boys check on her discharge, they learn she left three days early without telling anyone.

MK has been hiding at a hotel. She visits Zane D'Ath, Archer's older brother and leader of the Shadow Grove Reapers gang, to ask whether he stalked her mother, Deb, who was murdered years earlier. Zane denies involvement and suggests that MK's stalker and her would-be killer are likely different people, with someone standing to gain financially from her death. He warns her to stay close to the boys for protection. Cass, Zane's second-in-command, drives MK back to her hotel, where Archer is waiting and takes her to Danvers Mansion against her wishes.

At the mansion, Archer reveals that the butterfly knife used by her attacker resembles blades handmade by his late grandfather, Phillip D'Ath, who gave them only as earned gifts. Since Phillip is dead, Archer cannot identify who received one. Kody proposes fake dating to provoke Archer, who had cruelly told MK to sleep with Kody to get Archer "out of her system." They kiss, and MK's feelings prove genuine. She then confronts Steele, a former piano prodigy who has been cold toward her. He explains that her pattern of running away echoes the car crash that killed his twin sister, Rachel, three years earlier. He clarifies he is not over her, and they reach a fragile understanding.

MK's stalker escalates sharply. She finds a photograph of herself and Steele with "MINE" scrawled across it. An explosion destroys Steele's car in the Shadow Grove University parking lot, injuring bystanders. Written across Archer's adjacent windshield in apparent blood: "WELCOME HOME, MADISON KATE."

MK's father, Samuel Danvers, returns from Italy with his girlfriend Cherry, Archer's mother, and imposes severe restrictions, accusing MK of fabricating the stalker and threatening to commit her to a psychiatric hospital. None of the boys defend her, but MK later eavesdrops and discovers the boys are directing Samuel, revealing they hold the real power in the household. That night, Archer holds MK after a nightmare and whispers that he hates himself, a vulnerability he likely did not intend her to hear.

MK gradually reconnects with Steele and Kody. On Thanksgiving morning, Steele plays her a piano composition, the first since Rachel's death, and calls MK his muse. They have sex. Archer takes the group to the D'Ath family estate, where he reveals his family history: His great-grandfather Gregoric was a violent criminal whom Phillip killed before working for MI6 (the British intelligence agency). Phillip tried to raise his own sons away from crime, but both started rival gangs: the Reapers and the Wraiths. In a hidden room, Archer shows MK Phillip's handmade butterfly knives, confirming that anyone who received one could be connected to her attacker. The next morning, he gives MK a butterfly knife, a significant gesture since he has never given one away before, and Kody and Steele begin teaching her self-defense.

On the way home from Archer's UFC fight, a masked man attacks MK in a diner restroom. She stabs him with Archer's knife and screams for help. Archer and Steele chase the attacker and kill him, though Steele is injured in the pursuit.

Archer later reveals that he, not Samuel, orchestrated MK's house arrest. Kody punches him for the admission. Despite her fury at Kody's complicity, MK and Kody have passionate sex. The stalker responds with a dead bird and white rose mirroring Kody's chest tattoos, plus a photograph of MK and Kody inscribed "LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE." Archer discovers the stalker hacked the home security system and embedded cameras. The boys reveal four other stalker deliveries since Halloween, all labeled "LIAR."

Through a back channel, Zane contacts MK and reveals that all government records of Deb's family history have been falsified to make Deb appear to be an orphan. He suspects Samuel is behind the cover-up and believes the motive to kill MK is tied to Deb's erased family line and involves money.

At a party after Archer's UFC comeback win, Drew, Kody's ex-girlfriend, challenges MK to a drinking bet. Suspicious that Drew tampered with the offered cup, MK takes Drew's drink instead. The drink has been laced with fentanyl, a lethal opioid, by someone who intended to kill Drew. MK overdoses and collapses. An unknown person administers Narcan, an opioid-reversal drug, then locks her in the trunk of Steele's car. Trapped in the dark, MK hallucinates and her claustrophobia overwhelms her. Archer hears her screams, shoots out the car window to pop the trunk, and pulls her out. He rides with her in the ambulance. At the hospital, the boys reveal Drew was found murdered behind the venue. A police officer discloses Drew was carrying Rohypnol, a powerful sedative, confirming she had planned to drug MK before someone else targeted Drew with fentanyl.

The stalker delivers a package containing evidence that he killed Drew and a Wraith gang accomplice to protect MK, including a photograph of MK in the trunk labeled "BE. MORE. CAREFUL." A human heart left on the mansion's steps belongs to the accomplice.

That night, Archer crawls into MK's bed and initiates sexual contact but refuses to go further. When MK demands to know why his secrets should matter if they do not involve her, he replies, "Because they do," and storms out. MK, Steele, and Kody later share a night together.

In the novel's climactic revelation, Zane arrives at the mansion and announces Archer's secret. After MK's arrest during an earlier incident known as Riot Night, her father sold MK and her trust fund to Archer to clear his debts, making MK legally married to Archer without her knowledge. Zane delivers legal documents and declares: "Congratulations, Mrs. D'Ath. Welcome to the family." MK's face becomes expressionless. She takes the documents, climbs onto Cass's motorcycle, and tells him to drive, refusing to acknowledge any of the boys. Archer lets her go, telling his friends, "She knows she can't escape me forever."

An epilogue from Archer's perspective confirms he purchased MK to save her from her father's debts, though he acknowledges the situation has spiraled beyond redemption. He deliberately avoids sex with MK because he knows the truth will surface. As MK rides away, Archer accepts Kody's punch and Steele's kidney shot without fighting back, knowing their complicity in keeping his secret constitutes its own betrayal.