by James Tate
"So what happens now?" My voice was soft. Mostly I was intrigued but also scared as hell—not of what Kody and the guys could do... but of what Zane might do to them.
Kody shifted farther down the bed, rearranging us so we shared a pillow and could look each other in the eyes. Our hands remained linked together, though, and I was in no hurry to let go.
"Nothing," he told me, his expression open and honest. "Zane requested a meeting with Arch when he got the, uh, message. Steele went as backup, just in case."
My brows hitched. "Backup... in case Zane tried to hurt Archer?"
Kody gave a small nod. "Wouldn't be the first time."
That enraged me, and I swallowed past the dark emotions clawing at my throat. "Why didn't you go too?"
A small smile pulled at his lips. "And leave you here alone, asleep, and naked with a crazy stalker out there somewhere? You're kidding, right?"
I bit my lip, a frown pulling at my brows. I didn't want to say what I was thinking. I didn't want to let that vulnerable, pathetic, needy question pass my lips, no matter how hard my mind was demanding to know.
But I didn't need to. Kody had a knack of reading me, of knowing exactly what I was thinking without me needing to voice it out loud.
"Steele was better backup than me for a meeting like this," he explained, his voice soft and low. "He's an incredible sharpshooter, specializing with long-range weapons. Ever since the first time Zane tried to ambush Arch, we’ve taken precautions. Although it might seem like Arch is arriving alone—per their agreement—Steele is set up with a rifle trained on Zane's chest. He even leaves the laser sight on."
My jaw had fallen open as he spoke, then when he was done, I blinked a couple of times and licked my lips. "Well, shit," I murmured. "I didn't expect that."
Kody laughed. "We do rock the mysterious angle."
I rolled my eyes. "That's for fucking sure." My thumb rubbed over his damaged knuckle again. "Did you even ice these last night? They look fucking painful."
He arched a cocky grin at me. "You should see the other guy."
My jaw dropped again, and I shook my head as he cracked up. "You're unbelievable, Kodiak Jones."
His fingers untangled from mine, and he stroked my hair back from my face, tucking it behind my ear. "Unbelievable in a good way, right? Because, the way you kissed me last night made me think you're softening on that mountain-sized grudge you're holding."
We were so close, our heads sharing a pillow. It'd be so easy to close the gap between us and...
"Answer a question for me," I demanded, holding his green gaze steadily. "Did you deliberately plant that key on me?"
His eyes widened. "Is that what you think I did?"
I nodded, biting the inside of my cheek to keep my nerve in pursuing this conversation. It was long overdue, and now that things were growing increasingly complicated between us all...
"Fuck, MK, no wonder you've been so angry. You think I purposely planted evidence on you, then..." He trailed off looking up at the ceiling and scrubbing a hand over his messy blond hair. "And then Archer left you on the side of the road where you got arrested."
For the first time in almost a year, the weight of my anger and hate decreased.
"That's not what happened?" I asked, hopeful despite all my best instincts telling me not to be such a damn fool.
Kody turned back to me, his hand cupping the side of my face with almost gut-wrenching tenderness. "Madison Kate, I swear to you, that's not what happened. That wasn't even my hoodie that I gave you that night. I'd just grabbed it when shit started going down between the Reapers and Wraiths because it was cold as shit that night."
He could have been lying—of course he could have. But there was such open sincerity in his green gaze... Yeah, maybe it made me a gullible idiot, but I believed him.
It felt good to believe him, like a six ton weight had been lifted off my back and I could suddenly just fucking breathe again.
"What about the cops picking me up like that?" I asked, "Archer had said someone would be there to collect me, and the next thing I knew I was in handcuffs being tossed into a holding cell."
Kody's face tightened, and he grimaced. "You'll have to ask him, babe. I can't speak for him."
My stomach rolled, but I nodded. That was fair. I had no qualms confronting Archer, anyway. In fact, I'd almost started to look forward to my verbal sparring matches with him. It made my blood pump in just the most delicious way.
Kody's hand still cupped my face, and his thumb brushed over my lower lip, teasing. "So, we're good now? Truce?"
My breath caught at the heat in his heavy-lidded eyes, but I gave a small nod. "Truce," I agreed.
A small frown pulled at his brow. "Actually, I think I might still owe you some payback, MK. You dyed my face purple. And you Photoshopped porn with me fucking Archer from behind."
I bit my lip to try and hide my smile, but failed miserably. "Yeah, uh, chalk it up to friendly fire?" He scowled, and I swallowed the laughter bubbling up in me. "Okay, fine, you can have one free shot. What's it gonna be? Hair dye in my shampoo? Cling wrap over the toilet seat? Paint my bedroom glittery pink so it hurts my eyes every time I wake up? Oh wait." I rolled my eyes, and he gave me a sly half smile back.
"Nothing so juvenile," he murmured. "One free shot, huh?" I nodded. "Then I'll take this." He closed the gap between us, pressing his lips to mine. I sucked in a quick gasp against his mouth, my lips parting as I kissed him back. He gently bit my lower lip, sucking on it before meeting my tongue with intensity.
Sparks erupted in my belly, my pussy heating and my nipples hardening, reminding me that I was totally naked under the sheets and he was probably just in boxers... It'd be so easy to take things further, except—
"Kody," I gasped, pushing away from him and shaking my head. "I fucked Steele last night."
He cringed. "I know. We heard. Not to mention the fact that he was naked and asleep tangled up against your body when Arch needed to wake him up."
My face flushed with embarrassment, and I pulled away farther. "Right. So I can't just..." I shook my head, scrubbing my palm over my face. "It doesn't bother you? That I fucked your friend last night?"
Kody sat up slightly, propping himself up on his elbow to look at me with total seriousness. "It does," he admitted. "It bothers me more than I really thought it would. When I heard you guys last night..." He trailed off, his gaze ducking away from me and his jaw tense. "I've never been so jealous of Steele in my life. He's like a brother to me, but I could have happily knocked him out last night."
I blinked a couple of times, taken aback by this response. It was so much more emotional and possessive than I'd expected.
"Right," I said softly. "So, I should go shower."
I started to slide out of the bed, but he leaned over and grabbed my wrist. He pulled me back underneath him as he supported his weight with one thickly corded arm planted on the bed beside my head.
"I'm jealous as hell," he reiterated, "but that only showed me how much I want you. There's no way I'm walking away and bowing out gracefully. Not when you want me too."
This time when he kissed me, his pure, possessive dominance left me panting and frazzled. My pussy throbbed with need, and I could feel my own arousal slick on my thighs.
"I need a day," I said in a husky whisper as he peered down at me with his far too intuitive gaze. "A day to sort out my brain and think about... everything. I never should have slept with Steele in the first place. I'm still pissed off at him."
Kody didn't push this advantage, simply nodded and rolled to the side to let me escape. At the last second, I dragged the sheet with me, clutching it to my chest as I made a quick dash to the bathroom.
"A day," Kody repeated from my bed, and I risked a glance back at him.
That was a mistake. Thanks to me stealing the sheet, he was just laying there in the middle of my pink floral bed in nothing but a pair of tight red boxer briefs. Safe to say, underwear like that did
nothing to hide what he was packing. Or how hard he was.
His smile turned sly. "One day. I can't promise you any more than that, baby."
My stomach flipped and my pulse raced, but I just nodded and closed the bathroom door between us.
Taking a few deep, calming breaths, I dropped the sheet, then cranked my shower on. Cold. Ice cold. Lord knew I needed a dip in the damn Arctic to cool myself off.
My teeth chattered as I soaped myself up, groaning when the scent of my own body wash just brought images of Steele stroking himself back to my mind.
Some moments later, Kody knocked on the door, then cracked it open.
"You want to go to Nadia's? We probably have a few hours until the guys get back."
My stomach rumbled hard, and I groaned. "Fuck yes! But no ex-girlfriends slapping me this time, right?"
Kody's laugh echoed through the bathroom. "I promise."
He closed the door again, and I hurried through the rest of my ice-cold shower. Now that he'd put the idea in my head, I was goddamn starving.
My bedroom was empty when I emerged wrapped in a towel, so I quickly dressed in skinny jeans, a ribbed, black V-neck sweater that did all kinds of great things for my tits, and my favorite knee-high, black leather, flat boots. After spending most of the night freezing my ass off in that mini-dress, I was definitely opting for comfort and warmth today.
"MK, babe!" Kody called up the stairs. "You ready to go?"
I hurried down to meet him, tucking my phone into my back pocket. "I'm right here; what's the rush?"
"Arch just texted to say he's been called into our manager's office for his prelim weigh-in. He'll want to work out when he gets back, so I need to load up on cake and caffeine before then." He led the way through to the garage and clicked the key fob for his blue Maserati.
He slid into the driver's seat as the garage door slowly rolled open, and I buckled my seat belt while waves of nervousness rolled through me. "Prelim weigh-in?" I asked, wetting my lips. "What's involved in that?"
Kody shot me a curious look. "Pretty much what it sounds like. The official weigh-in is a couple of hours prior to the fight itself, and if a fighter falls outside their weight class—"
"Yeah, I know the rules," I cut him off impatiently. "Big MMA fan, remember? I just meant... he has to go into your manager’s office just to record his weight? Seems like a pointless trip when you've got scales here."
Kody shrugged. "Yeah, but they'll often have an official there to do a random drug screening too. That's not the sort of thing you can choose to do whenever you want, you know?"
Oh shit.
I must have looked as panicked as I felt because Kody gave me a confused frown when we paused at the main gates of the mansion. They were electronic but took a moment to open.
"Why so interested, babe?"
I rolled my window down, suddenly super interested in the landscaping around the main gates. "No reason," I lied. Then I spotted something. "Hey, what's that?"
To the side of the main gates, below the keypad that allowed us to come and go without getting out of the car, was an elaborately wrapped present box.
Kody froze, staring at where I was pointing. He shifted the Maserati into park, then climbed out.
I hurried to follow, stopping only when he held a hand up at me.
"Just stay back, MK," he ordered. "It could be anything."
My brows shot up. "Well, no shit. That's sort of why we need to look."
Kody shot me a flat glare, then turned back to the gift box and nudged the lid off with his toe.
"What is it?" I asked, craning my neck from where I'd stopped on his command. "Is it... a bomb or something?"
The way Kody's head snapped back to me and his brow furrowed made me pause.
"Fucking hell, MK. That hadn't even crossed my mind. If it had been, we'd both probably be dead now." He let out a heavy sigh and stooped to pick the box up in his fingers. "No, it's... another one of these." He tilted the package in my direction, and I shuddered when the pink-haired doll stared back at me.
This time she was naked, red flecks of something distinctly blood-like splattered over her body and coating her hands. On her feet were a miniature pair of black high heels, complete with their red soles and ankle straps.
Bile rose in my throat, and I swallowed it back down, fighting for strength in my voice. "Is that... are those photos?" I indicated to the envelope underneath the doll.
Kody tossed the box and the creepy fucking doll down on the grass and ripped the envelope open. He flicked through the images quickly, his face set in an impassive mask, before handing them to me.
"Oh fuck," I gasped, clapping a hand over my mouth as I stared at the first image. I'd suspected this when I saw the doll’s "outfit," but this was... Holy fuck.
Taking a steadying breath, I flipped through the images. There I was, stretched out naked on my bed, face down with my heels still on as I reached into my bedside drawer. Steele was behind me, the angle wrong to show his finger buried in my pussy, but the expression on my face kind of made it clear.
In the next one, I was straddling him. The next, he fucked me from behind, his fingers biting into the flesh of my ass and my hands twisted in the sheets. In the last image, I was on my knees in front of him. My back was to the camera, but his fingers were tangled in my hair and his head tipped back with ecstasy.
"He must have used a telephoto lens," Kody told me, taking the images from my hand. "There's no other way he could have managed this. None." He started to tuck them back into the envelope before I stopped him.
"Wait," I said, my voice croaking. "Give them to me."
He did as I asked, and I flipped them over. Sure enough, on the last image were those same jagged red letters delivering another threat.
No one touches what's mine. I'll remove every part of his body that touched yours, then take pleasure in punishing you for this betrayal.
Nausea washed over me, and I thrust the photos back to Kody.
"I'm going to be sick," I announced, rushing back through the gates and crouching on the grass beside the car.
I heaved and gagged, but nothing came up.
Kody sat in the grass beside me, stroking my hair with soothing strokes and holding it back as I dry retched. He didn’t talk, and I didn’t blame him. What could he say that would possibly make this better?
“He’s going to come after you guys,” I finally croaked when I was sure no vomit would actually come up.
Kody grunted a sound. “Let him try.”
I shook my head, terror flooding through me anew. “No. No way. I’m not dragging you all down with me. It’s bad enough he already threatened Dallas…” I trailed off, feeling the guilt of avoiding my old friend so much.
“That’s why you stopped hanging out with him?” Kody’s voice was thoughtful, but his fingers still rubbed gentle circles on my back. On a whim, I leaned into his body, and he tucked his arm around me.
“It sure as fuck wasn’t because Archer threw his big dick energy around, if that’s what you thought.” I muttered the words into his T-shirt, soaking in his solid presence.
For a while we just sat like that—fuck anyone watching—but eventually I sighed and peeled myself out of his embrace.
“I need to stay away from you all,” I announced, my voice holding more resolution than shock. “Until this stalker shit is worked out, I can’t go painting targets on your backs too.”
Kody shook his head, a frown creasing his brow. “No. Not a chance. You can’t get rid of us that easily, babe. Besides, we will keep you safe from this freak, I swear to you.”
He couldn’t change my mind, though. Not when it was all so raw on my frayed nerves. I didn’t argue, but the way he sighed and scrubbed a hand through his platinum hair made me think he knew. He knew I was going to distance myself, and he wasn’t going to force the issue.
Yet.
34
I barely left the house for the better part of two weeks. Not be
cause I was scared—even though that played a huge factor—but because I'd developed a nasty cold, probably from running around in the freezing night air with no coat and no panties after Bree's party.
One of the guys, I wasn't sure who, had arranged for all my lectures and classes to be streamed for me. It was a sweet gesture and meant that I wasn't falling behind before we'd even been at SGU for two months.
But there was another reason I was becoming increasingly withdrawn.
"Your father said he tried to call you last weekend," Archer commented as I shuffled into the kitchen wearing plaid flannel pyjamas, a thin tank top with no bra, and my dirty hair up in a sloppy bun.
I shrugged, pulling the fridge open to search for... something. Anything. I wasn't even hungry. Just bored. "I have nothing to say to him," I replied, my tone flat and cold. I'd seen his call come in and thrown my phone across the room. It'd cracked the screen and dented the wall, but I didn't much care.
"Fair enough," Archer accepted. He was sitting at one of the stools with his laptop open in front of him. It dimly occurred to me that I still had no clue what the guys were studying at SGU. Then I dismissed the thought again.
He let out a sigh, closing the lid on his computer and setting it aside. He was staring at me, and I was doing my best to ignore him while staring aimlessly into the fridge.
"The meaning of life won't magically appear between the beer and cheese, Princess Danvers," he muttered sarcastically. "Grab something and close the damn door. We need to talk."
That piqued my curiosity. Archer D'Ath, wanted to talk to me? Not argue or mock or tease? Ah, then again, that remained to be seen.
"What about?" I took the bait anyway.
He leveled me with one of those cool, blue-eyed stares. "Tonight."
Ice formed in my stomach.
"What about tonight?" Playing dumb seemed like my best option here.
Archer let out a frustrated sigh. "You know what tonight is. It's why you've been moping around the house for the last two weeks."
I folded my arms over my chest, indignant. "Excuse me? I'm sick."
"You're not. You had a cold. Colds don't last two weeks, Princess. You've been perfectly healthy all week, but now you're sulking because the anniversary of Riot Night is here and you still haven't resolved all your issues with us over what happened." His voice was flat, unemotional, uncaring. It made me want to punch him in the dick. With my boot. Repeatedly.