by James Tate
In fact, he looked ready to blow his top any second. His face was red and his eyes narrow with fury, but worse yet was the way his hand hovered over his gun.
"Can we help you, Officer?" I asked the man, who just glared at me with pure disgust.
"You," he spat. "You're the little slut my brother was fucking. Where is he? If your criminal lovers have hurt him again, I swear—"
"You're going to want to take a damn breath, Shane," I said in a cold voice. This had to be Scott's brother. Now that I had made the connection, I could see the resemblance in his face. "Can I get you a drink? If you have questions, we can discuss it like civilized adults. If you're just trying to commit suicide, then please go ahead and keep insulting me."
My heart pounded and my palms were sweaty, but I'd be damned if I showed that fear to this fucker. I already knew he was on the Wraith's payroll, and now he charged in here calling me a slut? Things weren't going well for Shane so far.
Officer Shane's face twisted up in a sneer. "I'm not dealing with a civilized adult, so that would be hard. Just tell me where to find my brother, bitch. If he's hurt—"
"Do you have a warrant to be here harassing me, Shane?" I asked in a dry voice. I was all bravado, but the strong, silent support of Kody and Archer gave me that confidence. I doubted I'd be so ballsy if Shane had caught me alone. Then again, maybe I would have done worse. Maybe I'd have ended up shooting him in the head, just like I'd done to his brother.
Fuck. I was already a murderer, twice over. I needed to not make that a habit.
By the way Shane's glare sharpened, I knew full well he didn't have a warrant.
"Okay," I continued when he didn't reply, "in that case, I'd like you to leave."
Shane's gaze flickered over Kody and Archer, then back to me. He knew he was out of his depth—I could tell by the sheen of perspiration on his brow and the nervous way he licked his lips.
"Look, I just want to find Scott," he tried again, his tone marginally less aggressive. "I know he was hanging around with you, and you're bad fucking news. So just... just tell me where he is. I'll leave you alone."
Kody scoffed a laugh, giving me a look that clearly said, "Can you believe this idiot?"
Shit, maybe I was handling it all wrong. We knew where his brother was, after all. We knew he was dead and had disposed of the body so thoroughly there was nothing left for Shane to find. Nothing left for him to mourn over.
Shane took a step towards me, his fists clenched and murder written across his features. Instantly I found myself remembering a similar scenario with Scott, just a few weeks ago. There was no doubt in my mind Scott had meant to harm me that day. Just like Shane wanted to now. The only thing holding him back was Kody and Archer's threatening presence.
"Get out of our house, Officer Shane," I snapped, folding my arms. "Don't come back again without a warrant."
Archer let out a dark chuckle from beside me, his arm looping around my waist. "And good luck getting one of those. Do give my best to your captain, Shane."
The officer looked like he wanted to pull his gun and start shooting, but a moment later his better judgment kicked in. He turned on his heel and stormed out, not looking back once as he slid into his patrol car.
Kody kicked the door shut and turned to me with an expression of admiration. "Babe, you handled that really well."
Archer's hand on my waist squeezed. "He's right. You did good. It's not easy, the first time you face questions from a family member."
"That happens a lot?" I asked with a weak laugh. In Shane's absence, my skin was chasing with shivers and my head swirled.
Neither of the boys responded immediately, then Archer let out a small growl. "Not if you don't leave anyone alive to ask questions."
A deep shudder rolled through me. "You guys are fucking scary, you know that?
Kody came closer and kissed my hair as his hand trailed down my arm. "Yeah, we are. And we'd do anything to keep you safe, babe."
I leaned into Archer's hold as I let the two of them wrap me in their big dick energy for a moment. It would be so easy to sit in my ivory tower and let them clean up my mess... but then I'd never be able to live with myself. I needed just as much blood on my hands because we were equals.
"I think I might go take a shower or something," I said with a sigh. "Officer Shane gave me all kinds of creeps, and I need to wash all of that away."
The boys let me go, but I’d only made it a couple of steps up the stairs before Archer spoke again.
"Actually, I forgot to tell you. We have an appointment this afternoon. Can you be ready to go in an hour?"
I paused with my hand on the stair rail, giving him a pointed look. "We have an appointment in an hour, and you were going to tell me this... when?"
A devilish grin crossed his face. "Probably after you'd come all over my cock while Kody watched."
I rolled my eyes and flipped him off, but Kody's laughter was infectious. By the time I’d made it up to my room, I wasn't even mad, just cursing Officer Shane for interrupting that scenario.
Still. There was plenty of time for do-overs.
It wasn't until I was halfway through my shower that I realized I had no idea what our appointment was even for. Apparently I'd reached the blind-trust phase of my relationship with Archer, because it hadn't even occurred to me to ask.
13
Archer stuck his head back into my bedroom after my shower and told me to wear something "pretty," which immediately made me suspicious. I was tempted to throw on a pair of ripped jeans and one of Steele's band T-shirts just to piss him off, but I was curious enough to play along.
Which was how I found myself wearing a body-contoured dress in pastel purple and a pair of nude heels as I shook hands with our wedding planner. Yep, legit wedding planner who gushed all over how pretty I was, how handsome Archer was, and what a gorgeous couple we made.
Then she asked to see the ring.
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask, "What ring?" but then it hit me. Archer and I were fake engaged, and I wasn't wearing a ring.
Major plot hole in that plan.
"It's being resized," Archer smoothly lied. "My Princess has such delicate fingers it just kept falling off. Didn't it, sweetheart?" He damn near purred the endearment, and I bit my cheek to stop from elbowing him in the ribs.
"Uh-huh," I replied instead. "Sure did."
Alyssa, our wedding planner, was gazing at us with hearts in her eyes like she was feeding off all the love in the air. An emotional vampire.
"Princess," she whispered with a happy sigh and wide smile. "That's adorable. I can see the two of you are like a match made in heaven, and I swear I don't say that to all my clients." She laughed at her own joke, and I forced a chuckle in response.
"Something like that," Archer murmured, leaning down to kiss my cheek, then he brushed his lips over my ear to whisper, "Or Hell."
I smiled and let Alyssa think I was just smiling at her compliments.
"Okay, let's get started, shall we?" She clapped her hands and indicated for us to follow her over to a table. "I have all my samples ready to run through, and the cakes will be ready for tasting by the time we're done."
She bustled over to a table set up with stacks of color swatches and papers. We were in a bakery cafe in the Shadow Grove business district, but the place was totally empty, which was odd, given that it was lunchtime and the streets were busy.
"Now," Alyssa continued, sitting down opposite us, "you were so clear with your instructions over the phone, Archer, I thought it'd be best for us to lock in every imaginable detail today and save you from having to do more meetings with me. After all, we're very tight on time, aren't we?" Her smile was still pasted in place, but her gaze flicked over my midsection ever so quickly.
Great. Either she'd just assumed it was a shotgun wedding because I was pregnant, or Archer had told her that. We'd have words about that later.
"I appreciate that, Alyssa," Archer replied, ignoring the g
lare I was drilling into the side of his head. He shifted his chair closer to mine and slipped his hand onto my leg, his fingers curling around my thigh just below the hem of my dress. "As I mentioned, my fiancé is still such a public figure we really prefer to keep a low profile."
Oh. Sure. I was the public figure. That was rich, coming from Mr. UFC-fighting, male-model billionaire. Did he practice these lies in the mirror to have them come out so smoothly?
"Of course," Alyssa gushed. "And that new campaign for Copper Wolf you’re both featured in must be bringing so much extra attention already, even without the wedding."
Ah yes, the billboards, magazines, freaking buses painted with Archer and I in fuck-all clothing looking like we were about to devour each other whole. I mean... we were. But it was taking a bit of getting used to, seeing my face everywhere.
I licked my lips, then gave another tight smile. "Uh-huh."
Yeah, this was going to be a painful meeting if we were going to be lying through our teeth the whole time. Then again, that was probably the only way we could plan a fake wedding. Archer knew that people would be watching us—he knew that my killers would be watching. We couldn't give them any reason to suspect the wedding would be an ambush, so we had to go through all the motions.
To my surprise, though, Archer had no concerns about giving his opinion to Alyssa as she ran through everything from the color scheme to floral arrangements to silverware and linens.
"Now, these are my choices for a photographer," Alyssa said some time later, presenting us with three portfolios.
I hadn't actually needed to speak for ages, only offering my agreement when Archer gave me that look that said I'd been silent too long. But otherwise, I was pretty pleased with the choices he made. I'd never been the type of girl who thought about her wedding. I had zero clue what flowers I wanted in my bouquet or whether the dishes with gold trim matched the centerpieces.
Archer, apparently, did have a clue.
"Oh, I thought we would use Nikki," I commented, and Archer gave me a curious look. "Or is that not a thing? I know she's not technically a wedding photographer—"
"No, I think that's a great idea," he cut me off, giving me a smile that was a thousand times more genuine than the ones he'd been giving Alyssa. "Nikki would be honored, I'm sure."
"Oh," Alyssa said, blinking a couple of times. "Okay, sure. Just send me through her details, and I can coordinate. Will you do an engagement shoot, too?"
Archer's fingers had been stroking gentle circles on my inner thigh for the better part of an hour, so I blamed partial brain failure for the fact that I agreed.
He gave me a surprised look, and I shrugged. "What? Maybe your, uh, best men will join us." I flickered my brows up, and a slow smile curled Archer's lips.
"Oh, that's a great idea," Alyssa chimed in, oblivious to the sexual tension crackling between my husband and me. "The whole bridal party! Actually, I see, Archer, you listed two friends as your groomsmen, but Madison Kate, I don't have anyone on your side?" She clicked a pen on, poising it over her notebook like she was waiting on me to tell her some names.
But Bree was the only person I'd have ever asked. And she was confined to the hospital for the foreseeable future, so I legitimately had no one to be a bridesmaid.
"We will get back to you on that, Alyssa." Archer covered for my moment of speechlessness. "Kate's best friend was recently involved in a car accident, so it's just—"
"Oh, no! I'm so sorry," she exclaimed, pressing a hand to her chest. "Oh, my apologies, yes of course, just let me know when you know." She gave us a tight smile, and I released the breath I hadn't known I was holding.
Why the hell should it be expected that a woman needed multiple best friends in order to get married? Seemed like a pretty stupid rule to me.
Alyssa checked her watch. "I think we should be ready to choose cakes now, unless you have any other questions for me here?" She patted a hand on her stack of samples and gave us another bright smile. Her cheeks must hurt with all that smiling. It wasn't natural.
Archer cocked a brow, looking at me questioningly, but I shook my head. "Nope," I said with a smile of my own. "No, you've been very thorough." I took a sip from my water, which the one and only staff member working in the closed cafe had brought over some time ago.
"Great!" She scooted her chair back and checked a message on her phone. "The cakes are in the kitchen. Shall we?" She gestured for us to follow her through to the huge commercial kitchen. Evidently, either Alyssa or Archer had arranged for the whole place to be empty because only one cook was back there, washing his hands.
"Maurice, this is our happy couple," Alyssa introduced us to the man, "Archer and Madison Kate."
He gave us a polite nod, drying his hands off, then came over to the stainless steel bench where six different mini-cakes were presented.
"Congratulations," he said, then proceeded to run through the flavors of each of the cakes he'd prepared. When he was done, he gave us a nod and exited the kitchen.
Alyssa handed us each a fork and indicated that we taste the cakes, but... there was just something a bit uncomfortable about eating while she was standing there watching us with that fucking smile.
"Um," I started to say, then glanced up at Archer. He just quirked a brow at me and dug his fork into the first cake. He brought it to his mouth, then held my gaze as he slowly licked the frosting.
Fuck's sake. He was trying to kill me.
"Alyssa, sorry, do you mind if we have a couple of moments alone?" I turned back to our planner with a pasted-on smile of my own.
She hesitated a second, blinking at me. Then she checked her watch, like she was late for something. "Of course, sure. I'll just pop outside, shall I?"
"Actually, you can go," Archer replied for me. "I'll email you later which one we decide on."
Her brows rose. "But I told the staff to go, for your privacy. I need to lock up when we're done." She showed us a key from her planner and gave an apologetic smile. "And I'm actually running late for a walkthrough of a reception venue..."
Ah, that was her hesitation. She wanted us to hurry the hell up.
"No troubles." Archer reached out and plucked the key from her hand. "We can handle locking up. You may go." There was a thread of command in his tone that told Alyssa this matter wasn't open to negotiation. "I'll see that the key is returned to Maurice tonight."
Alyssa’s cheeks pinked, and she nervously bit her lip. Fair reaction, considering we were asking her to break the trust of the café owner. But no one refused Archer D'Ath when he really wanted something. Not for long, anyway.
"Thank you, Alyssa," Archer added, giving her that final verbal push. The subtle dismissal. "I'll be in contact later via email."
She jerked a nod, her smile brittle, but gathered up her things and hurried out of the kitchen. I stared after her for a moment, then turned to Archer with a frown.
"Was it just me, or did she seem cagey about something?" I couldn't help reading too much into our wedding planner’s behavior.
Archer gave me a half smile. "You're adorable when you're paranoid, Princess."
I scowled. "Fuck you, Sunshine."
"Only if you ask really nicely," he countered, quick as a whip. "After all, we do have the place to ourselves now." He held up the key, and a rush of warmth filled my belly.
"Okay, sure, but what if this is a trap?" I pushed, ignoring his offer of sex that I was about one heated glance away from taking. "What if she was all squirrely because someone is coming to kill us? Hmm?"
His grin turned wicked, and his hands landed either side of me, his body pressing me into the countertop. "Well then, we probably need to fuck quickly so we don't get taken by surprise." His voice was a dark, husky whisper in my ear, and his statement punctuated by a gentle nip of my earlobe.
I groaned, pushing him back an inch. "I'm serious," I protested. "We can't get complacent, right?"
He kissed my lips, a gentle peck that was equally loving and
mocking. Fucking bastard. "Princess, I love the fact that you're thinking more like a predator every day, but please trust me on this one. Alyssa works for Hades; she wouldn't dare betray us. She has a family to think of."
My jaw dropped slightly. "Oh shit. Okay, then."
Archer brushed his lips across my cheekbone, then found my lips again. He kissed me longer this time, and I almost melted under his touch. Almost.
"Wait." I pushed him away harder this time. "Wait. When Alyssa mentioned how soon our wedding was, she gave me that look."
"What look?" he asked, his expression neutral.
I scowled. "The look that said she thought I was pregnant. Did you tell her I was? Because I'm gonna be real fucking clear on this one, Archer D'Ath. Kids are not on the cards."
His brows shot up, and he took a deliberate step back. Apparently he didn't like that statement. Well, too fucking bad.
"I never told her that, Princess. She assumed and I didn't correct her because it lends credibility to our story." His tone was cold, and I was pretty sure he had more to say on the subject. Damn, there goes that orgasm.
I folded my arms, glaring and gearing up for a fight, but he wasn't done.
"But now that we're just laying it all out there," he continued, cutting me off before I got any words out. "Kids may not be on the table right now because you've got an IUD. But—"
"Whoa!" I held my hands up like I could physically wipe the insane from the damn air. "Whoa. Just fucking whoa. Stop right there. This has nothing to do with my birth control—which, I might add, is the only thing allowing you to fuck me bare and not mess around looking for condoms. Kids are off the damn table because, for one thing, people are trying to fucking murder me on a weekly, if not daily basis. I'm being stalked. My father sold me. I only just found out that I own a goddamn diamond mine. Oh, how about this one? I'm too fucking young, Archer!" I emphasized my point with a solid shove to his chest because sometimes I felt like my words lacked the necessary impact.