Kody smirked, superior as fuck, and I resisted the urge to smack him in the face.
"Whatever," I snapped again, feeling like a sullen thirteen-year-old. "I have other friends."
Steele snorted a quick laugh. "No, you don't. The only other person you've said more than three words to this whole week was..." I looked over at him just in time to see the realization dawn on his face. "You're going out with that meathead quarterback? No way."
"Fuck you," I spat. "I'm a grown-ass woman, you don't get to dictate who I spend my time with. And what the hell, have you three been stalking me or something? How the fuck would you know who I've been talking to on campus?"
Steele just shrugged, leveling a flat, uncompromising stare at me. Kody smirked. Again.
"What's going on here?" Archer asked, stepping out of the den and eyeing the three of us suspiciously.
I threw my hands up. "Oh, the whole gang is here! Fantastic. I can tell you all to fuck off at the same time. Here it goes. Fuck. Right. Off. You don't own me, so stop playing this bad-boy bully crap. It's a tired, overdone trope."
Pushing past Kody, I tried to exit the house, but Archer's hand shot out and grabbed my wrist in a bruising grip.
"Where do you think you're going, Princess?" he asked me with utter piles of condescension. "We had plans tonight."
I scoffed. "We did not have any plans. Nor will we ever in the future. You're a minor inconvenience that I intend to be rid of sooner rather than later. Now, let go of me before you make me late for my date."
Yeah, I laid that on thicker than I really needed to, given how seriously unexcited I was for this date with Bark. Hell, I'd barely even dressed up for it. The heels had been a last-minute plea from Bree after she realized I couldn't be swayed from my black skinny jeans and soft gray camisole.
"She's going out with the Ghosts QB," Steele informed Archer, and I shot him a dagger glare.
A dangerous look passed over Archer's face, and I noted the puffy swelling below his right eye. He must have been fighting. Practice or for real? I hated that I was so fucking intrigued.
"Cancel it," he ordered me, his hold on my wrist not easing even a fraction.
I sneered. "No."
His left eye twitched, and it was like a thundercloud just formed over the two of us. "Cancel the fucking date, Madison Kate, or you'll regret it."
My jaw dropped at the clear threat. "Are you fucking serious, right now? You're telling me if I don't cancel my date, you'll what? Beat Bark up?"
Archer smiled then, but it was a cold, unpleasant expression. "I'd never do something like that, Princess." He released my wrist abruptly, and I stumbled a couple of steps back as he disappeared back into the den.
"What the hell?" I muttered, staring after him and rubbing my aching wrist.
Steele sighed and shook his head, drawing my attention. "Arch would never beat up some sleazeball for trying to date rape you, gorgeous, because if he hit someone he could be charged with attempted murder. As a professional fighter, his fists are considered lethal weapons."
I gaped at this information. That was a pretty serious accusation to just throw out there about someone. Did Bark have a reputation? The part about Archer’s fists I filed away for use at a later stage. Steele wasn't finished, though.
"So... Arch would never beat up some idiot to warn him away from you..." He cocked his head to Kody, who was grinning like an escaped mental patient.
"But we would," Kody finished the sentence, cracking his knuckles menacingly.
I shivered, and damn, I wished I could say it was from fear.
"You're messing with me," I whispered, not even believing those words myself. I knew who these three were, and I didn't mean whatever their fucking PR manager was putting out on Instagram. I meant I knew who they really were. Gang members. Criminals. Thugs. Yeah, I didn't think Kody would even think twice about breaking some bones in Bark's body just to prove a point.
"I'll go tell your date you changed your mind," Steele generously offered, then disappeared out the front door, leaving the echo of his laughter in his wake.
Kody slung his arm over my shoulders and tried to steer my into the den, where Archer had disappeared a moment ago. "Come on, babe. It's not as bad as you think. We're just looking out for your well-being, like your dad asked us to."
I shrugged out of his arm and retreated toward the stairs. "Fuck you, Kody. That's not how this is going to work. You won this round, but you know I'll just hit back harder."
He laughed, and I flipped him off, stomping back up to my bedroom with hate searing through my veins.
14
The guys only allowed me about half an hour to stew in my foul mood before Kody busted into my room without even knocking.
"Rude, much?" I snapped, glaring at him with raw fury. "Get the fuck out of my room, Kodiak."
He flashed me an unrepentant smile, flopping down on my bed like he belonged there. His cheeks were pink where he'd been scrubbing at the food dye, and—much to my disappointment—he'd managed to get most of it off.
"You know it's kind of a turn-on when you use my full name like that, Madison Kate?" His gaze ducked away from me as he said that, and I sensed the lie. It was a common misconception that lies could be detected based on the direction a person looked while speaking, but I'd found more often than not people would break eye contact for fear of their lie being detected.
I snorted a bitter laugh. "Sure it is. What do you want?"
I folded my arms, glaring at him from across the room where I leaned against my dresser.
He arched a brow, then did a long look around him. "Well, first of all... this room is fucking disgusting. No one likes pink this much, not even you."
"No shit," I replied with a scowl. "But you didn't come here to criticize Cherry’s decorating skills. I'll ask again, what the hell do you want?"
He tucked his toned arms behind his head, looking way too damn comfortable in my princess-pink bed. "We're going out."
"Okay. So, go. This didn't require a face-to-face meeting to discuss."
Kody grinned, shaking his head, then stood from my bed and prowled toward me like a predator. "Let me clarify, Princess. We"—he indicated between him and I—"are going out. All of us. So put those sexy-ass shoes back on and let's go. We're already late."
I tilted my head back to look up at him, seeing as he was standing way too close and without my heels he was way too tall. Intimidating tall. Sexy tall. Dammit.
"No."
Kody smiled again, but it wasn't a nice smile. "Put your shoes on and come of your own free will, or I'll throw you over my shoulder and carry you out of here. If my hand happens to slip and smack your ass on the way, well, what was it you said? All's fair in love and war?"
I glowered. "I said hate and war."
He shrugged. "It's a fine line. So? What's it going to be? We're not leaving you here alone tonight, and we can't miss this fight, so decide quickly."
I wanted to dig my heels in and refuse. I kinda wanted to see if he was serious in his threat. But I couldn't fight the spark of excitement that flared to life inside me at the mention of a fight. I used to be obsessed with MMA and UFC. Not that I'd ever trained, myself, but I’d been a huge fan of the sport... until last Halloween. Riot Night had soured my interest in the whole damn thing. Until now.