"Come on, gorgeous." Kody draped his arm around my shoulders, aiming for casual nonchalance and falling just a fraction short. "This is turning out to be a hell of a night."
Steele sighed and followed along behind us as we headed in the direction Archer had gone. "Just don't hate us for what happens next," he said so quietly I wasn't totally sure I was meant to hear. I did, though, and so did Kody, if the stiffness in his body was anything to go by.
The question was, though... what the fuck were they about to do?
And why was I so damn excited to find out?
30
Lots of party-goers had spilled out into the front yard of Bree's mansion, standing around drinking and laughing. Some girls danced to the loud music pouring from the open windows, and several couples were making out in the grass.
That's where we found our target.
Archer made a beeline for a couple making out under one of the big willow trees, and Steele grabbed hold of my hand, holding me back.
"Trust us, okay, Hellcat?" he said quickly, quiet enough for only me to hear. "Don't freak out."
I startled, giving him a double take, but there was no time for me to question his strange comment. Archer reached down and grabbed the guy by the back of his neck, forcefully lifting him off the moaning girl and throwing him across the lawn.
That's when I realized I'd been a little off the mark assuming they'd just been making out. His dick was out, and the girl screamed as she covered herself up with her short dress.
"Take him," Archer ordered, and both Kody and Steele stepped toward the tattooed guy who was trying to stuff his cock away again. When he saw the boys descending on him, his eyes widened, and he took off running.
He didn't make it far, though, with Kody catching him easily and locking him in a painful-looking arm bar to frog-march him back across the grass to where I stood near Archer.
The girl grabbed her shit and took off too, but no one even spared her a glance, let alone dragged her back kicking and screaming like her boyfriend. Or... random hookup as the case may be. She sure as shit wasn't hanging around to involve herself in his drama.
"Let's go," Archer said in a voice like ice, turning to leave and just expecting everyone to follow him, I guessed. The commanding tone rubbed my combative personality the wrong way, but for once in my life, I bit my tongue. There was so much more going on with these guys, and this was my opportunity to find out what.
Silently, I followed Archer back to our car, where Kody and Steele manhandled the random dude into the trunk and slammed it closed.
"Now what?" I asked as Archer pulled the keys from his pocket and spun them around his index finger. He didn't reply, but gave Kody—who stood closest to me—a pointed look.
Kody gave a short nod in reply, then swept my hair over my shoulder and brought his lips close to my ear. They loved doing that to me, and I was starting to question if these things really did need to be secrets or if they'd just worked out that it was one of those nonsexual turn-ons that made my knees weak and my nipples hard.
"Stay silent, MK," he urged me. "Anything you say can and will be repeated back to Zane. Better to give this prick nothing to work with, yeah?"
Chills raised the hair on the back of my neck at Zane's name. Whatever the fuck these guys were involved with, I wanted no part of it.
But then... was I ready to walk away? Would my curiosity let me just close my eyes and play ignorant to what was about to happen? Those weren't even serious questions because I already knew the answers.
No. No way in hell.
So I gave Kody a small nod of agreement and silently slid into the backseat with Steele beside me.
Someone called out to Archer, pausing him before he got into the driver's seat. I couldn't hear what was said, but Archer's response was clear.
"Allowances were made for you, Moore. Not your boys. Next time you forget that, the message will be sent to Ferryman." The threat was evident in his voice, and I strained my ears to hear Dallas's response.
There was a short pause, then, "Understood. It won't happen again. Can I have a minute to speak with Katie?"
Archer didn't hesitate for even a second. "No."
He slid into his seat and slammed the door, starting the engine and pulling out of park before Kody had even buckled his seat belt. Archer didn't make any move to put his belt on, and my anxiety spiked.
After a minute of driving, I cracked.
"Put your seat belt on," I snapped, biting my lip as soon as the words left my mouth. But for fuck’s sake, it was the law for a reason.
Archer peered a quick look at me over his shoulder, and that only ratcheted my anxiety up higher. Thankfully, though, he must have seen how serious I was and smoothly clicked the buckle home a second later.
I forced myself to release a breath, letting go of the slight panic. Steele silently reached across the seat and snagged my hand in his. I tried to pull away, hating that they'd just seen that, but he held firm, lacing our fingers together.
As much as I still wanted to hold my grudge against him, he was fast wearing me down. His grip on my hand was reassuring and grounding. I kind of loved it.
Archer didn't drive us home. Not that I'd really expected him to take a kidnapped gangster—because I was going out on a limb and guessing he was a Reaper—back to our home, but I hadn't expected the destination we'd ended up at.
"Here?" I asked, stunned and full of dread as I peered up at the giant, dilapidated clown face. Apparently The Laughing Clown hadn't been one of my father's integration projects, or he hadn't made it this far yet, because it looked just as run-down and shitty as the last time I'd been there.
Archer flashed me a warning look as we got out of his car, and I mimed zipping my lips shut. Kody and Steele hauled the guy out of the trunk and threw him on the gravel of the parking lot.
"You don't want to do this," the guy yelled at them—us—as he rolled to his feet. "You're making a big mistake. Zane told me to go to that party. I was on orders."
Archer—so very clearly the one in charge here—folded his arms and sneered at the tattooed gangster. Now that I was taking a better look at him, I spotted the prominent reaper tattoo on the side of his neck and the black bandanna with white reaper logos tied to his belt loops.
"That's exactly why you're here, Skunk," Archer commented, his voice hard and resigned. "Zane threw you to the wolves. Be sure to let him know how much I appreciate him testing the limits."
He nodded to Kody and Steele, both of whom wore the hardened expressions of practiced killers. Steele was taping his hands to protect them against whatever they were about to do. It didn’t take a genius to work that one out.
What the fuck have I walked into?
The guy—Skunk—babbled pleas for mercy, but they fell on deaf ears. He howled with pain as the first strike of Kody's fist landed across his face, and I flinched.
"Princess," Archer rumbled, turning his back on the scene and stroking a long lock of pink hair away from my face. His index finger tipped my chin up, bringing my eyes in line with his as his huge body blocked everything behind him. "Look at me. Not them."