"Babe, it's me," Kody barked, holding me tighter as he found his feet and started running with me in his arms. "We need to get out of here."
Gunfire sounded behind us, back in the direction of the movie theater, and I craned my neck to see what the hell was going on. The huge glass window at the foyer of the theater—the one Scott and I had just been standing in front of—was shattered, probably where the bullet had hit. Innocent bystanders, normal people out for a movie or a walk or whatever, were scattered around on their bellies, crawling for shelter. The only people still standing were Steele, his gun aimed across the street and up into the building opposite as he shot back at my attacker... and Archer. He wasn't shooting; he just stood there like the force of his glare could kill the attackers and repel bullets away from his flesh.
Psychotic fuck.
"Get her out of here!" he roared to Kody, but his cold, blue eyes met mine.
Kody didn't reply, though; he was already approaching his royal-blue Maserati and clicking the doors open with his key fob. Seconds later I was dropped in the passenger seat, and the door slammed before I could form any kind of protest.
"Wait, Kody!" I shouted as he rounded the car to his side and slid into the driver's seat. I reached for the door handle to let myself out, but it was locked. What the fuck? Had he child-locked the doors? "Kody, I need to find Scott! Was he hit? What about Bree and Dallas? They were inside!"
"Archer's got it," he replied, gunning his engine and peeling out of the parking space without even waiting for me to buckle my seat belt. I scrambled to do so—my fear of car crashes had only gotten worse after the Halloween incident—then wrapped my arms around myself. I was shaking, trembling all over as the adrenaline drained out of my body.
"Did someone just fucking shoot at me?" I asked in a shaking voice. Maybe I'd jumped to conclusions. Maybe it was a coincidence. Maybe...
Kody shot me a quick look before turning his attention back to the road as he sped us out of Rainybanks. "Yes."
My breath escaped in a whoosh. "Why?"
Kody's hands tightened on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. "You didn't seriously think the threat was over just because you moved out, did you?"
I jerked, stunned by the simmering anger behind his words. "No, of course not," I snapped back, feeling... stupid as fuck. Wow. I kind of had dismissed the threats on my life. Nothing had happened since that day before Christmas. Since my stalker had almost killed me, then murdered Drew and that Wraith—a guy whose name I still didn't even know.
"Why were you there?" I asked instead, not comfortable leaving the silence hanging between us. I was too on edge. Too fucking keyed up and scared. "Were you guys following me?"
He snorted a humorless laugh. "Of course we were, MK."
I scowled. "Why?"
"Because people are trying to kill you!" he shouted, slamming his hand against the steering wheel in fury and frustration.
I bit my lip to silence all of the dumb responses I wanted to give him. I already knew why they cared if I was killed... I just didn't want to admit that I did.
"Where are we going?" I asked instead when the silence became too much to handle. "I'm not going back to your house."
Kody made an annoyed sort of grunt. "Technically it's your house. The deed is in your name."
I whipped my head around, giving him a sharp look. "What?"
He shrugged. "Well, half yours."
My stomach sank. "I see." If it was half mine, then it didn't take an astrophysicist to work out who the other half belonged to. Apparently my secret husband had been more than happy to forge my signature long before I’d even known him. Or maybe that kind of contract only needed one party to sign? How the fuck would I know?
Come to think of it, maybe silence was better than talking after all. Biting at the edge of my nail, I turned my gaze out the window and tried to pretend I was anywhere else. Anyone else. Because I was neck deep in drama and quickly drowning.
Kody didn't say anything more, but he also didn't return to the mansion we'd all been sharing until so recently. He drove straight to my new apartment, deep within Reaper territory in the former West Shadow Grove, then parked in a vacant parking space across the street.
"Thanks," I muttered when he released my door so I could get out, "for saving my ass back there." I started to walk away, crossing the street to my apartment block, but Kody followed.
He gave me a small frown when I glanced over at him. "You don't honestly think I'll just drop you off and leave, do you?" I raised my brows, and he shook his head in disbelief. "Have we even goddamn met? Fucking hell, MK."
I didn't argue with him, because he was right. There was no way in hell he was just dropping me at the door and driving away with a wave and a honk. Not when someone had tried to shoot me in public not even an hour ago. And really, I wouldn't want him to.
We waited for the elevator in silence, and when it arrived, a couple of Reaper kids stepped out, only to do a double take when they saw Kody standing there.
"Whoa, yo, bro... you lost?" one of them asked him with a slight smirk on his face.
Kody just glared death, and the other kid—who looked slightly closer to my age—whacked his friend in the arm.
"Shut up, fuckhead." Then he gave Kody and me a small nod. "No disrespect and shit, yeah? He's new."
Kody didn't even reply to them, and the older kid dragged the mouthy one out of the apartment building like their tails were on fire.
"What was that all about?" I murmured as we stepped into the elevator and I pressed the button for my floor. "I vaguely remember some Reapers treating you the same way the night of Archer's fight." The night I’d almost died of a deadly fentanyl dose.
Kody arched a brow at me, looking next-level sexy and dangerous. Fucking hell.
"What was what about?"
I glared. "Seriously? You're gonna play dumb on this?"
The corners of his mouth twitched, and I could tell he was fighting a smile. Bastard.
"There's nothing to play dumb about, babe," he replied as we reached my floor and the doors slid open. He indicated I exit ahead of him, but his sharp gaze swept the corridor ahead of us to make sure it was clear of threats. "I doubt I've ever met those two in my life."
I stomped over to my door and unlocked it. Thankfully, I'd kept hold of my bag through everything in Rainybanks, so I wasn't replacing yet another phone and there was no need to bang on Cass's door for my spare key. Not that he was likely to be home at eleven thirty on a Friday night.
"I swear to fuck, Kodiak Jones," I snapped, pushing the door open and stepping back for him to enter, "if you lie to me one more time, I'll stab you myself. I've had enough bullshit to last me a damn lifetime. Either start fronting up some truths or get the fuck out."
I stayed there in the doorway, leaning my shoulder against the jamb while Kody pulled a gun from his waistband and swept through my whole apartment. He flipped lights on and checked the closets, under the bed, behind the curtains—the whole deal—before putting his weapon away and returning to me.
"I'm not lying, babe," he told me with a small frown. "I don't know those punks. Arch, Steele, and I, we broke ties with Zane and the Reapers about three years ago." He paused, his jaw tight, and I knew there was more to the story. Zane D'Ath didn't just let people leave his gang because they wanted to. The Reapers—just like the Wraiths—were life gangs. Once you were in, the only way out was in a body bag.