Kody just took a gulp of his cider and shrugged. "Phillip's training taught us every useful skill he'd gained in his forty years as a black ops agent and then more that he'd developed himself as he slowly lost his grip on reality. You'd be amazed what we're capable of, babe."
No shit.
"So... you killed them all." It wasn't a question anymore. "How'd that free you from the Reapers? And the Wraiths, for that matter? Archer, all of you, seem to have both Shadow Grove gangs kind of shitting their pants when you're around."
Kody's lips curled in a grin at that description. "Well, that's the part that we needed to think long term on. It's not enough to just strike out in a power move and make everyone scared as shit. Those kinds of threats wear off over time, and idiots—especially gangster idiots—will dismiss the rumors as exactly that. Rumors. So we needed to ensure we had both Zane’s and Charon's balls firmly in our grip, you know?"
I wrinkled my nose. "Horrible metaphor but yeah, I get you. So, what are you holding over them? How does it relate to the Timberwolves?"
"We hit the Shadow Grove gangs where it hurt the most. By cutting the Tri-State Timberwolves off at the knees, we were able to make some lucrative deals. We gained control of several of their businesses—legal and illegal. We cut off trade with the Shadow Grove underworld until they agreed to our terms." A small, satisfied smile ghosted his lips, like he was still proud of what they'd achieved. Fair enough, too.
I nodded slowly, understanding the implications of their very strategic move. "You held them to ransom for their own revenue streams. So, the Reapers and Wraiths now only operate because the three of you allow them to?"
"In a simplified explanation, yes. We also have a few insurance policies in place to remove the temptation to just kill the three of us and take our assets for themselves." He took another long sip of his strawberry-and-pear cider and gave me an approving nod. "This is actually pretty tasty."
"Told you," I muttered.
We were silent for a long time while I processed all this new information. None of it changed the way I felt about the three of them—deep down, below my rage, betrayal and anger still stung—but it explained a lot. The idea that they'd been the ones who’d carried out the Tri-State Massacre was staggering and a little unbelievable. But I also didn't think Kody would lie about something like that. He clearly carried some measure of guilt about it, and that only endeared him to me.
He'd made some hard choices to change the path of his future, and while he'd probably do it again if needed, he wasn't gloating. He wasn't proud of the lives they'd taken in the process.
"Fucking hell, Kody," I said after the silence stretched with tension. "I guessed you guys had done something. But that's... a whole lot more."
"I know," he replied with a grimace. "I just wanted to give you the truth. It's the least I could do, considering everything."
Everything. In other words, considering the fact that his friend had bought me and married me without my knowledge, then he and Steele hadn't breathed a fucking word of warning to me. They’d just let me tumble down the rabbit hole of their dark and dangerous world and smiled the whole time.
But that wasn't totally fair.
"These people trying to kill me," I said, licking my lips, "do they have anything to do with you guys? With what you did?"
Kody shook his head. "No. Or... not so far as we can tell. The attack on Riot Night, that was intended for you, and it was well before you became involved with all our shit. So far as we've been able to work out, it has to do with your inheritance from your mom."
I frowned, biting the edge of my thumbnail. It was a bad habit I'd recently developed. "Yeah, there's something weird about that too—"
The shrill sound of Kody's cellphone cut me off, and he gave me an apologetic look before fishing it out of his jeans. He took a look at the display and frowned.
"Take it," I told him, sure I knew who was calling. "I need to know that Bree, Dallas, and Scott are okay."
He quirked a quick look at me, then hit "answer" on his screen before bringing the phone to his ear. The first thing out of his mouth was a relay of my concerns, and a moment later he gave me a nod and thumbs up to indicate that my friends were all okay.
I let out a sigh of relief, then went back to my kitchen to grab us more drinks. I didn't need to sit there and listen in on his conversation with Archer, not after Kody had made it perfectly clear he'd answer any question I had. Better than that, he'd answer honestly, provided it was his story to tell.
Deciding to show him some small measure of trust—and desperately hoping it wouldn't bite me in the ass again—I dropped our fresh drinks back on the coffee table, then left him to his call while I went for a shower.
I kept my shower pretty quick because the last thing I needed after being shot at was more time alone with my thoughts. All that proved to me was how deluded I was in trying to cut the guys out completely. They were too heavily involved in everything right now, and my own problems—like my stalker and the people trying to kill me—weren't going to magically disappear just because I’d moved out of the mansion.
Fuck me, sometimes my own anger seriously blinded me to the bigger picture. Not that I'd be washing away all our issues like water under a bridge, oh hell no. But I'd be a fucking moron not to use them for what they were good at.
Them, the Reapers... all of them.
I'd use them to reclaim my inheritance, my life, and my freedom. Then, if anything was left in the bloody aftermath, I'd consider reconciliation.
Stepping out of the water, I roughly dried myself off, then tucked the towel around my body. I bypassed the clean clothes I'd brought into the bathroom with me and made my way back through to the living room where Kody still sat on the couch with his phone to his ear.
His glittering green eyes met my gaze as I stepped closer. Curiosity and suspicion vied for supremacy across his face, and I gave him a sly smile in return.
"Yeah," he was saying into his phone, "I think that's probably for the best too." His eyes didn't leave mine for even a second as Archer replied to him, and he mumbled an agreement.
I dropped my towel.
9
"I've gotta go," Kody told Archer, hanging up his call and tossing the phone onto the table without even waiting for a reply. His brows hitched as he stared at me. At all of me. "Part of me knows this is a trap," he admitted, his eyes narrowing even as he ran his thumb across his lower lip and his gaze heated.
"So?" I replied, taking a few steps closer until I was standing between his spread legs. I slid my palms up my torso, cupping my own breasts and squeezing lightly. "You have a problem with being used, Kodiak Jones?"
His hooded gaze followed my hands, hungry with desire. "If it means being used by you, Madison Kate? I have no objections."
He reached out with both hands, grabbing my waist and lifting me to straddle his lap. The moment my weight was situated across him, his hands were in my hair, his strong fingers massaging the back of my head as he brought our lips together in a burst of passion.