"Scott, what the hell are you even doing here?" I asked the more important question. Fuck the macho, posturing bullshit between boys, I wanted to shift the cold chill of fear chasing through me. "How'd you know where I was?"
Kody didn't let up, and Scott made a furious, pained sound. The crunch of boots on gravel alerted me to Archer joining the party, but I didn't acknowledge him.
"You told me," Scott replied, sounding all kinds of furious even through the blood of his broken nose. Or hell, maybe it wasn't broken. Maybe it was just badly bent. "On the phone earlier."
I frowned, meeting Kody's eyes. He'd heard my call with Scott, so he could verify. His head shake confirmed what I thought.
"No, I didn't." I was one hundred percent confident that I hadn't. The guys hadn't even told me where we were going while I was in the car and on the phone with Scott. So he was lying.
But why?
Scott didn't respond for a moment, and Archer's boot slowly came down on one of Scott's hands where it lay flat on the ground.
"How'd you know where to find her, Scottie?" Archer asked in a dark growl. It was the type of voice that promised a long, drawn-out, and painful death if he didn't get the answers he wanted. It sent a hard shudder through me, and I bit my cheek to keep from showing my reaction.
Scott got a stubborn look in his eyes, and I lost my temper.
"Hey," I said, snapping my fingers in front of his face. "Answer the question. How'd you know where I was? Were you following me?"
Scott's eyes widened. "What? No! No, I wasn't... Ugh, I just didn't want to..." His words trailed off in a mumble, and Archer's boot ground his hand into the gravel, drawing a short scream of pain from Scott.
"Speak up," Archer ordered, and Kody snickered a laugh. Shithead.
"I didn't want to get Bree in trouble!" Scott shouted, looking up at me in accusation like it was somehow my fault he was admitting this.
My mood soured even further. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Scott? What does Bree have to do with anything?"
"Find My Phone," he blurted out when Kody tightened his grip on Scott's arm. "Your phone is still on Bree's account. I asked her to use Find My Phone and tell me where you were."
Chills raced down my spine, and I looked up to see what the guys’ reaction was to that information. Kody was scowling. Archer just met my gaze with no expression, and that told me what I needed to know. It was up to me what we did from here.
I let out a long breath. "Scott, why would you do that?"
"I was worried," he replied quickly. "You sounded off on the phone, and I was worried about you. So I just asked Bree to track your phone and drove over to make sure you were okay. Clearly, I was right to be worried. What the fuck was this asshole doing with his hands all over you?"
The tension headache building behind my eyes was growing intense, and my temper was getting short. "Let him go," I told Kody, rising back to my feet with a heavy sigh. I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a couple of calming breaths as the guys slowly released my friend.
When Scott scrambled to his feet and made a threatening gesture toward Kody, I lost my temper.
"Scott, stop." My voice was like a metal-tipped whip. "Just fucking stop."
He did as I said, thank fuck. I doubted I could pull Kody off him a second time. Or Archer, for that matter. No matter what our fucked up baggage was, he was still protective as fuck. He wouldn't tolerate Scott's bullshit.
"Guys, can we have a minute?" I asked Kody because Archer was never going to listen. "I need to speak with Scott alone."
Neither one of the boys moved. Typical.
"Now!" I snapped, letting all my pent-up frustration and anger crack through my voice.
Kody nodded reluctantly, then gave Archer a shove in the chest to move him away from us. They didn't go far, but then again, I hadn't expected them to. Just far enough to give us the illusion of privacy.
"Maddie, babe," Scott said, reaching his hands out to me in a pleading gesture, "what the hell is going on? I thought you wanted to make them rue the day they crossed you?"
My lips twitched in a smile, despite the seriousness of the situation. Blood still dripped from Scott's face, but maybe his nose wasn't broken after all.
"Rue the day?" I repeated with a snicker. "What is this, Pirates of the Caribbean?"
Scott rolled his eyes with a wince. "No, that'd be making them walk the plank." He frowned, dabbing at his face with the hem of his shirt. "So, what gives? They hurt you, Maddie. They need to pay for that, and I don't think anything would hurt them more than seeing you move on." He reached out again, like he wanted to embrace me, and I dodged out of his reach.
Kody and Archer took a step towards us, but I held a hand up to stop them. I was fine, and they needed to quit treating me like I was breakable.
"Yes, they did hurt me," I replied, shifting my attention solely back to Scott, "but that's got nothing to do with you. The shit between me and them? It's between us. And how I choose to deal with it is entirely my call."
Scott's brow furrowed, and I could see the stubborn denial in his eyes. "But Maddie, you don't have to do it alone. I want to help."
"And I appreciate that, Scott. But I don't need your help. I'm a big girl, and I'm perfectly capable of handling things myself. I told you last night I'm not interested in you as anything more than a friend. Pretending otherwise won't change that." I tried to keep my tone soft to take the sting from my words, but they hit home, nonetheless.
His face turned hard, his eyes cold. "You told me you weren't interested in anyone, yet here you are dressed like that with him all over you." He cast a disgusted look at my lingerie, stockings, and heels combination—at least I had a jacket on—then shot a scathing glare in Kody's direction.
To Kody's credit, he didn't rise to the bait. He just grinned and waved like the sarcastic fuck he was.
I let out a frustrated sigh and ruffled my fingers through my pink curls. "Scott, I've made myself clear. Following me here, using Bree to track my location? It's creepy as fuck. I've got enough creepy in my life without you adding to it. So cut it the fuck out."
Scott's expression crumpled, and a pang of guilt hit me. He really did want to help, no matter how misguided he was. "I'm sorry, Maddie," he replied in a quiet voice, his gaze on the gravel at our feet. "I never meant to freak you out. I was just really worried about you, and Shane says these guys are involved in some really bad shit."
I frowned in confusion before remembering Shane was his older brother, the one in SGPD and in Charon's pocket. Of course he'd say that.
"Listen, Scott, I'm fine. I know what I'm involved in" —now— "and I can handle it." Or... I fucking hoped I could. Either way, I wasn't getting Scott involved. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for you to transfer here."
I hadn't meant it as an insult, but the stricken look on Scott's face immediately told me he'd taken it as one. Fucking hell.
"Scott, I didn't mean—" I started to back-peddle, but he wasn't interested.