"Forget it, Maddie," he brushed me off, stalking a few paces across the parking lot, then spinning around to glare at me once more. "I was just worried, but if this is the thanks I get, then I'll stop. When you show up on a morgue table because one of these fucking criminals chokes you a bit too hard during sex, then that's on you."
He stomped away dramatically, climbing into his car in a rage, but I didn't follow. His hypothetical was way too specific, and it was giving me the creeps again.
Could Scott be my stalker? My actual stalker?
Surely not. He was my friend, and he hadn't even been in Shadow Grove until a week ago. Not to mention he was way too young to have been stalking my mom.
I heaved a sigh. My paranoia was making me jump at shadows, but there was no chance for respite. I turned back to face the guys and spread my arms wide.
"Are we done here?" I asked in a sharp voice. "I'd like to question this fuck who shot at me, now."
Kody frowned in concern as Scott's car screeched down the road, but Archer just gave me a feral, bloodthirsty smile.
"Your wish is my command, wifey."
I snorted a surprised laugh and rolled my eyes. "If only that were true."
14
Nicky managed to grab us for a few more shots before we got changed—but after letting me wipe the blood from my face—swearing that her client would be over the moon with the images she'd gotten. My irritation toward Archer had faded to make room for worry about Scott, so I just went with it.
It was a full hour later that we finally piled back into Archer's car and left the converted warehouse.
We drove in silence for some time, then the strangest fucking thing happened.
"Thank you, Madison Kate," Archer muttered, shooting a quick look at me as his hands tightened on the steering wheel.
I was in the passenger seat beside him, so there was no way I could just pretend I hadn't heard him. Or rather, no polite way. Then again, I wasn’t a polite girl, so I just flat out ignored him and admired the passing scenery.
“Did you hear me?” Archer demanded after it became clear I wasn’t going to reply.
Raising a brow, I turned back to him with a blank stare. "Did you say something?"
He shot me a confused glare. "Yes," he replied, vexed, "I said thank you."
I cocked my head to the side, frowning. "Sorry, what was that? I didn't quite hear you. Maybe you should speak up a little."
Kody snickered a laugh from the backseat, not even trying to hide it.
Archer's knuckles turned white on the steering wheel, and his jaw clenched hard enough that his teeth ground together.
"Don't fucking push it, Princess," he growled.
I scoffed and rolled my eyes, turning my face back to the window. Because seriously? I shouldn’t push it? I wasn't the one in the shit here. That was all him. If anyone was pushing anything—
"I said thank you," Archer repeated, shocking the hell out of me. "That was a favor to a very important friend, so I appreciate you not being difficult about it."
My lips parted, but no sound came out. Holy shit, he'd just rendered me speechless. Was that... had he just...
"Did you hit your fucking head or something?" I blurted out, frowning at him in suspicious confusion.
He shot me a quick look, flicking his eyes back to the road. "What? Why?"
I wrinkled my nose. "Well, you either took a head injury, or you've been body snatched. Either way, you're freaking me the fuck out. Stop it."
Archer shot me another quick look, this time with his brow furrowed in just as much confusion as I was feeling. Then, it was like the Matrix just kept fucking glitching.
He started laughing.
"What the fuck is happening right now?" I asked, shaking my head in disbelief as his broad shoulders shook with mirth.
Kody reached out and smacked him in the side of the head, cutting Archer's chuckles off quickly. "Quit it," Kody snapped. "You're freaking MK out. And me too, to be honest. Did you get laid last night or something?"
The amusement slipped from Archer's face like I'd imagined the whole thing, and he glared back at the road ahead of us.
"Or something," he grunted, his hands tightening on the steering wheel again. His sleeves were pushed up a bit, and I couldn't help staring at the way the muscles in his forearm flexed under his inked skin. Damn him for being so gorgeous. "I guess photo shoots just put me in a good mood."
I froze, carefully not looking at him. But I couldn't help the rush of warmth from remembering the way he'd kissed me during the photo shoot earlier.
Kody snorted a laugh. "Since fucking when? You hate doing that shit."
Archer didn't reply. He just reached out and turned the stereo on, cranking the volume up to end any conversation. But his whole vibe was different, and it was weirding me out big time. More to the point, it was weirding me out that I'd only just noticed.
Had it just been because of that kiss during the photos? Or had he been acting strange this morning too?
Maybe this was just a new tactic in psychological warfare. Trying to throw me off my game. Well, tough shit. Nothing and no one would stand in my way now. I was getting my money and my name back, then running like hell.
"We're here," Archer commented a few minutes later, pulling to a stop outside a cabin in the woods on the outskirts of Shadow Grove.
I wish I was joking. A cabin in the woods. Like I hadn't lived my own slasher flicks enough lately.
"I swear to fucking god, Archer D'Ath," I said as we got out of the car, "if you've brought me here to slit my throat and bury me in a shallow grave, then think again. I'll more than happily drag you to hell along with me."
Archer just cocked a brow at me like I was fucking amusing or something, then stomped up the ancient wooden steps of the house. The whole veranda shook as he crossed it and threw the screen door open, and I frowned. Clearly, he wasn't worried about anyone knowing we were here.
"Babe," Kody commented, looping his arm around my waist and leading me in the direction Archer had disappeared. "Do you want me to accidentally kick him in the balls? It probably won't fix his weird mood, but it might make you feel warm and fuzzy inside."
I laughed, but then decided I liked that idea.
"Yeah, actually that'd be great," I replied with an evil smirk. "I would have done it myself this morning if I’d thought I could land the kick without him dodging out of the way."
Kody paused, giving me an answering grin before kissing me quickly on the lips. "Consider it done, babe."
He linked our fingers together, pulling me into the house with him. Inside it looked just as abandoned and forgotten as it had from the outside. All the furniture looked ancient and wore a thick coating of dust.
I coughed, then covered my nose and mouth with my hand.
"I take it you guys don't come here often, then?" I asked in a dry tone, casting my eyes over every surface. All signs pointed to this being the start of the next installment of my slasher-film life. I'd put money on it that the original owner of the cabin was a skeleton stashed in the walls somewhere.
Kody shrugged. "Only when we need a place where no one will hear the screams." He took the creep factor out of his statement with a teasing wink, but I was also pretty sure he was serious. Why else were we here, after all?