His brow raised. "You'd have to touch my dick to do that... Now you're just giving me incentive."
My eyes narrowed with the promise of violence, and his grin spread wider. "Okay, okay, I get it. From this conversation forward, we won't touch the walking dead man."
I scrubbed my hands over my face, the implication not lost on me. "Kody, what have you fucking done? If Scott's in the hospital or—"
Dead.
"He's not in the hospital, babe. Damn, we're not that bad. But I promise, I'll have words with the guys after class and let them know your little friend is off limits for now."
These boys and their subtle edits of promises were going to be the death of me.
I blew out a long breath, picking my battles in order of urgency.
"What did you do?"
A sly grin curled his lips. "Me? Nothing."
In other words, Archer or Steele was responsible. I'd put my money on Steele, considering how he’d escorted Bark to his car when they’d cancelled my date with him. Fucking hell.
"Just... leave me alone, Kody," I muttered in a tired voice. "Pretend we never met or something. Act like you don't know me. It'd just be a hell of a lot easier for all of us."
He leaned closer, stroking my hair over my shoulder and making me shudder involuntarily. Kody playing with my hair was fast becoming one of my major turn-ons.
"I can't do that, MK," he whispered back, sounding broken and vulnerable for the first moment in the whole time I'd known him.
A lump formed in my throat, and I needed to swallow before I could get words out. "Why not?"
Stupid me, I turned my face to meet his eyes and almost crumbled at the guilt and regret shining through his gaze.
"Because, babe," he replied, his whisper husky and raw, "no one can survive without their heart, and you're mine."
Fuck.
I tore my gaze away with almost physical pain, letting my hair drop like a curtain between us as I turned back to the lecture. Thank god for that, too, so he wouldn't see the hot tear slip down my cheek at his words. Because if I really was his heart, how could he have betrayed me so badly?
Then again, I’d always known it was coming. Hadn't I?
Kody mercifully didn't say anything more, but he also didn't leave. For the rest of the class, he just sat silently beside me as I pretended to follow the lecture. My notes were probably total gibberish, but fuck it. When the lesson ended, I packed up my shit and bolted.
He let me.
It was actually surprising not to have him grab me or manhandle me or force me to talk to him the second we were out of class. But he did none of those things... probably because he knew his words had cracked my iron-clad exterior and taken root in my mind already.
Fucking hell. I could only hope he was joking about permanently signing up for that class, or this semester was going to be a thousand times harder than I'd mentally prepared for.
I ducked into a restroom, pulling my hidden phone out to text Bree. The "no phones on campus" rule was still enforced, but I'd grown accustomed to not being held accountable to rules while I was with the guys. Bree was just sneaky and handed in a fake phone at the gatehouse, like I was sure a heap of other students did. But I'd rather not flaunt it by texting in the corridors.
It was a simple, "Meet me in the library" message, but when she didn't immediately reply, I anxiously tapped my phone against my lips, thinking.
I had no idea what class Scott might be in, and he wouldn't have disobeyed the no-phones rule. His older brother was a cop, so he was a total rule follower. I just hoped he was okay and Kody had been bullshitting me. Archer wouldn't have done anything. Why would he? For one thing, he wouldn't risk his UFC career by punching some random guy in public. For another, that bastard already thought he'd won. He owned me, so why would he care who kissed me?
Steele, though? Yeah, he might have.
One thing I'd learned with absolute certainty... those boys didn't fear repercussions. Not from law enforcement at any rate. It wouldn't shock me if they had the Shadow Grove Police Department on their payroll like actual gangsters. If that's what they were. Were they? Fuck, I had no idea. I was no closer to figuring the three of them out now than I’d been a month ago.
Secretive fucks. Well, not for long. I was going to pry them open like oysters, one way or another. I just had to figure out a way that wouldn't leave me broken and bleeding as a result.
"Shit," I breathed, tucking my phone back into my bag. I'd go to the library anyway and hope Bree got my message. There was no way I'd be able to concentrate on my next class anyway. Not with Kody dominating my fucking brain like he was.
I slipped back out of the bathroom, and my heart skipped when I spotted a familiar figure leaning against the wall opposite. The halls had cleared out somewhat as the new class time slot started, and there was really no way to hide.
But then again, who fucking cared for hiding?
His gray eyes met mine, his face cold and hard and his hood pulled up over freshly cropped hair, as though he ever needed the extra shadows. The way he stared at me, guilty and remorseful and accusing... it was all too much to fucking deal with in the middle of SGU on my first day back. Nope. Just nope.
Decided, I shifted my gaze away from Steele's and started walking down the hall as though I hadn't even seen him there.
He didn't follow me, but I wasn't stupid enough to think that'd be the last of it.
They'd given me four weeks of space in Aspen, but now that I was back, they weren't content to sit back and stew any longer. This was always going to happen, and I’d known that. What we had together—Kody, Steele, and me—it was too fucking potent to just drop without a word. I knew it, but goddamn I wasn't ready to hash it all out. Not yet.
Sadly, Scott had forced the issue. There was no way on earth they'd just sit back and watch another guy lay his hands on me, place his lips on mine. Kody and Steele would be out for blood. Scott's... or mine.
At least Archer wouldn't get involved. Not until he received my divorce application, anyway.
4
Bree found me in our usual spot toward the back of the library about half an hour later. And she brought me a present.
"What the fuck were you thinking?" I all but screamed at Scott, then clapped a hand over my mouth to stifle my volume. No matter how cautious the staff were around me—thanks to my association with Archer and the guys—librarians were a whole other species. Those old birds weren't afraid of anyone, and I really didn't want to lose my nice, quiet thinking corner.
"Shh," he replied with a laugh. "It's a library, Maddie; keep your voice down."
I wrinkled my nose at his nickname for me. I didn't like it much, but I'd stupidly failed to correct him when he’d started using it. Now it was just too awkward.
Seething, I glared daggers until he lost the smile. The side of his face was puffy and purple and looked all kinds of painful. I bet he didn't even know how to defend himself properly in a fight, not that he'd stand a chance against any of the guys.
"What happened to your face, Scott?" I demanded, folding my arms over my chest as he and Bree sat down at my table. I knew full fucking well what had happened. His own recklessness. But I wanted to hear him admit he had been stupid.