Steele gave a sharp nod and murmured something in reply, then closed and locked the front door.
"There's a dead zone on the south fence?" I asked as he replaced the gun in its hiding place.
He rejoined me, placing his hand lightly on the small of my back and kissing my cheek. "There is. But someone would need to have seen all our footage to work that out. Kody and I can sort it out tonight, though."
I shook my head. "Don't bother. The stalker won't be back again tonight, and you guys are just as wrecked as me. What time is it anyway?"
He checked his watch then cringed. "Almost four."
I groaned. No wonder we all looked like the walking dead. "Well, in that case, maybe after you check my room for bugs, you can scrub my back then tuck me in? You know I always sleep better when one of you is around."
His smile split wide. "That's an offer I'll never refuse, Hellcat."
With that renewed sense of purpose, we hurried up to my room, and I silently reflected on the upside to my stalker constantly lurking in the shadows of my mind. He was making me appreciate every single moment of happiness and not put anything off until tomorrow.
Because I had no idea just how many tomorrows I had left.
42
Despite spending almost all of Sunday in bed—with company—I still needed to give myself a mental pep talk about getting up and going to class on Monday morning. Mostly because I was a ball of anxiety thinking I might run into Scott again. Hopefully he’d taken my warning to heart.
Bree had called me several times throughout the weekend, and I'd given her a brief rundown of the fight, the fire, and the creepy stalker gift when I called her back to chat at dinnertime. She was suitably horrified but wanted to know why we hadn't called the cops.
Honestly? It hadn't even crossed my mind. The SGPD had so far proven to be entirely useless in the search for my stalker, so it just seemed like a pointless gesture to call them. Archer's resources were far more practical, and we'd moved past the point of law-abiding citizens around about the time I’d shot Hank in the head.
Kody drove me to class in his sexy blue Maserati, leaving Steele and Archer at home, as neither of them had any mandatory lectures to attend. Bree was waiting for us in the student parking lot when we arrived, holding a tray of takeaway coffees and a bag of donuts.
One of the many reasons I loved her. She recognized my need for caffeine and sugar and didn't make any stupid attempts to wean me off.
"You beautiful human," I gushed, taking her offerings with a huge smile. "If I was into chicks, I'd totally kiss you right now."
Bree laughed, but her cheeks pinked. Apparently I'd embarrassed her. "Yeah well, I think you've got enough going on with your reverse harem right now," she mumbled, then handed Kody a coffee too. "Hey, Kody. I see you kept my bestie alive for another weekend. Congrats."
He just drank his coffee and flipped Bree off. They were developing a cute level of bickering, which entertained me to no end. Especially since I'd have been dead months ago if Bree was my primary defense.
"Can we get lunch off-campus today?" Bree asked with a hopeful smile as we made our way inside the main campus building. "I want to catch up properly from the weekend, seeing as you sounded somewhat distracted when we spoke last night." She narrowed her eyes at Kody accusingly.
He just smirked, kissed me, and headed off to his own class. I liked the fact that he wasn't insisting on physically shadowing me all day, even though he had asked me three times in the car if I had my knife—I did—and installed a GPS tracker on my phone that only the three guys could access.
Not so long ago, I might have bucked those protective measures. But I was making better choices now, like, not being stubborn and prideful simply for the sake of it. A tracker on my phone wasn't inhibiting my freedom; it was safeguarding me.
"Sure," I replied to Bree, "what were you thinking?"
"I've got a crazy intense craving for burgers," she told me with a pained moan. "Can we go to Grill King?"
I grinned. "Girl, yes. I haven't been there in forever, and their chicken burgers are amazing. But you know Kody will have to come with? I'm doing this new thing where I don't do dumb shit, like make myself an easy target."
"Ooh," she replied, her tone teasing, "that sounds like a smart idea. And yeah, totally fine. I'm coming around to their usefulness in keeping you breathing, you know?"
I laughed, adjusting my bag on my shoulder. "Alright, well then it's a date. Just don't tell Scott if you see him, okay? I'm steering clear of his crazy ass."
Bree wrinkled her nose, horrified. "Girl, no. Scott is dead to me. Not that he's reached out at all, but if he did, I wouldn't fucking answer."
"Miss Danvers," a voice called from farther down the corridor, and I turned to find Professor Barker striding toward us with his briefcase tucked under his arm. "What excellent timing. This way, please." He passed Bree and I by about twenty feet, then stopped to unlock his office door.
"Uh... I was actually on my way to—" I started to protest, but he didn't seem to be in the mood for my excuses.
"To my office," he snapped, cutting me off. "I've already cleared it with Professor Chang; you won't be missed in her economics lecture."
Bree shot me a look like she was asking if I needed help. I shook my head, though, sighing. I could handle Professor Barker alone. It just might result in me getting kicked out of the university if I needed to shed his blood.
"I'll catch you later, Bree," I told my friend, reluctantly entering Professor Barker's office and flinching when he slammed the door after us. On the plus side, he didn't lock it, so that had to be a good sign. Right?
"Take a seat, Miss Danvers," he told me, hovering way too close to my shoulder for comfort. I did as I was told, just to create some breathing room.
He took his time circling around to the other side of his desk, like he thought he could somehow intimidate me with his silence. Clearly, he had no idea what level of scary I interacted with on a daily basis. In comparison, a lecherous professor who preyed on his female students? Pathetic.
Eventually he sat in his chair, leaning forward to rest his forearms on his desk with his fingers linked. His gaze did a slow track down my body, hovering way too long over my breasts and legs to be professional interest. It was almost comical.
"Look," I said, breaking the silence with a bored voice, "if this is the part where you ask me to suck your cock in exchange for a passing grade, you're barking way up the wrong tree." I paused, then smiled. "No pun intended."
An innocent man would have been horrified by my blunt accusation, but Professor Barker just narrowed his gaze at me, assessing.
"I have no idea what you're referring to, Miss Danvers," he lied, a slick smile on his face. "Despite your poor attendance, you're still maintaining a decent grade in my course."
I gave him a deadpan glare, folding my arms under my breasts. His gaze dropped, almost like a reflex. "Oh yeah? So why am I here, Professor Barker?"
That fake smile spread across his lips again. "I had some questions I wanted to ask you for a personal project. You'll earn extra credit for your participation, of course. Despite the fact that you're not failing my course yet, you could really use the help."