Steele's answering grin was smug. "Hades owed us a favor."
Dallas replied with an understanding sound, like that explained it all. I was totally lost as to how that mess could be taken care of without Kody being arrested for eight murder charges, but then again, I apparently had very little understanding of where the power truly sat in Shadow Grove.
Or maybe I did understand; I was just having a hard time wrapping my head around it all.
"Have you heard anything about Bree?" I asked Dallas in a small voice, desperate to hear something, but he shook his head.
"No," he replied, sounding mournful. "They won't tell me anything because I'm not family. Just that she's in surgery."
Steele frowned. "Give me a minute, I'll sort it out." He started to get up from his seat, then hesitated.
"I'm fine here," I assured him, knowing exactly what his pause was about. "I won't move from this seat, and Dallas has got my back, right?" I gave him a gentle tap with my elbow, and he nodded.
Steele still looked uncertain, but sighed. "I'll be quick and right over there. Yell if you need me."
I assured him I would, then watched as he approached the nurse’s station. His smile was polite as all hell, but there was a determined set to his shoulders and his whole vibe screamed danger. No doubt he'd have both Dallas and I listed as Bree's family in a matter of minutes. It was scarily impressive.
Dallas gave a small chuckle, pulling my attention away from Steele.
"What?" I asked him with a dose of accusation.
He smirked at me. "You're so fucking in love. It's cute as hell."
My cheeks flushed with heat. "What the shit, Dallas? Where did that even come from?"
He shrugged, tilting his head in the direction of where Steele was working his magic on a stern-faced nurse. "The way you were just watching him, it's like the way you look at a really well-made coffee... but a hundred times more. It's adorable."
I sat back in my seat, trying to fold my arms, but my chest hurt too much for that. "Whatever," I grumbled, uncomfortable discussing my love life while his girlfriend—my best friend—was fighting for her life in surgery.
Dallas seemed to let the subject drop, sinking into silence for several minutes. But then he spoke again. "Do they treat you well?"
I frowned. "What does that mean?"
His lips curved up on one side, mocking me. "If you don't know, then the answer is clearly no."
I rolled my eyes. "Of course, they treat me well. I meant why are you even asking that? I wouldn't be putting up with their bullshit if they didn't. You know I don't tolerate stupid fuckboys for long."
He barked a laugh. "True that." With a sigh, he ran a hand over his shaved head. "Well, I'm happy for you, Katie. But if you ever need to dispose of their bodies, you call me first. No questions asked, alright?"
I grinned. "Will do."
We fell back into comfortable silence, sipping our shitty, vending-machine coffee and waiting.
Steele came back over to us some minutes later, announcing that Dallas had been added to Bree's file as her fiancé. So as soon as the doctor had any update to give, we would be told first. Given her parents were currently out of town on some lavish vacation somewhere, that was a relief to hear.
Kody and Archer arrived shortly thereafter, storming through the hospital doors like avenging angels, all streaked in blood. My jaw dropped slightly at the sight of them, and I drank in every inch of their bodies checking that none of the blood was theirs.
Dallas let out a small snicker beside me, and I jabbed him with my elbow. But that motion made me wince, and a second later I had all three of my guys surrounding me with concern creasing their features.
"I'm fine," I groaned, fending off their attention. "I'm only a bit bruised."
"Those painkillers should be working by now," Steele muttered, scowling. "I'm going to talk to someone about something stronger."
He was gone before I could protest, heading over to chat with his new friend in the nurses’ station. Archer took the seat directly beside me, gently placing his hand on the inside of my knee, and Kody sat opposite me.
"Steele gave you guys the update, right?" I asked, and Kody nodded.
Archer rattled off my list of injuries in their entirety, and Dallas winced.
"Fuck, Katie. Why are you even sitting here right now? You should be in bed." His face was drawn, though, and he knew exactly why—because my best friend was in life or death surgery thanks to me.
"I'm fine," I muttered unconvincingly, but when Steele returned with two white pills, I took them without complaint. My body was still aching, and it'd really be great if it could stop doing that for a little while.
The five of us sat there in silence for a long time, not even speaking when Archer got up and poured more coffee for everyone. It was sometime later, when my eyelids were officially drooping as the stronger painkillers did their work, that several phones beeped in unison.
Archer, Kody, and Steele all pulled their mobiles out, and Dallas exchanged a curious look with me.
"Did Charlie just call the Angel's in for a job?" Dallas joked, and I tried to force a weak smile in response. The three guys were reading something they'd all been sent, though, and Kody breathed a curse.
"Spit it out," I ordered, the suspense of waiting overwhelming me. "What's happened now?"
"Remember I told you our guys were forwarding the profile for Scott over?" Steele said, his voice grim and resigned.
Dread filled my gut. This couldn't be good. Not at all.
Archer handed me his phone by way of explanation. It took me a minute to work out what I was looking at, then I recognized it as an assortment of trash all laid out on a table. I flipped to the next image and found a close-up of a crumpled receipt. My eyes scanned the details, then I swallowed heavily.
"Is this..." My voice cracked, my fear getting the better of me. "Where was this found?"
"Analysis of Scott's trash," Kody replied, his green eyes laser-focused on my face like he was scrutinizing my every reaction.
I let out a long breath as the prickling shivers of panic broke out all over my skin. I read the receipt again, but it didn't change the information there. It was a thermal receipt from a toy store for six Barbie dolls. If that wasn't the proof we had been waiting for, I didn't know what would be.
"Fuck," I whispered.
Steele dialed someone, brought his phone to his ear, and waited for them to answer his call.
"Wait there," he told the person on the other end. "When Scott shows up again, detain him." He ended the call, then made another to someone else. "Scott Randall," he said. "He's somewhere in Shadow Grove. Find him and detain him. Double the usual rate."
"Just detain?" Dallas asked as Steele ended his call. "I'd have thought you'd be putting out a hit. That's proof he's been stalking Katie, isn't it? He needs to fucking die."
The look Steele gave Dallas was pure ice. "Detain, only. We'll take care of the rest ourselves."
"Damn right we will," Archer agreed in a low voice, his fingers flexing against my inner knee. Now that my painkillers had kicked in nicely, it didn't hurt, but Kody snapped at him to be gentle, nonetheless.