Taking a sip of my drink, I caught sight of a familiar face across the room. He spotted us a moment later and headed over to our booth with a look of determination.
"Zed." Kody greeted the sharply-suited guy with a nod. "Everything pan out as planned?"
Zed sat down with a sigh and accepted the glass of Champagne Kody poured for him. "As much as it ever can, yes. Twenty-three assailants was definitely on the upper end of all the scenarios we'd run, but nothing we couldn't handle."
"Thank you for your help on this," I told him seriously. "I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate it."
Zed stared back at me a moment, then jerked a nod. "I can imagine. It was a solid plan; I'd do the same if I were in Archer's shoes. If anyone put a hit out on the woman I love..." He trailed off with a shake of his head, but Kody snorted a laugh. Zed shot him a sharp glare before anything else was said, but I filed that away to ask Kody later.
"You invited the Reapers?" Kody asked, changing the subject and nodding toward the bar. I couldn't see who he was talking about but sincerely hoped it wasn't Zane. Our last interaction had left me feeling all kinds of slimy, and I was starting to question just how much he'd truly cared for my mom.
Zed took a gulp of his drink and shrugged. "Reapers are good for business. But only Cass was extended an invitation to this party. No one wants a D'Ath family reunion here today, thanks."
I perked up at the information that Cass was here. I liked that grumpy bastard.
"Ah shit, trouble's here," Zed groaned. A moment later, a beautiful girl with silky copper hair came bouncing over to us with a wide, somewhat innocent smile plastered across her face. She was dressed casually in jeans and a tank top, so she looked out of place with all the suits and glittering dresses of the club patrons.
"Kody!" she squealed, basically leaping into my man's arms as he stood up to greet her. "Oh my god, it's been ages! I’ve missed you! What happened this morning? No one will tell me anything, again." She shot a pointed glare at Zed, who just sipped his drink. "But I heard you and Arch and Steele were going to be here with—" She broke off with a gasp, releasing Kody and locking eyes with me. "You! Oh wow, you're Madison Kate Danvers! Holy shit. Oh my god, didn't you and Arch just get married? I can't believe he didn't invite me, but whatever, I'm so excited to meet you!" She all but shoved Kody aside so she could sit in his place and hug me.
I stiffened up in her embrace, and she quickly released me with a blush rising in her cheeks.
"Sorry. Shit, sorry. I shouldn't have hugged you. Sorry." She was tripping all over her words and looking all kinds of embarrassed, and it was throwing me for a loop.
I shook my head. "It's fine, seriously. You just took me off guard. I'm not really a hugger." Which was true, with the exceptions of my three loves. With them, I could hardly get enough of the feeling of being wrapped up in their arms.
The girl smiled at me again, her whole face lighting up. She was really pretty and seemed around my age. Maybe a bit younger. "I'm Seph," she introduced herself. "I bet these fuckers have never even mentioned me too." She rolled her eyes dramatically, and I bit back a laugh. Archer had, in fact, mentioned her to me.
"Seph," Zed growled from across the table. "You're not even supposed to be here. You want me to call Hades?"
Seph's eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare. Just let me have, like, five minutes of harmless fun, Zed. God, you're such a fucking buzzkill."
"You're underage, Seph. Get the fuck out of here before you land in more trouble than you already are." Zed pulled his phone out of his pocket, and Seph let out a small scream of protest.
"Zed, don't be a fuck-nugget. Madison Kate is underage, too!"
Zed shrugged, a teasing grin playing across his lips. "And yet it's you who will get my ass chewed out by Hades later." He nodded his head to Cass, who'd just arrived at our table. "Cass, do you mind escorting Seph home?"
Cass gave me a nod of greeting, then turned his dark eyes to the vibrant girl beside me. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but I could have sworn his gaze softened with affection. "My pleasure, Zed," he rumbled, holding out his hand to the girl.
"Screw you, Cassiel," she snapped back, folding her arms under her breasts. "You all need to stop treating me like a little kid. I'm seventeen, not seven. I want to hang out with Madison Kate and Kody."
Cass and Zed exchanged a look, and Kody seemed to be trying not to laugh. Man, I wanted to understand how all these pieces connected.
"You don't wanna be treated like a kid, then stop acting like one, Seph," Zed replied, sounding tired. I got the feeling this wasn't the first time they'd had this argument. "Go with Cass, or I'm calling." He held up his phone, showing the call screen cued up with Hades.
"Sorry, girl," I whispered to her sympathetically. "It was nice to meet you, though."
"You too," she mumbled back to me. "Maybe one day I'll be let off my damn leash and we can hang out properly. I already know we could be good friends." Her smile was wide, and I couldn't help returning it. Weirdly, I thought she could be right. I remembered all too clearly what Archer had told me about this girl, Persephone. He'd saved her from being sold as a sex slave at age thirteen. No wonder Hades was overprotective of her, considering she was only seventeen now.
"Come on, Seph," Cass growled, "I've got better shit to do than babysit your bratty ass." Except, I knew that grumpy fuck, and he didn't seem annoyed by the job at all. Curiouser and curiouser.
Seph's jaw tightened, and her eyes narrowed at the big, tattoo-covered Reaper. "I'm not going with you, Cass. I'll find my own way home." She turned to me and smacked a quick kiss on my cheek, then did the same to Kody. "Say hey to Arch and Steele for me."
"Will do," Kody promised her.
She flipped Zed and Cass off, then started to make her way across the bar. Zed just gave Cass a silent look, and Seph only made it another couple of steps before she found herself thrown over the Reaper 2iC's shoulder. She kicked and screamed as he carried her out of the club, but I wasn't worried for her. Cass wouldn't hurt a girl like that. He was a good egg, and he clearly held some level of affection for Seph.
Oh. What if she was the girl he'd been pining for? His "placeholder" had been a redhead too.
"Sorry about that," Zed said, addressing me. "Seph knows she shouldn't come into the clubs, but she's going through a rebellious phase." He grimaced, and Kody laughed.
"Yeah, good luck with that," Kody scoffed, sitting back down beside me and wrapping his arm around my waist.
Zed just rolled his eyes and took another sip of his Champagne, then hit call on his phone screen. Raising it to his ear, he grimaced. "Boss, Seph was here. Cass is escorting her home now." He paused a moment, and he winced at whatever was being said on the other end. "I needed to stay so I can debrief when Archer gets here. Cass has it handled; he won't let anything happen to her." Another pause, and Zed scrubbed a hand over his clean-shaven face. "Yes, sir. Understood."