I nodded. "That works. I'm sure we could call Cass for extra backup too."
Archer wrinkled his nose. "I'd rather steer clear of the Reapers as much as we can. I could call Zed and see if any of his guys would help out, though."
"Who's staying with MK, then?" Kody asked, sitting back in his chair and folding his arms over his chest.
Steele shrugged. "I will."
Kody snorted a laugh and rolled his eyes. "I fucking bet you will. No way. You're the best sharpshooter, so you're the logical choice to take a shot at Kruger." He looked up at the ceiling, then released a long sigh. "Arch, you're staying."
Archer jolted like he'd been stabbed with a fork. "What? No. This is my mission to run. I'm going to choke the life out of Kruger with my bare hands." His voice was dark and laced with menace that made me shiver.
"You're not doing shit with a fresh bullet wound in your dominant arm, dickhead," Kody snapped back at him. "Bad enough that you're going to fuck up your fight next week; we're not risking you getting killed today for being a damn cowboy."
Archer started to protest, and I cleared my throat. "You got a problem staying here with me, Sunshine?"
His jaw moved, but no sounds came out as he quickly recognized the lose-lose situation he was in. Yeah, smart boy.
"Alright, good chat," Steele said with a laugh, pushing back from the table. "Come on, Kody, before Hellcat changes her mind."
I rolled my eyes and finished off my waffles as they hurried to get dressed and armed up. Archer muttered under his breath but placed a call to Zed to see if he could spare any backup to keep an eye on the hotel.
"We'll wait until the wolves get here," Kody told us as he checked his own phone.
"Don't," Archer replied. "Every second we hesitate, we risk Kruger slipping away. We're not leaving this room, and nothing is getting past me in the next fifteen minutes. Just go."
"Seconded," I agreed. "Besides, I'm not exactly a helpless damsel anymore either. Arch and I can handle ourselves; you guys go deal with that motherfucker who killed my mom."
Both Kody and Steele looked torn, but quickly kissed me and headed out to meet up with James. As the door closed behind them, I turned to face Archer with my hands on my hips.
"What's that look for?" he asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion and his brow furrowed.
"Sunshine," I replied with a stern voice, "you're not seriously still planning to fight next week?"
One of his brows raised. "Why wouldn't I?"
I gaped at him. "Oh gee, I dunno, maybe because you have a gunshot wound in your arm?"
He just let a slow smile creep over his lips as he tugged me into his lap. He was sitting on the sofa, so I straddled his waist but carefully avoided touching his bandaged bicep.
"Princess," he replied with a low chuckle, "it's adorable that you're worried for my wellbeing. But this little scratch isn't going to stop me from fighting... or anything else."
I dragged my teeth over my lower lip, locking eyes with him. "Oh yeah? Prove it."
A wicked grin flashed over his face, and the next thing I knew, I was flat on my back against the couch with his heavy frame on top of me. I let out a shriek of laughter as he pinned my wrists over my head, but whatever he had planned next was cut short by the ringing of his phone.
"Answer it," I urged him, sobering up. "It might be the guys."
He let me go and grabbed for his phone, wincing slightly at the movement on his injured arm. The scowl he gave his screen told me it wasn't Kody or Steele, though.
"Cass," he said, answering the call on speakerphone. "What's going on?"
"Wish I knew," the older gangster rumbled back. "Is the kid there with you?"
"I'm here," I spoke up, frowning at the tense way he snapped out his words. "What's wrong?"
He blew out a sigh. "No idea. But Zane's up to something. I reckon it's got something to do with you."
Archer and I exchanged a worried glance. "Why do you think that?" Arch asked cautiously.
Cass grunted. "Little fuck had a meeting this morning with his inner circle."
"Nothing suspicious with that," Archer murmured, confused.
"Without me," Cass elaborated. "He's been acting shady for a few weeks, but shit just got weird these last few days."
Archer snorted and rolled his eyes. "Since when is Zane not shady?"
"Worse," Cass grunted. "Anyway, I don't have much more. Just keep all eyes on the kid. Whatever is going on, it's about her."
I bit my lip, meeting Archer's concerned gaze with my heart in my throat. We really didn't need to add another player to the board this late in the game.
"Gotta go," Cass growled. "Stay alert."
He ended the call, and Archer ran his hand over his hair, then cursed.
"What do we do?" I asked in a quiet voice. Worry was knotting my stomach, but I had confidence in all Archer had already done to safeguard us.
He shook his head, thinking. "Nothing," he finally said. "The worst thing we can do right now is leave here. Ryan and Adamson are still guarding the door, and the Timberwolves will be here as backup soon. We just stay put and hope my brother isn't really stupid enough to try anything."
I groaned. "He is, though, isn't he?"
Archer sighed. "If he is, I'll kill him. Simple as that."
Yet somehow, that didn't make me feel better. Did I want Archer to have his own brother's blood on his hands? It was bad enough that I'd carry Samuel Danvers’s death with me forever—not that I regretted killing him for even a second—but I'd rather spare Archer that.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," I murmured, then sighed. "Wanna watch a movie with me? Sounds like it could be a while before Kody and Steele get back."
He let out a long sigh and tossed his phone onto the coffee table, then sank back into the sofa. "Sure, why not?"
We settled in together to watch some lighthearted comedy, but neither one of us was paying attention to the screen. We were both tense and alert, knowing it would just be a matter of time before something happened.
About ten minutes into the movie, Archer's phone pinged, and he groaned.
"Bad news?" I guessed.
"Maybe," he murmured, thoughtful. "Zed's guys are held up in traffic. Some accident on the bridge that blocked two lanes."
"Could be a coincidence," I offered.
Archer shook his head. "I don't believe in coincidences."
As if with choreographed timing, the fire alarm screamed to life. It damn near deafened us with its piercing volume, and I clapped my hands over my ears in instinct.
Archer gave me a silent command to stay where I was, then grabbed a gun and rushed over to the door. He took a second to peer through the peephole, then tugged the door open to speak with our security guards.
"Decoy?" he asked one of them, but the guard shook his head.
"Uncertain," he replied.
Archer jerked a nod. "Stay alert; I have a bad feeling." He closed the door again, then hurried back over to me. "Here, take this." He handed me his gun, then strode through to the bedroom.