Liar (Madison Kate #2)(61)

"You guys want pizzas or something?" Kody asked as the last cop car cruised out of our driveway and I collapsed onto the couch. I was a ball of anxiety and depression, a sick feeling curling in my stomach thanks to the cops’ pointed questions and the way they’d implied it was my own fault I had a violent, sexual stalker. Because, why? I had a vagina and didn't intend to let it grow cobwebs?

Sexist fucks.

"I want to just go to sleep and not wake up until this is all over," I muttered sullenly, hugging a pillow to my chest. "And I definitely don't want delivery dudes coming to the house right now."

Kody winced. "Yeah, fair point. I'll go and pick up, if you want."

I gave him a vague nod, and he disappeared out of the room. Steele had woken from his nap about an hour ago and was slouched in the recliner chair with a hoodie covering his bandages and his arm held cautiously across his middle to prevent anything touching it. My heart hurt to see him in pain, but he’d firmly shut me down when I tried to send him back to bed.

Archer came back into the room, having just finished learning everything there was to know about the new security system, and flopped down on the couch beside me. Closer than I would have expected, but I also wasn't moving away in a hurry. Goddamn magnetic attraction.

"You guys wanna play video games?" Steele suggested, and Archer shot him a dark look. Steele just glared back, though. "Seriously, bro? You gonna pull that shit right now?"

Archer just sighed and got up, grabbing the controllers from the entertainment unit and handing one to each of us—to my surprise.

"Jase is coming by the house tomorrow morning," he told Steele in a neutral voice. "He wants to chat about a fight offer that got submitted over the weekend."

Steele groaned, shifting in his chair. "I can't deal with his guilt trips about my music, dude. You're gonna have to run interference for me."

Archer just nodded, his eyes on the screen as he navigated through the start-up menus to select a game, then set all the parameters. I noticed he selected difficulty level: beginner. I didn't comment. They were far from beginners, but I appreciated the gesture.

"I've got it," he replied after a moment. "Just a heads up to stay out of sight. I don't need him bitching me out for getting you hurt."

Steele nodded with a grunt. I watched their interaction with fascination. There was so much to them that I didn't know, like how the three of them had ended up with the same agent-slash-manager or how they all had even met in the first place. Questions burned on my tongue, but I didn't voice them.

My stalker was trying to tell me they were lying to me, and I doubted it was over where they’d grown up or what their first dog's name was. It had to be something big... something life-changing. Something they would rather risk me hating them over than just fessing up to, which led me to think it directly concerned me. But how? Was there something there surrounding my mom and Archer's brother? That seemed to be my only connection to the guys. Other than Cherry.

"You're awfully quiet, Princess," Archer commented in a low voice as we all selected our race cars on the screen. "Stalker got your tongue?"

I scowled. "You're a fucking prick, D'Ath."

An amused grin curled his lips as he slouched lower on the couch. The movement brought his shoulder closer to mine, but still, I didn't move away. Call me a masochist, I guess.

"Come on, Madison Kate, you know I'm just teasing," he replied, his voice a low purr and his eyes glued to the screen. He spoke quietly, making it clear he was speaking only to me. It was kinda sexy, if I were inclined to admit that kind of thing where Archer was concerned.

"Whatever," I muttered back, tearing my eyes away from his grin and back to the plasma. "I was just thinking about who might be behind all of this. Whoever it is, they're escalating, and that makes me somewhat concerned for my own safety. I don't want to end up like my mom."

Archer stiffened with tension. "That won't happen." His voice was hard and unwavering.

"Agreed," Steele added. He'd pulled his hood up again, and it was a ridiculously hot look on him as his gray eyes flashed in the low light of the room. The sun had gone down, and none of us had bothered turning lights on. It was just the blue glow of the TV lighting up the den, but that suited me just fine. It felt safer. Less exposed. Easier to hide... from everything.

I wanted to believe them so badly. I wanted to have that blind faith that they'd protect me and find this stalker before I turned into a skinsuit hanging in someone's creepy skin closet. But the still-tender scar on my stomach suggested no one was infallible and no one was untouchable.

"Zane thinks whoever tried to kill me on Halloween is different from my stalker," I commented, curious to see what both Steele and Archer thought. "He thinks—"

"Zane doesn't know shit," Archer growled. "He made vague promises about helping you out, but I guarantee he is just buying time to work out how he can monetize your situation. Trust me, Princess, if he thought your stalker would pay good money to have you hand-delivered in a body bag, he'd have done it. Or tried to, at least. He wouldn't get far with us around."

My heart sank. Some small part of me—since believing Zane hadn't killed my mom—had started thinking he wasn't as bad as he'd been painted. If he’d loved my mom, then he couldn't be. Right?