Liar (Madison Kate #2)(87)

"I'm getting another drink," she announced, sliding off her stool. "Hey Dallas, why don't you tell MK who else you invited tonight, seeing as you see nothing wrong with it." She flounced off to the bar with more than a little wobble in her stride. Something told me that hadn't been her first drink of the night, and suddenly I was concerned for my friend.

Folding my arms, I glared at Dallas. "What's going on?"

I kept one eye on Bree across the room while Dallas blew out a breath and rubbed his hand over his face. "She's being dramatic," he said with a groan. "I didn't invite him, but I also don't think it needs to be a big deal. This venue was just bought by Hades, so it's technically neutral ground now."

Steele tensed beside me like a bow string. "Who the fuck is here, Moore?"

Dallas cringed. "Ferryman wanted to congratulate his nephew on his win."

Steele exploded in a string of curses, and I actually thought he was going to punch Dallas out of sheer fury. But he restrained himself with his fists clenched at his sides and an expression of pure violence across his handsome face.

"Dude, I couldn't exactly tell him not to come," Dallas defended himself, holding his hands up. "Besides, he insisted it was just to see Archer. He's not here to cause trouble."

Steele rolled his eyes with a bitter laugh. "Don't be fucking dense, Moore. Ferryman is only here to cause trouble. Come on, MK, we need to warn the boys before shit goes down."

He grabbed my hand a bit tighter than necessary, but I shot Dallas a stern glare. "Look after Bree," I ordered him. "She's drunk as shit, and that's on you."

Dallas didn't get a chance to reply as Steele all but dragged me away, heading for the area near the doors where we'd left Archer and Kody only a few minutes ago. Except they were no longer there.

"Shit," Steele cursed, swiping his hand over his face and looking tortured. "This is bad."

"You're going to have to explain this to me, babe," I told him, frowning as his gaze searched the room for his friends. "I'm not getting the panic. Is it just about Ferryman being the leader of the Wraiths? Because I didn't think you three were involved with the Reapers anymore."

Steele grimaced, shaking his head. "We're not. And no, not... totally. Ferryman is a vindictive fuck and holds a stupidly huge grudge against Arch for being named as the sole heir on Phillip's will. Constance wasn't even left with anything, let alone Damien, Zane, or Ferryman."

My brows shot up. "Wow, that explains where all your cars are coming from, I guess."

Steele snorted a laugh. "Not exactly. But yeah, Ferryman is definitely not here to congratulate his nephew or whatever other bullshit he spun to get through the doors. Come on, let's find them."

I bit back my burning need for more answers and let him clutch my hand as we wove between people to hunt for the guest of honor. Luckily, it was an easy case of following the crowds, and we found both Archer and Kody in an outdoor seating area surrounded by people all hanging off their every word.

Steele started towards them, but I jerked to a halt when the girl beside Kody flipped her hair over her shoulder, shifting enough to reveal her face.

"Is that fucking Drew?" I exclaimed, rapidly noting her position pasted to Kody's side with her hand wrapped around his leg like she owned him. To his credit, he looked supremely uncomfortable, and as I watched, he peeled her hand off and placed it back in her own lap. Not that she was deterred, though. Her sticky paw was right back on his leg again a second later.

Steele groaned and cursed, then shoved past a couple of people to cross over to the boys.

"Drusilla," he spat at the brunette Reaper pawing all over Kody, "are you lost? Get the fuck out of here."

Kody's ex-girlfriend just sneered up at us, but there was a flicker of unease in her eyes as she took in Steele's expression. "Or else what?" she stupidly argued back. "This is neutral territory; I can be here if I want. I'm not breaking any rules."

Kody met my eyes steadily but gave nothing away. Not that I was questioning him... He'd be a fucking idiot to mess around on me, and he damn well knew it.

Steele barked a quick laugh, but it was a cold, hard sound. "I wasn't talking about gang rules, you dumb bitch. You're touching MK's man, and if you don't quit it, she's probably going to break every one of your fingers in six places each. I've been teaching her how."

He wasn't lying. Earlier in the week when Kody was fully engrossed in Archer's training, Steele had deviated off self-defense and wandered into more aggressive skills, which I'd taken to like a duck to water.

Drew turned her sneer on me, but I wasn't in the damn mood. I pushed past Steele and grabbed the persistent bitch's hand off my man's leg, twisting her wrist around and pinning her thumb in a painful lock that allowed me to drag her out of her seat and onto the ground at my feet.

"Get the fuck out of here, you pathetic bitch," I snarled at her, releasing her thumb with a shove that sent her sprawling. It was a bit overkill, but based on the way Steele had reacted to the news of Ferryman being at the party, I was betting we didn't have time for pleasantries.

Drew let out a shriek of outrage, looking to Kody for support, but he just averted his eyes and sipped his drink. Cold as fuck.