a valuable one—right now—but nothing more. While I was under the Reaper's protection, I needed to get used to that mentality because I sure as shit wasn't one of them and Zane's sense of duty to his dead lover's daughter only extended so far.
"Well then. Yes," I replied with a tight smile.
Zane shifted his attention to Bree. "And your Wraith boyfriend too?"
Bree's face froze like a deer in headlights. If deer had perfect eyebrows, of course.
"Um," she replied, "yup. That a problem, D'Ath?" Her words were coated in enough attitude that even I gave her a double take. Where had all this spunk suddenly come from?
Zane stared at her for a tense moment, and the guy with him shifted uncomfortably, like he expected the worst. But then the Reapers leader tossed his head back and laughed.
"I like you, Brianna Graves. You ever get bored of that punk, Moore, you'd have fun with the Reapers." Zane shot my bestie a dangerous wink and carried on into the building with his companion. He paused before the door swung shut, though, and called out to me.
"Careful with the preppy kid, Madison Kate. His brother is on the wrong side of the coin."
I sighed as Bree unlocked her car, and we climbed in. Of course, Scott's older brother couldn't just be a nice, boring Shadow Grove officer. Zane’d just implied he was under the pay of someone, and I'd guess it was the Wraiths, based on the distasteful look Zane had given me as he said that.
"Well," Bree commented, turning her engine on and giving me a wide grin. "That was interesting."
My jaw dropped. "No way. Bree. Seriously? He was fucking my mom. Don't tell me you're interested!"
She cackled with laughter. "Oh my god, MK, you're too easy to stir up. Of course I'm not. Me and Dallas have a good thing going right now." She was quiet for a minute while she drove us out of the Reaper's neighbourhood and headed in the direction of Scott's place. "But you have to admit, he's hella fine for an old guy. Some lucky bitch needs to nail him and Cass both. Together." She made a growling sound, like a horny cat, and I couldn't stop the laughter.
I was at least eighty percent sure she was fucking with me.
"Oh my fucking hell, Bree." I groaned when my chuckles subsided. "Just concentrate on driving. Dallas would have a shit fit if he knew you were fantasizing about Zane and Cass."
Bree snickered. "True. But you have to admit... those D'Ath genes are something fucking else."
I sighed because she was right. As much of an infuriating bastard as Archer was, I couldn't deny my raw attraction. That—of everything—had never been an issue between us. We'd always had that magnetic connection, even way back on Riot Night.
Funny enough, that was a week before we’d been married. I’d just never known about it.
I pointedly changed the subject to something that hurt my brain considerably less than a certain D'Ath fuck who held my fate and fortune in his tight grip.
Rocket science.
If only I knew the first thing about it, I had no doubt it'd be a welcome brain vacation from Archer's mind games. Instead, I settled on asking Bree how her first week back at SGU had been. Changing the subject to anything that invited Bree to talk about herself? Always a guaranteed way to give myself a break from talking for a bit.
I loved my friend. I really, truly did. But damn, she loved the sound of her own voice.
By the time we’d pulled up in front of Scott's house, I'd totally pushed aside all the crap on my plate and was focused on having a nice night out with friends.
Emphasis on the friends part.
"Hey gorgeous," Scott greeted me as he slid into Bree's backseat. He'd been waiting outside for us when we pulled up, and I got the feeling he deliberately didn't want us meeting his brother. "And Bree. Hey, Bree, babe."
Bree snorted and rolled her eyes as she pulled away from the curb. "Nice afterthought, Scottie. How's your first week at SGU gone? Bet it's been interesting, seeing as you're fake-dating the most talked-about girl on campus."
Scott sat back in the middle seat and grinned. "Who says we're fake-dating?" he replied, shooting me a wink, and I barely suppressed a frustrated eye roll.
"I do," I replied, keeping my voice hard.
He gave me an easy smile back, unruffled by my rejection. "I know, Maddie. I was just teasing. So,