"Guys, can we have a minute?" I asked Kody because Archer was never going to listen. "I need to speak with Scott alone."
Neither one of the boys moved. Typical.
"Now!" I snapped, letting all my pent-up frustration and anger crack through my voice.
Kody nodded reluctantly, then gave Archer a shove in the chest to move him away from us. They didn't go far, but then again, I hadn't expected them to. Just far enough to give us the illusion of privacy.
"Maddie, babe," Scott said, reaching his hands out to me in a pleading gesture, "what the hell is going on? I thought you wanted to make them rue the day they crossed you?"
My lips twitched in a smile, despite the seriousness of the situation. Blood still dripped from Scott's face, but maybe his nose wasn't broken after all.
"Rue the day?" I repeated with a snicker. "What is this, Pirates of the Caribbean?"
Scott rolled his eyes with a wince. "No, that'd be making them walk the plank." He frowned, dabbing at his face with the hem of his shirt. "So, what gives? They hurt you, Maddie. They need to pay for that, and I don't think anything would hurt them more than seeing you move on." He reached out again, like he wanted to embrace me, and I dodged out of his reach.
Kody and Archer took a step towards us, but I held a hand up to stop them. I was fine, and they needed to quit treating me like I was breakable.
"Yes, they did hurt me," I replied, shifting my attention solely back to Scott, "but that's got nothing to do with you. The shit between me and them? It's between us. And how I choose to deal with it is entirely my call."
Scott's brow furrowed, and I could see the stubborn denial in his eyes. "But Maddie, you don't have to do it alone. I want to help."
"And I appreciate that, Scott. But I don't need your help. I'm a big girl, and I'm perfectly capable of handling things myself. I told you last night I'm not interested in you as anything more than a friend. Pretending otherwise won't change that." I tried to keep my tone soft to take the sting from my words, but they hit home, nonetheless.
His face turned hard, his eyes cold. "You told me you weren't interested in anyone, yet here you are dressed like that with him all over you." He cast a disgusted look at my lingerie, stockings, and heels combination—at least I had a jacket on—then shot a scathing glare in Kody's direction.
To Kody's credit, he didn't rise to the bait. He just grinned and waved like the sarcastic fuck he was.
I let out a frustrated sigh and ruffled my fingers through my pink curls. "Scott, I've made myself clear. Following me here, using Bree to track my location? It's creepy as fuck. I've got enough creepy in my life without you adding to it. So cut it the fuck out."
Scott's expression crumpled, and a pang of guilt hit me. He really did want to help, no matter how misguided he was. "I'm sorry, Maddie," he replied in a quiet voice, his gaze on the gravel at our feet. "I never meant to freak you out. I was just really worried about you, and Shane says these guys are involved in some really bad shit."
I frowned in confusion before remembering Shane was his older brother, the one in SGPD and in Charon's pocket. Of course he'd say that.
"Listen, Scott, I'm fine. I know what I'm involved in" —now— "and I can handle it." Or... I fucking hoped I could. Either way, I wasn't getting Scott involved. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for you to transfer here."
I hadn't meant it as an insult, but the stricken look on Scott's face immediately told me he'd taken it as one. Fucking hell.
"Scott, I didn't mean—" I started to back-peddle, but he wasn't interested.
"Forget it, Maddie," he brushed me off, stalking a few paces across the parking lot, then spinning around to glare at me once more. "I was just worried, but if this is the thanks I get, then I'll stop. When you show up on a morgue table because one of these fucking criminals chokes you a bit too hard during sex, then that's on you."
He stomped away dramatically, climbing into his car in a rage, but I didn't follow. His hypothetical was way too specific, and it was