Archer sighed. "Cutting the power deactivated the perimeter alarms on Madison Kate's apartment. He wouldn't need to lure her out; he could just break in and kill her right there without alerting anyone."
I wrinkled my nose. "I dunno. That seems like a really weak plan. Why take off after killing these guys? Why even bother with the power at all?"
Kody just shrugged. "It's just a working theory, babe. We will keep investigating. What matters, though, is that he did take off and you're still alive. Right?" He gave me a smile that was probably meant to be encouraging, but I couldn't muster one up in reply. Not with two dead gangsters at my feet.
I heaved a sigh, shaking my head. "Well... now what?"
"Clean up," Cass answered with a grunt. "I'll contact Zane. He'll want to talk to you all."
Archer curled his lip in a sneer. "Zane can kiss my ass."
"Stop it," I snapped at him, balling my fist at my side in anger. "Stuff your ego and attitude back into a box, Archer. Zane lost two of his guys tonight because of me. You can fucking well put your personal bullshit aside and speak to him with civility for one goddamn night. Understood?"
Archer's eyes flickered with surprise, his brow twitching as he stared back at me, unblinking. No one else spoke, no doubt waiting to see how he was going to handle being told what to do.
I tensed my shoulders and stiffened my spine. If he wanted to fight me on this one, I wasn't backing down.
To my surprise, though, he just jerked a nod.
"Take Madison Kate back upstairs," he said to Kody and Steele, his voice totally devoid of emotion. "Cass and I can handle this mess."
Kody arched a questioning brow but didn’t push the issue. Instead, he stepped over the puddle of blood and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "Come on, babe."
I handed Steele's gun back to him and started to leave the basement, when I heard Scott yelp in pain.
Spinning around, I found Archer's heavy hand clamped onto the back of my friend’s neck. Scott's face was pure terror, his eyes pleading for me to save him.
"Run along, Princess," Archer called out. "Scottie is gonna stay here and help us. Aren't you?" He gave Scott a little shake, like a naughty puppy caught in its mother's mouth, and my friend gave a shuddering nod of agreement.
I breathed a sigh, too damn tired to try and mediate that mess.
"Leave it," Steele murmured. "Scott is being a shady bastard. Let Arch and Cass scare the daylights out of him a bit."
I shouldn't. I really shouldn't. But they were right. Scott was being shady, and it was starting to freak me out. If they could nip it now before things got out of hand, who was I to argue?
With a tired shrug, I continued out of the basement with Kody and Steele. We took the elevator back up to my apartment floor, but Kody paused when he reached my door.
"Is there any chance you guys forgot to close the door when you left?" he asked, turning to Steele and I with an worried look on his face.
Glancing past him, I saw what he was talking about. My apartment door stood an inch open, but I couldn't remember if that was from us or... not.
Steele scowled at the door, shaking his head. "I don't remember. I got Arch's text, and we hurried straight down. I thought we pulled it shut, but maybe it didn't close?" He looked to me for confirmation, but I had no clue either.
Kody pulled his gun out, and Steele did the same.
"Better safe than sorry, babe," Kody told me with a wink, then he and Steele made their way through my apartment, checking for any intruders. When they seemed satisfied no one was lurking in the shadows, they began walking the rooms more slowly. They scanned all the corners, ceilings, light fixtures… all with an app on their phones.
Cameras. They were searching for cameras or listening devices or something. Just the idea gave me chills.
"Clear," Steele announced, tucking his gun and phone away.
"Same," Kody said, reappearing from the bedroom looking considerably more at ease than he had a moment ago.
Closing and locking the front door, I let out a long breath. We probably had left it open, but knowing they'd made sure no one was lurking inside my apartment took a worry off my shoulders.