So for now, I'd close my eyes to all the hints and enjoy the bliss of ignorance.
The remainder of the week flew by in a haze of multiple-choice questions and essay answers, but by the time Friday evening rolled around, I was done.
"We need to celebrate," Bree announced as I collapsed in a heap in the vacant chair she'd held for me in the library. She'd finished her last exam a few hours earlier but texted to say she was waiting for me. "Let's go out."
I gave her a flat stare. "Uh... stalkers and hired killers hunting me, remember?" But I really did want to go out. I wanted to get dressed up and drink and dance and forget I was Madison Kate Danvers for the night. Still, I'd learned my lesson the hard way about making dumb-shit, girl-in-a-slasher decisions, so I shook my head. "Nope, I think my celebration is going to consist of watching Netflix in bed."
Bree's lips curled in a grin. "Oh yeah? Whose bed?"
I bit back a laugh. "Perv." But she wasn't wrong; my mind was already wandering to whose bed I could "Netflix and Chill" in for the evening. Steele’d had his bandages removed during my morning exam—he'd sent me a thumbs-up picture, seeing as apparently none of us were adhering to the no-phones rule at SGU anymore. So, depending on what his doctor had said... tonight could be all kinds of fun.
"Come on," Bree groaned with a pout. "I never get to see you anymore. Please, can we just have a fun night out? You worked so freaking hard on those exams; you deserve to cut loose."
I sighed. "You try convincing my jailers of that."
She scowled, and a pang of guilt hit me. I hadn't told her what I'd found out about who was really behind my loss of freedom, so she still believed it was all my father. There was no reason for me to keep Kody's involvement a secret, except for the fact that I didn't want her hating on one of the dudes I was falling for—despite my better judgment.
"Alright, challenge accepted," she announced, standing up and grabbing her bag. "You coming?"
I blinked up at her a couple of times. "Uh, what?"
She shrugged and tossed me my bag. "You told me to convince your jailers to let you come party with me tonight. So that's exactly what I'm going to do. Kody drove you again today, didn't he?"
I nodded, still confused as fuck but willing to follow along. "Yeah. He should be getting out of his biology exam about now."
Bree grinned like she'd already won. Poor thing. I didn't want to dash her hopes when she looked so excited, but there was absolutely no way in hell Kody would agree to her idea. No freaking way. The guys hadn't said anything to me directly, but they'd been subtly ramping up the protectiveness since Monday's bird-in-a-box incident. Security guards in black uniforms now monitored the front gate and patrolled the property perimeter at nighttime. I hadn't mentioned it to the guys because I was quietly glad for the extra protection.
She had a bounce to her step as she headed back outside and over to Kody's Maserati parked outside the admin building. He’d probably just got out of his exam and was now leaning against the driver’s side door while he texted someone with his head down.
"Kody, gorgeous!" Bree called out, skipping over to him. I tried to ignore the small tendril of jealous possessiveness that curled through me, but it was hard. Bree was a total babe and a huge flirt to boot.
He looked up from his phone, frowning when he saw Bree, then his gaze slipped past her to me. The smile that curved his lips was all mine, and it eradicated any anxiety I had around Bree being a flirt. Kody only had eyes for one girl right now, and that was me.
"Hey Bree," he replied to my friend as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. "What's up?"
She turned up her megawatt smile, but Kody wasn't even looking at her. He faced her, sure, but his line of sight was locked on me. It was making me all kinds of warm and fuzzy inside, and I was already planning out that Netflix date for later.
"Kody, sweetheart, you know how hard MK has been studying for these exams, right?" she started, really amping up her car-salesman persona. It made me grin. "Don't you think she deserves a