“Grateful?”
“Yes,” she snapped.
I nearly stumbled as she jerked to a stop and tore her arm frommine. “Walk home if you want. But I’m freezing, and as much as I always brag about how amazing these shoes are, they’re killer to walk in for hours. So, I’m getting a ride.”
She backed away, challenging me to join her, but when I didn’t, she rolled her eyes and jogged toward the car.
“Dammit,” I muttered under my breath as she got in the passenger side. “She’s gonna get picked up by a serial killer one day.”
I rushed after her, ignoring the smirk on her face as I got in the back seat. “Thank you,” I said grudgingly to Archer.
“No problem.”
His teeth sparkled white in the dark, which really freaked me out. Maybe it was the alcohol running through my system, or the smile on his face, but there was nothing right about any of this.
Leaning forward, I hissed in my friend’s ear, “If we end up being eaten by bears after we’ve been raped and murdered, I will tear those boots from your feet and shove them down your throat.”
She spun around and grinned at me. “You know, you’re awfully feisty lately. Maybe you should talk to Liam about fixing that.”
Huffing, I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for the inevitable.
Except, we pulled up to the apartment only two minutes later—completely safe and unharmed.
“Ladies, can I walk you up?”
“That would be great,” Cheyenne said before I could tell him no.
At least there were two of us, and I had already stabbed one person with a knife. It wouldn’t be too difficult to do it again with the mood I was in.
It occurred to me as I got out of the car that this was the perfect opportunity to find out more about Archer, since he seemed so unwilling to just walk away and leave us alone.
“So, Archer, what have you been up to since you left town?”
“Little of this. Little of that.”
Cheyenne slid the key in the lock, and Archer held the door open for us, shooting me a odd look as I ducked under his arm.
“What she means to ask is if you’ve been out shooting unarmedpeople or stealing innocent children from their homes,” Cheyenne said over her shoulder as she ascended the stairs.
“That’s not what I meant,” I gritted out.
“Sure it is,” Archer chuckled. “And no, I haven’t shot any unarmed men or stolen any children. Well, none that didn’t want to be taken.”
Gasping, I whirled around, which was a terrible idea when I was still half-drunk.
The world spun with the motion, and as I tried to steady myself, my foot missed the step. My fingers brushed over the banister for a split second, and then I was falling.
I cried out, desperate to catch myself on something before I cracked my skull open, but there was nothing to grip onto.
Strong arms caught me just before I hit the stairs. I sucked in a ragged breath, my whole body shaking as I registered what might have happened if Archer hadn’t moved so fast.
“You okay?”
I couldn’t seem to think of anything other than the deep, gruff cadence of his voice whispering in my ear.
Was I okay? Fuck, I’d almost killed myself, and for what?
“I…”
