Kiss Me Deadly

Chapter Seventeen

I sink my teeth into the apple I'd grabbed in the breakfast line, satisfied when I hear a juicy crunch. I chew slowly, still mulling over what Leilani told me last night.

Alonna still loves Archer.

Not just loves, but is in love with him. This could be problematic, because, you know, I might love him, in a totally more than friends way.

I should just back off and let Alonna have another shot at him but I seem to be quite selfish. I want him all to myself. I want to just let go and I want Archer to protect me int hose strong arms of his and I want to feel his electric skin on mine. I want to let go of this constant guilt that's weighing me down and let myself love and be loved but something is holding me back.

I swallow the lump of now bitter tasting apple mush and wash it down with a gulp of lukewarm water.

"You know, obsessing isn't going to fix anything," Lani points out, stabbing another bite of syrup drowned waffle.

"Yeah, I know, but I can't help it." I sigh, twirling the half eaten apple around in my hand.

"You're not usually this antsy. Is there something else going on?" Lani sets down her fork and rests a gentle hand on my arm.

I shake my head, a little troubled.

"I'm not sure. I just have this odd feeling that something bad's going to happen."

She looks alarmed. "Bad? What do you mea-"

"There's a problem," Archer says as he takes a seat next to me. Dax steals a bite of Lani's waffle as I send her an 'I-told-you-so' look. Archer drapes his arm across my shoulders and I lean into him, blushing a deep shade of red.

"What kind of problem?" I ask, looking up at Archer curiously.

"We spotted a couple of what we think are Octavian's men snooping around near the entrance to the facility," Dax says around a mouthful of waffle.

I nearly choke on my apple. Octavian's men? Here? They haven't been on my tail for months now. How could they have found this place?

"What do they want?" Lani asks, gripping her boyfriend's hand tightly. She sends me a questioning look out of the corner of her eye but I just shrug. I have no idea what they could want.

"No clue," Archer shrugs, while his thumb begins to rub soothing circles into my shoulder. "Chances are they just stumbled upon the place by accident. They'll probably be gone by tomorrow. We'll check it out tomorrow morning. "

I nod, but I'm frowning. Could it really be just a coincidence that Octavian's men show up here of all places?

Plates suddenly clatter to the ground and a cacophony of snarls fill the air as a group of werewolves pounce on each other. A red headed girl next to the fight just rolls her eyes like the fight is nothing new to her. Archer rises from his seat next to me and presses a quick kiss into my hair, whispering a quick "be right back" before hurrying off to quell the fight. Dax follows suit and then it's just Lani and I again.

Pushing her plate aside, Lani leans over the table towards me. "Do you really think that it's just a coincidence that those men are here?" she whispers, glancing over her shoulder.

I let out the sigh I'd been holding in. "I don't know, but I want to check it out tonight."

She frowns. "Archer said they'd check it out in the morning. It's too dangerous to go out by yourself, especially if they know who you are."

"But what if they're here for Archer?" I retort, "they can't know he's here. I've dealt with these people before, I can handle it."

She sighs unhappily, but nods nonetheless. "When are you going?"

I glance up and Archer meets my eyes across the room. He winks and grins from ear to ear before returning his attention to the group of angry werewolves. I smile a small smile at the back of his head.

"Tonight," I murmur, turning my attention back to Leilani, "after Dax and Archer are asleep."

Lani suggests that I not go alone and even offers to help herself. I shoot it down right away. I am not putting her in danger right after everything that just happened with the incubus. She shouldn't want to be put into danger like that again. She's insane for even bringing it up and I tell her as much. She only scoffs and says that I took the worst of it and that I should stop worrying about her.

We argue for a while longer and end up compromising. I'll go handle the situation on my own, but she gets to stay by the door and let me back in afterwards, just in case I need "you know, backup or something".

Dax and Archer return soon after Leilani and I decide our plan of action. I relax comfortably into Archer's one-armed embrace, determined to worry about normal things, like how Archer's ex girlfriend is staring at me like she wants to bite me. Throwing a bit of caution to the wind, I sink further into him and enjoy his warmth. He laces his fingers with him and my body comes alive with the electicity that shoots through my veins.

The feel of his skin on mine only strengthens my resolve to go out tonight. I have to protect the peace I've found here. I can't risk Octavian's men ruining everything I've built here.

Archer must notice the tension in my shoulders because he rubs a hand down my arm and kisses the top of my head.

"It's okay. Dax and I will check out the problem in the morning. They're probably just passing through."

I smile and nod. "Yeah."

It will be okay, because I'm going to fix it.