Page 47 of Rescued By Midnight

I swing open the truck door and hop out. I’m not doing this anymore.

“What are you doing?” Brayden asks.

“Giving up on us.” I pull my phone from my bag and start walking toward Landon and Cody’s building.

Landon answers on the first ring. “You okay, Wonderland?”

“No, I’m heading home. But I’m farther away than I was?—”

“Stop it, Alice.” Brayden grabs my shoulder to spin me around. “I’m taking you home, with me, where you belong.”

“Let go of me.” I bring up my arm and twist to the side, yanking myself out of his grasp.

“Would you stop being a bitch?” Brayden’s mouth is downturned in a snarl, his hand held ready like he’s going to hit me.

I yelp, stepping back, nearly tripping over my feet. “I’m not being a bitch—I’m standing up for myself. So go ahead, you big tough man. Hit me. That’s what you’re threatening, isn’t it?”

Fear has me panting, and it holds my lungs in a freezing stranglehold. I brace myself for pain.

Brayden mutters a curse and drops his hand. “Alice, I—I didn’t mean that.”

Landon says over the phone, “Alice, stay calm. Cody’s close by.”

Having his voice in my ear keeps my panic at bay.

“Deep breaths, angel,” he continues. “One after the other. Don’t worry about Brayden—Cody will take care of him.”

As if conjured by Landon’s words, Cody pulls up to the sidewalk in his car. He jumps out and hurries toward me, his brown eyes furious as he looks over at Brayden.

“Cody’s here,” I tell Landon, and hang up the phone.

“What is he doing here?” Brayden asks. “This isn’t any of your business.”

“I’m taking her home,” Cody snaps back, his arm coming around my shoulders.

I let him lead me to the passenger seat.

“You’re staying with them? Your worldly friends?” Brayden’s voice is full of derision. “So you really are impure. You probably slept with your kidnapper, and now you’re sleeping with them—both of them.”

“You’re right, I am,” I retort. I’m so furious, I let myself blast him without fully considering my words. “Just like you’re sleeping with Jericha every night, I’m sleeping with Landon and Cody. Yes, both! At the same time. And it’s incredible. Unlike with you, I actually enjoy myself. I feel sorry for Jericha. She can have you.”

Cody chuckles as he shuts my car door. I glare at Brayden through the window, enjoying the embarrassed, stiff way he holds himself. He watches us leave with an inscrutable expression on his face.

I slump back into my seat. Cody’s car smells a bit like him—minty. The scent is as comforting to me as a soft blanket.

“Things went sideways with Brayden,” he says.

“Yeah. He’s an asshole. I don’t know why it surprises me every time his true self comes out.”

“Years of conditioning, probably.” Cody shrugs, like he didn’t just succinctly state the entire problem with my worldview.

This is something to unpack with Cammie, later.

“Did you get enough to eat?” Cody asks. “Should we grab some ice cream?”

“No, I’m not hungry.” I pause. “But if you are, I don’t mind stopping somewhere.”

He looks me up and down. All traces of his fury are gone. And if I’m not misinterpreting his expression, he’s now…amused?