The fight had started and ended in a matter of seconds, and everyone stood, stunned as the security guard had to physically hold back Mia, who was still shooting daggers at Kady through hate-filled eyes.
“Ellen? What the hell is going on here?” the guard demanded as he struggled with Mia, who had started to complain that he was injuring her, even though it was definitely she who was the threat.
“Pregnant cat fight,” Ellen replied, with a wide-eyed look between Kady, who was still standing with her arms around the swell of her tummy, and the instigator. “Throw out the yellow tabby, would you?”
“And the black cat?” he asked with a shake of his head as he pulled Mia farther away for Kady.
“That one’s probably a new resident,” she said. “Best leave her here so I can help her lick her wounds.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed. Mia shrieked with outrage all the way out the door.
Chapter 32
Kady told Archer the whole story during their visit the following day. He was as completely perplexed by the entire story as she was and shook his head over it. “Why would she tell you something like that anyway?” he wondered. “While you were at the doctor that day, I took a nap and then woke up and got onto the computer.”
“Maybe she’s just trying to get me to break up with your or something,” Kady decided. “You know that to her messed up, crazy way of thinking, if I wasn’t in the way it would be much easier for her to have you instead.”
“It seriously concerns me, though, that you’re out there where she could go nuts and try to hurt you or our baby, and I’m trapped in here where I can’t do anything about it,” Archer said as he rubbed at his temples. His handsome face looked drawn and haggard, the black ring around his eye finally starting to fade into splotchy greens, yellows, and purples.
“But the only person who got attacked so far is you,” Kady pointed out, looking him over for any new signs of violence. “Have they bothered you again since then?”
“Warden couldn’t make me go to solitary, so he put all six of them in instead,” Archer told her with a negative shake of his head. “That’s probably just going to make them angrier than ever once they get out again.”
“Great,” Kady grumbled, trying to cover the fact that she was filled with worry over him. She knew he had enough on his plate to deal with without having to comfort her as well. “The legal system at work again, huh?”
“Don’t worry about me, I’ve already hired my own squad of goons,” Archer said. “They won’t get close enough to lay a single finger on me with these guys around.”
“Yeah, unless Parker is paying more than you are,” Kady pointed out. “Say, Archer, how much do you know about that guy anyway? How long did you two work together?”
“Who, Parker?” Archer scoffed, a hint of anger sparking in his dark eyes. “We actually were at college together. He used to complain all the time that I got better grades and then later on better opportunities, you know, that sort of thing. But he was always more than willing to hang on my shirttails, and I was nice enough to give him a job later on. You’d think he’d be a little grateful.”
“Grateful?” she said, a small piece of the puzzle finally starting to click. “What about jealous?”
“What? What are you saying?” Archer asked.
“What if he was so jealous that he wanted to get even with you?” Kady asked. “How far do you think he’d go to do that?”
“You mean as in completely discredit me and then send his crazy sister around to try to get me in her clutches, that kind of getting even?” Archer asked, giving credence to the idea even though it was completely crazy, and rubbing speculatively at his chin. “But if that’s what this is all about, then how does that other chick fit in?”
“I’m still working on that part,” Kady said with a sigh. Unfortunately, there were a lot of pieces that made up this crazy puzzle, but she was determined to figure it out. “But whoever Cherry Jenks really is, she’s completely unaware that we’re on to her. Your mother agreed that we’d be better off just to watch her for now. However, if these three are willing to go this far for whatever it is they’re after, I really don’t know how much farther they’d go beyond it.”
“Yeah, I know,” Archer agreed. “But you’ll believe in me no matter what, and that’s really all that matters in my book. You have no idea how much I want to kiss you just because of that right this minute.”
Kady forced a chuckle. “Well, that’s not going to happen.” She missed him so much it was like a constant ache she carried around with her, right next to her heart.
“Put your lips to the glass, sweetheart,” he suggested.
“No way, they told us that’s against the rules,” she reminded him. “You’re trying to get me thrown out of here.”
“I’m not,” he protested. “I just really miss you, that’s all.”
“I miss you too, Archer,” she said softly. “But you haven’t been naughty in there, so it shouldn’t be that much longer.”
“Did you do your photo shoot?” he asked her then, changing the topic of conversation before either of them could get too sucked into the depressing topic of their forced separation.
“Oh yeah, we did manage to fit that in along with all the mayhem,” Kady chuckled, remembering how much fun that day had been, and how good it had felt to do something actually productive and worthwhile. “How did you know that camera guy would be—um—uninterested, anyway?”
“Because my mother always tends to hire photographers who will be disinclined to flirt with their subjects,” Archer said with a grin. “I just figured I’d have fun teasing you a bit before I told you that.”