Page 80 of Fallen Legacy

“Hey, I’m okay,” I reassure him, standing on my tiptoes to place a kiss on his lips. He pulls me in, deepening the kiss.

“Scar, that snake was a venomous snake. If that thing had bitten you, you would have had minutes before the venom would have killed you.”

I pale at his words, letting them sink in. “So, someone just tried to kill me?”

Archer cups my face in his hands, and he pauses before he nods his head. “Whoever put that thing in your locker wasn’t playing a prank, Scar. They want you gone.”

My bodyguard, Tony, strides into the school. He scans the area as he walks towards us, assessing for any dangers. “Is she okay?” he asks Archer.

“I’m fine,” I insist. Inside, though, I’m shaking like a leaf. My stalker has upped their game. They weren’t sending warnings anymore. No, now they are trying to take me out.

“Come on, we need to get her home. It isn’t safe here until we’ve done a full sweep of the school,” Tony tells Archer. Archer picks up my schoolbag and ushers me towards the exit. Vee and Seb follow behind us and the entire school watches, phones out, recording the incident and whispering as we pass them.

Archer bundles me into the car. Vee and Seb climb in the back, and we take off at speed, with Tony and another security guy travelling behind us in their four-by-four. Rafe has stayed behind at school to wait for the police. Archer is gripping the steering wheel so tightly that I’m worried he might actually break the thing, so I place my hand on his leg and draw his attention.

“I’m okay,” I assure him. “Now try to relax because you’re going to break your car.”

Archer removes one hand from the wheel and grips mine in his, keeping our joined hands resting on his leg. We pull up outside the mansion in no time, and Tony opens our doors and escorts us into the house. All the while, talking to someone on his mobile about upping the security detail.

We all congregate in the informal lounge. No one talks. We are all still in shock. Vee answers a call from her parents, who have heard from Rafe about the incident and are checking that she is okay. She reassures them she is fine, that it was just a shock.

Archer sits down on the sofa and pulls me onto his lap. He searches my face and tucks a strand of unruly hair behind my ear. He cups my face and leans in to kiss me, and I pour every ounce of reassurance I can into the kiss.

“Fuck, Scar,” he exclaims. “I could have lost you.”

I smile, placing my hands over his. “But you didn’t. I’m right here and I’m fine.”

He shakes his head and leans his forehead against mine. “I can’t lose you. You’ve become my fucking everything. I can’t live in a world where you’re not in it, Scar.”

I gulp. “What are you saying, Archer?”

He swallows deeply, our heads still pressed against each other’s. “I’m saying I love you. I love you more than fucking anything, Scar.”

I think my heart stops beating in my chest. He loves me! Archer Savage, the cold unfeeling brute of our school, is in love with me.

“You do?” I ask him, my voice coming out all shaky.

“You’re my everything, Scar, and I vow to you now, I’ll find out who is doing this. When I find them, I’ll make them feel a world of hurt before I end their life.”

My dark and disturbed heart swoons at his promise to end my stalker’s life. This should horrify me, right? It doesn’t though, it just makes me want to rip his clothes off right here and now and show him how much I like it when he threatens death to anyone who would try to hurt me.

“Later,” he whispers in my ear with a smirk, clearly picking up on the lustful pheromones I’m giving off right now.

“Archer, there’s something I need to tell you,” I say with a sigh. Its time I tell him about the baby.

“Boyd’s here,” Seb announces, making me remember we’re not alone in the room.

At the news Boyd is here, Archer places me on the sofa beside him and grips my hand in his. I actually don’t give a flying shit that Boyd is here. I’m still processing the fact that Archer just told me he loves me. I catch Vee’s eye and she smiles at me. She places her hands over her heart and mouths ‘wow’ to me. It’s safe to say Seb and Vee both heard his proclamation of love.

“Mr Savage, Miss Alderman,” Boyd greets as he strides into the room with his sidekick coming in close behind him. “The snake has been secured, and you were right, Mr Savage. It is indeed an Adder snake. Highly venomous and deadly.”

“This was an attempted murder, Boyd. Do you understand that?” Archer growls. “If you weren’t throwing everything at this case, then you had better do.”

Boyd nods his head. “I can assure you this case has been getting the undivided attention of my department and it will continue to do so.”

“You can’t pick up a snake like that from nowhere,” Seb states from where he is standing, leaning against the fireplace. “There has to be a purchase trail.”

Archer nods his head in agreement. “You have to have a licence to hold a venomous snake.”

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