Page 54 of Viper

“Of course not,” I assure her. “We’re not like that, Eden. Shit happens, but you will never be blamed for it.”

“So you can speak for every member of your club on that?” There’s clear doubt behind her words.

“I can,” I tell her firmly. “That would be like us blaming Syn for her dogs not finding those keys in Dagger’s room when they searched it. That would never happen.”

She still looks doubtful, but some of her anger has dimmed. At least outwardly. “I take my job very seriously, Viper, because I’ve worked so hard to get where I am right now, and it feels a lot like it could be in jeopardy if I say yes. There are laws in place to keep this stuff locked up tight to protect due process, and I swore an oath to uphold that. And, on top of that, there is no guarantee I’ll know what’s coming down before it goes out, so I can’t say that I would catch anything to tell you.”

“And I know that.”

She still doesn’t look convinced, but I can almost see the wheels turning in her head. “So what kind of information do you need exactly? That you have a warrant out, or if there’s something planned against certain members of the club?”

I nod. “For the most part. We don’t need to know details, but at least enough to know that someone is coming and to expect them. At least then we could let our lawyer know to be on alert.”

“Wouldn’t that be an admission that you have someone on the inside giving away information?” she points out.

I pause. She is right and that needs to be something we consider. “I’ll bring that up in Church,” I tell her. “Because you’re right. But our lawyer is the same one you would have seen with Archer when the Judge was talking to him. He knows when it comes to us we will give him only information he needs and nothing more.”

Eden nods slowly, eyes narrowing before looking away from me as she mulls things over. “I need to think about this, Viper. And I need to do it away from here and you, because you distract me, and I’ll hate you and myself if I just give in because of it.”

“No one will blame you if you say no,” I reiterate.

She nods, and then flips the covers back and says, “We should probably get back downstairs. Archer is probably wondering where you are, and Sadie is probably looking for me.”

The last thing I want is to let her out of this bed, but I nod and get up. We get dressed in tentative silence before we head to the door. But before Eden can reach for the doorknob, I stop her with my arm around her waist, turn her, and haul her back into my arms. She looks up at me in surprise, and I lean down to kiss her, unable to leave this room without another taste.

She melts, her arms come up to wrap around my neck, and goes up on tip toe to give her a little more height. When I finally pull away, I murmur, “I’m going to work hard to make you realize you’re perfect for me the way you are. I’ve always said that I like women who are wild and fun, because they’re always so damn strong and able to handle themselves. But when you’re tired of being strong and in charge, baby girl, I want you to lean on me. I want you to let me hold you up when you need it, and I want you to know that I will always have your back, even when you think I shouldn’t or wouldn’t.”

She stares up at me, and then she gives me a soft smile and murmurs back, “You know, you’re probably the one man that actually means that.”

“Good.” I kiss her again quickly, before I release her and we head out of the room. I’m feeling a lighter sensation in my gut, but worried at the same time Eden is going to regret this, or change her mind. It’s gonna mess with my head, so I need to get that shit under control.

When we get back to the common room, I see that Archer is playing video games with Twigs, Milk, and Timber. “Archer, you done your homework?” I call out to him.

Archer pauses the game and looks over at me. “Yep. Thanks for the help, Eden. That’s probably the fastest I’ve ever written a report.”

Eden smiles at him. “You’re welcome.” Then she looks around and pulls away to sit with the other women, minus Quinn. It looks like she, Shadow, and Macy have gone home. Guess I’ll have to get my picture another time. I glance around and see Bullet and Sniper talking quietly in the corner. I head over their way.

“Any word from King or Stone?” I ask softly.

Bullet nods. “Both are on their way. They had to finish up a job before they could leave, but they should be here within the hour.”

“Good.”

Sniper arches a brow at me. “Get everything figured out with your woman?” He glances over to where she is smiling with the ladies, and then back at me expectantly. “And I have to say, I don’t know whether to be pleased for you, or worried for the rest of us. Sapphire told me before she left that she was pretty sure Eden tore hair out of Rubi’s head and might have damaged something in her fake boobs when she punched her.”

I chuckle. “Yeah, sounds about right. Eden was pissed, and those bitches knew better than to be in my room. Especially when the kids are around. But yeah, we talked and she’s agreed to give a relationship with me a shot.”

“Good for you, brother,” Sniper says with a smile.

“And you couldn’t have gone for a nice, quiet, librarian type, could you?” Bullet grouses, but his eyes are full of amusement, and approval.

“I’d be bored stiff,” I grin. “Besides, we’re already used to the others, so adding one more won’t be any different.”

“You say that now, but when new ideas start popping up and we really are bailing their asses out of jail, I’ll be looking at your woman as the ringleader,” Bullet drawls.

“What’s the deal with her friend?” Sniper asks.

I look over where Sadie is currently talking, and animatedly waving her hands in some kind of crude gesture, and the women laughing in response. “I don’t know much about her, but I know that she and Eden are best friends and damn close. Eden promised she won’t be saying anything to Sadie about what’s going on.”

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