Page 87 of Viper

VLAD

It’s time for a full on assault. I’m taking out the Devil’s Soldiers if it’s the last thing I do.

“You fucking idiot,” I seethe, punching Sasha hard in the face. He groans, his entire body swinging from the chains he’s strung from. “You fucked everything up. You let her get away, you cost me that boy, and now the cops are crawling all over the fucking place. And you left not one, but two guns behind, and that fuckers body as well.”

“I-I didn’t have a choice,” he gasps out around swollen lips.

“You had every choice,” I bellow, my voice echoing in the room. “And because of your failure, I now have another large mess to clean up. Such a waste of a breath.” Then I lift the gun and fire it into the middle of his head. I’m sure some are going to be pissed that he’s dead, especially those back home, but I don’t give a flying fuck.

Let his father and mother vow their revenge. They know better than to cross me. I stalk out of the room and head for my office. I slam the door and go to grab my phone, not caring that I’m still covered in blood, or my knuckles are raw. I dial the number and as soon as I hear the phone connect I order, “Get your ass back here. We’re going to war.” Then I hang up.

I stare out the window, seething. I’m done playing nice. Not more stealth. It’s time for a full on assault. I’m taking out the Devil’s Soldiers if it’s the last thing I do.

They want bloodied streets? I’ll let it run red as I kill every last one of them. Including their whores and their devil’s spawn. There will be no more Devil’s Soldiers when I finish with them.

THIRTY-THREE

EDEN

This is what I needed.

Two Weeks Later

I slant a look over at Viper who looks nervous for the first time in a long time. And I know exactly why. I look across the room as I watch as Quinn, Shadow, Macy, and Quinn’s family arrive. Including Peyton, the woman Viper had a thing for before me. The very one he assured me was completely over, and that the two of them are just friends. I’m not sure if he thinks I’m going to lose my shit or something, but it’s kind of funny to see him sweat.

Not to mention, Peyton and I have already connected on our own and I know the full story of what happened between the two of them. She assured me she only sees him as a friend and brother, and she won’t overstep any boundaries, but she hopes I’ll still let him talk to her. I can admit to being a bit jealous of her, especially seeing how beautiful she is in person, but I’m also not insecure of my relationship with Viper. He’s committed to me, so we agreed if I ever get uncomfortable with them, I will let her know. But so far it hasn’t been a problem. Especially since she’s taken to texting me too and the two of us have struck up a friendship. Seems the two of us have a lot in common. Something that makes Viper surprisingly nervous.

Even with that, the last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. Not only did Viper get full custody of Archer, but we’ve managed to find a new place and moved in already. Viper paid out the rest of my lease, despite my protests, and the rest of his, so we’re free and clear. And from what I’ve seen, Archer loves his room at the new apartment. It’s bigger than his old one at Viper’s or at his mother’s, and we let him set it up as he liked.

The past two weeks have been a bit of an adjustment for Archer, especially when he learned his mother agreed to Viper having full custody, and she cut off all contact with him. That hurt him to the core, and he spent two full days holed up in Viper’s room at the clubhouse since that’s where they had to stay. I offered my support, but he mostly ignored me, and the same when his father or anyone else tried to talk to him. So we let him be, and Viper quickly found him a therapist. He was resistant at first, but after a couple of sessions, he’s starting to come back to himself. There are still times I see him looking so sad it hurts, and it makes me question if it was a good idea to push for this, but then I see him cuddle up to his father or I, and I know it was. It’s not going to be easy, but it will get better.

As for Viper and I, we’ve settled into a routine and so far it’s been working out great. Other than the fact that he always forgets to put the toilet seat down, and I’ve fallen in twice, which always results in me screaming at him in anger. The prick always laughs at me, but after the last time, I cut him off for a couple of days, he’s been much better at not forgetting. And by cut off, I meant from everything, not just sex. I didn’t cook anything, I didn’t clean up after him, and I all but ignored him. I was so pissed. Is it juvenile? Yes, and I know I should handle it better, but I didn’t give a damn. I’ll worry about being mature another day.

As for my job, no charges have come my way out of that night, so I’ve been able to breathe a small sigh of relief. I took a leave of absence until it was official, and I was back for two days last week, with the plan being to return full-time on Monday. I’m still going to funnel any information I get to Viper if it comes to the club, but all attacks on them from the legal system seems to have gone away for now. Viper told me not to say anything about Judge Brown yet, so I’ve kept that to myself, but I fully intend to inform the proper people when I can. I’m not about to let him get away with this. But for now, it’s status quo and I’ll keep working.

“He looks like he’s about to shit bricks,” Sadie giggles in my ear, startling me, but making me grin and nod. She’s joined us for the barbecue today, and honestly, probably to see any drama that might come up. When she found out what happened at Viper’s apartment, she came screeching into the clubhouse the next day and tackled me to the floor, checking me over. Viper was so shocked he didn’t stop her, and neither did the rest of them. Though it was funny as shit when Sadie bared her teeth at him when he tried to lift her off me, making him back off and look at her like he was sure was infected with rabies or something. Though he figured out pretty quick that’s how she is when she collapsed over me and held me tight.

Now, Viper eyes her like he’s sure she’s nuts, but he’s getting used to her odd quirks. Even the ones where she shows up and climbs in bed with me to watch a movie, and then invites Archer to join us and cuddle up in between. Archer usually does, but as soon as she brings out a sappy rom-com, he’s out of there so fast. That kid can move damn quick when he wants to. The rest of the time he kind of just lumbers along.

“Hey, bitch!” Peyton calls out, grinning widely at me and pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Oh shit,” I hear someone whisper. “Twenty bucks Eden takes her down.”

“Nah, that’s not her style. And Peyton’s scrappy,” another whispers. “But I wouldn’t mind them fighting a bit. That’d be hot as shit.” I roll my eyes. Men, so damn predictable.

Instead, I head for her and drawl, “Hey, bitch. You here to try and steal my man?”

I hear someone choke and I swear it’s Viper, but I don’t look over at him, my gaze solely on Peyton. “I mean, he is pretty,” Peyton muses, looking past me at Viper thoughtfully. I can all but feel the panic coming in waves from him behind me. “And those muscles are nice.”

“Peyton,” Viper growls in warning, and I hear him walking toward me, even as a huge grin splits my face.

“What?” Peyton asks innocently, her eyes bright with laughter. “It’s true, isn’t it? I mean we only kissed the one time, so I think we should—” She lets out a bright burst of laughter as I reach out and punch her in the boob. There’s a hiss from a few people, and laughter from the other women who already know exactly what we’re up to.

“Don’t push it, sugar,” I drawl at her, even as Viper curses and steps up behind me.

She grins at me and rubs her chest. “We need to work on your delivery,” she jokes. “That barely hurt.”

“You’re a nut,” I declare, but then I reach out and hug her before turning to see Viper eyeing us like he’s sure we’re rabid animals waiting to strike. “We’ve been talking for weeks,” I remind him drily. “Did you really think we would hate each other once we met in person?”

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