Page 14 of Eros
I probably shouldn’t be risking my life for a woman who could easily destroy mine, but her situation intrigued me. She believed her father put out a contract on her life, and I wanted to know why.
Why in the hell would one of the most powerful men in California decide one day to kill his own daughter? True, she wasn’t his flesh and blood, but the man raised her since she was two years old. Blood or not, it was a despicable thing to do.
What would cause a politician to commit murder? Of course, we’d already established Roger Thorne had to be crooked because we couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary on his background check. No affairs. No criminal affiliations. Absolutely nothing. Politics was a dirty game. A widespread criminal organization that cloaked itself in helping the peopleof this nation. There was no way he didn’t have baggage. All of them would eventually. So, what did his daughter have on him?
Maybe the Order can benefit from that knowledge if I can get it out of her.
The wound was only a graze, but that shit could have really done some damage. It hurt like a bitch, but I won’t know how bad it was until I get it looked at. I rose to return fire but released a sigh of relief when I heard the roar of motorcycles pulling up.
“Thank fuck.”
Immediately, the gunfire shifted away from me, then it went quiet. After a few minutes, footsteps crunched on the broken glass behind me. I whirled around with my gun raised, only to see Knox.
“Fuck, you’re hit,” he said, looking at my arm. “And losing a lot of blood.”
Blood soaked through my t-shirt and ran down my arm, leaving drops of blood on the floor. Gonna be hard to hide on the way back to the clubhouse.
“Just a graze.” I grasped my arm, hissing. “Did y’all get the shooter?”
“Nah. They took off, but I think I know who picked up the contract.”
His smile was as wide as his face.
“Who?”
“Black Viper Syndicate.”
“You got to be fucking kidding me.”
I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. This wasn’t fucking good. The Black Viper Syndicate were an elite group of assassins formed centuries ago. It was debated in criminal circles exactly where the organization started and by whom. But the story I was told was that the organization began with a betrayal, resulting in the deaths of a prominent, wealthy family. The lone survivor of that attack created the organizationto get vengeance for those deaths. From that moment, the Syndicate became an untraceable ghost, weaving its influence through politics, crime, and war. The group evolved into the executioners for the wealthy and influential. Their signature was unmistakable—a single black viper crest left on the target’s body. They operated under an ironclad code, and loyalty was absolute. The only way to no longer be a Viper was through death.
“You’ve heard of them?”
“Yeah, and it’s going to be a problem.” I sighed.What the fuck have I gotten us into?“We got to get back to the clubhouse. I want to know how in the hell they found us, and I need to talk to Janea.”
Knox gave me a confused look, but I ignored it. We didn’t have time for me to explain why she was still alive. We had an elite group of assassins who will no doubt come for her. But I knew I’d have to explain everything to the brothers. We needed to get a plan together quickly, or we’d all be dead.
“We’ll discuss it in Church.”
The look on Knox’s face was still skeptical, but he let it go. Like I said, now wasn’t the right time, but I would explain my actions at least when I figured out for myself why I just didn’t get rid of her on my own or let the sniper take her out.
***
Church
As soon as I walked inside the clubhouse, I went straight to Doc so he could stitch me up. The graze was deeper than I thought, but it didn’t do any major damage. He gave me some pain killers and instructions to keep the wound clean. Because of all that, I didn’t have a chance to find Janea. One of the old ladies got her settled into one of the bedrooms at the back of the clubhouse, that had no windows, and locked her in the roomfrom the outside, just in case she got the idea to run. To tell the truth, it shocked me she came to the clubhouse like I ordered. I expected her to go straight to the police although she was safer here with us than there. If the Order had cops on the payroll, her father did too.
“What the hell is going on?” Tex asked. “Who the hell is the woman, and why the hell are you getting shot at?”
Tex was Savage Order’s sergeant at arms. Hailing from Texas, Asher “Tex” Dixon was the heir to one of the largest and most historic cattle ranches in the state. He was a cowboy worth billions. I had no idea how or why the hell someone who had that kind of money wanted to ride with the Order, but he paid his dues and rose the ranks fast.
We were in the room where we held Church. The walls lined with wood paneling gave the space a vintage feel. Framed photographs of some of the brothers at various get-togethers and rides, hung on the walls. A large worn wooden table sat at the center, surrounded by chairs, each one occupied by a Savage Order officer who had earned their place.
The lighting was subdued, with overhead fixtures casting a soft glow. The air carried the smell of leather and aged wood. A small bar with some of the best whiskey in town sat in the corner, which no doubt would be used once everyone found out what the hell I’d gotten us into.
I blew out a breath and leaned back in my chair. “I fucked up. When I dumped Crash’s body, somebody was there.”
Murmurs went around the room.
