Page 30 of Viper

“The biker club?” Judge Brown asks in surprise. “I’ve never had any of them in front of me for a criminal matter if that’s what you’re asking. They have a good reputation as far as I know too. Work with charities, and organize runs and things to benefit them too. Dare I ask why?”

“They have been a problem,” the Russian says calmly. “And I would like them out of the way. So, while you may not see them much now, I have a feeling you will be sooner than you think. And when you do, you will make sure that they are inconvenienced to the fullest extent you can, understood?” There’s a steel in his tone, one that brokers no argument and ensures that he is obeyed.

Judge Brown doesn’t answer him right away, and I almost have some kind of hope that he’ll refuse, but of course, it’s not meant to be. Instead, after another long moment, he finally replies, “I can do that as long as they’re actually assigned to me.”

“You will make sure that they are,” the Russian orders, a dark undertone to his voice. “One mistake, and I will not be pleased.” The danger is there again, and a shiver runs down my spine. Whoever this man is, I don’t want to end up on his radar, so I need to be fucking careful.

“Alright,” Judge Brown replies tightly. I can hear his annoyance at being ordered around. If there is one thing that you can count on with most judges, it’s their ego. They hold your fate in their hands, and they enjoy that power. So to have this man ordering him around is probably testing him. Still, he clearly understands he’s not in charge right now.

“Good. And you are sure none of them have been in front of you?” the Russian asks. “Even for non-criminal matters?”

I hold my breath, hoping that Judge Brown won’t remember Viper or Archer, but it’s not to be when I hear his chair creak and then he says, “I was about to say no, but now that I think about it, earlier this week, there was one of them in here for a custody hearing. Wanted joint custody of his son.”

“And you granted it?”

“Yes. The boy is better off with his father if you ask me. His mother and her attorney are fucking jokes, but I was fair enough. MacKenzie was the last name, can’t think of the first name. I know the son’s name is Archie, or Archer, or something like that. Very smart kid.”

“Hmmm,” the other man says, and I can all but hear the wheels turning in his head. “And will they be back again?”

“I imagine sooner rather than later because the ex-wife was pissed she lost her large child support check. I know a money hungry bitch when I see one,” Judge Brown sneers. “I also put in the provision for random drug tests.”

“I want to know immediately the next time they are due to be here,” the Russian commands. “And what they’re going to be here for. And I want you to get that random drug test set up sooner than they are expected. But call this number when you know it’s scheduled so that I can ensure my men are in place to oversee it.”

“Oversee it?” Judge Brown repeats in surprise.

“Do not ask questions you don’t need to know the answers to, Judge,” the Russian warns and I hear the creak of a chair as the man stands.

Shit. I need to get out of here.

I carefully and quietly back track out of the room, so glad that I wore flats today instead of my normal heels. My feet are silent on the floor as I hurriedly go back down the hall and head into my office. I calmly sit down at my desk and quickly put on my headphones, focusing on the computer. I need whoever this man is to look in and see someone that is working hard and unable to hear anything that might be going on.

I need to be completely inconspicuous.

My heart pounds as I type out gibberish at a normal pace on the screen in front of me, careful to keep my eyes completely on the screen and never looking away.

I know the moment he walks by. It’s almost like my other senses are on high alert where he’s concerned, or like the danger he is pours out of him and into every area around him. I suppress a shiver as I continue typing. I don’t know how long I sit there, typing away and staring at the screen, but it’s definitely long enough that the man is long gone. Still, I don’t want to take any chances and I don’t want to run into Judge Brown either. I have a feeling he’ll sell me down the river as fast as he can to keep himself in whatever deal he’s got going.

Everything in me is screaming I need to get out of here. I look at my phone again and see we’re closing in on ten o’clock now. Fuck, I need to get out of here or I really will look strange staying here so damn late. And then I need to decide what the hell I’m going to do about the information I just heard.

I want to tell Viper, but what if these guys are watching me? Or if they track me home? I can’t risk them seeing me talking to him. So I need to be careful. First, I need to get home, and then I can decide what I need to do.

I pull the headphones off my head, make quick work of shutting things down, and packing up. I pull on my jacket, turn out the light, and then leave my office, locking it up tight behind me. I make my way down the hall and toward the side door that will lead out into the parking lot and close to my car. My heart pounds with each step.

When I get outside, the warm air hits me in the face and I take in a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I walk calmly to my car, but carefully look around to make sure that no one is looking at me or hanging around. I don’t see anyone, and there isn’t a single car in the parking lot, so whoever was here is gone. Thank God.

I climb into my car, lock the doors, start it, and head out of the lot and toward home. I take a slightly different route, checking the rearview mirror the entire way, but I don’t make out anyone tailing me. Still, by the time I make it home, my nerves are fried and my entire body is buzzing with adrenaline. I lock every door, pull every curtain, and then sit on my couch and close my eyes.

Fuck. What the hell am I going to do?

I briefly consider leaving it be and pretending I saw and heard nothing, but I immediately reject that. I’m not a coward, and I don’t hide from my problems. So now I have to figure out if I’m going to contact Viper and let him know what’s going on. Especially considering right now, he’s a target. And by extension Archer, who is just a kid and shouldn’t be getting dragged into whatever this mess is.

The question is, does Viper know this man? Are the Devil’s Soldiers in some kind of dispute with him that’s going to turn bad and bloody? Do I really want to get involved in this? I mean, my job may not be glamorous, but telling him anything I heard is technically breaking the law considering I didn’t see the man, I don’t know if he’s a lawyer or some other guy in the court system, which could make the conversation privileged. Still, I know that what happened tonight is wrong, and that if anyone finds out I knew about it and said nothing, I’ll not only be out of a job, but behind bars as well.

And that’s another problem. Do I even dare mention it to anyone else in the building? I mean, people at work are gossips since they can’t normally share outside of the building, and that means that it could get back to Judge Brown that I overheard, and if it does, the judge will sell me down the river fast. And, also more likely, he’ll tell the guy who was talking to him, and then I’ll have a target on my back.

I also don’t want to tell Sadie because implicating her in any way is not something I’m willing to do. She’s probably out with her latest flavor of the week anyway, and I don’t want to ruin her fun.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Why of all nights did this have to happen? And as much as I want to ignore it, I know I can’t. So I do the one thing that I told myself I wouldn’t do. I pull out my phone and dial Viper’s number.

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