Page 33 of Viper

“Probably going to make sure you don’t pass and get Archer out of the way,” Shadow says grimly, glancing at me.

I’m pissed. The fact that my son is now in danger because of this goddamn judge is enough to have me considering doing something stupid. It must show on my face though, because Eden grabs my wrist and warns, “Don’t even think about it.”

I manage to calm myself a bit and ease the expression on my face before saying, “I’m fine. But if that fucker thinks he’s going to screw me over by using my son against me, he has another thing coming.”

“And no one saw you when you were sneaking in and out?” Bullet asks Eden, drawing my gaze back to her.

“I don’t think so,” she replies. “The judge’s office door is around a corner slightly, so even if I walked in and sat down, no one would know I was there until they came out of the office. There’s no angle for them to see me. The only reason I went in that far was because the main door was open in the first place. Normally if they’re not in there, it’s locked and I would have had to use a key to get in, which they definitely would have heard. Then I stood there and…” She trails off and her eyes widen. “Wait, I recorded them on my phone. So I didn’t miss anything because if it comes down to it and I get somehow in shit for this, I want proof that it wasn’t me.”

I share a look with Bullet and Shadow. This is damn important to have, but at the same time, a trickle of fear slides into my gut. If Vlad or any of his men find out about this recording, she’ll have a target on her back for sure. Not only because she’s connected to us, but that she’ll have it on record that he was bribing a court appointed official, and a judge no less.

She takes out her phone and quickly opens it up before setting it on the table, the volume loud enough for all of us to hear, and then hits play. I listen and my anger burns hotter as I listen to Vlad. And it is definitely Vlad, because there is no mistaking that voice. When the recording is done, Eden pulls her phone back and then looks at us expectantly. “Do you know the voice?”

I glance around at Shadow and Bullet, and I can see that they’re unsure if they should really answer her. It’s club business and telling her will put her in danger of being involved even further. Thankfully, I’m saved from having to answer because Rose intervenes and says, “We can get back to that. Right now, the most important thing is making sure you’re protected. You’ve just caught on record a judge being bribed, and that’s a recipe for trouble no matter how you look at it.”

Eden seems to realize that and her eyes sharpen. “You’re right,” she agrees. “Shit. What am I going to do?”

“First, we need to make sure you’re not on camera going into or leaving that room,” Bullet says, glancing at Shadow, who nods and immediately pulls out his phone. “We have someone who can do that. As long as no one knows that you were there, then you should be relatively safe.”

“And make sure the outside cameras are looked at too,” I add. I glance at Eden. “Did you see anyone waiting in the parking lot when you left?”

She shakes her head. “After I left the Judge’s office area, I went back to my office, put on my headphones and pretended to work for another forty-five minutes just in case. I never even looked up from the screen so I didn’t catch anyone’s eye if they did walk by. When I finally left, there was no one else in the parking lot. But there is a back lot so they could have been parked there since I was in the front one.”

“Smart girl,” Rose praises.

I have to agree. “I’ll have Cryos look at the back lot and see if anyone was hanging around,” Shadow says, shooting off another message on his phone.

“I also took a different route home just in case I was being followed,” Eden adds. “But I didn’t see anyone and there was no one different in the parking lot of the apartment when I got there either.”

“And no signs of anyone trying to get into your apartment?” I ask her. She shakes her head.

“I saw nothing when I got there either,” Shadow adds. “Usually if someone’s trying to break in, there’s evidence somewhere to the trained eye.”

“Speaking of which, I need you to show me how you got into my place,” Eden says, clearly intrigued. “Never know when that kind of skill will come in handy.”

Before Shadow can deny her, Rose snorts. “Trust me, I’ve been trying to get that information out of him for years and he’s never budged.”

“That’s because I don’t need you and your crazy Coven trying to break into my house, room, or anything else we own. Not to mention, you’d probably try and use those skills and get yourselves arrested. Again,” Shadow adds pointedly.

“Wait, you’ve been arrested?” Eden asks, eyes full of interest as she looks at Rose. “I’ve never seen you before a judge before.”

“Shadow exaggerates,” Rose sniffs, making us all scoff at that. She glares at us before turning her gaze back to an amused looking Eden. “We were taken in but never formally charged either time, so as far as I’m concerned it doesn’t count.” Then she brightens. “But if that ever does happen, at least now we have an in at the courthouse.” She winks at Eden, who’s face splits into a grin.

“Great, now they just have an excuse to do any shit they want,” Shadow grumbles. He glares at me. “You end up with her, and you’re paying triple into the bail fund, because it’ll be your damn fault.”

“Wait, you have a bail fund too?” Eden demands, then laughs. “Holy shit, that’s awesome.”

Shadow’s eyes narrow on her before he looks at me. I just smile and shrug. He probably should get used to this because I want Eden around. Shadow looks at Bullet and huffs, “I think I should go back to the Forces. You can call me when I’m needed.”

“At this point, I’ll join you,” Bullet replies drily. “Alright, back to the topic at hand. We need to make sure you’re safe, Eden, because if this is who we think it is, though I can’t confirm anything right yet until we do some very quiet investigating, then that means you’ve stepped right into the middle of something that could put you in danger. Right now, it sounds like you’re safe, but we don’t take chances. Especially if you and Viper are going to be around each other for any amount of time. Any other time I wouldn’t be worried about it, but until we’re sure you’re completely off the radar, I don’t want to take any chances.”

Eden doesn’t reply, glancing up at me quickly before looking back at Bullet. I can see the wheels in her head spinning. “First off, Viper and I aren’t a thing,” she says.

“Yet,” I interject.

She narrows her eyes at me. “At all,” she says firmly. “Second, does this mean you don’t think I can go home?”

I want to tell her no, she can’t go home until I know she’s safe, but I manage to bite my tongue. I don’t have a claim on her yet, and I also can’t push her too much or else I’ll really push her out the door.

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