Page 78 of Viper

“Son of a bitch, that’s exactly something Dagger would do,” King exclaims. “And he helped out at the garage often when you needed extra hands, right?” he asks Torque.

“Yeah, he did,” Torque says, eyes narrowed. “But we renovated that whole building, so those rooms aren’t there anymore. Upstairs is storage and our spare parts areas.”

“But Dagger was part of the renovation, wasn’t he?” I point out, looking at King and Stone for confirmation.

“Yeah, insisted he help out,” Stone replies tightly. His eyes are sparking with anger. “Fucking prick probably used that time to scope out areas to hide shit, or to make sure we didn’t find anything he didn’t want us to find.”

“He also helped renovate the bar,” Sniper points out. “So isn’t it possible he could have also hid something there as well?”

“But the bar has far more people in it, which would mean more chances for it to be found by some stranger?” Medic suggests. “I mean, drunks are always getting into places they shouldn’t. And we have staff that are not part of the club, and I doubt he would want to risk any of them finding it and outing him.”

“Unless he was certain no one would ever be able to find it,” Sniper points out. “And if he hid it in the construction, there’s a good chance we won’t until we look in walls, or try to find something out of place that we didn’t notice before.”

“Alright, we split up,” Bullet announces. “Torque, you and some of the brothers will check the garage, and Sniper, you oversee the others looking at the bar. But we need to be careful so we don’t arouse suspicion. If Vlad and his men are watching us, we don’t want to tip them off that we’re looking for anything.”

“Got it,” Sniper agrees.

“Me too,” Torque acknowledges.

“Good. Then we have this part of it figured out. Now?—”

My phone rings, and I instantly freeze. “That’s Eden,” I say, pulling it out quickly. “Sorry, brothers, but she wouldn’t call unless it was urgent.” I answer the call and put it to my ear. “Hey, baby, what’s wrong?”

That’s when I hear a scream and my blood runs cold. “Don’t you fucking touch him,” I hear Eden scream furiously. There’s a grunt and a cry of pain.

“Someone’s at the apartment trying to take Archer or Eden,” I bark, jumping to my feet. Everyone’s moving. “I’m coming, Eden,” I yell into the phone as I take off out of the room at a dead run. “Hold on, I’m coming.”

The roar of bikes follows behind me as we head down the drive. I’m not about to let Vlad’s men hurt my son or my woman. They call me Viper for a reason, and it’s because I can strike with deadly accuracy, and these bastards are about to see that up close and personal.

TWENTY-NINE

EDEN

They will never touch him. I’ll die first.

A Little Earlier

I look up from the book I’m reading when I hear Archer’s bedroom door open. There’s a look of pain and sadness on his face that breaks my heart. I hesitate, not wanting to push him, but at the same time, I can’t let him keep hurting over whatever is going on with him. “You okay, Archer?” I ask him, setting the book aside.

He looks at me, and I can see the uncertainty pass over his face before he finally heads my way, shoulders slumped and his eyes on the floor. “Why doesn’t my mom like me, Eden?” he asks when he stops a few feet away from me.

Of all the things he could have said, that is not what I expected. But at the same time, worry and anger at the thought of his mother having done something to make him think this wars inside of me. “Why do you say that?” I ask him carefully. I pat the couch beside me, and he collapses next to me, drawing his legs up and wrapping an arms around his knees, before resting his chin on them too, not looking at me. I turn myself to face him, folding my legs under me so I can give him my full attention. I want him to trust me.

Finally, after a couple of minutes of silence, he admits in a husky voice, “I heard my Mom tell Tony she can’t wait to be rid of me because it means a bigger payday for her. I don’t know what she means, but when Tony agreed with her, he said that I was nothing more than a brat and in the way. He’s always wanted me gone. Mom agreed and said they’ll be better off without a kid weighing them down. That I’m annoying, and she has so many things she can’t do because of me.” A lone tear slips out of his eye before he quickly swipes it away and sniffs, trying to hold back more. “I don’t know what I did to make her say that. I try to be good, Eden. I try to keep my room clean, and do my chores. I stay out of the way when I’m there so they can do their own thing. I don’t even talk about Dad much so that it doesn’t upset Mom. I did all these things but I guess it wasn’t good enough.” There’s a crack in his voice, and my heart breaks even more.

I don’t hesitate, just move forward and pull him into my arms. He doesn’t fight me, just buries his face in my neck and trembles as he holds on to me. I’m going to murder that cunt. And I’m going to do it with a smile on my face. No child should ever think this, or hear those words from a parent. “Archer, I would never badmouth your parents, but I don’t know if I can be nice this time,” I warn him. “Your mother is an idiot for saying any of those things, and honestly, I don’t know why she would think them either. You are an awesome kid, and you are ridiculously smart for someone your age. Mature and thoughtful. Anyone would be lucky to have you as their son, and if your mother can’t see that, it’s her loss.” I pull back slightly, to look into his eyes. “We both know your father doesn’t feel that way in the slightest. He loves you, and he wants you around, but it doesn’t mean your mother’s words don’t hurt. That they don’t make you question things, and maybe your father could be a bit better at handling this conversation than me, but I won’t sugarcoat things.”

He gives me a weak smile. “Yeah, Dad said you like to speak your mind.”

“He’s right. I don’t believe in hiding or lying. Now, I won’t say everything I’m thinking because your father would probably be upset with me, but I’m going to tell you this. If your mother can’t see the value in who you are, or having you around, then you don’t need to concern yourself with her. If she can’t see what a wonderful kid you are, then screw her. Because there are a lot of people that can see it. A lot of people that can and will always show you how important you are to them. Me included. But I also know that doesn’t change the fact that your mom hurt you with her words. That she’s said things that you’ll think about over and over and doubt yourself or your relationship with her, and your Dad by extension.

“It’s okay to be hurt, to be angry, and to be just plain sad about it. Because even with all of that, she’s still your mom. It’s her job to love you, to protect you, to take care of you, and to be there for you when you need a shoulder to lean on. And the fact that she’s taken that away from you, isn’t fair. But to play devil’s advocate, maybe she’s saying that to please Tony. Some men aren’t made to be fathers, and they don’t want to raise another man’s kids. Could she have just said it to appease him?”

Archer frowns in thought. “Maybe,” he replies, but doesn’t sound convinced. “Tony’s an asshole, and whenever he’s around, Mom for the most part forgets about me being there. She wants to go out with him and leaves me at home by myself. I don’t tell Dad because I know he’d be angry. But that’s why I also think she means it,” he adds with a sniff. “She doesn’t have much to do with me when I’m there. She just leaves me to get my own food, and do my homework on my own. Or she yells at me when I don’t do my chores or clean up my room.”

“Was she always like this?” I ask him.

He pauses and then shrugs. “I guess, but it’s only really gotten like this since she started dating Tony. The last boyfriend she had, Mike, was lazy and liked to drink so she was always getting him beer. He never hit me or anything, but he used to yell at me if I didn’t do something he asked fast enough. Mom used to tell him not to yell at me, but eventually that stopped. She kicked him out when she found out he cheated on her. Or at least, that’s what I heard her screaming about at him. But Tony showed up only about a week later, so I don’t know if she was already dating him and just used it as an excuse to get rid of Mike. Usually when she gets a new boyfriend, she would get all busy with them and ignore me, but she still picked me up from school and spent time with me. But as I got older and she got new boyfriends, it changed.”

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