Page 32 of Viper

“No, you can’t do that,” she says forcefully. “They mentioned the Devil’s Soldiers, and if any of you show up and they see you?—”

“Eden,” I interrupt, a sternness in my tone that has her going quiet. “I promise that no one will see Shadow getting you, or you leaving. This is our specialty and what we do, okay? So I need you to trust me. Bring some clothes so you can stay at the clubhouse tonight. Then we’ll get you out and back to work first thing in the morning.”

She’s quiet for a long time, and I know she’s trying to figure out a way to get out of this. Finally, she sighs and says, “Fine, but if I die, I will come back to haunt you. I will take out that fancy piercing of yours and use it to deflate your balls. Got it?”

I don’t know why her threat amuses me and turns me on, but apparently so because my dick hardens and I have to bite back a grin. “Got it. Send me your address, Spitfire, and then don’t let anyone in.”

“Well then how is this Shadow guy supposed to get in?” she demands after she gives me her address. I shoot it off to Shadow and then file it away for later. Surprise, surprise, she doesn’t live all that far away.

“We call him Shadow for a reason, Spitfire,” I tell her as I head toward my bedroom to quickly get changed out of my sleep pants. “He’ll get in and no one will be the wiser. Just don’t scream alright. He’s doing that, because we don’t want anyone to think you willingly let him in. This way, if someone spots him, it looks like he’s the one in the wrong. Right?”

“That makes no sense,” she mutters. “But fine, I won’t bean him over the head with this lamp I’m holding. Is he the one that’s your business partner?”

“He is,” I confirm. “And he’s got a little girl that won’t be too pleased if her Daddy comes home with a giant bump on her head.”

“Then she’ll be perfectly happy as long as we don’t have any problems,” she replies.

I chuckle. “Alright, Spitfire, are you going to be good if I hang up? I’ll see you at the clubhouse and I promise you’ll be fine.”

She’s quiet for another few seconds, making me worry slightly, but then she replies, “I’m good, Viper. I’ll see you shortly.” Then she hangs up and I have to shake my head as I hurry to get Archer out of bed.

Of course waking him up is next to impossible, but I finally get it done, though he’s fast asleep in the truck the moment he’s in it. The kid is a heavy sleeper, and he’s going to be a damn bear when he’s up tomorrow now that his sleep is interrupted.

I head for the clubhouse at a steady pace, keeping my phone right next to me on the seat so I can easily reach it if Shadow calls. When I don’t hear anything from him or Eden by the time I reach the gates, I have to hope that everything is fine and going to plan. Carson opens the gates wide for us to drive through and gives me a nod before shutting them behind me. When we get to the parking area, I pull in, shut the truck off and climb out. I attempt to wake Archer again, but he doesn’t stir, and I have to lift him out and carry him inside. Eventually, I won’t be able to do this anymore, but right now, I’m alright with it. I settle him in my old room, shutting the door quietly behind me and making my way downstairs. Just in time to hear Shadow’s truck pull up outside.

I fight the urge to run out to make sure Eden’s okay, and instead, I check the message on my phone

Bullet: Problem?

Of course the man heard the trucks when they came in.

Viper: The woman I’m seeing overheard something to do with the MC, and me specifically. She was worried someone followed her home so I had Shadow sneak her out of there and bring her here.

Bullet: I’ll be right down.

I don’t argue, and instead just put my phone away and wait impatiently for Eden and Shadow to come inside. Thankfully it’s not too long before Eden comes through the doors, looking exhausted and still in her work clothes. The moment she’s through the door, I’m striding toward her, and pulling her in to me. She stiffens for a moment, before she finally relaxes and settles in, resting her head on my chest. “You’re safe, baby girl,” I murmur into her hair.

She doesn’t reply right away, clearly content to just stand right here. I send a look of thanks over her head at Shadow who has a knowing grin on his smug face. There’s no one else in the common room, so at least we don’t have a bunch of prying eyes around here.

When she finally pulls aways, she looks over at Shadow and says, “Thanks for bringing me. And at least I didn’t have to hit you over the head with a lamp.”

Shadow smiles at her, clearly amused. “Yeah, I saw the lamp, so thanks for that.”

The sound of feet coming up the steps of the clubhouse have us all turning and seeing Bullet and Rose coming through the door. Shit. I have to fight the urge to put Eden behind me so Rose can’t get to her first, but of course Rose’s eyes zoom right in on her and a beaming smile fills her face. “Hello, dear,” she greets, stepping forward. Eden looks at her in surprise but then gives her a warm smile back. Uh oh. I don’t know whether to be worried or intrigued. “I’m Rose, and I hear you’ve got a problem.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Eden, and it’s not so much me but more you guys. And well, especially Viper.” Then she stops and looks around. “Wait, if you’re here, where’s Archer?” Her eyes go stormy as she glares furiously up at me. “I swear to God if you left him back at your apartment alone, whatever these assholes have planned for you is going to pale in comparison.”

“I like her,” Rose announces with a fierce nod of approval. Bullet and Shadow are both grinning their asses off. Fuckers.

“He’s fine and he’s sleeping in my room upstairs,” I assure her. Though I have to admit it makes something inside me fiercely happy that she’s so protective of my son, even to the point she’ll make me pay if I’ve done something that she deems unforgivable. She seems to settle, but she still looks like she’s ready to stride past me and find out for herself. I almost want her to do it, but right now, we need to get to the bottom of what she heard. “And you can check on him for yourself in a minute,” I promise her, which mollifies her some more. “But first let’s get down to what you heard.”

That sobers everyone, and I gently nudge Eden toward one of the tables. Bullet, and Shadow sit across from us, and Rose is between Eden and Bullet, but closer to Eden. “Before we get started,” Bullet says, looking at Eden. “I figure since you don’t know who I am, I should probably introduce myself. Name’s Bullet, and I’m President of the club. This is my Old Lady, Rose, who insisted she come along, even though I wanted her to stay the hell home,” he adds with a stern glare at his wife.

Before Eden can reply, Rose butts in with a dramatic roll of her eyes and a dry voice, “We both know I was never going to stay home the moment you looked at your phone. And besides, as soon as I knew Eden was on her way, I wasn’t about to leave her in a strange place all by herself with a bunch of men she doesn’t or barely knows. And before you give me that look, you best remember if you want your dick getting wet again tonight, you’ll keep whatever retort you’re thinking of to yourself.”

Bullet’s glare deepens at that, but I see Eden grin. Well at least she finds it amusing. Shadow and I share a bemused look. Probably could have gone without that knowledge. Instead of saying anything to Rose, he turns his attention back to Eden and his eyes soften. “How about we start with you telling us what you heard and we’ll go from there.”

Eden nods. She starts to recount what she heard, and I immediately know it’s Vlad that was in that office. Who else would it be? I can’t see him letting his new right hand man handle something that important. No, Vlad is smart, and he’d want to see to this kind of thing personally. When she finally finishes, she looks at me and adds, “And he asked Judge Brown if there were any Devil’s Soldiers in front of him and Judge Brown mentioned you were in for your custody case for Archer. Though he wasn’t sure of Archer’s name. Oh, and then the Russian guy told him to set up the random drug tests sooner than was planned but when it’s booked, he wants the judge to call a number so his men can oversee it.”

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