Page 50 of Viper

“No, I’m not talking to you about it yet,” she says tightly. “Go see to what you have to, because I have a lot of damn questions, but for now I’m going to handle this and calm the hell down.”

I nod, but reach out and pull her into me. She struggles for a second, but she stops the moment I put my mouth over hers. The kiss is hard, almost desperate, and she meets me head on before I manage to pull away. “Go down and ask Rose where the sheets are,” I tell her. “And as soon as I’m done, we’re talking, Eden.”

She nods, but doesn’t respond. She just pulls away and then walks out of the room and down the hall. I watch her go and then head toward Dagger’s room, which is in the opposite wing from mine. When I reach it, I see Sniper pulling up a board close to the wall, and Sapphire looking near tears as she stands back to watch. It’s no secret to the club girls of Dagger’s betrayal, and that he was hiding shit, but I know Bullet is pissed that Sapphire found something and didn’t let us know. Hell, I’m pissed, and I have a feeling she’s going to be out on her ass before the night is over. I don’t see Rubi, which means she’s probably left as fast as possible to escape Bullet’s wrath.

“Nothing in here,” Sniper announces once he’s got the board clear and feels around, shining the light from his phone into the opening. The wood floors up here are old, so it doesn’t surprise me that Dagger used them to his advantage.

“Where’s the other key?” Bullet demands from Sapphire.

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out another key that looks like it belongs to a safety deposit box or even a safe. “I was hoping I could find out what it was for and let you know,” she says in a hopeful tone.

Bullet takes the key without a word, examines it, and then hands it to Sniper who pockets it. “You find anything else in here?” Bullet asks her, icy blue eyes boring holes into her.

“No,” Sapphire whispers. “I swear.”

“I find out you’re lying, and I will be the least of your worries,” Bullet threatens. Sapphire pales even further. “You have ten minutes to get your shit out of this clubhouse, in your car, and out the front gate. Don’t show your face here again.”

“Bullet,” she cries, reaching out toward him, as if trying to plead her case.

Bullet steps back, and her hand drops. “Sniper, make sure she does,” Bullet orders.

“Got it,” Sniper says, and gives Sapphire a warning look when she starts to blubber and plead, begging to stay and also to give useless apologies. She must realize how serious he is, because she finally stops and heads out the door, head bowed in defeat, make-up streaming down her face.

Bullet looks at me, a grim set to his mouth. “That fucking bastard was damn clever,” he tells me tightly. I nod my agreement. “We’re going to have to tear this whole room apart, because he’s probably hiding something else and we’ve been chasing our asses looking for it.”

“I’ll message Stone and King to see if one of them can come and start on this as soon as possible,” I offer, pulling out my phone.

Bullet nods. “That whole mess going to cause problems between you and Eden?”

I sigh, typing out the quick message, before looking at Bullet. “No clue, Prez, but I’m going to try and make sure it doesn’t. And honestly, I think she’s more pissed at the idea of Archer or Macy potentially walking in and seeing than at me.” I don’t mention the fact that she called me hers when she went after them. Not yet. I want to bask in that for a little bit without anyone else knowing.

Bullet nods. “I had no fucking clue they were even here, brother, so I’ll apologize for that. The kids shouldn’t have to ever worry about that kind of thing.”

“I don’t blame you or anyone else, Prez. They knew what they were doing, and they clearly snuck in without Rose or the other women seeing them or shit would have hit the fan the moment they did.”

He nods. “Good. I’ll apologize to Eden if she mentions anything. For now, though, we’ll wait until Stone or King get here to start dismantling this room, and see if anything else is hiding. And I’m calling Church for tomorrow morning once the kids are off to school. I’m getting tired of all these secrets and hidey-holes we’re finding. That shit was left in the past and it damn well needs to stay there.”

On that I couldn’t agree more. “I’m going to go check on Eden and make sure she’s good,” I tell him. “I haven’t heard back from King or Stone yet, but I’m sure they’ll be on their way back as soon as they see the message.”

Bullet nods. “I’ll make sure Archer is still good.” He claps me on the shoulder, and we head out of the room, shutting the door behind us.

I head quickly to my room, but see that it’s empty, though the sheets are changed. Worry fills me as I head back down toward the common room, where I find Eden sitting with Archer, who is still working on his report. Macy has made her way over and is sitting with her too, talking and chattering away, making Eden smile. I just watch her for a moment, content to look at her and realize just how deeply I want this.

I want to come to the clubhouse and see Eden with Archer, Macy, or any other children around here. With the other women and with my brothers. I want her to fit in here, to feel like she belongs, because she does. I watch as Milk and Twigs walk over to the table and introduce themselves. She shakes their hands, and even though I can’t see or hear what they’re saying, I can tell she’s perfectly comfortable talking to them. Archer laughs at something she says, before going back to his homework. Macy is happily drawing, completely oblivious.

I head down the steps and towards the table. After earlier, and her claiming me, I’m desperate to hear Eden say it again, but to me this time. She senses me approaching her, and turns to look at me. She loses her smile, but her gaze is still intense on mine. I stop behind her, putting my hand on the back of her neck, and nodding at my brothers, who are grinning like fools. I ignore them and smile down at Macy. “What are you drawing there, pretty girl?” I ask her.

“I’m drawing a picture for Eden,” she says seriously, little tongue between her teeth. “She needs one for her fridge.” She stops coloring and then looks up at me with wide, horrified eyes. “Did you know that she doesn’t have any pictures on her fridge? How can a grown-up not have any? That’s a rule or somethin’.”

I widen my eyes at that, putting on a shocked face. “No,” I whisper, mock-horrified. “Well, it’s a good thing you’re fixing that, right? And while you’re at it, could you make me another one too? I haven’t gotten a new one from you in a long time, and I’m starting to get jealous that you love your Daddy more than your Uncle Viper.”

Macy gives me an exasperated look. “Uncle Viper, I just gave you one last week,” she reminds me seriously.

“Oh right,” I reply brightly, and I hear Eden hide her laugh behind a cough. “Well, that still seems like a long time though, right?”

Macy shrugs. “I don’t know, I’m just little. You’re old though, so maybe time goes really slow for you.”

Eden doesn’t bother to hide her laughter this time. And I hear Archer snort too. “I’m not that old, pipsqueak,” I tell her, leaning down to tickle her. She starts to laugh, screeching it, until I stop. “Now, what was that about me being old, huh? You wouldn’t call your favorite uncle old would you?”

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