Page 115 of Viper

“The vest, you mean? Hell, yeah, I’ll wear it.”

He grinned.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Walking into the clubhouse’s main sitting area the following morning, Viper frowned on seeing every one of his brothers there. “How come you’re all gathered here?”

“We’re waiting to hear if we’re right in guessing that Ella now knows everything,” replied Dice from the sofa. “Blackjack said he saw you teleport her to the yard last night; said you were gesturing for her to look around and that the conversation looked intense.”

Viper planted his feet. “She now knows everything.”

“How’d she take it?” asked Darko, leaning against the pool table.

“Far better than I thought she would.” Viper was equal parts proud and relieved. “Don’t get me wrong, she was shocked to hear what I’d become. Probably a little unsettled, though she didn’t admit to it. But she rolled with it. Rolled with all I told her about our history and situation. Doesn’t hold the curse against me. Most importantly, she still accepts my claim on her.”

“I figured that,” began Ghost, who was sitting on Dice’s left, “since I noticed you two leave the compound last night on your bike and she was wearing the vest you had made for her.”

From his stool near the bar, Razor slammed a glare on Ghost. “You didn’t tell us that.”

“What goes on between a man and a woman is their business,” said Ghost.

Pushing away from the wall, Omen shot him a hard look. “You know we’ve been standing around asking each other how we think Ella might’ve reacted to all he told her. You could have put our minds at rest.”

Ghost lifted his shoulders. “It was more entertaining watching you all sweat over it.”

Razor clenched his jaw. “There are times I tell myself, ‘You know, he’s not reallythatmuch of a prick; I’m hard on him.’ Then you do shit that reminds me you are, in fact, a total prick.”

Ghost put a hand to his chest, as if hurt. “I’mnot the one slandering my brother’s good name.”

“It ain’t slander when it’s true.”

“It ain’t true, so it’s slander.”

Viper lifted a hand, palm out. “Stop.”

Razor moodily grunted. Ghost only smiled.

Sprawled on an armchair, Jester looked up at Viper. “How come you never gave us a heads-up that you meant to finally unload it all on Ella?”

“Because it wasn’t planned. I only told her because I didn’t really have much choice.” Viper paused. “She received another note. It said, ‘Everleigh’. Which means they’re definitely being sent to her by someone from the upper realm. My business decisions virtually led them straight to her. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

It pissed Viper off something fierce that he hadn’t considered someone would do that. He should have been more careful for her sake. “She naturally wanted to know who the note referred to; she’d sensed from my reaction that I knew.”

Dice twisted his mouth. “They’d obviously guessed that you hadn’t told her everything; they were placing you in a position where you had to.”

“Yes,” Viper agreed. “They’ll want her dead. Not merely to punish me, but to make a point to any current or future member of the Seven: If you fall to be with your own personal Ella, such a move will only lead to that person’s death.”

Razor grunted in agreement. “Is there any way to lure this bastard out into the open?”

Hustle sat up straight on the other armchair. “We could ask Ella—”

“We arenotusing my woman as bait,” Viper snapped. His entity wanted to slap the angel for even suggesting it.

“It wouldn’t work anyway,” Omen remarked. “They’d know that Viper would never leave her unprotected; they’d guess it was a trap.”

“I don’t think we’ll need to lure them out,” said Dice. “Their last note basically announced their presence. They’re probably bored and want to go back home. It won’t be long before they step out of the shadows. We’ll be ready when they do.”

“Interesting choice of breakfast.”

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