Page 95 of Viper

“Our club’s ability to live in peace with demons in this realm depends on our secrecy,” Viper pointed out. “We’re all careful of what we say at all times. We don’t accidentally say too much in a public place.Youdon’t accidentally do that. You’ve always been vigilant. Last night, you weren’t.”

Prophet’s mouth thinned. “I didn’t know the sisters were there.”

Viper shot him an incredulous look. “They were close enough that they overheard you. I find it hard to believe you hadn’t sensed their presence on your way to the office.”

Prophet’s nostrils flared. “This is bull.”

His oh-so-innocent routine was bull. “You didn’t needed to come to my office. The conversation you wanted to have with us wasn’t long-winded or of a serious nature, was it? All you wanted was to ask if we’d seen Merchant and—though we hadn’t ever asked to be informed of such a thing—tell us that our regulars were at the bar. You could have done that telepathically. It would have saved you a walk and been less risky.”

“I wasn’t taking risks, I—”

“No? You didn’t enter my office and close the door behind you. You popped your head inside, keeping the door open while you talked. That isn’t careless?”

“I didn’t know they were there.”

Viper leaned forward. “I think you did,” he said, his pitch dropping, his voice oozing danger.

“Why would I have wanted them to overhear me?”

“Not them.Ella.Maybe you wanted to know once and for all if she would be able to handle our reality. You knew we could edit both her memories and that of Mia afterward. But you had to also know how much I would havehateddoing that to my woman. You didn’t care.”

Prophet sighed. “Nothing I say is going to change your mind, is it?” he asked, like a suffering, misunderstood martyr.

“I could always invade yours and get the answers for myself,” Viper suggested with a shrug. “It’s not something I want to do, but it would go a long way to proving your innocence. Unless … you’renotinnocent.”

Cursing beneath his breath, Prophet shifted in his seat. “Okay, okay, I knew they were close. I thought there was a chance they’d overhear me. I wanted Ella to.”

“Why?” Viper bit off, his inner entity seething.

Lines of anxiety set into Prophet’s face. “I worry for you. I worry what you’ll do if she rejects you when you come clean to her about everything. I know what it’ll do to you; what the consequences will be. I felt that if she could accept our diet, there was a good chance she’d accept the rest. It seemed best for you to know that now.”

Indignance spiked in Viper’s blood. “So, in your view, this was a test.”

“I didn’t do it for me, though, I did it for you. And look, it worked out in your favor, didn’t it?” Prophet spoke as if he’d done Viper a service. “And now there’s real hope that Ella can handle the entire picture.”

Dice growled low in his throat as his mind bumped Viper’s.He can’t honestly think you owe him or some shit.

Heshouldn’tthink that, but he does.“Too many times the Uppers disciplined you for taking it upon yourself to perform reckless acts for ‘the greater good’. You never did learn from that, did you?”

Prophet’s eyelids flickered, his jaw clenching.

Viper pinned him with a cold stare. “I don’t want or need you to ‘test’ Ella. You have concerns, bring them to me. Donotwork against me. Donotdecide you know what’s best and act on it.”

The angel licked his lips. “Viper—”

“I have been clear since before we fell why I was coming to this realm. Every member of our club knows that I’m here for Ella. Claiming her as my own is the ultimate goal. You’ve always been aware of this, correct?”

Prophet’s lips tightened. “Correct.”

“Then your concerns can’t be anything new. Your awareness of the risks must have been there from the start. Am I right on that?”

“Yes.” A muttered response.

“And yet, you chose to fall with us anyway. You never made me aware of your concerns or doubts regarding Ella. You decided to take the chance that all would work out well. Is that the case?”

Prophet stiffly inclined his head.

“So what fucking right do you have to suddenly interfere in my plans?” Viper demanded. “Youchoseto take chances when you fell, always knowing the risks. What authority do you have over me that you get to decide what’s ‘best’ for me? That you get to ‘test’ my woman?”

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