Page 28 of The Vipers and Their Venom

Her face is a sickly pale in the light from the window. “You say a deal, but like what?”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” I say. “You will have a choice. There’s always a choice.” I don’t add that sometimes both choices are awful.

16

VANI

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.Fuck.

Of all the people to find me breaking into the office, it would have to be this one.

Lex…or Saint? He made sure to reference his twin and not give me a name.

I check his neck for the mole. I can just see it in this light. Yep, it’s Lex, the asshole one from the calculus class.

What the hell does he mean by making a choice, and who the hell are the Vipers? He didn’t answer me properly but said I’d already met them. Is it him and his brother?

I decide to lead with that question. “Tell me exactly who the Vipers are.”

He seems amused. “Vipers? Well,weare. Me, and Saint, and Zane. “

“Yes, butwhatare you? You call yourself the Vipers? Like a little club nickname?” I add a smirk even though I’m shaking inside. My instincts tell me showing fear isn’t the way to go here.

He swells with defiance. “It’s not alittle club.”

“Sounds like one to me.”

He points at me. “You should watch that smart ass mouth of yours. It’s going to get you in trouble one of these days. Do youwant me to take back my offer? I can easily go and tell Dean Rossi that I found you in here, and then I’ll never need to lay eyes on you again.”

He’s right. I do need to watch myself.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” I force myself to look at the floor. “Please don’t tell him.”

He moves in closer, and I’m acutely aware of his presence. The scent of his fragrance, it’s subtle and earthy, but with a hint of darkness underneath. Like the forest after the rain.

He lifts his hand and trails his thumb across my jaw. I jerk my face away.

“Oh, I won’t, but like I said, you’ll need to do something in return. Tit-for-tat. I scratch your back, you scratch mine.”

I don’t like the sound of that.

His thumb moves from my jaw to my lower lip, where he drags it across. I want to tell him to get his fucking hand off me, but if I let my mouth run away with me again, there’s nothing to stop him from going straight to Dean Rossi and getting me kicked out of Verona Falls. Not even my father would be able to convince him to let me stay if he knows I’d broken into his office. Plus, now I have papers in my bag that will only incriminate me.

The papers…

They’re another reason I don’t want to get kicked out. I’ve actually found something with my sister’s name on it. It’s proof she’s here, and I might be able to use the file to track her down without alerting anyone else to who I am. If the files are taken from me and I’m forced to leave, Reagan will never find out she has a sister.

I have to go along with this, or at least make this asshole think I’m going to go along with his plan.

“Fine,” I say through gritted teeth. “When are you going to tell me what this deal is?”

“Tomorrow night.” He pauses and checks a ridiculously expensive watch on his wrist. “Actually, that’s later today now, since it’s past midnight. You were already supposed to come and hang with us at the mansion, so now we’ve just made things a little more interesting.”

So, the other two will be there. That gives me hope, even if it’s only a flicker. I’m not sure about Zane, but I pray Saint will speak up for me against his brother.

But then the hope dies.

They’re brothers. Twins. There’s no way Saint is going to choose me over his brother. He’s only known me for five minutes. Then there’s that beast of a man—Zane—silent and scarred. I have no idea how he thinks.

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