Page 15 of The Devil's Viking

“What’s up, baby girl?” Wolf said, not even remotely fazed by the fury in her brilliant emerald-green gaze. They’d been friends for almost twenty-four years, since she was ten and Wolf thirteen, so he’d seen her icy glare directed at himwaymore than once.

Scars leaped to his feet and came over to her. “Hey, baby. What’s wrong?”

“What’swrong, you two oafs, is that nobody bothered totellme that that woman upstairs is legitimately the size of a fairy. You should have had me bring some of Keira’s clothes over – I have a cute yellow onesie that might fit that poor girl better. She’s drowning in what I gave her.”

“Ohh-kaaay,” Wolf said slowly. “Sorry about that.”

“I’m not done,” Zoe snapped.

“I didn’t think you were, baby girl.”

“Then shut it, Wolf.”

He nodded, accepting that despite the fact that he was the fearsome, badass MC President who always called the shots, Zoe Parish was basically his bratty kid sister who didn’t give a fuck. He loved that about her, and he stifled an affectionate grin as she glowered harder.

“Jesus Christ, Wolf,” she said. “There is just never-ending drama around here – and may I remind you that this is the exactoppositeof what you promised me when I agreed to come back and work for you?”

“Hey, Zee,” he said, stung and a bit hurt. “I ain’t doin’ it on purpose.”

“I know, and Ialsoknow that one of the dramas was my fault.”

“Nothin’ was your fault,” Wolf said, genuinely puzzled. “What are you talkin’ about?”

“You’re talking about the tattoo parlour being burned down, aren’t you?” Scars asked her quietly. “About Keira’s Dad trying to kidnap her, and him getting killed in the fire that he set.”

“You know it.” Her eyes were bright with tears now. “And I’malsotalking about Jo blowing her dickhead ex’s face off in Silver’s house, and even though I’m all for that asshole being dead, it’s not exactly a calm situation, right? And now this strange woman just hides in Viking’s van wearing a nightgown and men’s boots, looking scared half to death and she won’t say a word to anyone. She said thank you to me and said she liked the green tea shampoo I brought her, but that was all I could get out of her. I mean, it just neverstops, does it?”

The two men exchanged glances: Scars had told Zoe about seventy percent of the whole truth. She knew that the woman had hitched a ride without Viking having a clue, and she’d guessed that he’d been coming back from disposing of Jo’s husband’s body, though Scars couldn’t confirm that for her own safety and she understood that. What hehadn’ttold her, however, was that their big fear was that the woman had seen far more than she should have. That part was staying between Wolf, Scars, Viking, and Ice for now.

“Zee,” Wolf said gently. “You know that I’d do anythin’ to keep you and Keira safe.”

She sighed as Scars took her in his arms; it was the safest place that she knew, and as always, she relaxed into his broad, muscular chest.

“I know, Wolf,” she said, her voice muffled against his shirt. “It just feels like a lot sometimes.”

“You want Scars to take you away from Denver? Maybe even out of Colorado?” Wolf asked her. “You and Keira can go somewhere for a few days, just until we sort this mess out.”

She lifted her head off Scars’ chest and now the glare was back; Wolf bit back another grin as she snapped back to form.

“As if I’d ever leave Scars!”

“As if I’d ever let you, baby,” Scars said. “I belong with you and Keira, so if you really want to go, we’ll figure something out together.”

“No,” she said. “Thank you anyway, babe, but this is my home and I won’t run away from it again. Besides, the safest place in the world for me and Keira is right here – you and your MC boys would take a bullet to protect us.”

“Or run into fire,” Wolf said quietly, and they all looked at each other, remembering Scars dashing into the burning tattoo parlour to get Keira. “No questions asked, no seconds wasted hesitatin’. You’re our priority, baby girl, you and that sweet daughter of yours.”

“OK.” Zoe sighed as Scars dropped a tiny kiss on the top of her head; she was a tall woman but her fiancé still towered over her, which always made her feel impossibly delicate. “I’d better get back to work. I have a client in twenty minutes.”

The men watched her go, then looked back at each other.

“Anything from Ice?” Scars said.

“Nope.” Wolf glanced at his cell again, checked the texts. “But I gotta tell you, I’m feelin’ a lot better about this whole situation right now, man.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. The more I think about it, the more I think Ice is right that this chick came from some bizarre mess, and she just ran like a headless panicked chicken into the night and caught a ride without thinkin’ it through. I think she’s more confused than we are, and she’ll just want to get out of here and go back to wherever the hell she came from.”

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