Page 21 of The Devil's Viking

“You mean the bar?”

“No, I mean, which state? Which city?”

Viking gave her a long, searching look. “State and city?”

“Yes.”

“Colorado. Denver, Colorado.”

“Ah.” She was relieved that at leastthatpart of her pathetically ramshackle plan had managed to come together; she was long gone from Utah. “And the bar?”

He laughed now, the sound rolling deep and warm from that astounding chest. “Satan’s Bar. We own it.”

“We?”

“The Road Devils.”

“Are what are you?” She thought about the men’s names, the matching vests, the gun, the tattoos. “Are you a – a biker gang?”

“You mean, are we a motorcycle club as seen on prime time TV and in Hollywood movies?”

She nodded.

“Yes and no.” He sighed. “We are indeed an MC but we aren’t criminals.”

“You aren’t?”

“Well…” A strange look crossed his face, then he seemed to snap back to himself. “Yeah. I mean, no, we’re not criminals.”

“OK,” Iris said, not totally convinced that he was telling the truth; after all, she’d seen him in the middle of the night, in a forest one state over, standing next to a fire. She’d smelled the large metal barrel thing and seen the tools in the back of the van. If the club was out of the criminal life, how did any ofthatmake sense? But in the end, she was happy to let it all go because the less she knew about these guys and their extracurricular activities, the better. “And when can I leave?”

“That’s totally up to Wolf.”

“Why is it up to Wolf? Not anyone else?”

“Because he’s our President, and what he says goes. Once he decides that you’re cool, you can be on your merry way.”

“And – and how does he decide? That I’m cool?”

“That’s between you and him. He’ll come and talk to you soon – almost certainly tonight – and then we’ll see where we are. For now, you kick back and relax, and you tell Holt out there if you need anything at all. He’ll get Rebel to make you some dinner, and maybe if you’re super-charming, Cole will bring you a nightcap later.”

“So – I just wait for Wolf?”

“Yep. You just wait.” Viking nodded at her, then opened the door. “So take it easy and I’ll see you later. I’m heading home to get some rest.”

Iris watched him close the door, then she settled deeper into the armchair to contemplate her situation, now that she had a slightly broader picture.

By a complete miracle, she’d escaped Utah in the van, and so Gideon and his asshole Guardians would now be utterly stumped about her trail just ending at the edge of the forest. Of course they’d see Viking’s huge footsteps going to and from the fire area, but even if they knew that a man had been there, they’d never be able to find out who it was. Gideon acted all-mighty and all-knowing and all-encompassing – but not evenhecould look at tire tracks and human prints and magically know what vehicle and which human being had made them, or where they were now.

Yes, for a long time she’d thought of Gideon as somehow capable of all that, but sitting here now in this chair, in this snug little room, in Colorado, she knew he had no way of finding her. He was only human after all, and she exhaled in relief as the realization seeped into her body that she was beyond Gideon’s reach.

Now she had to talk to Wolf, see where his head was about her leaving. She already knew that she had to play as dumb as possible in terms of Viking and the fire in the forest, and she also had to stay quiet about Gideon and the Garden. On top of all ofthat, she had to explain what the actual hell had possessed her to hide in the back of a stranger’s van wearing the most insane attire that could possibly be imagined.

What this all meant was that she had to come up with one hell of a good story to explain who she was and where she came from, so she’d better use this time to get her head straight. In her short time with Wolf, she’d already seen a man who didn’t suffer fools gladly, and whose laser-beam eyes burned straight through bullshit.

Normally, she’d be intimidated by a man like this and think that she couldn’t fool him… but her six months hiding drug-free in plain sight at the Garden had given her confidence in her ability to bald-faced lie to everyone around her. Iris now knew that she could dodge and dissemble expertly; she could pretend and fake like a spy. All she could hope was that she could do it well enough to get past Wolf.

So, for now she’d just sit here in this chair and think, and plan, and wait.

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