Page 33 of The Devil's Viking

He laughed, then looked at her. She gazed back at him, and a silence fell between them. It wasn’t uncomfortable, exactly, but it had a weird edge to it, like they both had things to say that weren’t being said.

Viking cleared his throat. “So. Wolf called me and asked that I come and talk to you.”

“Oh?” Right away, she looked alarmed. “Is he mad at me? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, Iris, you didn’t. He wanted me to ask you how you want to be paid.”

She looked confused. “Like – paid with food?”

Viking smiled. “No, baby. Like paid cash-in-hand, or do you have a bank account?”

She fell into another silence, but this one felt different: she was suddenly closed down and closed off, and Viking didn’t like the change. Just thirty seconds before, she’d been smiling and joking with him, alight with happiness and a newfound confidence. Now, though, she was fully in her own head: he could practicallyseeher moving pieces back and forth and in circles, deciding what to tell him, what to hold back.

“Hey, look,” Viking said gently. “The problem with a bank account is that then we would know your real name. Right?”

She stared up at him, those amazing eyes guarded and troubled. She didn’t say anything, and she lookedexactlylike she had when he’d first seen her. This was all a massive step backwards, one that Viking really didn’t like, so he gave her a reassuring smile.

“Baby, we all know that your name isn’t really Iris, and that’s OK.”

“It is? I mean, it’s OK that I haven’t told you?”

“Yeah, of course. I mean, do you think that my name is really Viking? Or that Wolf’s is Wolf? Scars? Rebel? Cowboy?”

She blinked, then gave him a half-smile. “I actually hadn’t thought about that.”

“We all understand about names that we take through our lives, or names that we’re given. Now, I figure that yours wasn’t much of a choice in that Gideon decided which type of flower you were going to be, but right now, it’s a kind of protection for you from a bunch of men you barely know. Am I right?”

“Y – yes.”

“So. Cash in an envelope at the end of every week works for you?”

“Yes.” She sighed in relief. “Yes, thank you.”

“Wolf figured you’d say that, but he needed to ask. Next thing – remember how I told you that guys stay here in the back rooms when they’re getting work done at their homes?”

“Um. Yeah.”

“So I just moved into a new apartment, and it’s getting painted all the way through, and the kitchen is being completely remodelled.”

“Ohhh-kaaay,” she said. “So – congratulations on the new home?”

“Thank you, roomie.”

“What?” Iris stared at him in utter shock. “So – so you’ll be staying at the bar? In one of these back rooms?”

“No, not down here. I’ll be upstairs with you.”

Her face went from shocked to panicked. “In my roomwithme?”

“Nooooo.God, no. Iris, you know you’re safe here, right? Nothing goes on that you don’t know about beforehand and consent to… you get that? No matter what we all look like we’re capable of, nobody is going to show up at your door one night and force their way in.”

Iris took a deep breath. “I get that. I do. It’s just – sometimes I kind of forget.”

“Conditioning and training are powerful things. In the case of fuckers like Gideon, they’re called brainwashing.”

“Yeah, they are. OK, so… what does this mean, that you’re staying upstairs with me?”

“It means that Cain gets to go home and sleep at night in his own bed, and then he can go to work the next day actually rested. He works on Cowboy’s ranch, you know.”

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