Page 29 of The Devil's Ice

Wolf stared at them steadily and still said nothing. Viper heaved a massive sigh.

“The thing is, Wolf,” Viper said. “It occurred to me that you might be lonely down here all by yourself. I decided to do something about that.” He gestured at Preacher. “I brought you a couple of guests to keep you company.”

Right away, Wolf was utterly convinced that there were vipers in that box; it would be some kind of weird game of perfect and ironic symmetry with the motherfucker’s name. Suddenly he found himself wishing that he’d actually paid attention in science class (or even justgoneto a science class), or maybe watched a goddamn National Geographic documentary once in a while, because he had the feeling that he was going to be locked in this room with whatever was in that box… and he was pretty sure that vipers were venomous.

If the one standin’ right in front of me is any example.

There was movement inside the box now, and at Viper’s nod, Preacher set it down on the ground. Wolf braced himself… but whatever he’d imagined was going to emerge, he wasnothing likeready for the reality.

“You asked me why I didn’t just shoot you in the head the second that you walked into my clubhouse,” Viper said, then gestured at the box. “Thisis why.”

Despite himself, Wolf moved a bit closer, trying to see inside. He figured that if the other two men could stand there all relaxed and unworried with a mystery box right at their feet, then nothing lethal was going to come slithering out.

He saw blankets, and what looked like wool, and maybe some kind of clothing. Even as the realization started to wash over him, Wolf still didn’t trust his eyes. It wasn’t until a sharp cry came from the box, followed by a tiny waving fist, that he fully grasped what the hell he was actually looking at.

“A baby?” Wolf said faintly. “You brought me a fuckin’baby?”

“Nope,” Viper said merrily, pulling the blanket away so that Wolf could see the box’s full contents. “I brought you two!”

“Jesus Christ.” Wolf stared at the tiny children lying there in a fucking box on a fucking cement floor in a fucking cell. “Who – where –”

“C’mon, man. Who do you know who’s had two babies recently?”

Wolf looked up to meet Viper’s black eyes as understanding hit him like a lightning bolt.

“Dux and Drake and Briley…” he breathed. “About two weeks ago…”

Viper was nodding with encouragement. “Uh-huh.”

“So this – so these –”

“Yep.”

“Why–”

“Because kids are the best fucking leverage there is, so they haveseriousvalue for me,” Viper said briskly. “The thing is, though, that they’re needy and annoying and noisy, and I can’t deal with any of their shit – literally.”

“So you want me to take care of them,” Wolf said slowly. “That’swhy I’m still alive. I’m the fuckin’ babysitter.”

“Exactly!” Viper beamed. “You’re not doing anything, really, just sitting around here waiting, so you might as well make yourself useful.”

Wolf felt panic start to rise in him. “I don’t knownothin’ about babies, man.”

“Well, you’d better learn, because if these fucking brats croak, it’ll beyourfault. Won’t it?” Viper cocked his head. “And how would the Keeler boys take it if they found out that their ex-President killed their kids?”

“I –”

“So.” Viper gave him a broad smile. “We’ll bring down everything that the little assholes need, and it’s up to you to keep them fed and breathing. At leastoneof them, or I lose part of my hold on the situation.” He turned to Preacher. “Anything else?”

Preacher shook his tattooed head.

“OK, then.” Viper shrugged, stepped back to the door as Wolf stared down in horror at the babies who were starting to make squeaking noises; he had no idea whatthatmeant, but he knew that he was going to have to figure it out and fast. “Oh, actually, thereisone more thing that I want to say.”

Wolf looked up. He knew that he had murder in his eyes.

“I know that you’re planning on escaping from here,” Viper said quietly. “Either on your own or with some kind of set-up with those fuckers Scars, King and Ice. You haven’t actually made any moves, but of course you’re thinking about it. Gathering information about where you are, what’s outside the door, what noises you hear above you, waiting for some signal to get picked up by your asshole friends so they’ll bust you out. I mean, it’s whatI’ddo, what anybody with an ounce of self-preservation would do. But now…”

He pointed his chin at the box.

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