Page 58 of The Vipers' Vow

“When any of us last saw him, yes, he was. But he managed to escape.” Jarl laughs. “It’s somewhat embarrassing, but it is the truth. Why would I lie?”

“Because if you’ve killed him, we’ll kill you?” Saint says.

“My dear boy,” Jarl replies, dripping condescension, “there are three of you and five of us, and I have guns trained on you right now. I have no need to lie. I could shoot you all dead on the spot. I am telling the truth. Your brother got away. Somehow, and I honestly don’t know how, he slipped the cuffs.”

“Lex!” Saint’s shout is anguished.

He doesn’t believe I’d just escape and swim off. He’s right, too. He knows I’d never abandon them.

I almost bite my tongue to stop myself replying. I can’t, though. Timing is everything from here on out.

Faintly, to the right of me, I hear a splash and then,what the fuck, the boat I’m in, the boathanging off the sideof the bigger vessel, sways a little. There’s a scrabbling right by my head, and a body thuds into the lifeboat close by. I almost shout in surprise but manage to hold it in.

I’ve wedged myself on my back between two benches close to the middle. The cover over the lifeboat means it’s dark in here, so both my position and the lack of light has shielded my presence from whoever has had the same idea to use the lifeboat as a hiding place.

A moment later, a second thud sounds to my right. I tense. Shit, there are two of them. I’m outnumbered, and right now, I have no idea who these people are.

“There’s one shooter up on the sundeck,” a deep voice says, keeping the volume low. “Get a gun on him, and I’ll aim for Jarl. That way no one can hurt Vani without us retaliating and taking out their leader.”

I send up silent prayers of thanks. Whoever these guys are, they have to be working with us.

Still, I don’t reveal myself. If I do, they might shoot me in surprise. Plus, I want to make sure they do what they’re planning first, or I might make things worse. Once they have Jarl at gunpoint, I’ll make myself known by creeping out of here and slitting Apo, Dick Lover’s, throat.

I’m nervous for Vani and the others, though. I hope they don’t make any stupid decisions because they believe Jarl and his men have killed me and fed my body to the fishes.

“Well, you’ve made this very complicated,” Saint snarls. “We had a deal, and you’ve broken it. We should turn around and get the hell out of here. We brought you what you asked for, but you haven’t done the same in return.”

Around me, the two men who’ve climbed into the lifeboat get moving again. They’re taking the same route up that I did down, scaling the side of the yacht. I assume they’re both armed.

“Yes,” Vani’s sweet voice says, and I ache with longing for her. “We’ve brought you what you want.”

“Not everything I want,” Jarl replies. “Where is the person responsible for my daughter’s death?” He pauses then adds, “Unless my belief it was one of you was correct?”

Saint speaks up again. “We had nothing to do with her death.”

“Then prove it, and I won’t shoot you.”

“I can’t prove it,” Saint says, “but I can give you a name. First, you need to get your men to lower their weapons so we can come onboard, and I want you to show me where Lex escaped from.”

My twin’s voice is full of incredulous disdain, and I know for a minute, he won’t believe I’ve escaped. It’s far more likely Jarl has killed me.

There’s a pause, and then I hear Jarl’s European accent. “There’s nothing to see. He was cuffed to a cabinet leg that was welded to the floor in the kitchen. All you’ll see is an empty handcuff.”

I try to picture them all. Zane can’t speak, so I won’t hear him, but I have to assume he’s with them. They’re clearly shouting up to Jarl from whatever vessel they’ve arrived on. Will Jarl let them onto the yacht? Why would they even want to get onboard if they think I might be dead? Unless they suspect Jarl of lying.

Does Saint know more? Can he sense I am still alive the way we twins can? If so, and he knows I won’t have escaped, then does he sense I am still on the boat?

“How did Lex escape if you had him cuffed?” Vani asks.

“Honestly, we’re not completely sure. The handcuffs he was in are still intact. It’s a bit like the fucker just vanished.”

I can’t help smiling at that description. I picture them going into the kitchen to find an empty set of handcuffs and me gone.

Just the thought of their shocked faces is worth all the pain.

21

VANI

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