Page 66 of The Vipers' Vow

The exhaustion in Saint’s voice as he says that last sentence is so very real.

The nurse purses her lips but nods. “I suppose that is a generous offer, and in thanks, I’ll keep this between us.” She gently takes Lex’s hand, examining it. “I think this might need an x-ray to be sure it’s a simple break and won’t need surgery.” She presses his face gently, and Lex winces. Then she shines a bright light in his eyes. “Really, a bang to the head needs a scan.”

Lex gazes up at her with his pretty blue eyes and flutters his lashes. “Please, Miss Greene, can you just splint my hand for me? As for my head, it will be fine. You know we experience worse in the fights here. It’s my hand that needs attention. It just needs to be splinted. It’s a straightforward break. Trust me.”

“Trust me. From a Viper boy.” She laughs under her breath, but she eyes the money again. “Okay. Let me fix it as best as I can. But if you get pain that carries on for longer than the next few days, or you feel sick or dizzy, you need to get checked out. I’ll splint it in the correct position, so it should heal the right way.”

She gets to work and, when she’s finished, I see she’s given him a splint with a bandage attached, which wraps around his wrist too. She opens a cabinet and takes out a bottle, shaking four pills into her hand. “Take two now, and two before bed. If you need more in the morning, come to see me, but Tylenol should be adequate by then.”

We leave the room, the twins thanking her again, and I turn to Saint. “She shouldn’t have done that without reporting it, but I guess it is for a good cause, for the animals.”

“Animals?” He frowns.

“At the shelter,” I say.

He laughs. “Oh, yeah, no, that’s just our code because Ms. Greene likes to think she’s a good person. She’ll spend it at the casino. She’s a gambling addict.”

“But she can’t be,” I blurt. “She’s so sweet, and she’s got to be sixty.”

Saint looks at me as if I’m idiotic. “Being older doesn’t automatically make you a good person, Vani.”

My cheeks warm. “No, I guess you’re right. I can’t imagine you changing your spots. You’ll still be a corrupt bastard when you’re eighty.”

“Now, now, children,” Lex interrupts. “I need to lie down. You should come with us to the mansion, Vani.”

I shake my head. “No, I want some time to myself. I need to decompress.”

“And you can’t do that with us?” Saint says angrily.

“I just want a bit of time to myself.” I glance at my phone. “I’ll come to the mansion in a couple of hours. I just want to freshen up and take a nap, okay? I’ll be there soon, I promise.”

Lex nods wearily, but Saint scowls at me. God, he’s a clingy one when you get right down to it.

“Ninety minutes,” I bargain. I should be able to get an hour’s sleep then.

He nods and pivots on his heel to stalk off in the opposite direction. I roll my eyes at Lex, who smiles then turns and follows his twin.

I take the stairs to my room, aching all over and needing the time to myself.

After a long shower, I dress in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt then curl up on my side on the bed. I close my eyes and will myself to sleep, but the darkness reminds me of being under the water, and my eyes fly open again. I lie there, my heart racing, staring at the wall, trying to process everything that’s happened. It doesn’t help, and panic starts to build the longer I dwell on things.

Needing to move, I stand and check my reflection in the mirror. I look pretty good for a girl who almost drowned. No, nope,can’t go there. I close my eyes as the terror grips me again. That feeling, that awful, terrible feeling of nothing but crushing water all around me, and the dark depths below.

For those long, drawn-out seconds of my life, I’d thought I was going to die. Been absolutely certain of it, in fact, untilhecame. Again. My savior. Zane is making a habit of it. The silent, massive man is my protector. Lex is my comforter, and Saint … he’s my dark soul twin because he might be fucked up, but he matches something equally depraved in myself.

I suck in a breath and open my eyes again.

I have a feeling that, tonight, they’ll all be going easy on me, and I categorically don’t want that. I need them to destroy me then rebuild me from the ground up. I need Saint’s sneers and harsh words, and Zane’s terrifying presence, and then after we’ve indulged in epic debauchery, while the other two play video games, Lex can clean me up and put me back together again.

What the Vipers give me is my own dark, twisted fantasy reflected at me, and tonight I want it as fucked up as only they can give it.

I can’t sleep, and I don’t think I’ll be able to until they’ve used me to the point I’ll be so exhausted I won’t even be able to think about what’s happened or how much we almost lost.

Deciding to make myself pretty for the Vipers, I change from my sweatpants into a red dress that buttons up at the front and clings to all my curves. The black lace of my bra peeps from the top, and I make sure I have matching lacy panties beneath it. Because I’m still me, and I can’t do full-on girly, I add my biker boots to the outfit.

I check myself out in the mirror and try to decide if I look cool, or just a little slutty, but then shrug at my image. I think the guys will be happy either way.

I apply my lipstick, spray a blast of cherry and smoke scented perfume, and then make my way out of the door.

---