Page 41 of The Vipers' Vow

“Have you seen Zane yet?” I can’t help wondering if Zane got here already and my dad sent him on his way.

“Nope. Yourfriendis running late.”

I cast my gaze across the room, in case I missed him, and spot Phoenix sitting at the other end of the table. He has one of the guys with him, a leaner, blond man with a narrow face and wispy beard. Everyone calls the blondZoobecause he’s a fucking animal. Zoo grins a set of wonky teeth at me, and I grin back. Zoo might be a psychopath, but he’s only ever been friendly toward me, and not in a creepy way either. His eyes don’t even drop down to my chest, though that might be in part because my dad is sitting at the head of the table.

My stomach twists with nerves as I say, “Did you think about what I asked you?”

He shakes his head. “I’m not doing this right now, Vani. Not with everyone around. Let’s just enjoy this evening.”

I’m not sure how easy it’s going to be for me to enjoy it when I don’t know if we’re going to be able to save Lex. And now fucking Saint isn’t answering his phone either, and where the hell has Zane gotten to? I should have knocked on his door before coming down to the hall so we’d arrive together.

It’s crazy, but I suddenly feel untethered, as though I might float away without the three of them around me.

The chatter filling the air suddenly drops, and I follow the line of everyone else’s sight as all heads turn.

Zane stands in the doorway.

My heart does a little flipflop. Dear Lord. He looks incredible. I’ve always loved the sheer size of him, and seeing him here confirms he was the right man to bring. His tattoos curl from the sleeves of his fitted black t-shirt and crawl up his neck. He doesn’t make any attempt to hide his scar or lower his chin, despite the attention his arrival has drawn. His green eyes flit across the room, and I know there’s only one person he’s looking for. Me. Having his attention makes me feel like I shine a little brighter. Surely, my father can see that if a man like Zane is here with me, it means I’m not a little girl anymore.

But my father’s expression is thunderous.

“Your friend is here,” he grits.

I flash him a smile. “So I see.”

I leave my dad’s side and wind through all the bikers and their Ol’ Ladies to reach Zane. He smells great, and I stand on tiptoes and kiss his cheek, the stubble grazing my lips.

“Hi,” I say, aware I’m beaming at him.

He offers me a smile and a wink in return. I wonder if my father sees it.

The noise returns to the room as everyone ascertains Zane is with me. Phoenix rises and pushes a beer in Zane’s hand. Zoo claps Zane on the shoulder and introduces himself. I almost laugh at Zane’s bemused expression. Zoo is literally half his size, but I know Zoo is capable of ripping a man’s throat out with his teeth.

Some of the women bustle into the room carrying huge silver platters of grilled meat—steaks and pork chops, hotdogs and burgers. A cheer goes up, and the platters are slammed down on the table for everyone to dig in. I note there’s barely a vegetable among the lot, other than a few grilled onions. It does smell good, though, and we haven’t eaten much while we were on the road.

Zane and I find seats, side by side, next to Phoenix and Zoo, and dig in. No one gives a shit about table manners here as steaks are ripped into with teeth, and slabs of meat are stuffed between bread and devoured. It reminds me of those medieval banquets people attend. The more people drink, the louder they get. It’s not uncommon for a fight to break out and punches to be thrown, but it’s not taken seriously. It’s just a way for the guys to blow off some steam.

We eat and drink our fill. Phoenix and Zoo make good-natured conversation with Zane, asking him about his tattoos and life back home in Greece. Zane writes down his replies, and the guys make no fuss about needing to read them instead of Zane speaking. Deep down, I’d always known Zane would fit in here, but I’d still been anxious about what would happen. I keep catching my Dad staring across the table at us, trying to assess Zane’s intentions toward me. I kissed him on the cheek deliberately. It is respectful, and it’s gently letting my dad know what he already senses deep down, that Zane isn’t purely a friend.

I shift in my seat, and the plug pushes at an angle that makes me gasp. Zane shoots a sharp gaze my way, and Phoenix stops mid-sentence to look at me. Crap. I bend down and rub my leg.

“Cramp,” I lie.

Phoenix shrugs and goes back to his story, but Zane’s gaze lingers a little longer. This plug is torture. It’s making me horny but also stressed. I can imagine them all knowing I have it in me, which is making my anxiety spike.

The other thing I’m anxious about is approaching my dad about his decision. The fact that he’s no longer wearing the cross doesn’t mean anything. I imagine that now he knows it once belonged to Jarl means it no longer has the same meaning to him it once did. I feel sorry for him, which is an emotion I don’t normally associate with my dad. He lost my mom, too, and now something she’d given him is tainted with the knowledge of where it came from. Finding out that she’d been hiding something as huge as having another child by another man, even if it was before they’d met, can’t be easy either.

When everyone has finished eating, I tell Zane to keep hanging out with the others and approach my father. Plenty of the bikers and the women have drifted out of the clubhouse now, heading over to the bar to hang out, or simply going home. It means it’s grown quieter, so I take my opportunity to speak to him.

“Well?” I prompt. “Have you thought about what I asked?” I twist my hands together as I wait for his answer.

“I’ll agree to what you want,” he says, “on one condition.”

“What's that?” I almost don't want to know.

“That I'm coming with you. I want to look that bastard in the face, and then kill him for what he did to your mother.”

I stare at my dad in horror as my stomach drops. “If you do that, you'll be doing exactly what Mom was trying to protect you from all those years. That's the whole reason she never told you about what happened between her and Jarl. She didn't want that to happen.”

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