Page 13 of Vengeance

I take out my gun and aim it at the back of his head at the same time as he says, “I thought my instructions said to come alone,Bell.”

“V—Adrian,” I squeak out, barely remembering that I’m not sure if Delilah has figured out that Adrian is Pray’s mysterious enforcer.

Viper turns to look at me with a smirk on his face, gun casually still pointed at Delilah’s head.

“I knew I could count on younotto do exactly as you were told. Good, girl.”

Normally, the “girl” part would irritate me, and I’d remind him I’m far from a girl anymore. Especially now with his fucking baby inside me. Instead and inexplicably, the first thing I blurt out is, “What did you do to your hair?”

Because gone are the wavy dark blonde locks that I’m used to. They’re as dark as my natural hair color and combed back straighter and away from his face.

“Now you know how I felt when I first saw you in that blonde wig. It’s just temporary.”

“Hate to interrupt,” Delilah says, “But your boyfriend is still pointing a gun at my head.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I deny at the same time as Viper says, “I’m her fiancé.”

I glare at Viper. “I never agreed to marry you.”

“You also never said you wouldn’t.”

“Regardless, he’s still pointing a gun at my head.”

“Adrian,” I say while giving him a dry look.

“I told you the next time I saw your sister, I was going to shoot her. When are you going to start taking my warnings seriously.”

“I take all your warnings seriously. But I also didn’t know you were going to be the mysterious dealer I’m supposed to meet.”

“Technically, I’m just an intermediate. But that’s beside the current point.”

Already, my back and feet are beginning to hurt from standing. So I calmly walk past my sister and Viper, sit my gun on a side table, and sit on the couch. Then I kick off my shoes, toss off my hat, and prop my legs up on the length of the couch while leaning on a pillow against the arm.

“Viper, you said you’d murder Brin next time you laid eyes on her and only my sister if she tried to stop you. Besides, do we really have the time to get rid of a body?”

“You say that like getting rid of bodies is a hard task for me.”

That’s true. After a while, getting rid of a body is only a matter of calling in an associate, making them take it away, and getting someone to clean up the mess if there is one. Probably ten minutes with resources like ours.

“Well, if you’re going to kill her, be done with it already. Or was I only supposed to do what you said and not what you do when you said don’t take out a gun unless you intend to pull the trigger?” I ask.

“Oh, I intend to.” Viper contradicts his words by taking the gun from Delilah’s head. “Eventually.”

Viper gives my sister a pointed look. Delilah turns to look at me.

“You have some serious explaining to do about all this.”

“Not concerned about leaving me with a man who pointed a gun to your head.”

“He knew I wasn’t you the minute I walked through the door. Besides, I also have the benefit of knowing who the real person is under Addy Bianchi. Once rumors of your affair started circulating, I knew either he knew exactly who you were and wasn’t saying anything or didn’t recognize you and proved my point over the years that you deserved better than him.”

“Are you saying your point was disproven?”

Delilah scoffs and walks out the suite, probably to go somewhere and be seen around New York so no one ever suspects the Addy Bianchi they know is holed up in a suite with a man who’s supposed to be her enemy.

Delilah also has the benefit of being able to wear the clothes that I can’t right now. Her appearances in crop tops, fitted tanks, and flowing jumpsuits have made it so no one has suspected my pregnancy yet.

She hasn’t even totally left the room when Viper sits his gun next to mine, crosses over to me, straddles my legs and takes my face into his hands. He presses his lips against mine, gentle at first—gentle for him anyway—as though afraid if he kisses me too hard, I might break. Or maybe he’s afraid I’ll disappear because it’s been so long and he can’t quite believe I’m here. Like I can’t believe he’s here.

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