Page 3 of Viper

“No, I have everything I need.”

“You’re a genuinely good person, Allison; our parents would be so proud of you. I’m lucky to have you for my sister.”

“Thank you. I love you, Cole. We all missed you when you were gone.”

“I missed all of you too. I’ll be staying close to home from now on, so no need to worry about me going anywhere.”

“Goodnight, Cole.”

“Goodnight.”

That night, as I lay in bed, thoughts about my family consumed my mind. Ryan had taken on the role of guardian when our parents passed away. I was seventeen, almost done with high school, we boys were all a year apart, and Allison was eleven at the time, so Ryan has always been very protective of her.

He pursued his university classes online. We were all shocked that he left to freelance all over the world. Allison had just turned eighteen, and I joined the Marine Delta Force Recon Units after college. I spent the last four years as a prisoner in Iran and had been back home for six months. Ryan had been pressing me to do something since my return.

The next day, I was running near the Peterson cabin when I spotted a woman running toward me, her hoodie concealing her face, completely unaware of me standing there. I stepped aside and cleared my throat to make her aware of my presence.

Startled, she let out a scream and almost kicked me, narrowly avoiding a painful encounter with my sensitive area. I jumped back to avoid another strike. “What the fuck are you doing? If you do this to every runner on this path, you’ll get yourself in trouble,” I cautioned her.

She caught her breath and looked up at me, her beauty taking me by surprise. “Are you new here?” I asked.

“No, I’m not new. I’ve been here for months. You must be from that family down the hill with all those brothers. Are you the one who was held in that prison? I heard people talking about you at the grocery store.”

“Yeah, and I’ve heard people talking about someone hiding on this mountain too. That must be you.”

“What? Why are they saying that?”

“They said you always have a hoodie on, even when it’s hotter than hell, so they assume you are hiding from someone. Is that true? Are you hiding from someone?” I watched as the beautiful woman nervously chewed her bottom lip, making me want to kiss it. Damn, it’s been so long since I’d been with a woman, and I needed to change that soon.

She appeared to be around twenty-five, a decade younger than me. “My name is Cole Reed. Are you going to tell me yours?”

“Okay, but you can’t tell anyone.”

“Look, you need to tell me what's going on with you. Is someone after you?”

“My name is Bailey. I want to tell you, but I’m scared to say it out loud. What if he hears me?”

“It’s just you and me out here, Sugar. No one can hear us. Now tell me, what’s happening?”

“Can you come with me to the cabin? I’ll show you a photo, and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.”

“Are you some kind of deranged woman?” I blurted out.

“No, I’m not,” she frowned and stomped off to the cabin.

“Then I’ll follow you to the cabin, but you have to promise not to attempt anything sinister, like chopping me up into little pieces,” I added, trying to inject some humor into the situation. She stopped abruptly and turned to face me.

“Great, now I have someone trying to scare me,” she muttered, then resumed her walk. She was muttering under her breath about crazy killers chopping people up in little pieces. I followed until we reached the property. “I’m sorry, wait, I’ve heard there are booby traps all over the property.”

“They’re not real, and please don’t tell anyone else about them. I set them up to keep people away, and they spread the word to deter the person who’s after me.”

I could see the genuine fear in her eyes, and it became clear that she wasn't just putting on an act.

When we arrived at the cabin, she invited me inside. It was a far cry from what I had expected. From the outside, it looked like an old cabin. Inside, it was beautiful. “This is nice. Did you decorate it yourself?” I inquired.

“Yes, my cousin sold me the cabin a couple years ago; I can’t let people see me because if he comes around asking about me and showing everyone my picture, they can point him in my direction.”

Her dark hair cascaded down to her waist as she removed her hoodie. The thought crossed my mind that I was in dire need of female company. “Tell me, what's going on?” I urged.

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