“There was. He stepped back from the cameras range. Hold on a sec. Got a shadow by the split tree.”
Viper let his eyes move to the tree and then looked for what didn’t belong. “Got him.” Keeping low, he moved away from the wall and out toward the desert. When he was sure he was far enough, he angled around toward the tree that had been hit two years prior by lightning.
He had to take care with each step not to give himself away. The guy leaning against the tree was nervous, it seemed, fidgeting and nearly constantly toying with the tab on his jacket zipper. He wasn’t wearing any colors, but that didn’t mean anything. Porter wouldn’t want anyone easily identified if this went sideways.
“Back clear,” the guy said suddenly into a handheld radio.
Well, that was interesting. They were doing check-ins, probably on a fairly regular basis. Not knowing the timeframe, Viper knew he’d have to act fast. Using the butt of his gun, he nailed the guy in the head. When he went down, Viper grabbed him and dragged him to the wall and another hidden gate.
Angel met him there and took over hauling the guy inside. Once the gate was secured again, Viper headed back out into the desert and went looking for the other two. Why Porter would stack two guys up didn’t make any sense to him.
Viper nearly tripped over the first guy. Only pure surprise and a quicker reaction time had him taking the guy down before he could alert his friend. Not that it would have mattered, it seemed. The other guy appeared to be rather busy with something before him. Once he’d eased in closer, Viper peered over the guy’s shoulder.
“Porter said to be ready to move. He’s got a bead on Duke, and when he fires, that’s the signal to go.” He fell silent and then turned. “Did you hear me, Bob?”
“Sorry, Bob’s otherwise occupied, but thanks for the intel.” Viper decked him and pulled off the walkie-talkie the guy was wearing, since he was the one obviously in contact with Porter. He reported what he’d heard into his own comm unit. He knew that the guys would shift to ensure that Duke was protected. “Merc, where the fuck is Porter?”
“Dude, I don’t know. I can’t see anyone beside the guy at the front gate and the two bozos you laid out. Angel’s heading your way to grab them. Don’t shoot him. He might be a pain, but he’s a brother.”
“I heard that, jackoff. You and I will be talking later.”
“Whatever you say, sugar.”
“Enough,” Viper said sharply. While he appreciated their need to play around and lighten things up, now was definitely not the time. There was still an unpredictable threat out there, and they needed to get answers from their guests—fast.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The sound from a door crashing into a wall jolted Krista. Glancing at the clock, she was stunned by the actual passage of time. She hadn’t realized the men had been gone so long.
Loud voices shouted a dozen different things, but the urgency had her scrambling for the doorway. Spotting her father, she gasped at the blood on his arm. “It’s nothing more than a scratch, Krista.” His jaw clenched, and he couldn’t meet her eyes. Her stomach plummeted.
“Daddy, where’s Viper?”
“Krista, get me towels!”
Her mother’s yell gutted her, and she knew something was very wrong. Grabbing all the dish towels she could find in the drawer, Krista barreled out into the main room and pushed between the large bodies. When she broke through, she stumbled. Viper was alive, cursing up a blue streak, and bleeding freely from a wound on his right shoulder.
“Krista, the towels.”
Snapping to attention, she rushed forward. Then she followed her mother’s instructions for getting Viper’s cut off, followed by his shirt. That brought about a hell of a lot more swearing from him. He looked flushed and shaky. Not a great look for him.
She held the towels in place over the bleeding wound and searched him for any other injuries. Nadine was ordering the other club members around, including telling one to call Doc, who was an actual licensed doctor.
“What happened?” she finally asked him. Viper had his teeth clenched tightly enough she was sure she could hear his jaw creaking.
“Those assholes I clocked finally came around. They told us why there hadn’t appeared to be anyone on the east side. Porter was out there with a rifle. He’d parked up on a hill and was trying to take your dad out,” Angel told her. “Viper got between the second shot that would have done some serious damage to Duke’s head. We knew it was coming when the first only dinged Duke on the arm. Thank God that psycho is a bad shot.”
“Did you get the fucker?” Nadine demanded. She was washing off the blood that had dripped down Viper’s chest. When she was done and found no other immediate damage, she turned to Duke and waved him into a seat.
“The sheriff and his deputies got him. Shot him at least twice. We should expect a visit from James sooner than later,” Duke said.
“Doc’s on his way. He figures he’ll be here in ten,” Merc said. He looked to Duke and then over at Viper. “You going to be okay for ten minutes?”
“I can wait,” Viper ground out.
Krista wasn’t nearly as sure. She got him to recline on the sofa using pillows at his back to brace him while she kept the pressure over the towels. “You don’t look so good.”
“I’ll be fine, sweetheart. Don’t be going anywhere, though,” he said.
Shaking her head, Krista pressed a kiss to the part she could reach—his shoulder. “Not going anywhere at all, babe.” She rested her cheek lightly on his chest. She could have lost him; he’d come too close for her comfort. “I love you, Viper.”
“Love you too, pipsqueak.”
****
“Krista, quit fussing, for the love of God. Come to bed already.”
She stilled and shot him a look. He was propped up slightly in their bed, his arm in a sling and fresh bandages covering the wound. Doc had dug out the bullet, cleaned the wound, and stitched him up. Viper would be damn sore for several days, but he would be fine. A few painkillers, some antibiotics, and he was pretty damn mellow.
With a breath, she went to turn off the lights and then carefully crawled into the bed. She was wearing one of his t-shirts and panties to ensure they both behaved themselves. No way in hell was she going to do anything to hurt him. He’d had enough pain for the night.
His hand tugged on her arm. “Get over her and cuddle with me. You won’t hurt me, Krista. Come and snuggle in nice and close. I need to have you in my arms, sweetheart.”
Unable to resist him—she really should learn to at least a little—she turned off the bedside lamp and gave in. As carefully as she could manage, Krista rested her head on his good shoulder and wrapped an arm around his middle. She closed her eyes when he started to stroke her hair, allowing the motion to relax her.
“Shh, Krista. God, baby, don’t cry.”
She hadn’t realized she was crying until he mentioned it. But once she noticed, she couldn’t make the tears stop. Pressing her nose to his chest, she let out all the fear and worry she’d been carrying through the night out.
Viper kept stroking her hair and pleading with her to stop crying. Eventually, she did. Wrung right out, she held on tight to him while she sniffled and hiccupped. She knew she wasn’t a pretty sight to see, which made the darkness a blessing.
“I need to blow my nose,” she told him. And wash her face a couple times too while she was at it. He let her go, his reluctance obvious. Krista slipped from the bed and put her time in the bathroom to good use before rejoining him.
“Better now?”
“Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be sorry, Krista. I wish you hadn’t needed to cry, but I’m glad you let me hold you.”
She pressed a kiss to his chest, rested her cheek back down, and blew out a breath. “I was so scared when I saw the blood. Damn it, Viper. You’re not supposed to get yourself shot. Especially not by some psychotic moron with a death wish.”
His chest moved in a
chuckle. “Who am I supposed to get shot by?”
“No one. Don’t make fun of me, damn it.”
“Sorry. I’m sorry, sweetheart. I only wanted clarification given how you phrased that.”
“You know what I meant.”
“I know, sweetheart.” He fisted her hair and she felt his lips against her forehead.
They lay there in silence for a long time until the question she’d had on her tongue hours earlier wouldn’t wait any longer. “What’s going to happen to everyone from tonight?”
“Porter’s got a one-way ticket back into prison once he’s cleared by the hospital. He violated the terms of his parole in a big way. He’ll also have some additional charges to add on time, I’m sure. The guys helping him, I don’t know yet. We’ll have to wait on James to tell us that. They probably won’t be nailed to hard if they give evidence against him.”
“Did you guys ever find out how he got out early?” Something else that had been bothering her from the beginning.
“Not yet, sweetheart. It’s another question we can pose to the good sheriff. I do know he’s been digging into it right from the start. Porter never should’ve got out. Not in our lifetime, anyway, given he had four counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder. If not for the fact New Mexico doesn’t have the death penalty, he would have been in line to get the needle. My only thought was that he cut a deal. Who with and what the terms were, I can’t even guess at, but my gut says it’s not good.”
“It won’t hurt the club, will it?”
“No. Anything he might have given them, either about the Scoundrels or anything else, is now tainted by his actions. It’s clear he used whatever he had to get out and come for Duke and the club. This time they’ll toss him in a dank, dark hole, and I pray they lose the fucking key.”
“We can only hope.” Stroking her fingers over his ribs lightly, she snuggled in closer to him. “You need to get some sleep, babe. You were shot today and need to rest.”
“Yes, dear.”
“You’d better not be mocking me, Viper.”
“I would never dare to do that.”
She didn’t believe him. Not even close. He sounded a little too amused for her peace of mind, but she let it go. Viper did need sleep, and she did as well. It had been a long, stress-filled day, and God only knew what tomorrow would bring. She held him close and let the rhythmic lift and fall from his breathing lull her to sleep.
Epilogue
Three days later, Krista was still fussing over him. Viper didn’t honestly mind, and it was doing great things for his ego. If only the other guys weren’t so damn jealous. Accepting the mug she handed him, he smirked when she told Angel to get his own coffee.
Chuckling, he sipped at the brew. Over the rim, he saw the sheriff walk in. Viper kicked Merc’s boot with his own and jerked his chin toward James. “Fucking hell, about damn time he showed up. Maybe he’ll actually have some answers.”
More or less what Viper had been thinking. Krista handed James a cup before the man wandered over to shake hands with Duke. “What’s the word, Sheriff?” their president asked.
“Judge yanked Porter’s parole, obviously. He’s headed back into court later to deal with the newest charges. I had to call in serious markers to find out how he’d got loose early, but it sounds like he was making a deal with the state’s attorney in regards to some dealings he’d had with several MCs over the years. He told the guy he had some dirt on the Scoundrels too, but they hadn’t gotten to that part yet with his trip to visit his mother. Apparently he’d given them several things to work with on other clubs, but in a show of good faith the trip was approved, and when he got back he was to be deposed on the other stuff. Now that’s out the window.”
“Well, we never dealt with him. At least nothing I could find in our records,” Kip said. Being the club’s treasurer, he was the one that would know such things. “I know Porter thought he had some claim over Geraldine. Which we all know to be bullshit. She and Spike were high-school sweethearts, for fuck’s sake.” At the mention of their former club president and his old lady, everyone seemed to take a breath.
Duke reached out to pull Nadine onto his knee and hugged her close. “Porter is crazy. There’s no reasoning with someone like that or figuring out how they think. They have their own whacked-out ideas about the world and why they do what they do.”
“Can’t argue with that,” James muttered. Tipping his mug up, he finished off the coffee and then set it aside. “Anyway, wanted to let you know that there might be some heat for a couple days. Nothing major, I don’t think, but be on your best behavior for me if you could.”
Merc hooked his arm around the sheriff’s neck and gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek. “Aww, he’s worried about us. How sweet is that?”
“Get off me, you buffoon.” Cheeks bright red, James rubbed furiously at the spot Merc had planted the wet one on. “I should run you in for assaulting an officer of the law.” Everyone knew he wouldn’t. He glared at Merc and made tracks while laughter from the members in the room followed him out.
Krista sat down next to him, adjusted the pillows supporting his arm, and then leaned into his good side. “It’s over, then?”
“Looks like it, sweetheart.” Moving hurt, but he managed to get his arm around her shoulders. He let her take the mug to prevent him doing harm to anyone. “Not us, never us.”
“Damn straight. You’re stuck with me for the rest of your days, Viper.”
“Sounds good to me.” Viper pressed his cheek to her hair. For a long time, they sat like that, the sound of conversations filling the air around them. Eventually, she moved to get up, only this time she tugged on his hand. Apparently it was naptime again. A guy could really get used to this kind of treatment.
The jokers naturally had to throw in their two cents. The shocking thing was that Krista popped them all the finger—much to some horror, but plenty of amusement. “Your dad is going to kick my ass for that move, you do know that, right?”
“He puts a mark on you, babe, and he’ll be dealing with me.” Her saucy statement absolutely delighted him. It likely shouldn’t, but she was his, and he liked her just the way she was.
He let her loose with a squeeze when they reached their room. Following her inside, he headed for the chair and sat to tug off his boots and socks. Krista gave him a hand, gently sliding off his cut. Once it was hung up, he eased down onto the bed and let her get the pillows in place.
“Much as I love having you tending to me, this is seriously getting old.”
“I know it’s frustrating, Viper.” She moved around to the other side and crawled up next to him, pulling a throw with her. Krista got it around herself, settled down against his side, and then draped the end over his chest. “But you do anything to hamper your healing, and I will find a way to put you in traction for the entire time. I’m sure Doc knows a few tricks that will help me keep you completely immobile.”
“We need to have a conversation about this mean streak you possess, Krista.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now, close your eyes and relax. You heard Doc’s orders the same as I did.” Sleeping, more sleeping, and absolutely nothing that could tear the stitches. Doc would come back at week’s end to check the wound, and if he liked what he saw the stitches would come out. Then Viper could do light duty. She suddenly asked, “Did you ever get Blackie’s bike back together?”
Viper was completely silent for a ten count. “Son of a bitch, I forgot about his damn bike.”
Chuckling, she patted his chest. “Better hope he doesn’t get back anytime soon.”
“There’s no way I can get it back together in two days,” he muttered.
Krista lifted her head to look at him. “Babe, you do realize you have a clubhouse full of guys that could help you, right? Get a couple out there who take direction well and put it back together. You’ve done all the hard work on the engine, I’m guessing, which means it’s reassembly. And t
he majority seem to have a vague clue what goes where. At least with bikes.”
“Good point. A few could use pointers with women.”
She gave a delicate snort. “More than a few.”
“Okay, I can’t argue with that. But you have a good idea there, and it’s something I’ll talk to them about in the morning.” Viper ran his hand up her back and cupped her head to toy with her hair. “A problem for later on.”
“Much later,” she said. Krista rubbed her cheek to his chest and relaxed against him.
Stroking her hair slowly, he listened to her breathing. He knew the moment she was asleep. He let her breathing calm him until he was on the cusp himself. Slipping his hand up around her nape, he fully let go. With her in his arms, he could. She was his other half, his everything. Without her, he was nothing more than an empty shell going through the motions. “Sweet dreams, pipsqueak.”
The End
www.moiracallahanauthor.wordpress.com
Other Books by Moira Callahan:
www.evernightpublishing.com/moira-callahan
If you enjoyed this book, you may also like:
Alec by Tamsin Baker
Gash by Sam Crescent
Devil May Care by Jenika Snow
Evernight Publishing
www.evernightpublishing.com
Viper (Scoundrels MC #1) Page 13