Sparky snapped open the tripod on his Barnett M98B sniper rifle. “So what’s the plan? I take them all out by myself while you losers yap like a bunch of old ladies?”
“I prefer the stealth approach.” Zane rolled over and pulled out his knife. “No noise. No gunshots to warn everyone we’re coming.”
“Ah. Ah. Ah … I think slicing a Black Jack’s throat might be a breach of your bail conditions.” Cade chuckled. “And I think some of us are felons. Someone call the fucking cops and haul this fucker’s ass back to jail.”
“Anyone need a weapon?” Tank came up behind them with the duffel bag he and Gunner had hauled up the hill. “Evie and Connie dug up the weapons Big Bill stole from the Jacks last week. He had them stashed in his father’s grave. Gun and I bought them for the club, although I think we might have overpaid. They drove a pretty hard bargain.”
Jesus Fucking Christ. What the hell was going on? Why was Evie selling stolen weapons, and why the fuck hadn’t she told him about them? How could they trust each other if she was going to go behind his back and put herself in danger? Of course, he had handcuffed her to the radiator, but still … that was a trust issue. Dealing in stolen weapons had to do with safety.
“You wanna call Evie?” Jagger gave Zane a nudge. “Tell her we’ve found him and we’re going in so she doesn’t worry?”
“She won’t be able to get to the phone.” He felt a stab of remorse, but then he thought about what she’d intended to do and his resolve hardened. Damn woman had no idea of the danger she was in, or the risk to Ty if she followed the course of action she intended to take.
Jagger lifted an eyebrow. “Do I want to know?”
“You may want to send a coupla brothers over there with this key.” He pulled the key out of his pocket and handed it to Jagger. “She was gonna go to Viper and bargain herself for Ty so I handcuffed her to the radiator. Whoever goes to get her should be armed and wearing a padded safety suit, maybe a helmet and a face mask. I got Benson checking on her through the window every half hour or so.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Jagger tucked the key into the pocket of his cut. “Well, that’s the end of that relationship.”
“Nah.” Dax laughed. “That’s called having a family. Anything to do with the kids and the old ladies go fucking ballistic and start thinkin’ they’re gonna handle things themselves. A man’s gotta know how to deal with them. I always keep a set of cuffs in the house.”
“Listen to the big talker shootin’ off his mouth like Sandy doesn’t have him by the balls.” Cade snorted. “You got those cuffs ’cause you’re a kinky bastard.”
“Guess we’re all kinky bastards ’cause I heard you cuffed Dawn to the bathroom sink when she found out some bully hit one of your little twin girls.”
“My girls. My responsibility.” Cade puffed out his chest. “That nine-year-old bully’s not gonna be saying dick to anyone on that playground ever again. And after I got home and uncuffed Dawn I made sure she understand how things were gonna be with me and the girls.”
“Wasn’t that the day you showed up with a black eye?” Gunner pushed himself to his feet and grabbed a branch for balance. His old injury from the night the Jacks burned down the Sinner clubhouse still bothered him, but he would never admit to suffering any pain.
“You want a fucking black eye now?”
“Like I said.” Jagger looked over at Zane and grinned. “That’s the end of that relationship.”
“No, like I said.” Dax laughed. “It’s called having a family. Sinner style.”
TWENTY-SIX
If you use the right tools, take your time, and follow the manual, the risk of disaster is quite low.
—SINNER’S TRIBE MOTORCYCLE REPAIR MANUAL
Viper’s bodyguard gestured for Evie to follow him through the spacious, chalet-style cabin, set into the side of the mountain and surrounded by dense forest. Evie breathed in the fresh scent of pine and cedar as they emerged into an open-plan living room with vaulted ceilings and giant picture windows boasting views over the valley below. Across the room she could see a honey oak kitchen, separated from the living space with a granite-topped counter and four tall stools. Bright rugs covered the polished teak floors, and large, comfortable sofas and chairs surrounded an open Victorian fireplace.
“Not what you expected?” Sprawled on the couch, his arms across the burnt amber cushions, legs parted wide, Viper gestured for her to sit. “Doreen did the decorating. Or maybe it was Shelly. I go through old ladies so fast, it’s hard to keep track.”
Evie wasn’t interested in pleasantries. Or sitting. “Where’s Ty?”
Viper cocked his head to the side. “Is that anyway to greet your man?”
“You’re not my man. I thought I made that clear.” Her heart drummed in her chest when he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“And I thought I made it clear that you are mine. Apparently you didn’t get the memo. I hear you’ve been spreading your legs for the Sinners. If I’d known you were such a little slut, I’d have taken you that first day I saw you in your shop. I would have tied you to the bench and fucked you till you screamed.”
“Who I fuck is none of your business.” Unable to stay still, she walked over to the window. Construction materials littered the lawn. Four workers were busy erecting, of all things, a white picket fence, while a few bored Black Jacks looked on.
“It is if the man you’re fucking is supposed to be me.” His voice was soft and all the more threatening for it. Evie shivered and her hand strayed to the phone hidden in her jacket, a backup in case Viper or his bodyguards took her purse. Arianne had also given her a gun, but Evie couldn’t even think about using it.
She turned and sat on the windowsill, the position giving her some courage because the workers could see in, and she could easily escape to the balcony if necessary. “I don’t understand how you think. Yes, I enjoyed your company. You are interesting, well read, articulate, and very savvy about the world. But you also killed Bill and T-Rex, threatened me, burned down my shop, and kidnapped my child. Pick one, and it’s a deal killer. Put them together and there isn’t a chance in hell I would ever want to spend another minute with you.”
His lips quirked, amused. “And yet you want to be with the Sinner VP, who I can assure you has committed crimes no less heinous than the list you just spat out?”
“The difference is in the choices you make.” Her fingers tightened on her purse. “You liked me. You wanted me. And when it didn’t work out, you chose violence to get me. Zane wanted me, too. So he chose to sacrifice himself, to give up the life to keep me safe. He protected me. I don’t think there is anything in this world that I would ask that he wouldn’t do for me. And I would do the same for him. I’m not about to judge him when he does what he does to protect the people he cares about.”
Viper’s face tightened. “As do I.”
“I want to see Ty,” she snapped, her patience at an end.
“And I want the pleasure of your company, Evangeline. I’ll let you see Ty and then we’ll have dinner together. That is why you got all dressed up, isn’t it?”
“I dressed up because you made it a condition for seeing Ty,” she said. “I didn’t dress up for you.”
“Shame.” Viper turned on the television and she saw Ty in a bedroom sitting on a red race-car bed playing a video game. The shelves around him were filled with toys. Her heart ached when she saw his tear-streaked face, but at least he didn’t appear to be harmed.
“I want to see him in person.”
“You will, but not yet,” Viper said. “But just to ease your anxiety, he’s upstairs. When I moved here I had them bring Jeff’s old things from my house. My son, Jeff, was spoiled so Ty will be well entertained.”
Hope flared in her chest. She had made a big assumption that Viper wanted her because she wasn’t part of the biker world, and that he wouldn’t be violent unless she forced his hand. But the main premise of her rescue
attempt was that Viper would care about his now motherless son, and that he would fear for his safety if he knew the Sinners had him. The hostage trade hadn’t worked before because he clearly had no feelings for Doreen. But if he’d brought Jeff’s old toys to his new house, maybe there was hope for her plan after all.
Arianne had told her that although Viper had been a hard and cruel father, deep down he had feelings for Jeff and he had been devastated when his son died. From the conversations she’d had with Viper, Evie thought he also cared deeply about Arianne, even admired her for defying him and becoming Jagger’s old lady. Arianne didn’t believe Evie, however; she had been more than happy to go to Ennis to visit her new stepbrother.
Since meeting Zane, Evie had realized that people weren’t black and white, monsters or men. Everyone had a little bit of both inside them; it was their choices that made the difference.
Viper turned off the television and stood, holding out his hand. “Come. My chef has dinner waiting. And since you’re here because you want to be here, I’m looking forward to our meal together.”
She accepted his outstretched hand, grimacing when he squeezed it just a little too hard, and followed him to the kitchen where Viper introduced her to Mario, a short, nervous, slightly balding man wearing a white apron.
“Mario came to me looking for work after the Sinners burned down his restaurant.” Viper pulled out Evie’s chair and she took her seat. “Saved me from hunting him down. He was paying off his debt to us by keeping my boys fed. Now he cooks just for me, and we’re gonna rebuild his restaurant after we repair the clubhouse. The Sinners broke an unspoken rule when they took out a civilian building.”
“There seems to be a lot of that going around.”
“Don’t get nasty, kitten, he snapped. “It doesn’t become you.”
Mario placed a dish of antipasto in front of them: cured meats, olives, mushrooms, anchovies, artichoke hearts, various cheeses, and vegetables in oil. He removed the napkin from beside Evie’s fork and placed it over her lap, then did the same for Viper. Bizarre didn’t even begin to describe the absurdity of eating a fancy meal, prepared by a chef in a well-appointed kitchen, across the table from a rough, grizzled outlaw biker, while her son was a prisoner somewhere upstairs. And if Arianne didn’t hurry up and call to let Evie know she had Doreen’s son in a secure location, she’d actually have to try to choke the food down.
“I thought you were smart enough to know I would never give up.” Viper tasted the wine and nodded for Mario to fill his glass. The rich, red liquid reminded Evie of blood and her stomach curdled.
“You’ve been around bikers long enough to understand what it means when we make a claim,” he continued.
Evie covered her glass when Mario approached with the wine. “No, thank you.”
“I insist.” Viper gently knocked her hand away. “It’s an Amarone and goes perfectly with the pasta. And it will help you relax. You seem a bit tense.”
Tense? Was he crazy? Maybe that was it. He was crazy. How else could he possibly think she would want to be with him after what he’d done? Or was he so far gone that he was unable to see that what he was doing was wrong? If Arianne hadn’t texted earlier to say that Doreen’s mother was even less fit to be a parent than Viper—and that was saying something—Evie might have reconsidered her plan to let Viper know he had a son.
Evie scrunched the napkin in her fist under the table as Mario poured the wine. Goddamn it. Why hadn’t Arianne called? She couldn’t pull off this charade for much longer, and it was all she could do not to grab her knife, stab Viper and race upstairs to …
“You wouldn’t even make it across the kitchen.” Viper pried her fingers off the knife she hadn’t even realized she was holding. “I know what you want. And you know what I want. I’m sure we can come to some arrangement that satisfies us both.” He laced his fingers through hers, and brought her hand to his lips, seemingly oblivious to Mario standing in the doorway. “And if not, I’ll just take you, although I would much prefer things to be the way they were when you wanted to be with me.”
“You severed that connection when you murdered Bill, and everything you have done since then has ensured it will never come back.” Her voice rose in pitch, and she wrenched her hand away.
“You don’t fucking get it.” Viper pounded his fist on the table, upsetting the plate of antipasto, and rattling the glasses. “The things you hold in such contempt I do for my club. I have to keep order. I have to keep control. Bill stole from us. If I didn’t send out a message, then every gang, every criminal, every MC would start circling. This is a world where only the strongest survive. And if you think the Sinners are not exactly the same, then you are totally and utterly naive.” He barked the last words and Evie stood so quickly, her chair crashed to the floor.
“They aren’t the same as the Jacks,” she countered. “They have honor and integrity. They have a creed and a code, and despite what they do, they have a sense of moral decency. Everyone in the club volunteered to help rescue T-Rex, despite the risks. Nothing was more important to them. They refused to leave a man behind. And yet, when your old lady was in the Sinner dungeon, you didn’t give a damn.”
“She knew better than to let herself get caught,” he spat out.
“And that’s where you’re different. No one said that about T-Rex. They honored him for his sacrifice. They admired him. And they mourn him.”
“Jagger killed my son.” Viper’s voice rose to a shout. “He turned my daughter against me. The Sinners kidnapped Doreen, burnt down Mario’s restaurant, and blew up my clubhouse without even considering that someone might be inside.” He stood and rounded the table, coming at her so fast she was forced to back away. “Where is the honor in that?”
“You killed your son.” She hit the wall and put out a hand to stop him. “Arianne told me what happened. You kidnapped her. You were trying to kill her and Jeff intervened. And you alienated her. You beat her and gave her to your VP when she was sixteen.”
“I would never have killed her,” he growled. “She was bait for Jagger. And when he showed up, I tried to kill him, but she was in the way.” He grabbed Evie’s wrists and pinned them to the wall on either side of her shoulders. “Don’t tell me there is any difference between the Jacks and the Sinners. And don’t use that as a justification for your decision to fuck a Sinner when you belong to me. What I do as president of the club has nothing to do with who I am as a man, and that’s who you wanted. Marcus. Not Viper. And that’s who wants you.” He bent down to kiss her and Evie turned her head so his lips landed on her cheek.
“You can’t have me. Not the way you want. Even when you want to be Marcus, Viper comes through. You want to kiss me and yet you’re hurting me. You want me to come to you willingly, and yet you kidnap my son to bring me here. Violence is in your nature. Violence is who you are. Violence for the sake of violence. Violence is your choice for achieving your ends. That’s the difference between you and Zane. He can be violent, but at heart he is not a violent man.”
Despite his outlaw life, the Zane she’d fallen in love with as a child was still there. Always trying to protect her, save her, keep her from getting hurt. She had no doubt, if he had known about Ty, he would never have left Stanton. Just as she had no doubt that he was on his way now.
“Jesus Christ.” Viper tightened his grip on her wrists. “Don’t you understand? I gave you Marcus. I have never asked a woman out. I have never gone on a date, nor have I ever walked away when I could have had a woman in my bed. I could have taken you the first time we met. I could have stripped off your clothes and fucked you over a table in your shop and no one—not Bill, or the mechanics, or any of my men—would have stopped me. I pretended to be a goddamn civilian for you, and I got nothing for it except to find out you’re fucking the enemy. I even spared T-Rex for you because despite his Sinner cut, he was trying to save your life.”
Her brain fuzzed with pain. Was T-Rex still alive? What about the body they
’d found in the Black Jacks’ dungeon? “You’re hurting me.”
“And you hurt me. But no more. I will have you, Evangeline. Whether you are willing or not.” He thrust his knee between her thighs and kicked her legs apart.
“Don’t do this.” She struggled in his ironclad grasp. “Marcus … you’re just showing me I was right about you. Show me I’m wrong. Show me the humanity that I know you have inside you. Show me man who mourns his son and misses his daughter.”
“Viper to you,” he growled. “You had your chance with the man. Now you get the beast.” He fisted her hair, yanked her head to the side, and bit her neck, not a gentle love bite, but a skin-piercing dig into her flesh.
Evie screamed. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a blur of motion, the faintest disturbance in the air, and then Viper stiffened and arched back, losing his grip. He spun around and her eyes widened at the sight of the knife in his back, and Mario, his hand still in the air.
The back door exploded open and Viper’s bodyguards raced into the kitchen, heading straight for Viper. “Fucking Mario did this,” he roared. “He’s gotta be a Sinner rat. Get him and get the fucking knife out of my back.”
Seizing her chance, Evie ran through the house and up the stairs, opening doors in the immaculate hallway until she found one locked.
“Ty!” She thumped on the door. “Are you in there?”
“Mom. Mom. Get me out of here.”
She found the key on the cabinet down the hall and unlocked the door. Ty flew out and into her arms.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I’m sorry I ran away. I don’t hate Zane. Really. I don’t.” He hugged her so tight she could barely breathe, his body shaking with sobs. She wanted to hold him and never let go, but they didn’t have time to linger.
“Shhh, baby. It’s not your fault. But we have to get out of here quickly.”
“There’s a bat inside. I’ll get it. Just in case.” He grabbed a baseball bat and they ran down the stairs only to find Viper and one of his bodyguards blocking their way. Evie stopped short and pushed Ty behind her.
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