Page 33 of Too Guarded to Love (Project VIPER #3)

Y ou’re family too.

Hours later, those three little words played in Nic’s head on repeat as he ducked to the left and avoided Linc’s punch. Spinning, he embraced the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he landed a roundhouse kick to Linc’s gut.

Linc smiled, his teeth too perfect for a guy who grew up fighting and wound an uppercut to Nic’s solar plexus.

Nic dropped and rolled. Wiping sweat from his brow, he sprung to his feet. “Stop holding back.”

“I’m giving you a chance to talk about your feelings before I kick your ass.”

“Fuck you, flyboy.”

Linc landed a punch to Nic’s cheek.

Pain flared in his face despite the protective headgear. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

“Then spit it out so we can focus on the fight.”

Dammit, Linc was right. Tearing off the gloves and headgear, Nic strode off the mat and sat on the edge of a weight bench. They’d uncovered a lot of shit in the war room earlier, and he hadn’t processed it yet. “I’m not sure where to start.”

“How about with Natalie the psycho avenger?”

He dropped his head in his hands. “This is so fucked up.”

Linc sat on the floor and wiped a towel over his sweaty face. “You know what’s even more fucked up. A smart chick with a vendetta. It’s pretty ballsy of her to make appearances after each hit. I mean, I admire ballsy, but…”

Chris and Kane jogged over from the treadmills.

“I just heard from Scarlett.” Chris pulled up the edge of his T-shirt and wiped sweat from his chin. “Seems Henry Richardson and his new bride are hoping for a wedding present. Guess what intel suggests they want?”

Nic unwrapped the tape from his hand. “Matching engraved handcuffs?”

“Good answer, but they want something a little bigger they can wear.”

“They found out about the wearable weaponry and want the schematics, don’t they?”

“They don’t just want them. They want to regift them to the Middle Eastern faction Richardson stiffed when he didn’t deliver Scarlett. Since they didn’t get the genius, they at least want her ideas.”

Nic didn’t need to ask how they knew about the wearables. A traitor inside VIPER had compromised their secrets when all the shit had gone down with Scarlett. But despite the screwed-up situation, Nic smiled.

The wearable weaponry, made from the same steel as their limbs but compressed into a thin, pliable material, gave the wearer the ability to employ V-Strike technology.

Scarlett’s first prototype was an arm sleeve.

Once on the body, the sleeve synced with sensors embedded under the skin and networked with the brain.

He’d been looking forward to seeing jaws drop at the demonstration they were giving the Pentagon brass at the president’s birthday party.

Linc rocked back on his tailbone and sprang to his feet. “No way in fucking hell is Richardson, or the Diablos, getting their hands on the wearables. Those babies are mine. If the V-Strike sleeves do what Scarlett promises, I’ll have four super limbs. ”

Hudson sauntered over, sweat pouring down his bare chest. “Are you talking about Scarlett’s wearables?

Gage and I get them first. We don’t have any steel.

” He picked up a weight and curled it. “Edgar brought me up to speed on everything that’s developed in the last twenty-four hours.

Any idea how Jonathan Garrity fits into all this?

It can’t be a coincidence that Kane’s sister was dating a man with ties to our arch nemesis. ”

Kane and Nic looked at each other. Neither of them thought anything that had happened since Olivia had come to DC had been a coincidence.

Olivia swiped sparkly lilac nail polish she’d borrowed from Beth on Gran’s pinkie.

Gran held her hand up and examined her nails. “Now that’s how to make a girl feel alive.” She patted Olivia’s arm. “We haven’t had a chance to talk alone since I woke up.”

“No, you’re like the Level Black queen and everyone wants an audience with you.”

And Gran didn’t seem to mind that the mere act of knowing the loyal subjects she loved like family had almost gotten her killed.

“Gran? About your soulmate sense…do you happen to, uh, feel anything about me and Nic?”

Gran closed her eyes. A few seconds later, she slowly opened them. “I’m sorry, Livvie. Even though all my tests said my brain is working just fine, everything in my head is still fuzzy. I don’t quite know what I’m feeling.”

“You mean your soulmate sense is on the fritz. What the hell, Gran? You told Mom that Dad was the one for her. You told Kane that Beth was the one for him. Now it’s my turn.”

Gran chuckled. “Believe me, sweetie, I can’t wait for these cobwebs to clear, especially since you finally opened your heart and mind and believe in things you can’t explain.”

“Oh, Gran, you have no idea how many things I can’t explain that I’ve had to accept since I got here.”

“I’m sure I’ll have a clearer head in a few days. I guess in the meantime you’ll just have to figure this out on your own.”

Olivia huffed like she was a kid who had been told she couldn’t have more pie. “Guess so.” But there was one thing she didn’t need to guess at. There was truth in believing superpowers were real.

As if her thoughts conjured something super, Kane walked in. Beth followed with a big bouquet of flowers as colorful as her purple shimmery sweater.

Gran clapped her hands. “Those are lovely.”

Beth set them on a table and kissed her cheek. “Don’t let Kane near you. He just came from the gym and he stinks.”

“Yeah.” He sniffed his armpit. “I do. I only have a few minutes to shower and head to a briefing, but I wanted to stop by.”

Olivia glanced at the door. “Is Nic going to come by too?” Maybe if Gran saw them together again, her soulmate sense would come into focus.

Kane cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “Why do you care where Nic is?”

Beth slapped him on the shoulder. “We talked about this last night, Kane. It’s none of your business who Olivia spends her time with.”

Olivia pressed her fingers into her temples. Just two days in the VIPER-verse and its inhabitants were already discussing her life behind closed doors. At least Kane didn’t give any indication he’d heard Nic make her scream last night.

“Look, Livvie, I discussed it with the guys this morning and we all think it’s a terrible idea for you to pursue Nic. He’s our brother and always will be, but he’s going to break your heart.”

“You discussed me .” Beth and Kane conferring about her relationship with Nic was one thing.

A bunch of super soldiers talking about who she dated punctuated why life inside the VIPER-verse, even with the heart-stopping orgasms, wasn’t for her.

Still, what she did with Nic was her decision.

“Jeez, Kane. Why don’t you just have Edgar draft an official document for me to sign that forbids me from being within ten feet of Nic. ”

“Stop being a wiseass. Nic’s a player, and you fall too quickly. And if you would have introduced me to this Jonathan guy, I could have pointed out the red flags.”

Maybe he could have. But she knew Nic’s red flags and couldn’t stop thinking about him. Did that count for something?

Beth sighed and touched Kane’s arm. “Honey, I love you, but you’re a pigheaded oaf sometimes. Get your head out of your ass. It isn’t up to you who your sister falls for.”

Gran giggled. “Well said, dear. And you’re right. It’s not up to Kane. It’s not up to Livvie either. I may not be able to tap into my soulmate sense right now, but that doesn’t mean the universe still isn’t working its matchmaking magic.”