Page 11 of Viper

Hell, sitting here waiting, and I’m already halfway there. My eyes drift to the thin line of light beneath the bathroom door.

She’s okay. Just breathe. The vise around my ribcage loosens a fraction, knowing she’s with me, and away from Rune.

“This doesn’t wreck the mission,” Harlow says suddenly. I glance his way to find him watching me.

“Correct.” I nod. “Everything is still on track. We just have to wait for Delilah.”

I’m about to say that with Zane out of commission, it gives Delilah a little more time to prepare, but swallow it back, knowing the reminder of what I did to Zane will just enrage Harlow further.

“Any updates?” His eyes flick to my phone. “Has Reaper contacted you?”

“No,” I say. If he’s asking, then that means Reaper hasn’t given him an update either. “We’ve been keeping communication at a minimum.”

“Good. No reason for unnecessary risks.”

We’ve spent so long planning this, have invested so many years, spent so much energy, I fear constantly we’ve become complacent. It’s been fairly easy to set this up, as well as for Harlow to keep under Rune’s radar, that sometimes it all just feels a little too easy. Then again, Rune’s arrogance helps. He must think it impossible that Harlow would ever betray him, considering he knows about his hunts.

Hell, Harlow was there to see the aftermath of the first one.

So was Viper, though he never talks about it.

None of us talks about those days in the wilderness. Some things are better left in the past.

“Shit,” Harlow mutters. I glance his way. He rubs his jaw, then crosses his arms. When he sees my expression, he continues, “What if Rune thinks Cora returned to my house?”

“Do you really think he’s concerned?” I ask. “How long has he gotten away with hurting her, and no one knew?”

Harlow’s jaw pops. He looks up at the ceiling, blowing out a heavy breath. I almost feel bad for him, but fuck, he has turned a blind eye to so much that I think he’s just as guilty as me.

“I don’t want her near him,” he says. “But I don’t know how to keep her away from him.”

“Maybe we can use Zane’s injury to our advantage,” I say.

“Injury?” Harlow scoffs, brows lifting. “We’re not calling it what it is, Breaker?”

“Fine. We can use how I tortured Zane to our advantage.”

Harlow narrows his eyes at me. “Go on.”

“You mentioned he thinks it was one of us who fucked up Zane,” I say. “Maybe we can use this to keep Cora away from Rune for a while.”

Harlow nods. “Rune believes one of you attacked Zane in retaliation for forcing Fallon’s hand. Rune knew Cora would be returned. And we all know he’s waiting for Fallon to contact him again about Delilah.”

“We can feed his paranoia. Tell him after Zane’s attack, she’s safer with you since”—I gesture to him—“you live in a fortress.”

Harlow smirks, obviously liking this idea. “I keep her at my house, using Fallon as an excuse to keep her with me at all times.”

“Then he won’t see the extent…” I let the rest of the sentence hang in the air unspoken. Then Rune won’t see the extent of the damage he caused. My chest squeezes, and I have to take in a breath to ease it.

Harlow takes a deep breath too, then says, “If I keep her with me, I can keep her in training. She’s an excellent shot.”

I lean back in my seat, trying to picture her holding an AR-15. Harlow says she’s quick and highly skilled. Our tiny Little Red. I wish I could see her with a weapon. One pointed at Rune’shead. We’ve sought revenge for what he did to Hunter, but I think Cora deserves to be the one who ends him.

He destroyed Hunter over weeks, but he tore Cora apart piece by piece for years.

The phone vibrates again, but I ignore it. Obsessively watching Rune’s front gate will change nothing.

“I should probably get her back to my place,” Clyde says. “I’ll keep her phone off until morning and let Rune think she spent the night at her condo.” He gestures to the bathroom door. “Go get her.”