Page 119 of Viper

Every minor detail has been planned.

I press my fingers to my neck, rubbing at my skittering pulse. “The weapons.”

“Yes, the Snyder Group sold Rune the weapons, and continues to do so.” Fallon picks up his wineglass and takes a sip, watching my reaction.

I knew something was off, that we were spending way too much money for a chain of hotels, but it was my job to hide Rune’s deals, not question him. The image of the video feed and the man with the sunglasses and arrogant smile flashes in my head.

Breaker. It was Breaker.

Cora…

Does Cora know?

I ask him just that.

“She’s been made aware,” Fallon says cryptically.

“So she is aware of the plan?” I ask, my throat suddenly tight again, but not for the same reasons. “Is she aware…”

“Reaper explained you kept Rune’s activities a secret from her,” Fallon says. “Cora has not been told the extent of what Rune does. And as far as I know, she hasn’t been informed of the full plan.”

The full plan being me somehow getting into Rune’s lodge. I take a breath and relax some, but then stiffen again. How am I supposed to get to his lodge after years of refusing to go? I’ve spent my entire adult life teasing him about his boy’s club, about his obsession with going for a week or two every year, whenever Zane invited me to go.

Wait.

Zane knows.

Zane participates.

“Zane knows, doesn’t he?” I say. The words slip out in a horrified whisper.

Of course he knows. Everyone who steps foot in Rune’s lodge would know. My stomach roils, and I bolt up from my seat, pressing my hand to my belly.

Zane invited me. Often. What if I had said yes? What if I had seen what Rune did and refused to be a part of it? Because I would have. I’d never partake in the hunting of people. The barbaric, evil dismembering and deaths of the people I saw in those images.

Cora.God, they sent her to him.

“You sent her back to marry him,” I whisper, my hands shaking. “You sent her back, knowing what, who he is. To that monster.”

Fallon rises and places a hand on my shoulder. “Reaper, explain—” he begins, but I brush him off and take a step back.

She can never find out.If Cora discovers what Rune does, what Zane does, what the men knowingly sent her back to, she’d be devastated.

I’mdevastated.

My fingers curl into the fabric over my chest like I can rip this pain out of me. It doesn’t matter that they had no choice. Anger sometimes has no logic, and right now, I want to punch each of them in the face for keeping this from me.

“Sit,” Fallon barks out. “Your constant theatrics wear on me, Delilah.”

Taking a deep breath, I remind myself that I need to keep my temper under control. This is a game I’m forced to play, and if I don’t follow the rules, I won’t just be the one suffering the consequences. We all will.

Slowly, I lower myself to the seat and place my hands on the table, shoving my anger aside. I know they had to follow Fallon’s commands to send her back. They tried and failed and found another way to keep us safe.

“Your father has been in contact with me,” he says.

My breath whooshes from my lungs. “For how long?” I ask. I had thought that he never bothered to contact Fallon. But it appears I was wrong. Why didn’t they tell me? Maybe because they didn’t want to give me false hope. They weren’t sending me back. Not until I was ready. Not until I was prepared to end Rune’s life.

Not until they owned my mind and my heart.