Page 140 of Viper

Chapter 43

Cora

Numbnesscreepsalongmycheeks. I focus on my hands fisting my green dress. The sunlight flickering through the car windows casts streaks of sodium-colored light on the material, reminding me of the small garden back at the mansion. Where the sun shone so vibrantly some days, it turned the shadows to a soft green. The same garden where Viper confessed he had a name.

The same Viper who just murdered a man.

Fortouchingme.

“Fucking nut job,” Clyde barks from the seat next to me. He grips the steering wheel and changes lanes so quickly my shoulder hits the passenger door. “Viper can’t keep flying off the handle like this.”

“He warned him not to touch me,” I say, that same numbness slipping out with my words.

“And you…” Clyde makes a sound in his throat, but leaves the words unspoken.

I caused a scene. But Viper nearly broke the deal.

We remain silent for the rest of the drive. It’s not until Clyde pulls the car through the gates and stops in front of the house that the cold numbness slips from me. Dread thickens in my stomach, slick and deep. My heart thrashes against my insides.

God knows how Rune is going to react. I was rude, defiant, and got a man killed.

The slam of the driver’s door rattles me so hard my body jerks. When my car door swings open and Clyde’s hand locks around my arm, I try to rip free of his grasp, but he tugs me from the car and drags me toward the front door.

“Come on, girl,” Clyde growls. “Rune wants to talk to you.”

“More like yell and threaten me,” I mumble as Clyde drags me toward Rune’s office.

He stands up from behind his desk as we enter. He’s not in his usual suit, but a pair of joggers and a t-shirt dotted with sweat, clings to his chest. Like he’d been working out and hadn’t showered yet.

Fear coils in my belly like razor-sharp vines when his gaze locks on me. “Zane contacted me. I hear you almost ruined the deal.”

My fear tangles with irritation, creating a toxic mix. Of course, he would blame me. Fucking Zane. He did set me up. I grind my teeth, reeling in my anger, only letting enough slip so Rune doesn’t get suspicious.

“You sent me to marry a murderer,” I snap.

Clyde clears his throat, then deposits me into the wingback chair. “As you can see, Cora is a little upset that she wasn’t made aware of the arrangement. But the deal is still on.”

“Good,” Rune says and rounds his desk. He stops in front of me, and hooks a finger under my chin and jerks it up, forcing my head back even farther. His touch scalds my skin, wrong and unclean. The faint scent of sweat burns the back of my throat.His blue eyes find mine. “You assured me you would not be difficult.”

My blood turns to ice. “I did everything you told me to do.”

Rune grips my chin and tilts my head to the left, then to the right. Like he’s checking for evidence that I did what he wanted and fucked the man he whored me out to. Or maybe he wants to see if I’ve been roughed up.

Vincent Campbell is a violent man.

Jesus. Viper.Viperis a violent man.

He drops his hand, eyes tracing over my face. “I’ll take the fact the deal is still in place as a sign he was pleased?”

“Which one?” I don’t realize the meaning behind my question until Rune’s jaw hardens. “You said do what they wanted, so I did.”

His eye twitches, and Clyde makes a slight coughing sound as he sits in the wingback chair beside me.

“Zane informed me Campbell runs hot,” Rune says. “He advises not to do business with him, though he seems to trust Snyder.”

My heart skitters. Why would Zane be trying to ruin this deal? Why say he trusts Breaker and not Viper? Spite? Probably. I am, after all, blackmailing him. And he was eye-fucking Breaker.

“Runs hot indeed,” Clyde confirms.