Page 141 of Viper

“He killed Zane’s security detail,” I say as I cross my arms. “Runs a little hot is an understatement.”

Rune eyes Clyde. “What do you think of him?”

His nonchalant shrug and half-frown say more than any words could. Whatever. Seems okay. But he says, “Campbell has good connections.”

“Because that matters,” I mumble.

Rune puts his hand up to silence me, then returns his attention to Clyde. “Despite the setback, he still wants her?”

Wants her. Like I’m fucking livestock.

God, these men.

“Seems so.” Clyde shifts, propping his ankle on his knee, and flicks a piece of lint off his tie. Like they aren’t discussing me like a broodmare. “He seemed to like her.”

Rune nods, liking Clyde’s response. His focus moves to me, his thumb hooking in the waistband of his gray sweatpants. “What did he say to you?”

The outline of his dick catches my eye, and an oily darkness roils in my belly. Rune has spent so many years hurting me I became sickness and fear. It wasn’t until I felt Delly’s tender touch, her gentle love, until I heard their promises, saw the men’s actions, that I remembered I wasn’t dirty. Last night, I was cherished by two men who are risking their lives to put an end to Rune’s power-hungry reign.

The thought sends warmth through my belly, and I meet Rune’s glare with one of my own. “They didn’t say much. Just things like, ‘Yes, please. Just like that. Do it again.’”

“Cora,” Clyde barks.

Rune’s jaw tightens as he crosses his arms, biceps flexing like he’s trying to keep his rage coiled tightly inside him. “Did he ask you anything? About me?”

“No,Papa,” I sneer. “I just did my family duty. Vince was impressed. I’m good with my hands… and mouth… and—”

“Cora,” Clyde snaps. “Answer the questions without being crass.”

“I don’t know how,” I snap back. “Crass men just negotiated a business deal with my cunt.”

Rune takes a step back, stabbing me with a deadly look. “If Campbell ends up refusing you after your rude outburst, then you’ll have to impress Snyder.”

A soft chuckle slips out of me. “Trust me. He’s impressed. They both are.”

“You can’t marry both,” Rune grinds out through clenched teeth.

“Campbell accepted your offer,” Clyde interjects. “He liked her.”

“He better,” Rune says, then points to the door and tells Clyde, “Leave us. I need to speak with her alone.”

My stomach tangles into a hard knot. I bite the inside of my cheek, fighting the tightness squeezing my lungs in a vise. Even knowing Clyde’s going to be right outside the door, being alone with Rune makes fear crawl down my spine.

Clyde glances at his watch. “We have a meeting at four-thirty. I need to get her back to my house to change before we go.”

“I’ll just be a minute,” Rune snaps.

Clyde drags himself from the chair, as if he’s annoyed to be kept waiting. He pats the top of my head before he leaves. Sometimes I forget how long they’ve been friends. How Clyde can get away with a bad attitude. How much weight Clyde’s words carry with Rune.

Maybe that’s what has protected Clyde all these years. Rune trusts him like family. Clyde is family.

More so than me.

When the door closes, Rune leans back on his desk, and everything I discovered in his top drawer the other morning flashes in my mind.

God, was it really just days ago that I found the hunting knife and USB drive? The list of dead lodge members and their families and the tally system? It’s all a few feet away, and the idea makes my stomach churn.

I kept questioning Clyde about the list of past members, but he just said, “People die,” and left it at that, refusing to go into details. So much has happened in the last forty-eight hours, I haven’t thought about it again until now.