Page 181 of Viper

“We’reclose,”hesays,gripping my shoulder and forcing me down to the ground with him. “Stay alert. Move slow.”

I crouch next to Hunter, scanning the woods, my grip on the knife tightening. We aren’t too far from where we parted ways with Reap and Breaker. Maybe a mile at most.

“How do you know?” I ask, my voice low. “Have you been there?”

He nods, pulling his glove back, checking his watch. “Yeah. We made it here for pickup. Took a while to find it, but we survived and made it here.”

With Seeker’s body.

Goosebumps break out on my arms, remembering their return. Reaper had been covered in blood, and I had assumed he had been the one to kill our brother. Hunter confessed to us all later that night that it had been him who slit his throat. Seeker had asked for his death to be quick, and when he didn’t see it coming. Hunter said he did it so Reaper didn’t have to. Then they dragged his body the last few miles so they could bring him back to us.

Now here they are, back in this hellish place, except instead of knowing they have to kill, they are trying to save their three remaining brothers.

Hopefully we all make it out alive.

“Father picked you up at the lodge?” I ask, confused. “Why here and not the airstrip?”

He glances over his shoulder, then at me before slowly standing. “There’s a huge clearing in the center. We were instructed at drop-off to find it. When we arrived, we called father on the phone inside. Father landed the chopper there so he could talk to that Gavin guy when he picked us up. They had some sort of meeting, but the guy was late. Planning his kid’s birthday or something.” He shakes his head and makes a sound in his throat. “Can you believe he talked to him? Father stood there, talking like he had no idea what was coming.”

My brows knit. “Wait…” I look around at the woods. We’re all familiar with the name. His face. Father has a picture of the Gavin family in his office. They are friends. Good friends.Werefriends. “That makes no sense. Isn’t he the reason you and Reaper —”

“Yeah. Fucked up, right?” Hunter says, cutting me off. He shoots me another look. “And now it’s come back to bite Father in the ass.”

I shake my head, confused. Father has talked about Gavin and his family our entire lives. While we’ve never met him, we know about him. But we had no clue he was part of this. The wilderness. “But how is Maxy involved?”

“Father is a greedy bastard. He said it himself—he takes no sides.” Hunter tugs me up, urging me forward. He casts another look around the woods before we begin moving. “Appears Maxim chose a side, and it’s not Father’s.”

“Gavin is—” I start, but Hunter puts his arm up, fist closed, signaling for me to freeze. I stop, eyes darting around. Hunter tugs his ear, then points ahead, letting me know he heard something. My gaze darts that way, looking for signs of movement as we both slowly lower to one knee.

After a few agonizing seconds, Hunter signals for me to remain silent but to move forward. Gingerly I rise, my body so tense I’m barely breathing, and creep forward, careful of each step. I adjust my grip on the knife, hoping I don’t get shot by whoever is out here.

Or Maxim. Thefucker. The thought he and whoever else is out here with him intends to kill us like they did with that man, chills my blood. The way that man was torn apart was beyond depraved.

The image of the red strands of hair tangled in the branches, flashes through my head. My stomach twists at the thought of a woman out here, terrified. Screaming.

I exhale, hoping we aren’t too late, though I have a sinking feeling we are.

Hunter signals for me to follow him, but remains silent. He adjusts his rifle, prepared to shoot as we move forward. We keep a slow, steady pace, and after a few minutes, I make out a clearing between the trees and what looks like a huge log building. He signals for me to halt and points to the left,indicating for us to move in that direction. We circle the clearing, but stay in the cover of the trees, careful to make no sound.

To my left, a loud crack of laughter rings out, making my stomach drop to my toes. Hunter raises a fist. We freeze. I stop breathing, waiting to be ripped apart by a bullet. When nothing happens, we inch forward, keeping low.

My guts churn with unease, my heart thundering so hard it makes me dizzy, but I keep close to Hunter, and follow him. In the distance, I catch the sound of more laughter. It sounds like two men, maybe more. It’s hard to tell from this distance.

Hunter moves forward, and we creep to the edge of the woods until the entire scope of the place is in view. The back of a massive three-story wooden lodge with floor-to-ceiling windows and several balconies sits on the edge of the woods. Connected to it is another smaller building, and several wood cabins rest along the edges of the treeline, creating a massive circle. From where we stand, I can make out a huge clear area, large enough for a chopper to land.

It’s enormous, like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It’s like a huge luxury resort dropped into the middle of the woods.

In the middle of nowhere.

Where there are no eyes. No ears.

Just wilderness and zero consequences.

Hunter taps my shoulder, grabbing my attention, and uses two fingers to point to his eyes, then to the cabin closest to us. He gestures for me to follow him and then darts toward the back of the building.

Fuck.I really don’t want to die today.

I rush forward, sluggish and dizzy from fear and lack of nutrients, and crash next to him.