Page 46 of Viper

Fallon gestures to Reaper’s untouched plate. “Not hungry, my son?”

Reaper’s lips pull into the same cruel grin as he stabs at the now cold vegetables, his eyes dark and full of malice. “Ravenous.” He takes a bite, eyes locked with Father’s, and chews. Swallows. “Must be all thefucking.”

I lower my head, trying not to smile. Fallon’s fork clinks on his plate, and my heart skips a beat. When I raise my head, I find him watching me.

“Your brother is angry with me,” he says flatly. Like the idea is simply too absurd to be upsetting. As if Reaper doesn’t have a right to be angry that our father threatened to kill me and took a belt to our girl.

Reaper taps the table, drawing Father’s attention back to him. “We had her right here, you know,” he says, looking Fallon in the eye. “Right on this very table. Legs splayed. Begging for more while I watched my brothers eat her out.”

Father raises an eyebrow. “The girl saw your face?”

“Nope,” Reaper says, eyes locked with Father’s.

He levels him with a cool glare. “So you blindfold the girl and then you all have your way with her?”

Reaper shrugs. “What can I say? You fucked us all up so bad we’re kinky motherfuckers.”

With a slight sigh, Father continues to eat. I shove a large bite in my mouth so I don’t have to say a damn thing, waiting for this all to go downhill. Reaper can get away with acting defiantly, more than the rest of us, but even he’s pushing Father a tad too hard.

“I’d like to see this,” Fallon says after a thick silence.

I choke on the potato in my mouth, glancing at Reaper, and find he’s glaring at Fallon with such hatred, I’m not sure how he hasn’t caught fire.

“I know you have a deep affection for us, Father dear,” Reaper says coldly, “but it seems inappropriate to watch your sons fuck our captive.”

Father sets his fork and knife down, then dabs the cloth napkin to his mouth, each move meticulous. Patient. My gut twists. I don’t know why Reaper is antagonizing him. One wrong word, and he could order any of his soldiers to hurt Delilah.

“You told me the girl is prepared to cooperate. I want to see how you’ve trained her,” Father says, gesturing again to our plates for us to eat. “I’ve seen her loyalty. But I want to see how you’ve gained it. See her train. I want to ensure her progression and dedication to this mission and to you.”

“And there it is.” Reaper’s fork clatters onto his plate, and he leans back in his seat. “The reason you’re here. To make sure we’re following your orders.”

Fallon’s fist slams down on the wooden table, the sound cracking through the room. The glasses and plates rattle, and I catch my water glass before it falls over. Reaper doesn’t flinch.

“Have you forgotten why we’re here?” Fallon’s voice rises sharply. “Have you forgotten why we began this mission?”

“How could I?” Reaper says, voice dripping with ice. “But I’m thinking it’s possible you have.”

Fallon stands upright, adjusting his tie, and I can tell by his expression that whatever peace he was trying to make, whatever amends, has been discarded.

We’re his soldiers again, not his sons.

“You trusted me to set this mission up,” Reaper says. “You have trusted me to run it. Yet it seems you don’t trust my tactics.”

Fallon lets out a strange laugh, but sits back down. He looks at me. “Have you heard?”

My brows knit, thrown by the change in topic and Father’s tone. It’s light again. Airy, setting my teeth on edge.

“Zane called off the marriage with the Julian girl.” Father’s eyes sweep to Reaper, who remains motionless. My heart leaps, and I grip my fork tightly, trying not to react. “Right before he was attacked.”

Fuck.Which one? Did Breaker lose it or Viper? Either man losing control would be detrimental to the mission.

Father smiles, cold and calculated. “Clyde contacted me early this morning. Your brother has once again defied an order. Breaker, it seems, did what Breaker does best, and needlessly tortured Zane Devin.”

“I doubt it was needless,” Reaper says, shoving up the sleeves of his black shirt. “Zane must have provoked him.”

Father ignores him and continues. “And Clyde’s reporting that Rune knows it was one of us.”

“Which means he’s aware we’re close.” I say, worry settling in my gut.