Chapter 30
Viper
Twenty-four hours after our chat with Dave, Breaker and I pull up in the black sedan we rented along with the estate and its staff to the back door of one of Rune’s largest nightclubs.
The driver climbs out and rushes to my side, but I’m already opening the door and stepping out into the dark alley.
The car door slams, and I turn to find Breaker watching me over the roof of the car.
He meets my eyes, and for a millisecond I see the same tension that’s coursing through me rush over him, before he covers it.
The large metal door at the back of the building swings open, and my shoulders tense. I resist reaching for my gun tucked in its holster at my back as two large security guards wearing black-on-black suits step out.
“Mr. Devin will see you both in the Sapphire Room,” the one with striking dark skin and long black dreadlocks says. He gestures to the man next to him with pale skin, shaggy blonde hair, and a long scar down the side of his face. “We will escort you.”
I don’t recognize either of them as club staff, so they must be new security guards.
Breaker told me Rune fired all his security and his personal staff besides his driver out of paranoia, but it seems Zane prefers keeping security around.
By the looks of them, I’d say they’re from a company and probably more for show than anything.
Guess being attacked in your home and getting your hand demolished would make anyone feel a tad unsafe.
They gesture for us to enter, and I walk through first, Breaker at my heels, into a large room with black damask wallpaper and dull tungsten lights overhead.
Techno music pulses through the space, filtering in from the main club at the front of the building like a throbbing heartbeat.
Two more security details stand off to the side, both with tanned skin and dark hair, wearing the same black suits and unpleasant expressions.
The taller one has a slight feral gleam in his eye that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
My skin itches with a nervous tension as I look around, scanning for hidden threats even though I already know every detail of the building.
Where every exit is. Which staff is on duty tonight.
Other than the four large bodyguards, there are no threats.
Hell, they aren’t even an actual threat, but being in Rune’s club creates a slick unease that refuses to leave.
It doesn’t matter that we planned this for years or that every single move we made was planned precisely to get the desired outcome.
That lingering fear of walking into the lion’s den makes me worry we missed some minute detail.
“Gentlemen,” the shaggy blonde says and motions to the two already in the room. “If you will.”
One of them steps forward, intending to pat us down. I shake my head, slowly, glaring at him. “Put a hand on me and lose it.”
He eyes the one who is obviously in charge, but takes a step back.
“You two,” I point to him and then his buddy, “retrieve the trunk from our car and don’t drop it.”
They exchange another look with the shaggy blonde, who gives them a nod. They are large men, but from the stiff way they move, I’d say the bulk is for show, rather than actual strength. These muscles were earned at the gym rather than from years of training.
I bet they take gym selfies.
I glance at Breaker next to me, about to say just that, but when our eyes meet, I keep the words in my mouth.
He’s already pissed, and we just got here. Then again, he’s been pissed all day.
We spoke just briefly after I stormed out of my room, and it was right before we got in the car to go over details.
That’s it. Breaker spent the entire day in his room, avoiding me.
Like I was the one at fault. Maybe I was.
But he’s clutching to his hurt and anger, wearing it like armor, which does nothing but piss me off.
I was an asshole, needling him to get a reaction, but he took it a step too far.
Not that he knows my past.
But I can’t dwell on that right now. We have bigger problems to face.
Like Zane-fucking-Devin.
Right now, I need to slip into my role as Vince and make sure this meeting goes well. It has to go exactly as planned, or this will never work. I need to play my part to perfection.
I inhale, steeling myself to face the man who took part in killing my brother.
My fingers furl into fists at my sides, letting that old rage, that anger I carried around for years at the injustice of life, wash over me.
Vince is an asshole.
And Zane’s about to meet him.
“This way,” shaggy blonde hair says, motioning us forward.
“I don’t like men I don’t know at my back,” I say.
He gives me a sideways glare before opening a door and moving ahead with his partner.
We walk down a dark hall, lit only by electric blue light glowing from the sleek, modern sconces lining the black walls. Breaker and I follow the two guards, while the other two carry the small trunk we brought, behind us.
I wasn’t kidding. I really don’t like them at our back. But I keep quiet, noting the firearms under the other two men’s suit jackets. We reach the end of the hall, and the blonde stops at a sleek black door and leans forward to swing it open, then gestures for us to enter.
Here we go.
Years and years of planning, half a lifetime of nightmares, and I’m about to come face-to-face with the motherfucker who is just as sick as Rune.
I take the lead, walking through the door first. The room is dim, with silver wall sconces and ornate black lamps on side tables.
A large seating area with plush black furniture and polished black tables sits in the center.
Off to the side, there are tables for gambling, a pool table, and a bar taking up the rest of the space.
“Ah, and there they are.” His voice scrapes over me like metal teeth, rusted and jagged. “The men of the hour.”
The image that’s haunted me since that day in the woods takes front and center, and for a second, the fear that crashes through my facade nearly consumes me. It eats up my arms, down my legs, but I take a deep breath and blink it away.
When my eyes find him, I take in his charcoal suit and blood red tie, his sleek shoes, and slicked back hair, and a calm moves through me.
He’s just a man. Killable. And he’s going to die soon.
His blue eyes meet mine, and even from a few feet away I catch the pinprick pupils in his denim eyes. God, he’s high as a kite right now. Zane moves forward, his good hand outstretched, ready to shake mine, a smarmy smile pulling his thin lips up at the corners.
His arrogance is almost as big as Rune’s. But at least Rune is smart enough to be paranoid.
Zane Devin isn’t. Even now. With one fucked up hand and our looming threat in the background, he’s still too arrogant to be properly scared.
I can’t wait to take him down a peg.
I clasp his hand, plastering Vince’s smile on my face as I grip his fingers a tad too hard. He drops my hand, and his attention snaps to Breaker.
God, this is going to be glorious to watch.
Breaker takes his hand, that panty-melting smile turning his lips up into a smile so bright I’d be laughing if I could. I know, just know, that I see a sliver of smugness in his features as he shakes the man’s hand he tortured a week ago.
When their hands drop, Zane gestures to the couches. “I hear we’re missing your other associate.”
That tightly coiled unease unfurls. I have to remind myself that Breaker did the hardest part already. Met with him, was seen at a function here in town. Spoke to these people and now we just have to pass the rest of Rune’s tests to convince him we’re on board and trustworthy of joining his lodge.
As of right now, what happens in Rune’s lodge is all hearsay.
Rumors whispered in certain circles, but were never said outright.
We sold him weapons, which isn’t unusual with the cover we created, we landed the invite, but now we have to pass the initiation, and gain his trust so that when we’re brought into his inner circle completely, we’re just as guilty as him when it’s confirmed he doesn’t hunt wild game or illegal animals let loose in the wilderness around his lodge.
We’re hunting people.
Too bad he doesn’t know we’ll actually be hunting him.
Where he gets his victims, we have no clue. That’s one thing Clyde was never able to find out. He only goes to the lodge occasionally and has always, always kept his mouth shut.
He knows what happens to people who betray Rune.
I do too. We both saw what Rune did that day.
“—in a few weeks. Maybe less.” Breaker’s voice brings me back into focus.
I need to pay attention. Now is not the time to get in my head and let that shit cloud my mind.
I snap my fingers, pointing to the floor by the large round table near the bar. The two men with the trunk set it down and take up positions by the door while the other two, the ones who led us here, sit at the table next to the trunk.
“Heard he’s traveling,” Zane says, unbuttoning his suit jacket with one hand as he sits. We settle down on the leather sofa opposite him, a large black coffee table between us. He reaches for the crystal decanter set in the center of the table on a gold tray and pops the top with his thumb.
Seems he’s getting around just fine with one hand. Maybe I should make it permanent.
“Spain,” Breaker says, leaning forward to take the glass offered. He tilts his glass toward Zane’s arm strapped to his chest with a sling. “What happened?”
Zane glances down at his hand, and smiles. “Accident,” he says. “Fell and broke my hand in several places.”
“Gotta watch those steps after all those martinis,” Breaker says with a wink and a chuckle.