Chapter Ten
They moved out, weapons drawn, boots quiet on the gravel. The building loomed ahead, its windows dark. Faint laughter drifted through a cracked door, along with the smell of beer and smoke.
Viper’s pulse thundered in his ears.
He caught sight of something near the back door. It was flash of fabric, pale against the concrete. For a split second, his heart leapt. Damn it. It wasn’t her, just a rag.
King gestured to the others, and they took their positions. Three breaths. Two. One.
King kicked the door in. The sound of the blast echoed like thunder. The world exploded into chaos.
Yelling, gunfire, the crash of tables. The Vultures scrambled, grabbing for weapons, but the Devil’s Crown moved fast. They were a single machine honed by loyalty and fury.
Viper was already through the smoke before King could stop him. He cut through the first man in his way with a clean, brutal strike from his gun’s butt, sending him sprawling. Another came at him with a blade, but Viper ducked and slammed him into the wall.
“Where is she,” he roared, voice raw. “Mara!”
No answer. Only more shouts.
He kicked open doors, one after another, his chest tightening with every empty room.
Then came a sound. It was a faint cry, muffled, from deeper inside. Viper spun toward it, heart hammering. He ran down the hall, boot steps echoing. Another locked door stood in his path.
He raised his boot and kicked it open.
Inside was Mara. She was tied to a chair, blood at the corner of her mouth, a bruise forming along her jaw. Her eyes widened the second she saw him.
“Viper,” she gasped, her voice raw, broken.
He moved before the word even finished leaving her lips. Two strides, and he was at her side, tearing the gag from her mouth. He furiously worked at the knots binding her wrists.
“Jesus, baby,” he rasped. His voice shook for the first time in years. “I got you. You’re okay.”
She clung to him the instant she was free, trembling so hard he could feel it through his vest.
“Viper, you shouldn’t have come,” she stammered, choking on a sob.
He pressed his forehead against hers, his chest rising and falling with harsh, uneven breaths. “Of course I’d come after you,” he told her.
Then came a low whistle from behind him.
“You actually came. So, you’re Viper, huh?”
Viper froze. He turned slowly, his entire body tensing. Rex stepped inside the room. Mara’s father looked older than he imagined.
“It’s over, old man. Viper’s brothers have you surrounded. Let us go,” Mara whispered.
Viper didn’t like seeing the fear in her eyes. He automatically shifted, blocking her with his body.
“So, you’re the asshole who sold his own daughter off to pay his debts,” Viper said.
Rex smirked, a cruel twist of his mouth. “You think I had a choice? It was me or her.”
“So my life isn’t worth shit to you?” Mara demanded.
Her father didn’t look at her. “You should’ve come back home obediently and do as you were told, girl.”
Rage burned through Viper so hot it felt like acid. He took a step forward, hand on his weapon.
“You were going to hand your only daughter over to animals,” he said, his voice low and lethal. “You knew what they’d do to her.”
Rex’s grin didn’t waver. “You don’t know shit, boy.”
Viper’s knuckles went white. He could hear Mara behind him, whispering his name, but he couldn’t look at her.
“Rex,” he said, each word slow, deliberate. “Walk away. Now.”
Rex laughed and it was a dry, bitter sound. “You think you’re hot shit?” He raised his gun, the motion swift and smooth.
Viper moved without thought. The shot went off, close enough that it made Mara scream. The bullet grazed his shoulder as he tackled Rex hard into the wall.
Rex swung wildly with the butt of his pistol, catching Viper across the jaw. Pain flared bright and sharp, but Viper barely felt it. He drove a fist into Rex’s ribs, hard enough to crack something, then slammed him down onto the concrete.
“Stop!” Mara screamed, but neither man heard her.
Rex clawed for his gun. Viper kicked it away, the metal skittering across the floor.
“You don’t get to hurt her again,” Viper snarled, pinning him with his knee.
Rex spat blood, then pulled a knife from his boot. He slashed upward, Viper caught his wrist, but Rex was desperate. The knife came within inches of his throat.
“Should’ve minded your own damn business!” Rex roared.
That broke something inside Viper. His hand went for his gun almost on instinct. He didn’t remember pulling the trigger but a deafening crack filled the room, the hot flash of recoil.
Rex’s body went limp beneath him. For a second, the world went utterly silent.
“Viper...” Mara said softly.
He turned slowly. She was staring at her father’s body, tears streaming silently down her face.
“He was going to,” Viper started, but the words caught in his throat. His hand trembled as he lowered the gun.
She nodded numbly, unable to speak. Viper understood. Rex might be a piss poor excuse of a father, but he would always be her old man. Behind them, King appeared in the doorway, weapon still raised, eyes scanning the room.
King took in the sight of Rex’s body, Mara’s tears, Viper standing over both, and said nothing for a long time.
Finally, he exhaled, low and steady. “You all right, Mara?” King asked Mara.
She nodded again, barely.
King flicked his gaze to Viper. “We need to move now. The Vultures might’ve called for reinforcements. With Rex dead, the club will be in chaos, but just in case.”
Viper didn’t argue. He holstered his weapon, stepped toward Mara, and touched her face gently. “Can you walk?”
She looked at him, eyes dazed but clear. “You killed him.”
“I had to.” His voice was raw. “He left me no choice.”
Something in her broke then. She swayed, and Viper caught her, pulling her tight against him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair. “I’m so damn sorry.”
Mara twisted her fingers in his shirt, holding on like he was the only thing keeping her upright. “It was the right thing to do. It was either you or him and I’m glad you’re alive,” Mara whispered.
“We’ll sort the rest later. Let’s get her home,” King said and Viper agreed.
****
The ride back was a blur of cold air and noise. Mara clung to Viper from behind. She locked her arms tightly around his waist as the Harley thundered down the road. The world streamed past in streaks of light and darkness.
Mara pressed her cheek against his back, and all she could feel was the steady, solid beat of his heart under her palms. She didn’t cry, she couldn’t.
Her father was dead. The words repeated in her head like a gunshot that wouldn’t stop echoing.
By the time the bikes rolled through the Devil’s Crown gates, her fingers were numb and her thoughts hollow. The brothers looked up as they entered, faces grim, eyes tracking her and Viper. King barked orders to lock things down, to be ready for retaliation.
Viper said nothing. He just kept a hand on her back, steady and firm, guiding her through the noise until the door to his room slammed shut behind them.
Silence fell. Mara stood in the middle of the room, breathing hard, feeling the weight of everything crash down. Her chest tightened until it hurt. Viper turned the lock, then looked at her.
Viper had that same unreadable expression, hard and restrained, like he was holding a storm behind his eyes.
“You’re shaking,” he said quietly.
“I’m fine,” she insisted.
He didn’t argue. He crossed the space between them, crouched in front of her, and touched her knee and that was enough to ground her.
“You’re not fine. You just watched your old man die,” Viper said.
The words hit her like a punch.
She swallowed hard. “You killed him.”
“Yeah.” He didn’t flinch. “I did.”
Her throat worked as she tried to breathe past the ache. “He was my father.”
“I know.” Viper tightened his jaw. “He was gonna kill you or me. Probably both.”
Tears stung her eyes, hot and angry. “You think I don’t know that? You think I don’t know what he turned into?”
Viper raised his fingers and brushed her cheek. “Then don’t carry his sins. You didn’t make him what he was.”
Her composure cracked then, just enough for the tears to spill over. He wiped them away with his thumb, rough hand gentling in a way that didn’t make sense for a man like him.
She reached up and caught his wrist before he could pull back. “You shouldn’t have to keep saving me.”
“I ain’t got a choice.” His voice was low, hoarse. “You walked into my life, and that was it. I was done.”
Her chest clenched. “Don’t say that.”
“I mean it.”
The silence stretched between them, thick and charged. Mara searched his face, saw the exhaustion there, the pain, but also something else. Something fierce and unguarded.
Viper then leaned in, she met him halfway. The kiss wasn’t soft. It was desperate, rough, full of everything they’d both been holding back. Fear, grief, anger, and relief. Viper slid his hand into her hair, and she clutched at his cut like she needed to anchor herself to him or drown.
When they broke apart, she was breathing hard, forehead pressed to his.
“I thought I’d lost you,” she whispered.
“You almost did,” he said. “But I’d burn the whole damn world before I let that happen.”
She closed her eyes, tears sliding down again. “I don’t know how to feel right now.”
“Don’t think,” he murmured, voice raw. “Just feel this.”
He kissed her again and it was slower this time. Viper brushed the lingering tears from her eyes, then deepened the kiss. Her pulse pounded. The world outside could’ve been burning and she wouldn’t have cared.
Then he pulled back. “You don’t gotta say anything. I ain’t asking you for forever. I just need you to know,” Viper paused, eyes dark and wild. “I love you, Mara.”
The words hung there, heavy and real.
Her breath caught. “You—”
“I shouldn’t,” he said. “It’s too soon, too damn messy, but it’s the truth. You got inside my head, and now you’re stuck there. I love you.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs. She wanted to deny it, to tell him it was just adrenaline, trauma, anything else, but the words wouldn’t come. Mara felt it, too.
“You think you’re the only one?” she whispered. “You think I don’t feel it, too?”
His breath hitched.
“I love you, Viper,” she said, voice trembling but sure. “And I hate that it took blood and death and everything falling apart for me to realize it. But I do. I love you.”
For a long second, he just stared at her, disbelief flickering behind the rough edges of his expression. Then he kissed her hard and she responded with equal passion.
“You have no idea what you just did to me,” Viper said after pulling away.
“Pretty sure I do,” she said softly.
He huffed out a broken laugh, brushing his thumb over her lower lip. “You got no idea how dangerous that sounds, baby.”
“I don’t care.” Her voice was quiet but steady. “I’ve been running my whole life. I’m done.”
Viper’s hand found hers, their fingers lacing together. “Then you stay,” he said simply.
Mara nodded. “I stay.”
Viper led her to the bed. They dispensed with their clothes and Viper pulled the comforter over their bodies. Both of them were too tired for sex, but perhaps later, after a bit of rest. She smiled when he wrapped his arms around her and Mara tucked herself against his big and scarred chest.
Mara might’ve lost her father tonight. He was the last thread of her old life, but Mara had found something else. She’d found a man who’d kill for her and she loved him for it.