Den of Vipers

“Bollocks,” I mutter, as we pull up outside the spa. “I forgot to say goodbye to Rox.”

Ryder snorts but slips from the vehicle, and so do the guards we brought. I hop out and lean across the roof of the sports car, waiting for the SUV to arrive with the guards. “What? I heard you two last night, brother.” I wiggle my eyebrows.

His lips curl into a satisfied smirk, even as he rests his arms across the car like me. “So? Unlike you, baby brother, I can separate sex and feelings.”

“Uh-huh, so then why did you smack Garrett this morning for being too loud and almost waking her?” I taunt.

He rolls his eyes but loses the smirk. “She needed to sleep. I couldn’t be dealing with her brattiness.”

“Sure.” I grin as I round the car, and we head towards the spa. “Then why did you tuck her in and kiss her goodbye when you thought no one was watching?”

He freezes, his head swivelling to glare at me. “What have I told you about spying on me?”

Laughing, I clap him on the back. “Admit it, Ry. You like her too. It’s cool, I don’t mind sharing, but I’m not crossing swords with you.”

He sighs and puts his hand on the door. “Can we please stay focused on why we are here?”

“Right, threats, paying the enemies. I got it.” I nod, and he jerks the door open, the relaxing music of the spa drifting to us as we step inside with our guards behind us. Ryder refused to leave Tony and Sam behind, in fact, he made sure they were with us. And this idiot still thinks he doesn’t like her.

“We should get her some girlie shit from here to make her feel more at home,” I suggest as I look around. A woman in a dress sits in the waiting room, rearranging her tits to show them off, and flashes a grin at me. I wink and lean closer. “Sorry, I’m taken, and so is he.”

She slumps but grins and looks back down at her magazine. Whistling, I glance over to see Ryder glaring at me. “We’re taken?” he repeats.

“Sure are! You think Rox wouldn’t kill any poor girl you brought back to hurt her? If you haven’t noticed, Ry, she’s as nuts as we are.”

He shakes his head, muttering under his breath about idiot brothers and annoying women as he strides over to the desk and raps his knuckles on the curved wood. “I need to speak to Sandra. Now,” he demands, face closed and angry.

The woman behind the desk shrinks, her face paling. “I-I’m sorry, sir, Sandra is busy—”

“Take a break, Izzy,” Sandra calls, as she steps from the office behind the receptionist. She’s a big girl, and I mean tall. Taller than Ryder almost. Her curvy body is encased in a tight dress and heels. Her greying hair is pulled back in a taut bun, showing off her face, which is artificially lifted. Her lips are pink and way too plump to be natural. When she sees us, her eyes narrow.

She’s a scary woman, enough so to make my balls shrivel, but that’s why we liked her.

“Gentlemen, what a surprise. Please come through and stop harassing my staff,” she snaps before turning and, with the clicking of her heels, striding into her office.

Leaning closer to Ryder, I smile and murmur, “I like women, but that one is fucking scary. Still not as scary as Rox though. Oh, I hid her bat in the weapons room.”

He ignores me and pushes behind the desk, following her into the office. I nod to Tony, who stops at the front door. Looking around at the patrons, I grin and announce, “I’m afraid the spa is closed, please leave.”

The women and men waiting start to object, so I flash my gun with a happy smile, and they soon rush for the door. Tony slams it behind them and flips the lock. Sam trails after me and stands at the office door, but I pause and let my face darken for a moment as I look between them without Ryder here. “I may not have reacted, Ryder may not have, but come close to our woman again, and it will be the last thing you do,” I warn, and I watch Sam gulp as they both nod. Then, with a happy smile back in place, I pat his chest, slip in, and shut the door behind me. “Sorry about that, it seems everyone left,” I comment with wide, innocent eyes as I roll my dice across my knuckles, leaning back against the wall.

Sandra glares at me, her legs crossed in her office chair, and her hands tight across her stomach as she waits for Ryder to speak. He sits on the sofa across from her, playing on his phone and making her sweat. Literally. I watch as actual sweat drips down her face and she shifts nervously.

She knows what she did, and now she’s wondering if she will make it out of here alive.

Ryder keeps her waiting, and I pull out my own phone and shoot a message to Garrett to check on Rox. He sends me back a picture of her curled up on the sofa asleep next to him. His face is locked in a scowl in the picture, which makes me laugh. I forward it to Ryder whose lips turn up in a smirk before he pockets the device.

He looks up at Sandra and sighs loudly. “We haven’t heard from you in a while, Sandra, which is surprising, seeing as though we own the land you are built on…so, tell me. If you aren’t paying us back, where is your money going, hmm? We already know it’s leaving your account.”

She balks at that, probably not realising we’re more than brawn. “I-I had some bills to pay and got behind,” she replies, tilting her chin back, but her eyes dart around nervously.

“Don’t lie to me, Sandra. I have been kind to you, and it would be a shame for me to have to stop,” Ryder growls, voice cold and deadly. “You came to me with an offer, not the other way around. You needed our help, we lent you the money so you could run this place…now you’re trying to break your end of the deal? Darling, it doesn’t work like that.”

“I’m sick of paying,” she blurts before swallowing. “I-I lose half my profit to you.”

“We offer less repayment interest than banks, or did you forget that? Without us, there would be no spa,” Ryder drawls. “I could, of course, revert my loan, buy this place, fire all your staff, and tear it down…or I could do even worse. How’s your husband, Sandra?”

“Leave Mike out of this,” she almost yells, making me chuckle.

“Wish we could, darling, but Mike put himself into this. Did you know he likes to gamble?” I remark conversationally, and she looks at me in confusion. “Now don’t get me wrong, it was only every now and again until I…showed him the addictive side of the city. I tried to help him.” Sighing, I shake my head. “It seems he was tired of being emasculated at home. He got drunk and told everyone.”

“You’re lying,” she snaps, so I load up the video from one of my clubs. I only show her a split second of it before pocketing it again. “So what?” she says, but I can see the hurt in her eyes.

“So it drove him to addiction, and now he owes some bad people money. If he’d come to me, I could have helped him out. But he didn’t.” I put my hands out in a fake placating gesture, an unkind smile tugging at my lips.

“Is-is he okay?” she asks, looking between us.

“He could be, it all depends on your choice, Sandra. I can bail him out, but of course that money would go on top of what you already owe us, or I can leave him in their hands. Now, they won’t kill him for the first offence, no, just break his kneecaps. But, unfortunately, as a builder, they seem rather important, don’t they?” I laugh, but it’s not a nice sound, and she shivers from it.

“You fucking evil snakes,” she hisses, as tears fall from her eyes, which she tries to swipe away, only smearing her makeup instead.

“No, darling, not evil, just businessmen. We gave you money, a job, we got you off the streets. We kept an eye on your husband, who would be dead now without us. Yes, we like money and we profit from our business deals…but everything is not black and white. It’s filled with greys, and we just happen to run the grey area.”

She turns around and slams open her drawer, scribbling a check before throwing it at Ryder. He pockets it. It’s not about the money, after all, but the fucking cheek of her not repaying us after everything we did for her. The bank would have taken her spa by now. “Thanks, madame.” I wink, reminding her exactly where we found her. Working in one of the Triad’s clubs years ago.

She averts her gaze, sniffling hard. “I just wanted a different life,” she whispers quietly, so low we aren’t meant to hear.

“We know, that’s why we helped you in exchange for all that information. Your debt is almost paid, Sandra, so keep your head down, and this place will be all yours before long,” I offer nicely. Ryder rolls his eyes at me before getting to his feet.

“Do not make us come back, Sandra.”

“And Mike?” she whispers, staring at us with huge tear tracks down her face.

I drop a quick text to the men holding him. “I paid his debt just now, he’s free, but maybe keep your eye on his spending and get him some help.” I play the role of the nice brother easily enough, and with a friendly wink, I turn to leave, but my eyes catch on the shelves of products.

“Oh, we need some girlie shit,” I tell Sandra. She nods, tears still streaming down her face, and black mascara flowing in its wake. She’s a mess.

“Take whatever you want,” she whispers, looking away quickly.

“Thanks, is this face…mask good?” I question, and Ryder snorts.

“Just take everything. I’m sure Sandra here can get more stock with the money she will be getting back from the Triad. Isn’t that right, Sandra?” he challenges nastily, and she hastily nods.

Grabbing a bag from the side, I dump all the stuff into it, hoping Rox likes it before throwing it over my shoulder and opening the door. Sam instantly takes the bag, his eyes still sharp, scanning our surroundings. Whistling again, I head to the door and Tony opens it but goes out first, checking everything before nodding at us.

We head back to the car, and when we’re inside, I look at Ryder. “We should get her some other stuff to make her feel at home. She is staying, isn’t she?”

He grips the wheel. “I don’t know.”

“Oh, come on, Ry, she’s nothing like that bitch. She doesn’t even want our money.” I laugh.

“No, she wants something worse. Her freedom.” He glares at me then. “She will never be happy being kept in our penthouse, she’s not a kept woman. She likes to work, it’s how she got by.”

I nod and look away. “Then we give her a job, something, anything. Because she’s not leaving us.”

“We couldn’t give her freedom, even if we wanted to. It would be a sign of weakness, and they have all seen her with us now. She would be dead the moment she stepped from the building.” Ryder sighs and rubs his head. We both know that’s the truth. By being ours, she has a target on her back, but I can’t bring myself to regret that when it means I get her. “Fine, let’s get her some stuff, the other bits can wait.”

Firing up the Aston, he pulls into traffic with Tony and Sam behind us, and does a U-turn to take us downtown to the shopping district. “I fucking hate shopping,” he growls.

Flicking on the radio, I dance along to the music. “I love it.”

“How are we brothers?” he mutters.

“‘Cause all the anger and madness went to you.” I laugh.

He swears, and I ignore him and ring Garrett. “Hey, we’re nipping to the store, need anything?”

“To be allowed to kill this fucking brat,” he snaps, then yells louder, “Then don’t fucking try that shit again,” before coming back to the phone. “She’s so annoying, you sure I can’t kill her?”

“I heard that, asshole!” Roxy screams in the background. “I might not have my bat, but I’ll still take you down, motherfucker.”

I raise my eyebrows at that. “I thought you two had started to get along?”

He snorts but doesn’t answer. Ah, okay, so she’s under his skin. We can work with that. “Don’t you fucking dare change that channel again,” he barks.

“I’ll leave you to it, have fun,” I offer with a laugh before hanging up and looking over at Ryder. “She’s going to have him wrapped around her finger before long.”

He grins. “No doubt, she already has you.”

“And D, did you hear he killed that drunken idiot at the fight?”

Ryder nods. “Sloppy, but that’s Diesel for you.”

He parallel parks outside a shop, ignoring the no parking lines. We wait for Tony and Sam to get out, and then they open our doors—we can’t be too careful at the moment. It wouldn’t be good for one of us to get shot just because we were sloppy, and with a bounty on our heads, they will all be coming out of the woodwork to try for us. We are hoping the German is one of them, which is why we are out and about.

Bait.

Heads held high and unafraid, we stroll into the shop. The greeter zeros in on us straightaway, recognising money, and his eyes light up. “Gentlemen, how may I help you?”

Ryder points at me and pulls his phone out to undoubtedly answer all the emails piling up. Wrapping my arm around his neck, I pluck his phone free and pocket it. “Oh no you don’t, you stuck your dick in her too, so you have to buy her nice things to make up for your shitty attitude.”

He grumbles and glares at me, pushing me away. He tries to grab his phone, but I move back, laughing. The salesman doesn’t even blink, pretending he can’t hear our conversation like all the best ones do. Catering to the rich and famous means you get deaf really quick or you don’t last long.

“Fine, she needs more jewellery,” he mumbles, making me clap my hands.

“Now you’re talking. She needs more of those sexy bras, and for sure some more of those boots, they are hot as hell. Oh, we should buy her some weapons.” I sigh wistfully.

He looks over at me. “And when she uses them on us?”

I shrug. “Probably only on Diesel, and he would love it, and, well, maybe Garrett, but he would just respawn like the devil he is.”

“Of course, sir, if you would like to follow me. I will have my colleague Francesco escort you, sir, to the jewellery.”

“Nope, we can go together, we are in no rush,” I reply and wave him on. He inclines his head and leads us to the second floor and the jewellery there.

“What kind of shit do women like?” I mutter.

“Anything expensive,” Ryder snaps.

“Like fuck. You think Rox cares how much we spend? She would probably just throw it back in our faces and cross those little arms and put on the cute face and be like ‘I don’t need your bribes, asshole,’” I mock, and his mouth drops at my girl voice.

“That was strangely accurate and a little scary. Fine, what shall we get her?” He throws his hands in the air.

“You, server guy, what should we get a woman who doesn’t give a fuck about money or riches and is rocker-like?”

He ponders that for a moment. “Ah, I have some things that may work.”

“Any in a snake?” Ryder queries.

The man doesn’t even blink at the strange request. “Right this way.”

He leads us to a small sitting area and then disappears. Leaning back in my chair, I look around at all the sparkling jewels around us. “Shit, I remember coming to places like this with Dad so he could show off his new trophy wife.”

Ryder grunts, but I carry on, “I always hated it and the women, all they cared about was money. Yet we ended up with those types of women…well, except now with Roxxane. She really is different. Do you think it’s because she genuinely doesn’t know how much money we have?”

“I don’t think it would matter. She was brought up on nothing, came from nothing, and she has worked for everything she has. I believe Rox likes to earn her way. She wouldn’t be intimidated here, but she would also insist on paying herself.”

I nod. He’s right, he always is. He has a good read on people. “Did you ever think this is where we would end up?”

He glances at me then, his face cold, but I know better. My brother has the world on his shoulders, always did. Even back then, protecting me from our old man, it made him sharp, cold, and angry. “No, I thought we would either be dead or still with the bastard.”

I nod solemnly. “You did what you had to, brother.”

He looks away for a moment, watching the comings and goings of people. “I know.” He goes quiet. “Do I remind you of him sometimes?”

I debate his question. “Yes, but you have something he never did.”

“What’s that?” he inquires, looking at me.

“Me.” I smirk. “He had no one to drag him back down, to stop him before he went too far. You have his hunger, his smarts, and yes, his anger. But you also have a family that genuinely cares for you. We are all a bit messed up, but we know how to keep each other sane. You never have to worry about being him, I would never let you. I would kill you first,” I vow, and he smiles, a genuine one, and I can almost see him as a kid, when he used to smile like that all the time before my dad beat it from him.

Just then, the man returns and arranges the jewellery before us. We pick the ones we like, not bothering to look at the prices. He promises they will be boxed and waiting for us and then leads us to the clothing area.

We sit for a while as he shows them off and coordinates outfits from what we like. Roxy might not enjoy being spoiled, only because I have a feeling no one ever has, but she has no choice anymore. I’ve decided we are keeping her, and that means I get to spoil her whenever I want, and she has no option but to deal with it.

She can make it up to me, show me how appreciative she is in the new underwear sets we bought her, ’cause holy hell, are they hot. I can just imagine them propping up her tits, covering her tatted skin.

Fuck, what an inappropriate time to be hard. Shifting, I rearrange myself and slide my card to the man to pay for it all. “Car out front,” I answer, when he asks where to take it.

Slipping my shades from my coat and sliding them onto my face, I follow Tony and Sam outside, watching as they quickly load up the car. “We should get her a car, a fast one, she would love it.”

Ryder snorts. “What part of ‘she’s our prisoner’ don’t you get?”

I look over at him then, grinning. “We both know that’s a lie. From the very first moment we laid eyes on her, she was more than a prisoner.”

“She doesn’t need a car. We’ll drive her anywhere she wants,” he snaps.

I nod. “Just a thought, brother, might make her feel more free. Don’t get her one yet, though, let her realise she’s beyond lost in love with us first, and she’ll never leave.”

“Now you’re acting crazy, she will never love us. We are too twisted for that, she wants us, sure, but she’d never love us,” he scoffs.

“That’s where you’re wrong, big brother. You might be the brains of the operation, but you are wrong this time.” I wink before climbing into the car.

He grumbles and follows after me. We drive uptown, taking the long routes to see if anyone tries anything. “Still nothing, we can’t keep driving around, it looks suspicious,” Ryder snaps, banging on the wheel. “I really thought he would take the shot with both of us here.”

I tap my chin as I think, my eyes locked out the window. “Pull up here and pretend you’re on a call. It’s an empty area and the buildings block him from getting a shot. He would have to get close, providing a good opportunity to grab him.”

“How do you even know he’s waiting?” he snaps.

“Think, Ry. I know you got laid, but stop letting your dick run the show. He’s here, he disappointed them once, and now he’s desperate to make it up to them. That makes him sloppy, and it works for us.”

He nods and takes a deep breath. “I don’t like that he was gunning for you guys. It’s making me angry, which is never good.”

I nod. “I know, brother. You don’t care when they come for you, but us? It hits your buttons. We have your back. We’ve got this.”

He pulls into the alley like I suggested, and we wave Tony off a bit so he thinks he stands a chance, and then we wait. Ryder pretends to be on his phone, and I lean my head back, feigning being asleep, even though my eyes are cracked and my hand is on my gun, waiting.

Come on, you bastard.

The minutes drag on. Maybe I was wrong. Fuck, we need him, we need to hit the Triad and find out what he knows. Not to mention Diesel is itching to hunt the bastard down, and that would come with a body count spread across the city. No, we need to find him and hand him over to D to have some fun.

Then we’ll take the bastards down who tried to harm our family.

We tried to play nice, we tried to be respectful, and this is how they repay us? Nah, it’s their death warrants they signed. We will destroy them, brick by brick. It’s Ryder’s specialty. I already know he’s working on how to crumble every one of their businesses and bank accounts to take their money. Then, he will start on their families. Only after that, when they are terrified and alone, will he turn his eyes to them.

He’s a brutal bastard, the best at what he does.

Protecting those he loves.

Even when we were kids, he was the same, always the most serious. Fuck, he even used to wear suits even then. He never got a real childhood. No, he became what my dad wanted him to, to ensure I was never in the man’s path. He did everything our father asked, even dirtying his hands.

I remember the night he first killed someone, he was thirteen, I was eleven. He came home, and there was something different about him. He was scared, not of Dad like usual, but of himself. He had blood on his hands and sat scrubbing at it, tears rolling down his cheeks. He told me what happened, not the full truth of course. I learned later he did it to protect me, that Dad had played on his love for me like the bastard he was. He had threatened Ryder, told him if he didn’t kill the man then he would make me do it.

He didn’t want me to stain my soul, so he did it. Even though it broke something in him, he did it. I held him as he cried. That was the last night I ever saw him cry or show weakness to this date. He told me he was scared that he wasn’t horrified, that it felt right…that he was a monster like my father.

I promised I would never let him be. I will keep that promise. He gave up his childhood, his soul, for me. I would do anything for him. He doesn’t even realise that Roxxane, as he calls her, is a part of that. He needs a weakness, someone he can share the world with, who can help him with his burden, or he’s going to burn out.

And I can’t lose him.

I’ll protect the crying boy with the blood on his hands and she will be the key.

It started in my head the very first day after the way he looked at her like she was a challenge, a puzzle he couldn’t figure out, and she wasn’t scared of him like everyone else. She met him head-on, just as stubborn, just as angry at the world. Roxy will save him.

She will save us all.

And we will damn her.

I should care, but I can’t seem to. Not when I get to keep her and my brother.

My eyes catch on something farther down the alley, a movement so slight, I wouldn’t have seen it if I wasn’t looking. “Twelve o’clock,” I murmur, hardly moving my lips.

“Yes,” Ryder snaps, still pretending to be on the phone.

The shadow moves along the wall and takes up residence behind a crate. I thumb out a quick text to Tony without looking, eyes on the silhouette. He fires, and we lurch forward as the car starts. Idiot, the fucking glass is bulletproof.

He tries to run, knowing we spotted him, but Tony blocks the alley at the other end, and then we’re on him. Rushing from the car and leaping across the hood, I tap his shoulder, and when he turns, I punch him in the face. He doesn’t go down though, he tries to hit me with his gun, but Ryder grabs him from behind and starts to choke him out, so I pluck his firearm from his hand and pistol-whip him across his temple.

He slumps in Ryder’s arms, who lets him drop to the ground. “See, brother? Easy.” I laugh.

Tony and Sam grab the man and drag him back to their car as we head to ours. “Diesel will be happy.” Ryder grins. “And we’ll get the information we need. They fucked with the wrong people.”

“Vipers, brother. Even snakes fear other snakes,” I agree.