Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 79462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Both of them just watch impassively, making no move to intervene.
Lyon's hand shoots out, clamping around my throat.
I gasp for air as his fingers tighten, cutting off my oxygen.
Black spots dance in my vision.
This is it.
He's actually going to kill me this time.
"I should snap your pretty little neck for leaving me," Lyon snarls, his face a twisted mask of rage. "Teach you what happens when you disrespect me like that."
I scrabble uselessly at his wrist, trying to break his hold, but it's futile.
He's too strong.
As my lungs scream for air, I feel myself starting to fade...
Suddenly, a metallic click pierces the blood roaring in my ears.
Lyon stiffens, his grip slackening just slightly.
"Let her go. Now." Viper's voice is pure steel, sharp and unforgiving as a knife's edge. "Before I redecorate the walls with your fucking brains."
Lyon barks out a harsh laugh, but I can feel his hand trembling against my skin. "You wouldn't dare. This place belongs to the Crimson Reapers."
"Does it look like I give a shit?" The cold barrel of a gun presses against Lyon's temple, digging cruelly into his flesh.
Viper's blue eyes are twin chips of ice. "I said. Let. Her. Go."
For a taut, endless moment, no one moves.
No one even breathes.
Finally, with a muttered curse, Lyon releases me.
I slump against the wall, gasping and coughing, my lungs burning as blessed air rushes in.
Viper never wavers, keeping his pistol trained on Lyon.
When he speaks again, his words drip with lethal promise. "If you ever lay a fucking hand on her again, I will end you. Slowly. And trust me..."
His smile is downright feral. "It'll be the last goddamn thing you ever do."
The VIP room door bursts open with a resounding bang, startling us all.
In the doorway stands a towering man with dark hair and cruel eyes, his leather cut emblazoned with the Crimson Reapers' emblem.
It’s Lyon's older brother and President of the club, Jaxon.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Jaxon's gaze flicks from Viper to Lyon, a single brow arched high. "Mind telling me why you've got a gun to my baby bro's head, Viper?"
Viper doesn't even blink. "Your 'baby bro' needs to learn some fucking manners. Thought I'd give him a little lesson in that respect."
Jaxon chuckles, but there's no humor in it. "Is that right?"
He strolls into the room, his very presence seeming to suck the air out. "How 'bout we all just take a breath, yeah? I'm sure we can come to an...arrangement."
My skin prickles with unease.
I don't like the calculating gleam in Jaxon's eye.
This man is used to getting what he wants, by any means necessary.
Viper's jaw clenches, a muscle ticking in his cheek.
But slowly, reluctantly, he lowers his gun. "Fine. Let's talk."
"That's more like it." Jaxon settles into a plush armchair, looking for all the world like a king on his throne. "So, Viper. Besides the obvious..." His gaze slides meaningfully to me. "Why are you darkening my doorstep?"
Viper's lips curve in a razor-sharp smirk. "Funny you should ask. See, I've been thinking about a career change. Figured it's time I became a respectable businessman."
Lyon scoffs. "You? Respectable? That's fucking rich."
"Shut it, Lyon," Jaxon snaps, never taking his eyes off Viper. "Go on."
"I want to buy Satin Dreams."
The bald statement hangs in the air.
My jaw drops.
He wants to...what?
Lyon leaps to his feet, face mottled with fury. "Are you out of your goddamn mind? I'm not selling!"
Jaxon silences him with a look. "Last I checked, little brother, Satin Dreams belongs to the club. To me. So how 'bout you let the grown-ups talk, yeah?"
As Lyon splutters in impotent rage, my mind reels.
Jaxon steeples his fingers, pinning Viper with a penetrating stare. "An interesting proposition. But I gotta ask...what's in it for me?"
Viper leans back, all coiled intensity. "I'll sweeten the pot. Got some old contacts, from back in the day. Heavy hitters. I'll set up some meetings, arrange some deals. Plus..." His gaze drifts to Lyon, and there's murder in his eyes. "I want his head on a fucking platter."
Fear lances through me, cold and sharp.
Lyon's face drains of color.
But Jaxon just laughs, rich and dark. "You don't ask for much, do you Viper?" He considers for a long moment, the tension stretching taut. "All right. You got yourself a deal, but my baby bro is my problem, not yours."
Relief crashes over me in a wave.
It's really happening.
Satin Dreams will now shift ownership to Viper, and that means I'll never have to answer to Lyon again.
I'm free of him.
But Viper's next words snatch the breath from my lungs.
"And Lyon? If you so much as look at Iris again, if you even think about laying a finger on her..." He leans in close, his voice a lethal purr. "Even your big brother won't be able to protect you. I'll rip you apart with my bare fucking hands."