The Runaway Viper (Viper #2) (6 page)

***

I feel like I’m caught in a whirlwind. It’s beautiful and breathtaking. I’m just its victim, caught up in this blissful melody. It’s a ride I never want to get off. Jace has been the working man the past two weeks, while I look for potential jobs. So far, all I’ve managed is a trip around Sydney and having a meal prepared nightly for Jace. This is domesticated bliss.

There’s only way to describe how I feel in life now – love drunk.

I’ve been sitting on the dock all evening. Ever since dinner actually. Jace is trying to settle on a place to build a Sydney branch and tonight the bay is so calm, I just wanted to enjoy a little serenity while I wait for Jace to finish a business call.

“
You coming to bed?” Jace calls out, walking down with a bottle of champagne. “Or do you fancy partying?”

“Partying over what?” I ask, my feet still dangling down over the dock. I sit back, my hands going out to support my weight behind me. I lounge back and watch him approach with a bottle of Moet and two glass flutes. It’s a gentle reminder of The Viper Rooms, but it’s also a reminder of my private moments with Jace.

“I just secured a building overlooking the Sydney Opera House!” he declares proudly, and I take no hesitancy to stand up and pounce on him. “Whoa, girl!”

“I’m so happy for you!” I shout excitedly. He is making dreams come true left, right, and
center. He hugs me the best he can with his hands full as I wrap myself around him. I frame his face, kissing him quickly. “Jace Mason taking on Australia.”

He chuckles at me and raises an eyebrow. “It’s a small office space-”

“But it’s a start,” I admonish abruptly, not letting him take the excitement away. “So,” I start, but pause to back away so I can take the glasses from his left hand, “Let’s toast.”

Jace melts into an easy smile and nods. He
unwraps the top of the bottle and pops the cork, allowing it to shoot off into the water. He pours us both a small amount, and we toast to the beginning. I’ve only had a few sips when he takes the flute from me and places our glasses down, only to take my hand, pulling me flush against his body. He places his hands strategically, holding me poised ready for a slow dance.

“Can you hear the music?” he asks me, pointing in the direction of a local party only a few houses away. When I nod, he begins to sway my body with his. “Then let’s have our first slow dance since arriving in Oz.”

“Let’s,” I murmur, my eyes tearing up.

Jace rocks my body on the spot a little. After a few moments, I drop my head upon his shoulder. We rock in the light breeze, the sun settling down. There’s nothing to disturb us, but I can feel the lull of the pacing making me aware of how tired I am today. But I refuse to give up this moment.

“Let’s go to bed,” he tells me, not releasing my hand. “I want to show you the new office first thing in the morning.”

“Sounds good,” I mutter, suddenly exhausted. “Do you know how tiring job hunting is?”

“Then let me carry you,” he remarks, scooping me up.

“We seem to do a lot of this,” I comment teasingly. “
You carrying me around a lot.”

“Like you complain,” Jace smirks and says nothing else. He leaves the champagne behind and carries me toward our house. When we’re inside, he doesn’t put me down to lock the doors, vowing to turn the lights off once I’m in the shower. He only puts me down when we’re in the bedroom.

“I’ll meet you in the shower,” he says, pushing me toward the door, slapping my ass as I obey.

***

I'm awoken to a smash. As my mind awakens I hear the shatter of glass against tiles and I sit up. My body is hardening in trepidation, my cells seizing up in fear. I hit out, smacking Jace’s chest. He mumbles miserably at me, telling me to stop, but the more movement I hear, the more terror is thrust upon me.

“Jace!”
I say through gritted teeth.

“What?” he asks just as I hit out again. "What's wrong?"
Jace's sits up beside me. His voice is heightened with panic now he can see something isn’t quite right.

I slap my palm flat across his lips, silencing him. "
Shh," I whisper, my voice remaining quiet. "I think there's someone downstairs."

He forces my hand away, and we sit in the middle of the bed listening. I’m terrified and I grip onto Jace out of pure fright. When he throws the sheets off himself, I grab at him, but he tells me to be quiet. I close my eyes and open them to see him going to the door of our master bedroom. He opens it gently, only stepping out a few feet to see over the railing. He quickly backtracks into the room, closing the door gently.

“Pack!” he whispers his order at me, and I freeze up. “Joely, don’t sit around, you need to pack! And get dressed. We need to leave.”

As my shock diffuses, I find myself suddenly moving as Jace pulls on yesterday’s clothing again, I mimic him. I run straight for the large closet, hauling out one of our duffel bags and take it to the bed. I don’t care if I forget stuff; I am going to just shove as many of
Jace’s clothes in with mine. I take family photos I have, Jace’s too, and throw in the mix. I’m throwing things in blindly and carelessly. When I’m done, I zip the bag closed and look to Jace.

“Right, I want you to go out onto the balcony, throw the bag out and then follow me downstairs. I’ll make a distraction, so you can get out,” he throws demands at me, orders of clear strategic origin. “I’ll meet you by the stairs for the dock.”

I grab for him. “Jace, don’t,” I warn, not wanting him to go out there and put himself in danger. The thought of him getting hurt sickens me. I’m not sure I could do this life alone anymore. “You can’t leave me.”

“It’s just until we’re both on the boat,” he reminds me, trying to ease my mind.

All I can do is nod. It’s not what I want to do, I want to wake up and realize this was a sick nightmare my subconscious decided to play upon me.  As Jace leaves the bedroom, I follow like a good wife. We creep down the steps and can hear them in the farthest part of the house – one seems to be in the basement garage, while another seems to be tearing apart our entertainment room. Jace gets me to the patio door, the glass already shattered.

“Go,” he whispers. “I just need to get to the study. I’ll get out of here just after you.”

He kisses my forehead, but I grab at his shirt. I pull him close and kiss him as passionately as possible. I want him to remember the ferocity of my love for him, give him my silent plea to follow as quickly as he can. When I hear a loud smash we’re thrown apart, and he forces me onto the glass covered deck. I take one last look at him and flee.

I’m thankful for the short distance between the back deck and our private boat dock.  I run blindly down it, the boat my only goal right now. All while I hear my name being called out, and it’s not
Jace’s voice that’s the culprit. I look behind me and, in that second, I lose my footing and cascade forward heavily. The bag of clothes softens the blow, but my head hits the wooden sides. I clamber back up in fear of being caught and apprehended. I can feel a warmth sliding down my temple, but don’t inspect, I just run for the boat at the end of the dock, hugging the bag close to my chest.

Getting to the edge of the dock, I jump down upon the boat’s deck, tossing the bag aside to get the get the motor started. When it’s on, I do nothing more than sit on the boat, engine now running, and feel the perspiration burst to life all over my body. Jace is nowhere in sight and as I hear glass shatter and my home be torn apart I start to wonder if I should go back.

But I remember his words and grip onto the side of the boat. The feeling of going to help him doesn’t diminish as I see flames burst to life; the kitchen going up almost immediately. I can’t stop the tears that prick to life and begin to fall and I resort to dropping my head into my hands. I feel helpless and vulnerable, and I’m caught in a chokehold between what I should do and what my gut is telling me to do.

“Joely!”

I look up and see Jace running toward me. I watch him run toward me, just as windows blow out of the house. Our perfect home is now ablaze, and my heart is in my throat. I’ve never been happier to see him so unscathed and the look on his face tells me he’s happy to see me here like he ordered. Jumping onto the boat, he wastes no time putting his hands either side of my face, inspecting my grazes and marks. He notices the stream of blood down my face, and I see his eyes widen with panic.

“I tripped, but I’m okay,” I whisper gently, closing my eyes as his thumb traces over my temple below the cut.

“You’re okay?” he asks me as if not hearing my gentle sentence.

I nod. “I’m okay,” I repeat to him, smiling mirthlessly.

With that he nods his own head, calculating our freedom. “Okay,” he murmurs, and starts to look around the boat, the enormity of the moment catching up. Even though we’re hidden well out here, there’s still enough moonlight and light from the fire to make us visible.

“What took you so long?” I scold him. I’m relieved he’s here, but my heart couldn’t take the thought of him being hurt or worse while I sat out here.

“I had to get to the safe. I had to get money for us to be able to get out of here,” he enlightens me, stowing a large wad of money into the bag I carry. “We need to go.”

“Jace,” I start, putting my hand onto his to stop him for the moment. “What happened back there? How were we found?”

Even though he’s not looking at me while he unties us from the dock and pushes out into the bay, his words send my body into overdrive.

“Because Clara’s found us.”

Jace drove the boat further and further away from the inferno that embraced our home. He didn’t look back, didn’t slow the speed he was accelerating us forward with, and didn’t speak much until we made it to a new harbor.

I didn’t speak, didn’t utter a sound, as I followed his chosen moves. I was his puppet right up until the point he had us safely locked away behind a hotel door. Once I was sitting on the large bed, the shock filtered away. It thawed out and drizzled from my system and left me a panicked shell of myself.

Clara had found us. I don’t know how, but my insecurities flared up like torturous little beasts telling me it was Eli or Josh. That it could be Josh’s wife or Jace’s brother. One of them was a snitch – just like Brianna was. The rational side of my brain did fight back; telling me I was insane and needed to draw a breath before casting accusatory thoughts around.

But it didn’t matter what I was thinking because of one thing –
Clara had found us
.

“We’ll move again in the morning.”
Jace’s voice barely penetrates the hazy edge of my head, but I know he is erratically pacing for one reason. He’s trying to form a game plan, trying to save us, save me
again
. “We’ll have to get out of the country.”

I look up at him as he speaks. We’re across the world, and we’re still no safer, so how can he think getting out of the country will work? Getting out of the country didn’t work in the first place. I feel a wave of nausea take over, both a mixture of the boat journey to safety and the fact that the devil is hot on our tail.

Closing my eyes, I dare myself to speak. “How can you be so sure getting out of the country is the best plan?” I open them and can see him think hard the moment I utter the question. “We’ve barely stopped running for almost eight months now, and it didn’t work. I’m not sure I can continue running now, Jace.”

“Joely,” he utters and drops before me, keeping my attention on him. “I will find out what happened, and I will make it safe for you again.”

“But you can’t guarantee it’ll stay that way, and that scares me,” I tell him honestly. “I can see it in your eyes just how much you want to give me a home and a future - how close we were - but we can’t secure it, Jace. Neither of us can.” I sigh, sitting up to place my hands firmly over my face to rub away the angst tightening the muscles. “And this is my fault.” I allow my hands to fall, and I can see Jace’s horrified look. It’s the same one he always gives me when I play the blame game. “If I’d had stayed there, we’d be nearly another year down.”

“And you’d have been miserable,” he admonishes and stands back to full height. “Do you think it was easy to see you dread every day you had work? Do you think it was easy to keep my mouth shut when she treated you like some prop?
Because it fucking wasn’t, Joely. Every single day I had you in my arms, I used to calculate the ways I could just steal you away. There were so many times I used to sit and watch you play the piano, and it’d be the only times I saw you so carefree. I used to wonder how I could allow you to stay there with her.” He’s pacing now, leaving heavily padded steps across the length of the room. “Then I had my opportunity, and I took it, and I will not let her take that from me easily.” He stops mid-step, his eyes hitting me hard. “Not now. Not ever.”

My eyes are watering as I hear the conviction lace upon every note in his tone. How can a man love me so fiercely that he will fight with every
fiber of his being to make sure I am never lost from his life? What did I do to deserve a love with such ferocity it burns in every piece of his being? And how do I ever prove that I love him so whole-heartedly back that I would walk to the ends of the earth to make sure he was never hurt or worse?

“Don’t doubt that if I ever see that woman again, she will know exactly my stance on her business approach,” Jace threatens and the putrid hatred in his tone is hard hitting. I feel myself wince at the sound of it. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten the threat she placed against me. She’ll know what I’m capable of one day. I don’t know when, but if she has it her way, she’ll make it sooner rather than later.”

“Stop it,” I whisper, not wanting to dream up confrontations between Jace and Clara. “I just want to get settled. I don’t want to think about Clara right now.”

“Okay,” he settles back, his tone resuming
its usually casualness.  “I had a plan if this happened.”

My head shoots back up to look at him again. I’m shocked; astounded he had actually planned for this. But my thudding heart tells me I’m not going to like what he has planned.

“We’re going to Florida,” he shoots the comment at me point blank.

“We can’t,” I counter almost immediately, shaking my head fiercely.

“We have to,” he defies me, fighting back. “Delvine won’t look there. She would have before, but she knows the issue you have with going home. If you hadn’t gone back there in the start, why would you now?”

“She’s found us, that’ll be the first place she’ll look now,” I state, trying to take the edge off my own voice.

“Then we hide out in Florida until the heat dies a little.”

I can see I’m going to lose this battle, so I need to find some resolution with his decision. I’m now abject to the idea, but I don’t want my viper life near my family life. I worry what I’ll be
perceived as if my parents were to ever know how degraded I forced myself to become. I fear Clara digging her claws in my family to try to hit out at me, like she did with Jace. However, I know they aren’t the leverage she’s after, Clara wants to hurt me hard, and she knows Jace is the only way to make me weak.

“Okay.” I exhale and raise my gaze to him. “Let’s go to Florida.”

“Okay,” he agrees, giving me a small smile. “It’ll be fine, but try and sleep,” he gently commands me. “I’m going to arrange a flight to get us out of here as soon as possible.”

I nod and listen. We’re going to Florida, and we’re still running from Clara. I should be excited, but the thought of bringing her closer to my family isn’t one that offers positivity.

As I curl up and close my eyes, praying my theories are just irrational.

***

I awake to Jace speaking to someone. My heart rate accelerates when I notice I’m in a new place, but calms when I see the pilot who brought us to Australia in the first place. I didn’t even wake when Jace brought me to the plane. I had no idea we were even leaving first thing in the morning, but it seems we’re going to be preparing to take off.

I don’t want to go to Florida for fear of rejection, but I know Jace is right. It’ll be a safe place for me just until he knows our next move. I curl up into my seat more, dragging the light blanket over my body and close my eyes. If I can waste as much of the flight sleeping, I’ll be a happy girl.

When I awake to turbulence, I look out of the window to see where we are - we're still over vast amounts of ocean, so I can only hope Florida is still a stretch away. I look over to Jace and see him caught up in the view from his window. I study his features. He looks so burdened. He wears his every emotion unshielded for all to see, and it pains me to see such ferocity line his handsome face.

Pushing myself up in my seat, I see I have his attention. I give him a small smile, showing my pleasure in seeing him. He takes the moment to lean forward, and I can see this is no time for playful
behavior and moments of seduction to make it in the mile high club.

"You know I'll do anything for you?" he asks, and immediately there's a mass growing in my throat, forcing a difficulty with my own words. "I'd take on anyone to keep you safe. I'd do whatever in my power to stop you ever being hurt."

I nod, leaning forward to take his hands in my mine. "Same as I would for you."

"I know," he murmurs to me. His voice is small, tortured. "I'm going to take you to your parents and then travel to New York." He’s barely finishing his sentence before I'm shaking my head at him. "I need to go and see how she found us. I need to go to the club. I need-"

"You need to stay with me," I scold him, releasing his hands as panic sparks within me. "You need to stay as far away from her as possible."

"I need to tell her how it's going to be. It's time I fought
Delvine instead of taking it like some subordinate club member who knows no better."

I have no other option but to gulp deeply against the lump forming in my throat. It’s been such a long time since I have felt this amount of tension surround us and I never wanted to familiarize myself with that feeling so soon after losing it.

“Lee,” Jace’s tone breaks the tense air. “You need to just keep that positive thinking going. I know how hard it is, but staying back in Australia was dangerous.”

“But look what we’ve had to leave behind,” I fret tensely.
“Again.”

“I know,” he speaks so solemnly. “I know and I hate it, but I promised to keep you safe. I’ve held my end of that bargain for months, I won’t break it now. They have to get through me to get to you now, Joely. That’s final.”

“Since when did we turn into a masochistic couple?” I ask him, a small smile toying at the corner of my lips. “We’re both dangerous if we’re out to stake claim and protect one another.”

“Not dangerous. Trouble maybe, but definitely not dangerous.” He gets up, approaching me from across the small space of the cabin. His hands come out to prop him up as he leans over him, a hand on either side of my chair. “I’d say we’re a power couple if we’re both in with the same idea.”

I lift my arm up, allowing my hand to curl around the base of his head. “No, we are dangerous. We’re volatile and daring. We’re really dangerous.” He lowers slightly as I speak, our eyes still caught upon one another. “We’re waiting to explode. Two headstrong people, both fighting for the same thing cannot end well.”

“Oh, trust me, it can end wonderfully,” Jace whispers to me. “I don’t care what happens, but when I’m done, we’re going to be laughing.”

The thought has me grinning hard. “Don’t make me wait for that.”

“I won’t. I promise,” he vows and kisses me. “We’re nearing our stopover, but we’ll be well on our way to Florida soon after.” He tentatively pushes away a piece of my dishevelled hair. “Why don’t you sleep some more, Lee?”

I nod and listen obediently again. If I sleep I’m less likely to work myself into a frenzy.

***

It’s been a mad rush. I woke up expecting us to meet our stopover, but Jace told me he had just left me sleeping between flights. I don’t even remember it. For all I know, we could have continued flying. I think months of running are finally catching up to me, and my body is falling victim.

When we landed, it was another hectic dash. Jace wanted nothing more than a shower, clean clothes, and a bed, and I had to agree. It sounded like blessed heaven. No more than an hour later we were holed up in a crummy motel keeping a low profile. I remember this place, it’s only a few minutes from my parents’ home, and it has been inducing new waves of nerves every single time I inhale. How can I be calm when my two lives are about to collide?

I contemplate heading into the bathroom to join Jace in the shower. The idea of the showery heat makes my muscles yearn for relaxation almost immediately, but when I hear the water shut off I know I’ve stuck around in my own head too long. The trauma of the home invasion had stolen my body of all emotion and strength. I need revival, and I missed my one shot of it. I should have taken the bait when Jace offered it.

I had declined his offer and remained seated on the end of the bed in just my panties and a top. Ever since I’ve just been so secluded to the thoughts going on in my brain, I have neglected the reality of my life.

As my hand brushes across the bed covers, I cringe at how starchy and stiff they feel. It thrusts the reality upon me. I've been adorned in silk sheets, Egyptian cotton, a multitude of riches and comforts. The life Clara and, subsequently Jace, gave me had spoiled me. I never thought I'd be the girl who wore designer brands for a living or knew designers like the back of my hand, but I had to. I had to know the expense of being a Viper Girl. I had to know how much money it took to maintain that lifestyle. Likewise, I had to learn the lifestyle Jace was used to. I went from rags to riches, and it has all been handed to me. I took it for granted and found a comfort zone in it.

Now I feel spoilt and too aware of how I’ve changed in the four and a half years since Dylan’s death.

“What’s got you looking distant?” Jace comes out from the bathroom, covered only by a towel.

I look up and smile guiltily. “When did I become such a snob?” I ask him, keeping my tone light. I’m arguing with my inner self, appalled at my own mental path. “The bedding in this place is going to have us itching all night.” I train my eyes upon him and sigh. “When did that become one of my biggest problems?”

Jace laughs at my problem, and my faces pulls into a frown.

“If cheap sheets are your biggest problem right now, Lee, I am going to sleep a happy, happy man tonight.” He watches me, seeing my shoulders slump slightly under his teasing tone. “Maybe you could inspect the quality of towels too,” he queries, waltzing over to me. He pulls the front off from his body, holding out to me. “They’re rather stiff.”