Free Viper by Jessica Coulter Smith

Chapter One
     
    The gun was cool against his palm, his heartbeat steady and sure, as he trained the weapon on the Prospect in front of him. He watched the man sweat, the pulse pounding in his throat, as he held his hands up in surrender, pants still around his ankles. Viper wasn’t satisfied. He didn’t just want him to be afraid; he wanted him to taste death. The Loup Garous M.C. members, Ashton Grove chapter, weren’t saints, but they also believed in a swift justice when it came to rapists.
    The girl cowered in the corner, her clothes torn from her body, bruises forming on her arms and thighs. The fingermarks on her pale skin were enough to set off Viper all over again. He’d walked into the boardroom, intending to find a little quiet time, but instead had walked in on a nightmare. The girl was the responsibility of the Loup Garous— his responsibility—until they could figure out what to do with her. She’d been won in a hand of poker, but she knew too much to release her, and yet they weren’t sure she fit in with the club.
    Viper held out his free hand, motioning for her to come closer. “I won’t hurt you, Scarlet.”
    She moved swiftly, keeping an eye on the Prospect, as she zipped around him and hurried to Viper’s side. Scarlet stood beside him, her gaze fastened on her would-be rapist. Her slight frame trembled, but Viper doubted it was from the cold. He knew a little of her story and knew she’d been abused at the hands of the Red Devils MC, the bastards he’d won her from in a lucky hand of poker. He was glad he’d gotten her away from the outlaw scum, but he hadn’t a clue what to do with her. He wasn’t ready to settle down with an old lady, and after the trauma she’d suffered, she’d never make it as a party girl for the club.
    “What do you want me to do with him?” Viper asked.
    Scarlet licked her lips, and with a shaky hand, she reached for the gun. Curious, Viper let her have it. The worst she could do was kill the Prospect, which was what he’d intended to do anyway. He watched as she leveled the gun at the asshole, but as her finger squeezed the trigger, she dropped her aim, sending three rounds into the jackass’ dick. Viper winced at the justice, but he wasn’t about to stop her. If she wanted to beat the asshole while he was down, Viper would let her. It was the least she deserved.
    Wordlessly, Scarlet handed the gun back to him, staring dispassionately at the Prospect writhing on the ground. The gunfire had brought several of Viper’s brothers into the room, each halting in their tracks when they reached Viper’s side.
    “What the fuck, man?” Scorch said. “You should have just killed the bastard if you were going to shoot his dick off.”
    Viper shrugged. “Wasn’t me.”
    Scorch eyed Scarlet and took a step away from her. Viper fought a smile. She might not realize it, but she’d just earned the respect of every man in the club, and possibly the hatred of every party girl. She now had something they all wanted, something those sluts would never be able to earn.
    “What happened?” Digger asked.
    “I wanted to get away from the party for a while and came in here for a quiet glass of whiskey,” Viper said. “Except I found the Prospect with his pants around his ankles, tearing the clothes off Scarlet.”
    “The broken nose and black eye your doing?” Scorch asked.
    Viper nodded. “I was going to put a bullet in his brain, but Scarlet had other ideas. I have to admit, I like her brand of justice. I don’t think he’s learned his lesson though. Why don’t you boys take him out back and make sure he suffers a little more before he dies? I have little doubt he’ll bleed out.”
    “Consider it done,” Digger said, hauling the Prospect to his feet and shoving him out the door.
    Once they were alone, Viper turned to Scarlet. She trembled and had folded her arms around her stomach, as if she were trying to hold herself together. He slowly reached for her, not