Free Stoned (Unlikely Heroes Book 4) by Leslie Georgeson Page B

much those words meant to her.
    Since she had no change of clothes, Karen dressed in her dirty jeans, but her shirt was ruined, since Stoner had popped the buttons off. She put her bra back on, stuffing the pads back in the cups. She searched the small dresser against the wall and pulled out one of his T-shirts, yanking it over her head. Running her fingers through her damp hair, she glanced in the mirror.
    With her face washed clean of makeup and her hair damp from the shower, she looked much younger than forty-six. She might even pass for thirty-five. Would Stoner still find her attractive?
    Unsure where that thought had come from, knowing her insecurities were returning, she jerked away from the mirror.
    It didn’t matter what anyone thought. She was who she was, and she couldn’t change that.
    But she still hoped he found her attractive, that he had meant what he’d said in the note.
    That he still wanted her.
    Karen pulled open the door and stepped out into the hallway. The sound of approaching footsteps had her jerking her head to the right. Viper approached down the hallway, his creepy pink gaze steady on her. She took a step partway back into the room. Paused. Fighting the urge to run back into Stoner’s room and slam the door, she lifted her chin and held her ground. She would not show fear in front of Viper. She would not give him the satisfaction.
    She kept the door ajar at her back.
    Just in case.
    Viper reached her. Karen met his gaze.
    “Going somewhere, Ms. Williams?”
    She nodded. “I was looking for Stoner.”
    He didn’t speak for a long moment, just perused her with that frightening gaze. She tried to ignore the creepy serpent tattoo slithering across his head, the strange body piercings, but was unable to keep from staring. The man really was frightening.
    He cocked his head. “Do I scare you?”
    She let out a snort. “No,” she lied. “You’re just a mean bully who likes to force others to bend to your will. Do I think you’re strange? Yes. Creepy? Yes, again. Scary looking? Yes, most definitely. But you don’t scare me, Mr. Viper. And that bugs you, doesn’t it?”
    He let out a chuckle. “You’re a poor liar, Ms. Williams. It’s a good thing for you that Stoner made you his woman, and even better for you that I don’t poach on other men’s property. If I did, I’d take advantage of this situation and teach you a thing or two about respect.”
    Karen bit back an angry retort. The man was a self-important, ego-inflated, chauvinist, racist pig. Viper wanted her to fight with him so he could force her into submission. But she wouldn’t let that happen. He was never teaching her a thing about “respect,” because she wouldn’t give him the chance.
    “Lucky for you,” he went on softly, “I prefer my women of the pure white race, not dirty South American trash. The only thing you’re good for is whoring.”
    What? Had he called her South American trash? Had he called her a whore?
    Her temper boiled.
    Don’t do it, Karen. It’s what he wants.
    “I’ll have you know…” She lifted her chin high. “A Latino heritage does not make me trash. My parents were kind, wonderful, hard-working people. If you knew my parents, you wouldn’t call them trash. You wouldn’t call me trash. But then, you’re so closed-minded you only see what you want to see, don’t you, Mr. Viper? You only view the world in your warped ‘white power, better-than-everyone-else way.’ You’re so closed-minded that you judge people just by the color of their skin. All that garbage in your head makes you the trash, Mr. Viper. You , not me.”
    A tense silence followed her outburst. The longer the silence stretched, the more worried Karen became. Temper brewed in the man’s creepy eyes. His albino skin was so transparent the blue veins popped out in his neck.
    Oh shit.
    “And I’ll never be your damn whore!” Karen scrambled back into Stoner’s room and slammed the door.
    Viper’s evil laughter