knocked her hand away. “It’s an Amarone and goes perfectly with the pasta. And it will help you relax. You seem a bit tense.”
Tense? Was he crazy? Maybe that was it. He was crazy. How else could he possibly think she would want to be with him after what he’d done? Or was he so far gone that he was unable to see that what he was doing was wrong? If Arianne hadn’t texted earlier to say that Doreen’s mother was even less fit to be a parent than Viper—and that was saying something—Evie might have reconsidered her plan to let Viper know he had a son.
Evie scrunched the napkin in her fist under the table as Mario poured the wine. Goddamn it. Why hadn’t Arianne called? She couldn’t pull off this charade for much longer, and it was all she could do not to grab her knife, stab Viper and race upstairs to …
“You wouldn’t even make it across the kitchen.” Viper pried her fingers off the knife she hadn’t even realized she was holding. “I know what you want. And you know what I want. I’m sure we can come to some arrangement that satisfies us both.” He laced his fingers through hers, and brought her hand to his lips, seemingly oblivious to Mario standing in the doorway. “And if not, I’ll just take you, although I would much prefer things to be the way they were when you wanted to be with me.”
“You severed that connection when you murdered Bill, and everything you have done since then has ensured it will never come back.” Her voice rose in pitch, and she wrenched her hand away.
“You don’t fucking get it.” Viper pounded his fist on the table, upsetting the plate of antipasto, and rattling the glasses. “The things you hold in such contempt I do for my club. I have to keep order. I have to keep control. Bill stole from us. If I didn’t send out a message, then every gang, every criminal, every MC would start circling. This is a world where only the strongest survive. And if you think the Sinners are not exactly the same, then you are totally and utterly naive.” He barked the last words and Evie stood so quickly, her chair crashed to the floor.
“They aren’t the same as the Jacks,” she countered. “They have honor and integrity. They have a creed and a code, and despite what they do, they have a sense of moral decency. Everyone in the club volunteered to help rescue T-Rex, despite the risks. Nothing was more important to them. They refused to leave a man behind. And yet, when your old lady was in the Sinner dungeon, you didn’t give a damn.”
“She knew better than to let herself get caught,” he spat out.
“And that’s where you’re different. No one said that about T-Rex. They honored him for his sacrifice. They admired him. And they mourn him.”
“Jagger killed my son.” Viper’s voice rose to a shout. “He turned my daughter against me. The Sinners kidnapped Doreen, burnt down Mario’s restaurant, and blew up my clubhouse without even considering that someone might be inside.” He stood and rounded the table, coming at her so fast she was forced to back away. “Where is the honor in that?”
“You killed your son.” She hit the wall and put out a hand to stop him. “Arianne told me what happened. You kidnapped her. You were trying to kill her and Jeff intervened. And you alienated her. You beat her and gave her to your VP when she was sixteen.”
“I would never have killed her,” he growled. “She was bait for Jagger. And when he showed up, I tried to kill him, but she was in the way.” He grabbed Evie’s wrists and pinned them to the wall on either side of her shoulders. “Don’t tell me there is any difference between the Jacks and the Sinners. And don’t use that as a justification for your decision to fuck a Sinner when you belong to me. What I do as president of the club has nothing to do with who I am as a man, and that’s who you wanted. Marcus. Not Viper. And that’s who wants you.” He bent down to kiss her and Evie turned her head so his lips landed on her cheek.
“You can’t have me. Not the way you want. Even when you want to be Marcus, Viper comes through. You want to kiss me and yet