Breaker (Unmasked #3)

55. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Viper

One Week Ago, November, Age 32

O ur father’s impending arrival hangs over us like a black cloud. Heavy. Dark. Ominous.

My fingers curl around my mask in my hand, absently tugging at the material. We’re here because we failed as much as we succeed. Sure, we got Delilah on our side, but we did more than he asked. And less too.

I lean back in the chair, stretching my legs out, wondering how the fuck we’ve ended up here. What began as a mission to collect intel morphed over the years into an obsession. None of us suspected when we first sat in the park that day, how our lives would slowly begin to revolve around our enemies two daughters.

Though none of us should be surprised. Least of all Father.

The fact that he kept us secluded, trained us to be a unit, provided just enough affection to keep us leashed and following his every command, then instructed us to follow two women for four years is laughable. What did he expect? Of course we’d care. Of course we’d become fixated on them, risking the entire mission to have them for ourselves.

For all of us, because that’s what we do.

We are a unit. A team. What one does, we all do.

And we all wanted the woman we were eventually told to take, train, and ruin. We wanted Cora too. That was a problem Reaper fixed. He took her. But when it came time to follow through with Fallon’s orders, none of us could do it. Ruining them, training them, harming them would be like ripping each other apart. We’ve already lost so much.

It was time we earned something beautiful.

We’re about to lose that too.

“Where is she?” Reaper barks out, storming into the library, pulling his mask over his head as he approaches. He stops in front of me, leaning down to snatch my mask from my hands and toss it at my face. His oh-so-sweet way of telling me to put it on.

Fallon, not Father is coming so we need to be in uniform.

“Which one?” I pull my mask on, not liking the tense energy coming off Reap.

He glares at me, then stalks to the window looking out like Fallon will suddenly appear before he’s ready.

He hates it when father visits. He always gets tense, nearly coming apart at the seams whenever Father is here. This house has become out sanctuary, our place to rest. Our home. Something we’ve never had before.

Every time fallon steps foot through the door, he invades it like a virus, tainting our safe place.

“Where the fuck is Striker?” he asks, so irritated that my back straightens. I’m already miserable, guilt eating at my gut like flies, that Reaper’s dark mood sets my teeth on edge.

I know why Fallon’s coming and it’s not to make us suffer for defying him. Or maybe it is. We kept Cora, refusing to respond to his message after he told us to prep her for the return. Instead, we fucked her and promised to protect her.

Fucking idiots.

We all know how Fallon works.

He’s coming here to take her back and there’s not a fucking thing we can do to stop him.

“What’s going on?” Cora’s sweet voice cuts through my thoughts, and my attention snaps to her in the doorway.

I swear my heart stops. Her red hair, and her adorable face framed with fiery ringlets, escaping her low ponytail have filled my dreams for years. She’s wearing a pretty creamy dress with little blue flowers that makes me want to cut it away from her body. Breaker loves those dresses, and I have to admit they flatter her tiny, sexy little body that looks, feels, tastes, like she was put on this planet to drive me absolutely wild. The urge to pick her up and hide her away makes my hand twitch. When her emerald green eyes meet mine, I can’t help but take in a deep breath, all the tension leaving as those eyes move over me.

Her eyes aren’t just green. Like her they’re vibrant, the color a rich hue that can only be found in my homeland. She’s just as lush, just as breathtaking as the landscape of my childhood.

Fallon thinks he removed it from me, but try as he might, he’ll never take away the memories. He may have stripped Breaker of his heritage, refusing to acknowledge it just as he did with Striker, who can barely function if his past breaks through to his present, but those rolling hills, the deep colors of damp earth and tall grass are imbedded in my soul. Scotland lives in my bones.

“There you are,” Reaper growls, jarring me from my thoughts.

He marches forward, shoulder’s bunched, his entire demeanor as sharp as a blade. The fact she doesn’t shrink back from him curls my lip into a smile. I stifle my chuckle by biting my cheek. So tiny, but that sass in her, fuck, it makes my cock hard.

Just being near her seems to calm Reaper, some that stiff feral energy leaving him the closer he gets. Reaper pulls a glove off and holds out his hand, motioning for her to come to him as he walks toward her. “Come here, Baby Girl.”

She smirks, gliding toward him, hips swaying. My chock thickens. I notice Reap’s eyes seem to glimmer. He’s not unaffected, making me wonder why he doesn’t touch her. This woman is pure lust, a sexy little vixen, designed to lure in victims and she’s ensnared us all.

When Cora reaches Reaper, he grips her at the nape of her neck and tugs her to him. Her palms land flat on his chest, a burst of air leaving her from his slight roughness.

My eyes widen. I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to seeing Reaper so… affectionate .

She’s so fucking small next to him. Just this tiny ball of fire, not even reaching his shoulders. When his thumb skates over her bottom lip, she melts a little, her body molding to his. Cora was wary of Reaper from the start but after last night, she seems to have tossed any apprehension now that she knows he is as possessive with her as he is with Delilah.

Hooking a finger under her chin, he tilts her head back to look in her eyes. “I am going to tell you something and it’s going to upset you.”

“So serious.” She smirks, biting her lip. “Does this upsetting news come with another spanking, big boy?”

His hand drops as he looks up at the ceiling like he’s searching for his patience, but I’d bet this entire estate he’s smiling.

I know the feeling. This woman tests in the best possible way.

Reaper grips her by the waist and lifts, her legs instantly wrapping around his hips. Even she looks surprised, her eyes growing wide, hands gripping his thick shoulders. He carries her toward the sofa beside my chair where she was fucked last night. He sets her down, dropping to a crouch in front of her.

There’s a flickering thought, stained slightly green with envy that springs to life, seeing him touch her so often and with so much ease. Growing up, outside of Hunter, no one was allowed to touch Reap. He’d shrink away or become outright volatile if we even looked like we may get close enough to brush his flesh.

Not that I blame him. Reaper’s scars aren’t just etched into his skin. They’ve been engraved into his bones.

“You know, you’re a little scary, Reaper,” Cora says bringing my thoughts back to her. “All broody with those intense black eyes.” She winks. “It’s pretty sexy.”

Reaper brushes the back of his fingers along her cheek. “And you’re beautiful, my Baby Girl.” He removes his other glove and casts me a glance. I catch the darkened dread filling those black eyes.

I think… Fuck. I think my heart isn’t going to survive this.

“Our father will be here soon,” Reaper says, setting his gloves on the sofa next to her. Cora watches his hands, a little transfixed as she skates a finger over his knuckle.

The one dedicated to Hunter.

“Father,” she says slowly, tasting the word, but then she nods like she’s just slotted a puzzle piece into place. “Why’s he coming here?”

“You know why, Baby Girl,” Reaper says, swiping a finger over her cheek.

Her brows knit. “He’s the one who gives you orders. Your father.” Those perfectly freckled cheeks flush red and I can almost see the anger, the disappointment, the absolute heartbreak as is cinches in her chest. I want to look away, it’s so unbearable to witness, but I force myself to look. We promised her.

Even if I had to send you away, I’d always come for you.

That’s what Reaper promised. That’s what we promised.

“He’s coming for me,” Cora says. A tear leaks down her cheek. My hands fist. I want to ruin something, but the problem is we’re causing those tears. “You promised me.”

Reaper’s head drops.

“You told me I wasn’t going back.” She wipes angrily at her cheek. Like her tears are offensive. A betrayal to her brave face.

Reaper brings his eyes back to her. “I don’t have a choice.”

Her face pinches with anger. “You told me if you’d had to let me go, you’d get me. Was that a lie too?”

He shakes his head, his shoulders drooping in defeat. But then it’s like something in him shifts. It shifts the air in of the room, turning it thick, heavy with every promise we made last night.

Reaper brings his hand up to his jaw. Hooks his thumb under the fabric of his mask. He rips it off and her eyes blow wide in shock.

Mine do too. I grip the armrests of my chair frozen in place.

“Holy sweet Jesus,” Cora breathes. Her green eyes dart over to me.

Yeah. I know.

“Listen to me, Baby Girl,” Reaper says, making her look back at him. He cups her jaw, and I swear I can feel from here how her body eases into his gentle touch. Just like she does for me. “I need you to be brave for me, okay?”

Cora nods slightly, but I think she’d agree to anything right now considering the way she’s looking at him.

Reap licks his lips and her eyes fall to his mouth. Her lips part. “I need someone on the inside. Someone strong. Someone I can trust.”

She nods again, eyes darting between his. Onyx on emerald. Dark against vibrant light.

“Do you understand?” His thumb traces her bottom lip. “I don’t want to let you go, but I have to.”

“Why?” she whispers, her body tensing again, snapping back to clarity. Another tear slips out.

Reaper swipes it away. “Can you be brave for me? Can you just trust me?”

“But, I don’t want to go back to him.” Her chin quivers. My heart cracks, my mind splintering at the sight of her pain. “You know what he’ll do to me if I go back.”

Reaper grips her shoulders. “You do not let him touch you. Do you understand me?”

More tears slip out, but our sweet girl nods. “Okay.”

“Do everything you’re told, and things will be okay,” he says, hands dropping to grasp hers. “Rune is not to touch you. No one is ever allowed to touch you ever again. You are our girl.” He brushes her fingers against his lips as a sob wracks her entire body. “You are my Baby Girl, do you understand?”

Cora’s entire face crumbles like my heart. I lean forward to grip her knee squeezing. She looks my way.

“Say it,” I tell her, desperate for her to understand.

“I’m yours.”

“If he touches you, you do everything in your power to hurt him,” Reaper says, his features contorting, agony written in every hard line. “You kick. You scream. You hurt him. You fight for yourself. Even if you have to kill him.“ Reaper cups her jaw and leans in, placing a light kiss to her lips. “I promise, it will be okay. We will come for you. We will not let you go. Your ours.”

When she bursts into tears, throwing her arms around his neck, I bolt from my seat needing to do something to stop this searing pain lancing through every atom. Her fear, her pain, her fucking bravery, makes me feel so small. I’ve been faced with so many terrible things in my life, things I’ve never shared with anyone, but seeing her this terrified and trying to be strong shadows the demons I’ve faced. Cora knows what it feels like to be used. Beaten. That gut wrenching feeling of having hands on you that you never consented to. To be told your worth was between your legs and every vile thing done to your body was of your own making.

“Cora.” I snatch her away from Reaper and drag her close, my need to have her near me, hear me, making me restless. “We will come for you. I promise on my life. We will come for you.”

Her green eyes, those eyes that feel so much like home meet mine. “You promise?”

“I promise,” Reaper and I say at the same time.

I kiss her forehead. Cora swipes at her cheeks. Straightens her back. Our little warrior, preparing herself for battle. I pat her back side, letting her go.

Reaper takes her hand and kisses her fingers again. “Wait in the parlor. Father will be here soon. When he arrives, do everything he commands and do not say a word.”

A slow, deep intake of air and she walks from the room without looking back.

Pulling his mask back over his head, he turns my way. When Cora has left the room, Reaper reaches between my legs and grips my balls, squeezing just hard enough that I clench my teeth and put my hands up, surrendering.

“Fuck, man,” I hiss.

“Do not breathe a word about this,” Reaper whispers. “Not a fucking word to anyone what I said. Not Breaker. Not Striker. No one.”

Okay, I hiss as he squeezes my sac tighter. I nod my head, the pain mixing with that fucked up erotic zing, curling it up with pleasure. “Fuck man. Let me go before you have a bigger problem on your hands.”

Reaper releases me and steps back, still glaring with those black eyes that seem to eat the light in the room when he’s pissed. I glance over my shoulder, making sure Cora can’t hear us.

“Why didn’t you tell her?” I ask adjusting myself. “Why we have to send her back?”

“Because then she won’t fucking do anything about it,” Reaper grates, lifting his chin toward the doorway. “If she goes, thinking we’re going to rescue her and stop this marriage, then she won’t fight it herself. We need her to find a way to stop this because we can’t.”

I search his eyes. All I see is determination. Anger. Passion turing his eyes somehow darker. “You’re a manipulative asshole, you know that right?”

“It’s my greatest quality,” he says, backing away.

“What about Rune?” I dread swirls in my gut. The thought of him putting his lecherous hands on our girl makes me want to hop on Breaker’s bike and slice them off and feed them to him.

Reaper swipes a hand over his mask, adjusting it at his neck. “I’ve already told Harlow to stay with her at all times.”

“But he doesn’t know ,“ I hiss. Fuck, we didn’t know. Not really.

“I told him to watch her around him,” Reaper says, “That will keep him alert.”

“Maybe we should just tell him and let him kill Rune,” I say, really, really liking the way that thought tastes leaving my lips. “Problem solved.”

“Leaving us with more problems.” Reaper grips my shoulder, looking me in the eyes. That determined gaze is fiery now, smoldering with a lethal threat. “Viper,” Reaper says, voice low. Deadly. “Do not fucking tell Breaker I am planning to get our girl. Do you understand?”

Shit.

Breaker.

He’s going to snap. He’s going to….

My eyes drop to Reaper’s hand on my shoulder. I shake my head slowly as the realization of what Reaper wants, unfolds.

Asshole. Reaper is a manipulative asshole.

But he’s also a possessive, loyal to a fault, and loves us more than anything. He’s literally risked his life on more than one occasion to save me. Save us.

“I won’t tell him.” Now I’m the one shoving him away. My throat tightens, my pulse thumping erratically. I place a hand to my neck like this will stop the pain that’s forming, knowing that the next few weeks are going to be hard. Lonely. I’ve never been away from him for more than a few days.

We need to get Delilah ready. Fast. Before this all blows up in Reaper’s face.

Breaker is the only one Fallon will forgive. Any and all ramifications for breaking his order will land on Reaper. And just like he has our entire lives, Reaper will take the punishment meant for us, even if it leaves him with more scars.