Page 83 of The Viper's Wife

“A hot pink couch with seating for three?”

Her joke tempers my anger a little. “No. Your debt. I spoke to my accountant—Billy. He’s gonna track down all the debt in your name and take care of it.”

She blinks several times, her lips parting in shock. Mymuscles relax, my breathing returning to normal. She’s with me now. She’s taken care of.

“Nico, what? Why would you do that?” Her voice pitches high. She takes a step back like a wary deer. “I can’t pay you back—I can’t afford that.”

I grab her wrist before she can run.

I’ve never seen her look so terrified and angry before.

That family of hers did a fucking number on her.

I slide a hand up her shoulder and rub my thumb against the slender slope under her jaw. She’s stiff, but she doesn’t pull away. Her chest heaves like she’s on the cusp of a panic attack.

Even now, she’s beautiful—like a painting. I wonder if she’d sit for one. We could decorate my entire apartment with her portraits.

“You’re not paying me back. It’s a gift,” I tell her.

Her eyelashes flicker. “No. It’s a gift with strings.”

“Not this one.”

Her lower lip quivers. “Why would you do this?” All of the fight drains from her voice. She sounds small. Broken.

It crushes me that she really doesn’t seem to understand.

And it triggers alarm when I recognize exactly why I’ve done this for her.

I’m in over my head, and what’s worse—there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

“Because I want to take care of you,” I say.

Tears fill her eyes, and she bursts forward to bury her face against my shoulder. I squeeze her tight, soaking in the feeling of her body—at how well we fit together.

To anyone else, we look like a normal couple hugging. Only a single, quiet sniffle, muffled by my coat, gives away that she’s crying.

When she finally pulls away, she swipes at her eyes andturns from me. “I’m going to pay you back,” she says in a strained voice.

If it makes her feel better, she can believe that.

“Sure,” I tell her.

“So.” She takes a shuddering breath. “Heath said they don’t carry any hot pink couches, but they do have a blush pink one.”

I take her hand in mine. “Lead the way.”

16

VALERIA

Back at the apartment,my phone pings with the first notification while Nico goes to shower.

I stare at the screen in shock.

A payment has been made.

And while I watch, two more emails come in, announcing life-changing deposits with multiple zeros.