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He sighs again, leaning back into his seat. “It wasn’t my plan. But once you’ve experienced what we have, I couldn’t sit back and do nothing. So, I tapped into a system where you’ll find only the best mercenaries, combat veterans, snipers, assassins—you name it. I inquired a lot, and through word of mouth. I was trained by a mercenary group for two years. Learning any and everything to protect myself. Because if there was going to be a devil lurking in the shadows, then it was going to be me.” He turns his head to me, his expression stoic. “I was part of a mission with a team that was fulfilling an order. They were looking for a group of men that owed another man money. Not my type of business, but I’m glad I went. Those men did dirty work and were also robbing people. Our team found them at a home, where you could say their money grew on trees. The parents were already murdered when we arrived; we got to the rest of the men and killed them. But there was a young girl there, hiding in the closet.” His jaw tightens, settling his gaze back at the table. “She had watched the entire slaughter happen.”
My eyes roam to the front where Mal resides. My heart sank like a ship. Although she’s already told me this, it’s hard hearing again from a different perspective. I don’t need to say her name to know who he’s referring to.
“I could’ve left. Left her there to fend for herself.” He plucks an invisible lint off his shirt as he sucks in a deep, exhausting breath, and then releases it in a loud blow. “I didn’t. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself. After that day, I left the group, funded my corporation, built the school, went a hunt to recruit the best of the best who had been wronged by the system and the rest is history.”
I glance down for a moment, then back at him. “You started because of Mal,” I say in a near whisper.
“Yes and no.” He clasps his fingers. “I didn’t give a fuck about anything else anymore, but the only thing that made me feel alive was when I took her from that disgusting scene. It was like my body woke up from this dark slumber that had no peace. At that moment, I knew I had a purpose. And that was it.” He leans his head back. “So, I promised her she’d never have to feel weak like she once did. And I’ve kept that promise,” he rasps, staring off into space with his jaw tightening and teeth grinding together.
“That's why she's so protective of you. You gave her another reason to live. Just like you,” I speak softly, clasping his hand.
I understand it's a hard topic for him, and the more he speaks about himself, the more I want to know about him. I also realize some part of it will give me the dose to be more comfortable with it all. It’s courageous to put yourself out there in the deepest depths of the hell's lair to help save others.
He turns to face me, hooding his dimmed honey eyes at me. “Now you. What's wrong?”
I don’t move my hand from his, instead I leave it there and shift in my seat facing him, raising my leg to bend it on the seat. Once I’m comfortable, I sigh before speaking.
“I-I’ve never done this. I was always a part of missions that involved getting rid of some corrupt politicians or ruthless criminals. Some...” An inexplicable knot fills my throat. “Good? Maybe? I don't know.” I look at him when I say it, expecting him to narrow at me, but his expression stays the same. Calm.
I continue, “What I’m saying is, it was never something truly life changing. Something that was...” My voice trails off, trying to find the right word. He doesn’t try to finish my sentence, he lets me have the floor without becoming irritated at my inability to figure it out.
My eyes diverted back to his shoulder then back at him, finally getting the word. “Something that was bigger than myself.”
He sits upright waiting for me to continue. My heart pounds with a vicarious pace, that part of me screaming to stop being weak.
My chin dips. “I’m not meant for this world,yourworld. What if I do something wrong or forget about a kid, and they’re left behind? Or Victor is there and I...” I stop myself as the panic festers. “I kill and move on. I’ve never saved a soul before.”
He cups my chin with his finger, raising it to face him. I don’t look him in the eyes, I feel shame for rambling off.
“Look at me.”
I hesitate before gazing at him.
“You saved Mal, yeah?” His eyes soften. “You saved me even when you hated me.”
I cover my hand over his wrist. “That's different.”
“It’s not. A multitude of things can go wrong, but that'll never happen. You have me.” He grazes the pad of his thumb over my chin. “Don’t doubt yourself, little snake. You're ruthless, but not as cold-hearted as you think you are. I’ve seen you in action. I've saw how you handled yourself with Victor. You could’ve said fuck it and killed him. But you didn’t.” My shoulders sag as I glance down again. He nudges my chin again to keep my eyes on him. “You have no idea the capabilities that you possess, the fucking willpower.” His fingers glide to my nape, stroking it tenderly.
I tilt my head toward his touch, relishing his hands on me. “Will it be enough to rescue twenty kids?”
“All you need is the strength and resources to safely get the children back home. And you have that,wehave that. I have no doubt in you, so why do you?” He grazes his fingers across my brow, pushing my bang back.
“I don’t know,” I say truthfully. A blockage over my chest begins to open like a sore wound. I think back to the general, back to POPOV.
My father trained me for one reason and one reason only. Initially, to get revenge and kill Ronan. Nothing else mattered. Until he passed away, and I think a part of me finally felt...free. But I was so deep into the rabbit hole that I used my skills and military experience to get me further and become stronger. To be recruited by POPOV and answer tohisways.
I lick over my lips. “I’ve always been used as a weapon to put an end to cruelty and hold no remorse as I was trained to do. That’s why I’m Venom.”
He roams over my face as his hands twist down through my curly strands. He gazes into my eyes with a wicked stare. “You’re not only Venom. You’re Anita. And this is where you belong. You’re meant to be here. By my side fighting this war with me,”he tells me in Portuguese.
He grips the back of my neck, and his eyes darken. “Because what’s a snake without her poison?”
I gaze at him as stars burst from my eyes and my chest opens like a rose blooming as I take in his encouragement. I put aside everything I told Wicked earlier, how I felt this morning, and I allow him to tug me closer until his warm lips touch mine. My body melts instantly, a sigh of relief escaping me like a cast being torn off.
His kiss quiets the voices in my head, pulling me back into his own black hole, the place I feel the most at peace—safe.
A throbbing heat pools between my thighs like a dam breaking open, begging to be closed, and filled with something strong, thick, lengthy.