Page 11 of Deception (Deranged Drifters MC #22)

Chapter Eleven

Griffin’s Beach Venom

C oming home from a run, Venom stops at the store to pick up flowers for his girl waiting for him at home.

Things between Venom and Marnie Banks have been a dream since they decided to give their relationship a real shot.

Not quick and dirty fucking in the dark corners of the clubhouse, but a real, honest relationship.

In Summerville, Marnie was concerned about what her father would think, and she broke his damn heart when she agreed with Snake that Venom was dirt. He thought he could get over her, but thank God she followed him to show him how wrong she was.

He’d resisted at first, but he almost lost her. The De-Identifier almost killed her for being able to identify him, and it shifted Venom’s entire world. He knew he couldn’t live without her any longer, and he gave in. Put the past in the past.

He walks out of the store with the roses and carefully straps them to his bike.

“William!”

Venom’s head snaps up. There are only a handful of people who know his real name, and his breath disappears when he sees the one person he wishes he never had to see again. “Raena?”

“I looked for you in Summerville, but they said you moved here.”

His stomach drops. She came looking for him. This cannot be good.

“Why were you looking for me?”

“I need your help with something.”

Words I’ve heard too many times throughout my life. “And that would be…?”

She closes the gap between them, and he looks down at her fried, brown hair. Too cheap to go to a salon, she covers her grays with boxed dye from the dollar store, and she wears too much makeup that only emphasizes her wrinkles from age and sun exposure.

Just like Venom, she’s thin, but she has a small pouch around the middle. Her clothes are far too tight for a woman her age, and her slight limp shows the years of abuse have taken their toll on her aging body.

“I need you to take care of my husband.”

“Danny?”

“Oh, no. Danny was two husbands ago. I’m talking about Craig. He’s a son of a bitch, and I need the insurance money.”

Even though they haven’t talked in years, it hurts to know she’s been married twice since he last saw her. “You got married again?”

“Twice. It was going to be three times, but the guy before Craig died in his sleep. Heart attack.”

“And you never thought to reach out to me? You didn’t even want to let your son know?”

She waves a hand in the air. “You’ve been to all the others. I figured that after seven husbands, you wouldn’t really care anymore.”

Danny made husband number seven, which means Craig is lucky number nine. His mother really gets around, doesn’t she?

“I have to get home, so—”

“You owe me. Don’t you dare forget that,” Raena says and pokes him in the chest. A long, fake nail pops off as she jabs his chest. “Damn, these cheap press-on nails.”

“No—”

“I knew when I got knocked up with you that you were trash. Evil. Everyone told me to get rid of you, but I didn’t. Rather than have an abortion, I gave birth and raised you. No matter how terrible you were, I was there.”

You’ll never amount to anything.

You’re dirt. You hear me? Nothing but dirt.

No one will ever love you.

You’re not even a person. You’re a thing. A disgusting thing, and that’s why you can’t find your way. The world would be better off without you. God help us all if you ever decide to procreate.

The things you’ve done can never be forgiven. You’re sick.

It all comes rushing back, and Venom can’t help but feel worthless. “What are you thinking?”

“We’re staying at the hotel. It’s fucking expensive here, but I can get him out back. Just call the room when you’re there, and I’ll make up an excuse. You can take him out there. I’ve got drugs to make it look like a deal gone bad.”

Nodding, he climbs on his bike. “What room number?”

“Four-oh-three.”

“Got it.”

All excitement about coming home disappears as he drives to the house. His mind and his heart conflict with each other, and he reminds himself that his mother is the only family he has left. No matter how terrible of a human being she may be, he loves her. And he wants her to love him.

“You’re home!” Marnie calls when he walks in the front door.

She wears a robe and looks like she just got out of the shower as she smiles at him. If he hadn’t been stopped by his mother, he could have joined her.

“What’s wrong?”

“I have to go do something,” Venom says, his voice flat.

Walking towards him, she reaches up and cups his face. “What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing—”

“I thought we promised not to lie to each other anymore.”

He licks his lips, but he can’t meet her eyes. How does he tell her he’s about to kill a man he doesn’t even know for his mother to collect insurance money? “I have to do something for… my mom.”

Her hands drop, and she steps back like he’s about to bite her. “What do you have to do?”

“She needs me to… She needs me to take care of her husband.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

Glaring at him, she crosses her arms under her chest. “So… he could be completely innocent, and you’re going to go kill him?”

He snorts. “My mother doesn’t fall for nice or upstanding citizen types. He’s done something, but all I know is that she needs the insurance money. And he’s a son of a bitch. Whatever that entails.”

Shaking her head, Marnie moves and blocks the front door with her body. “No.”

It would amuse him if he wasn’t so upset at seeing his mother again. Marnie couldn’t physically stop him from leaving the house. Picking her up and moving her to the side would be easy.

“Marnie—”

“No. You aren’t going to do this. It’s too big of a risk.”

“I know what I’m doing. It’s not that big of a risk. I have yet to get caught.”

“And what if this is the one time you do? You’re really willing to risk your freedom and leave me to go out and kill a man for your mom? Because she needs insurance money?” she says, spitting out the last two words like they disgust her. “Is that really worth more than us?”

“I owe her.”

“For what?”

Venom bites his bottom lip and looks at the ground. “For being here.”

“What?”

Saying the words aloud gut him, but he tells her how he owes his mother for not aborting him. She chose to raise him against everything she felt and what everyone said. He’s trash, but she didn’t throw him away like she could have.

Marnie’s on him in a flash, her arms wrapping around his waist. “Baby, no.”

“But—”

“A child doesn’t owe their parent for being alive. That isn’t something she gets to hang over your head and manipulate you into doing things you shouldn’t.”

His heart races, and the conflict of what he wants to do and should do rises once again. He knows exactly who he is, but he also knows the man he wants to be. The man Marnie believes he can be.

“I told her I would—”

“Fuck her,” she says and pulls back. “Don’t go. Please don’t.”

“I have to.”

Falling to her knees, she looks up at him.

No matter how many times he’s allowed her to take him in her mouth in this position, he always sees the memory of the first time he ever saw her like this.

How she was almost forced to do something she didn’t want to do, and Venom killed the man who did it to her.

“I’m begging you, baby. Don’t do this.”

“Marnie, get up,” he whispers.

Shaking her head, she clasps her hands in front of her, making it even worse for him. “Not unless you tell me you aren’t leaving.”

“She’s expecting me.”

“She’s a big girl. She can figure it out on her own. Would Lex want you to go? Allow you to go?”

“That’s not fair.”

Even though he wishes she’d back down, she refuses. “Call Lex and ask her. She’s your best friend, right? If she says you should do this, I won’t try to stop you.”

Lex will tell him not to go. That it’s a stupid idea, and it’s another arrow to his heart. Another woman he’ll disappoint. “No.”

“Then you have a decision to make.”

“What are you talking about?”

Swallowing, Marnie lets out a shaky breath. “If you walk out that door to risk your freedom, I can’t stay. You don’t owe her anything, William. Please don’t do this to me.”

All he can do is gape as she remains on her knees, hands praying in front of her, as tears stream down her cheeks. She looks him directly in the eyes, and he expects her to break eye contact. To dip her head and break into sobs. Instead, she stares at him with glossy eyes.

“You’d leave me?”

“If you’re willing to risk being taken from me for the rest of our lives, then I don’t have a choice. I love you too much, and I need you to stay here with me. Please, baby, I’m begging you. Pick me. Don’t go. Pick me.”

Picking her up, Venom holds her tightly in his arms, hating her pain as she sobs into his neck. “I pick you. I won’t go. Risking you for her isn’t worth it to me.”

Her lips are on his in a flash, her salty tears touching his tongue. She runs her fingers through his hair before she pulls back and looks into his eyes. “Thank you.”

He carries her into the bedroom, and she unties her robe as he sets her on the bed. Her naked form captivates him, and he hates the weakness he hears in his own voice after he strips down to match her. “You’d really leave me?”

“If you’re willing to risk being taken from me for something you don’t have to do, I don’t have a choice.”

“I owe her—”

“Stop.” Sitting up, Marnie reaches out to touch the jagged scar on his side. She doesn’t even have to look at his skin to know where they are. She’s memorized every scar on his body. “This tells me you don’t owe her a damn thing.”

Closing his eyes, he lets her reach out and touch all the others. The ones she kisses as she makes love to him, as though trying to erase them all. “Those weren’t her.”

“She didn’t stop the men from doing this to you,” she whispers and pulls him to the bed. “I’m grateful she had you, but she never protected you. Instead, she uses your birth as a way to exploit you.”

Venom’s never been great at feeling worthy. In fact, he’s pretty sure he doesn’t deserve anything good in his life, but Marnie found a way to slowly change that.

“You gave me an ultimatum.”

She nods when he opens his eyes to look at her. “I did.”

“You know I’d choose you.”

“I hoped,” she says and climbs onto her knees to wrap her arms around his neck and press her chest against his. “Someone has to protect you. What we have is so important to me, and I need to do whatever it takes to protect it. You. Us.”

She promised she would do everything in her power to protect him in all the ways no one else ever has, but he never really let himself believe there was truth behind the words. No one has ever cared enough before.

“You did this for me.”

“I’ll do anything for you,” she says and kisses his neck. “Whatever it takes to keep you safe, I’ll do it. And if that means forcing you to choose between me or something that can hurt you, I will.”

Holding her close, he focuses on her breathing as his heartbeat thumps loudly in his ears. This feels like one of the most important moments in his life, and he’s scared it’s nothing but a dream. Something he’ll wake up from and realize it was never even close to real.

“I’ll always pray you choose me over anything, William,” Marnie whispers. “And I promise to always choose you, too.”

Not only does she want to protect him, she just promised to choose him. Her father. The opinions of others. It’s the two of them. Forever.

“Thank you,” he whispers.

“Always.” Pulling back, she cups his face and gazes into his eyes with such love that it takes his breath away. “I love you.”

“I fucking love you.”

His lips capture hers, and he all but tackles her on the bed. Moving from her mouth, he kisses every inch of skin he can. She needs to feel as cared for as he feels right now.

“I love you so fucking much.”

Marnie gasps when he claims her clit, and her fingers massage his scalp. Venom isn’t great with words, but he hopes she understands how much she means to him as he makes love to her. Their bodies sharing the sentiments he can’t vocalize with enough passion.

“Fuck,” he mutters after she comes.

“What?”

Climbing up her body, Venom eases into her wet opening and makes her smile. “I bought you roses. Forgot them on the bike.”

“You bought me flowers?”

“I should’ve bought you the whole damn store,” he growls, thrusting deep.

Her giggle turns into a moan, and he mentally makes a note to pick up flowers every time he returns from a run. And actually bring them inside despite whatever distractions may happen. Marnie deserves it and so much more.