Page 130 of Lovely Venom

“I only knew him as Havok.” She shrugs, keeping everything tight and controlled. “I never heard the name Valdrin Sokolov before I met him. Have you heard from Tahiri?”

“Not exactly. But a source Shane paid to watch them told us Noel is holding Valdrin as a prisoner.”

Her eyes widen. “What? Why?”

I shake my head. “Noel suspects he had something to do with your disappearance. That he helped you escape. That makes him a traitor.”

Raina stands up and starts to pace. “God, I didn’t even consider what this would do to Valdrin. That he would get hurt by me refusing to carry out...”

“My death?”

“Basically.” She sits down. “What can I do?”

“You need to call Sokolov. Re-establishcontact. We assume his phone is bugged. Say you needed a few days to yourself. Then set up a meeting with him.”

Nodding, she says, “Okay. But why establish contact if I’m not Levin Berisha’s daughter and I’m not going back to them?”

I wait a beat and take her hand. “Raina, love, we thinkValdrinmight be your father.”

She freezes, searching my face. Then, slowly and calmly, she leans back. “I had a feeling there was something else there. He always seemed so protective. But not in a creepy way, or the way a guard would protect a princess.”

I stroke her bare knee, eyes locked on hers. “What did your mother tell you about your father?”

“My whole life, she said my father was a guy she met on vacation, but he wanted nothing to do with me when he found out she was pregnant.” She scoffs, “Turns out, she was telling the truth in a way. But she spun it to make me think she had no idea who he really was. Her letter clarified this and—”

“What, Venom?”

“She never named him in the letter or on my birth certificate.” She draws a tight fist against her mouth.

“Maybe she didn’t know his name. Or he gave her a fake one,” I explain.

Raina takes that in. “Why would Valdrin lie to me and tell me Levin was my father? Were Levin and Valdrin close? It was hard to tell by the way Valdrin talked about the previouskyre.”

“We don’t know much more than that. Levin Berisha was a cruel animal. But if they all grew up together, I suspect Valdrin had no choice but to work for Levin. You don’t walk away from those brotherhoods.”

Raina’s eyes flick to mine. “You and your brothers are different. I can see plainly how your family is not just builton blood and loyalty but on love. You’re one.”

She repeats our motto and the way she says it, fucks with me. In a good way. Then she stares at me, suggesting it’s the right time for what else I need to do.

“We’reone. Come with me.” Fingers tangled, we walk into the bedroom.

“We have to spend more time in places other than your bed.”

“Tired of grabbing the headboard?” I pick through my jewelry box. “The floor, perhaps? The kitchen counter? My truck bed under the stars?”

“I would love all those, especially that last one. What is that?” She points to my hand.

In my fist is the only shame in my life. The only thing I feel guilty about. “Tonight, Sabine talked about my sister Norah when you mentioned her ring, and she told you that we all wear her jewelry.”

“Uh-huh,” Raina says nervously, staring at my hand.

“This is the earring that I can’t wear.” I open my fingers to show her Norah’s favorite sapphire stud set in rounded platinum. “She’d lost the other one and guarded this one with her life.”

“That is so beautiful.” Raina looks down.

“The blue matched her eyes.”

“Your eyes.” Raina picks it from my hands and steps to the mirror.