Page 155 of Lovely Venom

She can’t speak. Not yet. But her fingers twitch against my chest. And finally, they close around the fabric to keep me close.

That’s enough.

For now.

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

Raina

The world comes back in fragments.

There’s light behind my eyes. There’s beeping in my ears. There’s a sterile chill against my skin. All signs of life.

Mine.

I’m alive.

Barely.

A dull ache pounds in my chest and feels like a bruise under my ribs. I shift and wince in pain. The low groan slips out before I can swallow it.

“She’s waking up,” a voice calls out.

It’s familiar to my ears, but with a raw tone I’ve not heard before.

I blink hard, crap on my eyelashes digging into the rims like sandpaper. I lift my hand to wipe it away, feeling the familiar pull of an IV buried in my hand.

“I got it, baby,” the voice says as a warm cloth cleans my eyes.

A few seconds later, they pop open, and the world sharpens.

The first thing I see is Connor. God, he looks wrecked with bloodshot eyes and dark circles underneath. He’s in a wrinkled shirt from God-knows how long ago, his hair’s a mess, and the hollow dent of his cheeks guts me more than the poison ever did.

What the hell do I look like?

Connor’s hand wraps around mine, warm and tight. “Hey, baby. It’s me. You’re back. You came back to me,” he murmurs, brushing tears from his eyes. “Christ, you scared the shit out of me.”

Before I say anything, I glance to myright, and see Valdrin.

I flinch, startled. But he doesn’t move. Just watches me as I imagine a father would.

I try to speak, but my voice is sand. Cracked. Useless. My throat is sore and burning, which means there was a tube down my throat at one time. “How, how long have I been here?”

Connor leans in, resting his forehead gently against mine. “Seven days, sixteen hours, twenty-three minutes, and...” He checks his phone. “Eleven seconds.”

Oh my God.

“Connor,” I struggle to ask so many questions.

“Take your time, Venom.” He brushes my cheek. “You’re safe. And we’ve got all the time in the world.”

Nodding, I ask, “Noel?”

Connor peers at Valdrin to give me the answer.

“Tahiri is dead,” my father says without emotion. “Good work,Venom.”

He knows I killed him...