Page 75 of Lovely Venom

“Uh-huh,” she says with glassy eyes.

“You know what to do when you get home?” I lean in to her with my forehead against hers.

“I do. Now let me go.” She’s strong and defiant to the end.

And soaked with my cum.

She’s not someone who wants to be coddled, but I can’t deny I want an invite to go home with her. Her stubbornness will make it more fun to break her. Break her down until she’s a mess of want and need. Desperate for a fix that only my cock can provide.

Raina pulls out of my grip, and I let her go. I’ve gone too far.

She turns to me, all narrowed-eyed and thunderous. “My briefcase. Please.”

“How’s the shoulder?” I let my armor slip, showing that I actually care about this woman.

“Aching. But intact. Thanks to you.”

I’m about to hand over the briefcase when Blade and Jett strut into the alley. Nero, a new guard driving their Denali, backs up behind them to take care of the bodies.

“That was fast,” I say to Blade.

“I tracked your phone.” He gives Raina a polite nod.

“I’m getting her a taxi. I’ll be right back.” I don’t wait for a response from Blade or an objection from Raina.

On the street, I pull her in. “Can I take you home?”

She bristles, “Then you’ll know where I live.”

“I know where you live.” I hail a taxi as it comes down the street.

It pulls over, and I motion for the guy to roll down the passenger window. Handing him my credit card to swipe, I say, “Take her wherever she wants to go. And double the fare for your tip, mate.”

“Thanks, man,” he says and then hands the card back to me.

“You’re really letting me walk away?” Gripping the briefcase against her chest, she looks at her phone. “Rhys texted me the code.”

“You can open it right now and finish me off.” I fall back. “Do your job for a coward who won’t face me himself.”

She blinks in surprise. “Nah. Then I have to finish off this taxi driver, too. And your three guards. I’m tired.”

With a wry smile, I open the car door for her. “Go home, Venom, before I throw you in the back of that Denali and fuck you again so hard you won’t be able to walk out of here.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Raina

Aweek later, I plan to make my second attempt on Connor’s life. I’ve used the past seven days to study his movements to better understand him. Beyond the man I slept with.

In a rental car, I watch the street entrance to the torture chamber. Nearly every night, Rhys and those guards I met in the alley bring one, two, sometimes three men there. Most walk in on their own. Some are dragged.

The block is so deserted that they get away with it.

But no one leaves. Not through that same entrance anyway. Or in one piece.

The bone saw.

I shudder, but remind myself that those are bad people. People who deserve to be hurt and tortured. People who have sinned against Quinlan Empire.