Page 110 of Poison Touch

She shoves my hand off. The hatred in her eyes could set fire to a forest. “You’re right. I don’t owe you anything. My father is dead because of?—”

“Mine!”

“What?”

“Mine,” I repeat in a softer voice. “My father had your dad killed.” There, I fucking said it. The release should make me feel better, but it doesn’t. “Please sit back down. Please.”

“All for money?”

I shake my head. “Mostly, yeah, but it’s more than that.”

She slowly sits back down. Her ass is barely on the stone bench as if she’s ready to bolt at the first second she gets.

The girl next to me has been through hell. It’s obvious Ninja came to Monarch University with the intention of revenge. Her need to avenge her father has not only gone unfulfilled but has also been pressed and compromised into something more dangerous and formidable than she knows.

“Hey.” I guide her face toward mine using the lightest touch. “Whatever you’re planning, I want in.” As calm as my voice is, it’s the opposite of the storm raging through my body.

She doesn’t deny my accusation that she’s up to something. Her face is still a mask of pain and confusion. Slowly, she shakes her head. “No. It goes against everything you stand for.” Her voice is even. Her tone is ominous.

It makes complete sense that she would believe that.

“I can help,” I insist.

She shakes her head violently. “Not with this, you can’t. And even if you could, I don’t want your help. I don’t trust you.”

“I’m not letting you go that easily.”

She drops her head as she laughs mercilessly. “You can’t let go of something you never had.”

I want to scream at her, shake her until she stops spewing shit about us. I take a deep breath and slowly release it. As calmly as I can, I say, “You can tell that shit to yourself all fucking day, but you know goddam well you were and still are mine.” I know I’m being a controlling and relentless asshole, but I don’t give a fuck. I move closer to her and wrap my arms around her waist. “Let me in, Ninja.”

She slowly shakes her head. “I can’t.”

I lift her chin so she’s looking at me. “You know I’m not fucking going anywhere. And whatever you have planned, I can help. I don’t want this fucked-up life anymore. I want you.”

Relenting, she rests her hand against my chest. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

I smooth my hand over her cheek. She lays her head against my hand. Wetness coats my palm.

“Yes, I do. I want to bring him down just as much as you do. I’ve lived with this shit my entire life, and I’m done.”

When everything comes crashing down, one of us, or both, won’t make it out of this unscathed. But I’ll do everything in my power to keep her safe. I just wished she believed me.

36

KINSLEY

I want to hate Edge.

I need to hate Edge.

Everything would be easier if he hated me. He has no idea what he’s asking. The only problem is that he may be playing me as much as I’m playing him. So our dance isn’t so different. It’s the same song and steps. The only difference is I know how this ends.

My trust, pain, anger, and hate toward Venom have grown into a tsunami of fury. I’m scared of what this rage will do to me, who I will become when I carry out my revenge. The stakes are higher than I thought.

Am I willing to die to avenge my father?

He would never forgive me. But instantly, the answer is clear. He’s worth that risk, and so are all the other fighters who are killed for sport.