Page 36 of Renascence

I plant my fist in his stomach, cutting off the rest of whatever he was going to say. He doubles over, grabbing where the punch landed.

“Call her a bitch again,” I dare him. He finally begins to show some fear, eyes scanning the garage for help. “No one around to help you, Jimmy. Sign the fucking papers so I can get outta here.”

“I’m not signing shit. You won’t get away with this.”

Pulling my riding gloves down, I motion to Razor and Crow, then reach for the pouch in my pocket. They grab James’s arms, restraining him. His eyes follow the zipper on the pouch as I open it, going wide when two hypodermic needles are revealed.

“What’s that?” he asks in a panic, trying to free himself.

“This—” I slowly remove the first needle. “—is the venom from an Inland Taipan.” He begins to struggle, but the guys have him locked down. “Not the most dangerous snake in the world, but certainly the most venomous. It’s said that the venom from one bite is enough to kill a hundred humans.”

Razor whistles, impressed.

“Hear that?” Crow asks. “One bite, a hundred motherfuckers dead.”

They both laugh, the taunting making James turn green. “You can’t… you can’t do this.” He swallows hard, eyes glued to the needle.

“Sign the papers.” I close the hood of the car he was working on, dropping the papers and the pen on top of it.

“My lawyer’s gonna hear about this!”

“Answer’s still no?” I ask, raising a brow. Without hesitation, I stick the needle in his neck. He cries out, thrashing from side to side. “The hyaluronidase enzyme in this venom increases the rate of absorption.” I remove the other needle from my pouch and wave it at James. “Sign the papers and I’ll give you the antivenom. Don’t, and it makes no difference. You’re out of Emily’s life.” I only gave him a microscopic dose, but it’s enough to do some damage.

“Who the hell are you guys?” he demands.

“You’re wasting time, Jimmy,” I singsong. He has about fifteen minutes before symptoms start showing, but I don’t intend to wait that long. I need to hurry this up. “You got about five minutes. It’s gonna start off simple: sweating, headache, vomiting, blurred vision. Then”—I rub my palms together, a maniacal grin in place—“respiratory arrest. That means you stop breathing, by the way. The rest of your body follows, shutting down. You wanna die, Jimmy?”

He eyes the papers, and I dangle the needle once more.

“Fine! I’ll sign the stupid papers!”

I nod to the guys and they release him. He scrambles toward the car, feverishly signing everywhere he should.

“There. Now just give me the antivenom. Please!”

I inspect the document, making sure everything is okay, then turn to James once more. “This is it, you understand? Don’t call her, don’t text, don’t even think about her. I hear you’re harassing her again, I’ll bring more than a needle on my next visit. Got me?”

“Yes, yes!” He nods impatiently. “I can already feel it. Come on!”

“You don’t breathe a word of this to anyone—cops, lawyers, your momma.”

“Yes, yes,” he repeats, hurrying me along.

I jam the needle into his arm, watching him slide to the floor in relief. I pack up my pouch, gather the documents, then leave the asshole behind.

“Hope I don’t see you around, Jimmy.”

In the parking lot, Razor turns to me. “Wanna tell us who Emily is?”

“She the one got your nuts in a vise?” Crow asks.

“Let’s just go.” I ignore their questions, only one thing on my mind—getting back to Emily.

I only need to make one stop first.

CHAPTER 7

***Venom***