Page 174 of Sweet Venom

And all he got in return was being shot on my behalf.

Just like Mama said, I’m bound to hurt everyone who gets close.

“Do you mind if I keep this?” Lawrence strokes the bloodied bracelet.

“Not at all.”

“Can you also do me a favor and not discuss any of this with outsiders?” He pauses. “I believe it’ll help me pin down the culprit who put a bullet in my son.”

“Absolutely,” I say.

“Okay,” Dahlia says, sounding suspicious. “But can you tell Vi why her mother had your father’s important bracelet?”

“I need to verify a few things first. I’ll ask for your cooperation in due time.” His gaze flits to Jude, who’s still trying to fight Marcus as a couple of men pull them apart. “From the little research I’ve managed to gather, you were Julian’s test subject?”

My spine jerks. Julian is the last person I want to talk about right now, but I still nod. “Yes.”

His lips purse, but he sets them back in a disinterested line.

I’m about to ask what that has to do with anything, but the door of the operating room area slides open.

Everyone comes to a halt, as if no air exists and we can no longer breathe.

Marcus, who was fighting off the men, grows still. Jude and Kane rush to the doctor, who removes his cap, revealing damp gray hair.

“How is he?” Jude asks, his voice thick with a tension that matches the knot in my stomach.

The doctor looks at Lawrence, who stops behind the other two and bows his head. “We tried our best, but he lost a lot of blood. My condolences, sir.”

I fall onto the floor, bringing Dahlia with me as she tries to keep me upright. I choke on my tears, my fingers digging into my sister’s arm as a wave of nausea rolls through me.

“What the fuck!” Jude grabs the doctor by the collar. “What do you mean by condolences? Go in there and bring him the fuck back!”

“You’re lying.” Marcus is breathing harshly, like an injured animal, fighting against the men who are trying to drag him away. “This is a fucking lie!”

His roars reverberate in the space as two more men approach, and they finally escort him out.

Kane tries to pull Jude away from the doctor to no avail. Jude’s rage palpitates like a red cloud, engulfing everyone and everything inside it.

As he’s about to punch the doctor, Kane wraps both arms around his shoulders from behind. “Ground yourself.”

Jude remains still for a moment, and the doctor manages to escape.

“I want to see my son.” Lawrence follows the doctor, his expression unchanged, as if he didn’t just hear the news of his son’s death.

Death.

Death?

A fresh wave of pain squeezes my chest, and I tap it a few times, but it only gets worse.

More painful.

“Fuck no!” Jude screams, shoving Kane aside and pulling out his phone. “I refuse to believe this.”

A faint ripple of tremors passes through his fingers as he puts the phone to his ear and speaks, his voice raw with emotion. “Regis…Father. I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll bewhateverthe fuck you want me to be, and I’ll forgive you foreverythingif you make Julian bring Preston back. You must have something for this in your experimentation centers. We’re a medical empire, so we can do this much… I’m begging you. Dosomething…anything… Just bring back him back.”

Jude’s face pales as he listens to the voice on the other end and then lets his hand fall to his side, the phone cluttering to the ground, the screen smashing into a spider’s web.