Page 39 of Sweet Venom

Large, imposing, and holding a knife in his hand that shines under the light.

I freeze and so does the man.

“Not so fast.” Jude looks at him with that familiar aloofness.

“Fuck! Just let me go, you sick fucker.”

“I can.” Jude’s gaze slides from the man to me. “But only one of you gets to leave this place alive.”

I take a step back. “Please don’t do that?—”

“Her!” the man screams. “Kill that stupid bitch, not me.”

I swallow, my heart shrinking. So much for helping him.

“What do you think?” Jude asks me, tilting his head to the side. “Will you be a saint and sacrifice your life for this waste of space? You’re into all that despicable business, so it might be tempting.”

I look down, whispering, “Death doesn’t scare me.”

“But I do scare you, and I already decided that you won’t get the easy way out.”

I gasp as Jude grabs the man, who was trying to squeeze past him, turns him around, and looks me in the eye as he slices histhroat open.

9

JUDE

Violet goes into shock.

Her entire body locks, and she stares with wide eyes even as the waste of space’s blood splashes on her face, her glasses, and her clothes.

Her fingers twitched when I held the knife to the man’s throat, but she didn’t move.

Couldn’tmove.

And she’s remained in that frozen state since then.

The same shocked yet unmoving position, wearing the same expression she did the day my mother was killed.

I know because I’ve watched her reaction in the surveillance video Kane gave me a dozen times, trying to figure out how the ‘Do you need help?’ blue umbrella girl just stood still.

I see it again now—that motionless wide-eyed look—as I throw the dead weight aside, not bothering to spare one final glance at his horrified empty eyes, the gash splitting his neck, or the pool of blood on the floor.

Hedoesn’t matter.

None of them do.

Stalking, capturing, and hunting them before taking their miserable lives offers a momentary reprieve from the suffocating darkness.

Only a brief moment of pure air and a feeling of grandiosity that I’m doing right by Mom, but it only lasts for a while.

Then it’s back to nothingness.

And I’m shoved down to where my demons fester and rot, where no one and nothing would be able to extract me from these sick fucking thoughts.

And yet…

As I look at Violet’s body that’s shaking in silence, at her lips that are trembling, her teeth that are chattering, I find myself stuck in a strange pull.