Page 42 of Venom's Sting
Her tone is sad as she explains, “I once had a man. He was everything to me, friend, lover, husband, and father of my child. I was naïve back then, so he teach me everything I need to knowto live in his world. He teach me self-defense, how to shoot straight, tread lightly so I am not seen or heard, and how to track animals and my enemy. He was a man of the land, and I was a city girl fresh off the plane from Paris. I learned his ways, lived side-by-side with him for many years before our son was born. We taught our son together until…”
Her words drift off. I swallow thickly, fully aware that she sees herself in me. That’s why she told Ven to train me. I thought she just meant martial arts. Now, I’m starting to think she means everything. There’s more to this story, Ven hasn’t told me much about his upbringing and something tells me it has a sad ending.
“Can I ask what happened to him, your husband? Ven hasn’t told me anything about his father.”
She shifts gears and speeds up to the point where I’m uncomfortable with how fast she’s going. There’s a long silence, but she finally answers my question. “His truck was hit by a tractor-trailer, the driver was drunk. Both he and my son were injured. He was strong, my Barron. He lasted for five days before he died but the injuries were too bad. My Serp was only a child, a boy of eight. He had to go through so many surgeries and so much pain.”
Oh God, that’s why he doesn’t drink. It’s because a drunk driver killed his father. It makes so much sense. “I’m really sorry you lost the love of your life. I can’t imagine what that must have been like.”
Barely glancing at me, she keeps her eyes on the road. “It was something I do not wish on my worst enemy. I only wish my Serp could have known his father as a man. But I see him, and even without his father’s influence he grows so similar.”
When I don’t immediately respond, the tone of her voice lifts and she gives her head a little shake. “But life goes on and so must the living. I take care of what is mine, and what is dear to those I love. My Serp cares deeply for you, when he realized what you do, he call me. I came for you, for us women must stick together during times of strife,n’est-ce pas?” One hand lands on her hip and I see she’s got a gun three times the size of mine holstered there.
I’m seeing Melusine in a new light. When I’d met her at the restaurant, she had seemed so sweet and innocent, but it’s clear that Ven’s mom is one kickass woman. “Thank you for coming out today. I don’t know what we’re going to find at the old mill. I hope my mom is alone. I think she is because I saw my grandfather and all his men headed for the Legion’s clubhouse, and there was no one at the farmhouse.”
“Then all is well. You are safe because you are with me. Unfortunately, your grandfather and his men will rue the day they attacked the Savage Legion MC, for they have deal with those kinds of men many times before.”
The truth of her words calms my fears. I hope and pray that it all goes down just like she thinks it will.
Chapter 15
Ven
Usually I’m always on the fringes of a battle, sighting the enemy and monitoring their movements with my drone. However drones are no good here when it’s a straight up ambush. I’m handy with a sniper rifle, so Siege puts me in a tree facing the clubhouse. Rage is also good with a rifle but he’s on the roof along with a couple more brothers with prior military experience.
I can tell Siege isn’t playing around because he’s got Edmund out in the open where a stray bullet can end his life. Me? I’m still not convinced that Rufus Grayson even cares enough about his meth cooking son to trade for him. Rufus is disordered in his thinking and extremely unpredictable. There’s a high risk that he might put a bullet in Edmund’s brain, load up, and leave. I don’t trust this old man, not at all.
And that brings my thinking around to Amy. Siege and Rigs are holding out hope that the old man is bringing Carol to trade for Edmund. I tend to agree that this is a possibility, one we can’t afford to pass up. Amy on the other hand, clearly thinks her grandfather is going to leave her mother behind and come here with the intention of having some kind of shootout. If that’s true, the old man is in for a rude awakening. Members of the Legion don’t die easy. We’re more than a match even for organized gangs. I can’t imagine a lone rancher and whatever men he can rustle up are going to be much of a challenge.
That’s why I called my mother when I saw where Amy was headed. She’s the only competent fighter I know who isn’talready involved in this standoff with Amy’s grandfather. If the woman I’ve sworn to protect is hellbent on searching that farm, I want her to have back up. My maman is all about family, so of course she jumped at the chance to cover Amy’s back.
We wait for what seems like forever for those trucks to come barreling up the road and into our parking lot. My earpiece crackles and I hear Siege yell. “They’re on foot and they’re surrounding us. Look to the woods.”
I swing my sniper rifle towards the outer perimeter of our property and sure enough, these bastards are silently sneaking up on us from every direction.
I can hear Rigs’ voice through my earpiece, “Wait until they cross over onto our property, then drop them.”
Siege reminds us, “Kneecap them if you can. We can’t interrogate them if they’re dead.”
To be honest, this is my least favorite part of this plan. I don’t love killing, but kneecapping these bastards will not keep them from shooting us. So, when the first one crosses over into our property, I call it. “First one’s mine,” I say over the encrypted coms.
I aim for his right hand first because he’s carrying a weapon. Then immediately aim for his legs. He’s down in seconds, rolling around, trying to stop the blood from leaking out of his body. Of course that’s more difficult when you’ve only got one good hand left.
Several more step onto our property and we drop them one at a time. Finally, a pickup truck pulls up with a driver and a single passenger. I look through my scope to see who it is. I see Big Joestep out from the driver’s seat and Rufus get out of the passenger seat. I move around the tree and keep inspecting the vehicle. Something has me worried and I don’t exactly know what it is.
Luckily, I can hear the exchange through my earpiece. Rufus shouts at Siege, “Why the fuck are you shooting at my men?”
“Why are they crawling up on our clubhouse like fucking spiders?” Siege throws back.
“I have a right to bring protection to a meetup,” Rufus snarls.
“You clearly came to make a trade, but you don’t seem to have the requested trade item. Technically, you shouldn’t even be on our property if you aren’t here to make good on the offer.”
“I wanted to make sure my son was alive and in good health.”
Siege is standing behind Edmund who has his hands tied behind his back. Our club president kicks the back of his legs, bringing him to his knees. “You can see for yourself that he’s just fine and dandy. Now, where’s Carol Grayson?”
“Why the hell would I care where that ungrateful bitch of a daughter is?” Rufus says.