Page 59 of Sweet Venom

"You guys have things you need to figure out, and so do I."

"You can stay and figure them out in your room," he says, somewhat incensed. It's the most emotion I've seen from him tonight.

"No, I can't. I need to be away from you." Then, looking around, she adds, "All of you. Each of you demanded something of me, and I fucking gave it, but none of you could do the same for me. I need time to think, and I can't do it here."

"I won't let you leave alone. Someone has to go with you. After your episode tonight I won't risk it. You can hate me all you want. Your hate I can bear. Your death I cannot." Ellis scolds, his tenor leaving no room for debate.

I can't help but feel like his words are coming from a place I don't understand. But if Vi picks up on it, she doesn't let it faze her. Unswayed by his distress, she says, "This is why I have to go."

"I'm not alone. My grandmother's car just arrived. Goodbye, Ellis."

She doesn't address anyone else before she walks out the door, but her parting words say enough. Ellis was the one she refused to hurt, the man she refused to leave, and if she was willing to hurt him, then there was definitely no hope for me.

Chapter 24

The Mastermind

"Seriously, you're just going to let her leave like that? You gave up too easy. You shouldn't have let her go. You should have gone after her." Tatum clenches his jaw in irritation as he paces the room.

Out of the three of us, I suppose right now I look like the best option to chase after our girl. However, I know she's just as pissed at me as she is with them. I'm all too familiar with the horrors that can happen when people are pushed to their limits. Am I every bit as mad as Tate? Hell, yes. I want her to sort through this mess and cool off in her room. I fucking hate that she chose to walk out that door and away from me.

"I won't push her," I say matter-of-factly.

Now is not the time to let my emotions rule over my better sense. If Vivian's heart belongs to me, to us, then she will come back. My anxiety over the matter somewhat ebbs, knowing she will be with her grandmother. Vivian still has unfinished business to attend to, which is why Indie is in town. I'm fairly certain I know what she came to discuss, but what I don't understand is why she has waited until now to present the information to Vivian. Whatever the case might be, it needs to get settled, and right now I have my own issues to address.

"Besides, chasing after her would be futile when we don't have our house in order. How about you tell me from the beginning how you thought you would get away with stealing my money and fucking my girl?"

Tatum stops pacing to share a knowing look with Sayward, and the anger I'm usually able to keep at bay starts to crest. Coming after me and stealing my money is one thing, but hurting Vivian is another.

"Answer me!" I say harshly as I stand up, unable to sit any longer. My change in temper startles Sayward, and Sebastian's eyes meet mine from across the room. He knows I'm pissed. He rocks back on his heels before grabbing some glasses in the kitchen.

"She wasn't part of the plan—at least not in that way," Sayward says in a voice so small I'm not sure I heard it at all.

"What was that?" I ask, making no attempt to hide my ire.

Tatum jumps over the couch and into my space. "Leave her out of this!"

"And how exactly am I supposed to do that when she was a willing participant? Oh, and let's not forget, she's fucking family. You shouldn't have brought her to my doorstep if you didn't want me in her life," I spit as I step into him.

He pushes me and says, "You need to back the fuck up."

I'm just about to start swinging once more when she shoots off the couch. "Stop, just stop. Did we plan on using Vivian? Yes, but only to get to you. Tatum never planned on falling for her, but he did. He loves her, and when he loves, he loves with his whole heart. It's why we didn't make our last hit the night of the anniversary party."

"Ha, I knew it. I knew the two of you had something planned that night. It's why you suddenly showed up together. After all these months of being careful, on that night, it no longer mattered if we saw the two of you together," Sebastian says as if that revelation validates some part of his research. His choice in showing face that night after going MIA now makes sense. The time he spent away was used to stalk Sayward and Tatum.

"Until it did," Tate adds, his eyes briefly meeting mine before looking back to Sebastian.

The night of the party was when we shared Vivian for the first time. I know he told Vivian I was a bad man, and I now know that's because he held me responsible for his parents' accident. However, the night of the party, something changed for him, and I believe it's because he saw my love for her.

"The money was never for Tate anyway. It was for me," Sayward adds.

Her admission has three sets of curious eyes pinned on her, and Tate says, "Say, don't. You don't owe them anything."

She holds up her hand to silence his objections before saying, "I have a lot of medical debt. While I was in the system, the state took care of it, or rather, they took care of it when I had guardians that would actually take me to appointments. Most of the time, my issues went unaddressed because it was too much of a burden on families to take me." She pauses and stands to head toward the kitchen. "Can you pour me one of those?"

Sebastian pours her two fingers of whiskey before grabbing an ice ball from the freezer and passing her a glass. Tate stands at her side, a pillar of strength for a girl who had no one else.

After taking a sip, she continues, "Unlike everyone else, I walked away seemingly unscathed, aside from the nightmares I relive in my sleep from watching my parents die right before my eyes." She pauses once more and pulls in a stuttered breath before taking another long sip from her drink.

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