Page 178 of Making Choices

“That’s enough chit chat.” Joseph takes hold of Venom’s upper arm in a tight grip. “We need to get you settled in your new home before nightfall.”

A single boom reverberates off the walls.

Handgun drawn within seconds, I swing around in the direction it came as Venom falls to the floor. Hades steps forward with his rifle in his hands. His steps are halting, however, his glee is unfaltering.

Heart beating too fast, I realise what happened.

Joseph Kingsley is dead.

I’m numb with shock, my brain an iceberg that makes the next ten minutes speed by in double time. Venom tries to protect his father as the cops arrest him while I do my best to keep Cherub from getting caught in the middle of the commotion when she refuses to leave Venom’s side. Zip-tied and tossed onto his stomach, he tries to calm her down in the fading moments before they’re forced to separate. They kiss hard, then frantic with worry, my best friend gives me a piercing stare that demands I remove my duchess from the scene.

I’m caught in two minds as I capture her around the waist and sling her over my shoulder.

The final look I exchange with Venom is filled with promise and challenge.

And more than a little hatred.

Our truce is tentative.

Our sole goal is to protect the woman he wants me to marry.

“No! No!” Cherub screams as I carry her away from Venom. “Let me go with him.” My pulse stutters at the pain in her voice. “Please, Slash… I can’t… I won’t… he needs me.”

As the broken doors swing shut behind Venom and the cops that are practically carrying him out of the clubhouse, I force myself back into action.

“Take her to the chapel,” my dad tells me.

Thankful for a clear order to break through the indecision that’s plaguing me, I carry Cherub, kicking and screaming, toward the chapel. I settle her on the table and battle to contain her when she tries to push past me. The struggle she mounts is fierce, the kick she aims at my shin is my breaking point, and I cuff her throat with my hand without making a conscious decision to do so.

It works.

My duchess physically submits instantly, even as she whimpers, “He needs me.”

“You can’t go with him.” Dropping down to my haunches, I maintain my grip on her neck. My duchess peers at me with helplessness dripping from every pore. In silence, despite the chaos raging around us, we stare at each other, both of us breathing hard as I attempt one last time to make her see the reality of the situation we’re in. “It’s not safe.”

“But he... he—” Cherub hiccups, then her fight evaporates, and she bursts into another flood of tears. “This is my fault. He’s trying to s-save me. I don’t want him to save me… I just… want… him.” Another sob. “I’m sorry, Carter.” A hiccup and a whimper erupt from her trembling lips as I try to decide whether I like her tendency to call me by my legal name whenever she’s overwhelmed. “I don’t mean to hurt you.”

The fact she’s worried about my feelings right now should buoy me.

It doesn’t.

It’s another indication that Venom is winning.

“I’m fine, duchess.”

“You’re not. Zeke hit you. Bebe—”

“Is a fuckin’ Maddison. She was planted by them, and probably Brutus, to infiltrate the club.”

“No,” Cherub exclaims. She frowns. “But she’s—”

“Slash!” Cassius’ rebuke is stern as he interrupts his niece. “Needa know basis only.”

Ignoring him, I keep my focus on my duchess.

Face scrunched up, she scrutinises me with an eerie level of disconnect.

It chills the blood in my veins.

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