Page 122 of Tempting Fate

“Who would? That man has been built up like a superhero in my head for so long… it fuckin’ hurts to find out he’s only human after all. Human scum, at that.” Toker pulls a new mobile phone from his back pocket and hands it to me. “Here. This is from Venom. It has the numbers for our burners in it… just for emergencies, mind you. For day-to-day shit, you needa use your normal phone, so things look legit. No contact with your man, no matter how temptin’ it gets. We have Cub to scrub our records, but they might have someone trackin’ ’em in real time.”

Toker’s instructions leave my head in a rush when the door opens and Zeke storms over to me. My breath catches in my throat as I take a step back from him, uncertain why he’s here or what he’s about to say. My cousin softly flips the lock and uses his body to bar the entrance.

“Keep this.” Zeke pulls my hand open, then closes my fingers around my engagement ring. “I know you can’t wear it… it’ll make me feel better knowin’ you have it, anyway.”

I brush my fingertips over the swollen eye Toker gave him. “I’m sorry I said those horrible things.”

“I’m sorry we ambushed you with it. When Hunter overheard Brutus talkin’ about leavin’ shortly, we knew we had to do it now or wait until tomorrow. I didn’t wanna delay gettin’ you somewhere safe, so we went in blind.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not, but it will be.” Capturing the hand holding my ring in his, Zeke lifts my knuckles to his lips. His kiss is soft—fleeting contact that I know will need to sustain me through what’s to come. “Need you to run now, sweet thing… I gotta break some shit before I blow this plan to pieces.”

As Toker grabs my bags and tries to usher me out of the bedroom, I resist.

I press my mouth to the underside of Zeke’s lightly bearded jaw, then his lips before I whisper, “I love you.”

“We’re for-fuckin’-ever, sweet thing… promise you’ll remember that?”

“Promise.”

This time, I allow my cousin to tow me away from Zeke. My feet have scarcely grazed the carpeted hallway when the crashing starts. Something made of glass smashes. Wood is broken. A solid object hits the wall. Then another. And another. Knowing there’s little I can say or do to stop Venom from ruining our room, I decide to do as I was told.

I run.

From Zeke.

From the old ladies’ pity.

From Slash, Toker, and all the people I love.

Straight into the arms of the father who seems intent on betraying us all.

At any cost.

24

VENOM

Two weeks later

“At least pretend you’re enjoyin’ this,” Slash advises, passing me another bottle of beer. “You don’t lock down that restin’ arsehole face, we’re gonna get nowhere with these fuckers.”

“Like you can talk. You’ve been ignorin’ everyone to smile at your phone all night… Bebe must be sendin’ you bulk nudes to get you grinnin’ like that.”

“Have only fucked her once,” he admits. “We’re taking our time, gettin’ to know each other.”

“Good luck with that… hope the blue balls are worth it.”

“They will be.”

When I lean back in my seat to scan the front bar of the clubhouse, I try hard to relax my mouth into some semblance of a smile. With lockdown cancelled without a vote or any real notice after Brutus returned from hiding Lily away from me, the bar is empty of old ladies and kids.

Tonight, it’s party central.

Strippers, cut sluts, drunk bikers… and Brutus.

He’s in his element.

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