Page 17 of Venus

Me:Mine.

Romano:Safe?

Me:With me.

By definition, that meant she was safe. Fucking prick.

Romano:Call me.

Me:Give me ten.

Romano:You have five.

Motherfucker. If I didn’t need his help on this, I’d tell him I’d call him when Venus woke up, but, a) I did need his help, and b) I wanted to protect Venus’s privacy. I had no idea how close she was to the bastard, but, as much as I wanted to video chat with Venus sleeping soundly against my chest, I couldn’t do that. Not without her permission. Which made me grin. She’d totally give me permission.

I carefully extracted myself, taking care of her nails. Venus mumbled in her sleep, her brow furrowing. She bared her teeth and hissed. Sounded angry. I had to stifle a chuckle. My little shortcake was a tad grumpy if you disturbed her sleep.

Once out of bed, I pulled my pants over my hips and fastened them. The frenzy before had been fucking mind-altering. I hadn’t even managed to get my damn boots off. I went to the bathroom and did my business before brushing my teeth. Took me ten minutes. Might have dragged it out a bit.

I opened the bathroom door slightly so I could keep an eye on Venus. Our relationship was still new. I had no doubt she’d try to make light of it later out of self-preservation. She’d likely try to bail on me at the first opportunity. I glanced in the mirror and a deep sense of satisfaction filled me. Venus had, indeed, dug her claws into me. I even turned around to admire the scabbed-over scratches on my back. Painful? Yep. Worth it? Also yep.

Before I could call Giovanni Romano back, my phone rang. Sometimes, it was fun to poke the bear.

“You’re an impatient bastard, Giovanni.”

“Where’s Venus?” It was more of a demand than a question.

“Asleep.”

“Hurt?”

“Nope.”

“What about Victor Zaitsev?”

“We’re hunting him. Shoulda had him, but he set a trap for us. He knew we were coming.”

There was a silence. Then, “Why is Venus not answering her phone?”

“Told you. She’s asleep. Been a long couple’a days.”

“She always answers her phone.” Giovanni almost sounded angry. He definitely wasn’t happy.

“Not anymore. Not when she’s sleeping.” It was a bold claim, but one I would stand by. She was not going to be at Giovanni’s beck and call, no matter what tech he supplied her with.

Again, there was a pause before Giovanni asked the question I’d been waiting for. “What’s she to you, Piston?”

“Everything. She’s mine.”

“She know that?”

“She’s not answering you, is she?”

“Christ, man. I hope you know what you’re doing. Ulyana isn’t a woman you want to fuck around with. If you’re not serious, you’re going to hurt her more than you can possibly imagine.”

“Oh, I can imagine, Gio. I’ve known her as long as you have.”

“What do you need?” So like Giovanni. There was never a transition with him. The conversation always went from one topic straight into another. He got the information he needed, then moved on.

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