Page 24 of Venus

When I didn’t continue immediately, she frowned. “What about them?”

“Giovanni can… well, see through your eyes, for lack of a better description.”

She pushed up on one arm to look at me in confusion. “What do you mean?” She swallowed and I knew I was right. This wasn’t going to go well.

“He can see what you see. I guess they’re like little cameras. He can not only get a real-time feed any time you’re wearing them, he can track you through them.”

She gave an exasperated grunt before laying her head back on my chest and settling back down. “If that bastard was looking at me when I was naked and standing in front of mirror, I may kill him.”

“You decide that’s what you want to do, I’ll go in first and clear the way for you to play as long as you like, baby.” That got another chuckle from her before she got serious again.

“You said Victor has been tracking me and that Giovanni knows.”

“Yes. He said there’s a tracking device in your shoulder. I don’t know which one.”

“How long has he known this?”

“It’s the reason he sent you to ExFil. Before you met Thorn.”

“Fucking bastard,” she muttered. “The mission with ExFil was where he sent me to test fucking contacts.” She closed her eyes. Her nails dug into my side where she clung to me. In all fairness, I was holding her just as close. The claws coming out -- literally -- were a reflex. Yeah. Venus was good and pissed. Instead of expressing her anger, she changed the subject.

“My father was Thorn’s oldest brother. I told you that. Thorn doesn’t know.”

“Yeah. I remember. It’s got me thinking, though. There’s more there I should know but can’t put my finger on what it is.”

“Thorn’s uncle was Mama’s oldest brother.”

OK. That threw me. “Mama? From Bones MC? Mama and Pops?”

“Yes. I’m Mama’s niece.”

“Does she know?”

Venus shook her head. “Thought about trying to tell her. When she came to Salvation’s Bane. She came to care for Thorn’s woman, Mariana, after she’d been hurt. Father of her unborn child beat her nearly to death. He did kill baby she carried. Mama came to help her heal.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Didn’t seem like right time. Everyone, especially Mama, had so many things to take care of and my long-lost family didn’t seem important in grand scheme of things. After that, decided it didn’t matter. Bane was my home.”

“Then why have you been wandering from club to club?”

“Wouldn’t say wandering. I go where I’m needed. Millie belongs to Bones and I have to see my sister. I came to Grim because I saw Lemon get taken. Little spitfire reminded me so much of Millie I wanted to help guide her and help her reach her full potential. Because of my friendship with Lemon, I met Apple and Danica which led me to Iron Tzars. Now I have people there I want to watch out for. Never really thought of myself as having family other than Millie before Thorn let me into Bane. Now, they’re all my family.”

“What about Black Reign and El Diablo?”

She seemed to think about that one a moment. “I did something to Lyric I’ll never be able to make up for.” The softness in her voice, the way she had to clear her throat after she spoke, both told me something had happened that rattled her. Though I’d watched Venus closely once she settled into Salvation’s Bane, I hadn’t done more than watch from a distance for years. I didn’t pry into club business because I didn’t care. The only thing I did was shadow Venus.

“What happened, Venus? Whatever it is clearly upset you.”

“When Lyric first came to Bane, she’d been held by a splinter of this very club. Kiss of Death was trying to set up business in Palm Beach and had opened up a club called The Dark. Bane burnt it to the ground, but president of Kiss of Death, wonderful person called Rat Man” -- Venus actually rolled her eyes --”had spies in Bane, planting bugs and gathering information. Lyric was one he sent to us. Was Rat Man’s bad luck he sent her on day Rycks happened to be visiting us.”

“I take it he knew her?”

“Had kid with her, though he didn’t know it at time. We thought Lyric was spy Rat Man had sent to Bane. He had, but she wasn’t mole we were looking for. Process for finding out those things is never pleasant. You know this.”

“Can’t afford to have a nice little chat sometimes.”

“Da. Anyway, with her being woman, task fell to me for interrogation.”

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