Page 19 of Venom's Sting

“You can tell your fucking brothers that if they touch my woman again, I’m gonna geld them. You’re a farmer. You know what that means, right?”

He goes pale.

“So we’re on the same page. As for your bastard of a father, I haven’t decided what he’s gonna get if he doesn’t back the fuck away from Amy. Got it?”

He nods.

“So you wanna tell me what that was all about this morning?”

His lips press together as though he wants to say something but dares not. He glances away. “They were only supposed to deliver a message.”

“About that, why does the old man want to talk to Amy?”

He shrugs and digs the tip of his shoe into the dirt, making a long line. “I dunno. They don’t tell me nothin’.”

I take a step closer and look him over. “I’m beginning to think that maybe you know a hell of a lot more than you’re telling us, Dan.”

His eyes lift to mine and there’s an expression playing about his face that I don’t recognize. Whatever that expression is, it tells me I’m right. “Where the fuck is Amy’s mother? Have you seen Carol at the farm?”

He shakes his head, looking all kinds of shifty. “They don’t really let me in the house. I know that cop had a thorough look around and didn’t find anything inside or around the property.”

“I know that numbskull. Don’t insult my intelligence. I know you fuckers probably moved her sometime between Amy leaving and the cops showing up.”

“If they did, I didn’t see it,” he insists a little too innocently. Something about this man is triggering my Spidey senses really badly. I give it to him straight, “Let me make something abundantly clear, Amy is now mine. If any of you so much as look in her direction, I’ll drop you so fast you won’t know what hit you. And we’re gonna find her mother. If one single hair on her head has been damaged, the three of you won’t live to see the light of day.”

He looks surprised. “You don’t have to worry about that. Nobody’s going to hurt her.”

I take another step closer to him, tilting my head sideways as I try to get a handle on this guy. “If you don’t know where she is she is, how can you know she’s safe?”

“She’s a sweet, older woman. Who in their right mind would want to hurt her?”

“Amy’s as nice as the day is long and your asshole brother almost broke her ribs. That sweet, older woman is your fucking half-sister, or haven’t you figured out the family relationship dynamics yet?”

He glances at his brothers, they’re both coming round now, but they’ll have one hell of a headache. “I guess I never thought of it. I don’t really think of these two as my brothers as we never grew up together, it was only when they—” he stops suddenly.

“Cat got your tongue?” I ask.

He shakes his head, “No, just thinking about family stuff. It’s so fucking messed up. Okay, I understand.”

“Remember to tell your brothers what I said about Amy and her mom—and, just for the record, I don’t believe a word you said about her not being on the farm.”

“You already told them, but I’ll mention it to them again. Fair warning, they don’t ever listen to me. The two of them still think I’m a fucking kid.”

I laugh. “That sounds like a personal problem. You’re the youngest, right?”

Rage asks in a bored voice, “Are we about done here?”

I jerk my chin at him. “Yeah, I’m fucking finished for now.”

We get on our bikes, and I see Dan tending to his brothers as we pull out of the parking lot. I hope this was enough to get them to lay off Amy, but something niggling in the back of my mind tells me it’s not. As I ride back, I go over what Dan said—or rather didn’t say. Amy’s mom has to be at the farm, I don’t knowwhat the old man is doing with her but it’s the only thing that makes sense.

Chapter 8

Amy

Iwake up the next morning feeling refreshed and raring to go. Well, refreshed, at least—I’m still a bit sore. I was asleep when Venom came back last night, he left me a sweet note this morning, promising that he’ll catch up with me later and that he didn’t want to wake me. I get dressed and go downstairs looking for food. Ven’s note says he’s going to pick up some groceries, but in the meantime, I can help myself in the communal kitchen. I get the prospect behind the bar to pour me an orange juice, then I sit down at one of the tables and type out a message to my employer. I had the weekend off anyway, but I let him know that my injuries were more substantial than I though and I need to take a leave of absence for a week or so. I know Venom didn’t want me going back to the coffee shop and said I could work at the clubhouse bar to keep safe, but I’m not convinced that’s necessary. Asking for some personal days will give me a chance to think it all over. I sip my juice as I wait for a reply.

While I wait, I unzip the property cut as it feels a little tight across my bruised rib cage. Nothing’s broken so it should heal up quickly, I swallow a couple of pain pills and wait for them to kick in.

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