Page 23 of Venom's Sting

I digest that little nugget of information. “I never knew he had any other children. I know he remarried, but he and my step-grandmother didn’t have kids. I hope he didn’t cheat on her. The first I saw of the farmhands was when she got sick, and they showed up. I figured as he was looking after her, he needed more hands to work the land.”

“What do you know about the fourth one, Edmund? He wasn’t with the three amigos last night,” Ven asks.

I speak up, “I only met him a handful of times when I was visiting my step-grandmother. There was something I didn’t like about him, he sticks to my grandfather like glue. He was always whispering some kind of toxic shit in his ear. I can tell because my grandfather gets meaner after talking to him about pretty much anything.”

Meli adds, “This Edmund is the sly one. Follow him,mon chéri. He’ll lead you to the answers you seek.”

Ven runs one hand through his hair. “I think you might be right about that, Maman. Until another clue turns up, keeping eyes on Edmund and that farm is our only real option.”

“I can help,” I chime in, because nothing and nobody is going to keep me from searching for my mom.

Ven’s expression shuts down almost immediately, “I don’t want you near them.”

His mother’s voice drops to not quite a whisper. “You know better than most, that women are clever, resourceful beings that you dare not leave behind during times of trouble. If she cannot protect herself, you teach her. If she wants to help, let her.”

He swallows thickly, nodding to his mother. “Yes, Maman.”

Chapter 9

Ven

Rage, Amy, and I are set up on a ridgeline a few miles from her grandfather’s farm. I’ve got three drones in the air and I’m teaching Amy how to use hers. She’s a fast learner and catches on almost immediately. I’m keeping my mom’s advice about letting Amy help in the forefront of my mind. But whereas my mom likes to get into the thick of the action, I don’t want Amy to have to deal with those assholes anytime soon, so this way she can help, but at a safe distance.

I reach over and pull up the lever that controls the altitude. “Keep it high in the air until you see movement on the ground. You don’t want it to get tangled in trees or powerlines.”

She playfully smacks my hand away. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this. It’s just like playing video games.”

I gasp at that comparison, but Rage just laughs. “She ain’t wrong about that, brother.”

I give Rage an irritated glance before responding, “My mom sent you fresh croissants. I was going to give them to you, but I might leave them in the storage compartment on my bike.”

Rage calls his drone back and sets the controller down beside it. “Give me your keys or I’m breaking into that storage compartment, now.”

I smother back a smile and toss him my keys.

He immediately asks, “Did your beautiful maman ask about me?”

I reach out to snatch the keys back from him, but he dodges away, laughing. I know the fucker is only teasing but he still gets under my skin. “I hope you choke on them,” I mumble under my breath.

“Don’t be like that, Serp. You know Rage is only joking around with you.”

My head snaps up because she used my mom’s nickname. “No one but my mom calls me that.”

She shoots me a mischievous grin. “Your mom and me. I’m your old lady, remember?”

I kind of like her calling me Serp. It feels right. “That’s fine, but just when it’s you and me. Not in front of anyone else, especially Rage. He’s way too far up in my fucking business anyway.”

“What’s with the snake theme in your family?”

“Maybe it started with her name, the Melusine of French folklore was half woman half snake, she always loved serpents, especially her petit Serp,” Rage says with a mouthful of croissant.

“Like you know anything about my maman,” I throw back.

My friend shoots me a smile, “Well, Siege, Rigs, and I stopped by there for lunch one day on the way back from a biker rally. Your mother was real nice to us, so if I’m passing, I always drop by to saybonjourto Meli.”

“You fucker. Stay away from my mom,” I mutter.

“Calm the fuck down, you degenerate fuck. I’m not after your mom. If anything, I wish she were my mom, since I never had one.”

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