Page 7 of Venom's Sting

“You have no idea,” he responds grimly, before glancing at his watch. “I need to get out of here. Got another assignment to ride down by the lake. I feel like I’ve been riding that same stretch of road for ages.”

“It’s only been a month,” I remind him.

“Don’t give a shit. It’s boring as hell.”

I watch him walk out and toy with the idea of getting another brew. When my eyes drift over to the bar, I almost fall out of my chair. Working behind the counter is the woman from the cornfield. I know it’s her by the long, dark, almost hip length hair and the way she moves. She’s the most beautiful women I think I have ever seen, and for a moment I’m almost entranced.

Forcing myself to remain seated, I wonder how to approach her, she’s been on my mind on and off—more curious about what happened to her, than anything else as I hadn’t gotten a good look at her face. Back then I’d been too focused on trying to see if she got away. I can’t very well walk up to her ask why she was running for her fucking life that day in the cornfield, asthere were no reports filed at the cop shop, and she’s looking bright and breezy it might have been nothing—plus telling her I was watching makes me sound like a creeper. I’m still gonna go chat her up though, I ain’t letting a beauty like this slip through my fingers.

I run my fingers through my hair, then pick up my cup and head to the counter.

She sees me approaching from the back of the room. Before I can get to her, two large men come stalking through the front door. One jumps the counter and pushes her back. I put on a burst of speed because I think they’re here to rob the place. By the time I get to the front I can see he’s got his hand clamped around her upper arm and is whispering in her ear.

As I reach the counter, the second man tries to slam into me with his shoulder. Unfortunately for him, he’s out of shape. I shove him back with one hand and send him sprawling on his ass. I lean over, grab the first guy by his shirt collar and haul him over the counter with one hand, slinging him down onto the floor with his buddy.

“Don’t know what the fuck you two are up to, but it’s not going to happen on my watch. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll get the fuck out, right goddamn now.”

Before he can get turned around to look at me, the first guy asks, “Who the hell do you think you are?” Once he sees me, his face pales. “Sorry, we don’t want any trouble from the Savage Legion.”

“If you don’t start trouble, there won’t be any trouble. Right?”

He nods as he scrambles to his feet and shoves his friend towards the door. I turn to the woman behind the counter. “Assholes move comically fast when they’re in danger of getting a beat down from an even bigger and meaner asshole.”

Her eyes narrow as if she’s trying to figure out if there’s a hidden message in my words.

I quickly clarify, “I’m a bigger and meaner asshole to men who like to harass women, not to the women themselves.”

She presses her lips together like she’s trying to keep herself from laughing.

I scratch the back of my neck with one hand, embarrassed by my awkward presentation. “Sorry, that all sounded better in my head than it did coming out of my mouth.”

“No, don’t apologize. I get it. Believe it or not, I’m the queen of awkward remarks. Just between you and me, nothing ever sounds as good when we say it out loud, as it did floating around in our heads.”

I set my cup down on the counter, wishing the floor would open up and swallow me whole. “Thanks for understanding. I was hoping for a refill for the road.”

She snatches the cup up, tosses it in the trash and pulls out an extra-large cup. “Absolutely. It’s on the house.” As she moves around, making my coffee, she glances over her shoulder to give me a relieved smile, “I should be the one thanking you for moving those assholes along.”

Leaning on the counter, I ask, “Do they come in here a lot?”

“No, this is only the third time I’ve seen them here. I guess, today they thought they saw an opportunity and took it.”

There’s a strange expression on her face and I feel like she’s not telling me everything, but I let it go. Instead, I say, “Neither of them looks too bright. If they give you any problems again, you can always call me.” I slide one of my cards across the counter for her to take at her leisure.

After handing me my coffee, she picks up the card. “You’re a member of the Savage Legion MC. Is that an outlaw biker club?”

“No, ma’am. We’re just men who like to ride and enjoy the brotherhood a motorcycle club has to offer. We truly aren’t into anything illegal.”

She’s holding my card in one hand and flicks it with two fingers of her free hand and teases me, “You mean except for roughhousing the town idiots when they get out of control, right?”

I give her a lopsided smile, “Except that, ma’am. I guess I’ll see you around.”

“It’s strange, I grew up in southern Las Salinas and I’ve not seen you around these parts before.”

“I live on the other side of the tracks, northeastern Las Salinas. My club is up that way as well. I only started coming down this way for the scenery. It makes for a nice ride.”

“Oh yeah, it is beautiful down this way, especially the southern magnolia trees. They’re due to burst into bloom over the next few weeks.”

“Well, I’d be a fool to pass up a breathtaking display like that.”

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