Page 80 of Truths

“It's the rules of the club, sweetheart. No fucking with daughters unless they've been granted permission. You should look it up sometime.”

“I thinkyoushould, Snake,” she says. “If he was sleeping with her, which I'm not saying he was, you couldn't do shit about it. There are no laws saying anything about daughters. Only wives.”

“Yeah, there is! I fucking wrote the laws!” he shouts at her.

She laughs, and he feels an anger he's never felt before. “Maybe the Hellraisers’ laws, but you're not a Hellraiser anymore. Jennings and Dax both confirmed there were no amendments made to Summerville. You're operating under old laws, my friend. You have no leg to stand on.”

“What the fuck did you just say to me?”

“I'm saying that you're wrong.”

“Fuck you, bitch!”

Her eyebrows lift, but she doesn't back away. The fact she seems completely unfazed by his presence annoys the hell out of him. “Yeah, okay.”

“You think you're a badass and shit, but you're nothing. You ran away from Griffin's Beach because you couldn't handle your problems. It must suck thinking you're the princess of the club but still know you'll never be good enough for Daddy.”

“Oh, you want to get personal? How about how you couldn't get your wife off for a decade. And the only reason she has the big O now is because of the metal she put down there to help her out.”

Before he realizes what he’s done, the back of his hand hits her cheek in a backhanded slap, knocking her to the ground as she holds her face. “Don’t ever talk about how I give it to my wife.”

“You just made a big mistake,” she says, climbing to her feet.

“Stay down, bitch! For once in your life, maybe you should learn how to take orders!” A motorcycle exhaust fills the air, and he sneers. “If that's your buddy, Venom, with my daughter, he's fucking dead.”

He hurries around the building, and he's surprised to hear footsteps behind him. He'd been certain the slap had surprised her as much as it did him, but clearly not.

Marnie hops off the bike, and Venom stays on as Snake rounds the corner. Neither hear nor see him.

“Go inside. I'll walk around back and have a smoke,” Venom says. “The last thing we need is anyone thinking we're together.”

Marnie looks defeated, and Snake can’t figure out why. “Venom, wait.”

“What, Marnie?”

“I... I thought you quit smoking.”

“I did. The reason I quit told me I was dirt, so what the hell? Might as well start up again.”

Snake feels himself propelled forward with small hands on his back. “Spying on your daughter now?” Lex shouts as she hurries after him as he gets his balance.

“Lex?” Venom asks, his eyes wide. “What happened?”

“This motherfucker thinks he's big and bad. Smacks around women and shouts orders when he doesn't actually know the rules of the club he belongs to,” she says, swinging and hitting him square in the face, knocking him on his ass. “Next time you think of hitting me, you better knock my ass out because I will slit your fucking throat.”

He stares in more shock than when he'd struck her. Not only did her hit sting, it surprised him that he landed on the ground harder than she did.

“You hit her?” Venom growls. “You fucking hit a woman?”

Marnie stands with her eyes wide. “Dad, no. You didn't... What the fuck, Dad?”

“Are you fucking Venom?” Snake growls as he stands.

“That's why you hit Lex?” she gasps. “Are you deranged?”

“Not the best choice of words,” Lex says, her hand gingerly touching her reddened cheek. “I need ice for my hand.”

She takes Venom's arm and pulls him to the door. “No, I want to repay this asshole for what he did to you.”

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