Page 194 of A Love Like Venom

Killing has never bothered me. Not unless it’s the blood of an innocent.

“What about her?” He nods his head towards the young girl one of his men is holding. She’s only a teenager. So much life left to live. Dreams that she hasn’t chased yet. A future ahead of her. “Does her life matter?” She thrashes against the man but it does her no good. She can’t escape his hold.

The thundering pulse of my heart I can hear pounding in my ear.

“Please,” she begs all of us. Tears steaming down her face. Mascara streaking her cheeks. “Please. Let me go. I won’t say anything. I swear.” The man behind her clamps his hand over her mouth harshly. Still I can hear her muffled screams.

And it tears something in my chest. Tearing on the heart strings leaving an unbearable ache.

Despite the bullet wound in my arm I raise my gun and point it at the man who is holding her hostage.

Razor clicks his tongue. My eyes dart over to him. “You save her and seven others will die. Is one life worth all their deaths?”

My eyes bounce back and forth between all of them. All of them pleading and begging. All of them equally innocent.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Still my gun is raised but now I point it at him. He only laughs. “You shoot me and they’re all dead. Accept it, Snake. Accept defeat and perhaps I will let all of them go. Including this scum.” He spits down on Slater before stepping his steel boot on his leg wound. Slater’s cry is piercing. More blood spills out around him. By his shade of skin he’s bound to pass out soon. Too much blood is being lost.

I am not going to watch him die.

I am not going to allow Razor to kill him.

I can’t.

“What is it you want?” Begrudgingly I ask him.

“You already know what I want. You took something that didn’t belong to you. You’ll pay for that in time. Which is why you are going to come with me. You do that and all these people you care for so much will be set free.”

Slater’s eyes that have faded to a paler blue widen with horror. “No! Kill him, Snake. Save yourself and kill him!”

Razor applies more pressure on his wounded leg and he nearly passes out from the pain.

Inside my heart is breaking for him. It’s being torn to shreds. “Too many people have abandoned you. I’m sorry, Slater but I can’t do what you are asking of me.”

“Very touching,” Razor comments. “Sacrificing yourself to save all these people. Really Snake, I’m rather moved by your heroism.”

“Don’t mistake me for a hero. A hero wouldn’t kill you in the end. I have every intention on watching you go up in flames.” My voice is dark and cold.

He smirks. “It’s going to be fun breaking your spirit.”

“It’ll be fun watching you fail,” I bite back at him.

“Failure is not an option. You will break. You all do. And in the end I’ll have you begging for your death.”

“Clearly you don’t know me.”

“Ah, but I do, and I know exactly what will break you.”

Before I can question him someone comes at me from behind. They kick the back of my knees forcing me to fall to the ground. Then they put me in a headlock. As I try to grapple my way out I see something pointy from the corner of my eye. Like the shape of a needle. And before I can fight him off the syringe comes down fast and hard as it penetrates my neck.

When they release me I go to stand but my legs are wobbly. I try to swipe at him with my fists but my arms are too heavy. My vision blurs. I can’t see a damn thing.

And despite the panic I feel my heart rate is declining. My body becoming sluggish and weak. The brain begins to go fuzzy. My breaths labored and ragged.

What’s wrong with me?

I fall back to the floor but the sound hardly reaches my ears.

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