Page 15 of The Venom We Bleed

His eyes darken and he lifts himself from the table until he’s towering over me. I tip my head back, but I don’t step away.

“Big mistake, Prep Girl,” he growls.

Lifting both hands, I raise both of my middle fingers and shove them into his face. “Oh yeah?” I drop my arms and return his glare with one of my own. “You started it.”

His gaze shifts to something over my shoulder. The anger seething in his gaze recedes some and he straightens, the fists at his sides loosening. A tingle of awareness creeps up my spine.Fuck. Me.Based on the smug expression Gio shoots at me, I know exactly who’s arrived.

Gio’s eyes meet mine once more. “You’re in for it now, Prep Girl.” He grins. “There’s no hiding anymore.”

I jerk my chin up. “I haven’t been hiding at all,” I snap. “If you have a problem with me then let’s have it out here and now.” I pause. “Or are you just gonna shove and run like everyone else?”

He snorts. “I’m not the shoving kind.” Gio’s tone is easy and relaxed now as two shadows appear on the sidewalk on either side of me. “Well, unless it’s my dick,” he continues, “then I’d like to shove my dick in your pretty?—”

“G.” Cold. That one syllable, one letter, carries with it an extent of meaning. The tone, however, is like dumping ice over my entire body.

I turn slowly in the direction of the speaker and stiffen as if waiting for the next physical blow. Nolan Pierce stands next to Alexio Medicci with his arms crossed, glaring between the two of us. A shiver skates down my spine as Nolan’s copper-colored eyes, like blood and chocolate pouring into a long river together, focus on me.

“She fucking started it,” Gio snaps, sounding like a petulant child.

I scoff and shoot him a dark look. “I didn’t start shit,Playboy,” I growl before showing him my teeth again. “But I can certainly finish it.”

Gio advances on me menacingly only to be called up short by Nolan’s sharp bark, “Don’t even fucking try it, G.”

The three who’d been Gio’s posse before the other Scorpion Kings showed up hover on the fringes of the group, watching with wide eyes. The guy—a tall, lanky dude with a flop of blond hair and ripped jeans—is the first to attempt to intervene.

“He’s right, Nolan,” the guy says. “She was?—”

“I did not ask for your input, Decker,” Nolan says, cutting him off.

The coward shuts his trap damn near immediately and shrinks back with the two girls. I roll my eyes, but then Nolan’s focus is squarely on me and I know it’s a dangerous place to be.

Unable to help myself, I let my gaze drift away from Nolan’s and land on the man at his side. Alexio is a tall man, taller even than his friends and just as muscular. It’s clear just by looking at the three of them why so many fear them. Where money makes the world go round on the north side of Silverwood, here in the south? Strength is king and so are these three.

Straightening my spine, I level the leader of the Scorpion Kings with a glare of my own and arch a brow. “If you’ve got something to say,” I snap, “then say it.”

“Dumbass…” one of the girls behind Gio mutters and I can’t help but wonder if she’s right when Nolan uncrosses his arms and moves forward. As if called by my challenge, he takes each step carefully—a predator stalking his prey.

Each second that passes makes something hot and wicked creep up my back. Alarm bells go off in my head. My breaths come faster, seizing in my chest. I don’t move though. I remain firmly planted in place, waiting.

Nolan doesn’t stop until he’s standing squarely in front of me, his big body blocking out a lot of sunlight as I’m forced to tip my head back to meet his gaze. My fingers contract, twitching into an automatic fist, preparing for an attack. But that’s not how Nolan acts. Despite all of his rough edges, the crimes he’s infamous for, there’s never been one rumor or hint that he’d hit a woman.

I’m well aware that there’s still a crowd watching us, and I’m not just talking about Gio’s posse. We’re near the student parking lot and it’s just after school. There are plenty of students still milling about, hanging out at their trunks, watching on with obvious curiosity. Goosebumps crawl up my arms. Hundreds of eyes are on us,on me.My stomach churns with acid and bile.

“No more fights,” Nolan says, his voice no less commanding for its quietness.

I blink. Then I scowl. “I didn’t start it,” I reply, “but I have no intention of sitting back and letting your people take their cheap shots.”

One corner of his mouth tilts up. “Mypeople?” He chuckles, the sound low and vibrating. Fuck me—why does he have to sound like that? Nolan leans down, getting up in my space more. So much so that I almost take a step back, but that would be seen as a weakness. Instead, I grit my teeth and settle the weight of my body more firmly on my heels.

“These are the people your family created with their cruelty,” he tells me. “They’re your people now too, Princess.”

A low snarl leaves my lips. “Don’t fucking call me that,” I say, but he’s already pulling away—his attention going to his friend.

Nolan jerks his chin back at Alexio, a silent command for Gio to move places. I take the opportunity for what it is—a boon. Turning away from the two of them, I begin to walk around the side of the building towards my original destination.

I don’t get more than a few feet before I hear Gio’s voice. “Ah. Ah. Ah. No, you don’t.” I freeze as the sound of heavy footsteps echoes behind me and then a wide palm lands on my shoulder, stopping me.

I don’t turn around or look back as I speak. “I highly recommend you take your hand off me before I break it.”

---