Page 29 of The Venom We Bleed

A muscle jumps in Nolan’s jaw as he stares down at the unblemished and now closed envelope. It’s nothing to rip it open, but doing so would also insult the older woman and while I don’t particularly care if Auntie gets her panties up her asscrack about it, Nolan does. Still, after a brief moment of hesitation, he grits his teeth and slips his finger between the flap of the envelope, peeling it open so that the cash falls out into his palm.

Ma-Ri’s lips firm a bit at that, but she doesn’t speak as he quickly counts it. It’s only when he’s finished and tucking the flap back into the white paper that she opens her thin lips, blowing out a steady stream of smoke before she speaks.

“I take it your comment about coming back more often had everything to do with my new waitress,” she comments lightly as Nolan lifts the back of his t-shirt.

A flash of black metal at the small of his back is there and then gone as he tucks the money into the waistband right next to the Ruger P89. I recline against the back wall of Ma-Ri’s office as her gaze bounces my way and then back to Nolan.

As long as I’ve been coming here to run these little errands for G’s dad, I know my presence makes her nervous. That’s the point of my coming, though it’d been Gio’s turn. I’m no longer as annoyed by it as I was earlier. Coming had given me a chance to see Juliet again.

“I’m surprised you’d offer Juliet Donovan a job,” Nolan says to Ma-Ri.

Ma-Ri takes another drag from her cigarette via the long, antiquated holder she carries around. “I need waitresses and I don’t care what her daddy did. If she don’t work out, I’ll fire her. Simple as that.”

“There might be a few from Silverwood who won’t take kindly to her presence,” Nolan warns her.

He’s right. I’ve seen the treatment she’s received since the start of last summer. Sad really, but at the same time, it’s been almost … fun to see the change happening in real time. Almost as if I’ve been waiting for a new season of her life to start, for her to shake off the forced smiles she’d been using to hide the rising reality of who she is. This time, I’m not just watching from far away. I’m front and center.

“She ain’t no host,” Ma-Ri replies on a sigh. “She’ll be delivering drinks and working the back end. ‘Sides, Roquel asked me to give her a chance and my niece don’t often ask for anything.”

“Roquel asked?” Nolan looks back at me, his brows puckered.

I nod. “She’s been hanging around Juliet more,” I confirm. “They don’t seem like close friends, but close enough considering she’s the only one Juliet talks to.” And if anyone knows what Juliet Donovan is up to, it’s me.

Every move she makes, I’ll be there—like that shitty-ass old song. Juliet Donovan is my muse, my obsession, and no one knows her better than me. Likely not even the girl herself.

Nolan blows out a breath and returns his attention to Ma-Ri. “It’s your business, Auntie,” he says, “but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Ma-Ri smiles at him and pats him on the cheek. “You play rough, No-No,” she says, using the old moniker she’d given him when he’d been a child. “You should give that poor girl a break.”

Nolan flinches. “You’re too kind, Auntie,” he replies, shaking his head. “She’s not as nice as you seem to think she is.”

“Oh, pah,” Ma-Ri huffs out a breath. “She’s just protectin’ herself. ‘Sides, it might do your little group good to try and go after some girls that don’t fall at your feet with their legs already spread.”

Nolan laughs. “We don’t take advantage, Auntie. Gio’s the only one who slips up on occasion.”

Ma-Ri gives him a bland glare. “Don’t try to fool me none, No-No,” she says. “That boy does more than slip upon occasion. If he ain’t careful, next time I see him, he’ll be bringing me a babe to hold.”

It would be difficult to deny Ma-Ri’s claim. After all, between the three of us, Gio’s drowned himself in the most pussy a man could likely take and still live. He’s fucked more than half the female populace at Silverwood Public and though none would openly claim as much, several members of the Silverwood Prep Elite.

“You know I always look out for him, Auntie,” Nolan says. “We’ve got plans of our own. None of us would do much good as fathers.”

Ma-Ri shakes her head. “Just ‘cause yer own daddies ain’t worth a lick don’t mean nothing, No-No,” she says. “But you be sure ‘bout Gio. All it takes is one wrong move.”

“We got it.” Nolan leans down and presses his lips to her upturned cheek, nearly bending in half to press the chaste kiss on the much shorter woman, the insult of counting the money long forgotten. “See ya next month.”

Ma-Ri waves us off. As Nolan goes into the hallway, I trail him. The second the door shuts, his pleasant expression falls away. “This will be a problem for her business,” he mutters.

“Like she said,” I reply on a grunt, “it’s hers to do with what she wants.”

Nolan levels me with a glare. One that I neither reciprocate nor care for. “Darrio’s not gonna give a shit if she’s losing out on income,” he snaps. “His payment remains the same regardless. Despite what she claims, if that girl’s here, she’ll bring Ma-Ri’s profits down.”

He doesn’t know that. Not for sure. But I do and Nolan is forgetting that Juliet Donovan’s new status as an outcast has brought forth a whole host of cockroaches. They’ve been subtle, but I see it—the look in the eyes of our fellow classmates, of the teachers, of even the pricks still in Silverwood Prep. Now that she’s supposedly vulnerable, I have no doubt they’ll try to take advantage.

“Let it go, Nolan,” I urge, my voice deepening.

His eyes widen. “Are you defending her?” he demands. Before I can reply, he scowls and continues. “Don’t let your little obsession get in the way, Lex. We have people to protect. Ma-Ri’s one of them.”

“Then perhaps we should think about doing something with Darrio,” I bite out.

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