Page 63 of The Venom We Bleed

“You need to fix this,” I snap. “I don’t care how you do it—but make sure she keeps her mouth shut.”

“Don’t threaten her,” Lex growls.

I blink and lean away from Gio’s hand. “I’m not threateningher, asshole.” My upper lip curls away from my teeth. “I’m threateningyou!”

Almost as if those were the magic words, Lex’s earlier tautness evaporates and he relaxes. “Oh, that’s fine then,” he says.

I shake my head. “You fucking psychopath.”

Gio sighs and drops his arms before speaking. “No one is going to ask questions about Josh and Rich,” he says. “I’ve already started working shit on my end.”

Both Lex’s and my head turn towards him. “How?” I demand.

With a smug grin, he shoves his hands into the back pocket of his jeans and waltzes backward toward his own car. “Rumor is that Rich and Josh were planning to head up to Eastpoint.” His tone practically drips with satisfaction. “Someone might have mentioned that Rich has a cousin that lives up there—and that maybe that cousin works for the mob. People who work for the mob disappear all the time.”

Lex reaches up and removes his glasses, a smile curling his lips. “You fucking smart bastard.” He laughs. Yeah, because that’s Gio. Lex loses his shit and we fix it—or rather, usually I’m the one that fixes it, but it’s good to know that Gio can do it all on his own.

My pocket buzzes and the creeping grin I feel stretching my face falls flat the second I slide my phone out and see who it is. “Shit.” Gio stops walking, and as one, both he and Lex look at me.

“I gotta go,” I say, shoving my phone back into my pocket and circling the Indian.

“Dad?” Gio guesses.

I press my lips together but offer him a short nod as I lift the helmet from my handlebars. Just before I slip it on, though, Ilift a finger and point at him. “I want you to keep an eye on the princess,” I say.

He blinks. “But I just told you that we’re in the clear,” he says.

Pressing a hand flat to the seat of the bike, I swing my leg up and over the back. “Rumors are just rumors,” I say. “We’re not sure we’re in the clear yet. Until we know, you need to watch her.”

Gio groans, turning and shoving his hands into his hair. “How the fuck am I supposed to do that?” He swivels back to face me as I straddle the bike and lower the helmet onto my head.

I flip up the visor and then buckle the strap beneath. “Don’t care,” I tell him. “You were fucking around with that chick that lives next to her, right? The one that works atThe Veil.”

Gio grimaces as if remembering something foul. I wouldn’t be surprised if she hadn’t been a good fuck. In all likelihood, she’d probably been just shy of a fleshlight. Everyone knows that the girls who work at the strip club on the outskirts of Silverwood are the desperate kind.

The Veilis the place where people go to get cracked out. There are more drug deals in the back rooms than there are lap dances. Were it up to me, I would’ve steered clear of the place forever, but they’re under Darrio Vargas’ protection, which means the regular visits Gio makes are business-related. Still, he should’ve known better than to get involved with one of the strippers.

“I don’t do seconds,” Gio states.

“And I don’t make unreasonable demands.” Lifting a hand, I point his way for the third and final time as I turn the engine of my bike over. “You’re closest to the girl. Use her however you want, but you’re in charge of keeping an eye on Juliet Donovanwhile Lex figures this shit out with her father. I’m not going to ask again.Watch. Her.”

26

GIO

Cancer fills my lungs as the cherry red end of my cigarette burns hot in the night air. “Gio?” The husky female voice at my back makes my muscles bunch ... and not in anticipation. “Are you coming back to bed?”

My skin crawls. I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking the first time I followed this chick back fromThe Veil. I can’t even remember her name—Jen? Jess? Something with a J.

Removing my lips from the cig, I turn my head to the side and let a stream of smoke blow out before responding. “Yeah, be in once I’m done with this.” I hold the cig up as an excuse for my escape. I’ve already fucked her once tonight and it was hard enough to get it up when I wasn’t inebriated or high. If I manage to get it up again, it’ll be a miracle.

Jen-Jess presses her side against the sliding glass doors of her apartment and pushes her tits out in my direction. “Don’t keep me waiting too long,” she murmurs, the intent and desire in her raspy tone evident.

I close my eyes and turn back to the gray horizon. “I said I’ll be back in when I’m fucking done,” I snap, not caring about her feelings. I don’t even want to be here. The only reason I am is the damn girl next door.

The stripper huffs out a breath and then disappears back into the apartment, slamming her sliding door with enough force to make the whole rickety thing shudder. I put the cigarette back between my lips and then clamp both hands over the railing. Wood splinters crack under the pressure. This whole building is falling apart. No doubt, Mr. Ritchie has been bribing the inspectors who infrequently come by to make sure everything is up to code because there’s no way this two-story apartment building is anything more than matchsticks waiting to go up in flames. My mind begins to circle back to my reason for even being here. Cool autumn air filters over the back of my neck and further down my bare back.

Watch her.

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