Page 1 of Reclaiming Venom

Prologue

Venom

I moved quickly, coming up behind Tinker. I couldn’t believe this asshole was still alive. Pressing the barrel of my gun to his head, I made sure I had his fucking attention. “Drop it. Now!”

Tinker froze, a string of curses spilling from his lips. Slowly, he turned to face me, realization dawning in his eyes.

“You sneaky bastards,” he snarled.

Torch and Bull emerged from the shadows, their own weapons trained on Tinker. The old man’s face contorted with rage. “This is all your fault,” he spat at us. “You and your damned club!”

Torch stepped forward. “Until you decided to stir up shit, we all thought you were dead. Why now, Tinker? Why didn’t you just stay gone?”

Tinker’s laugh was bitter. “You want to know why?”

His gaze darted to Justin, the President of the Swift Angels MC. “I only found out about him a year ago. My own flesh and blood, a cop. I watched. I waited. Hoped maybe he’d at least be dirty, something I could work with.”

I got it. Sort of. I hadn’t been too pleased to find out my son, Dawson, was not only a fireman, but also the VP of another club. I’d hoped he’d follow in my footsteps. But now, I had to admit I was proud of the man he’d become.

“Then I realized,” Tinker continued, a cruel smile twisting his features, “that the Swift Angels had ties to you Dixie Reaper scum. That’s when I knew it was time to make my move. All these decades, waiting for a chance to get revenge, and it fell right into my lap.”

“It’s over, Tinker. You’ve lost. Do you really think you’ll get out of this alive? We may not have made sure you were dead last time, but things are different now,” I said.

Tinker’s grin widened. “You sure about that, Venom?”

Without warning, chaos erupted. Two men materialized from the shadows behind Justin. Shit! Wire had said Tinker would be alone. Where the hell had these men come from?

“Justin, down!” Logan yelled, but it was too late.

A deafening crack split the air. Justin’s body jerked, his blue eyes wide with shock. Blood bloomed across his chest, a crimson stain spreading rapidly. “Shit,” he muttered, his voice barely audible before his knees buckled.

Logan appeared shocked at first, then the paramedic sprang into action. He snatched the med bag he’d brought as a precaution and sprinted toward Justin’s fallen form.

Two more shots went off, and pain hit me like a fucking freight train. I stared at Tinker in confusion as I sank to the ground, everything going dark around the edges of my vision. I could hear everything around me, even though it felt like I was down a long tunnel, voices echoing.

“Logan! Hurry the fuck up!” Dawson’s frantic voice cut through the chaos.

I felt something pooling beneath me and realized it was my own fucking blood. The world got darker and darker, and I knew I was going under. Jesus fucking Christ! I’d lived this damn long, and a snake like Tinker got the drop on me?

Ridley… What the hell would she do without me? I didn’t want to leave her. There was still so much I wanted to see and do with her. Regret slammed into me, as I tried to recall if I’d told her I loved her before we left.

“Diego!” Logan barked. “Keep pressure on Justin’s wound. I need to check on Venom.”

I felt someone drop beside me, but I couldn’t make out any shapes anymore.

“We need ambulances,” Logan shouted. “Two of them. Now!”

I felt someone rip open my shirt and try to staunch the flow of blood, but I knew it was too late. Nothing could save me now.

“Dad.” Dawson’s voice broke as someone knelt beside me. Was it Dawson? “Dad, can you hear me?”

I heard Logan’s voice on the other side of me. “He’s lost a lot of blood. We need to get him to the hospital immediately.”

Logan worked on packing my wounds. I wanted to tell him to save someone else, that I’d finally come to the end of my journey, but I couldn’t form the words. My body felt cold, and soon even the noises around me faded to nothing.

Ridley… I’m so fucking sorry for leaving you. I’ll always love you.

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