Page 52 of Sweet Touch of Venom

“Mal, you go around the back and see if that door is locked like we hope,” Ronan speaks, walking to the edge of the hill. Our plan is to lock everyone in. No one runs free.

“On it.” Mal hops off the ledge of the hill, making her way down the rocky ridge. It’s a cliff, but it’s manageable to get down without falling completely forward. Easy way down, easy way up.

“Boone.” Ronan shifts to him and Boone nods, tucking his AK-47 and running off into the wooded area.

Ronan now faces me. His face is blank and emotionless. “And you are with me.”

I would feel disappointed, but I can’t. His mood has shifted since the scene in the foyer, and I’m good with it because we need to focus solely on the mission. His touches and stares are getting to me, as much as I don’t want to admit it. It’s affecting me, and I don’t need to fuck up on this mission.

“How fun,” I state, my tone bland. Before we descend, a vibrating sound comes out and Ronan quickly grabs his pocket, looking at the screen. He becomes visibly angry, the white, luminous glare from the phone shining on his hard features. His jaw clenches before clicking the vibration off, flicking through the screen with his thumb and placing it back in his pocket.

“Let’s go.” He brushes past me, taking his anger with him.

He walks off, heading down the hill. I trail behind him, right on his toes. Excitement is purging through me like a faucet when I picture my finger jamming into someone’s eyes. They deserve it for being such terrible people. I don’t care much for the job Ronan does, but just the thought of them kidnapping people and doing inexplicable things to them only for money leaves a sour taste in my mouth. They don’t deserve that. No one does.

Ronan hops off the last rock and extends his hand out to help me down. I look at it and choose to ignore his hand. For petty reasons.

I hop down, and he stands there for a second before proceeding. Walking a few steps ahead of him, I look over to see if the two men are exactly where we assumed.

They are.

Coming up beside me, we both bend down in sync behind the bushes that stand approximately sixty-five feet in between the front home and the yard. It’s a large yard filled with green grass, no secured fence and no neighbors. Are these people crazy? They mustwanta death wish.

“Ready?” Ronan looks over at me and I return his stare. My heart is thudding against my chest, and I’m more than ready.

“Of course.”

A smile now creeps on his lips, his callous act dissipating. “And no tripping.”

A flush rises in my cheeks. “You’re never forgetting that, are you?” For some reason, I want to match his smile. I hold it in.

“Do you forget to breathe air?” He winks. “Now let’s go.” He ascends from the bushes. The two men in front don’t see us yet until we are twenty feet from them. Before they can extend their weapons and yell for backup, we both shoot at the same time, aiming directly at their heads. We have suppressors on our guns, so no one will hear a sound—besides their bodies dropping to the floor. Then I aim at the cameras extending in the corners of the front door while Ronan bends to grab the weapons.

He extends his hand with the dead man’s weapon, and I grab at it as he moves ahead of me.

It’s a code at the front of the door with numbers and letters. Ronan instantly clicks the pad a few times and grabs a tiny screw from his pants. “It’s like a baby toy. Easy to break,” he mumbles to himself, still working his magic.

I don’t forget that growing up, Ronan was the spectacular billionaire tech genius along with my brother. Creating gadgets and different inventions. And, of course, I remember the surveillance security system he and Carter created just for the fun of it. Well, it came in handy, that’s for sure.

The pad blinks green, and Ronan turns the handle on the door. A thickness clots my throat, and my heart begins to drum against my ribs. My eyes narrow with a throbbing beat. I’m nervous like always. The idea of possibly not coming back out of this house or from a mission is always something to think about. But right now, I’m nervous because I’m anticipating the moment where I stand in front of the man who tortured my brother.

Also, this is my first time going on a mission with Ronan. Will he have my six? Is he the type to run off and have me fendfor myself? He doesn’t seem uncoordinated, but you never know until you are smack in the center of a shoot off.

Can I trust him?

My chest beats harder.

Is he unbalanced?

Shit. Did I make the wrong choice?

Chapter 20

Venom

Everything in me screams to raise my guard, but as if Ronan can sense my weariness, he stops mid-way before the door opens and turns to me, gazing right into my eyes. “I got your back. I’ll protect you, trust me.”

There’s not enough time to respond with something witty, like ‘I can protect myself.’ before he takes off into the house. However, his comment did give me some ease.

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