Page 6 of Karma
“Okay, well, on that note…” Gunner says and laughs. “Marnie, I think we’re onto you. Please share your vows with William.”
She pulls their joined hands up and rests them against her chest as she smiles at the man she loves more than anything in this world. “William, I vow to be your protector the same way you are to me and everyone else. I will do whatever I can to stop anything from ever hurting you. My vow is to be the safe place you’ve never had before, and I promise to make up for all of the pain you’ve ever experienced in your life by countering it with amazing experiences and more love than you can handle.”
When he smiles, his eyes shine with tears, and it warms her heart to promise him something he hadn’t known he wanted until they got back together.
“I will be yours until the day I die, and even beyond that. No one in this world has ever loved me the way you do, and I swear to do everything I can to make you feel the love I feel with you. It’s powerful and amazing to the point that it’s overwhelming sometimes. I used to fear it, but I’m not scared anymore. I love you.”
A reflection of the sun off of something metal behind her catches her eye, and she turns to see Venom’s mother standing at the end of the aisle with a gun aimed right at her son.
“No!” Marnie screams and pushes Venom backwards into Colt as the loudest bang she swears she’s ever heard fills the air.
A searing hot pain shoots through her abdomen, and she falls to the ground, confused.
“Get her!” Colt shouts as everyone moves around her as she looks up into the blinding sun.
Venom and Lex fuss over her as boots and heels clomp by. “What happened?” she whispers.
“You were shot, baby,” Lex says. “I have to put pressure on it, okay? The ambulance is on its way, but this is probably gonna hurt.”
Nodding, Marnie looks up at Venom who cups her head as tears stream down his face. The pain as Lex presses against her stomach makes her wince, and a sob escapes his lips.
Fuck, that does hurt.
“Marnie, why—”
“I promised to protect you,” she says, her eyelids feeling heavy.
This is such a weird feeling. Eyelids being heavy. Like they’re muscles you can work out or something to gain strength. Ha.
“You should’ve let me take the bullet, love,” Venom says, his voice cracking. “You don’t deserve this.”
“Neither do you,” she mutters, unable to keep her eyes open any longer.
“No, no, no,” Lex shouts. “Keep those pretty green eyes open, Marnie. Don’t you dare close them!”
Forcing them open, her mother comes into view above Venom, her phone to her ear. She’s talking to Snake.
“Tell Dad he missed a hell of an exciting wedding,” she says with a chuckle before her eyes close again, sending her into blissful oblivion.
Chapter Three
Griffin’s Beach
Venom
“Would you stop it?” Undertaker asks from the waiting room chairs. “You’re making me dizzy.”
Jamie sits on his lap, and she softly says, “Leave him be. He’s worried.”
If Venom wasn’t so preoccupied with Marnie, he’d focus more on how the hell Undertaker can fit in one of the tiny ass chairs. Or maybe they just seem tiny because the man is a mammoth.
“This can’t be happening,” Venom mumbles as he continues pacing against Undertaker’s will. He makes another lap around the small waiting room before looking up. “Did anyone find Raena?”
“She slipped away from us,” TK says.
Looking at Colt’s father, Venom wills him to offer up a different answer. A better answer. The one that tells him that not only did his mother get captured, she waits for Lex to get back to the clubhouse to take care of her.
“We’ll find her,” Colt assures.
