Page 92 of Lovely Venom
Stepping into his apartment is like walking through an old friend’s house. The door to the tunnel from the apartment passageway is suspiciously unlocked. This may be a trap, but I don’t know what choice I have other than to storm Connor’s death chamber.
As I get close, the horrible smell of male sweat and blood in the damp air sets me back. The door to the chamber’s inner sanctum is unlocked as well. Whoever is in there is bait.
For who, though? Me?
Oh, Christ. And I fell for it. But Connor won’t hurt me. His men? I’m not sure. I have to see this through.
Connor has the torture chamber dark tonight, and that works in my favor to keep to the shadows. He’s got music blaring, and he’s yelling at the dark-haired Albanian. A man no one told me about until today. A man who means nothing to me, but according to Valdrin, I should care. This man is powerful and part of myfamily.
Why do they feel so disconnected?
Connor has the guy tied to a chair. Coarse ropes bite into his wrists. They’re raw and bleeding. That’s nothing compared to his face. He’s a mess of swollen eyes, bruised cheeks, split lips, and blood leaking from a broken nose.
Someone shifts a few feet away, and I snap my gun in that direction with shaking hands. Rhys watches from the corner, a phantom at Connor’s back.
Fuck.
Whatever I plan to do here just got a lot more complicated. If I shoot Connor, that assassin will take me out.
I exhale slowly. I hadn’t come to terms with killing Connor, and I can’t wrap my head around killing his cousin, either. But what if I have no choice? What if it’s me or them?
Poor Fallon. And the plants.
Christ, I’m losing it. It’s not like Rhys has a puppy at home waiting for him.
Shouting knocks me from my thoughts.
“Connor, watch out!” Rhys’s rough Irish accent barks above all other sounds.
Snapping to attention, I see the Albanian has broken free. The damn chair is splintered. God, how strong is that guy?
It happens in a matter of seconds.
Knowing Rhys is an armed, lethal threat, the Albanian tackles him first, driving a fist into his jaw. Rhys crumples from the surprise hit. The Albanian overturns the marble slab that breaks into three pieces and uses one to hurt Rhys enough to keep the assassin on the ground.
Then he grabs Rhys’s gun and turns the barrel on Connor.
Oh no!
For the first time since I met him, Connor looks unsure of what to do. And terrified as he backs up to that small kitchen nook with his Glock on the counter.
I have no time to think. I have one chance at this.
I break free from the shadows, raising my Sig.
“Forgive me,” I mutter as I pull the trigger.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Connor
Seeing a gun pointed at me, I’m painfully aware that my luck has run out. I fucking screwed up somewhere. The wrong chair. The wrong rope. Hell, the wrong rat.
But it’s too late for regret.
With my eyes going wild and my brain short-circuiting, I manage to catch Rhys on the ground. He’s unconscious with blood trickling from his forehead. Christ, what the hell do I tell his brother Trace? My Aunt Freye?
This is all my fault. I’ve gone too far to lure Raina here when she clearly doesn’t care about this guy who’s about to fucking kill me. This animal will finish off Rhys for sure when I’m dead. God, Quinlan Empire can’t handle two deaths like this.
