Page 64 of Venom and Bind

“Jules…”

“No, I’m not letting you go through this alone again. Ride or die, remember?” She held up her fingers in our secret code. And if the rage of adrenaline hadn’t been pumping through my body, I would have sobbed right then. I agreed instead, biting my bottom lip to stop whatever emotion was trying to break free.

Althazair handed Milliani his gun and squeezed her in a hug. He whispered something to her in Italian, and her shoulders tensed. Kaviathin cleared his throat, and she stepped back, her eyes shimmering. “If anyone opens this door who isn’t one of us, put a bullet in their head.”

“Yes, Kavi,” she whispered and straightened her back.

“I’ll call the police.” Miss Longfellow pointed to a phone on the wall. We made sure they had the code in case they needed to get out and watched as they huddled together in the tiny room, the door sliding shut in our faces.

Althazair reached down and pulled out a switchblade from his boot. He appeared far too happy about the situation unfolding, and I suspected it was because he was more than happy to kill people.

“We need to split up,” Kaviathin whispered. “We’ll have better luck if we spread out.”

The sound of a snowmobile brought my attention to the window, and I looked out as two men jumped off one and one man jumped off another. He twirled his finger in the air and pointed at the back of the cabin, then headed around the corner.

“Three men are coming,” I whispered and backed away from the window. We had to separate, and quickly, before they caught us all in one room together.

“Well, let me go say hello then.” Althazair smirked and poked his head outside the bedroom door. A second later, you could hear his boots thumping down the stairs.

The four of us stepped out into the hall, and Kaviathin checked over the railing. “Two men out front,” he whispered.

I passed a dagger to Juliet and gripped the other in my hand. This was it. I was as ready as I would ever be. If those men thought they were going to break into my home and hurt me and my friends without a fight, they were crazy.

“Come, butterfly, let’s go cause some trouble,” Kaviathin whispered to Thora, and my eyes widened.

Butterfly? Damn, I’d known she had been keeping secrets from me.

Thora’s lips set in a flat line, her nostrils flaring slightly. “Give me that.” She grabbed the dagger from Juliet’s hand and handed her the gun. “Get upstairs and keep your eyes and ears open. We’ll stay here and wait to surprise them.”

We nodded and slipped up the stairs. I turned in time to look over the railing as Kaviathin grabbed her hand and they ran quietly down the hall into one of the rooms.

God, I hoped Cian was OK. I knew the trek through the tunnel was at least ten minutes. Would they make it there in time before the men in the woods found it? They had to. They fucking had to. If it was just me out here, I would have chased after him, but I couldn’t, not when I had to make sure everyone else was going to be safe.

Everything was happening so quickly there wasn’t even a second to process anything. Which was probably a good thing, because when I had seen Ryzen’s face on the video monitor, it was like the world had stopped spinning. And I’d known, I’d known, right in that moment, that he was going to fucking die. Because I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life afraid of monsters. No, Ryzen needed to be afraid of me. He wasn’t going to leave here alive. And if I had to die in the process, then so be it.

I could feel it, a new fire raging inside of me as we got to the top floor, and I gripped the blade in my hand until my knuckles turned white. Those assholes wanted to hunt us down? Then come and get us.

It was eerily quiet on the top floor, and we hid in the game room, shutting the door behind us softly. “The closet, Jules.” We rushed over and pushed the snowsuits to the side and squeezed in behind them, sliding the door closed. Our breaths were ragged as we sat in silence. I could hear my heart beating in my ears, and I inhaled slowly to try to control my breathing. We had to try to be calm. Controlled. Fear made you do irrational things, and I needed a clear head if we were going to get out of this house alive. And we were ready to fight tooth and nail to make sure we did.

“You know,” Juliet whispered and bumped her shoulder against mine, “I think a courthouse wedding might be a good thing for you.”

I covered my mouth to stop my laughter and elbowed her in her side. She chuckled, and we gripped hands so tight our nails dug into each other. She was the best friend I could ever ask for. And I would make this up to her. One way or another.

A loud thump could be heard from just below us, and we froze. Another thump and then what sounded like a crash. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as we sat in silence. One minute passed, then two. Maybe Thora and Kaviathin had gotten one of them?

“Stay here.” I kneeled and pushed the closet door open.

“Wait,” Juliet hissed and grabbed onto my leg.

“I’m just going to check if anyone’s coming,” I whispered. “If anyone opens the door, then shoot them. Got it?” I searched her face. There was no fear there. No hesitation. She was ready to do whatever it took to survive. She nodded and squeezed my hand. I pushed the snowsuits aside and crawled out. I made sure they were covering her up as best as I could, then shut the door softly.

I tiptoed across the floor and peeked out the window. It was quiet. Too quiet. Where was Cian? They had to have gotten to the shed by now. As quietly as I could, I walked over to the door and pressed my ear against it. I jerked back as boots sounded down the hall. Fuck. Someone was coming.

I pulled out my dagger, my hand trembling slightly as I looked around the room.

Think Nova.

Our attackers were armed with big-ass rifles, and our best bet was the element of surprise. My gaze landed on the pool table and I rushed over, rolling underneath. They wouldn’t be able to see me from the doorway. If I could just get close enough to them without them knowing, then I could stab them. I would have to be quick and use the darkness to my advantage. The doorknob jiggled, and I let out a shaky breath.

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