Page 77 of Venom and Bind

I set the pitcher and my purse on the counter, turning towards her. “Jules…” My purse tipped over, falling to the ground. The contents flew across the linoleum. “Fuck,” I muttered and bent down, picking up my cell phone and keys. She grabbed my wallet, the zipper open with a piece of paper sticking out.

“What’s this?” She kneeled, staring at the paper.

No, not a paper. It was the photo Dobbs had given me. I didn’t know why I’d kept it. He’d never returned any of my calls or gave me an answer. What had he said?This explains everything?

I grabbed the photo, my gaze traveling from one smiling face to the next. And that was when I saw it. I didn’t know how I hadn’t connected to it before. All the children, except two, had one blue eye and one gray.

A thousand thoughts rushed through my mind and I tried to grab and hold on to one.

It had been right in front of my face this whole time.

Motherfucker.

My jaw clenched as I gripped the photo in my trembling fingers.

“Nova, what’s wrong?” Juliet’s eyes widened, and she helped me stand up. “You’re as pale as a ghost.”

I pressed the power button on my phone, but it was dead. “I need to borrow your phone.” She raised her eyebrows, but handed it over. “Give Cian the water and tell him I’ll be back.”

Her face twisted in worry, but I didn’t have time to explain. I ran out the hospital doors to the line of waiting taxis and jumped in the back of one.

“Where to, miss?”

Fuck. “What’s the most expensive hotel within ten miles of here?”

“Covington Palace is about five miles south.”

Well, of course it fucking was. I’d come full circle now, hadn’t I? “Then that’s where I need to go.”

The cab dropped me off ten minutes later, the Covington logo looming overhead as I went up to the front desk.

“Two men, covered in tattoos, scary-looking. What room?” I slammed a hundred-dollar bill on the counter.

The kid at the front desk swallowed visibly as he looked me up and down. Something in my eyes must have told him today wasn’t the day to fuck around, because he nodded and wrote the room number on a piece of paper, then slid it over.

I snatched it and took the elevator to the top floor, then banged my fist against the door. Althazair swung the door open, blinking in surprise as I pushed my way in.

“Well, come on in, Nova.” He chuckled and placed his gun on the glass coffee table. “Kaviathin’s out there.” He pointed towards the patio and plopped down on the couch.

Kaviathin leaned against the railing, a smirk on his face as he turned towards me. He looked just as bad as the rest of us, his face bruised and cuts all over his knuckles. “To what do I owe the pleasure this time, Nova? I can’t imagine you came here to thank me for saving your life?”

I would have smacked him if I had thought that would have done me any good. Thank him? He was one of the reasons we were in this damn mess in the first place. But I would get to that.

“I need you to make Cian dead.” I stared him straight in the eye, unwavering.

He arched his eyebrows and took a step closer. “You want me to kill your lion?”

“No.” My head was so twisted up, I couldn’t get the right words out. “I need you to help me make it look as if he died at the hospital. Ryzen… he got away. He fucking got away. He’ll never stop. Don’t you understand? He’s never going to stop.” I clenched my hands into fists, my nails digging into my palms. It was like living in one of those horror movies from the eighties where the killer never died. He just kept coming back to kill over and over again.

Kaviathin didn’t even flinch when I said Ryzen was still alive. Because he already knew. Which just confirmed whatIalready knew. “I understand your distress, but I don’t know how I could help you. That is beyond my capabilities.”

“But you know someone who can.” I reached into my purse, shoving the photo Dobbs had given me in his face.

Kaviathin’s jaw clenched as he grabbed the picture out of my hand. We were silent for a moment, the outside world dead to us as his eyes flickered to mine, then the photo.

“You’re a very clever woman, Nova. But reckless.” He tapped the picture against his palm. “I could just kill you,” he said.

“But you wouldn’t.” I lifted my chin up, not backing down.

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