Page 50 of Venomous Games

“We have connections,” another calls out. “Hire the one they call Venom. They have a reputation for completing every hit.”

A few people murmur in agreement, and I try not to give any indication that I know exactly who Venom is—my fucking wife.

The rest of the members seem to agree, and when I glance at Arlo, I find him staring at me with a smirk. He stands at the same time everyone else does. I don’t bother sticking around, and he follows me out.

“She’s hiding things, Boston, and I think you know what those things are. Did you marry her to protect her?” he asks.

A sense of guilt hits me. Somehow, I’ve become the man I said I would never be. The Forsaken came before everything else, but now I’m protecting someone who has killed not one, but two of my fellow members.

“Goodnight,” is all I say before I get in my car and drive off.

TWENTY-SEVEN

MAVEN

Maven

I didn’t go straight home for the simple reason that I didn’t want him to come and find me.

I have cameras installed outside, so I always get notifications of movement. And it isn’t until a few hours later that my camera alerts me as I sit watching the running water below. Someone is at my front door. He knocks a few times, and when he doesn’t get an answer, he looks straight at the camera, as if he can see me, then produces a key and unlocks the door. I can’t see him once he enters, but it isn’t long before he exits and then walks right up to the camera and taps it with his finger.

“I know you’re watching. Get home, wife. I have things I need to discuss with you.”

I don’t answer, even though I could if I wanted to. Instead, I turn my phone off and sit on the edge of the bridge as I look down over the water. I’ve killed a lot of people in my time, but I can honestly say I’ve never thrown someone off a bridge or even dumped a dead body from one before. But as I sit here and stare down, I wonder about it. It’s getting pretty cold at night now, and the water would probably be frigid if they didn’t die on impact, so maybe they would die from the cold.

I stay there until my stomach begins to grumble. Cars whiz by behind me, but I pay them no attention. They aren’t able to see me from where I’m sitting anyway. Carrie and I used to come here as teenagers. We’d sit here for hours on end, just talking about how we wanted our lives to go.

I never thought for one minute my job would be to assassinate people, or that I would marry a detective. But the thing is, he’s not just a detective. He’s a corrupt one who also takes pleasure in killing people. And I know he’s hiding some demons—I see them flicker in his eyes. I also don’t think he’s the type of man to divulge anything he doesn’t want to share. He’s very closed off, but I respect that because not everyone should have all the pieces of you at once.

Standing, I hike up my dress and make my way home. When I return, I find him out front in his car. It’s been hours since he showed up at my apartment. When I reach the car, I glance inside to find him asleep. I knock on the window, and he slowly opens his eyes, locking them on me in an instant. After a few breaths, I step back, and he opens the door and gets out.

“Where have you been?” he asks, and when I don’t respond, he steps closer and raises his hand to cup my jaw, causing my pulse to race. “Where have you been?” he repeats.

“Out.” I shake my head because I don’t want his hands on me. They make me feel things I shouldn’t want.

“Where?” He shoves his hands into his pockets.

“What does it matter?”

He glances down at my shoes.

“You don’t have your killing heels on, so I hope I don’t get a call about a body soon.” I hate that I told him that. Carrie was the only person who knew that fact about me.

“The day is just beginning,” I quip with a grin as I attempt to push down whatever feelings regarding him are trying to surface.

“Wrong heels,” he reminds me, and my heart stutters, betraying me.

“I can change.”

“I’m hungry. Come for a drive. Unless you ate?”

“I didn’t. Your party sucked.” I notice he’s still dressed in the same clothes from last night. He removes his jacket and puts it over my shoulders, getting too close for comfort.

“It did, and I still need to discuss something with you.”

“What is the hunt?” I blurt, remembering what Cressida said.

“Where did you hear that?”