Page 82 of Venomous Games

“I didn’t at first. It took quite a while for me to earn my reputation and get paid the amount of money I do,” I say proudly. Because I’m proud of how far I’ve gotten. No one knows the work I had to put in to get where I am, and no one can take that away from me.

Victor asks me a few more questions on the drive back to the forest, and I answer every single one. Other than that, we hardly speak, and our friend in the trunk wakes back up again, but this time we don’t bother pulling over because we know he can’t get out.

When we come to the end of the long dirt road, we find the Forsaken members standing there, but there’s no sign of Rolland’s body.

Boston strides over and opens the passenger door for me, then glances at the back of the car when he hears a thumping sound.

“Went well?” he asks.

“Splendid! Would have gone faster if Victor had helped,” I say, getting out.

“I did help,” Victor argues.

“After watching me struggle to pull the body for a good twenty minutes,” I shoot back.

“It was entertaining,” he says.

I walk around to the back of the car, and Boston stands next to me as I press the button to unlock the trunk. The guy doesn’t try to jump out and hit me this time.

I don’t generally ask about the purpose of a hit. But sometimes the file I’m given contains all the information Carrie has on why a client orders a hit. I’m not one to judge what someone else needs and wants, so most of the time I don’t bother reading it. But on the ride over to collect this guy, I skimmed over the reason. It was his wife who hired me. It seems he is quite abusive, not only to her, but also to their children. He also has a lot of money, so he can afford lawyers to take the kids from her.

His eyes are somehow a mixture of wild and wary as he takes in his surroundings. I don’t blame him. Usually, I just kill the target. But because I’m a good wife, I wanted to make my husband and his friends happy so they might like me.

I turn and look at Boston, who doesn’t take his eyes off the guy in the trunk. “I think I love you,” I tell him, my heart pounding in my chest. His hand finds mine, and he squeezes it, but he doesn’t say it back. It stings a little, but I try to keep that to myself.

A few members wander closer, this time with their masks on. I notice even Victor has put one on. It appears Boston and I are the only two without masks.

This time Victor reaches in and happily removes the guy, who tries everything in his power to get out of his grasp. Victor is a big fucking man, and I don’t think the guy is going to be able to overpower him.

Boston’s hand slips from mine, and he puts his mask on before he joins the others. I stand watching them, completely transfixed. They’ve spread out in a semicircle around the guy, leaving the direction of the forest as his only escape.

They start chanting something, and it takes me a moment to understand exactly what they’re saying.

“In the shadows we hunt. In the night we kill.”

I lean against Victor’s car as one of them squats down and tells the man to start running. They wait as the guy takes off into the forest. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do as I watch each of them follow until I’m left in the darkness by myself.

I keep going over the words I said to Boston. I’ve never told a man that I love him, and yet it slipped out so easily with him.

And he didn’t even say it back.

Does he not like me? Surely, he does. What is there not to like? Sure, I’m a little bit messy. Sure, I like strawberry milkshakes more than the next person. But maybe he finds those things endearing.

I start kicking rocks as the forest grows quieter and quieter. Then, I climb into the back of Victor’s car, not shutting the door, so at least the air can circulate. I lie back and close my eyes, then I pull out my phone and call Carrie. Thankfully, she answers on the first ring.

“I take it you’re still alive,” she says.

“Yes, thankfully. But no more work for them,” I tell her.

“Noted.”

“I told him I love him,” I blurt.

“You what?” she asks, baffled. “You don’t…” She pauses. “You love him?”

I squeeze my eyes shut. “I do.”

“You do know he’s a detective, right?” I laugh because she’s well aware that even though he’s a detective, he’s also part of the Forsaken Society. Which means he isn’t as clean as he appears to be.