Page 15 of Venomous as a Snake

“She wouldn’t bite you—”

“Not with her fangs,” I mutter. “That would be better than her hurt feelings and cold eyes, though.”

“Why haven’t you told them?”

“I should have told her months ago,” I admit. “Walker asked me to wait before bringing her here, but I couldn’t hold her off any longer. I didn’t want their bond to fade. And it would have, because she’s happy with you and me.”

Ali widens his eyes, encouraging me to continue. I don’t want to, though I do. He needs to know.

“Walker wanted to wait before he got close to Kody again—”

“Because he went after Clay.”

I nod. “He went after Clay by himself, and it didn’t turn out too great. He narrowly escaped. Forrest found him with a bullet wound in his thigh and a rattlesnake bite on his calf.”

“Does Kody know?”

“No. She thinks she made the first move, which is why she drugged those guys instead of something more… gory? If she knew, your pickup would have gone differently.”

“So, now we’re waiting for round two?”

“Pretty much.”

Ali scratches at his jaw. “And why aren’t we staying with her? You know, to make sure she’s not alone when he shows up?”

“He won’t show up yet. Clay will assume she’s with Walker, since she finally snapped. He’ll send someone to take her from us, which she’s already expecting. Then he’ll get mad and try to kill her—”

“Are you fucking serious?” he interrupts with a snarl.

I nod again. “When that doesn’t work, Clay will show up.”

“You are serious.”

“We’ll start staying with her somewhere between the attempted murder and the second round of breaking-and-entering.”

“That’s a fucked-up plan.”

“If Clay’s minions see us too close too soon, it’ll become more difficult to reach him. Really, this is the safest way.”

Ali snorts. “I can’t wait to hear her plan.”

“That’ll be her plan,” I tell him as we walk back inside.

“Are you a mind reader now?”

“No, but I’ve known Kody all her life. Clay, too. This is what they’ve been doing since we were kids. He does something behind her back to hurt her, because he’s scared of her. And she does something that gets his father’s attention, because Fangs loves Kody more than he loves Clay.”

“What does getting Fangs’ attention do for her?”

I stop in the hallway, still facing my bedroom, as I contemplate my answer. There are a few pros and cons, but one outweighs them all.

“It keeps her alive.”

* * *

Freshly showered, I stretch across my bed and turn on my laptop. I double click the white snake icon that houses the program running Kody’s cameras… Because I enjoy stalking my prey.

Her bite hurts like hell, but it’s worth the reward.