Page 87 of Venomous as a Snake

I hear Walker yell, “That was too fucking close!”

But I don’t let him distract me.

They know where I am now.

Number One rushes for me, and I shoot him in the chest. As he drops to the ground, Two and Three step into view. I put bullets in both their heads and find a new spot to hide.

My dad’s advice rattles through my mind.

“Stay low. Strike. Move. Never hesitate. When you’re outnumbered, hide. Pick them off.” His perfect white teeth glow in the early morning sun as he smiles at me. “When in doubt, aim for the dick.”

“With my gun?”

“Gun. Fist. Knee. Teeth.” He drapes his arm over my shoulder as he steers me to the shooting range. “Doesn’t matter, Kody. A dick shot will drop him. A head shot will kill him.”

He failed to tell me if a cunt shot works the same, but I doubt he knew I’d be fighting Clay when he started teaching me his tricks.

Martin Ayers is half the reason Fangs values me so much. Those tricks are what he depends on to keep everyone in line. And if something ever happens to my dad, I’m the backup plan.

Was the backup plan.

Tonight, I get true freedom from all the bullshit.

More minions spill from the front door, slowing but not stopping when they see their fallen friends.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

I don’t have time to pick better names for them.

Four squats down to check Number One’s pulse, and I shoot him in the head. Quick and clean. Then I run to the trees, a streak of blonde hair in the dark. I move from trunk to trunk, constantly turning my head to hear all angles.

Five comes at me from the right. I fire a round, hitting him in the dick and grin to myself. He screams before the second bullet pierces his forehead.

I tuck the gun in the holster at my hip and pull the knife from my backpack as I trek farther from the property. My scent is everywhere, thanks to my bleeding arm.

I peeled the scab from the bullet graze off and opened the wound when I left my car. They’ll smell me and think I’m injured, but I left circles for them to follow while I was scoping the place out.

Six slinks ahead of me, searching the bushes around Five’s body. I stalk him, my footsteps silent in ballet flats as I sneak up behind him. He shrieks when I sink the knife into his left kidney. But he only makes near-silent gurgling sounds after I slide the blade deep across his neck.

Dead.

I wipe it clean on his shirt, then tuck my knife away and switch the near-empty magazine of my gun to a full clip. But before I leave the safety of the tree line, I palm a grenade with one objective.

Seven rounds the back side of Clay’s car, and I dart across the yard as I throw my first explosive at them both.

The minion and the car.

Clay loves that yellow piece of shit.

I cover my ears as I jump behind a lone tree, using its wide trunk to shield me from the blast. Fire blazes, lighting the half the yard. Seven’s body speckles the circular driveway, scattered around and on the car like bloody hood ornaments.

I stay where I am, waiting for more minions to pour from Clay’s house.