Page 2 of Venomous as a Snake

Drew hums a low bassy sound that travels across my arms, leaving goosebumps behind. “I eat venomous snakes for breakfast, Kody. Just not you. I learned my lesson. That’s why I always save you for dessert.”

“Heaven forbid you try it again and get bitten,” I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

“I’d take the wrath of heaven and hell before I confessed that morning to Wa—”

“Don’t.”

He sighs heavily. “Have you found him yet?”

“I’ve been here for two days, Drew,” I softly remind him. “I haven’t had much time to look.”

“He’s there. I know he is.”

The certainty in Drew’s voice should make me feel better, but it doesn’t. Somehow, he sounds too sure, like he’s known for quite some time.

“How?”

“Meena Beach is where we talked about going as kids, Blondie,” he mentions. “Don’t you remember?”

“Vaguely,” I mumble, wondering why the fuck we didn’t start here. “If you knew he was—”

“I didn’t know until recently,” he stresses. “But now that I do, it just makes sense. We should have known.”

As Drew keeps rambling, I place my phone on top of the dresser, attempting to move the heavy furniture, to keep myself busy so I don’t overthink the information. If I can get the damn thing to the stairs, I can get it up the stairs. Or that’s the optimism I’m going to exude for the rest of the day.

It slips from my grip three times before I give a surprised shout.

“Rats!”

In three senses of the word. This entire day is just fucking rats.

There are the four naked men running wires for the security system Drew is setting up… Naked because they keep shifting into rats to climb through my walls in the little holes they’ve made, that I’ll have to fix.

There are also two rats outside, sitting in a black Mercedes, watching everything that’s happening in my new house and reporting back what they think they see. Because my ex is insane… As birds tend to be. The babysitters are snitchy bastards, but I don’t know if they’re actually rats yet.

And rats… In the way one would cuss without saying fuck at the top of their lungs when they drop the corner of a dresser on their toes.

“What?” Drew asks through his laughter.

“Fucking rats,” I breathe, repeating myself.

“Be nice,” he smoothly chastises.

“I wasn’t talking about the—It doesn’t matter. I think I broke my toe.”

He tsks, exaggerating his suggestion. “You know, you could hire big, strong men to move all your furniture for you, right? Since you didn’t want the powerful and handsome hunks you love to help you. I would have happily put your bed together.”

“I don’t want to pay for big, strong men,” I mock. “And you want to live in my bed, which is totally different from just putting it together. Also, there are already four naked, shivering men in my territory right now. I need to keep myself busy before I bite their heads off for cutting holes in my walls.”

One rat shifter snaps his attention in my direction, his eyes too wide with fear. The cautious creatures knew I was a predator when they entered my home, but now that knowledge is sinking in.

“I’m kidding. I won’t eat you,” I defend. “For fuck’s sake. I’m a snake, not a monster.”

“Too big to swallow or not into body hair?” Drew slyly inquires, chuckling when I groan at him. “I ordered groceries for you. They should arrive in five minutes.”

I grin as I climb the stairs to get out of earshot. “What would I do without you?”

“Starve?”