Page 31 of Venomous as a Snake

“Kody isn’t new to this shit. Her dad is Martin, the Snake Eye’s chief enforcer. Besides, she just drugged them, and they were only two—”

Forrest rubs at his temples. “What does that mean, Walker?”

“It means Clay will assume I told her about our run-in, and she’s striking back against him for my carelessness. He’ll send more guys, but they won’t be simply following her anymore.”

Collin stares at me, his territorial nature warring in his expression. “They’ll try to kill her?”

“Not yet,” I mutter.

The rhino drops his hands to the countertop, folding them together. “Why is this easier for you to talk about than—”

“It’s not easy,” I defend, then snort. “What you’re hearing is confidence in her ability to defend herself now that he’s pissed her off. She’s not confrontational and usually sticks to herself. But she watches, waits for her opening. She won’t let him force her hand; she’ll be patient. And that will drive him insane until he attacks one of us.”

“And then what?” Forrest asks.

The question provokes too many emotions that I haven’t felt in years. I’m mad, aggravated… Hurt. I just walked out on my mate after not seeing her for two years. Naturally, I’m the asshole, but what the fuck was I thinking?

There is no more time to stall, plan, or avoid an attack.

This is the true beginning of the end.

“And then what?” I repeat, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. “I don’t know. But there are only two options. We die, or he does.”

A few days pass with nothing extraordinary happening…

Except my heart aches with a throbbing pain, like my ankle did while healing. But I do my best to ignore it.

Until I can’t.

I end up texting Drew one word: address.

While I wait, I slip into workout clothes and step into the bedroom-turned-dance-studio at the opposite end of my upstairs hallway. I had the flooring replaced and mirrors put on the walls before I moved in. The creamy gray paint is boring on its own, but the blues and purples of the decor make this space my personal haven.

I’m barely ten minutes into stretching when my phone pings. And I’m in the guy’s driveway before I realize I’ve even gotten in my car.

Autopilot will do that to the best of us.

Ali meets me at the front door with a sweet kiss on the top of my head. His behavior lets me know Walker has already been here. Or at least called Drew to bitch at him. But I needed time to collect my thoughts.

“He’s in his room,” my gentle giant whispers. “I’m just heading out, but I’ll stop by to see you when I get back tonight.”

I twist my hand in his shirt, pulling him down to meet my parted lips. He doesn’t bend to my will, instead scooping me up and wrapping my legs around his waist. My back touches the wall, patches of bare skin meeting the cool surface. I hiss into his slow kiss, and he grins.

“You get to make out, and I’m going to get bitched out,” Drew yells from his room. “That’s hardly fair.”

“You made your bed,” Ali quips without raising his voice or pulling away from me.

Drew scoffs but doesn’t reply.

“I take it you two have had it out as well?”

“I understand his reasoning,” the Komodo dragon states. “That doesn’t mean I agree with his methods, though.”

“Komo,” I whine, hating his answer. “Why so secretive?”

“It’s not a secret,” he assures me. “I have to go, and he needs to explain… And you are so very distracting.”

I nip at his jaw. “Later?”