Venom's Prize (Devils Riot MC: Originals Book 10)

by E. C. Land

  I’d just came off the dance floor needing a breather. I sat down at the high-top table we’d been able to claim with a couple of other people we were friends with. For some reason my gaze had gone to the entrance and in stepped the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. Wearing a black tee fitted to his body, you could see the tattoo on his arm peeking from underneath.

  My first thought being of wanting to lift the shirt to see the rest of the tattoo.

  I thought about going over to him but then Emilia sauntered right by me and went right up to him. I guess she didn’t miss him coming in either.

  Jealous over the fact Emilia made it to him before I could talk myself into even approaching him sucks. But I couldn’t be mad, not when I saw him smile at her. I could only wish it were me he’d been smiling at.

  Shaking my head, I follow the directions I’d written down last night while at the motel. With my laptop I’d googled the address and wrote down where I needed to go.

  I slow as I enter the neighborhood, surprised by this and a thought crosses my mind. I really hope I’m not going to barge in on Whip and his family. I don’t know if he’s married or not and don’t want to cause problems.

  Maybe I should have gone straight to the hotel I’d seen when I pulled into town. At least then I could have gotten some sleep first. But it’s too late now I’m about to pull up in front of Whip’s house and there’s no turning back. Not now. I’ve come too far.

  I need to simply suck it up and grow a set of balls or whatnot and get this done. I don’t know if he’ll be able to help me or not, but I really hope so. It does shoot a pang of pain through my chest at the thought of this ending in two ways. One, Whip helps me find Isaac and the man turns his back on his son. The other option is he takes Lincoln and tells me to get lost.

  God, the idea of that happening hurts my heart more than anything. Lincoln means so much to me and I don’t want to lose him.

  Shaking my head, I pull up in front of the address I found for Whip. I notice the two bikes in the driveway right away. Shutting my car off, I unbuckle my seat belt and go ahead and throw the door open.

  Looking at the house from over the top of the car’s roof, I admire the beauty of it even in the dark. It has a wide front porch with what looks to be a swing on the end of it and two Adirondack chairs in the middle with a table between them.

  This looks like a house that has been made into a home. I pray I don’t knock on the door to Whip’s wife opening it. Lord knows I don’t need the headache of trying to explain to her I’m not there for him. Well, I am in a sense. I need his help to find Isaac.

  Snap out of it.

  I don’t even know if Whip is married. For all I know he could be gay, and his partner is the one who designed everything about the house.

  Shoot me now. My thoughts are going rampant and I need to get them together. There is no way in this world Whip could be gay. I’ve seen the man in bars with women.

  Taking a deep breath, I walk around to the other side of the car and open the back door to where Lincoln is sitting. I reach in and unfasten his car seat. I’m sure he needs to go potty after being in the car for so long and having woken up just a bit ago. That and he’s probably ready to eat.

  Crap. I should have stopped to get him something so he could eat while I speak with Whip. I’ll have to ask him if he doesn’t slam the door in my face if he wouldn’t mind Lincoln having a sandwich or something.

  “Aya,” Lincoln utters happily. He’s more than ready to get out of the car.

  “Yeah, buddy,” I murmur, putting him on his feet and taking his hand. “Let’s go see if Uncle Whip is here. He’s your daddy’s brother.”

  “Daddy,” he says excitedly. He’s seen pictures of his dad; I’ve made sure of it. I’d save them from going in the trash one day when Emilia had been going on a rampage. That should have been my first clue something wasn’t right with her. I remember her mom and dad talking when we were kids that she needed to get help, but Emilia’s dad wouldn’t hear of it, said there wasn’t anything wrong with her a belt couldn’t cure.

  With Lincoln’s hand in mine, the two of us trek up to the house and up the stairs onto the porch. I suck in a deep breath and knock on the door. A moment later the door flies open, and I come face to face with not Whip but the man I’ve always been in love with.

  “Isaac.” His name whispers off my lips before I can stop myself, and now I’m more nervous than ever.

  Chapter Seven

  Venom

  Hearing Amaya whisper my name sends a shock straight to my dick. Now’s not the time for shit like that. In fact, no time that involves this woman standing in front of me is a good time.

  “What are you doing here?” I demand. “Actually, explain to me what the hell is going on here?”

  My gaze switches between her and the little boy holding her hand.

  “Daddy,” the little boy says, looking up to me with a smile, and I’m stunned by the words he’s just spoken.

  Oh fuck.

  “Is he who I think he is?” I snarl.

  “What’s going on, brother?” Whip asks, coming around the corner. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice him still and then hear him curse.

  “Um, can you not curse in front of Lincoln?” Amaya asks quietly.

  What the fuck?

  “Brother, let them in. Don’t need this shit happening on the porch. Plus, the kid seems to be doing some sort of dance with his legs crossed like he’s about to piss himself,” Whip mutters his suggestion. I don’t miss Amaya releasing a breath of relief.

  “Potty . . . Potty,” the little boy Amaya called Lincoln says.

  Stepping back, fury rolls through me. I’m confused as to why she’s here and everything else. I don’t get what the hell is going on. Why didn’t I know I had a kid?

  One that looks to be around three years old.

  “Can you show me where the bathroom is and I’ll help him really quick?” Amaya utters quietly. Fuck, I forgot how sweet her voice could be when she speaks.

  “Yeah, it’s the first door on the left,” Whip grunts, pointing down the hall.

  “Thank you,” she murmurs with a nod.

  “No problem, sweetheart, take your time,” he says gently.

  Why the hell is he being nice to this woman?

  Amaya circles around me giving me a wide berth and heads to the bathroom with Lincoln in tow.

  My gaze follows her until the door closes to the bathroom and I turn to face Whip. “That’s my kid,” I mutter.

  “No shit. He looks like you,” Whip grunts.

  “I don’t know why I didn’t know about him,” I say, lifting a hand to run it through my hair.

  “Could his mom have tried to tell you? Maybe it was in one of those letters you didn’t want,” Whip says with a shrug of his shoulders.

  “I don’t fuckin’ know, but it’s not like his mom couldn’t have found another way to tell me I have a kid,” I sneer, regretting the decision I made to not open any of the letters.

  “My question is, where is his mom? I know it’s not Amaya, though I will mention it’s a shame you never tapped that when you had the chance,” he grins. “Woman always had her eye on you when she’d been around us.”

  Fuck.

  I don’t need this shit.

  “You know what, with her here, maybe I could see what she’s like. You know what I mean?” If he didn’t stop fuckin’ around Whip is gonna see my fist in his face.

  “Don’t even fuckin’ think about it, Whip. This shit is fucked enough as it is,” I grumble.

  “Seems that way, Venom.” He nods and doesn’t say another word when we hear the bathroom door open and Lincoln’s voice rambling a mile a minute. Fuck, I’ve got a kid.

  Sighing, I gotta come to terms with that.

  But why the hell is he with Amaya and not Emilia? Is he the reason she’s been calling me constantly?

  Could Amaya have stolen him from his mom?

  Motherfucker. I don’t need
or want to deal with this stuff but glancing down at the little boy who enters the room holding Amaya’s hand, I realize I don’t have a choice.

  The kid is mine and I’ve never been one for games and it seems right now I’ve been played. Now I’m finding out I’ve had this prize for the longest time without realizing it.

  Damn.

  I lift my gaze from the little boy to Amaya, taking in her jet-black hair she’s wearing pulled into a braid hanging over one of her shoulders. The golden caramel color of her skin beckons to be touched. Upon further inspection of her face, I notice the dark circles under her eyes like she’s not been sleeping. This makes me want to ask her why.

  There’s always been this thing about Amaya that drew my attention to her, but I never understood why. I barely remember her speaking to me. Shit, the first time I’d seen her had been the night I met Emilia. She’d been standing at a table by herself. I’d intended to approach her but never got the chance to. I’d gone to get a beer from the bar with the intention of heading to her table to talk to her. But then Emilia came up to me soon after I sat on a stool and started charming me with her radiant smile. Of course, I’d been a fool in allowing her to become my snake charmer.

  Shit.

  If I hadn’t been blinded by Emilia, I might have had a shot with Amaya, unfortunately, that never happened, and it never will.

  “You want to tell me what you’re doing here? And how the hell you found me?” I demand, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “I want to tell you everything I can, but can I first introduce you to your son. Isaac . . .”

  “Venom,” I snap. Hearing my name on her lips does something to me, and I don’t like the way it feels. It’s as if my heart is trying to crack through the cement wall that’s around it.

  “Pardon?” she asks in question. Her eyebrows are drawn together in confusion.

  “You don’t call me Isaac, my name’s Venom.” There’s no way in hell I can handle this woman speaking my name when I never, not once, heard her say it but a handful of times when Emilia had been around.

  Nodding, Amaya licks her lips and why the fuck my eyes zero in on those kissable lips I don’t know. “Venom, this is Lincoln Isaac Dawson. He’s the son I wrote to you about after you deployed, and he needs you to be his dad.”

  Well, shit.

  Chapter Eight

  Amaya

  If looks could kill, I would be dead on the floor right now. I don’t know what I expected but I never thought Venom would be hostile toward me.

  This isn’t the same man I knew four years ago. No, this man is full-blown mean.

  “What did you just say?” Venom sneers, his lip curling at the side. God, I hate the thought of not calling him Isaac, but I have no right to.

  “I . . . um . . . Lincoln is your son,” I mutter.

  “The part after that about you writing,” he demands.

  “I wrote you letters every week. I didn’t know if . . . Emilia let you know about him. I didn’t think it fair of her when she told me she had no intention of calling you. I figured when you never responded to the letters you didn’t want anything to do with him. After you didn’t respond to the last letter I sent you with his picture, I stopped. Gave up on the idea you would want to know your son. I’m sorry I’m here now. But I’m his guardian and I felt it only right that you were given the chance to see him. He needs you more than he needs me,” I ramble, the last sentence near kills me to say as I fight back the tears. I refuse to cry in front of this man.

  “You wrote those letters? Why not email me? Or I don’t know, call my commanding officer?’’ he growls. I mean he literally growls out the words like they were rumbling right from his chest.

  Venom’s voice seems to have this power to make my body react. My stomach feels as if it has butterflies fluttering within it ready to bust through the skin. That or I need to throw up. My nerves are a wreck right now.

  “Why don’t we move this to the living room? Have y’all eaten yet?” Whip asks kindly. I knew I couldn’t eat even if I wanted to. But Lincoln still needed dinner.

  “Lincoln hasn’t had dinner yet. If you have lunch meat, he’ll enjoy a sandwich,” I offer.

  “Fuck that, we’re ordering pizza,” Whip announces. I want to correct him on his language, but at this point, I’m scared out of my mind on what these two men are gonna do. “Let’s sit in the living room, I’ll order pizza while you answer questions.”

  Great.

  How in the world did I not think it would be as simple as showing up and saying, hey this is Isaac’s son will you please help me protect him?

  But what am I protecting him from? I mean yes, his mother tried to drown him, and I took him to keep him safe. Then there’s the fact she pretty much threatened me. Yeah, I guess you could say I’m protecting him from his mother.

  Nodding, I silently follow Whip into the living room. I don’t sense Venom’s sharp gaze on me as I walk in front of him. Soon as we’re in the living room, Lincoln releases my hand and climbs up on the big couch.

  “Dino?” he asks, pointing at the TV.

  “No, buddy, not right now,” I murmur with a slight shake of my head.

  “What is it he wants to watch?” Venom asks, taking a spot near his son.

  “Um, Dino Dan,” I whisper, casting my gaze to the floor.

  “Sit down, Amaya, and start talking. Whip, see if you can find this show on TV for my kid,” Venom says. By the tone of his voice, he’s beyond pissed and trying to control it. I know this because I grew up in a home where my father sounded this way a majority of my life. I have the scars to prove you don’t not listen to a man when he’s in this type of mood.

  I’d been nine years old when it happened. I went to do something for my mama and when I came back, he’d been ranting about a man being in the house. There wasn’t a man when I left. My dad turned on me and I ended up with bruises to last for days. My mama didn’t do anything but watch as this happened to me. Why? Because it took the mark off her back. She’d been cheating on my father and after that day she decided to continue doing so instead of leaving her husband.

  This meant my beatings turned from a whipping with the belt to lashes with a switch. You won’t ever catch me in a tank top without my hair down to cover my back. And you definitely won’t ever catch me in shorts. My legs are where I took a lot of the switch lashes.

  I never had a good life growing up. The role models I had were a cheating wife who left the abuse of the husband to her daughter. Meaning I’d been stuck in hell until the day Emilia and I moved away from our homes into an apartment we shared until right after Lincoln had been born.

  Then Emilia moved out and I stayed a little longer. I finally moved into a small little house that had been remodeled from when it had been a schoolhouse.

  I thought that was pretty cool and the rent hadn’t been out of my price range thanks to my work I do on the computer. I found I had a knack for graphic design and started working on stuff like that for a while, but then I got into working on something else, and now I am a highly sought out cyber investigator. How I got into this is by overhearing a friend of mine talking about some type of auction going on that they wanted to get into to see if it had something on it that was theirs. I’d decided to take a look at it myself and in doing so, I found myself somewhere I shouldn’t have been considering it was known as a backdoor. I ended up making a call to the police with an anonymous tip.

  After that, it kind of imploded from there. I didn’t have to go anywhere or speak to anyone in person. So the only thing I had is my laptop I worked on. It’s the only expensive electronic device I need to own. Tablets and e-readers aren’t for me. Sure, I’d love to read, but I’ll buy the book. Phones are too much of a pain, I guess you can say I’m old school and stick with the simplicities in life where I can.

  “Amaya, sit the hell down and start talking,” Venom orders, pulling me from my thoughts.

  Nodding, I sit on the edge of the couch ready to sprin
g up and run at any moment. I notice Whip sitting on the arm of the couch across from me. His eyes might be glued to the phone, but he was paying attention to me as well.

  “I remembered you mentioning your club and how when you got out of the military you planned to always come back here. So I figured, I could possibly find you if I looked in the right spot. I didn’t find you, I found Whip. I came here tonight, in hopes of speaking to Whip and getting in touch with you.” I take a second to take a deep breath. “I didn’t email you at the time because I didn’t have your email. And if I did, I didn’t have a computer to get on. As for calling someone in order to get in touch with you, I didn’t know where to start. I sent you forty some letters and I figured you would have at least read them. I mean common courtesy and all.”

  “You’re sitting here tellin’ me that I could have known my son all along if I’d opened a letter, a letter you wrote. Why? For that matter, where the fuck is his mother? The same woman who keeps blowing up my phone?”

  Emilia keeps calling him.

  Oh God. I hope she’s not trying to get him to take her back.

  “Um, have you talked to her?”

  “Fuck no. The bitch can go to hell,” he snaps, standing to his feet and leans over the coffee table and gets in my face. “Now, why do you have my son and not her?”

  “Because I took him from her and made her sign her rights over to me to keep me from calling the cops on her when I found her trying to drown him,” I blurt out.

  Um. Um. Um.

  Did the room just become stifling or is it me?

  “You tellin’ me Emilia tried to kill my kid?” he snarls, standing up straight and lifts his hands to slide them through his hair.

  Instead of answering, I nod my head as my way of answering him.

  “He’s staying with me,” Venom declares.

  “Okay, that’s fine,” I mutter and stand. Venom has the right to have Lincoln stay with him. I’ll go stay at the motel and see if I can see him tomorrow. “Um, if it’s okay, I’ll just grab his stuff out of the car and leave you guys be for the night. It’s been a really long trip and I’m extremely tired, so I need to go get checked into the motel . . .”