Sweet Venom (Crazy in Love #1)

by Kirsty-Anne Still

  “Why not?”

  Her eyes look up at me, while her head still hangs

  “Because you killed Bryce, I am now yours. It’s how it was written.”

  “How what was written?” I question, my words coming out more irritable than I wanted.

  “The deal,” she says as if I would know what she’s talking about. “You won’t believe me, but you will when they notify you.”

  “Who’s they?” I give her quizzical look, but I can tell she’s feeling stupid. “Whatever happened tonight, ends tonight… as does this evenin’.”

  “It won’t,” she states.

  I sigh, realizing quickly I’m not going to get through to her. “Right,” I utter turning in my seat. I signal for Liam to carry on driving. “Buckle up, Princess, you’re coming with us until we decide what the fuck is going on.”

  “Where are we going?” she asks, tentatively. “And does it have liquor?”

  Liam snickers at the secondary question. I laugh too, letting a minor chuckle out before twisting around to face her once more.

  “It has the best stuff in town,” I tell her, giving her a wink. “There’s a bottle of Macallan with our name on it.”

  “Good,” she says, and I finally see her let her shoulders slump almost as if her guard has come tumbling down.

  As I face forward, I try to make sense of this girl. She’s no older than her mid-twenties, pretty and petite. She’s just the type of girl I would get between the sheets given half a chance, but from what little I know, she’s been a prisoner, which makes her off limits. Yet that’s the weirdest thing of all – she’s a prisoner. She should want to run and get her life back on track, but here she sits, in a car with two strangers with killer intent pledging to stay with me as if her life depends on it.

  My curiosity blossoms and I can’t keep quiet.

  “I have a question for you, princess,” I start, turning back away around, her eyes widen some as curiosity hits her hard. “Why don’t you run? I’m sure as hell not going to fuckin’ stop you if you did.”

  “It’s not that easy,” she says, that nervousness bubbles back again. “You’ll receive all the information later,” she advises, tempting my interest. “That’s how this works.”

  “Information?” I ask, creasing my brow. I can feel I’m bending and breaking as I become more curious. “What the fuck are you a part of?”

  A slow half-smile graces her lips, igniting her eyes. “Nothing. I’m just a debt collector’s paradise.”

  “She’s asleep,” Liam comments, looking into the mirror hanging on the front window of the car. I see him visibly relax, now finding a chance to speak. “What do you think she meant… you know, when she said she was a debt collector’s paradise?”

  “I haven’t a clue, but I have a feeling we’re about to find out,” I muse, rubbing my jaw. “I don’t have a good feelin’ about it either.”

  “No, neither would I if I were you in your shoes,” Liam agrees seriously. “You know I’ll stick by you whatever happens, right, Boss?”

  I give him a weak smile, feigning optimism.

  There are a few things I know I can trust wholeheartedly. Those men I chose to live around me, those who serve and protect and those who don’t tell a soul are the men I trust with my life. They’ve seen me at my worst, seen me at my best, and prevented me from hitting rock bottom with a solid thud.

  This girl, whoever she is, is someone I don’t trust.

  She’s infiltrated my life, and I allow the small morsel of compassion in me to work overload to make sure she’s okay. Apparently, my kindness isn’t repaid lightly.

  “Hate to do it, but I think I need to be tougher on her,” I utter, preparing myself for a long night. “It was meant to be a simple kill. Why wasn’t she in the brief?”

  “I’m not sure,” Liam answers, keeping his eyes trained forward. “Everyone was accounted for in his life. We only covered the girls he bought. She must’ve fallen under that … she must’ve flagged as an escort.”

  I resist looking back over my shoulder at her and feel the muscles in my brow constrict as I feel for this girl.

  “She’s clearly no escort,” I mumble, my jaw starts to clench at the thought. “Which begs the question of how he got her. If he wanted to sell her, my only guess is that he bought her in the first place.”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Liam agrees, eyes trained on the road. “I was thinking we tip your father off about the club. Maybe this girl can give us some extra information. There’s clearly something serious going on.” There’s a silence, Liam allowing me time to have input. When I don’t speak, he looks over at me before talking again. “And she’s nicely dressed. That dress of hers ain’t cheap.”

  Liam pulls into the garage beneath our apartment block, heading straight for the normal spot by the elevator doors.

  “Harrison wired the surveillance, so it’ll loop until we’ve sorted Bryce’s body,” Liam tells me, as he always does. “Sorry, I’m nervous,” he jokes, a small chuckle releases from his lungs. “Never had an extra to deal with … especially a live one.”

  “Chill out,” I say, laughing. “It runs as it always does. We stay with the car until Mac and Harrison arrive, and then we get this girl upstairs.”

  I then move, reaching for the door handle, I open the door and feel the rush of cooler air enter the car. I start to make quick work to get out ready to be liberated from the stuffiness of the car.

  “Where are you going?” Liam squawks, trying to make me stop.

  “I need some damn air,” I tell him, continuing to get out of the car. “Your nervous energy is suffocating.”

  I notice he’s quick to follow, getting out his side and slamming the door. I give him a scolding look, looking in to see if the girl’s woken up, but she’s still out like a light.

  “Drop the doc a call,” I order Liam, taking up a gradual pace. “She shouldn’t be sleeping this much.”

  Liam straight away gets his cell out and makes the call. I also listen as he contacts Harrison, checking for a time scale of when they’ll be here. He takes to pacing around the back of the car, and I have to smirk at his nervousness. I have never seen Liam like this after a job. He’s usually cool and collected, ready to get the kill and then get rid of the body.

  Slowly, he comes to slow down, leaving the trunk of the car to come closer to me. We end up standing in the parking garage for what seems an eternity, and I’m slowly growing bored.

  “So, I was thinking of a plan,” Liam says, breaking the silence.

  I cock a brow, giving him a sideways look. “What’s that?”

  “Okay, let’s just get inside, get her a stiff drink or two, get her to sign everythin’ and pay her off,” Liam states, trying to form a systematic and easy plan. “Then we offer her a lift to wherever she wants to go.”

  “You make that sound so fuckin’ easy,” I mutter, resisting the urge to smack him around the back of his head. “As if that thought hadn’t crossed my mind almost an hour ago!” I bellow, sarcasm vehement in my words. “It’s clearly not what she’s after.”

  “No, she’s after you,” Liam states, digging a finger into my chest as if to emphasize the point. “She wants you.”

  “Well, she can’t fuckin’ have me!” I say, my voice going hoarse from the outburst. I rub my fingers into my jaw, trying to loosen it. “Can you please tell me how it’s always me that ends up in this kind of shit?”

  I’m no fool. I’m not immune to my flaws and my hellish imperfections. I was born into an underworld that would cast shit on me until the day I died, and I accepted that. What I didn’t accept was pretty little things like Ashley disrupting what life I had taken to living. I wasn’t a hero; I was far from it. I couldn’t be her savior because I didn’t know how to be one.

  “Just a stroke of bad luck,” he says, casually, forcing his nerves away.

  I fix him a killer look, narrowing my eyes onto his. Is fucking kidding right now?

  “
Is that really what you call this?”

  “Yeah,” he replies, his tone unwavering. “All things come in three.”

  “How does that figure, genius?”

  “Firstly, there was Eden,” he says her name without caution, holding a hand up to count. “Now, there’s this girl. Who next?”

  “You’re a fuckin’ dimwit when you want to be,” I snarl, smacking him hard on the head. “That is quite possibly the worst thing you’ve ever fuckin’ stated and I’ve heard a lot of real shit come out of your mouth.”

  “Hey, I’m just sayin’ it how I see it,” he defends, rubbing the back of his head. “Can’t hate on the fact I am a man of facts.”

  “You didn’t need to mention Eden,” I say, already I can taste the bitterness. “Why would you even go there?”

  “I’m playin’ with you,” Liam argues giving a perplexed look. “When did you get so fuckin’ serious all of a sudden, Lawson?”

  “I’m stressed,” I defend, throwing my hand out to the car. “This is fuckin’ stressin’ me out. I have a dead body in the trunk and an unconscious girl in the back of my car. How are you acting so fuckin’ casual about everythin’ all of a sudden?”

  “Because it’ll get sorted,” he says, offering that advice with an easy tone. “If not by you, your father will get well rid of her by the end of the weekend.”

  My blood runs cold. While I may be lenient with this girl, my father won’t think twice. There is no price he won’t pay, and there is no smile sweet enough to make him save a life.

  “Let me out!”

  The hurled command comes with a hand smacking against the glass pane of the window. I drop away from the car, instinctively opening the door to stop her hurting herself.

  “Whoa, little lady,” I say leaning in over the open car door. “No need for the violence.”

  “Where are we?” she asks, looking around.

  “We’re in a parking garage,” I say, as she clambers out of the car, clutching on to keep herself steady. “How’re you feeling, Princess?”

  She looks at me, her eyes narrowing and she’s not happy.

  “How do I know you’re nothing to do with Bryce?”

  “Oh, I am,” I tell her, smirking hard as fear ignites in her. “I’m the bastard that killed that little cunt. His body is just in the trunk if you need the physical proof.”

  She pales but doesn’t lose eye contact with me.

  “Choice is yours, Dawlin’,” I say, fixing her with a bright smile. She looks at the trunk but doesn’t push to see Bryce’s body. “Now, what’s your name?”

  “Ashley,” she tells me with a dry throat. “And yours?”

  “Hopefully, a bigger nightmare than that fucker,” I tell her, pointing to the end of the car. I fix her with a look, wondering how she’s forgotten our names already, but put it down to the fact she hit her head.

  “Oh, yeah?” she asks, giving him a pointed look. “And do you know how big of a nightmare he was?” she asks. I notice now her eyes seem brighter than before; I don’t know whether it’s from the overhead lighting or the extra sleep she had, I don’t know. “Because I hadn’t a clue what he was capable of until he was doing them.”

  I smirk. A little harder this time. I, also, take a moment to cross my arms over my chest. “Do you know what I’m capable of, Princess?”

  “The name’s Ashley,” she corrects me, with a clearer voice. I know immediately she’s not from around here, her accent isn’t remotely close to ours. “I saw you kill a man … I have an idea.”

  “She’s a feisty one,” Liam chides, coming to stand beside me.

  “She’s clearly feelin’ better,” I add in agreement.

  “She’s standing right here,” she states, bringing us back to the moment.

  I laugh, amused by this girl who’s coming alive quickly before me. She’s an anomaly. I thought she was a simple prisoner, but she’s got fight still in her. She’s got a reason to not give up and that gives me intrigue.

  Something very dangerous to feel in life.

  “Okay,” I say, slapping my hands together and rubbing them against one another. “Here’s how this evenin’ is going to work out,” I start, putting a force behind my words. “We’re goin’ to go upstairs when some of my other men arrive, we’re going to get ourselves a drink and discuss the next steps,” I continue, taking a step forward. “But by the end of the evenin’ you’ll be richer and freer … and I’ll be able to leave the Bryce matter well and truly behind me.”

  “No,” she argues, denying my plan. “I told you earlier it doesn’t work like that and it won’t work like that.”

  “You said you were mine, but you clearly didn’t hear me,” I start to tell her, breaking away. “I didn’t buy you from Bryce.”

  “I know that you moron,” she scolds. “This is going to sound too crazy for words.”

  “It already does,” I chide, crossing my arms over my chest. “Now, you’ve been babblin’ some bullshit for the last hour or so, and you’re clearly dealin’ with a concussion, so we’re goin’ to sort you out, and we’ll be done with one another by mornin’.”

  “It’s not that easy!” she bellows, frustration setting loose in her. “Look, you’ll receive all of the information soon.”

  “What information?” I ask, feeling my own frustration ignite. “I don’t know what you think is goin’ on, but you’re solely mistaken. What part of the plan are you not gettin’?”

  “I get it all, but…” she starts to say and ends up signing in utterly irritation. “You set me free, and I’ll be back quicker than you sign any cheque for me,” she admits, and I can see the way her body tenses that she’s not ready to give up a good fight. “I am yours.”

  “Lawson,” Liam says, grabbing my arm. “She’s clearly not easily goin’ to be kicked to the side.”

  “No, I’m not,” Ashley argues, her eyes boring into mine the moment we meet. “Lawson.”

  She says my name like she hates it and it only mystifies me more. I think it’s the way she’s looking at me now like she’s living up to her own statement. I thought I had her pegged as a victim, but she’s more alive than ever.

  It seems the second sleep she had helped clear her head, allowed the shock and fog to lift a little. She’s come out a fighter, and she’s not willing to sure any fear.

  “Look, I’ve done my job. There were no attachments that went with it. You weren’t in my brief.”

  I take another look at her, this time with a more intent look. She’s nothing but skin and bone with a nervous disposition to go with it – which gets only worse the longer I stare at her.

  I reach into the inner pocket of my leather jacket, fingers wrapping around the wad of cash I store in there. Pulling it free, I take a few hundred dollar bills from it and start to retreat toward her. I hope, in vain, that she’ll accept fresh cash and not a cheque to leave me be.

  “Here,” I say, shaking the money at her. “I don’t know what I interrupted,” I say, pausing briefly as the image of Liam bringing her out of the shadows reforms in my mind. “But,” I restart, returning my focus. “It ended the moment Bryce died. So take this, get yourself some warmer clothes, a good meal, and somewhere to sleep. There should be enough to get you home afterward.”

  I hold the money out as if it’ll be some form of peace offering.

  Instead of taking the money, she places her hands around the money, and consequently, my hand. Her dainty, bony fingers grip at me with a feral strength; her eyes start to burn with a fury.

  “Look…” I start to say.

  “No,” she speaks, a stronger conviction. “You look…” Her eyes search mine, the wide browns look desperate to find something in me; like I’m the salvation she wanted. I can tell she’s been here more times than I know. “I’m yours.”

  I scoff.

  “You killed my master,” she states, a doleful expression ignites, and I watch her face finally soften toward me. “Which means I am yours.”

  �
�Enough with this!” I burst, trying in vain to stop myself from laughing in her face. “I kill to break ties, Princess. I don’t do it to get myself a damsel in distress.” I pull my hand away from hers, grabbing her left hand to thrust the money into her hand. “I paid you; you can leave.”

  “I can’t,” she says, a fire starting to burn in her voice. “You leave, I’ll be dumped on your doorstep sooner rather than later.”

  “Sorry to disappoint you, Princess, but once you leave you ain’t going anywhere else with me and I can promise you whoever your carrier is won’t be able to get close enough to me.” I shake my head, more so in disbelief that this girl’s attached herself to me. “So let’s say our goodbyes now.”

  Apparently what I said was funny because the girl in front of me just starts to roar with laughter.

  “Look,” I say, closing the gap. “I do not need a lonely girl.” Much less a girl with the issues this one must trail around. “So, you tell me where to go, and I’ll take you with me. I’ll drop you wherever you want to go. That’s a promise.”

  “I have nowhere to go,” she tells me, innocence in her voice.

  “Everyone has somewhere to go!” I bellow, unwilling to conform to her belligerence to go home. “Now … I’ll let you stick with us until the doc’s been by. If you check out okay, then you’re leaving. That’s the plan.”

  “It doesn’t have to be,” she defies, stepping closer. “Keep me,” she says, offering herself to me. “That’s how this works. You only get rid of me when you die.” I watch a nervous smile start to curl at her pale lips. “Do you plan to die anytime soon, Lawson?”

  I let a mirthful burst of laughter out and shake my head.

  “Princess, I’m practically fuckin’ immortal,” I tell her, not holding the sarcasm from my voice. “But that doesn’t mean you are.”

  “Men who get too cocky will eventually fall,” she prophesizes, her eyes hardened onto me. “I’ve seen it happen too many times.”

  I reach up, rubbing my jaw as I shake my head in disbelief.

  “Your last master wasn’t very good at coverin’ his tracks. I cover every track I make, and while you’re in my presence, you’ll learn to cover yours, too.”