Page 9 of Sweet Touch of Venom
“Dammit, man!” he cries out, going for his wounded knees, his eyes wide like two golf balls.
I tilt my head, watching him shrivel in pain. “Consider yourself lucky. What I had in store for you was far worse than this.” I aim the gun at his head before pulling the trigger. The hot cartridge digging into the flesh between his eyebrows.
I lower my gun, dissatisfied because I wanted to torture him, so this shit better be top level important. Stuffing the gun back into its rightful place, I walk out of the apartment. I’ll be back to gather the body and with my men to clean up the mess I made.
Once I’m out of the apartment building, I’m hit with the gust of chilled air; I tighten my wool collar, skipping down the ruined steps; part of it cracked, and a large chunk is already missing.Cars ride by, honking in the night as if it’s still daylight. The city that never sleeps.
At the last step, I reach for my phone, the bluish hue from it nearly blinding me. I don’t notice the person heading up the steps; my arm bumps them, making us both stagger to the side.
“Apologies.” I look back to see a slender figure, facing the door, engulfed in a hoodie larger than it should be—it doesn’t cover their ass…?herass. A perfect heart-shaped one. She fixes her hood, keeping me from seeing her face. Idonotice the curly hair sticking out the sides of the material.
“Watch where you’re going,” she says in a low austere voice.
The hell.
She’s still making her way up the steps and only I, including the people in this building, know there is a leakage, and it’s not back open until tomorrow morning. So, what the hell is she doing here?
“I’m not sure if you got the notice, but the building is closed.” My foot on the bottom step and one resting on the top.
She places her hand on the handle, still facing forward. “Not for me.”
Okay? From the looks of it, she’s probably a drug addict. It’s fucked up to assume that; however, the area is born and bred of them. Horrible, but the cold truth. She’s going to have to get her fix elsewhere. I don’t have time for the people figuring out there is no leak and why there isn’t a crew out working on the place.
She opens the door, ready to stroll in.
I let out an irritated sigh before stepping up the stairs. “Look, lady, you’ll need to come back tomorrow.” I reach the top quickly before she’s able to step foot inside, I scoop my hand under her elbow to bring her back. Faster than I expected, she twists her arm from my grasp, swiftly turning and bringing her palm up, smashing it into my nose.
“What the—!” I howl out, my hands shielding the bone. I stumble back onto the broken steps, bracing myself, so I don’t twist an ankle on the shitty stairs.
Bitch.
That didn’t go as planned. I brush under my nose, the burning sensation destroying my senses. I seethe a heavy breath as I glance at it, the red smear shining bright between my fingers.
I breathe faster, my muscles tightening. No one draws blood from me. No one!
“Are you crazy?” I bark, ready to lurch forward and snap her damn neck off her shoulders then kick it down the street. I stop in my tracks to find she’s not there. She disappeared like a ghost, unseen, and out of sight. My anger only spikes at that balls of this random bitch. I yank the door open and rush into the building. Soon as I get inside, the elevator door is shutting (just my damn luck) and there she is leaning back against the wall, hands tucked in her black hoodie, green cargos and black boots with one foot over the other. And she’srelaxing,like there’s soothing music playing in it. The hood covers most of her face, only showing an array of long, thick black curls spilling out. The flickering lights do no justice, so I only depict light brown olive skin and a sinister smirk on her lips.
A bit of amazement mixed with a large amount of pure rage builds in my chest.Whoin the fuck is this woman?
I’m disappointed I can’t see all of whom this mystery person is. In my stunned moment, her hand slowly goes up, rolling her dainty fingers eerily in my direction.
My back stiffens. Every ounce of sanity I could’ve had left leaves from her taunt. Oh, you’re dead. I launch forward, bum rushing the doors, eager to catch up so I can see who’s the culprit under the black hood. It’s definitelynota drug addict.
I don’t make it in time before the doors shut, and I can squeeze my fingers in the crack to force it open. They part only a bit then shuts back. My chest heaves as I look above the elevator at the numbers, the light blinking on two, then up to three. I could bolt up the stairs and catch up, but I don’t have the time. This has already stalled me enough, and now I’m left with a bloody nose and a massive shot to my ego. My fist smashes into the elevator twice, the abrasion so hard it shook the door.
“I’ll see you again.” Whoever you are. I shake my head as I step outside while also wiping my nose. It doesn’t feel broken. However, it hurts like hell. The sound of metal scraping against the concrete ground grabs my attention. I glance down, tilting my head to get a view of it.
A dagger.
Nice and shiny, sitting pretty at the end of the staircase. It must be hers, and now I have hope. I grin mischievously to myself. Swiping it off the ground, I stuff it in my wool jacket, closing it and strolling into the dark shadows.
I’ll find you.
I burstthrough the doors of the Academy compound. Everyone’s head turned toward me, perking up. I nod, ensuring there’s nothing to worry about. Some continue to look at me with slightly widened eyes, of course, wondering why my nose looks red and swollen.
“Get back to work,” I grunt out. Immediately, I spot Bedford at his desk filled with devices and computers. I approach thelong desk, knocking my knuckle on the cold metal. “What was the urgency?” I lean on another table set behind him, crossing my arms. “Have we found any information on this V bitch?”
He looks up at me before his eyes spread and his mouth gapes open. “Whoa, what happened to your nose? Did someone punch you?” He leans forward, the wheels on his chair rolling closer to investigate under and around like a doctor.
