Page 15 of Beautiful Venom
Everywhere.
It even splashes my jeans and shoes.
What a drag.
Fred’s mouth is open, his eyes staring at nowhere as he bleeds out in seconds.
“Argh…look what the fuck you’ve done, Jude!” Preston rises to his full height. “I didn’t have the chance to watch him die.”
“Me? You’re the one who killed him, motherfucker. We didn’t even get to torture him.”
Preston squares up to him. “It was because you were being a smart-ass trying to correct me.”
“I wouldn’t have to correct you if you were right, now, would I?”
“I’m always right. Not my fault a peasant like you can’t recognize a superior being.”
“More like a superior pain in the ass.”
“The fuck you just call me?”
Jude steps closer. “Pain.” He taps his shoulder. “In. The. Ass.” He hits him upside the head. “That clear enough for you?”
Preston grabs him by the collar. “I’m so gonna drown you in Freddie’s blood.”
They’re about to start wrestling while bickering as usual, so I sheath my gun in my belt and say, “Just so you know, if you start fighting, I’m not breaking it up. I’m not getting stained by that filthy blood any more than I already am.”
“Oh yeah?” Preston grins, and the motion looks manic with rivulets of crimson cascading down his face. Then he releases Jude’s collar, all aggression disappearing, and places a brotherly arm around his shoulders. “Big man, is it just me or does it seem like Kane is looking down on us?”
“No, you’re right. He has that holier-than-thou thing going on. It’s revolting.”
“That’s what I’m saying. I think we should do something about it.”
“Don’t you fucking dare—” Before I can manage to escape, they jump me.
Jude and especially Preston get the blood all over me. And while I try to throw them off, these two are actually the perfect fucking team and they overpower me.
They’ve always done this, since we were in boarding school. They’d be bickering and I try to break it up, so they gang up on me just because.
I only manage to shove them off of me after Fred’s blood is covering me from head to toe.
Preston laughs and Jude watches with a satisfied expression as I walk out of the warehouse to talk to my father’s men.
Fucking children.
Doesn’t matter how Fred died. It only matters that he died and won’t be betraying Vencor anymore.
The upper echelon, aka the Founders, will pick a replacement for him soon enough. That is, if they haven’t already.
My mission as the Vipers’ captain is to make sure the campus is under control and fulfills its role as one of Vencor’s multiple tentacles.
Since this town is obsessed with hockey to the point of considering it a religion, it makes sense to use the most popular team as our base, through which we keep an eye on Graystone University and even recruit those we deem worthy.
Though, the vetting process only allows us to invite high-ranking members of society.
Usually, that is.
Because as I slide into my car, I’m thinking about the exception to that rule.
