Page 141
Chapter 141 of "Tempting Venom" kicks off with action-packed scenes: I wish he were that shallow; it would be so easy to deal with him... Discover more!
I wish he were that shallow; it would be so easy to deal with him then.
āItās becausethis idiotāā Jude squeezes my shoulder. āādecided to burn Osbornās bike out of spite. Told you he wonāt sit still. Heās not the type.ā
āHow do you know what type he is?ā Iām obviously fishing for info, because I realized with staggering perplexity that I know close to nothing about Marcus.
The man I let touch me in the obscenest ways possible and kissed out of impulseāno, weārenottalking about that, I was high and it doesnāt countāis a complete mystery.
Yes, sure. Heās the Osbornās illegitimate child. He was brought up by a single mom who works as a head nurse in Stantonvilleās hospital. He studies mechanical engineering at that hellhole SRC and has been playing hockey almost as long as we have. He earned the position of captain of the Wolves last year, and heās a star of the college league and the god of that ghetto town.
Oh, and heās a mechanic. Oddābut not surprising, I guess. Heās good with his hands.
Not that Iāmthinkingof his hands.
But anyway, all that information is basic as fuck and was obtained by a simple background check from Hayes. And yes, I ordered a background check. I might have asked Hayes for a more detailed one.
Donāt judge. Need to be prepared or some shit, as Kane always says.
The point is, I need more information about the guy whoās messing with my head.
āHave you seen him on the ice?ā Jude says. āHe holds grudges.ā
I frown. āOsborn holds grudges? Heās as clean-cut as boring Kane over here.ā
āNo,ā Kane says. āHeās more antagonistic, to put it lightly. You donāt watch the Wolves game replays, so you might not have noticed this, but if anyone crosses him, theyāll get it one way or another before the end of the game. Sort of like with Jude. But unlike Jude, Osborn doesnāt slam back right away, risking penalties. Heās patient and calculative, willing to let the rage simmer, then he strikes back at the exact opportune moment.ā
āHeās also extremely violent,ā Jude says. āSome players whoāve gone against him have ended up with permanent damage.ā
āExtremely violentcoming from you?ā I gawk. āWho are you and what have you done to my bestie? Show yourself, Judeās imposter!ā
āJude is right. Osborn is truly violent. You just donāt see it in full gory detail like with Jude since heās not impulsive. His strikes are harsher because theyāre premeditated.ā Kane sighs. āCalculated violence is more dangerous than impulsive violence.ā
Calculated violence, huh?
Was it also calculated violence when he decided to fuck with me?
Now that I think about it, during the years of rivalry, there was always this invisible string between us, and I wasnāt quite sure what it was. And while he did target me like he had a vendetta against me, I thought it was a normal hockey thing, you know?
But maybe it wasnāt?
Marcusās fixation on me started after that game where I called his mom names. Apparently, he holds a grudgeāand here I thought I was the pettiest petty of all pettiesāso maybe it didnāt end after he checked me all the way to Sunday.
Or won the game.
Or made me look like a goddamn fool.
Maybe this entire thing has been a game to him. Not that I treated it any differently, right?
My grip tightens around the stick as all sorts of thoughts crowd my brain and the static heightens.
āPoint is,ā Jude says. āStop needlessly provoking Osborn, Preston.ā
āIām not scared of him.ā I snap my fingers. āIt should be the other way around. I could kill him in his sleep.ā
āYou could, but your father wouldnāt be thrilled about it,ā Kane says. āHeās basically one of us now, though not officially for some reason.ā
I narrow my eyes. āWhat reason?ā
āBeats me.ā Kane shrugs. āHis father doesnāt seem to be in a hurry to bring him back.ā