Page 45
Chapter 45 of "Tempting Venom" opens with suspenseful action: āThis is literally my familyās forest, and we have the cleanup team on standby.ā I... Keep going!
āThis is literally my familyās forest, and we have the cleanup team on standby.ā I stride to Judeās side and wrap an arm around his shoulders. āJust say you hate life, unlike me and the big man.ā
Jude slams his stick against my shoulder. āDonāt kill him. Heās all mine.ā
āFinders keepers,ā I singsong, then jump off the porch.
āMotherfucker!ā
I hear Jude curse, but Iām already gone, slipping between the trees I know by heart.
A lot of shit has gone down in this forestāincluding the old-fashioned ācharacter building,ā where Kane, Jude, and I got dumped out here and were told to fend for ourselves.
And thatās not even counting all the nights I wandered out here alone. Itās never scared me.
Justā¦triggered the occasional epic meltdown, but no witnesses, so it doesnāt count.
Imagine if Dad or Lenino had seen me?
RIP, my beautiful body.
Back in the present, Iām sprinting at full speedābasically the only advantage I have over Jude.
Branches and leaves smear across my peripheral vision, and then I catch a glimpse of his massive frame.
Fucking bitch.
Heāsnottaking my hunt.
I push harder, using every bit of leverage I have, tracking the prey by sound, by movement, by the sharp, sour smell of his fear.
The manās steps thunder through the forest, heavy and eager, his terror cutting through everything. I can smell it. Feel it crawling under my skin.
The moon flickers behind clouds, barely giving us anything.
But I donāt need it.
Iāve always been at my best in near darknessāwhere no one can see me.
I catch the manās shadow and launch myself at him without a single second of hesitation, driving my knife deep into his side.
āHello, motherfucker. This is your grim reaper reporting for duty.ā
The man screams, the sound loud and grating, but it doesnāt touch anything in me.
My vision is red, splashed by his hot blood, and my hand is steady as I shove him against the tree and stab him again and again.
And again.
Swish.
Swish.
Swish, motherfucker.
And just like that, Iām faced with the same shadow that manifests in front of me when Iām stabbing people to death.
The face in the darkness, the one I canāt see properly but know exactly who he is.
āShh, Preston.ā