Venomous King (Venom #2)

23. Issy

Chapter twenty-three

Issy

“If falling means keeping you alive, then every world will incinerate under my hands.”

H.S. Crow, Lunora: A Book of Sand

“ C ome on, Julia! Daddy and Papi (Daddy) are waiting for us at home!“ I shout as my daughter ignores my call, and proceeds to climb the slide once again. What am I going to do with this child? She’s already so fierce and stubborn. I dread the thought of how she will be once she becomes a teenager. At least I won’t be alone dealing with her. A smirk crosses my lips, at the image of Kai and Diego bargaining with a hormonal and disobedient sixteen-year-old Julia. Payback’s a bitch, and I’m going to get a front-row seat to that show.

“I’m coming, mommy! Just one more time!” She shrieks.

“What a charming, pretty little girl!” a dark-haired woman, in a hunter’s green sweater and black tights, approaches the bench I’m sitting on, watching and waiting for Julia. I look her over quickly and turn my glance right back to Julia. “Thank you. She’s quite stubborn. She knows we have to get home.” My daughter’s laughter fills the air around us, and it brings joy to my soul to see her happy, healthy, and behaving like any other four-year-old.

The woman takes a seat at my side, placing her bag between us on the bench, and chuckles. “It’s good to be a little stubborn, and she looks like she can handle herself. I’m sure her father will protect her if something happens.” Unease skates down my back at her words, forcing me to pull my eyes away from my daughter and straighten my posture. Up close, I can see the woman is of Latino descent. She’s beautiful, with her dark, lush hair cascading down her back, wide chocolate-colored eyes, which are staring intently at Julia, and rich caramel skin. Nothing outwardly about her appearance gives off the feeling of danger, and yet alarms are blaring in my head. In fact, she looks docile, yet I have learned to listen to my intuition, and right now, it’s telling me to grab my daughter and get out of here.

“Yes, well, we have to be going. Enjoy the sunshine.” I stand up, grabbing Julia’s discarded jacket from the bench. Instantly, a plan forms in my mind to walk carefully towards Julia, so as not to make it evident that I’m frightened, as I try to discreetly look for Diego’s men who were stationed with us in the park. I try to reassure myself that I’m overreacting, but the shiver of unease doesn’t back down; if anything, it gets stronger.

“I wouldn’t bother looking for his men; they have all been permanently silenced, Isabella.” A chuckle leaves her burgundy-painted lips as she rummages through her small bag, and withdraws a small, shiny pistol, pointing it in Julia’s direction, and my stomach drops. “It would be a shame if I had to hurt darling little Julia, wouldn’t it?” She pats the bench seat next to her. “Let’s chat, shall we?”

My knees practically buckle as I return to my seat, my fingers gripping Julia’s pink rain jacket in a death grip. “Who are you? Why are you doing this?”

She leans forward and pushes the pistol muzzle into my side with a radiant smile. “I’m you, or at least I should have been. Unfortunately, you didn’t remain dead.” What the fuck does she mean by that? Who is this woman? She seems to know who I am, based on her comment. Real terror starts clawing at my insides, and my chest tightens painfully. My little girl is just a few feet away, and this woman has a gun. What would happen if Julia ran to me right now? Fuck, baby, please stay where you are.

“I don’t... understand, I don’t know you. Why are you pointing a gun at me, and threatening my daughter?” My eyes dart towards Julia, and I watch as a man wearing all black approaches her with a white teddy bear in his hands. “No!” I instantly pull away and try to stand, but she grasps onto me with her other hand, yanking me back down. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be puta (bitch) , or I won’t hesitate to put a bullet in your chest. Let’s see if you can resurrect yourself from that.”

“Please... please don’t hurt my daughter. I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t hurt her; she’s just an innocent child.” I can’t take my eyes off Julia, who watches the man warily from the top of the slide. I can see the suspicion in my daughter’s little face, her green eyes narrowing and her lips straightening. Gone is the excitement of the slide, and now her little body radiates caution. We have repeatedly told her not to accept candy or gifts from strangers, and here is a man she doesn’t know offering her a toy.

“I have no plans to hurt my future stepdaughter, Isabella. You, on the other hand, are fair game.” Her words tumble into my brain, and I can’t make heads or tails of them for a second. Stepdaughter? How could Julia be this woman’s stepdaughter? Diego . Whoever this woman is, whatever she’s doing here in this park, accosting me, has to do with Diego.

“Diego. This is about Diego. What do you want from me and my daughter?” Climb down from that slide, Julia. Run, baby, get away from these people. I project my thoughts at my daughter, wishing and willing her to escape this situation. Fuck, why did I insist on taking Julia to the park today? Why didn’t I listen when Diego urged me to stay home, until he or Kai could come with us? I thought there was no danger, and even scoffed at the men he insisted I take with me to guard us. I believed he was being too overprotective, too possessive, and chafed at the bonds he was using to restrict our movements. What a fucking fool I am. I may have cost us our lives.

“Very good, so you’re not just a pretty face. Yes, Diego Cabano . The man who fathered your child, Isabella Stratford. The one that is currently being held up with gunfire, while I take what he values the most; his child, and the love of his life.“ I can hear heavy footsteps approaching from behind me, and my body tenses, waiting for the violence yet to come. “As for what I want from you, I want what was denied me years ago. I want my empire , which I would have had if he could have moved past you, and loved me.”

A sharp thud hits the back of my skull, causing me to pitch forward as my vision swims before my eyes. I raise my hands in anticipation of the fall that doesn’t come, as someone wraps a large hand around my neck like a noose, and yanks me backward. I can hear Julia’s high-pitched screams, from just past my darkening sightline. No, I have to stay conscious. I have to protect my daughter. I try to fight off the pain and jerk forward, my legs lifting me off of the bench as I try to escape. Julia! I have to get to Julia!

“Take her, but try not to kill her. You can play with her after I’ve gotten what I want,” the female utters, but her voice sounds like it’s coming from far away. I blink, trying desperately to clear the fog surrounding me, as I feel wetness at the back of my skull and trickling down my neck.

“Mommy! Mommy, help! MOMMY!” Julia’s terrified voice pierces through the loud thudding in my head, and I force my chin to lift. My eyes dart back and forth, seeing everything in a blur of colors. I raise my hand, allowing my nails to scratch and rip at the hold on my neck, and am rewarded with a smack to my temple, that makes my stomach instantly feel like purging itself. “Ju... lia, I’m... coming,” I slur.

“Fucking bitch, you’ll repay me for every scratch with a bite of my whip.” I’m yanked right off the bench, my legs giving out as I’m half dragged, and all the while, all I can focus on is my little daughter’s screams. “You’re going to die, Diego’s whore, and I’m going to enjoy making you scream before you do.”

A slap strikes my face, leaving a burning sensation behind, followed by a punch to my stomach, that has me doubling over and losing complete access to air. “Ju... lia,” I try to get her name out, but my body crashes to the ground, the scent of grass and dirt filling my nostrils, before a hard kick makes contact with my head, and all the lights turn off.

JULIA!

I awake with a searing pain in my shoulders, and it feels like fire is ripping my skin apart. I can’t catch my breath; my chest is too tight, as I labor and gasp for oxygen. My head feels so heavy, as if it weighs a million pounds, as I try to force it upwards. Nothing but hazy gray meets my eyes, as the world lurches and spins before me. SNAP. The sound is loud, before another burning sensation hits my skin, this time lower on my back.

“Fucking whore,” the words are mumbled in anger, before the sound of something quickly whipping through the air greets my ears, followed by another burning sensation, this time on my bicep.

Where the fuck am I? I try to yank on my arms, but instead of moving, they don’t give way, and something tightens painfully at my wrists. Panic hits me, along with the pain, as fragments of what happened come back in rapid succession. Julia! Oh my God, where is Julia? I frantically pull all my limbs, only to realize that I’m entirely strapped down, my legs and arms stretched like a starfish. “JULIA!” I scream, my voice hoarse sounding.

“Now you scream, dirty bitch,” the voice gets closer as I feel movement behind my head. A large hand presses down on my head, pushing it into the hard surface below me, as pain explodes in my skull. “Does that hurt, Stratford puta (bitch) ? You’re lucky to still be alive, but only because I have plans for you.“ SNAP. “The serpent thought he was better than us.” SNAP. “You will wish for death before I am done, and beg to suck my cock.” SNAP. The pain throughout my body is excruciating, my overwhelmed senses beg me to pass out, but I can’t. The image of my scared little girl swims before my eyes.

“Enough, Joaquín, you’ll kill her too soon!” A feminine voice demands. The next strike doesn’t come, and a whimper flees my lips with both pain and relief. “You’ve made such a mess of her back already with your whip, we will be lucky if she lives at all.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Sonja, I don’t have to listen to you. She’s as much my captive as she is yours. You worry about that little brat, and getting Diego under your sharp heel, and leave the whore to me.”

“If she dies too soon because you can’t contain yourself, we will have one less item to bargain with. Think with your fucking head, estúpido (stupid), instead of with your cock.“ A string of words in rapid Spanish ensues between the two of them, as my head spins and tears slide down my face. How long have I been here? Where is Julia? Is she alright, or have they hurt my baby?

“Diego... will... kill... you,” the words tumble from my dry mouth, as I try to use my tongue to lick at my lips, and my body tenses with the pain that races from one limb to the other. My hands try to clench into fists, the tightening sensation causing them to go numb, even as I do my best to lift my body.

“Diego has no idea either of you are even gone yet, puta (bitch) , and when he does discover his missing child and lover, it will be too late to do anything, except fall to his knees before us and beg for mercy. He will beg me to take him back and marry him.”

All of my energy is gone, and parts of my body are on fire that I didn’t even know could feel pain the way they are right now. Every single breath I inhale causes more pain, as if my body is revolting, and trying desperately to escape its current existence. Yet, the harsh laugh I can’t prevent exits my lips. “Diego, beg? You are insane. Never .”

A fist tightens on the hair at my nape, pulling on my strands, and ripping a scream from within me. “He will beg, and do you know why?” She pauses, and when I don’t respond, she yanks harder until I feel my strands ripped from my scalp. “Because you and that child are his weakness. I’ve been waiting years to bring Diego to his knees, to show him that I am the right woman to stand at his side and be his queen, and you have just given me the weapon to do that with.”

This woman is utterly insane. She honestly believes that she will be able to bring Diego Cabano to his knees by kidnapping us. The opposite will happen, she will fuel his rage and madness with her actions. He will destroy the whole world to get us back, and she will die a painful death at his hands. She’s already dead, she just doesn’t know it yet.

“Daughter...”

“She’s alive, the weak little thing. I can’t believe that is Diego’s child. No matter, I will give him great and powerful sons to rule our empire, and she will soon be forgotten, as will you.” I hear her steps moving away, her heels clicking on the ground, and with them goes any chance of the pain ceasing. Her words fill me with fiery rage, how fucking dare she call my daughter weak? She’s the strongest person I know. She was born a fighter, and this unhinged psychopath wants to remove her from Diego’s line of succession. I will fucking rip her apart once I get my hands on her. Her screams will fill my ears as she drowns in her own blood.

“You... will... die. I... promise you...” The words are nothing but a whisper, one I am not even sure she hears, but I feel them strengthen my resolve, and fortify my spirit, with nothing but blinding hate. A Stratford never forgets, and we always pay our debts.

The door slams, and instantly the sound of the cracking of the whip vibrates through the air, before the sharp sting lashes my calf. “You must forgive my sister, she forgets herself. Her desire for that asshole blinds her. I don’t care if she ends up with Diego or not, I want him dead.” A hand slides along my heated flesh, caressing and probing all the areas I can feel aflame, before slipping between my asscheeks and stilling. “I think it would hurt him more to know I have tarnished what is his. Maybe I’ll keep you alive and force you to have my children, Stratford bitch.”

DIEGO! KAI! Where are you? Please don’t leave me, don’t leave us in this hell! Please save our daughter from these monsters!