Venomous King (Venom #2)

34. Kai

Chapter thirty-four

Kai

“It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.”

Julius Caesar

J esus, we are going to get ourselves killed. What was I thinking, coming with this asshole? Not only are we risking Stella’s monstrous wrath, but we are also going to start a war with Mia’s men. They won’t take it well when we kidnap their girl, and force her to help us get Isabella back. And to be honest, that fucker Theo scares the shit out of me, he’s almost as psychotic as Diego. Despite knowing all that, and that my death is probably imminent, here I am, secretly watching Mia Stratford shop for lingerie, in one of the priciest stores in Manhattan. Diego is turning me into some unhinged stalker creep.

I keep my eye on the woman who is just as terrifying as her grandmother, as she peruses through a rack of skimpy teddies, and I feel heat rise up the back of my neck in embarrassment. My hand drags down my face in aggravation, as Mia picks up a sheer black number, and I force myself to look at her feet instead of how she’s holding the bloody thing against herself, as she admires it in the mirror. Nope, naw, fuck that , I do not want to know what she wears for her men. This is a line I’m crossing, that is sure to get Isabella to kill me with her own hands, if she ever finds out. I tap the flask that is sitting in my back pocket, and think about taking a huge gulp for liquid courage. He would never know if I took a drink, one wouldn’t do any harm, and it would help my hands to stop trembling.

“Boy Scout, you still got eyes on Goldilocks ?“ Diego’s voice startles me in my ear, and I almost release a scream that would for sure get me caught. Bastard, why does he have to scare me? He thinks it’s funny to give Mia that nickname. When I asked him why that particular one, he explained that Mia, like Goldilocks, had a penchant for trying out many of the same things until she was satisfied. In this case, the thing was dicks, and that’s how she ended up with four of them.

While I’m stuck here watching Mia shop for bras and undies, Diego is working on getting rid of her security detail, who are hovering just outside of the store, and her fiancé Mateo, who is in the bakery next door, getting treats for his queen. “Yeah, dick, can you try not to give me a fucking heart attack next time,” I whisper, and the background noises of the street outside echo back through my earbuds.

“Get it together, pretty boy, you have a job to do, and you better not be fucking drinking. I’ll slit your throat if you fuck this up.” His deep voice rumbles the threat back through my ear, and a shiver races down my back. What the fuck is wrong with me? Maybe Diego is right, and I need to stop drinking. I’m starting to lose my mind. I want to blame it solely on the stress of the last couple of months, of watching Issy self-destruct and then murder that man, and on the fact that she walked away from me, as if our time together was nothing. It’s as if I meant absolutely nothing to her, and that she never loved me. The problem is, I think I did this to myself, and am as much to blame for what has happened as she is.

How could I have allowed this world to invade ours? We were happy living our lives back in Oregon. There was peace and contentment between us, wasn’t there? All the thoughts that run in a vicious cycle in my mind, filling me with doubts that our world was as perfect as I keep believing, try to rise and attack me. Maybe I was never enough for her, despite trying my best. I’m weak, useless, and unwanted; no wonder she walked away from me, not once but twice now.

The pain and tightness in my chest are my constant companions. I rub at the spot, trying to alleviate some of the feeling of hopelessness that has wrapped itself around me, like a thick skin that I am incapable of shedding, without my beautiful rose being back in my arms. Please come back to me, baby. I need you so much. “Fuck you, Diego. I’m here, aren’t I? Like a creeper watching her shop for panties.”

“I’ve managed to get rid of one of her security gorillas, and I’m working on the second now. My cousin is going to be the problem. I don’t want to have to slit his throat, I kinda like the guy.” Jesus, is this guy admitting that he already murdered one of her security guards? Fuck, I did not sign up for this shit, I don’t want to murder anyone. Well, that’s not exactly true, I don’t think I would feel a lick of remorse over ending Stella for good. Fucking dragon bitch. “We said we wouldn’t kill anyone, Diego, what the hell are you doing?” I hiss.

“I never said that, you did. I’ll do whatever it takes to get to Issy, and I will not miss a wink of sleep over ending anyone who gets in my way. Got to go, I see an opportunity to put the second one into a permanent nap. Make sure you don’t lose sight of her, dick.”

Mia starts moving toward the dressing rooms at the back of the store with a bunch of garments, and with a deep breath to steady my nerves, I follow her at a distance until she moves around the corner and she’s out of sight. Fuck! Diego will have my head if she slips through our fingers. I slink like a creeper around the corner, with a last look back into the store, to see if any of the salespeople are watching. Once I turn the corner, I’m immediately confronted by Mia, who throws a fist right into the side of my face, and has my head smacking against the wall. “Jesus fuck!” I groan, as I attempt to shake off the pain now radiating from my jaw, and the ringing in my ear. Why the fuck does she hit so hard?

“Why are you following me around, Kai?” Mia demands, her hands fisted on her slim hips and a look of outrage across her face. I take a step back, not wanting to get punched again, and meet her blue-green eyes, ones that always seem to remind me of the Caribbean sea; beautiful but deadly. In their depths, I see fury but also compassion. “I’m not, I just happen to be in the store.”

“So you’re shopping for bras and thongs, is what you’re saying, hmmm? For yourself, or for someone other than my sister, who will have nothing to do with you?” If it’s possible, she looks even more menacing, at the mere implication of me shopping for undergarments for someone other than Isabella. “No, wait! Fuck no, of course not, there is no one else. You know that. How could you even think that would be possible? I love Isabella with all my heart.”

Her eyebrows furrow, and one of her arms rises again, and I swear she’s going to beat on me before she wags her finger at me. Her pretty pink daggered nails look sharp, and like they could easily tear out my throat. Shit, I’m going to die here, I’m an idiot for listening to Diego. “Did that snake put you up to this, Kai? You know you don’t have to do what he says, right?” She takes a step forward, but I panic and take one backward, to keep out of her reach. Some fucking stalker I turned out to be, I’ve already been caught, and she’s going to swing at me again, I can feel it. Not to mention now that I’ve screwed the plan up, Diego is going to lose what little brain cells he has left. Either way, I am dead; it’s been nice knowing you, world.

“What snake?” I try to play coy and avoid directly looking at her. I know I am not fooling her, Mia is not stupid, she can see right through me. She discards my deflection and darts forward, getting a fistful of my shirt and yanking me to her, as I release an undignified squeak. Christ, for such a small and slender woman, she’s strong as hell. “I can smell Diego all over this shit, Kai. Do you know what would happen to you if my security detail, or one of my men, caught you sneaking around and following me? Not to mention that you would further incur more of my grandmother’s rage.”

“Pretty sure the gorillas won’t be a problem,” I mumble under my breath, and she gives me a curious look. Her head tilts to the side, and her frightening eyes narrow on me. “What was the plan here, Kai? Were you trying to speak with me privately? You know I can’t help you with Issy. I’ve already tried, and she refuses to listen to what I have to say.”

My shoulders slump at her words. I know that Mia is on my side, and she doesn’t believe that I should be separated from Isabella and Julia, but my beautiful rose is not listening to reason. She’s got it in her head that we can’t be together anymore, and she hasn’t even completely explained why. I get it, we were both assholes, constantly fighting over her like two street dogs fighting over a bone. Does she not understand how much I love her, how much that prick Diego loves her too? We can be better, and we can make this work if she gives us another chance.

“I need her back, Mia. I can’t survive without her. My world is nothing but grays and darkness now. Nothing has any meaning without her. She ripped out my fucking heart, and took it with her when she left me, and I’m barely breathing.”

Mia’s shoulders droop as she releases her hold on me, and averts her eyes from observing how disgustingly pathetic I now am. I should be embarrassed at falling apart and spilling all my emotions at her feet, but honesty, that ship has sailed. “Goodness, Kai. You need to pull yourself together. I get it, you love her, but what if she never relents? Have you thought about what you’re going to do if she never comes back to you? It’s been months, Kai.”

Her words are a blast of fury through my veins, and cold, brutal rage fills me. She will come back to me, I refuse to even consider any other possibility. Diego is right; I have to pull myself together and get this done. This is the first step in getting my Isabella back, and if I don’t put in the work, nothing will change. Every day that I am away from her, she adds more distance between us. What if one of these days, she meets someone else with whom she believes she can have a future? I’ll kill him, I’ll rip his throat out while my little rose watches. She’s mine .

“I’m sorry, Mia, truly I am. Just know that there was no other way.” I pull the gun that Diego gave me from the small of my back, and point it at her chest. She releases a deep sigh and rolls her eyes, as if I’m not a threat to her in the slightest. “What are you going to do with that, Kai? Are you going to shoot me? How will that help you get my sister back?”

“No, he’s not going to shoot you, Mia, he doesn’t have it in him. I, however, will, without any remorse, but first, you’re coming with us.” Diego pops around the corner, his forearm around his cousin Mateo’s throat, and a gun pointed at Mateo’s temple. “Or better yet, I’ll make sure Mateo never sees another sunrise, if you don’t cooperate.”

“Don’t... do... this... primo (cousin) ,“ Mateo grunts.

“I’m going to rip out your fucking throat, you snake, release Mateo immediately,” Mia shouts and takes a step forward towards Diego, but I place myself in her path.

“Temper, temper, little reina (queen) . I suggest you do what we say without causing a scene. I kinda like my primo (cousin) here, and I would rather not end his life, even if I would be doing him a favor, so he doesn’t spend eternity with you.“ Mateo tries to push against Diego’s hold, but he tightens his forearm until Mateo’s air is being cut off. I try to catch Diego’s eye to give him a ‘What the fuck are you doing? This is not part of the plan’ look, but the asshole never takes his eyes off Mia’s hostile and enraged form. If I thought she was scary before, I was mistaken. Right now, she looks like she could spit fire, and rip both our heads off our necks. He’s going to get us killed before we can even try to get Isabella back.

The safety clicking off of Diego’s gun gets all of our attention, and Mateo goes statue still, and stops attempting to dislodge Diego’s confining grip. “You would hurt your own cousin, to force my assistance with whatever half-cocked plan you have in that psychotic mind of yours, to get my sister to take you back? Are you truly that unscrupulous?” Mia questions, her face becoming more and more blotchy as anger fuels her.

Diego bares his teeth at her, the expression giving him an utterly villainous look. “I will pull the trigger, and walk out to the taco truck and have a bite to eat, with no fucking remorse and his blood on my hands, if I don’t get what I want. Don’t fuck with me, Mia. I’m not playing games here. I want my Princesa back, and you’re going to help me accomplish that, or you’ll be down a King of Casbury, and have one less baby daddy.”

“Jesus fuck, Diego. We said we wouldn’t hurt them! You promised me Mia wouldn’t get hurt.” My hand shakes as I continue to hold my weapon pointed at Mia.

“I lied. Nothing is going to stop me from getting Issy back, and I don’t care what I have to do, or who I have to hurt, to make that happen. Cuff the bitch, and gag her, we’re getting out of here now.”

I do as he says, after placing my gun back safely in the waistband of my pants. Mia doesn’t fight my hold as I pull her arms behind her, and position the handcuffs around her wrists. As I go to wrap the gag around her face, she turns her head, her intense gaze meeting mine. “My grandmother is going to rip your beating heart from your chest, and when she is done with that, I am going to set it on fire. You just fucked up; you decided to play games with a Stratford.”

Why are all these Stratford women so bloodthirsty? Fuck, we are all going to die.