Page 264 of Tempting Venom
The doctor tells Dad something about remarkable improvement and tissue repairs and says he’ll prescribe a few things, but I’m barely listening.
Hey, fancy doctor, I want out of here. I want to…what?
Go to Marcus, and be like, “Sike, bet you thought you’d never see me again.”
I need a better plan.
Wait.
I remember the godforsaken letter that I hope to fuck Hayes defied orders for once and didn’t send, and I kind of slump back into the bed.
Dad sits on the edge, and I push back against the headboard.Whoa.That’s the closest he’s been to me in ages.
“Am I dead after all?” I croak, my voice husky and slightly raw. “Is this my punishment? Being strapped to a hospital bed even in the afterlife?”
Dad lets out a long sigh that says without words,Here goes the Preston shenanigans again.
He looks like his usual self in a camel three-piece suit, but there are bags under his eyes, as if he hasn’t slept a wink in ages.
“Be serious, Preston,” he says finally.
“Iamserious. This could pass the vibe check for my torture chamber—don’t need hellfire for that. Quick question, how much do they pay you down here to have those baggy eyes? What’s the currency of hell?”
His lips twitch in a small smile, and I gulp.
This is creeping me out now.
“It’s good to have you back, son.” He plants his palm on the back of my hand. “How are you feeling?”
I can’t really focus on his question, because Dad iskind ofholding my hand, which is totally like how he hugged me that day in my brain, and I’m starting to freak out.
Panic attack inthree, two…
“Did someone die?” I whisper, my lips trembling.
Did they get Violet after all? What if it’s Marcus?—
No. No. Fuckno.
“Many people died, but they deserved it,” Dad says. “The gunmen and your grandmother.”
“Granny?”
“Yes. She ordered a hit on Violet. You were right in your overly dramatic personal will—Violet is family. My half-sister, to be precise.”
“Ha. I knew it! And it’s not overly dramatic, just the right type of dramatic. You’re just salty because I called you a robot. Also, hold on, did you say Grandma wanted her dead? What a plot twist! You didn’t defend her?”
“I wouldn’t defend someone who shot my son.”
I swallow thickly, feeling awkward at the sound of his firm, nonnegotiable tone. “I mean, she’s your mom.”
“That doesn’t give her carte blanche to hurt you.”
“So you killed her?”
“Didn’t have to.” He raises a brow. “You have so many people going on revenge sprees for you.”
“My bros, Jude and Kane!” I laugh, then stop abruptly when my chest explodes with pain. “I knew they’d have my back. Did they make it as painful as possible?”
