Page 187 of Making Choices

Four days dead, but never truly gone.

Folding his arms over his chest, Venom drawls, “I ain’t got an iota of worry that she won’t forgive me once she knows the truth. You saw her at the compound after Dad sent Joseph to the reaper... all Lily wants is for me to come back to her. Everythin’ that happens between now and then is simply noise. As long as I keep my promise, she’ll forgive me for anythin’.”

“You’re so fuckin’ smug.”

“Nah, I don’t needa be smug ’cause I’ve got her heart. Gonna take it with me, keep it safe, make sure no one steals it. Then, when I return to her, she’ll be thankful to have it back... so thankful to be mine again that all the shit that went down will be forgiven and forgotten during all the makin’ up we’ll be doin’.”

“You’re a pig.”

“Pig or not, I’m her fuckin’ man and you never will be.”

“I fuckin’ hate you.” For a second time, I pound my fist on the table. Next to me, Gabriel grumbles under his breath. He’s not happy with my resistance to his plan and the blatant dick measuring contest that’s broken out over Cherub’s affections. “This’s a deal with the Devil. A fuckin’ Faustian choice to its core. You’re settin’ yourself up to fail. You’re settin’ Cherub up to hate us. And you’re settin’ me up to lose her.” He chuckles when I enunciate my real fear. “Fuck you, Venom. Fuck you to hell.” Venom’s responding sneer tells me that he matches my sentiment. “By makin’ me do the one thing she hates most, you’re ensurin’ that she leaves me when the truth comes out—so, fuck you. I won’t lie to her. Won’t treat her like a child. I say that we tell her the truth, let her know what’s comin’. It’s a matter of life ’n death, my duchess won’t let an inklin’ that it’s not real slip past her lips in those circumstances.”

“Your duchess—” Venom’s tone is mocking as he vocalises my nickname for Cherub. “—doesn’t exist. My Lily can’t act her way outta a paper bag. Her grief needs to be real, otherwise she’s dead. The Maddisons’ll make sure of it. Hugh ain’t gonna take this new arrangement layin’ down. He’s already proven crazier than Alex... Trinity blessin’ or not, he’ll come for her, and the only thing that’s gonna stop him is Brutus thinkin’ he’s won. We give that motherfucker what he wants, and he takes her off the board. That’s the endgame... that’s the only endgame.”

“But—”

“There is no but, fuckhead.”

Gabriel stiffens at the vehemence in Venom’s voice.

I point my finger at him. “She deserves—”

“Stop bein’ so fuckin’ selfish!” Venom’s temper explodes. He shoves the metal chair backward as he surges to his feet. It lands with a clang on the floor. The sound echoes off the walls, tolls of judgement that deafen me. Reaching across the table, he takes hold of the lapels of my cut in each hand and drags me forward until my nose is almost touching his. “Take the fuckin’ win, Slash. You’ll have her—in your bed, with your ring on her finger, and her heart broken, ready for you to slither your way in through the cracks like the snake you are. The president’s patch’ll sit on your cut. You’re gettin’ my life—literally. I’m sacrificin’ everythin’ to save her, to save the Shamrocks, to save everyone we love, to save our way of life, and you’re quibblin’ about what you think Lily deserves.” He trails off and inhales noisily. I brace for his fist to fly at my face. Only, instead of violence, he chooses to beat me with his next words. “What she deserves is me… in her bed, her belly swollen with our baby, with the life we built together still intact.”

Venom shakes me and I allow him to do it without a word.

How do I argue when he’s right?

If the world wasn’t so fucked up, Cherub would have exactly what he just described.

And she’d be happy.

“What Lily deserves doesn’t exist anymore, so you needa take that stick outta your arse and do what’s needed to give her a chance at a new life.”

“Okay.”

He blinks once in the face of my capitulation, then narrows his eyes. “Okay?”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll do it. I’ll lie to her.”

“Good.” Venom shoves me away from him. I stumble back a step, catching myself on the top of the chair. He addresses his next statement to the man he’s joining forces with, “Be ready by Saturday. I wanna do it the night of the weddin’.”

“You’re sure?” Gabriel asks. He looks at me, then back at Venom. “We have time. Maybe give it a week or two.”

“I’m positive.” Rolling his shoulders, something dark flickers through Venom’s gaze before he shields it with a fierce glare. “Saturday night is the night.”

“Fine.”

I glance between the two men. They’re having a silent discussion, one that I’m not part of, and it makes me nervous. “You wanna hit her with it the day after I marry her?”

“Nope.” My ex-best friend pops the last syllable. “I’d prefer to do it before the weddin’, but we both know you’d never get her up the aisle if that happened.”

“Fuck you and your God complex.”

“Cock it and pull it.” He laughs, a genuinely bitter sound that bubbles like acid, after he quotes the song we played to death as thirteen-year-olds. “Fuck you and your saviour complex... at least I get shit done. All you do is bitch and moan and blame everyone else for the mess you’ve made of your life. Maybe I should do it tomorrow—prove to you that I’m right?” Venom peers at Gabriel, who shakes his head. Gesturing toward the door, he continues. “Oh, well... seems like you’re free to live out the rest’a the week in delusion. Hope you enjoy it... give my regards to the family. Tell ’em I’d be there with bells on but I’ve got a clash in my schedule.”

“I’m not comin’ back,” I warn him as I start toward the only exit. He shrugs and stares at me without a skerrick of concern. “Is this really how you wanna end things between us?”

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