Page 61 of Retaliation

She led them to Mount Loretto Beach, a place where she often went when the voices became too much. As they parked their bikes and walked out to the end of the pier, the sound of water surrounded them, a soothing rhythm that masked the tension simmering beneath the surface.

Gunnar and Dennis followed her lead, their footsteps echoing against concrete surface as they reached the edge, the ocean stretching out around them in all its glory.

She turned to face them, the salt-laden breeze tousling her hair as she met their. Dennis appeared small beside Gunnar’s imposing figure. With his arms folded across his chest, he exuded an aura of dominance that seemed to fill the vast open space around them.

In silence, they absorbed their surroundings, each lost in their own thoughts for a moment.

“So, here’s the thing,” Gunnar began, his tone matter-of-fact. “Scorpion’s out for blood. He’s hell-bent on avenging his brother’s death.”

There was no sugarcoating it. Gunnar’s words hit like a cold, hard punch, delivered with the bluntness of a hammer blow. Poison couldn’t recall encountering someone as emotionally detached as him. He might as well have been reciting the day’s weather forecast.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she clenched her fists, determined to hold them back. She wouldn’t allow herself to appear weak in front of these men. She refused to succumb to their scrutiny, refusing to let them see her vulnerable.

“So, Scorpion is going to try and kill me,” she stated flatly.

Something inside her shattered, a hope she didn’t know she had. She knew this was coming, but a small part had hoped that it wouldn’t.

Dennis turned to Gunnar, directing his words as if Poison weren’t even present.

“But I doubt he’d go through with it,” he said, nodding toward her to emphasize his point. “He’s got a soft spot for her. That’s unusual for Scorpion, and you know it.”

Gunnar shook his head in disagreement.

“Den, you know how he gets. His anger will drive him to unspeakable things. Then there’s no telling what he will do or at what he will stop.”

“You guys know I’m still here, right?” she interjected, trying to draw their attention.

For a moment, it seemed as if they had forgotten her presence entirely. Gunnar turned to her and gave her a once-over.

“Well, you might as well know what you’re up against,” He shrugged. “When Scorpion gets a thing in his head, it’s as if he becomes someone completely different. He won’t stop until he has succeeded,” Gunnar explained, showing no trace of emotion.

Fucking cold reptile.

Dennis, however, visibly shuddered. The mere mention of Phillip in such a state seemed to unsettle him deeply, a sentiment he confirmed with his words.

“He scares me when he’s like that, Poison. Pure evil,” he admitted.

“So, what should I do?” Her frustration mounted, snuffing out the small embers of fear as she observed their utter incompetence. “I won’t fight him. I just won’t.” Her words dripped with sheer determination. “Should I talk to him?”

Dennis stared at her, visibly frightened, while Gunnar gazed at her as if she had completely lost her mind. Both looked as if she had just confessed to being a bloodthirsty, virgin-hunting vampire or something equally absurd.

“Definitely not!” Gunnar exclaimed, with the most emotion he had shown so far. “Are you mad, woman? Unless you have a death wish, you have to stay out of his way.”

“As soon as I can, I’ll try to talk some sense into him, but Dennis is right. Scorpion does like you. Heaven knows why. No offense.” Gunnar’s gaze swept over her, assessing her from head to toe. “But, last night came as a huge shock to him. Hell, it was a shock to us all,” he continued. “Personally, I thought you had to be a well-experienced pro to have killed Double R. None of our crew knows who you are, and those who did were killed. So, we would never have guessed that you were a chick. That’s why your name sounded familiar to me when we met. I heard it somewhere before. I just couldn’t place it.”

Poison had to restrain herself from smacking the stony expression right off his face.

Just as her frustration rose to a boiling point, Dennis threw a curveball that caught her off guard. Out of nowhere, he turned to her with a question that made her pause mid-thought.

“Why did a girl like you start fighting? I mean, no offense or anything, but you seem like you have years of experience in the ring.”

It took her a moment to collect herself, her chin figuratively hitting the floor at Dennis’s unexpected inquiry. She drew in a deep breath, steadying herself before responding.

“Not a girl anymore, but my brother was a streetfighter. He led the Silver Serpents before me,” she began, her voice softening as she gazed out at the sea, lost in the memories.

“He was killed by Reaper.”

A moment of silence hung in the air, Dennis’s next words barely registering in her mind.

---