Page 23 of Tempted By Poison

When I see he doesn’t budge, I position my pistol, cocking it, ready to take aim at his face.

He relents, twisting the gun at me. “Okay. The only way this works is if she puts down her weapon. How do I know she won’t shoot me?”

“You won’t know. That’s what makes this so fun,” she says sultry, it’s almost like she’s moaning and talking simultaneously. I can’t help but crack a filthy smile.

“She puts the gun down.” He urges only by flicking the gun in her direction, not pointing it.Good man.

“Not happening,” she quickly retorts. I can tell she’s not letting up because she doesn’t trust he won’t shoot me. I love that. But the only way he talks is if he feels we won’t pull any funny shit. Yet. If his story doesn’t add up, I’ll just shoot him before he can finish his last word.

“Anita. Put the gun down,” I urge. Knowing she likes it when I say ‘can you’ or ‘please,’ I add in a little touch to help her amend. “Please.”

I look over at her, confirming it’ll be fine. I have Bedford with his machine gun, anyway. She blinks for a moment, her eyes skating down, then up. Her chest rises and falls before she lowers the gun.

Once I see she's calmer, I focus back on him. “Talk.”

He hesitates, flicking back and forth between us both. “I’m Jax. I’m searching for my daughter.” His voice becomes choked and shaky. The emotion is prevalent on his face. “I have been searching for her for three years now.” It comes out hollow. And it hits me in the chest like a bag of bricks.Three years?

“Then why are you working for him?”

He raises his hands. Then tossing the gun to the floor to show his peace. “Months after my daughter went missing, I looked and scoured every part of Long Island, every nook and cranny. Every piece and part. I came up with nothing. I was in a line of,” he blinks and his face darkens, “serious work. Before I left the business, we came into contact with a man named Victor the Vicious. We knew the line of work he was involved in. We brushed past it. He wasn't our target.” His shoulders stiffen as he drives down memory lane. “If my daughter was safe and sound, I didn’t care for anything else. That was a mistake. Months later, some men snatched my daughter while she was walking home from school.”

I continue listening. I haven't lowered my gun yet. But if he was willing to kill the men he was working beside, then there must be some truth behind it.

“She has a hearing disability but wears a hearing aid. I’m worried that—” He lets out another shaky breath and his eyes divert to the ground. “I met some people who knew how to get recruited by Victor. I thought by connecting with him and working by his side, I would find my daughter. But it’s only me. I have no other resources.”

“How old is your daughter?” Anita asks

He looks up, gazing at her. “She was fourteen when she was taken. She’s seventeen now. Three years in a scary place going through God knows what, nothing to hear.” He shuts his eyes, his head twisting to the side.

I shake my head. “You don’t know that. If there’s any hope, I’m sure she still has her device.”

“You look quite young to have a daughter that age,” Anita inquires, tilting her head, searching for the lie.

He cuts his eyes at her. “That’s what happens when you're pushing eighteen and have a child on the way.”

Jax takes another breath before continuing. “I’ve heard of you. Your name floats around the dark web. I know you’ve both killed four of his last business partners. I know you’re Venom.” He raises his chin. “You mark your victims. So, I’ve studied you. It was difficult. You're hard to find. So, I connected the dots. It took months, but it got me somewhere. If you could both get further than I have in three years, then I knew you could be the ones to help me get my daughter back,” he admits, eyeing us.

My brow scrunches at his words. Now I’m piecing the clues like a puzzle.

“I knew Victor was running from someone, so I guessed it would be you. That’s why I planted that invitation after we set the building on fire.”

I can see Anita looking at me from my peripheral. Well, that’s a turn of events.

“It was you?” Amazement wanders in me as I creep on a smirk. “Someone could’ve caught you.”

“It was worth the risk.”

“How can we believe you?” Anita speaks out, reservation peaking in her tone. She has every right to not trust him. “For all we know, this can be a ploy to get us killed.”

He doesn’t back down from her argument. “This is my daughter.” He reaches into his pockets. Anita and I draw our guns. His eyes widened slightly. “I’m just getting a picture.” He draws out slowly.

“Sorry, habit,” Anita says, lowering her weapon. I do the same. Although I’m still attentive to his every move.

“Here.” He passes me the photo. It’s a Polaroid, the edges worn and torn from years of mistreatment. Stained with bits of dirt and blood. You can tell he always keeps it with him. It tugs at a deep place in my soul.

Anita steps into me to get a view. It’s a young girl, with golden-brown skin and two puffy ponytails.

She looks of complete innocence and naivety. Like a sunflower blooming in the sun. Anita releases an agonizing sigh.

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