Page 128 of Craving Venom

Not until now.

Until the image of Faith kissing that tool has been burned into my mind, playing on a loop I can’t turn off.

I roll a blade between my fingers, testing the balance, feeling the weight of it. It’s sharp. Good. But not good enough.

“Not your usual style,” Luke comments beside me, flipping a butterfly knife between his fingers.

I run my thumb along the razor edge of the blade in my grip. “Branching out.”

Luke snorts. “Never thought I’d see you go for a stiletto.”

I spin the knife once, catching it by the handle. “Maybe I’m feeling fancy.”

The shopkeeper eyes me carefully. This isn’t the kind of store with glass displays and helpful employees. This is the kind of place where a guy asks too many questions and he doesn’t leave with his fingers attached.

“You buying or playing?” the shopkeeper grumbles, his gaze flicking to the blade in my hand, as if he’s calculating how much damage I could do with it.

“I’ll take the stiletto,” I say nodding toward the sleek, deadly beauty on the counter. “And the Karambit.”

The guy nods, stepping forward to ring them up.

Luke leans in, muttering under his breath, “Do I even wanna know what you need those for?”

I smirk. “You don’t.”

“Why do I even fucking ask?”

The shopkeeper slides my new toys into a bag, handing them over. “No refunds. No complaints.”

I grin, taking the bag from him. “Don’t worry. I don’t complain.”

Luke huffs a laugh, shaking his head, and we step out onto the dark street. He’s barely gotten three steps before his phone buzzes. He pulls it out, glances at the screen, and sighs.

I don’t have to ask. I already know.

“Ella says to tell you to be careful.”

I scoff, rolling my shoulders as I adjust the bag in my grip. “She’s wasting her breath.”

Luke shoots me a pointed look. “That’s what I told her, but you know how she is.”

Yeah. I do.

Ella worries too much. She always has.

I don’t slow my pace, my boots kick against the pavement as I turn down a different street.

Luke stops, frowning as he watches me head in the opposite direction. “You’re not coming back to the hospital?”

I shake my head, barely sparing him a glance. “Got unfinished business.”

“Why do I feel like you’re about to do some really fucked up shit?”

I grin, tucking my hands into my pockets. “Because you’re smart.”

“Fuck’s sake, Zane.” He glances around, like he’s debating whether to follow me or let me go.

He chooses the latter, sighing heavily before shaking his head.

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