Page 203 of Craving Venom

“What’s the worst part about being in prison?”

“Being surrounded by idiots.”

Laughter ripples through the group, but I’m already done with them.

Another guy with a clean-cut look and glasses, the kind of kid who probably spends too much time analyzing people who move through the world the way I do, just for fun.

“Do you ever miss that life? The cars? The luxury?”

“I don’t waste time missing things that don’t fucking matter.”

A guy with a buzz cut clears his throat.

“Do you… um… regret choosing not to take the plea deal?”

I arch a brow. “What do you think?”

The poor fucker looks like he wants to crawl under the table. “I mean…” He glances at Harrington, who’s standing nearby, watching closely. “You could’ve had a lighter sentence. Less time.”

“And?” I give him a blank stare. “What the fuck would I do with less time? Knit?”

A few students laugh nervously, but I’m not done.

“Doesn’t matter if it’s twenty years or life,” I say, resting my hand against the table. “I’m still exactly where I want to be.”

The laughter dies fast, smothered under the weight of it. No one says a damn thing. No one even breathes too loud. They just sit there, staring, finally starting to understand that I’m not the one who lost. And when the room can’t get any heavier, a question punctures the calm.

“Is it possible for a man like you to fall in love?”

I swing my gaze toward it, finding Tria sitting next to Xaden. It’s not an innocent question. It’s a fucking test, and the answer, whether they know it or not, already belongs to Faith.

Tria glances at Faith for half a second, just enough for me to catch it, before shifting her gaze back to me.

Ah.

That explains it.

Tria’s not here to make small talk. She’s fishing, and if I had to guess, Faith hasn’t breathed a word to her about me. Not about the way I have fucked her mind, not about the way I have crawled under her skin and made myself at home there.

But best friends don’t need explanations. They don’t need stories. They can feel it. That’s her best friend radar kicking in. Too bad the truth about me is nothing pretty. I meet Tria’s stare for only a second before I turn back to Faith, already knowing it will not be the last time her best friend tries to save her.

“I am in love.”

The quiet lasts barely a breath before the redhead pipes up again. “But how can you be in love when you’ve already killed the ones you loved?”

The question’s meant to provoke but it doesn’t.

“Love and death are two sides of the same coin. You don’t choose one without understanding the other. You don’t hold someone close without knowing the price of losing them.”

The redhead stares, clearly trying to process my words. She drags her thumb along the seam of her notebook, as though she’s searching for validation.

“They both leave scars that never fade. Love kills, just as surely as death. The only difference is death is merciful enough to finish what it starts. Some things deserve to be loved. Some things deserve to be ended. Sometimes, you don’t get to know which until your hands are already stained.”

“So you’re saying…” Her foot slides slightly on the floor, as if she’s inching closer to her own point. “You’ll kill again?”

“I will. If I have to.”

“But what about the law?” She presses, as though she thinks she’s found some weak spot. “I mean, that’s what got you here. Doesn’t that matter?”

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