Passion & Venom (Venom Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  I jerk away rapidly, waiting to see some kind of creature or animal pop out.

  But nothing happens. No movement. Nothing.

  I glance at Draco. His back is facing me. His tone is calm.

  I lean forward again and dip my fingers beneath the petals of the flowers. When I feel the hard surface again, I run my fingers over it. Maybe it’s a weapon… a gun, hopefully?

  Nope.

  As my fingers continue to glide, I realize it’s roundish and smooth. My hand clasps around the object and I yank it up.

  When I see what it is, something between a gasp and a screech shoots in the air. Shocked, I jump up to my feet, releasing the object and backing away. It lands on the ground with a thunk, but my feet don’t stop moving backwards.

  I stumble into the fence and Draco hears the commotion, turning his head to peer over his shoulder. His eyes are hard.

  Mine shift back over to the skull that’s lying on the ground. Its eye sockets are dark and hollow, the teeth formed in an eerie sneer that I will never be able to get out of my head.

  My heart thuds against my rib cage and I step to the left.

  The skull is sideways, facing me, but I notice an imprint on the back.

  Letters.

  I drop to my knees with shaky hands and roll the skull onto its face.

  The letters are TTR.

  A shadow hovers above me and then the skull is snatched up. Draco holds it by the empty sockets like a bowling ball, studying every aspect of it.

  “I see you found one of my most prized possessions.”

  I swallow the bile in my throat. “Prize,” I whisper. I wobble to my feet. “Whose skull is that?”

  A smirk sweeps across his lips. “Did you read the initials?”

  “Initials?”

  TTR.

  “Who is TTR?”

  He holds the skull by the back of the head and puts it right in my face. “Take a wild guess. It may be familiar to you if you actually look at it.”

  TTR…TTR…TTR…

  “It’s someone you knew…but not as well as you’d like to think.”

  I pick my head up rapidly and glare at him.

  “Toni?” I whisper. “Toni!”

  “Trigger Toni Ricci.” He releases a throaty chuckle. “I scalped his head myself. Scooped the eyeballs out with a hot spoon. Cut off the skin with some of my best knives. Had some of my men clean it down to the bone and then bring it back here.”

  “You are a sick fucking bastard!” I shove him against the chest and then smack a hand across his cheek. The action is so swift that I don’t have much time to process what I’ve just done.

  Draco doesn’t react much, but his nostrils do flare at the edges and his head dips. A shadow is casted over the top half of his face. His lips are thin and pressed flat.

  “Why would you bring that here? Why would you bring me here? Why would you mutilate him like that and then shove it in my face!”

  “He should be glad I didn’t do worse!”

  “Are you so fucking crazy and evil that you have to keep a man’s skull over a little bit of fucking territory?! Is that what this is about?!”

  He takes a step closer, looking me right in the eyes. “You have no fucking idea what this is about,” he grumbles through clenched teeth. “You are too fucking blind, thinking he was perfect. Thinking he actually fucking loved you,” he spits out.

  “He did love me,” I fume, rage filling my voice.

  “That’s what he wanted you to believe.” Draco’s head barely shakes. “This skull? It’s a reward for myself for finally getting rid of that piece of shit. He was a fucking disgrace.”

  “Just tell me what he did!”

  He steps back, bends down, and places the skull beneath the flowers again. When he’s upright, he mutters, “I don’t have to tell you shit, Gianna.”

  “You’re a fucking monster. You are the disgrace. I can’t believe I let you fuck me,” I spit at him.

  “You know why you let me fuck you. You can’t resist me. You can’t deny me, even if you try to. You know that I fucking own you and that you aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. I don’t answer to you, Gianna. You answer to me.” He takes a sly step forward. “And the next time you talk that way to me, I will be sure to keep your skull as my keepsake too. Now get your ass back to your room and shut the fuck up before you piss me off.”

  He has a stern finger pointed at me. Those dark brown eyes seem to have grown multiple shades darker, even with the sun directly on us. He doesn’t let up, and I don’t want to run away, but I refuse to stay here.

  Next to Toni’s skull.

  Next to these beautiful flowers of betrayal.

  There has been enough fucked up shit for one day. There is only so much I can take. Seeing this skull—knowing Draco gets pleasure in shit like this—it proves that I don’t belong here.

  I don’t belong to him—a man that is proud of killing loved ones.

  I don’t know what the fuck Daddy saw in him, but I just don’t see it. And I don’t fucking get it. I’m starting to think Daddy was a fucking fool. Anyone can clearly see that Draco can’t be trusted.

  For all I fucking know, he killed Daddy and is trying to pretend he was close to him. He and his mother could be lying just to keep me on a leash, but what would be the point of that?

  I don’t say another word. I turn with haste and storm away, and I don’t stop until I make it up to my bedroom, have curled up beneath the blanket, and have cried myself to sleep.

  I don’t care that I miss dinner.

  I don’t care that my stomach growls with hunger.

  I just don’t fucking care anymore. I can’t take this. I can’t do it—constantly betraying a husband that was nothing but good to me, in order to survive.

  I miss him so fucking much.

  Why did he have to be involved in this crappy drug and mafia business? Why couldn’t he just be normal?

  Oh, that’s right.

  Because normal men don’t excite me.

  Normal is boring.

  Normal has never been a part of my life.

  Normal, just like love, is fucking useless.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Day 13

  I’m dreading this morning.

  Yesterday was a horror fest and I don’t think I can stomach much more, but I have no choice right now.

  There was another note in my room when I woke up, no flowers this time. The curtains weren’t drawn open either.

  You had your time alone last night.

  Be at breakfast on time and dressed properly.

  Draco

  That’s what the note said, but I ripped it up and tossed it in the trashcan.

  After I’m all cleaned up, I get dressed and then brush my hair until the waves are loose.

  I look towards the chocolate cosmos again.

  I hate those flowers now. I want them gone.

  I pick them up and then rush to the bathroom, dumping them in the trashcan where the note is.

  The water trickles into the bin as well. I watch it all disappear and satisfaction courses through me.

  I turn around and walk to the door. Gripping the doorknob, I swing the door open and walk down the hallway. I have more than enough time to make it to breakfast. I know if I miss breakfast too, Draco won’t be so kind.

  I took it as a sign that I could have my moment last night because he didn’t bother me anymore after what happened in the garden of cosmos. I didn’t even hear him walk past my bedroom at 2 a.m. He left me completely alone and I was glad.

  As I trot down the stairs, pretending I’m okay, I make a sharp right and slam right into someone’s back.

  The person’s bulky body turns around slowly, his familiar stacked shoulders causing me to take a leap back. His dark, coal-black eyes bolt on me and he glares. He glares so hard I feel like he’s watching my soul cry out for help.

  His bald head is shiny with minor scars. There are faint yellow and purplish bruises around his
eyes. There is a bandage across the bridge of his nose, and his upper lip is slightly swollen.

  Behind him is Bain, and he watches me with a narrowed gaze, looking me up and down in my maxi skirt and cami.

  My eyes flicker over to the first man again.

  It’s Axe Man.

  A chill cloaks my entire body.

  He says absolutely nothing to me as I walk past him and Bain.

  Bain I can feel watching me, his disgusting gaze making my stomach form into knots. When I get closer to the dining room, I take one glance back and they are both still staring my way.

  Axe Man grimaces.

  Bain smirks.

  I snatch my line of sight away and hurry into the dining room.

  Seeing Draco sitting at the head of the table somewhat relieves me, but trust me, I am still pissed at him. He watches me come closer and when his eyes dip around me to look at them, he narrows his gaze.

  I hope the frustration is on my face. I hope he can tell that I’m not comfortable with them around, especially Axe Man. He looked at me as if he wanted to eat me alive.

  I sit down and scratch at my cuticles. Francesca isn’t here but I wonder what’s keeping her. She normally beats me to the table.

  “What’s wrong?” Draco asks calmly.

  I look up. “Nothing. I’m fine,” I lie.

  “Did they say something to you?” He gestures towards where Bain and Axe Man were standing. They aren’t there anymore.

  “Nothing at all.”

  Draco scans me thoroughly. He doesn’t believe me. But this time it’s true. They didn’t say anything…but their looks shouted it all.

  “Just wondering where Francesca is,” I add in. What a load of bullshit.

  “Not feeling well,” he informs me. “She gets intense migraines.”

  “Oh.”

  He sits up in his chair. “She suffered a few concussions before she came here under my roof. Ever since, she’s been getting migraines more often.”

  “Are they bad?”

  “I had to buy black out curtains for the room she’s in, so yes. Very bad.”

  “Oh.” My lips twist. At least he’s sympathetic. “You still…let her eat, don’t you?”

  His laughter bellows, filing the empty spaces of the dining room. “Gianna, I know you think I’m a monster, but I wouldn’t deny her food because of something she can’t control.” He rubs his thumb and forefinger together, glancing at his mother. “Someone I knew well used to deal with migraines. I used to be a witness to the pain they caused. I don’t take them lightly.”

  I bob my head, pleased to hear that.

  When I see how he looks at his mother and how she smiles faintly at him, I realize he’s probably talking about his father.

  The butlers come out with the food and we dig in without many words to rub together. I can feel Draco glancing at me every so often as he eats and drinks. I’m certain he’s thinking about yesterday.

  He should know that I will never forgive him.

  I am just a prisoner here, and he hates that he wants me so much.

  “I want to go to the city today,” Mrs. Molina says in Spanish, lowering her fork. “There’s a new flea market. I could use more thread and needles. I would like to make some more quilts.”

  “Yes, mama. You can go. Just make sure you take Patanza and Diego with you.”

  She frowns. “I don’t like being around Patanza. She is disrespectful and always rushes me.” She chews her eggs before speaking again. “I still think you should fire her.”

  He sighs. “You know I can’t, mama.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because she has nowhere to go.”

  “So what? She is an angry, uncontrollable woman with a dirty mouth—”

  “She works for me. I can control her very well. She won’t be fired and that’s the last time I will tell you this.” His eyebrows draw together as he picks up his apple juice. “She won’t go with you to the flea market. I will tell Guillermo to go in her place.”

  Mrs. Molina presses her lips and continues eating, as if she’s satisfied with that idea.

  “Why doesn’t Patanza have anywhere to go?” I ask in English.

  Both of them look up at me when I ask my question.

  Mrs. Molina’s eyes are wide with astonishment and Draco’s lips smash together as he grips his fork and knife a little tighter, as if he knew all along that I could understand them. He starts to cut into his pancakes, keeping a careful eye on me.

  “Why does it matter to you?” he asks after a few chomps.

  “Just curious.”

  He swallows what’s left and then gulps down the remainder of his juice. “I knew her in school. Since I was twelve. She was never accepted by her family. Her mother abandoned the family when she was born and her father…did things to her that he shouldn’t have. When she sees the role of a mother being portrayed, she gets very defensive and uncomfortable. Which is why mamá doesn’t like her. I agreed to take her in, make sure she’s fed, clothed, washed, just as long as she does what I need her to do around here. In return, she gives me her respect, her loyalty, and her life if need be.”

  “Oh. Sorry to hear that,” I whisper.

  “Don’t be. It’s made her stronger. A woman with a heart and soul of steel.” Draco seems proud of that quality.

  “Does she love you like Francesca does?” I know I’ve just pushed the line with my question, so I’m not surprised when the amusement drips off his face and his glare becomes solid and heavy.

  “I haven’t fucked her, Gianna, if that’s what you’re implying.”

  “Draco,” Mrs. Molina lightly scolds.

  I shrug as if I don’t care, but really it does matter to me, especially when he keeps jamming his cock inside my body and mouth. I don’t know what those girls have. For all I know they are carrying unknown STDs or diseases.

  “El amor es la muerte,” he grumbles, watching me intently. “You know what that means?”

  I don’t respond. I’m too focused on his grim features.

  “Love is death. Loving anyone or anything too much will get you or the person you love, killed. Love, Gianna, is useless. Like I said before.”

  “That’s not true,” I declare.

  “Oh, it’s very true and you know it. First your mother, and then Lion, and now…Toni.” My heart shrivels up in my chest and I cringe inside, holding his gaze. “Who will be next before you realize love is nothing more than one big fucking illusion?”

  My eyes prick with hot tears. When will he stop being a fucking jackass already? It’s over with. It’s done, yet he keeps shoving their deaths in my face. If he had so much respect for Daddy, why is he being this way towards me?

  Acting like a fucking bully.

  I shove out of my chair and stand up straight. “May I be excused?”

  He flicks his fingers, encouraging me to disappear. And then he stands and says something to Mrs. Molina in Spanish. She nods her head in return, and they both treat me as if I’m a ghost now.

  I stare at him, though. I stare for so long. I don’t know why. I just can’t believe he’s this way. He lost his father young. Okay, big deal. So did I. That doesn’t justify why he is the way he is. There has to be more—more than he and even Mrs. Molina are willing to confess.

  I look between the two of them—the confusing bond they have—and then I finally take off, not once looking back.

  I clomp up the stairs and as soon as I step around the corner, I press my back against the wall and drag in a few breaths. I need to find a way out of here.

  I take a look around. No windows, but there is a set of double doors beyond where my bedroom is.

  It’s at the end of the hallway, about thirty steps from where I am. The doors have short, square windows on them. There are bright rays of sunlight spilling through the slits between the curtains.

  I scamper down the hallway and grip the gold knobs, bursting right in. The room is vacant, so I step ahead, taking a look around
for bodies.

  The curtains are gold, the furniture black. There is a desk in the corner with paper on top of it that catches my attention. An ink pen is on the paper, but there are no words on it.

  I smile just a little, stepping closer.

  Writing was my form of escape.

  Poems. Short stories. As long as romance is included, I enjoy it immensely.

  I walk towards the desk, but then I hear something unordinary.

  Gasping.

  Panting.

  Groaning.

  Sighing.

  I turn towards the sound and that’s when I smell something thick in the air. My eyes immediately dart over to the door on the east wall. It’s shut. I walk towards it slowly, eyebrows thinning.

  I shouldn’t be nosey. I shouldn’t care…but I have to know.

  My fingers wrap around the doorknob and I snatch it open. There is another room inside. It’s not as big as the one I was just in, but it’s still a decent size. It’s darker in this room, mainly because none of the lights are on.

  There is a brown leather sofa perched against the wall.

  And there are people on top of it.

  Brown curls with honey streaks flop from side to side, her ass cheeks slamming down, jiggling with the momentum.

  She’s trying to be quiet on purpose—she, as in Francesca.

  She gasps sharply as she looks back and spots the open door.

  I stand with my chin practically sitting on the ground now, and when she scrambles off his lap, that’s when I see him.

  Bain’s sweaty white hair clings to his forehead. He pushes her away completely and then climbs to a stand, stomping in my direction.

  I dash away from the room and through the double doors before he can catch me. Fortunately he’s slow with his pants bunched around his ankles. He’s not quick enough.

  I rush back down the stairs, hurrying towards the dining area. But when I get there, Draco isn’t there anymore and neither is Mrs. Molina.

  Now, I’m no snitch, but this is my chance to get Bain the fuck out of here. Francesca has been a bitch to me lately so as of now I don’t give a shit what happens to her.

  If me giving him their dirty little secret is enough to make him stop being a jackass, maybe even gain me some freedom, and also make him forget about the wreck from yesterday, then so be it.