A Very Venom Christmas - Kristine Allen Page 0,23

down, and they’re saying it’s only gonna get worse. You get in touch with your girl?” he asked. I didn’t correct him about her being my girl, because there were more important things to deal with. I stepped into the living room for a bit of privacy.

“I’m here, but some shit happened, and not just the accident on the road. Someone attacked her. Need to borrow one of your prospects for a bit, if you can spare one.” I kept my voice low. “I don’t know if I’ll be leaving tonight after all.” Raptor would have to hold down the fort for another day. Once the roads cleared, I’d revamp my plans.

“I’ll send Soap and Blue.” The teasing tone he’d started the conversation with quickly dissipated. He didn’t question me once.

“No cuts, if that’s okay. I don’t want to announce that you guys are involved in this.” Especially if she had beef with the cops. I didn’t need Snow and his club getting fucked with by the local cops because of this.

“Not a problem. I’ll send them over in a few.”

“Appreciate it.”

We ended the call, and I returned to the kitchen. “Thank you for coming over and helping her, Ennis. You didn’t need to do that, and I really appreciate it. If you don’t mind, I’d rather you didn’t walk home alone, but I don’t want to leave Loralei by herself. Some friends of mine are on their way. Once they get here, one of us can give you a ride home.”

“I’d be fine, but this weather is getting worse, so I sure do appreciate that.”

While we waited for Snow’s boys to arrive, I sent a text to Raptor, keeping him in the loop. He offered to send Voodoo and Blade up, but I assured him I had things handled.

I was presumptuous.

Blue brought Ennis home and came back. After making sure things were under control, Soap headed back to their clubhouse. Blue would be making drive-by rounds periodically through the night. Then I went back to Loralei’s room. She was sitting on the edge of the bed with her hands clenched, staring off into space.

“Come here,” I demanded gruffly. She jumped, and I cursed myself for scaring her. I brought her into the bathroom and had her sit on the counter. A little digging, and I had a washcloth to clean off the blood that had started to trickle from the cut.

“You got a first aid kit?” I questioned. She nodded and pointed to the small linen cupboard. I grabbed it and laid it open on the counter next to her.

Once her wounds were cleaned up and I’d placed a couple of steri-strips over the cut on her face, I pinched the bridge of my nose and breathed deeply. “Please explain to me what the fuck is going on,” I said as I dropped my hand.

For a second, she looked angry. Her face went red, and her jaw ticked. Then she burst into tears.

“Fuck,” I muttered. I hated it when chicks cried, but this one was the worst, because I didn’t have my ability with her for some crazy fucking reason. If she’d also been a psychic empath, I could see why, but I didn’t get that vibe off her. We could usually sense one another, but this was something altogether different.

Still, I wrapped my arms around her and held her while she cried.

“I’m sorry. This has been a shitty day. Hell, it’s been a shitty year.” She pushed back as she sniffled. I grabbed some toilet paper and handed it to her.

Leaning against the opposite wall, I rubbed my palm over my mouth. I didn’t know where to ask her to start.

“Let’s start with why you asked Snow to contact me. How did that come about and what did you need?”

“Why didn’t he tell me you were in town?” she asked, answering my question with a question.

“Because he’s my friend and he didn’t know if you could be trusted.” My reply had her looking surprised, and I could feel the ripples of hurt sifting through her.

“Oh.” She sniffled again and blew her nose. “Sorry,” she muttered.

“Trust me, I’ve seen worse. You’re fine. Now talk to me,” I said.

She swallowed hard and shook her head.

“Okay, how about you tell me what the hell happened here? Did you get a look at whoever attacked you?”

“No.”

“Then why didn’t you want the police contacted?”

“I… I just didn’t.” She bit her lip and dropped her gaze. “Maybe it was a mistake to contact you.”

Eyeing