A Very Venom Christmas - Kristine Allen Page 0,46

do.

A beard streaked with gray covered his face, and his eyes were wild. It was the eyes that gave him away. “Kelvin?” I asked, moving as little as possible.

“You thought you could hide out in Bumfuck, Iowa, from me? I told you that you were going to pay. Did you think I was kidding? I knew it was a matter of time before you left that fucking compound. And I’ve been patiently waiting for this day for over eight years,” he hissed as he sneered.

“Your beef is with me, Kelvin. Let the girls go,” I bargained.

“I don’t think so. Where’s the other guy?” he asked as his eyes darted around.

Jigsaw casually walked around the vehicle holding his hands out in a show of surrender. I gave him a what the fuck look, unbelieving that he would just saunter around and give up.

“You,” Kelvin pointed to Jigsaw, “get behind the wheel.”

“Where we goin’?” he asked as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Then he motioned to Roscoe. “You just gonna leave him there? That’s messy. Gonna raise a lotta flags before we even get out of the parkin’ lot.”

Where the hell was a bystander when you needed one? I couldn’t believe no one had come upon us or noticed what was going on.

There was indecision on Kelvin’s face. Then he grabbed me by the hair and spun me around to stand with my back to him. The blade was cold against my throat. “You,” he said as he motioned toward Jasmine, “and you, can load him up in the back,” he said to Jigsaw.

Jasmine stood there wide-eyed and dazed but refused to move. A fine tremor seemed to vibrate her entire body. Korrie’s worried gaze darted from her back to Kelvin.

“She’s scared,” Korrie tried to argue.

“Shut up! I wasn’t talking to you!” Kelvin spat. Then he turned his vitriol on Jasmine. “Bitch, if you don’t move, I’m gonna slice this dumb cunt up and then I’m coming for you.”

Jasmine’s tremors grew more violent as a tear trailed down her cheek, yet she still didn’t move.

“Please, we’ll do it,” offered Kira in a soft pleading tone.

“Jesus fucking Christ! Is the bitch stupid? Fine. Hurry up!”

Korrie and Kira each grabbed one of Roscoe’s feet and Jigsaw grabbed under his arms as he kept an eye on Kelvin. Not once did Roscoe flinch, telling me there likely wasn’t anything we could do for him.

The back doors were closed and we were ordered into the SUV.

Korrie and Kira climbed in the very back. Jigsaw had to literally pick Jasmine up and put her in the front seat, then buckle her in. Kelvin gave me a shove and forced me in the middle seat.

Once we were inside the vehicle with the doors closed, Jigsaw turned around and gave Kelvin a sinister grin. Then he cocked his head in an odd manner and asked, “Where we going?”

Kelvin was taken aback by Jigsaw’s demeanor for a second. Except he didn’t utter a word. There was an odd, wet slapping sound that didn’t fit with anything in the vehicle. I looked over at Kelvin. He looked stunned. Then he slowly looked down and opened his mouth.

Blood trickled from the corner of his lips, and I gazed in horror at what I was seeing.

Kelvin’s abdomen was sliced wide open, and his entrails were lying on the floor.

“Tsk, tsk, Venom is not going to like that mess in his vehicle,” Jigsaw said as he faced front and calmly backed out of the spot.

“Getting Away With Murder”—Papa Roach

I thought the panic I’d experienced when I was afraid of being run off the road and having something happen to Loralei was the worst.

No.

The worst was finding out that it had almost happened again and I wasn’t there. It was the worst kind of helpless.

“Coming up on your compound,” Jigsaw said through the speaker as we anxiously waited at the gate. He’d called and told us to have Angel at the ready, and my stomach had bottomed out. What he’d said was brief and that Roscoe was in a bad way.

“Open the gate!” I shouted, and two prospects rolled the gate open wide. The SUV came flying up and careened through the opening before it screeched to a halt and the doors flew open.

“Sorry about the mess, bossman,” said Jigsaw with a smirk as Loralei came barreling out of the SUV and into my arms. I looked over her shoulder at the man slumped in the seat. Confusion was followed by relief