Page 16 of Cruel Biker

“And what would your assessment be?”

“The world is full of nasty assholes that need to be hurt,” he said with a shrug. “I don’t take any of their bullshit. That’s just the way it is.”

“Yeah, the world is full of a lot of nasty. I, uh, I grew up with my parents.”

“You don’t have to be worried or scared. I know everyone has a different upbringing, and I’m not going to start getting jealous or wanting your life, Morwenna.”

They arrived at her home, and she turned to look at him with a smile. “You’re ... different.”

He didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. They stepped into her family’s home, and the first thing he smelled was the fresh scent of lemon. Not the fruit, but it made him think of something clean.

Her parents had a nice house, he always thought that.

“Honey, is that you?” Willow said. “Oh, hello.”

“Hello, Mrs. Graves,” he said.

“Sweetheart, what have you done?” Willow asked, smiling at him and looking toward her arm.

“I’ve done nothing. Don’t freak out or panic. I got Venom to draw on me, because I am undecided if I want a tattoo. Don’t you think it looks kind of awesome?”

“What’s going on?” Gus Graves came from behind him, and Venom figured he wasn’t carrying a gun without a good reason.

Morwenna retold them the ink story, and Venom wasn’t afraid of Gus. He and Gus had a couple of run-ins with each other. So long as they didn’t upset one another, they were more than fine.

“Haven’t seen you for a long time,” Gus said.

“Gus!” This came from Willow.

“It’s hard to see someone when you don’t visit them in prison,” Venom said.

“Dad, stop.”

“You have no remorse?” Gus asked.

“They hurt dogs. I don’t feel remorse for what I know they did. Trust me, they got off lightly.” He was not embarrassed by his past. He was not going to pretend otherwise. Life dealt him a shit hand, and he made the most of it.

“Will you stop? I’m offering him cake seeing as he might stop me from making one of the biggest mistakes of my life,” Morwenna said. “And he is a guest. Since when did we start badgering guests?”

“Since the last mistake broke your heart, and he’s wearing the exact same patch as him,” Gus said.

“Might be the same patch, doesn’t mean we’re the same person.”

“Can we stop, and Dad, it wasn’t a mistake,” Morwenna said, and she grabbed Venom’s arm and pulled him into the kitchen.

“You don’t regret marrying Bolt?” Venom asked.

She let him go, and he was shocked to see that Willow and Gus hadn’t followed them.

“I’m not about to admit that to my dad. He was the one who told me I was acting irrationally when I was sixteen. He told me Bolt would break my heart and I would regret everything.” She shrugged. “He already knows he’s right, and he doesn’t need to hear it as well. Besides, I have already told him.”

“Are you and Bolt going to get back together?” Venom asked.

“No.” There was no hesitation.

“You were married for nine years.”

“And he cheated on me for at least five of them. Trust me, it’s hard to think about him and not the pain he caused.”