Page 26 of Venomous as a Snake

“It’s a lovely afternoon to go for a hike,” he jeers. “But I have yet to discover where the best trails are in Meena Beach.”

“Drew!” I yell. “You moved her into the house behind me?”

He clicks his tongue. “Technically, I gave her a stack of listings, and she picked that one.”

I growl at his response, and my brother chuckles.

“Relax, Walker,” he chides. “It’s not like she wants you to move in or anything.”

“When Clay—”

“Did you see her?” he asks.

“Yes.”

Drew huffs. “I know that tone.”

“Fuck you,” I rumble, my croc growling inside my mind. “I won’t be the reason he kills her.”

His chuckle sounds distant as a door shuts in the background. “You had sex with her.”

“It was a mistake,” I defend quickly.

“You didn’t say that, did you?”

“Not exactly.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he curses under his breath. “You can’t be that stupid.”

I would rather slam my forehead against the counter than reply to his statement.

“Why am I stupid?” I finally ask. “You were supposed to keep her away from me until we dealt with Clay—”

“Don’t.”

“Why do both of you cut me off every time I say his name?” I bark, squeezing my phone as my other fist clenches.

“Because I want to rip his guts out through his belly button.” Drew snorts at himself. “Kody likely cut you off because you don’t know what she went through to get away from him.”

That slows me down, makes me too aware of my tumbling emotions. “I know what she went through.”

“Not from her perspective,” he points out. “You only know what Ali and I told you, which isn’t all of it.”

“I already want to kill him, Drew,” I warn. “Don’t tell me it’s worse.”

He chuckles, though it’s dark and filled with loathing. “I’m not telling you shit.”

“Clay nearly killed us both when he caught us together,” I remind him. “The threat was obvious, Drew. Crystal fucking clear. Stay away from her or he’ll kill her. It doesn’t matter that she has some kind of deal with Fangs. Clay never listens to him.”

“She doesn’t give a fuck about what Clay wants or doesn’t want,” he informs me. “She’s been away from him for the last year—”

“And he’s had guys following her ever since,” I finish.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “She killed two of them yesterday.”

I stand up straight, holding my breath as I grind through my teeth. “What?”

“She, uhhh, killed them,” Drew repeats, like he’s spoon-feeding me information. “I haven’t decided if it was intentional or not, but she drugged them, and they overdosed on their way home.”