Page 90 of Venomous as a Snake

I scramble to my feet, staying out of his reach. He staggers as he stands, sucking in a sharp breath while blood dribbles down his chin.

We stare at each other, waiting to see who will strike next. Nature versus nurture works against him. I’m an ambush predator. Patience is in my DNA.

Venom fills my mouth, causing my gums to ache. I haven’t bitten anyone in human form, but my instincts push me to act.

To just break his skin with my teeth.

That’s all I need to do.

He takes the first step, and I slide the dining chair out to block his path. I use the seat to launch myself at him, aiming for his neck. He catches me as I collide with his chest, teeth latching onto the soft tissue just below his jawline. And I grind them together, making sure to break skin.

Clay hits me in the side of my head, and I release him, landing on my feet. But barely. A jolt of pain shoots up my ankle, though I ignore it, refusing to show him any weakness.

“You fucking bit me,” he yells, grasping at his neck.

I spit blood and venom on the floor.

This time, when he swings at me, I grasp his wrist and use his momentum to twist his arm behind his back. I shove him against the table’s edge and kick the back of his knees with my left foot.

“Did you think I wouldn’t?” I ask, slamming his cheek into the gleaming wooden surface. “Some people don’t feel pain from a cobra’s bite, but I know you’re hurting. Your heart is racing, speeding up the spread of my venom.”

“You’re going to pay for this,” he threatens in a low whisper.

“No, Clay. You’re going to pay. With everything you possess.”

He jerks beneath me, but I lay my weight more fully against his back.

“Forrest?” I call, refusing to move until I have an extra set of hands nearby to catch the panicking swan. “Will you bring me that stack of papers in my backpack, please?”

“Uhm, yeah,” he replies.

“Oh,” I sing. “And the pen. But watch the grenades.”

“You’ve got to find a safer way to carry these around,” Forrest mutters, sauntering toward me. “A backpack is worse than your purse.”

I push off Clay to take the document from the rhino, and the swan tries to get away.

No surprise there.

Forrest puts his left hand in the center of Clay’s back, shoving him down while capturing his wrists. The rhino’s hold is much more effective than mine was.

“Funny thing about this contract…” I trail off, dangling the last page in Clay’s face. “I never actually signed it. I had a friend notarize it just last year. Signed and dated by her thirteen months ago. I wanted you to watch me write my name on this line and know that I was only doing it to fuck you over. Even in death.”

The ballpoint pen glides over the document as I sign my name.

Clay fumes, thrashing against the table as he screams, “You can’t do that! Everything is mine!”

“Who’s going to stop me?” I glance around the room, from my guys to the dead bodies on the floor. “No one here will say a word otherwise, and I’ve already blown up your most prized possession.”

“That’s illegal,” he growls.

I lean over, laying my cheek against the table so I can stare into his angry navy blue eyes. He was once my friend, one of my best friends. But time isn’t what I need to heal the wounds he left me with.

I stand, smiling down at him before kissing the fingertips of my left hand and pressing them to his cheek. In my right hand, the cold metal of my gun awaits.

“So is this,” I whisper.

The barrel touches his head for a single second.