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Chapter Thirteen
Ryder
I stiffen in my chair, a wave of fury burning through my core. Ven should never have come here. This is my fault entirely, and the protectiveness I feel for her surprises me. My magic blazes out around me once again.
But before I can retort with the acidic response about to roll off my tongue, Ven turns to me and trails her fingers sensually down the side of my face. “Anything to help my baby,” she croons. “One night won’t hurt anything, will it?”
I quickly shift my shocked expression into a smile. “You’d do that for me, love?”
“Of course,” she says. She shifts her gaze over to Dante. “That is, of course, after we’ve proven your intel is good and we’ve found who we’re looking for.”
“My intel is always good, witch,” Dante says, and there’s an edge of a growl in his tone.
Ven stands up and takes a step toward the faun, stretching herself to the edge of our magical barrier. She places one hand on his thigh and walks the fingers of her other hand up his chest. Then she grabs one of his nipples and twists it.
“And so am I,” she says, her voice low and velvety.
Dante lets out a groan of pain mixed with pleasure and licks his lips. “Okay,” he says, his tone breathy. “We have a deal.”
Ven smiles seductively and sits back down in my lap, shimmying her ass against my groin and bringing her fingers back up to cup my jaw. I’m hard as a machete and I know she can feel it, but right now I don’t care. We just need to finish our show and get out of here.
“Alright,” I say to Dante. “Let’s hear it.”
“The drug you’re talking about is called drix. It’s being manufactured by the Night Guild.”
Shit. Only a group of the most dangerous supernatural crime bosses in Central America.
“You’ve heard of them, of course,” Dante says with a cruel smile. “Not anything I’d personally go up against.”
Dante, of course, had known before we made our deal. Devious bastard. “Go on,” I say. “You’d better have more than that for the price we’re paying.”
The faun licks his lips again, his eyes darting to Ven. I’m barely controlling my rage as his eyes travel over her. “They’re making the stuff somewhere in the jungle east of Naranjo Beach. There’s a hidden cove south of Naranjo they ship supplies in and out of. I’d start there.”
“And you don’t know where the actual production warehouse is?” I ask, raising my brows. “Don’t hold back on me, Dante.”
“Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you,” Dante says. “Do you think I have a death wish? I’m risking enough just telling you this.” He casts his gaze around, as if to make sure no one is listening. “But, for what it’s worth, I don’t know. Me. That’s how secret that place is. I’ve heard rumors, though, that it’s surrounded by every supernatural defense you could imagine.”
I’m not convinced he’s told us everything. In fact, I’m almost sure of it. “Anything else?”
“That’s it,” Dante says. “You’d better watch your back, Ryder. This is dangerous business, even for you.”
It’s clear he’s not offering up anything else. “I’ll keep that in mind,” I say. I stand, keeping one arm wrapped firmly around Ven’s waist. “Nice doing business with you, as always.”
Dante extends a hairy hand, and we shake. “Oh, and one more thing, Ryder. Don’t take this little witch with you. I don’t want my goods getting damaged.”
I press Ven up against me. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be in touch soon.”
We turn and make our way out of the bar, Ven crushed up against me, her arm around my waist and one of my arms draped around her shoulders. She doesn’t say anything until after we get in the car and pull out of the parking lot. But as soon as El Toro Rojo has vanished from the rearview mirror, she erupts.
“What a disgusting sexist pig! I can’t even believe that—that—men like that still exist!” Her face is bright red and her lips tremble in fury. Even her eyes glow a brighter lavender.
“I’m sorry,” I say, words that rarely ever tumble from my lips. “For what it’s worth, you were incredible in there.”
Magic pours off her like steam. She fumes silently for several moments.
“How did you know, by the way? That was a pretty risky move with Dante’s nipple.” I chuckle.
She rolls her eyes. “Ego maniacs often secretly want to be dominated. A hunch, I guess.”
