Venom & Glory (Venom Trilogy Book 3)

by S Williams

  “Protect yourself, Patrona,” Emilio says, eyes stern, serious. He leaves too.

  Patanza follows Emilio’s lead, glancing back at me and then at Clark, nodding once at him. They all disappear in the depths of the tall grass, and I squeeze the handle of my gun until it hurts.

  “Let him handle this,” Clark mumbles, stepping to my side. “He’s keeping you safe.”

  I know he is, but . . .

  “I’ve heard so many horror stories about that man. They made it seem like he had no heart—no soul. That he was the boogey man of the cartel world. But when I see him look at you—touch you—well, shit.” He huffs. “There has to be a heart in there somewhere.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask, voice low. Soft.

  “He looks at you like he would die for you, Gia. He holds you like he never wants to let you go. He kisses you like you mean everything to him.” He sighs heavily, rubbing the back of his neck. “Now I see why he was so lenient with you when he sent you away. Now…I get it. He’s in fucking love with you and that motherfucker is in deep.”

  39

  DRACO

  If I die…

  If I lose…

  If I never get to see her again, at least I know that I gave her a chance to get away from it all.

  Even if my dying breath is used to take Hernandez’s, at least I know that she’ll be safe from her.

  She will be Queen.

  I prepared her.

  Whether I live or die, nothing will stop her.

  Whether she chooses to remember me or not, at least I know that I morphed her into the real woman she is.

  A woman of power.

  A woman of strength.

  A woman who knows exactly what she wants and what to expect from this fucked up world.

  My woman.

  She’s no longer the niñita that was shackled and weak.

  She is strong.

  She has risen.

  She is Queen.

  Mi reina.

  40

  GIANNA

  It takes everything in me not to let my emotions show.

  Instead, I do what he needs me to do. I keep watch, my gun at my side, ready to fire if necessary. It’s so damn quiet I can hear my own heart beating, the bell of the buoy a short distance away.

  Clark steps to the left, near a metal rail with a pair of binoculars in front of his eyes.

  “Fuck,” he hisses, and I look over at him.

  “What?” I step toward him, peering ahead with squinted eyes.

  “I can’t see a fucking thing. I don’t even know where they went.” He looks some more, and when he finally catches sight of something, he holds a hand up. “Got them. I see a hand in the air. He’s giving them a signal to get ready.” He drops the binoculars and walks to me, handing them over. “She’s arriving. Look by the black boat. You’ll see them.”

  I pick up the binoculars and scan the perimeter. I see Draco and his men by a black boat not too far away from us. Patanza is standing with a cellphone, most likely texting Ruben, letting him know we’re two boats down like Draco had planned.

  They all crouch down when they hear a loud bell go off. I look toward the chime of the bell and see a yacht riding up to the marina. It’s a black yacht, and of course, I can see the cheetah print seats from here. There are several men on the boats, at least a dozen of them.

  She has more than us, but with Ruben’s men around too, we’ll outnumber her. We’ll have sixteen, double what she has…unless she has more inside.

  Her hair flaps with the wind, her chin held high, like she rules the damn world. My jaw clenches, and I grip the binoculars tighter. I look to the left and see a thin man standing there, waiting for her, wearing a silk shirt and a gold necklace. A straw fedora covers his dark hair, his hands in his pockets, watching the yacht approach.

  “She’s getting closer,” I murmur, dropping the binoculars.

  Clark bends down where a black duffle bag is and unzips it, digging out a pump action shotgun and a box of shells, and then loading it. “I love me a good AK, but I dare a motherfucker to try and get past me with this baby.” I see his teeth sparkle from the moonlight.

  I bend with him, taking out a few of the pocketknives, just in case, as well as a dagger, sheathed in a red leather holster. I pull the blade out, and it’s thin and sharp—not too long, but long enough to intimidate and even kill.

  When Clark has the gun loaded, he stands up tall. I stand with him, looking into his eyes.

  He glances over at me with a quirked brow. “What?”

  I press my lips, wanting so badly to smile, but unable too. I look back where Draco and his men are waiting behind the boat, their bottom halves soaked from the water.

  “Oh, don’t even try it, Gia,” Clark retorts, and I meet his gaze again. “I don’t need your sentimental bullshit right now. We get out of this alive and then you can thank me. Sound good?”

  I give him a half-smile. “Sure.”

  “Good,” he smirks, “cause she’s about to get off the boat now.”

  I turn, strapping the knife to my holster and gripping my gun. Clark has the shotgun in the air, aiming it where Yessica’s boat is. I pick up the binoculars with one hand, watching as men in all black with M4A1s step off, glaring hard at Ruben.

  When they’ve all stepped onto the wooden walkway, she comes off last, wearing cheetah-print heels and a red blouse. Her lips are a dark shade of red, almost the color of blood, and from the lamp above, her hair appears even redder now. She’s impossible to miss—an easy target.

  I get the urge to shoot her right where she stands, but she’s not mine to kill.

  Play it safe.

  Keep it cool.

  Her time will come.

  I continue watching through the binoculars as Ruben extends his arm and offers his hand, saying something to her. She takes his hand, shaking swiftly, and then pulling away, most likely demanding something.

  Ruben gestures toward the end of the walkway, and she bobs her head, following his lead, her men trailing behind her while Ruben’s men in navy blue lead the way for him.

  “That’s right, bitch,” Clark murmurs, following her with the eye of his shotgun. “Keep walking. Right into your little trap.”

  I keep watch with the binoculars. Ruben is doing a great job, smiling, pretending nothing is going on. I look where Draco and his men are. He has his hand up, all of them still crouched low, their guns lifted and ready to blast.

  Ruben leads Yessica to two barrels in front of a white boat and has his men pull off the lids. One of his men pulls out a soaking wet package, slicing right through it.

  Ruben steps forward, pulling out a knife, saying something to her as he digs the knife into the white powder and brings it up to her, flat and covered in white dust.

  I imagine him asking, “Would you like to give a try? See how pure it is?”

  She looks him over twice before stepping forward and taking the knife from him. She drops her head, her red hair curtaining her face, and sniffs hard right before pinching her nose and then knocking her head back.

  “Wow,” she mouths. Her lips move again, but I’m not sure what she’s saying. She grips Ruben’s shoulder, and he looks sideways at her hand before frowning.

  Now.

  Now is the time!

  Ruben glances at one of his men, who steps forward and presses a gun into one of Yessica’s guard’s head. Her eyes grow wide as Ruben says something.

  And when he says his final word, I know exactly what that word is. Even without the binoculars, I would know what he’s just said to her.

  With her eyes so wide and her face so struck with horror, there’s only one word—one name—that will shake her so hard to the core.

  “Jefe.”

  41

  GIANNA

  Just as that name is said, her guard is shot in the back of the head and Draco drops his hand, shouting for them to go.

  All of his men hop onto the walkway, and bullets start flying.


  So many bullets.

  So much yelling and barking.

  Ruben dashes for the boat ahead of him, two of his guards covering his back and shooting down two more of her men. The rest of them are still out there, but three of them are taken down by Yessica’s men, one keeping her behind him, making it hard for anyone to get to her.

  “Fuck! I can’t get a good shot! I need to go out there!” Clark barks.

  “No—you heard what he said! They’ve got it!”

  “Shit!”

  I understand his urge. I want to do the same, but I’m safer here.

  The bullets are loud, bouncing off the boats and echoing, drifting with the wind. I watch Draco the most. He’s running behind his men, but several of them are shot down by Yessica’s.

  Draco keeps running, going for his target.

  Going for her…until…

  A gun goes off.

  The bullet hits someone close.

  Someone important.

  A hat falls off, the body crumpling to the ground.

  I panic, watching Emilio go down, too.

  “Patanza,” I hear Clark gasp. He drops his gun and makes a mad dash through the tall grass, his shotgun in front of him. “Run, Gia! Get back underground!” Clark yells.

  My breathing accelerates, my fingers going numb around my gun. I keep the binoculars up, looking at Draco, who’s glaring down at his best guard and then his manager, Emilio.

  Draco picks his head up to find the culprit, and I look with him.

  I see her standing next to two of her guards with a smoking gun aimed in his direction. A smile stretches across Yessica’s lips and then…she runs.

  42

  GIANNA

  He told me to run.

  He doesn’t’ want me out there. I should know better. I can’t do this to myself—to him. My future . . . my life . . .

  But if I don’t run . . . if I stay—everything could be at risk. I take a step back, breathing harder, my stomach churning. I peer through the binoculars, searching for her again. She’s getting away. She can’t get away! If she does, this will never end.

  Fuck running.

  I can’t just stand by and let her go.

  In a flash, the binoculars hit the ground.

  My gun is in the air, pointed ahead of me as I push and shovel my way through the tall grass. Some of it slaps me in the face, but I don’t stop, not until I reach the clearing. Breathing frantically, I look to my left and see Draco going toe-to-toe with two of her guards. He punches one in the throat and then shoots him in the crotch, turning rapidly to face the other one, who has a pocketknife in hand, swinging it and trying to cut him.

  I look ahead, past him, and spot red hair flailing. She’s running hard and fast in her heels, back to her yacht.

  “Go! Go! Go!” I hear her shout to whoever’s on board. “Start it up! Hurry!”

  I run faster. Past Clark trying to pick a barely breathing Patanza up in his arms to drag her away from the shootout. Past Emilio who has a bullet in his head.

  Even past Draco, who has just now taken down the other guard with the pocketknife he tried slicing Draco with. Ruben’s boat has sailed already, now in the middle of the ocean with three of his men keeping watch.

  Yessica’s boat starts to pull away.

  No.

  Fuck that.

  She is not getting away again!

  I won’t make it to the dock she’s at. I spot another one with a longer walkway and I take it, boots clomping on wet wood, my gun locked in hand, my lungs tight and filling with air, working overtime, despite the clench in my gut and the rattle in my head.

  Her boat is close. Bullets go off again ahead of me, but none hit me. I keep going.

  Going.

  Going.

  Until I’m leaping in the air and crashing through glass.

  43

  GIANNA

  My ears ring, and I groan, looking down at the cuts and gashes on my hands and arms. A shrill command is the first thing I hear when the ringing ends. I grab Daddy’s gun just as one goes off, hitting the floor beside me. I roll the other way, hiding behind a wall.

  Boots thump, and someone appears with their back to me, stepping around the corner. Lifting my gun, I shoot him in the back of the head before he can see me and his body hits the ground.

  I wince, dropping my arm, focusing on the sharp crystal sticking out of my forearm. It’s a small piece. I don’t think it’s caused much damage, but it fucking hurts.

  I grit my teeth, holding back on a scream as I slowly pull the piece out, tossing the bloody glass on the floor.

  Another gun goes off, shattering the window beside me. Close. Too close.

  I run to the next opening, and it’s the front of the boat. There is a man steering the boat. He spots me and tries pulling his gun on me, but I shoot him first, and he buckles forward.

  The steering wheel snags, his arm getting caught on it when he starts to fall, making the boat jerk and knocking my body sideways.

  I get back up and push him away, straightening the wheel.

  I look around. It’s darker now. Quieter. They’re looking for me. The boat is only so big. Eventually they’ll find me. I’m assuming there is only one guard left on this boat. I saw several of them out there, dead or about to die.

  I press my back to the wall when I hear laughter.

  “Oh, Gia. Gia, Gia, Gia.” Yessica’s heels click on the floor. I think she realizes they’re giving her location away, because after several seconds, I don’t hear them anymore. I look out to the left, seeing a slice of the marina. We’re not too far away from it.

  “Just give it up, will you! Draco is going down! He can’t defeat me!”

  I grip my gun tighter, pressing my back to the wall.

  “You could be my colleague, join my side,” she says, sweetening her tone. “Together, we can rise! Become the best bitches and bosses in the world. Untouchable. Irresistible.” I hear the smile in her voice. “We can get whatever we want.”

  Glass crunches, and I look to my left, holding my breath. I lift my gun, pointing it ahead, a trail of dark-red blood leaking down my forearm. I can’t see a damn thing now. They’ve shut all lights off on the boat.

  The footsteps get closer and then I see a large body in dark clothing. His pistol is high in the air, his shoulders hunched, and when the person spots me, he picks his head up, eyes growing wide.

  “Draco,” I whisper as quietly as I can. I realize now he’s soaking wet from waist to toe.

  He holds a finger up to his lips, gestures for me to be quiet, but as soon he lowers that finger, glass shatters again, and he falls to the ground, body slamming down and rocking the boat.

  Heavier footsteps start up and a large body comes charging toward him, scooping him up by the back of his shirt, his hand immediately wrapping around Draco’s throat.

  “Who’s the Jefe now, motherfucker!” the guard laughs, and from this angle, I know exactly who he is.

  The big man with the blind eye that abducted me. The one who thought he was intimidating me. Fucking Alonso.

  I lift my gun, but I don’t have a chance to pull the trigger. Someone knocks it out of my hand with all their might and then shoves me forward, my chest slamming into wall.

  I turn around and look up. Yessica stands in front of me with a gun in hand, pointing it directly at me.

  “Maybe you’re just as stupid as he is,” she murmurs.

  I look to the left, and Draco can’t get even. The man is dragging him around, tossing his body, throwing him through the glass windows and then charging him again like some kind of raging bull.

  “He won’t survive this.” She laughs. “Look at him. Being tossed around like a cheap, worthless dog toy.”

  I glare at her.

  “Join me, Gia. Become my colleague. Stop giving the men the glory and become a truly powerful woman on your own. You don’t need him. You never have.”

  I clench my jaw, baring my teeth. “Fuck you. I�
��ll never partner up with a psychotic bitch like you. Henry. What about him, huh? He was trapped for months, and you didn’t do shit to find him. Trigger Toni? Huh? Who had his back then? You’re not loyal. You’re desperate. Stupid. A fucking psycho.”

  I hear Draco holler out in pain and then roar. Bones crack. More glass shatters. All of it makes my blood run cold and my belly clench tighter.

  Yessica’s face pales, her eyes becoming harder. She wraps her finger tighter around the trigger.

  “You know what I remember most? How he used to pet me when I sucked his cock? How he ran his fingers through my hair and told me I was so good at what I do to him—how I made him feel.”

  My nostrils flare up, my heart catching speed again.

  “His eyes would roll so far to the back of his head. God, I loved seeing him like that. It was the only time he made himself vulnerable for me. Especially when I rode his cock after a long, hard day. He would grab my ass and squeeze it. He would tell me what to do—like go faster, or slower. To grab his balls and fondle them. He’d pull my hair while I rode him in reverse, suck on my neck…”

  She keeps talking, every word narrowing my vision, making her the only target. I’m seeing nothing but red now.

  If there is one thing I know, it’s that I’m a jealous woman, and when some other woman talks about what is mine like it is still hers? I. Get. Pissed.

  Call it a Nicotera thing—or call it a Gianna thing. Whatever it is, I won’t fucking have it.

  So, no. I don’t think about what I do next.

  I don’t care that it doesn’t make sense, or that it could damn well kill me. I can’t stand to think of him with anyone else.

  Draco is mine.

  Only mine.

  My rage has blinded me tenfold, and I charge ahead.

  I rush for her, tackling her to the ground, and her gun goes off, but the bullet doesn’t hit me.