Chapter Eight

Piston

I woke with a sharp pain in my shoulder. My eyes snapped open and my first thought was, I've been stabbed. I looked down to find a mass of hot pink hair laying silkily against my chest while the little daggers Venus called nails were dug into the flesh just below my shoulder. She'd broken the skin. I'd be upset except for two things.

First, Venus was sound a-fuckin'-sleep. In my arms. In my bed. That thought put a grin on my face. Second, she'd basically stabbed me because she was clinging to me, holding me close so I couldn't get away from her. That thought not only put a smile on my face but settled something inside me I hadn't realized was so tense. She might not realize it yet, but she'd claimed me as hers the same way I'd claimed her. Except her claim was in the form of scratch marks and stab wounds. Kind of like sleeping with a cat.

Oh. And I wasn't dead.

I sifted my fingers through the bright pink strands of her hair. Her pale blond roots were beginning to shine through where she'd been too busy to touch it up since we took off after Victor the last time. Which brought an end to my contentment.

Victor had known we were coming for him. The trap he'd set was hasty and not very well thought out for someone like him, but we'd probably gotten too close too fast. He hadn't had time to do much while on the run either. I hadn't been thrilled with the choice of places for the tech guys to drive him to. The neighborhood he was in might be on the outskirts of Nashville, but there were houses that were very close together. I'd talked to Crush, and he'd said they tried pushing him in another direction, but the man had made a beeline for Nashville. Probably knew the surroundings would make it more difficult for someone to get to him than it would be for him to escape.

It was time to pull out the big guns. I was surprised Venus hadn't already. I reached for my phone and, never taking my fingers from Venus's silky hair, pulled up the contact information for Giovanni Romano at Argent Tech -- one third of the Shadow Demons -- to text him.

Me: Victor Zaitsev .

I put my phone down to wait. It was quite possible Giovanni wouldn't answer for a while. But he always answered. Also, I thought the name would get his attention enough for him to message me back.

My phone buzzed. That was fast. I picked up the phone again to read the text.

Romano: Venus ?

I raised an eyebrow. Not only was his response fucking fast for him, but his first thought had been for Venus? Not to ask "what about him" or "yeah, he's a bastard" or any number of things. It made my hackles rise. Giovanni knew how I felt about Venus. If he thought he was making a play for her, he should have thought about it a long fucking time ago.

Me: Mine .

Romano: Safe ?

Me: With me .

By definition, that meant she was safe. Fucking prick.

Romano: Call me .

Me: Give me ten .

Romano: You have five .

Motherfucker. If I didn't need his help on this, I'd tell him I'd call him when Venus woke up, but, a) I did need his help, and b) I wanted to protect Venus's privacy. I had no idea how close she was to the bastard, but, as much as I wanted to video chat with Venus sleeping soundly against my chest, I couldn't do that. Not without her permission. Which made me grin. She'd totally give me permission.

I carefully extracted myself, taking care of her nails. Venus mumbled in her sleep, her brow furrowing. She bared her teeth and hissed. Sounded angry. I had to stifle a chuckle. My little shortcake was a tad grumpy if you disturbed her sleep.

Once out of bed, I pulled my pants over my hips and fastened them. The frenzy before had been fucking mind-altering. I hadn't even managed to get my damn boots off. I went to the bathroom and did my business before brushing my teeth. Took me ten minutes. Might have dragged it out a bit.

I opened the bathroom door slightly so I could keep an eye on Venus. Our relationship was still new. I had no doubt she'd try to make light of it later out of self-preservation. She'd likely try to bail on me at the first opportunity. I glanced in the mirror and a deep sense of satisfaction filled me. Venus had, indeed, dug her claws into me. I even turned around to admire the scabbed-over scratches on my back. Painful? Yep. Worth it? Also yep.

Before I could call Giovanni Romano back, my phone rang. Sometimes, it was fun to poke the bear.

"You're an impatient bastard, Giovanni."

"Where's Venus?" It was more of a demand than a question.

"Asleep."

"Hurt?"

"Nope."

"What about Victor Zaitsev?"

"We're hunting him. Shoulda had him, but he set a trap for us. He knew we were coming."

There was a silence. Then, "Why is Venus not answering her phone?"

"Told you. She's asleep. Been a long couple'a days."

"She always answers her phone." Giovanni almost sounded angry. He definitely wasn't happy.

"Not anymore. Not when she's sleeping." It was a bold claim, but one I would stand by. She was not going to be at Giovanni's beck and call, no matter what tech he supplied her with.

Again, there was a pause before Giovanni asked the question I'd been waiting for. "What's she to you, Piston?"

"Everything. She's mine."

"She know that?"

"She's not answering you, is she?"

"Christ, man. I hope you know what you're doing. Ulyana isn't a woman you want to fuck around with. If you're not serious, you're going to hurt her more than you can possibly imagine."

"Oh, I can imagine, Gio. I've known her as long as you have."

"What do you need?" So like Giovanni. There was never a transition with him. The conversation always went from one topic straight into another. He got the information he needed, then moved on.

"I need to know where Zaitsev is. The Tzars and Grim's tech guys had him pinned down, but he still managed to get around us."

"Victor Zaitsev is cunning and, more than that, he's paranoid. Too many years of drugs and booze. Unfortunately, Venus was under his control before his mind started going. She's his stepdaughter, the one he intended to be his ace in the hole."

"A plant inside the Federal Security Service."

"Yes. The FSB." I could hear keys clicking in the background as Giovanni did some shit with his computer.

"Zaitsev was content to leave Venus alone after she and Millie escaped. He figured it was better she was a continent away from him because once the woman sets her mind to something, there's no stopping her."

"That's not new information, Gio. Give me something I can work with."

"He's tracking Venus."

Everything inside me stilled. My gaze went to the sleeping woman in my bed. "What the fuck do you mean?" My voice was soft and low, but there was no doubt Giovanni heard the menace there.

"Just what I said. He put a tracker in her before he sent her off for training. It's old."

"Does Venus know?"

"No. At least, she probably didn't realize what it was at the time. Small dose of Propofol and she's out while they put a tiny tracking device in her deltoid."

"Why not take it out of her?"

"I wasn't sure at the time how dangerous it would be. I'm still not. Believe me when I tell you I'd prefer she not have it. That fuckin' tracker is the reason I sent her out into the field. I wanted her as far away from the estate as possible. I found it a couple months after she got here. She was the best at what she did already, so sending her out was the best option."

"For you?"

"For her, Piston. I sent her to one of Cain's partners in ExFil. She was there for a special mission. It's how she met Thorn, which was a happy coincidence I can't take credit for. Worked out for the best, though. She and Thorn got along from the very beginning."

I was starting to see red. If Giovanni knew but Venus didn't, that meant he was using Venus for more than just testing new tech. I took a calming breath. "Why did you give Venus those contacts, Gio?"

"There is no one like Venus, Piston. She's the best at what she does. Even El Diablo thought twice about crossing her back in the day."

"You're just dropping all kinds of bombs, ain't ‘cha." I still held the phone to my ear but had to lean against the bathroom vanity on my other arm. Otherwise, I'd probably throw the satphone through the fucking window and go after Giovanni and kill him to death.

"That ain't the half of it, but you're gonna have to get the other shit from Venus. As to why I gave her those contacts? They also allow me to not only keep an eye on her, but if I need to, I can access the chip in her contacts and see what she's seeing."

"You son of a bitch," I breathed. "Does she fuckin' know?"

"It didn't seem like something she'd approve of, so no. She doesn't. Besides, have you told her how long you've been following her?"

"Gio…" The threat in my voice was clear. Even for someone as dangerous and cunning as Giovanni.

"It was for her own good. All of it. I can send her help if she needs it, though admittedly she's never needed it. The woman is… special. She's built for killing."

"Tell me something I don't fuckin' know."

"How about this? You need to get away from Kiss of Death. They're too secluded. Bohannon and Torpedo haven't gotten all the infrastructure set up to protect them from a threat like Zaitsev. They don't have backup from another club. My suggestion would be to get her back to Grim Road or Salvation's Bane. In fact, I'm letting Thorn know to expect you and to get the other two clubs ready for trouble."

"Other two? You really think we need to involve Black Reign? Bringing in El Diablo just opens up a whole other subset of problems."

"I do. Zaitsev is not like any threat you've been up against."

"I'm aware of how dangerous he is. I assume this is all about his daughter, Katya. Does Zaitsev not know where she is?"

"No. Millie got the trackers out of that girl when they first rescued her. Since she went to stay with Millie and Shadow at the Bones compound, Shadow has done his best to keep a low profile for all three of them. Occasionally Millie takes a job for Cain with ExFil, but they're careful not to put her on the radar. Until you kill Zaitsev, the safest place for Venus is anywhere Katya is not."

"If that bastard's able to keep tabs on Venus, why is he just now coming after her? It's been a couple of years since they rescued the girl." I was rapidly getting a headache. There was so much to do I didn't know where to start.

I heard Giovanni exhale a long breath before he said anything. "If I had to guess, I'd say he's found someone willing to train the girl."

When he didn't elaborate, I had to bite my tongue to keep from snapping out an order for him to spill it. "Gio, you're gonna have to give me some more information. I can't read minds and I don't like playing games. Train her for what?"

"Not now. Get Venus back to Salvation's Bane, and we'll talk. I'll meet you there." The line went dead.

I felt like I'd just been run over by a steamroller. There was so much to unpack in this conversation I didn't know where to start. A quick glance at Venus told me she was still asleep. My heart softened as I looked at her.

She'd drawn her knees up to her chest and tugged the comforter around her. All that pink hair fanned out around her like a punk halo. She even looked younger, relaxed in sleep. Sure, I'd seen her asleep many times over the years. But never like this. She was out cold. Made me puff out my chest just a little in pride. If she didn't trust me, there was no way she'd sleep so soundly. No matter how much I wore her out with sex. Yeah. I was fucking proud.

With a smile, I slipped back into bed, pulling Venus into my arms. More than anything I wanted to fuck her again. This time, I'd go slow. Appreciate her battle-hardened body. Taste her nipples and sweet pussy like I wanted to. Feast on her …

"Wass dat?" Her words were slurred and not very coherent, but I got the gist.

"Giovanni. He wants us to head back to Bane territory."

She was quiet for so long I thought she'd gone back to sleep. Then she grunted as she pushed herself up. Her hair was in her face, and she used her hand to brush it out of the way so she could see me. "Now… what?" She still sounded sleepy, but I could see the awareness in her eyes as she looked down into my face.

"We've got a lot to discuss, but he says Zaitsev is tracking you."

That got her full attention. Instantly, all appearance of sleep vanished. "Explain," she snapped.

"This isn't a quick conversation, Venus." I also wasn't sure how she was going to react to knowing Giovanni was aware all along. "We need to go back to Florida. Where we go is up to you, but Giovanni suggested Salvation's Bane."

She stared at me, searching my face for whatever she needed. The moment she found what she was looking for, her face hardened. "This is bad. Da ?"

"It is."

That seemed to surprise her before she schooled her features once again. "Didn't expect you to admit that."

"I'll never lie to you, Venus. Have I kept secrets from you? Absolutely. You have your own secrets. That all ends now. Right now. From this point forward you and I are a team. So we need to start with the most important issues."

"What would those be?" She gave me a wary look as she got out of bed. She was still naked, but didn't bother to cover herself. Instead, she looked like she was readying herself for battle. Looking for threats around the room even as she kept her main focus on me.

I tilted my head slightly, studying her. "I'm not your enemy, Venus. I never will be. I'll always be on your side, no matter what."

"But you know something. Something I'm not going to like."

"I do." I stood and held out my hand to her. She shook her head, all that pink hair spilling over her shoulders to cover her breasts. "Venus, come to me." I made my tone unbendable. She would come to me or I'd force the issue, and I was pretty sure she knew it.

Finally, with a sigh and a slight shake of her head, she moved around the bed, snagging my shirt from the floor and putting it on. The action filled me both with regret and pride. Regret that I couldn't stare at her tits any longer, but pride that she was wearing my shirt. She noticed my expression and gave me an impatient look.

"I know I'm shorter than you, but my eyes are little bit higher." Her tone of voice was irritated, but I could also see the flush of pleasure she tried to hide.

"Yeah." I scrubbed my hand over the back of my neck. "I'd apologize, but I'm only sorry you put on the shirt. It is, however, my shirt, so I'll let it slide this once." I gave her a wink and the corner of my lips lifted in a smile.

"Piston." It was a clear warning, though I thought she was fighting her own grin, so I raised my hands in surrender.

"What? You're a beautiful woman. Besides, I like looking at what belongs to me." I took a cautious step toward her. When she didn't retreat, I took another step until I was standing inches from her. "I like knowing I'm the only man who'll ever see your beautiful body ever again."

She sucked in a breath, color sweeping from her face down her chest to disappear beneath my shirt. Then she cleared her throat, lifting her chin stubbornly. "I assume what you have to tell me has little to do with sex, so can we get to it?"

"Pity," I muttered before reaching for her. I pulled her into my arms, and though she was a little stiff, she soon relaxed a bit. "So," I started. "Giovanni wants us to go to Salvation's Bane. He wants to get all three clubs involved. He's actually going to meet us there."

She started, pulling back far enough to look up at me with raised pink eyebrows but not stepping out of my embrace completely. "Really?"

"That's what the man said."

"You said Victor is tracking me. Giovanni knows this how?"

"I'll get to that. First, though, I have some things to confess to you. You're going to listen to everything, then we're gonna discuss it. Then, we're gonna get our asses back to Grim Road."

"You said Gio told us to go to Bane."

"I did. But I'm not ready for that, and I want Crush and Byte involved in this."

"What about Wylde? He's just as good and has been helping us already so he knows what to look for."

"Giovanni thinks there's safety in numbers."

Her gaze slid away from me, her brow furrowing in concentration. "You said Victor is tracking me."

"According to Giovanni, yes."

"Again… Giovanni knows this how?" Yeah, this was gonna be bad. The expression on her face said she was angry, but not exactly surprised.

"Don't know how long he's known or how he knows, but that's what the man said, and he refused to elaborate. At least not over the phone."

"I have satphone. Should be secure since it's Gio's."

"Mine is too, baby. He still refused to tell me."

"So you know him too." It wasn't a question.

"I do. He hired me a long time ago. I wouldn't say we were friends, but we're more than acquaintances."

"Hired you to do what?"

"To keep an eye on you."