Saved by Venom: 3 (Grabbed) (22 page)

“Maybe I can help,” Risk said and locked step with him.

Venom shot him a strange look. “I doubt the bride is so upset she needs to be sedated.”

“Ha-ha-ha,” Risk intoned dryly. “I can sew, Venom.”

Venom doubted sewing fabric and suturing used the same techniques but it wouldn’t be the first time he had been proven wrong. Darting inside the dressing room, he found Dizzy kneeling on the floor behind a distraught Naya. His mate held out the badly ripped fabric along the back of the dress and chattered back and forth with Hallie as they searched for a solution.

“The small scissors in my emergency sewing kit aren’t nearly big enough for this,” Dizzy said tightly. She had the contents of the kit from her clutch spread out on the floor around her.

“I’ve got you covered, Dizzy.” Risk hurried to the medical kit safely stowed behind a glass panel on the far wall. He dragged the big soft-sided bag out of its nesting place and carried it over to Dizzy and Hallie. Crouching down, he unzipped a main compartment and retrieved large trauma shears. “Will these work?”

“Yes!” Dizzy snatched them from his hand. “I don’t suppose you have any extra thread or needles in there, do you?”

“Needles, suturing thread and glue coming right at you,” he said and started digging again.

“Glue?” Dizzy frowned at the doctor as she started to cut away the shredded back of the gown.

“We use quick-drying suture glue in emergencies.”

“How quick?”

“Five seconds maximum.”

“Sold!” She glanced at Hallie. “Strip the lace from this bottom part and we’ll use it to cover a quick and dirty hem here using that glue. This dress has enough extra fabric in the skirt for me to pull it tighter to form a sheath silhouette and make a bustle.” She reached up and patted Naya’s arm. “It won’t be perfect but it’ll be beautiful.”

Enthralled by this industrious Dizzy who confidently and calmly gave orders, Venom watched as she transformed the battered gown. She wore the most serious expression as she snipped, sewed and glued. When she clicked her teeth at Risk and made him redo a section he had sewn, Venom didn’t even try to hide his smile.

Half an hour later, Dizzy sat back on her heels and studied their work. “I like it.”

“Oh, it’s terrific!” Hallie breathed excitedly. “You look fantastic, Naya.”

“Yeah?” She peered over her shoulder but couldn’t see the back of her dress very well. Risk snapped a photo with the pocket tablet he carried everywhere and showed it to her. Her face brightened and the concerned lines around her mouth and eyes vanished. “It’s so pretty.”

Venom experienced a surge of pride as Naya dragged Dizzy into a bear hug and thanked her profusely. “You saved my wedding!”

“Be careful if you’re going to dance,” Dizzy warned. “I’ll have that tube of suture glue in my purse, just in case.”

Naya snorted. “They don’t dance here.”

“What?” Dizzy sounded scandalized.

Hallie shook her head. “The receptions here are sort of…”

“Boring,” Naya interjected with a pointed look to her best friend. Then, with a shrug, she added, “I’d rather have Menace than a party anyway. Well,” her mouth curved with a smart-ass grin, “most days, at least.”

Venom couldn’t help but laugh at that one. He couldn’t imagine how tense things had been between Naya and Menace after she had finally made it out of the hospital. He had noticed that she started wearing her collar again right around the time Menace had announced they were going to make a commitment to each other in the way of her people. Their ability to work through that mess and build a stronger relationship filled with trust inspired him to do the same when it came to Dizzy.

The dress crisis averted, Venom waited for Dizzy to pack up her purse. They entered the ceremony room hand in hand and took seats on Menace’s side of the room.

Looking a bit out of breath, Orion stood at the front and tapped at his tablet. After performing Vicious and Hallie’s ceremony, the admiral seemed to have added a new duty to the long list he already juggled. Venom supposed that Orion’s presence meant Dankirk had finally arrived.

“Venom?”

“Yes?”

“Who is that man with the scarred face?”

Her whispered question caused him to crane his neck in the direction she was looking. He had to blink twice to be sure the vision of Terror at the back of the room wasn’t a mirage.
Shit.

Snapping his alert gaze to Menace, Venom started to lift out of his seat in anticipation of a brawl. As far as he knew, the two men hadn’t spoken since the night Venom had stood as Menace’s second while he and Terror beat the shit out of each other in the ancestral ring to settle their feud. This was a hell of a time for Terror to make a gesture of reconciliation.

The general put his hand on Menace’s chest and spoke softly to the gunner. Had Vicious arranged this? Venom glanced at Orion who stood with a clenched jaw and glared in the Shadow Force operative’s direction. He wasn’t calling for security to yank Terror out of the room and vent him. Venom figured that was a good sign.

Whatever Vicious said caused the tense set of Menace’s face to soften. The groom nodded and started across the room. Venom noticed that he wasn’t the only one watching Menace’s movements with extreme interest. Every eye in the damn room was glued on the weapons expert.

“Venom?”

Lowering his lips until they were almost touching her ear, he explained, “The man with the scarred face is Terror. He’s the deadliest Shadow Force operative you’ll ever meet—and I hope you never meet one again. A few months ago, he nearly killed Naya.”

“What?” Her sharp hiss of outrage came out louder than she had intended. Her cheeks turned the prettiest shade of pink as the soldiers surrounding them looked at her.

Caressing her face, he kept his voice quiet and said, “He used her to flush out the Sixers and Splinters who had hijacked an arms shipment.”

“Wait? You mean that shootout in the old battery factory?
That
was how Naya got hurt? But—she said it was a family thing.”

“It was. Her mother is the head of the Sixer gang.”

“No way!”

He nodded. “Naya’s mother survived the skirmish but we haven’t been able to locate her. She’s still out there somewhere, just as dangerous as ever.”

“So Menace and Terror…?”

“Menace, Terror and Vicious are best friends but it’s been…tense since that awful day.”

“Are they going to fight?”

Venom watched Menace approach Terror. Their body language didn’t scream altercation but they warily eyed each other. “No.”

Terror was the first to make a move. He extended his hand, exposing himself to ridicule or shame if Menace turned his back. Venom held his breath as he waited to see if Menace would publicly cut his old friend.

But Menace proved himself an honorable man by grasping Terror’s hand. Though Venom was sure Menace still harbored hard feelings toward his friend they were making amends. Something told Venom that Terror had already made a conciliatory overture toward Naya. Terror could be a raging asshole—but he wasn’t cruel. He would never show up at her wedding and upset her.

Terror trailed Menace up the aisle. While the gunner continued to the front of the room, Terror moved into the empty seat right next to Dizzy. Venom slipped his arm around her shoulder in a comforting gesture but she didn’t seem to be the least bit fazed by the scarred and one-eyed Shadow Force operative. To his surprise, she held out her hand. “Dizzy Lane.”

“I know.” Terror glanced at Venom for permission to shake her hand before touching his mate. “I’m sorry you ran into a bit of trouble down in the SRU headquarters. Rest assured it’s been taken care of.”

“Oh. Um…thanks?”

The spook nodded at Venom. “Our paths intersect again.”

He remembered Terror’s parting words the last time he had seen him. “Not bringing bad news, I hope?”

“Not tonight,” Terror replied. His hand sneaked inside his dress jacket and retrieved a crumpled envelope. Holding it out to Dizzy, he said, “For you.”

“Me?” She cautiously accepted it. Her finger traced the letters of her name printed on the front. When she didn’t ask who had sent it Venom assumed she recognized the handwriting.

“Dizzy?”

She swallowed and tucked the letter inside her purse. “It’s from my dad.”

Venom’s gaze jumped to Terror’s face. He had only spoken to Pierce that morning about Jack Lane and the strange message from Ella. There was no way the Shadow Force assets on the ground had been able to track him down and get a message for Dizzy that quickly. No, this had been in the works for a few days at least.

Sensing his inquisitive stare, the black ops soldier rolled his shoulders and stretched out his long legs. “We have a friend of a friend of a friend in common.”

“I bet you do.”

Before Venom could question him further, gentle music signaled the start of the ceremony. They stood with the rest of the gathered celebrants. Venom had never been an overly sentimental sort of guy but he had to admit there was something rather touching about these wedding ceremonies. To stand in front of friends and publicly exchange vows added a level of solemnity to a mate bond that catching and claiming a woman with a collar lacked.

As Menace and Naya spoke their vows, Dizzy reached for his hand, clasping it between both of hers. He kissed her temple and let himself imagine the two of them taking the place of their friends. Someday.

“Boy, Naya wasn’t joking about these wedding receptions being a little on the lame side!”

Dizzy glanced up at the man addressing her with such a languid, easy drawl. She didn’t know Dankirk all that well but he was a friendly face from home. “Hi, Danny.”

“I brought you some dessert.” Bearing cake, he settled into the open seat next to her. The circular table where she and Venom had been assigned seats for dinner was mostly vacant now. Her mate had been dragged away by Raze to another side of the room where a loud group of men had congregated. They were telling stories, it seemed. Very animated stories.

“This cake is pretty good.” He pushed a plate with a small slice her way. “I can’t believe they didn’t do a proper cake cutting with the bride and groom.”

Dizzy picked up a clean fork from her roll of silverware and poked at the spongy confection. “They’ve only been doing weddings here for a little while. Give them time. The most important customs have migrated. That’s something.”

“I guess.” He took a drink of the fizzy champagne that had been imported from one of the wineries in the colonies. “No music and no dancing—but damn. They’ve got some good booze.”

Dizzy smiled at the Red Feather fixer. “You’ve known Naya a long time?”

He nodded and cut into his cake. “She’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to a best friend.”

She didn’t miss his wistfully sad expression. She suspected Danny felt more than friendship toward Naya.

“Speaking of best friends,” Danny swirled the alcohol in his glass, “Ella tried to reach me before I came up here. I didn’t realize she was trying to get a message to a friend or I would have found a way to meet with her. If there’s anything you want me to tell her I’ll make sure to look her up as soon as I hit the ground.”

“Tell her I’m happy and I miss her.” She thought of Ella’s message. “Let her know that I’ve already added her name to the visitation list.”

“Will do.” He took a long sip. “Look—I know this ain’t the time or place to talk about serious things…but we should chat about your daddy.”

Dizzy eyed her purse. She still hadn’t read the letter Terror had given her. “Just lay it out for me, Danny.”

“I don’t know the specifics, Dizzy. I’ve heard that someone was putting pressure on him to get a shipment together.”

“Who?”

“Take your pick on the who, kiddo. Fat Pete, the Sixers, the Splinters?” He shrugged. “There’s a shit-ton of shady operating in The City these days. Everybody’s looking for a bigger piece of that nasty little pie—and your daddy has black market connections that everyone wants.”

“But he sold my lottery number, Danny. He said—”

“A father will say anything to protect his child,” Danny cut in wisely. “I’ve known Jack for years. If he thought you were in danger and there was no way else to get you out, he would have pushed you toward a Grab. Nothing from back home can touch you here.”

Dizzy watched Menace licking a bit of frosting from Naya’s fingertip. The passionate love those two shared radiated across the room. Had Naya escaped to the
Valiant
believing nothing from her past, from Connor’s Run or The City, could ever touch her again? How wrong she had been!

“I’m not so sure about that, Danny.”

He followed her gaze and made a
humph
sound before smashing his cake with his fork. “That situation was different. Naya never would have ended up back on Calyx if that one-eyed bastard hadn’t dredged up ancient history.” Danny glared at Terror who sat with Vicious and Hallie at a nearby table. “You stay far away from that guy. Understand? He’s a shit magnet if I’ve ever seen one.”

Dizzy doubted she had ever heard such colorful descriptions. Considering the Shadow Force men she had encountered so far—Terror, Pierce and Torment—she was incredibly thankful Venom wasn’t in that line of work. His spot on the SRU team was dangerous enough but the men who carried out covert operations put their lives on the line in ways even more dangerous than Venom. At least he always had his team to back him up and support him. Just by looking at Terror’s scarred face, Dizzy could tell these Shadow Force men were on their own out there.

“When I get back to The City I’ll sniff around and see if I can’t find your dad. There’s a story here. Who knows? It might be something important enough to get him a ticket off Calyx and out to the colonies.”

Dizzy perked up. “Do you think the Harcos would make him a deal?”

“They’ve been doing it for years.” Danny swigged down the last of his champagne. “They started cultivating their ‘assets’ in the colonies and on Calyx more than twenty years ago. Even before their civil war kicked off, there were rumblings. Good intelligence means having boots on the ground.”

“I don’t know that I would want my dad to be an asset.”

Danny shrugged. “He might not have a choice. If Fat Pete or the Splinters were trying to pressure Jack to do something for them and he said no?” He shook his head and sighed. “Jack will want to get the hell off Calyx as quickly as possible. Spending a weekend with some sky warrior interrogators and spilling his guts for a ticket and a new identity in the colonies? That’s a mighty fine trade.”

Dizzy conceded that the fixer had a point. Thinking of how stressed and weary her father must have been to betray her, she started to feel so incredibly sad. Their relationship had been rocky since her mother’s death. They had both said and done things that left her feeling a bit of shame. She remembered the way she had screamed at him, telling him she hated him, that evening he had confessed to losing her to the loan shark and selling her lottery number. What if Danny was right? What if he had been trying to protect her?

“Sugar, are you all right?” Venom had sneaked up on them without her even realizing it. He must have seen the sadness on her face because he caressed her jaw.

She started to lie and say she was perfectly fine. Venom had asked her to always be honest with him so she didn’t. “I’m not feeling so well. Can we go home?”

“Of course.”

She gathered up her purse and gave Danny’s hand a squeeze. “Thanks for the cake. If you see my dad…” Her voice drifted off as the painful clump in her throat made her eyes water.

“I know what you want to say,” Danny said gently. “You can count on me.”

“Thank you.”

Venom placed his hand against the small of her back and walked her out of the reception. There were four soldiers waiting for an elevator and they all ended up in the same car. Venom silently communicated his concern for her by rubbing the spot between her shoulder blades. He didn’t say anything until they were safely locked inside their quarters.

Pinning her between the door and his hard body, Venom placed both of his hands against the wall and lowered his face until their breaths mingled. “What has you so upset?”

“I’m just thinking about my dad. I’m worried that he’s in real trouble. Between what Ella said and what Danny told me tonight, I can’t stop thinking that he’s caught up in something really big.” Her stomach roiled and she swallowed hard. “Then I start thinking about that stupid blood test. Somewhere out there my biological father is lurking. Is he a good guy? Is he a jerk? Did my mother love him? Did he hurt her? Did he abandon her? Why didn’t he stick around? Why didn’t he want us?”

“Dizzy,” Venom whispered, the sound pained. “Honey, you’re going to make yourself sick thinking about all this. Whatever happened back then—it’s in the past. I know it’s hard to let it go but you can’t dwell on the what-ifs. You may never track down your biological father. Even if you get Jack—your dad—to talk to you about your mother, he may not even know the details. There’s a possibility—however slim—that he doesn’t even know you’re not his biological child.” Venom touched their foreheads together. “You’ve got a letter in your purse from your father. Start there.”

The envelope shoved into her purse suddenly felt so heavy. What if the letter held truths she didn’t want to face? “I can’t. Not tonight.”

“That’s fine. There’s no rush.” Venom tugged her purse from her grasp and placed it on the entryway table. Interlacing their fingers, he led her into the living area. He left her standing next to the couch while he flicked through the buttons of his uniform jacket and peeled out of it. Crouching down, he unzipped and toed off his boots.

Dizzy followed his lead and kicked off her heels. Standing barefoot, she asked, “Now what?”

“Now,” he said with a little smile, “you’re going to teach me how to dance.”

“What?” A nervous laugh escaped her at the idea of being held in his arms and swaying with him in their living room. “You don’t know how to dance?”

“I do not.”

“But—you know how to do
everything
.”

Venom chuckled. “You know how to stroke my ego.”

“I’m not stroking your ego.” Dizzy took his huge paw and placed it on her hip. “You have to be the most capable and skilled man I’ve ever met.”

He studied her for a long minute. “You’re serious.”

“Yes. Now—this would be easier with music but just match my steps.” She clasped his other hand and took one step back but Venom didn’t budge. Gazing up into his curious face, she realized that he had no idea how incredibly special he was. “You don’t even know, do you?”

“Know what, sugar?”

“How damn amazing you are,” she said with a touch of awe in her voice. “Venom, you’re an elite soldier who serves with a highly skilled unit—yet you’re the kindest, sweetest, gentlest mate.” An erotic heat quivered between her thighs as she added, “You’re a wonderful and patient lover.”

“To be fair, you don’t have much to compare me to.”

Dizzy frowned at him and playfully kicked his shin. “Don’t discount me just because you’re my first and only. I may not have other lovers to compare you to but I know that you make me feel
so
good. You leave me breathless and trembling and feeling like I’ve touched heaven.”

Venom’s breaths grew heavy. His hard cock jutted against her upper belly as she tried to get him to sway with her. “I’ve changed my mind about this dancing thing.”

She licked her lips as a wicked frisson of anticipation raced through her core. “Oh?”

“Strip for me.”

With a saucy grin, she flicked her fingers against his chest. “You first.”

His deep, gruff laugh made her thighs clench. After jerking on the buttons of his dress shirt, he shrugged out of the garment and tossed it aside. His undershirt quickly followed. She let her needy gaze rake his ridiculously sexy chest. Her fingers burned to touch all that hard, hot flesh.

Giving in to the urge, she attacked him with her hands and mouth. She followed the ridges of his abdomen while kissing and licking his chest. When she flicked her tongue against the dark disk of his nipple, Venom gasped. She scratched at his belly and suckled him, drawing a long, needful groan from him.

“Out of that dress,” he growled. “Now.”

She spun around and presented her back so Venom could unzip her. While she shimmied out of the dress, he tore off his pants. By the time she was free of the garment, he was stark naked and reaching for her.

Venom fell back on the couch and dragged her down with him. She straddled his hips and sighed with pleasure as he caressed her skin. The rope harness he had fashioned for her had been like an unending embrace during the wedding ceremony and reception. Even when he was away from her it felt as if he were right there, holding and protecting her.

“You’re so beautiful, Dizzy.” He spoke with such awe as he gazed upon her corseted body. “So beautiful.” He kissed her breasts and ran his fingers over the ropes decorating her body. “I can’t believe you’re mine.”

Dizzy ran her greedy hands over his sculpted body. “I can’t believe you’re mine.”

“But I am.” Always looking out for her comfort, Venom unlatched the collar and tossed it aside. He brushed his lips across her scars. “Are you sore?”

“No. The lining helped.”

“I’m glad.” Cupping her bottom, Venom lined up their bodies and thrust up into her. She moaned as he sucked her nipple between his lips and laved it with his soft tongue. “Let’s dance my way.”