Kenasha jumped, having clearly taken his eyes off her when Venom came closer.
Leaning over, Holly whispered in the angel’s ear. “You wanted to fuck her, didn’t you?”
Kenasha had frozen at the realization that he was surrounded by predators, but now jerked his head up and down. “I thought she’d be grateful I’d rescued her, and do things for me. That’s not bad,” he added. “I saved her life.”
True enough—vampires couldn’t drown, but a lack of blood would’ve eventually made her so weak that the water and its creatures would’ve separated her head from her body. “How did you end up owning her?”
The angel’s eyes shifted right. “She asked.”
“Liar, liar,” Holly whispered in Kenasha’s other ear while scraping her nails delicately over his jugular.
Kenasha began to hyperventilate. “I wanted her!” he almost screamed. “She had something inside her that I wanted! I drank her blood and it was delightful! So I kept her!”
Venom’s eyes met Holly’s over the top of the angel’s head. She looked as confused as he felt. “You drank her blood?”
“Yes. I’ve always liked a little blood and her blood smelled so good that I took a sip while she was unconscious.” He shuddered in gross ecstasy. “It tasted so good, made me feel so powerful that I couldn’t let her go.”
“So she didn’t agree to be your slave?”
Kenasha gave him a sly look. “It’s her word against mine.”
Leaving that for now because the not-very-bright angel had already incriminated himself many times over, Venom focused on the more interesting fact. “You felt good after drinking her blood? Any other effect?”
Kenasha opened out his wing again. “This. I didn’t realize it until later, but my body couldn’t process all the blood I was taking. That’s why I started lending her out. When she’s here, I can’t stop feeding from her.”
Venom saw the rage on Holly’s face and shook his head slightly. She hissed but turned away to stalk to the other end of the room.
“Do others feed from her?” Venom asked.
“I never gave them permission for that!” Kenasha’s tone rose. “I just told them they could use her as a toy. Her blood is mine!”
Obviously, the Tower techs needed to test Kenasha’s blood and feathers to see why a young vampire’s blood had caused such a strong negative reaction. That could be arranged easily enough. “Can you fly?”
“I’m weak,” the angel admitted. “But I can get across the Hudson.”
“I want you to go to the Tower and present yourself for blood and other tests. If you don’t, I’ll come to take the samples myself. Understood?”
“I’ll do it now.” A long breath, a shaky exhale. “It was so good. If you’d tasted her blood, you’d want to keep her, too. And, after a few months, she stopped fighting.”
Venom didn’t stop Holly this time. She sank her small, venomous fangs into Kenasha’s neck and when she tore them back out, spitting on the floor to rid herself of his blood, the angel’s body began to convulse in his chair, his eyes bulging out and his face a rictus of pain.
Venom stayed only long enough to make sure the angel was in no danger of death, then told the butler to take care of his master. “He will be expected at the Tower before dawn. Make sure he’s there or the consequences will be infinitely worse than what he’s currently experiencing.”
The wraith bobbed his head so hard that Montgomery would’ve been mortified for his lack of poise. “Yes, sir.”
Venom deliberately took Holly’s hand as they walked out of the room. He didn’t trust her not to go back and have another go at Kenasha. She actually curled her fingers around his palm and held on tight, as if she didn’t trust herself, either.
Going out to the car, the air currently clear of rain, Venom opened the passenger door and waited for her to get in, then shut the door and made his way to the driver’s side. “Feel better?”
She wiped the back of her forearm across her mouth. “Yes, except for the taste of el creepo I have in my mouth.”
“Open the dash. There should be a bottle of energy drink in there.”
Holly found it, took a swallow, and swirled it around her mouth before opening the door of the not-yet-moving car and spitting the mouthful on the ground. After shutting the door, she nodded. “That’s better.”
Venom started up the car, turned it, and headed back down the drive.
The dangerous woman in the passenger seat looked at him. “Why did you let me do that?”
“I didn’t want to get the taste of el creepo in my own mouth.”
Holly’s laughter filled the car, and the otherness in Venom sat up and took notice all over again of this broken girl who’d become a fascinating, strong woman while he hadn’t been looking. “There’s one thing, Holly,” he said, telling himself once again that she was far too young for him to play with.
“What?”
“The vampire’s true name? It’s Daisy.”
16
Holly’s mouth dried up, her tongue feeling too big for it.
Gulping more of the energy drink in sheer desperation, she said, “You’re not messing with me, are you?”
“No. She signed the contract as Daisy Scaldini.” Having already removed his sunglasses as per their agreement, he glanced at her out of eyes unique and stunning. “Did you meet her at some stage?”
“Not that I remember,” Holly said, “but what other explanation is—” Mouth bone-dry again, she saw what he undoubtedly already had. “Do you think she was in that warehouse with me and my friends? That Uram did to her what he did to me?” And some part of Holly had remembered her, enough to pluck her name out of thin air.
“It’s possible. Her fangs are smaller than is usual, but she doesn’t have eyes like yours and she can’t have the speed, or she’d have torn Kenasha to pieces by now.”
“Not if he made her weak from the start.” Holly’s nails cut into her palms as the rain thundered down again. “It sounds like he abused her from the get-go—she probably never had the chance to grow into her strength.”
Venom pulled onto the bridge. “Yes, and then there’s the fact her blood caused Kenasha’s feathers to rot. That’s in no way a normal reaction.”
“Jesus.” Holly shuddered in her seat. “That could have been me,” she said, horrified. “If it was a deviant like Kenasha who found me and not Elena and Raphael.”
“You gave me trouble from the first, kitty.” Venom’s power twined around her in a silken twist as he spoke. “Your relentless will is your greatest strength.”
The sinuous kiss of his power sliding across her, around her, it didn’t make her shiver. It felt normal; this was who Venom was, the increase in strength a part of his natural growth. As for the rest . . . “I just wish Daisy had had the same chance,” she said, her gut full of lead. “I wish I hadn’t forgotten her.”
“No one can fight an archangel determined to erase their memories,” Venom said with a cool pragmatism that was weirdly comforting. “If Daisy was there, he made you forget her for a reason.”
Mind clearing, Holly frowned. “Yes, why wipe her from my mind?” After all, he hadn’t touched the ugly memories of her friends’ torture and deaths.
“Right now, we can’t be certain she is connected to Uram. I’m going to tell the Tower to run her blood against yours, see what comes up.” After making the call, he said, “There’s no point in speculating until we get the results.”
Holly rubbed her face with one hand, then, gripping the energy drink bottle between her thighs, reached back to tighten her ponytail. “Damn it, if I have to say ‘you’re right’ again, the earth will crack open and spew forth banjo-playing three-headed demons.”
Venom’s laugh was open and startled and deeply masculine. The sound washed across her senses, sank into her skin, going deep, so deep. Breath a little shallow, she forced herself to take another gulp of the drink in an effort to find a distraction. “Marlin,” she said on a burst of inspiration. “Let’s go talk to Marlin and see if his attempt to hook a big fish got a response.”