Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
For more than a decade, I’ve been Venus’s silent protector. In the shadows, I’ve watched her, stalking her every move. When she settled in Palm Beach with Salvation’s Bane, I made sure to be close by. I keep an eye on her, guarding her, even if she doesn’t realize it. But when an enemy from her past threatens her, I step out of the shadows. Venus is on the hunt, and the monster she’s chasing has awakened the beast in me. I protect what’s mine. And Venus? She’s mine.
Author’s Venus’ first person narrative is written in heavily accented English. Articles (the, a, an) do not exist in Russian language.
Copyright All Changeling Press LLC publications and cover art are copyright and may not be used in any AI generated work. No AI content is included or allowed in any Changeling Press LLC publication or artwork.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
Venus
Shortly After Lemon’s Kidnapping…
“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Piston, annoying bastard, was like gnat buzzing around my head. I could bat him away, but he kept coming back for more. So I chose to ignore him.
It was dead of night with waning crescent moon. Cloud cover made even that light minimal. Ripper and Wylde, with Salvation’s Bane MC and Iron Tzars MC, had been working on finding Victor Zaitsev ever since Victor’s men nabbed Lemon thinking she was me. But I’d been searching for that motherfucker long before Lemon’s abduction. Twenty years longer. Since before my sister, Millie, met and attached herself to Shadow from Bones MC. Before me, Millie, and Shadow made it back from Poland with our little sister, Katya. Why? Because he is bastard who needs to die.
Victor forced me into a splinter of FSB. Which is basically same as KGB. Just different letters. And not as open about their heavy handedness. His intention was to have someone on inside to keep him out of trouble. Once in the FSB, though, they made me into something… more. One of many killers, but even more than that. I was their secret asset. The assassin to send when all others failed. Training was brutal. Work, even more so. I became very good at what they tasked me with. Too good.
“If you’re not sure, I can always call in backup.”
Fucking Piston. He knew very well I didn’t need backup. He wanted me to engage with him and I refused. Instead of taking hint, Piston kept coming back for more. Like gnat I thought of before.
“Too many people here as it is,” I muttered, never taking my eyes off my target. We were in middle of nowhere, Western Montana. It was privately owned stretch of forest land over thousand square miles. Small cabin sat in middle of woods as out of place as hunting cabin in middle of suburbia. While able to fall off grid, whoever built it would still have comforts of good old U. S. of A. Roughing it, this place was not. More like rich man’s idea of roughing it. There were even solar panels set up outside cabin along with gas tank.
Piston said nothing. Just put his field glasses to his face and surveyed area in direction I was looking. “Never met a woman as prickly as you.”
“Never met man who can’t take hint like you. If you can’t see target, stay out of my way. Last thing I need is to have to tell Rocket I killed you because you were stupid.”
That shut him up. Of course, Piston was just as likely to be smirking at me as he was to be angry with me for my outburst. I could have glanced at him to find out, but I could just make out silhouette of man in open window of cabin.
I dressed head to toe in pink. Every day. Hair, nails, clothing, even my bike was pink. It had been my pink Harley that had made Victor’s men believe Lemon was me. But reason I did was because I had to wear pink contacts. I had to wear pink contacts because contacts themselves were sophisticated surveillance equipment that enhanced my vision in both bright and dark conditions. Is long explanation, but basically, I could see like spy camera. I could zoom in or pan out as long as something was in my field of vision. Came in handy in combat. And spying. Only problem was they tinted my eyes bright pink. So, all the unnecessary pink was to conceal the necessary pink.
And no. The FSB didn’t have such things. I got them from man who helped me once. I helped him back until the balance tipped in my favor. Now, he is one of very few people outside of motorcycle clubs I’ve worked with I can call friend. No, it was more than that. All those men and women were sem’ya. Family. Giovanni Romano was too. Not that’d I’d ever tell him that. Man was too arrogant as it was.
“Oh, I can see it fine. I’m just hopin’ and prayin’ to the sweet baby Jesus in the manger you don’t honestly believe it’s gonna be this easy to catch this fucker.”
I didn’t acknowledge Piston, but I had same concern he did. I could see Victor in that house. Just by small window in front. This situation was most definitely a set up. From this angle I couldn’t see anything obvious, so I’d have to prepare for the unobvious.
“Stay out of my way, Piston.” I put as much command and venom in my voice as I could, hoping stubborn bastard would understand I meant business. “No one asked you to come along. I’ve been doing this by myself for very long time.”
“Surprised you lasted a week without a keeper.” I could hear amusement in his voice and wanted to scratch his eyeballs out. Something else about me to stick out. My fingernails were filed into nearly razor-sharp two-inch-long daggers. Pink, of course. I used them like weapons they were. Just as I was trained.