Fangs and Fennel (The Venom Trilogy #2)(54)

“I think we should go,” I said softly.

Remo tipped his head. “Are you sure?” Not “Why,” not “We just got here,” but was I sure.

I nodded. “Yeah, this was a bad idea.”

I had no idea just how bad it was until the door swung open as we approached it. Like a weird twist in an even weirder, cold medicine–induced dream.

Roger stepped inside, Barbie right behind him. His eyes were on something in his hands, so he didn’t see me right away. “Beatrice, I brought the papers for you and Clark to sign . . .” He trailed off as he raised his eyes and saw Remo and me. Roger was all but shoved into the house from behind, Barbie barreling in behind him.

“Oh, you were right, this is nice. You should have asked for more money for the house if they’re living out this way.” Barbie all but cooed the words as she stared around my parents’ home.

Remo’s hands were on my shoulders, and I didn’t understand why at first. I leaned toward Roger as my breath hissed out of me.

“You . . . what are you doing here?” I snarled.

Roger held up a stack of papers as his face turned as white as a crème br?lée prior to being lit on fire. I kinda wanted to light him on fire and finish the job.

Everything happened at once. Dad, Tad, and Dahlia stepped into the room from the far side of the house. Yaya and Uncle Robert burst in from the back porch, Samantha and Everett trailing them. Remo and I stood in the center of the room, him holding me back from physically going after Roger. To say the room thickened with tension as everyone took me and Roger in would be like saying dry ice is a tad bit cold.

“I think you were right; it’s time to go,” Remo said, tugging me back to his side and slipping an arm around my shoulders.

“No, don’t go, Alena,” Yaya pleaded.

My mother glared. “This is a family dinner, and we are all going to sit down and act like a family. Roger, you’re here, so why don’t you stay?” Why the sudden change of heart? Auntie Janice, no doubt, if her smirk was any indication. Looking to cause trouble. I could just imagine her implying that Mom was less than hospitable. So now Mom would go over and above to prove her wrong.

Why was my family full of a bunch of crazies? How did I get so lucky?

“Are you out of your mind?” I couldn’t help it. “You want me to sit down to dinner with my soon-to-be ex, his gold-digging girlfriend”—Barbie shrieked, but I ignored her—“and Dad’s side of the family, who isn’t exactly human? You have lost your mind, haven’t you?”

Mom’s face paled. “What do you mean ‘isn’t exactly human’?”

Tad groaned and then laughed. “Oh, here we go.”

There was a soft knock on the door, and a masculine throat cleared. “Have we come at a bad time?”

I spun back to the door and looked past Roger. I was seeing things. I had to be. Because there was no way in heaven or hell that Theseus had shown up for dinner.

I didn’t realize I’d said the words out loud until my mom answered me.

“Not Theseus, dear, this is Tim, a new neighbor. He has no family, so I thought it would be nice for him to join us for dinner, to make him feel welcome.”

I closed my eyes and leaned into Remo. “We should have left.”

“Maybe this will be fun,” he murmured.

I blinked up at him. “Fun?”

He gave me a quick wink. “Just watch.”

Oh dear Lord, what had I gotten myself into this time?





CHAPTER 15


The dinner table groaned under all the food that Mom, Aunt Janice, and Yaya brought out. Who were they kidding when Mom said there wasn’t enough food for a couple of extra bodies? They could have fed three times the amount of people who were there.

Theseus sat at the head of the table, as far away from me as I could get. Beth was with him, her eyes never leaving his face as he spoke of his job as a private investigator.

“Tell us again how you saved Beth,” Samantha cooed. I glared at my buxom, doe-eyed cousin. The entire meal had been Mom, Aunt Janice, Beth, Samantha, and Barbie all but falling over themselves to get close to Theseus. Unable to stand it any longer, I pushed my chair back and strode to the front door.

“Cupcakes are there.” I pointed at the covered confections on the side table. “Good night, everyone.”

Yaya stood as if to follow me, and I waved at her. “Enjoy your dinner, Yaya.”

“Alena.”

I cut her off as I slammed the door behind me.

Remo caught up to me on the steps and took my hand. My heart pounded like an off-rhythm mixer. I put a hand to my head. “What kind of game is he playing?”

He pulled me into his arms and held me tight. “One he is currently winning. Your family is falling for his lies. You have to be there if you want to show him you aren’t to be trifled with.”

“I know, but I don’t know how.” I closed my eyes and breathed him in, letting my anxiety float away for a moment.

Remo tipped my chin up so he could look in my eyes. “He’s doing this to make you uncomfortable. To show you he can control your family without even trying. They aren’t safe, even now.”

I stared at him, my mind racing. “You think I can gain control? That I can play his game and win? All night he’s been nothing but sweetness and gentlemanly behavior. It makes me want to vomit.”