Saved by Venom: 3 (Grabbed) (31 page)

Dizzy couldn’t believe she was back in the hospital wing of the
Valiant
so soon. The minutes following her rescue were still such a blur. More soldiers and medics had swarmed the tunnel. After the line of prisoners had been marched down the hall, two medics carted her father out on a stretcher. She had been shocked by the sight of his battered face but he was breathing and alive.

Despite her protests, Venom had swept her up into his arms and carried her out to the waiting dart. He had reluctantly left her in the care of the medics but not until he’d kissed her so long and hard the medics thought her racing heart was a medical issue.

Somewhere in the ensuing chaos of their rescue, Hopper had sneaked away unnoticed. Dizzy suspected she wanted nothing to do with the Shadow Force interrogators or the Splinters who were probably watching the place. She worried about Hopper but trusted her friend knew what she was doing. Hopper had been on her own since childhood and clearly knew how to survive in a rough and dangerous world.

After being poked and prodded and tested for exposure to the fuel rods, Dizzy had been given a pair of papery-thin hospital pajamas and small white socks to wear. With her legs curled underneath her, she sat in one of the waiting-room chairs and fidgeted anxiously. Risk had promised to deliver news of her dad as soon as possible.

Her emotions vacillated from extreme relief that he was safe here with her and absolute dread at the prospect of dredging up the ancient history that concerned her mother. The idea of hurting him by forcing the discussion made her sick to her stomach.

“Sugar?” Venom stepped out of the elevator and rushed to her side. Sliding into the chair next to her, he scooped her right up and deposited her on his lap. She didn’t even try to stop him from kissing her in such a public place. After the dangerous night they had both survived, she would never again turn down the chance to lock lips with the man she loved.

As she gazed into his gorgeous blue eyes, Dizzy stroked her fingertips along the back of his shaved head. “How was the debriefing?”

“Fine.” He combed his fingers through her damp hair. “You showered?”

She nodded. “Risk said it would help me feel better.”

“Was he right?”

“Yes.”

“How’s your head?”

“It’s okay. He gave me a mild painkiller to help with the discomfort.” She shot him an annoyed look. “You guys are
really
loud when you bust in doors.”

“It was the concussive grenades or tear gas,” he explained. “We went with the least dangerous option.”

“And the noisiest.”

He smiled. “And the noisiest.”

Her thoughts turned more serious. “Did they find Terror?”

Venom’s eyes darkened with sadness. “No. The trail is cold. We hope that one of the double agents the Shadow Force has undercover will reveal him to us but it’s a long shot.”

Dizzy hadn’t spent much time at all with Terror but she sensed he was an incredibly complex, complicated yet well-liked man. His loss would be felt by so many of the men Venom called friends.

“Have you heard anything about Pierce? Risk told me they took him to a ship called the
Mercy
.”

“He’s in good hands there. The trauma surgeons know their stuff.” Venom traced the neckline of the loose-fitting shirt. “I saw Torment on the way up here. He said Pierce is expected to make a full recovery. He broke both legs and an arm and had a major concussion. Somehow the lucky bastard managed not to crack and scramble his egg.”

She ignored Venom’s rather crass way of putting it. “I can’t believe that. There’s no way he didn’t fracture his skull when he hit the ground. I watched some guy kick him in the back of the head!”

“He must have gotten his arm caught up in the ladder when he fell. It probably slowed his speed and tilted him in a strange enough angle that he hit feet first.”

“I guess,” she said skeptically. “I won’t believe it until I see him.” She shook her head. “He took two bullets protecting me too.”

“So I heard,” Venom said, his voice unnaturally tight. Cupping her face, he vowed, “You are
never
leaving this ship without me again. Is that understood?”

“Yes…Master,” she added with a teasing grin.

“If you knew what hearing that name does to me…” he said with a low growl.

Wiggling her bottom, she blushed at the sensation of his stiff erection jutting against her. “I can tell what it does to you.”

He chuckled softly and kissed her neck. “I can’t wait to get you home.”

Dizzy stifled a yawn as she snuggled up to her husband. “I may need a nap first.”

“We’ll see.” He caressed her arm and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. “Is there any word on your father?”

“Risk said he’s extremely dehydrated and has a broken cheek and nose but he’s in good condition otherwise. When he comes around they’re supposed to tell me.”

“I hope that’s soon. I know how badly you want to speak with him. When he’s discharged from the hospital, we’ll invite him to stay in one of our extra rooms until he gets settled elsewhere.”

Surprised at Venom’s incredibly gracious offer, she lifted her head. “Are you sure?”

He frowned down at her. “Of course I’m sure. We’re family.”

“Are we?” Dizzy suddenly remembered what Vicious and Thorn had said to her in the war room. “General Vicious mentioned that because I’m actually half-Harcos I wasn’t ever eligible to be Grabbed. Apparently that means I’m legally Thorn’s and not yours.”

“Like fucking hell,” he snarled. His brawny arms tightened around her. “I’ll take Thorn to the ancestral ring before I allow him to take you from me.”

“The ancestral what?”

“It’s a fighting pit where Harcos males settle blood feuds.”

Dizzy studied Venom’s face. From the tight lines around his mouth to his flaring nostrils, it was clear that he was enraged by the idea of losing her. She kissed his cheek to soothe his temper. “Even if some stupid rule says that we aren’t mates under your law, I would still choose you again.”

Venom framed her chin between his forefinger and thumb. “Again?”

“I could have run away from you out in the woods but I didn’t.” She played with one of the buttons on his shirt. “There was just something about you that drew me closer. I couldn’t walk away from you then—and I sure as hell can’t do it now.”

“You won’t have to walk away from him.”

Startled by the unexpected sound of General Thorn’s voice, Dizzy nearly fell off Venom’s lap. Her mate hesitated before shifting her off his lap so he could stand and salute his superior officer.

“No.” Thorn waved his hand. “At ease. Not today, Captain.”

“As you wish, sir.” Venom remained uncommonly tense even after he sat down and dragged her back down onto his lap.

Thorn took a seat catty-corner to them. He rested his hands on his knees and stared at them for several unnervingly long seconds. “I don’t want the two of you worrying about the rules and regulations of the Grabs. I’ve already started the paperwork required to allow Venom to be your mate.”

“What sort of paperwork?” she asked.

“It’s basically a betrothal contract,” Thorn explained. “It’s not that different from the Grab contract you signed after Venom collared you.”

“May I stay on the
Valiant
with Venom?” She worried they would force her to leave until the official paperwork was completed.

“Yes. Nothing about your current living situation with Venom will change. It’s simply legal ends that need to be neatly tied so there are no questions about your status or those of any children you may have. Later, when the dust from today has settled, we’ll sit down and discussion your stipend.”

“My
what
?” Dizzy gawked at her biological father.

“Your stipend,” Thorn said slowly. “It’s your monthly allowance.”

Aghast at the idea of taking money from him, she hurriedly shot down that notion. “I don’t need or want a stipend from you.”

Thorn frowned. “Have I offended you?”

“No, you haven’t offended me.” Dizzy suspected she might have just inadvertently offended him. “I don’t understand the point. I’m fully capable of supporting myself. Now that I’m married—mated,” she corrected, “I’m well provided for by Venom. There’s no need for you to give me a stipend.”

Thorn shook his head. “It’s not about need, Dizzy. It’s tradition.”

She glanced at Venom for confirmation. He nodded stiffly. “It’s customary for Harcos fathers to gift their daughters with dowries or stipends.”

Her eyebrows arched. Sharing a secret joke with him, she pinched his arm. “Then we had better start saving our pennies since you jinxed us into having a dozen daughters.”

The tension fled Venom’s face as he seemed to remember their first real conversation and dinner together. His hopeful grin made her belly wildly quiver. “Yes, we probably should.”

When Dizzy glanced back at Thorn, she caught him staring at them with amusement and an odd sheen to his eyes. Clearing his throat, he stood up and reached out to give her shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll be in the area for the next week or so. I’d like to see you again. Perhaps we might have dinner?”

She wasn’t sure what sort of relationship might develop between her and her biological father but Dizzy decided she had to give it a good try. “I’d like that.”

“Wonderful.” His hand fell from her shoulder. “I hope Jack has a swift recovery. I’ll be sure to give him a wide berth while we’re inhabiting similar spaces.” He nodded in Venom’s direction. “Captain.”

“General.” Venom bid his superior farewell and waited until Thorn had disappeared in an elevator to let loose a pent-up breath. “That went better than I had anticipated.”

Dizzy considered Venom’s predicament. “I guess it’s kind of weird to have someone like General Thorn as a father-in-law.”

“Weird is one way of describing it.” Then with a snort, Venom added, “I have no idea how I’ll handle
two
fathers-in-law.”

“I’ve seen you handle terrorists, Venom. I think you can handle two overprotective dads.”

“I hope so,” he murmured.

She nuzzled their noses together. “I have faith in you.”

“Dizzy?” Risk gently interjected from the edge of the waiting room. “Your dad is awake. He’s asking for you.”

She slipped off Venom’s lap, grabbed his huge paw and tugged him into a standing position. “Come on. It’s time you met my dad.”

“Is this when I’m supposed to ask for a blessing?”

She laughed. “Venom, I think it’s a little late for that considering I’ve been wearing your collar for weeks.”

He brushed his fingers along her bare neck. “That reminds me. We need to get a new collar designed for you with a better lining.”

“Actually,” she gave him another tug so they could follow Risk, “I don’t think I want a new collar.”

“Is that so?” Venom’s voice held a playful warning. “And how do you intend to let everyone know that you belong to me when we’re out in public?”

She decided not to divulge her idea just yet. “You’ll see soon enough.”

Smiling back at him, she winked and gave him another hard tug to drag him into her dad’s hospital room. She gripped his hand and pulled him toward the hospital bed where her father was sitting up and sipping water. “Hey, Dad.”

“Hey, sweetheart.” He had a number of tubes running from his arms to the medication boxes attached to the wall above the bed. His bruised face seemed even more purple and splotchy under the bright lighting but he grinned at the sight of her and held out his hand. “I look a lot worse than I feel.”

She squeezed his fingers. “I’m glad you’re okay. You really scared me.”

“
You
scared
me
.” He shook his head slowly. “Dizzy, why did you come after me? I sent you here so you would be safe.”

“But the envelope—”

“I never meant for
you
to come riding to my rescue. I assumed one of your mom’s old contacts would intercept the letter and get the message. Never you!”

She eased onto the bed and searched for the right words. “Dad, why didn’t you tell me the truth? Why did you let me say all those awful things to you when we fought about Fat Pete and my lottery number?”

Regret flashed across his face. “I didn’t know who to trust. I worried that telling you too much would put you in even more danger. Someone down there knew that you were Thorn’s daughter. They were threatening to kidnap and ransom you. I tried so hard to get him to speak to me but he blew me off. At that point I knew I couldn’t trust him to pay the ransom if you were taken. So I sold your number and bought protection to follow you around until you had been safely Grabbed.”

She thought back to the weird men who had been following her around that last day in The City. “I knew I was being tailed! I thought it was Fat Pete’s guys keeping tabs on me so they could snatch me up.”

“No, they worked for me.”

“Dad, what really happened down there?”

He swallowed hard. “I can’t tell you everything. I’m sure that the spooks will take me in soon enough for all that—but I can say this. Fat Pete hired me to ship some cargo. I didn’t ask what it was until I was given a set of very worrisome instructions. That’s when I realized that the men who had hired Fat Pete—the Splinters—were planning to do something very dangerous.”

Her dad sipped his water. “I tried to scuttle the transport arrangements but photos of your mother and Thorn—before me and before you—showed up on my doorstep one morning. The next morning, there were pictures of you and pictures of Thorn. I knew then that someone had figured it out.”

“Who?” Dizzy racked her brain. “Who could have possibly known about mom and Thorn? That was years ago.”

“I assume they’ve told you about your mother, about what she was.”

“Yes. Did you know?”

He nodded. “Not at first. I figured it out when you were about four. I loved her and I trusted that she was trying to do something good and noble so I made sure she was protected and I made sure she had access to the right people.” He shrugged. “There’s very little you can’t accomplish with the right amount of money.”