Scorned by Venom (Argentium Vampire Hunters Trilogy #2)

12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Sage

Twenty-four long and treacherous hours later, I sat in the front seat of Drag’s truck, staring out the window as we went south on Highway 518. The anxiety and nervousness this mission gave me were overwhelming, so I was grateful when I realized the new meds helped a little.

The last thing I wanted to do was ask my mother to help me find Luka. Especially since she thought she was only coming to see her daughter. She would be blindsided by my request. I felt bad, but we had no other leads. If we wanted to save Luka and Strike, she was the only possible answer.

“Ya good over there?” Drag’s question brought me out of my internal monologue.

“I’m nervous.”

“Obviously. Your heart rate keeps speeding up.”

I glanced over my shoulder when I heard Lynx speak. “Sorry.”

The purple-haired vampire gave me a kind smile, then squeezed my shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”

Since my other friends were busy with what I didn’t know, Drag roped Lynx and Demi into this mission. Since I was only going to meet my mom, I figured I would be fine going alone, but apparently it wasn’t safe—or so Marcus said. But since I made him worry enough lately, I gave in and let him arm me with two wolven and a vampire.

Drag turned up the radio when the song, “Cover Me Up” by Jason Isbell came on. I wasn’t big into country music, but listening to the words had my eyes filling with tears. I turned my head back toward the window, continuing to think about Luka.

The drive seemed to last forever, even if it was only an hour and a half long. Not far off the highway in the city of Las Vegas, New Mexico, Drag whipped the truck into a gravel parking lot.

“This is the place.”

I looked up to read the sign. “The Branded Steer? That’s a weird name for a restaurant. Aren’t all steers branded?”

Drag put the truck in park and turned off the engine. “It’s because they only serve meat from animals raised on their farms.”

My gaze drifted from the neon sign to Drag. “How do you know?”

“The owner is a good friend.” He gave me a smile, which made me suspicious of his words before he quickly changed the subject. “You know the plan. If anything happens, push the button on your necklace.”

Trying to build up the courage to go inside, I took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. A hand landed on my shoulder again and I glanced into the backseat.

“You got this.” Lynx’s demeanor was sweet, but it didn’t do much to calm my nerves.

“Thanks.”

Mustering as much strength as I could, I exited the truck and made my way toward the restaurant door, my heart racing. The smell of greasy food hit me when I pushed it open. Looking for any signs of threat, my eyes darted across maroon booths filled with people.

“Sit wherever you want,” a waitress said, hurrying past me, her hands filled with plates of food.

It had been such a long time since I heard the sounds of clinking silverware and chatter, it seemed foreign to me.

A glass shattered in the distance, making me jump. A part of me wanted to run, but I had stopped running from my problems. Saving Luka was crucial and this was our sole chance for a breakthrough.

With a deep breath—and a small reminder I was a badass—I moseyed through the crowd of people, making my way to the back. I had nearly given up hope when a waitress moved to the left, revealing my mom sitting at a table alone. The air caught in my throat as I’d forgotten how gorgeous she was.

The child in me wanted to run and jump in her arms, let her caress my back and tell me everything would be alright, like she used to.

Forcing myself to walk at a slow pace, I fought back tears and cautiously made my way over to her. I stopped five feet from her table and my heart filled with a love I thought I’d never feel again as I watched her nervously fold a napkin into a perfect crease.

When she saw me, her hand went over her mouth for a split second before she cleared her throat and righted her face.

“I missed you,” she whispered when I slid into the booth across from her, her eyes glistening. Her hand went to the middle of the table and I clasped it in mine.

“I missed you too.”

We let go of each other and my mom wiped the tears from her cheeks before handing me a menu.

“What’s good here?” I asked, peeping at the variety of steaks and burgers, before doing an eye sweep of the room. My body being on high alert made it challenging to focus.

“I have no idea, Sa . . . umm, Marie, but our waitress is the sweetest person I have ever met. I already ordered you a sweet tea.” She glanced past me. “There she is now.”

“I see your guest has arrived.” The voice was familiar—too familiar. My eyes widened as I looked up into Vivi’s brightly smiling face.

“We haven’t had time to look at the menu yet, Carol. Can you give me and my, umm, niece a minute?”

Carol?

Glancing at Vivi’s name tag, it indeed said Carol.

“Sure thing.” Vivi’s smile stayed as she set our drinks down and walked away.

“I told you she was nice. And her dimples are so adorable.” My mom grinned while she gushed.

Knowing how ruthless Vivi was behind those dimples sent shivers through my body.

An adorable killing machine.

After a few minutes of trying to decide what I wanted, Vivi came back, and I picked something simple to eat. “I’ll have the small soup and salad combo.”

“Which salad and which soup?”

I hadn’t picked what kind because I had a thousand questions.

How did she get the uniform? The Carol nametag? The job? Does she even know what she’s doing?

But I was mostly concerned with my food being incorrect.

“Caesar salad with chicken noodle,” I mumbled, then handed her the menu.

“I’ll take the same, but with a chef salad,” my mom added.

Vivi wrote on a pad like she was a professional server. “Got it.” She continued to smile, strolling off.

“How are, umm . . .”

I knew my mom was asking about Lyric and Erik, but was afraid to say their names. Anyone could be watching or listening, making everything we say potentially dangerous. I wasn’t worried about me, but I would kill for her, so I kept as vague as possible.

“They’re good. They said to tell you hi.”

“I miss them.” Tears brimmed her eyes as she cleared her throat. She reached her hand back to the center of the table. “I also miss my baby.”

Grabbing her hand once more, I squeezed it, reassuring her everything would be okay.

“How have you been?” she asked, her other hand clasping mine in between hers.

“I’ve been fine.”

My mom’s soft eyes turned worried. “I didn’t want to say anything, but you seem to have lost weight, sweetheart. Do you have food where you are?”

A large sigh left me. “I’m fine. I’m working on feeling like myself again.”

“That’s good. Anything I can do to help? Do you need money?”

My teeth bit down on my bottom lip while I decided if now was the time to ask the dreaded question. Realizing the situation wasn’t going to go away unless I did, I leaned over the table and whispered, “I need to know where VRC is.”

“I can’t believe . . .” She released my hands, furiously shaking her head. “How can you ask me that? You know if your father—”

Vivi set my mom’s salad down, interrupting our conversation. “I hope you’re hungry. I accidentally ordered the wrong size salad for you, but I only charged you for the small.”

“Thank you, Carol.” My mom sighed as she picked up her fork. Her stare met mine in disbelief. She pressed her lips tightly together, her eyes scolding me for asking.

“And here’s your burger.” Vivi laid my plate in front of me and my mouth fell open.

“That’s not what I—”

“It’s fine, Marie.” My mom gave me a look which said I shouldn’t complain. She was the biggest supporter of anyone working for tips since she had done it as a teenager.

I was also a huge supporter, but I knew damn well Vivi did this on purpose. Probably trying to get some decent food in me.

My eyes narrowed on her as I gritted my teeth. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. The busser will be here in a second with your soup.” Vivi’s smile was pure arrogance when she strolled off.

I contemplated kicking her ass later, but I was certain she could take me without looking . . . and probably while chugging a bottle of whiskey.

I sighed and picked up a fry from my plate. After popping it in my mouth, my gaze drifted to my mom. “Are you going to tell me?”

She fiercely stabbed her salad before looking up. “Tell me this first. Why do you need to know?”

I swallowed down my fry, and my nervousness, and attempted to be vague. “They took someone close to me.”

“You’re talking about that person. Luke.”

“It’s Luka. And how do you know?”

“Nicole told me.” I immediately recognized Naomi’s code name and wondered what else she told my mom. She took a bite of her salad and chewed it while she bought herself time to think. After swallowing and taking a sip of her tea, she let out a hard breath. “I need more information before I can help.”

“I’m going to go there,” I stated in a low voice, causing her brows to furrow.

“To save him?”

Another shadow caught my eye, and I realized I had stopped watching my surroundings. When I looked up, my mouth dropped open.

What the fuck?

“Here’s your soup, ma’am.” Winnie set a bowl in front of my mother before staring at me. “It’s the last of it. There’s no more soup for you, miss.”

The dominatingly cocky grin Winnie had on his face made me want to punch him.

“Thank you,” my mom said, breaking our eye contact.

“You’re welcome.” Winnie gave her a charming smile before leaving.

“The wait staff here is impeccably nice. And very good looking, might I add.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Back to our topic. Yes, I’m going there.”

I picked up my burger and took a bite. It had been so long since I had any real food, I almost forgot how much I used to enjoy eating. The deliciousness made me forgive Vivi pretty quickly.

“They will capture you, or worse.” She leaned in and lowered her voice. “They could kill you.”

“I’m not going alone.” I took another bite, savoring every second before I realized Winnie was right. I wasn’t living. I was only eating to survive.

“Why do you have this desperate need to go?” she asked in a stern voice, seemingly irritated with me. “Why, Marie?”

I took a swig of my tea, then scanned the room. No threat. Not like I had to worry much with Winnie and Vivi here. I couldn’t help but wonder if Drag was in there washing dishes. “It’s not important. I only need—”

My mother smacked her hand on the table, bringing my full attention back to her. Her voice was low, but firm when she said, “You look me in the eye right now and tell me exactly why you feel the need to go save this man. And I won’t ask again.”

A shadow brought my attention away from her gaze. “Let me refill these.” Vivi held a pitcher, topping off our iced teas.

“For fuck’s sake.” I threw my napkin down as frustration filled me. “Because I need to save him, Mom!”

She sucked in a breath as she glanced nervously at Vivi. “Marie, we can talk—”

“She knows who I am. Her name isn’t even Carol.”

Mom’s mouth dropped open as she looked up at Vivi. “What?”

“They have my mate. My husband, so to speak,” Vivi said with a sadness in her voice. “If you don’t tell us, I may not see him again.”

“My god, Sage. How can you ambush me like this?”

I reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “Please, Mom. If you love me, you’ll do this one thing for me. You have to. If you don’t, I’ll die. I’m already dying. I can’t live like this. I have to find him.” The pain I contained had my voice cracking, and my mother’s expression saddened.

“Then tell me why.”

“I, umm . . .” I shook my head, unable to say the words I needed to.

“Because she’s in love with him,” Vivi blurted, and my mom sucked in a hard breath.

My head fell forward and I squeezed my eyelids close as an aching pain filled my chest.

“You fell in love?” my mother asked, and I said nothing. “Sagelynn Juniper Argent, you look at me right now.”

Hearing my full name, my tear-filled eyes shot up. My mom didn’t use it often, but in the times she did, I sat up a little straighter.

“Is this true? Do you love Luka?”

“I do,” I croaked out with fear of disappointing her.

That’s what I was afraid of, I realized. I didn’t want my parents to be ashamed of me, disappointed in me. Or worse, I didn’t want to fail them. Especially my mother.

“I’m sorry, Mom.” Tears slowly rolled down my cheeks as I stared at her, waiting for the disapproval to become apparent.

“Why are you sorry? For falling in love?” she asked, and I nodded. “Oh, honey. Don’t ever be sorry for that.”

“I didn’t want to disappoint you.” I bit back tears.

“That is such an impossible thing. You couldn’t disappoint me if you tried. In fact, I’m prouder of you than I have ever been.”

Confusion filled me, and I shook my head. “Why?”

My mom glanced up at Vivi as she hovered. “Can you give us a second?”

Vivi nodded and strolled away.

My mom took in a deep breath and let out an exhausted exhale. “You have become the woman I have wanted to be my whole life. You go after what you want, and you stand up for what’s right. It’s more than I have ever done in my life. I’ve known for years about the government’s real involvement with VRC and Venom. You hear things when you’re around enough. Especially when no one thinks you’re listening. But I do. I’m hearing everything I’m not supposed to.” She looked away as her thoughts took over, sadness washing over her face.

“I don’t want you to do anything that could get you in trouble, Mom.”

She let out another large sigh. When her gaze met mine again, a look of pure happiness radiated across her face. “I can’t believe my daughter is in love.”

“I regret not telling him,” I whispered. “Now he’s gone and doesn’t know.”

Her eyes sparkled. “Luka knows, baby. Believe me. The person you fall in love with always knows.”

My emotions broke free, sending silent streams down my face.

My mother grabbed her cloth napkin and wiped her dampened cheeks. I took the opportunity to do the same.

After clearing her throat, she leaned over the table and whispered, “White Sands Missile Range.”

The location of White Sands was south of where I was currently staying and a place I visited as a child. “What?”

“VRC is somewhere close to it. I’m unsure where, but I may be able to help. But it will involve, um, Nicole.”

Partnering with the woman I watched put Luka into a Venom van was the last thing I wanted. But I had no other choice. And even though I didn’t trust Naomi, my mom did . . . and I feared for her life.