Saved by Venom 3 (Grabbed)(26)

His expression softened to one of pure compassion. “Jack Lane is the man who raised you, yes, but your biological father is a Harcos male.”

Dizzy shoved at his chest and rose to her feet. “No. That’s not true.” She narrowly evaded Venom’s clutching hand and glared at the men who had been interrogating her. “This is some vile trick.”

“This isn’t a trick.” Torment gestured to the sea of photographs on the table. “Look at your mother. Look at Jack Lane. They’re both dark-haired.” He pointed to her head. “That hair? It’s a dominant trait in females bred by Harcos males.”

Her stomach threatened to erupt. She didn’t know what to believe anymore. She just knew that she had to get away from here. Spinning toward the door, she shouted, “Let me out of here.”

“We’re done. This interview is over.” Venom’s chair scraped loudly against the floor as he shot to his feet and hurried to her side.

“This interview is over when I say—”

“We can reschedule,” Pierce interrupted Torment’s outburst.

Reschedule? These guys were out of their damned minds if they thought she was ever going to talk to them again. They were such liars. Somehow they’d manipulated those test results. She refused to believe anyone else was her father. It wasn’t possible. It simply wasn’t.

Wordlessly Venom retrieved her suitcase and placed his hand against the small of her back. He led her out of the interrogation room to the elevator. The silent ride was excruciatingly uncomfortable. Anger surged through her but she couldn’t pinpoint the source. Her mother? Her father? Those two jerks back there who scared her with their intrusive questions?

She glanced at Venom. Stiff-jawed and stoic, he drew her ire. “So much for your promises to protect me!”

Venom eyed her carefully. His jaw tensed and relaxed a few times. “I failed this time. I won’t fail you again.”

The shame in his voice tore at her conscience. Venom wasn’t the one who deserved her fury. He had been nothing but nice to her. She wasn’t exactly happy that he’d kept the test results from her but she figured he had a reason for it. Considering the way she’d just reacted, he had probably wanted to avoid upsetting her.

Gripped by guilt, she reached for his big, scarred hand and interlaced their fingers. He seemed surprised by her quiet gesture of apology. His icy-blue eyes reflected a mixture of hope and trepidation. “That was wrong of me. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you.”

Venom bent down and kissed the top of her head. “You’re upset and you’re in pain. You’re feeling betrayed and confused. Making me the target of your jumbled emotions takes the heat off the people you’re really angry at—your parents.”

His wise, patient reply only made her feel worse. Other men probably would have snapped right back at her about being childish but not Venom.

As tears burned her eyes, she asked, “Is it really true?”

His unwavering gaze convinced her even before he spoke. “Yes.”

Dazed by the realization she had been lied to for years, Dizzy barely noticed all the people and the shops as they crossed the bustling marketplace sector of the ship. They stepped into another elevator that took them to a quiet residential floor. She should have been excited to cross the threshold into her new home but all she could think about was locking herself away in the bathroom to have a good cry and try to sort out the lies from the truth.

But Venom seemed to have other ideas.

The moment the door was secured, he tossed aside her suitcase and snatched her by the waist. Her shocked gasp echoed in the dimly lit space of the entryway. Using his strength and size to his advantage, Venom lifted her up until she had no other choice but to wrap her legs around his waist. With the wall at her back, he supported her slight weight easily with his massive, muscular body.

Her heart thundered at the way he had so unexpectedly manhandled her. She was suddenly very aware of how gentle he had been with her since putting his collar around her neck. He could hurt her so easily—but he wouldn’t.

He ducked his head and tried to kiss her but she turned her face. She wasn’t in the mood for kisses right now. “No.”

“Yes.” His lips brushed her cheek before seeking out and finding just the corner of her mouth. “I thought I was protecting you by holding back the facts. I see now that I should have let Risk tell you as soon as you were awake.”

She moved her head a fraction and peered into his soulful eyes. “Why didn’t you let him tell me?”

He sighed heavily, the hot burst of air buffeting her neck. “You had been through so much. First you’d endured that terrible Grab with the freezing temperatures and all that snow. Then you were sick and needed surgery. I didn’t want to distress you by revealing that your biological father wasn’t the man you’d known and loved for so long.” He touched his forehead to hers. “I am so sorry that Torment was the one who broke the news to you. I cannot even imagine what you’re feeling right now.”

Her heart softened toward Venom. “I don’t really know what I’m feeling right now.”

“It’s normal to be confused.” He trailed his rough fingertip down her cheek. “You don’t have to sort it all out right now, Dizzy. Take some time to process your feelings.”

She tilted her head and gazed at his handsome face. His expression had taken a haunted turn. “You sound like you’ve been where I am right now.”

The corners of his mouth drew taut. “I’ve been in some terrible mental places, Dizzy. I know what it’s like to feel betrayed and confused and guilty and angry and sick all at once. It’s exhausting and painful.” He slid his finger under her chin and tipped her head back. “Don’t make the mistakes I did. Don’t hold this all inside. It’s okay to let it out and to acknowledge that whatever you’re feeling in this moment is perfectly normal.”

His advice calmed her a little. She tried to imagine what kind of hell he’d been through after the many battles he’d survived—and the lives he’d been forced to take as a sniper. “I hope someday I learn to be as strong as you.”

He blinked with surprise. “Sugar, you are strong. You survived a terrorist bombing. You had your neck ripped open by shrapnel but you fought like hell to live. Then after your mother died and your father lost everything, you didn’t curl up in a ball and cry. No, you struck out on your own and made a go of it a world where very few women are independent or have careers.” He brushed her bangs away from her face. “Don’t you see how strong you are?”

“I don’t feel very strong right now.” Dizzy rested her hands on his shoulders. “I feel colossally stupid. Torment was right. I look nothing like my father. Everyone always commented on my hair but I never thought…”

As her voice trailed off Venom kissed her cheek. “I know, sweetheart. I know this is hard for you to accept.”

“I don’t think I do accept it yet.” She ran her hands along his shoulders. “How am I supposed to believe that you’re telling me the truth about the blood tests when that means that the two people I loved the most and trusted to tell me the truth were lying to me from the day I was born?”

“This is why I wanted to wait to tell you after we’d built more trust between us.”

“I don’t think my reaction would have been much different, Venom.” She pinched the collar of his uniform shirt between her index finger and thumb. The desperate need to speak to her mother overwhelmed Dizzy. There were so many questions that needed answers. “Why didn’t she tell me the truth?”

Venom didn’t answer immediately. “She probably thought she was protecting you in some way. It couldn’t have been easy for her to face a future as an unmarried mother. When you were born, the relations between our two races weren’t nearly as friendly as they are today. She must have had her reasons.”

“And my dad?” She refused to think of him as anything else. Blood or not, he’d raised and loved her from birth. “I can only imagine what you must think of him, especially after all that nonsense about the loan shark, but he wasn’t always like this. I swear, Venom.”

“You don’t have to convince me of anything, Dizzy.”

She doubted that was true. She’d seen the disgusted look on Venom’s face when she’d revealed the details about Fat Pete and the black market dealings. She hated that her father’s gambling was out of control and that it had put her in danger, but she’d never doubted for one second that he loved her.

Until now.

“Sometimes…sometimes,” she continued after a slow breath, “when my dad looked at me after the bombing, he had this strange sadness in his eyes. Sometimes it looked like anger. Do you think…I mean…was he thinking that I wasn’t his and he didn’t want to be saddled with me anymore? I used to think that he was angry I had survived instead of my mother—”

“Stop.” Venom silenced her by placing his fingertip to her lips. “Don’t do this to yourself. Speculating is just going to make you hurt more.” He caressed the span of skin just above the bridal collar she wore. “I don’t know that it’s possible but I’ll try to find a way for you to communicate with your father. He may be on the restricted list because of his current occupation. If he’s not I’ll call in some favors. You need to speak to him face-to-face.”