Venomous (The Clans Book 11) Read online

  Venomous

  The Clans #11

  Iris Sweetwater & Elizabeth Knox

  Available Now From

  Elizabeth Knox

  Series: Skulls Renegade

  Reign

  Redemption

  Revenge

  Relentless

  Reckoning

  Reclaimed

  Regret

  Reckless

  Reclusive

  Retribution

  First Generation: A Skulls Renegade MC Boxset

  Series: The Clans with Iris Sweetwater

  Promised

  The Trade

  Cherished

  Deceit

  Love is War

  Defiant

  Shattered

  Covert

  Heretic

  Series: Steele Bros.

  Tough as Steele

  Stripping a Steele

  Protecting a Steele

  Steele her Heart

  Series: Reapers MC

  Scarred

  Blackjack

  Here Kitty, Kitty

  Booger

  Widow

  Hawk

  Bull

  Cobra

  Sin City Fets with Linny Lawless and Aubree Valentine

  Switched

  Full Throttle with Erin Trejo

  Against All Odds

  Coming Soon From

  Elizabeth Knox

  Guns Blazing: A Mafia Anthology

  Stolen Hearts: The Steele Bros Complete Boxset

  Rocked to the Core: A Rockstar Anthology

  Mouser

  (Reapers MC #10)

  Venomous

  (The Clans #11)

  Available Now From

  Iris Sweetwater

  Series: MIDNIGHT SAINTS MC

  Abandon

  Series: The Clans with ELIZABETH KNOX

  Promised

  The Trade

  Cherished

  Deceit

  Love is War

  Defiant

  Shattered

  Covert

  Heretic

  Venemous

  Series: Quarter Kings MC with Kasandra Sheckles

  Chains

  Doc

  Coming Soon From

  Iris Sweetwater

  Contemporary Romance Books

  Flawed with Elizabeth Knox

  Yetti with Kasandra Sheckles

  Discord

  Hinder

  Paranormal Romance Books

  Rebel Reaper

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons, organizations, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.

  Heretic. Copyright © 2020 by Elizabeth Knox & Iris Sweetwater. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief “s used in articles or reviews. For information, contact E. Knox & I. Sweetwater.

  https://www.facebook.com/elizabethknoxbooks

  Cover design by Clarise Tan, CT Cover Creations

  Editing by Raven Heidrich, Hydra Productions

  Formatting by E.C. Land, Knox Publishing

  Proofreading by Jackie Ziegler, Knox Publishing

  Photography by Melissa Deanching, R plus M Photo

  Modeling by Alice Isabella

  KEEP IN CONTACT WITH ELIZABETH

  www.facebook.com/elizabethknoxbooks

  www.facebook.com/groups/KnoxsBookBabes

  www.instagram.com/elizabethknoxbooks

  www.twitter.com/eknoxbooks

  www.goodreads.com/eknoxbooks

  www.bookbub.com/authors/elizabeth-knox

  STAY UP TO DATE ON WHAT

  ELIZABETH IS WORKING ON

  https://elizabethknoxbooks.com/

  KEEP IN CONTACT WITH IRIS

  https://www.facebook.com/irisissweet/

  https://www.instagram.com/irisissweet1

  https://twitter.com/irisissweet1

  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/iris-sweetwater

  Note:

  The Prologue of Venomous is the Epilogue of Heretic (The Clans #10). Elizabeth and Iris chose to do this so you could get a grasp at the characters and what’s starting to happen in Venomous.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Chapter 1

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Chapter 2

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Chapter 3

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Chapter 4

  Davide

  Chapter 5

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Chapter 6

  Davide

  Chapter 7

  Davide

  Chapter 8

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Chapter 9

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Chapter 10

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Chapter 11

  Davide

  Chapter 12

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Chapter 13

  Davide

  Chapter 14

  Belladonna/Blanka

  Chapter 15

  Davide

  Chapter 16

  Belladonna/Blanka

  Chapter 17

  Davide

  Chapter 18

  Davide

  Chapter 19

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Chapter 20

  Davide

  Chapter 21

  Davide

  Chapter 22

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Chapter 23

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Chapter 24

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Chapter 25

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Chapter 26

  Davide

  Chapter 27

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Chapter 28

  Davide

  Chapter 29

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Chapter 30

  Davide

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Epilogue

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Prologue

  Blanka/Belladonna

  I look out onto the cloudy sea green water through my window, watching the tourists in the small boats taking in everything that is Venice. While the water is cloudy, it’s a clear day and I can see the homes and churches across the vast distance.

  It’s early and for some odd reason I awoke after five in the morning. It’s now seven, although I have a gut feeling signaling me that something is wrong. I’ve always been like this, feeling odd before something happened. I sip on my espresso that I made in my room earlier, continuing to stare out at the view people would literally kill for. That is, until my phone begins to vibrate on my dresser.

  I turn and walk over to it, not recognizing the number and pick it up. “Hello?” I answer in English, figuring it’s the best course of action.

  “Hello little white one,” Immediately I know the voice, an old friend who I haven’t seen in years. In Czech my name means ‘small white one’, and so my sister Regina, and one of our friends Galina would call me it. Almost like Galina was another older sister of mine.

  “Galina, where are you?” I switch to Czech.

  “I’m in Venice, silly. I’m hoping you’d be available for coffee. You don’t have clients this early, right?” She giggles, poking fun at my job but I pay her no mind. Almost everyone who knows what I do makes fun of me or bullies me about it in some way. But it pays my bills and gives me a good life, so I won’t complain.

  “Sure, there’s a café a few b
locks away. Would you like to meet there?” I ask her, getting a reply that she’d love to meet and for me to text her the information. I text her quickly and we agree to meet in half an hour. Meanwhile, I hop in the shower, blow dry my hair and put on a little bit of makeup.

  Galina has known me since I was a little girl. My sister actually introduced us. We grew up in Prague. A very poor part of Prague I should add, and the four of us became good friends. The fourth one is Galina’s younger sister, Ivana.

  My phone buzzes again and I see another text from Galina, telling me that she looks forward to seeing me but she wants to know if I can put in a good word with my boss because she needs work, a place to sleep, and she’s pretty much homeless.

  If she’s homeless . . . then how does she have a cell phone? So, I ask her, and she replies this is the last month she’ll get service. I guess that makes sense. Galina is like family to me, so I do something I wouldn’t normally do and ask her to send me a photo. When we were younger we had to do what I do now. It was either, fuck anyone who was willing to pay, or starve.

  She sends me a photo and thank goodness she still has her striking good looks. I’m also thanking the heavens above that Regina wasn’t the one who decided to run back into my life. Regina and I have a tumultuous relationship at best. Now, Galina is a lot like Regina . . . but Galina has always had a better head on her shoulders.

  I finish getting ready to leave and decide to stop downstairs in my Madame, Cecilia Bianchi’s, office. “Belladonna, what can I do for you?” Cecilia asks, looking over paperwork. She calls me by my stage name of sorts, the name that all the clients call me.

  “I have a girl who’s looking for work. She’s beautiful and she’s been in this type of work before.”

  “Hmmpf,” She mutters, continuing to do what she’s doing.

  “Her name is Galina and she’s a year older than me. She’s from the Czech Republic.” Cecilia’s eyebrows raise up, and now I see she’s interested. Bingo.

  “You could’ve started with that, girl. We’ve been looking for more Northern European girls, and I need Kenyans too. The men love when you girls tag team, dark and white chocolate, il meglio del meglio,” After being in Italy for five years, I’ve learned a bit of the language. Cecilia wants the best of the best, and she believes the combination is just that. I take a few steps closer to her, and show her the picture Galina sent me. “Ah, yes, bring her in. I have a few clients who would love a woman like this. But you tell her the rules, Belladonna.”

  “Yes, of course. I’ll bring her back with me in a bit.”

  “Alright, don’t be too long. You have to meet one of your new clients tonight.” Cecilia so graciously reminds me. This new guy is one who will come here to the brothel. We have a few men like that, but others prefer we meet them wherever is convenient with their schedules.

  I quickly leave Cecilia’s office and walk the few blocks so I can meet Galina on time, and run into her outside on the street. We both walk up to one another, embracing after not seeing each other in years. “I spoke to my boss and she will hire you,” I state, making sure I speak in code and don’t go into too much detail. You never know who’s listening. “Let’s go to the back of the café so I can speak to you in more detail.” I suggest, leading her toward the back of the restaurant, ensuring we speak in Czech.

  “So, I’m going to give you a rundown of the rules,” I say as we take a seat and wait for a waiter to come up and take our order. “You can’t start fights with the other women. You can’t take drugs, have a boyfriend or girlfriend. No side swiping Cecilia and trying to start your own business. No families. You have to honor your contract and be taking birth control. The schedule is as such, you work four weeks straight and you’re off one week. And if you get pregnant, your contract will be extended for another year.”

  “Okay, this is easy to follow. Do you have regulars or anything?” She asks.

  I nod, “You can, but our boss will always mix up clientele so you don’t fall in love with them. She doesn’t like us just seeing one person, especially if we have a lot of time left on our contracts. One girl fell in love with a john, and had a baby. The woman had her contract extended and the baby will be given to its father after it’s born. Cecilia has made it clear to the man that after the other year is honored, then he can have the mother.”

  “Wow. She sounds cold.”

  “She is, which is why you shouldn’t cross her.”

  “Noted.”

  “Hello ladies, would you like something to eat?”

  “Yes, please. I’m starved.” I state, hoping the rest of this conversation can be used getting caught up. I still have that odd feeling that I can’t shake, and hopefully I figure it out before whatever it is slaps me across the face.

  Chapter 1

  Blanka/Belladonna

  Galina and I sat at the small café for about two hours. I went over everything I could possibly think of while we ate. A part deep inside me wanted to be sure she understood the type of woman she’s working for. Cecilia Bianchi is a . . . unique individual. Although, unique isn’t what I should be calling her. She isn’t only particular about the type of women she employs, but she’s callous as can be. There’s a reason she’s one of the only women in this industry. She’s a bulldog, and she’ll cut down anyone who threatens her, or her business.

  I’ve been back in my room for a while, keeping to myself today because I know how I’m supposed to meet a new client later this evening. We typically have two types of clients. Those who will come to the brothel at their discretion, and then those who want us to go along with them for an extended amount of time. The client who’s coming to see me tonight is one who will be coming to our location every now and again.

  Every Saturday evening Miss. Bianchi has a mixer so to speak. Five to ten of the working girls will come down into the parlor and we’ll meet the same number of potential new clients. She does this so they can get an idea of what type of girls who work for her. Plus, it gives us the opportunity to go around and chat with the clients. Believe it or not, we do prefer to work with those who we can get along with.

  However, that doesn’t mean Miss. Bianchi won’t let us know if there’s a specific man she wants us to woo. She’s given me certain assignments in the past because I’m one of her go-to girls. She’s told me on more than one occasion I’m one of the few she can trust. She informed me she’d be stopping by my room a bit before we typically go downstairs, so I’ve been getting ready.

  I’ve already started doing my hair, keeping it spine straight. Most of the men prefer it for some reason. Though, I’m certain it’s because I’m Czechoslovakian and my almost white hair looks great against my tanned skin this way.

  A knock comes to my door, “Come in,” I instruct whoever’s on the other side.

  Miss. Bianchi comes into my room, shutting the door behind her and struts up to me in her Louboutins. I’m in the midst of applying a silver glitter to the middle of my eye. It’ll help my gray eyes pop. While I’m applying liquid eyeliner I catch her staring at me in the mirror, looking at the typical red dress I usually wear.

  “You’ll have to change out of that and into something . . . more pleasing for our client.”

  As I finish my liner on this eye, I go to the opposite. “Which color does he prefer?” After working for her for so long I’ve begun to understand what she’s trying to do. She wants to pair me up with a specific individual for a reason, although, I never know the exact reason. Other than them being important to some extent.

  “Purple,” She replies, going over to my closet she opens the doors.

  I keep everything color coordinated in there, based on length. She pulls out two dresses, a deep eggplant purple and then a tight satin lilac bodycon style. She stares at them both for a moment, putting the darker dress back in my closet and shuts the doors. “This should do.”

  “Perfect. I’m naturally assuming you have a preferred client for me this evening.” I state, closing the cap on
my eyeliner. I put away my eyeliner, eyeshadow and take a look at my reflection in the mirror. My bronzer is on point, there’s a little bit of a soft pink blush adorning my cheeks and my eyes pop in a subtle way. The only thing I have left to do is apply my lipstick and put on my eyelashes.

  Nodding, she crosses her arms the moment she comes back into view of my mirror. “We have fresh blood coming this evening, as always. There’s someone I want you to put more effort into pleasing. His name is Jasper Rourke. He’s a married investment banker from New York City, here in Italy on business. Supposedly he has a contract with someone in Rome and will be here at least once a month. While he’s here he’ll be making a visit to us . . . to give him some things he’s unable to get at home. He should fancy you, and vice versa. He’s not a bad looking man. Early-forties with blonde hair, blue eyes. Here’s a photo,” Miss. Bianchi hands me her cell phone and shows me a photograph of the man. He appears like he could be some sort of fashion model.

  While I look at the man with his high cheekbones, perfectly done eyebrows and sinister smile I realize this guy reminds me of those typical American frat boys. “He’s not bad looking. That’s a plus,” I state, keeping the conversation strictly business. You never let Miss. Bianchi know if you think a client’s attractive. She’ll pull you from them and pair you up with someone much more . . . unpleasant. Unpleasant is just a simple term for ugly. I know why she won’t hesitate to move us because she’s fearful of the L word, love.

  I’ve never once told her I thought someone was hot. Although, I don’t lie to her. Jasper doesn’t look bad, though I’ll shrug it off like it doesn’t matter. The most important thing to me is the amount of money I’ll make from a client. The entire reason I’m doing this is so I can provide myself with a lovely life once my contract runs out.

  “I believe you’ll be able to squeeze more of our products out of him in the process, not only gaining a commission for yourself, but increasing the revenue for the brothel.” Ah, now I get it. She wants me to persuade Jasper to use more of our services.

  We offer everything you can imagine under the sun. From orgies, threesomes, foursomes, fivesomes, or gangbangs. We’ll roleplay as a nurse, doctor, teacher, step-daughter, or whatever their fantasy is. We’ll even go on a vacation with them and have sex with them and their best male friends. Whatever our clients want is exactly what they’ll get. Of course, there’s a bigger fee for . . . specialized services.