Page 144 of Driftwood Daffodil 2

That didn’t make any sense. Veda had nothing to do with my deal. A thought that I started revaluating when her face instantly paled.

“He just did. Maybe he was in the neighborhood?”

Who was pulling the plausible deniability card now?

I didn’t know much about Gio’s older brother, but I knew enough to know that he wouldn’t be in the neighborhood unless he wanted to be in the neighborhood.

Meaning he had a reason to see my sister, and it wasn’t because of my arrangement. If anything she would be the thing they used against me, and therefore had no need to know shit.

Veda was hiding something.

“Why was Romeo here, Veda?”

“He just was.”

My sister was the kid that would bust herself for stealing from the cookie jar. Lying was not her forte. Over the years I’d learned what her tells were. Her voice would go up in pitch while her nose crinkled and she avoided eye contact. All of which she was doing right now.

“He just was?”

“That’s right.” She nodded.

“You’re telling me that Romeo Mancini – heir to the Mancini throne – just decided to pop by and say hi?”

“Be serious, Nova.”

I was being very serious. “Why was he here?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

I thought it did. “Are you two best friends now, because I’m not sure Rita will like that.”

In fact I was pretty sure Rita would gut any Mancini that came near my sister.

“This isn’t about me, Nova. It’s about you selling yourself to Gio.”

Ah, deflection.Too bad I was the queen of that tactic. That shit wouldn’t work on me.

“I’m much more interested in your relationship with Romeo.”

“There is no relationship.” Veda argued.

“But there must be. Otherwise why would he stop by.”

She didn’t have a response for that one.

So, I continued to pry. “Do you guys have slumber parties and drink sweet tea while braiding each other’s hair?”

There was image I didn’t need.

“It doesn’t matter why he was here. What matters is getting you out of this ridicules deal.”

“Why would we do that?”

Veda stopped dead and rolled her eyes up to mine. “Because, you’re in danger.”

Technically leaving the house everyday was dangerous. I could get hit by a bus on my way to school. But that was beside the point.

“And what about Kato? How do you propose we help him, because your method of hiding and ignoring the world doesn’t seem to be working.”

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