Page 145 of Hexed
“Are thoseblueberry?”
I shovel a bite into my mouth and grin. “Chocolate chip.”
He groans, rubbing his stomach. “I’m starving.”
Shrugging, I take another bite. “Tell me what you’re doing here, and maybe I’ll share.”
He sighs and runs a hand over his chin, leaning back on the couch. “I’m here because I can’tnotbe here. I won’t just sit by and watch your uncle fuck everything up. He shouldn’t have kicked you out, and considering I could have been here to kill you and you just opened the door without a second thought, it’s a good thing I came.”
“My uncle shouldn’t have done a lot of things.” I grab my coffee from the tray and take a sip. “Does he know you’re here?”
Bastien’s dark eyes grow serious. “He knows I’m tracking you down. I don’t want him to think I’m not on his side. Figure it can be useful if needed in the future.”
I tilt my head. “So you’re what, like a double agent?”
He shrugs. “Call it whatever you want.”
My heart pumping with affection, I push my plate of pancakes over to him and hand him the fork. “For you.”
He beams at me and takes it, stabbing a giant cut piece and eating it.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I admit. “Thank you for coming.”
He quirks a brow. “You’re not going to tell me I should go back home and save myself?”
I shake my head. “You don’t need saving. And you won’t lose anything, Bas. You’re gonna get more when I take it all from him.”
He sits back and nods. “You sure you’re up for it?”
“Of course I am,” I retort. “But first, I have some questions.”
“Like what?”
“Like…did you know Uncle T had Momma killed?”
Bastien blows out a heavy breath and falls against the couch like he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The hesitation in his answer confirms what I’ve been worried about all along. That heknewabout it, and he didn’t tell me.
A pinch of betrayal twinges in my chest.
But can I really blame him? None of us are perfect. None of us are the good guys here, and there are things I haven’t told people, things I haven’t toldEnzo, so am I a hypocrite if I can’t forgive Bastien for the same transgressions I’ve committed against others?
I’m no better than him. Not really.
Like I’ve always said, we’ve all got our things.
“Venesa…” He pauses, and I brace myself for his answer. “He didn’t just kill your momma. He stole the Kingston empire out from under her entirely.”
I give him a confused look, my brain muddling. “What? Momma wanted nothing to do with the family’s legacy or with any money. She made that pretty clear when she chose my father and cut off everyone else for years. I never evenmetmy granddaddy.”
Bastien shakes his head. “Your momma left on purpose, but Percius Kingston never got rid of her trust, and it’s irrevocable. On his death, she was supposed to geteverything.”
My stomach flips, my mind racing a mile a minute. “I don’t understand. If it’s legal and binding, how did it all go to Uncle T?”
Bastien smiles sadly at me. “Come on, you know better than that. Your uncle owns Atlantic Cove. You think he can’t pay off a judge and a few lawyers?” He side-eyes me. “You think he can’t burn down a house and everything in it?”
My heart pitches forward, because I think he’s telling me Uncle T killed his own father. My brows furrow as I try to piece together the information. “So then he had Momma killed, and there was no trust to be found…”
