Page 148 of Hexed
Pops leans back, and an affable grin crawls over his face. “How is that possible,figlio mio?” He cocks his head to the side.
“Because I trusted her.” I run a hand through my hair. “I never thought…I knowyounever thought about it either.” My eyes track his reaction, watching. Testing. Seeing if he shows any sign of knowing more than he should.
There’s something in my gut telling me I need to be careful around my father. That I don’t have the full picture of what’s been going down for the past three years. Maybe even before that.
“Tell me what happened,” he says.
“I texted Gio to check out Frankie Bianchi, that little creep from New Jersey who used to make waves when he got picked up for loan sharking and spent five years in the pen. You know him?”
My father waves me off. “I know who Frankie is. He’s worthless. Nothing. Inconsequential. Looking for him is a waste of time.”
“Did you know he’s Aria’s uncle?” Again, I watch him closely.
His nostrils flare, but he’s otherwise calm. Steady.
Almosttoosteady. Too practiced.
“I did not.” His words are simple and to the point.
And just like that, my entire world tilts like tectonic plates shifting.
My heart kicks against my chest cavity, and I’m anxious about making sureIgive nothing away now. “Well, fuck. I was kind of hoping you would have known.”
“Why wouldIhave known that?”
“Because you’re you,” I say. “I thought you knew everything.”
Pops takes his cane off the top of my desk, placing it in his lap. “I’m disappointed to hear about this turn of events with Aria. Seems like your fiancée isn’t who we thought she was at all. Tapping phones, keeping familial ties from you. It’s good we’re done with her and her family, no?”
“Yeah.”
My stomach is rolling, trying to see where he’s taking this. I don’t know much about my father’s state of mind, but I know when he’s lying.
And he’s been lying straight to my face this entire time.
FORTY-ONE
ENZO
My father doesn’t stayfor much longer, and I’ve never been so grateful for his absence. Heliedto me. And I don’t know if I’ve been a fool this whole time when it comes to him or if there’s been an actual shift here.
I have to assume the problem is with me, and I’ve just been blind, believing his loyalty ran as deep as he preached. If he’s lying to me now, what else has he lied to me about?
Is anything he tells me true?
Throughout my entire life, with all its difficulties, there’s been one constant: The foundation on which I was raised was sturdy. Strong. Never made me stumble or shake, and I could always come back to that in the face of adversity.
But today there was a goddamn earthquake.
I’ve just finished a meeting with one of New York City’s largest commercial builders. He usesourconstruction workers,ourconcrete,ourmen for everything. The setup is beneficial for our legitimate businesses but also for the racketeering where we skim money off the top and add bullshit charges to clean the cash we otherwise can’t explain.
One hand washes the other…kind of. Obviously, we come out better at the end of the deal, not that the builder needs to know that. Even if he did…it’s not like he could stay in business long if he didn’t agree to our terms.
Marino Inc. owns New York.
My door is closed, and my headache has dulled to a throb instead of an automatic drill and hammer blasting against my skull, but when I hear muffled voices from outside the door, that ache taps dangerously, threatening to come back in full force.
I’mdefinitelyconsidering firing Jessica, even though she’s been with me since I took over and my pops brought her in. She’s decent at her job, but she flirts, and over the years, the skirts have gotten shorter and the buttons have gotten more undone, no matter how many times I tell her I don’t dip my dick into the company ink. She’s persistent. But she’s also good at her job, except that she’s apparently incapable of not letting people in my goddamn office today.
