Page 159 of Hexed
Frankie grunts but doesn’t respond. He stops trying to fight his chains, though.
“Do you know who I am, Frankie?” Enzo asks again.
A shiver runs down my spine.
Frankie licks his cracked lips. “Yes.”
Enzo nods. “Good. Then you know it’s in your best interest to be one hundred percent real with me right now, correct?”
Again, Frankie creaks out a faint “yes.”
He isn’t arguing, which is a little disappointing because I wanted to see Enzo in his full glory, but it’s great he isn’t being difficult, especially because it seems like Enzo thinks Frankie is going to be the missing link to everything.
A shot of anxiety rushes through me.
“Tell me how you’re related to Aria Kingston, and don’t lie to me, Frankie, because that’s only gonna piss me off.”
Frankie grits his teeth, his jaw stiffening, and I can see the vulnerability shining through before he even says anything.
“Hey.” Enzo snaps his fingers in Frankie’s face. “I’m talking to you.”
Frankie rasps, “I’ll tell you everything you want to know. Just let me die with a little dignity.”
Enzo tilts his head, the hand holding his gun reaching up and scratching at his temple. “You tell me what I need to know without argument, and I’ll let you die with honor,” he confirms. “I can respect that.”
Frankie sniffs, droplets of blood dripping onto the floor from his swollen and broken nose. “I’m Aria’s uncle.”
I truly didn’t know she had a living uncle, and it just drives that knife deeper into my chest—yet another thing proving I never really was part of the family at all.
“And tell me, Frankie, are youclosewith your niece?” Enzo asks.
Frankie shakes his head and spits out a clot of blood. “No.”
“How about her father?”
There’s a tense silence, and Frankie’s jaw twitches. “Yeah, okay? I’ve been doing business with Trent for going on two decades now. He’s the one who sent me out here in the first place.”
I tilt my head, watching him, letting the betrayal of my uncle stream through me like static, filling every fissure in my heart thathecaused. I thought we worked together, and now I knowwe never did—I was always just a puppet on invisible marionette strings.
The anticipation in the air heightens. “And what business do you have with Trent Kingston lately?” Enzo continues.
Frankie lifts his head and looks at Enzo, spitting more blood from his mouth. “The same business I have with your father.”
Enzo physically stumbles back but recovers quickly.
Shock filters through my system, and I step forward, unable to bite my tongue. “Are you telling me Trent and Carlos Marino are working together?”
Frankie turns his focus on me, recognition flaring in their depths. “You’re Venesa.”
His eyes volley from me to Enzo in confusion. A jolt of panic hits me dead in the chest, and I move quickly, walking to Frankie and bringing my hand back, then connecting with his face to keep him from saying something he might regret—or more likely something I’d have tomakehim regret.
Enzo laughs like he’s happy I stepped in and bitch-slapped his hostage.
I lean in close to Frankie and murmur, “I’d watch your mouth if you know what’s good for you. Enzo might be scary, but I promise I can be worse.”
Frankie swallows, but I know he got the message.
I hope.
