Page 173 of Hexed
My heart heaves and quivers, fissures cracking down every part like spiderwebs that bleed.
His father grins even wider, a sinister type of smile, when he sees what’s happening. “You and your uncle called him ‘Joey,’ though. Right? Very American, but that’s how he did business, thought it made him moreappealing.”
I shake my head, but I’m not sure what for. He’s not lying. And as much as I want to hate him for bringing it to light, I can’t, because I’ve had plenty of opportunities, and I’ve been too weak. Too lost in the moment.
Too afraid to lose something I’ve been aching for my entire life.
Enzo looks from me to his father and then back again, and now he’s shakinghishead, stepping away from both of us, his perfect hands tugging on the roots of his inky hair.
Bastien warned me this would happen, and deep down I knew it would too, but as much as I wanted to, I just couldn’t make the words come out, because I didn’t want to see him looking at me the way he is right now.
“Well.” His father claps his hands together once, reaching out to pick up the cane he stashed against the island. “What a pleasure it was to be the one to break the news. If your uncle and I weren’t on good terms when it happened, you’d be at the bottom of the Hudson, your body nothing more than fish food. But we made a deal instead. We work together and I let you live.”
His words hit their mark, but I don’t take my eyes off Enzo.
“My uncle was hired by someone,” I say, suspicion winding its way through my gut. “It was an order, not an attack by him.”
“Like that makes a difference,” Carlos hisses.
He takes a step toward me, and when Enzo doesn’t move to stop him, those fissures in my heart gape wider.
“You’re a plague on this city, and your uncle is a dumb American idiot who was useful for a time but now ceases to matter,” he continues and then looks to Enzo. “You told me you had my back,figlio mio. That you were theonlyone I could trust. So prove it.”
Enzo’s jaw stiffens.
“Kill her. Or I’ll come back and do the job myself.”
My stomach bottoms out, but I don’t try to move away.
I expect Carlos to stay, to make sure the job is done, but he surprises me, spinning on his heel and leaving as quickly as he came.
The air is so tense and silent, I almost wish he had stayed.
“Enzo,” I whisper brokenly, taking a step forward, reaching out to touch him.
“Don’t,” he snaps, jerking his arm out of my hold before I can get a good grasp.
Swallowing over the lump in my throat, I lick my lips and try again. “I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t…I didn’t know you back then.”
“What the fuck, Venesa? What thefuck?” His voice cracks, and hearing that vulnerability, that slight break in his stature, well…it feels like it’s breakingme. I stand still and let the hurt come because I know I deserve it.
A weird pressure builds behind my nose and eyes, and I force it back down.
He finally looks up at me, his eyes burning with anger and hurt. “Tell me it’s not true.”
I shake my head, my mouth opening and closing because it’s still hard to find the words.
“Say it,” he hisses, taking a step closer. “You had all the time in the world until now, and you were silent. You fucking owe me this.Say it.”
Everything inside me wants to deny it, to take a metaphorical piece of duct tape and slap it over my mouth so the words won’t come out. He’s right. Idoowe it to him, even if it ends up being at my own expense.
“It’s true,” I admit.
I should have told him when I had the chance.
“I swear to God, Enzo, if I knew I was gonna fall for you…if I knew that I’d fall in?—”
He storms forward, pressing his hand to my mouth and backing me against the wall. It’s gentle, the way he does it, and the fact he still isn’t hurting me is almost more painful than if he had.
