Page 185 of Hexed
I laugh. “Sweet Cousin, that’s what I do. Getting things done? I live for it.”
She narrows her eyes before glancing over her shoulder at Fisher. “Is she telling the truth?”
He finally glances up, meeting Aria’s gaze head-on, and I ignore the way my stomach feels like it’s turning itself inside out.
At least he doesn’t have a problem looking at her. But then again, I guess that was his problem.
He wasalwayslooking at her.
“Venesa’s a lot of things, but a liar isn’t one of them.” Fisher clears his throat. “If she makes you a deal, then she’s good for her word.”
Aria gives me her attention again. “I don’t want you to hurt Daddy.”
“Life’s full of hard choices,” I reply.
Her brows draw down, but so does the knife in her hand, and my heart levels out, just a little.
She cocks her head. “I want you to promise me you’ll stay away from E. Forever.”
My heart cracks, his name sending a mix of heat and angst through my system.
Well, he hates me and will never forgive me, so that’s the easiest deal I’ve ever made.
“I’ll stay away from Enzo. Forever,” I confirm, my voice catching on the final word. “As long as you hold up your end of the bargain.”
I can feel it in the air that she’s about to agree, her mouth popping open, and then…
The door slams open, the sound of it crashing on the wall grating against my eardrums.
“Bastien,” Aria gasps.
Hope flickers to life like a burning candle inside me. Bastien’s here. By Aria’s surprised voice, I’m assuming heisn’tpart of their plan, although I hope he is still playing Uncle T to gain information. I assume so, since he apparently knew I was down here.
I hear his footsteps as he moves farther into the room, but it isn’t until he’s standing next to Fisher that I can see him fully.
“Hey, Bas.” I grin at him.
I’m not really in a smiley mood, but everything at this point is a tactic to throw off Aria. She’s an amateur, and it’s honestly a little insulting Uncle T sent her and Fisher to do his dirty work, especially after waxing poetic for years about how he wanted to keep her away from this side of the business. But maybe all that was a ploy to make sure I never knew he was using her to begin with.
To the average person, Bastien looks calm and collected. But I can see the tense shoulders and the way his jaw muscles are twitching. He’s on edge. Nervous.
“You got my text, I take it?”
He gives a chin jerk, confirming he followed me home.
“How fortuitous of you to show up right on time,” I continue. “Aria and I were about to make a deal.”
Bastien lifts a brow and looks at Aria, then at Fisher, and then back to me. “What deal?”
“She’s going to switch sides. A good ol’ coup d’état, if you will, against my uncle.”
“What’s a coup d’état?” Aria asks.
I grin. “Overthrowing of the power, darlin’. Don’t worry your pretty little head about the specifics. All you need to know is if you side with me, you gain your freedom. You can take those long legs of yours and run away forever with your man.”
She sneers. “You have no power without Daddy.”
Bastien steps forward now. “Technically, she has all the power.”
