Page 29 of Hexed
I’m not surprised Aria used to fuck around with him. Neither of them was good at hiding it last night.
“What about her cousin?” I pipe up, because honestly, I don’t give a fuck who Aria used to screw around with when she lived here. This entire conversation is tiring.
Betty straightens. “Her cousin?”
I fold the paper, placing it on the table. “Yeah, Venesa.”
She tilts her head, something flashing in her face as she looks to Scotty and then back to me. “Speaking about that girl is none of my business. She could use a good church, though, always walking around doing her witchy spells and wearing all those crystals. Girl needs Jesus, if you ask me.”
Scotty whistles. “Betty’s no gossip, E. I don’t know what to tell you.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” Clearing my throat, I grab my phone and stand. “You two, behave.”
I give Scotty a look and then step onto the back patio to call my pops.
My hair rustles from the slight breeze, and my face scrunches when the smell of salt and sunshine hits my nose.
“Ciao,figlio mio,” my father answers gruffly, his Italian accent strong and sure.
“Ciao, Papá.”
“How are things?”
“Warm,” I reply.
“And your fiancée? How’s herfamiglia?Bene?”
My father is direct. He also frequently goes back and forth between Italian and English, something he’s done since he moved to Brooklyn with my nonna as a boy from Sicily.
“Did you know Trent was talking shop with Peppino?” I ask, something still not sitting right in my gut about how Trent revealed that information like it was a hidden ace up his sleeve.
My father sighs deeply, the absence of his immediate reply crackling through the phone. “He may have mentioned it.”
My forehead creases.The fuck?“And you didn’t think to mention it to me?”
He chuckles, dark and deep, and it makes my spine bristle. I can’t tell if he’s about to threaten me for speaking my mind or answer my question.
I shouldn’t have phrased it so harshly.
It’s eerie, the way he can do that—put you on edge simply because you never know how he’ll react.
“You never cared about things like this. Too busy with getting your hands dirty in the streets and fighting in those ridiculous cage fights.”
The cage fights that make you a shit ton of money.I don’t say it out loud because I’m too relieved he’s having a conversation about it instead of flying off the rails.
“You know how many people your brother was in ‘talks’ with?” he continues. “Peppino knew enough about this life to know when to involve me and when to handle it himself. Too many questions make me think you’re planning something you shouldn’t be.Areyou planning something,figlio mio?”
My stomach tenses. “Of course not, Papá.”
Pops’s voice is soft and lacking intonation. “There’s a reason for everything we do.”
“And what’s the reason for a hotel down here?” I ask.
“Careful,” Papá replies. “Even if Ididwant to share, I can’t right now. They’re always watching. I think someone tapped the house.”
“Gio sends someone every morning to check, Papá. Everything’s good.”
“And how can I trustGio?” he questions. “I taught you better than this.”
