Nova
I stood in the kitchen staring Astrid down. In fact, all three of us were glaring pretty hard at her. Desmond had taken Lexi into the living room and turned on cartoons for her. I was happy that for a brief moment there could be some sort of status quo.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to break something.
My thoughts tumbled back to Liam's bedroom upstairs. The way he had pinned me against his bed as his hands slid over my body. He had promised to take what he wanted from me. What was wrong with me?
I had wanted him to do it.
He wouldn't have been sorry about it either.
"Why are the three of you looking at me?" Astrid finally spoke.
The cousins never said a thing. Who knows what they were thinking. Liam's hand was resting on my spine and this provided the perfect opportunity to move away from him.
"Astrid, you need to tell us everything you know about Capone," I said coming around to stand next to her.
Her eyes turned on me, and crinkled up at the corners. I could tell she wanted to scream too, but she calmly replied, "I don't know much about his business, Nova."
"But you did know he was in The Treyway Kings?" Val asked.
The moment Astrid went on defense, I knew. She folded her arms over her chest and turned her head at an angle that alerted me to her mood change.
"I met him at a party...didn't think that was a crime." Her voice was dripping attitude now and we were all about to start swimming in it in a moment.
Val didn't seem to see that as a problem and leaned forward. "Did you know that the Kings are notorious for not only moving about eighty-five percent of the drugs in Chicago, but they also have active cases pending against members for sex trafficking."
"Look, again, I didn't know much about Capone and his doings. I knew he was affiliated, but he never brought any of that into my home." She had started to tap her foot in annoyance.
"I did some research and it looks like he's a pretty high-ranking member," Val said.
"And?"
"How old is the girl?"
"Yara's fourteen," I answered, looking between Val and Astrid.
"I'm talking about Lexi..."
Val's eyes never strayed from Astrid, who had stepped back from the granite island. Liam stood stoned faced and never utter a word, but I couldn't help it. Was Valentin the father of Astrid's child?
"That's none of your goddamn business. And another thing, Capone never touched my daughter." Her words came off pointedly at the insinuation.
A smirk appeared on Val's face. Astrid never usually lost her temper, so this was new for me to see. Val had just pissed her off fully. We didn't have time for this. Liam had explained that his uncle had something to do with whole thing. Honestly, I didn't care about Capone or this Viktor. I just wanted Yara back unharmed.
"We just want to know how Yara got tangled up in this," I said.
"And like I said, Nov. I don't know."
"So, you never mentioned me to him before I met him at your apartment that day?"
"No," Astrid said, her eyes peering into mine. "You're my family, Nova. I would never put you in harm's way. Which I obviously can't say the same for these two. I'm going to check on Lexi."
We all watched her go.
It was then Liam spoke. "I believe her."
