“I’m not trying to convince you. It’s just what I think. There’s a demon growing inside me. I can only fathom a boy would cause so much trouble.”
“Women are trouble,” he tosses in.
“Yes, we are.” I don’t deny it. “I don’t like calling it ‘it.’ I picked a gender.”
“Fair enough. But we’re going to find out what it is, right?”
“You tell me. Am I going to be allowed out of my prison?”
“Only if you’re a good girl.” There’s a devious look on Baz’s face.
“Then we have a problem. ‘Cause I am very, very bad,” I whisper seductively, touching a fingertip to his lower lip.
Something in my statement jolts Baz out of our flirtatious banter. I know what it is. The albatross that has stained our relationship from the beginning.
Who is he? Who am I? What are our underlying motives? How deadly are we? Together, and apart.
“Why were you trying to kill Regina?”
Baz frowns. “We weren’t going to kill her. We just wanted to talk.”
“Talk?” I curl my lip. “That looked like more than just wanting to talk. She was being dragged into a car against her will. It looked like, at the very least, an abduction.”
“Well, she was being very uncooperative. All Gianni wanted to do was talk, and all she wanted to do is attack him.”
“Gianni? Gianni Velona? Do you work for him?” I try to fit the puzzle pieces together one by one.
Something strange flickers in Baz’s eyes. “Sort of.”
“Sort of? Either you do or you don’t.”
“There’s a grey area.”
“Explain.” I sit up straighter, preparing myself for a conversation of epic proportions.
Baz exhales a long, hot breath and finally confesses. “Gianni is my uncle.”
“Uncle? From his wife’s side?” As far as I know, there are only three Velona siblings, and only Gianni has children. One child to be exact, a daughter named Gianna.
“Wife? No, my aunt doesn’t have any brothers or sisters.”
“Baz, you’re confusing me. Are you referring to uncle like a godfather or something?”
He shakes his head. “He’s a blood relative.”
“Is there another Velona I don’t know about?”
“I guess that depends on how well you know the family. There’s Gianni, Benny, and Regina.”
Oh, I know the family pretty damn well, but before I divulge any of that information, I want to see what path this very weird discussion is going to take me.
“Benny Velona is my father,” he divulges, curling his lips in blatant disdain.
“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” I think I just suffered a brain aneurysm. I stare vacantly at him, all the blood draining from my face. “’Cause it sounded like you said you’re Benny’s son.”
“You heard correctly.” His reply is flat.
“Benny Velona doesn’t have a son. I would know. Of all people, I would know.” My blood pressure rises.
