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Valentina picked up her head again. "I don't believe you," she said.
"You don't have to," I replied nonchalantly, swirling the ice in my glass. "Just saying, you might want to look deeper than the bloodline."
There was a silence then as Valentina mulled over my words. We had arrived at a quiet corner of the garden, secluded from prying eyes. The soft murmur of music from inside the mansion reached us as a faint lullaby.
"Is that why you're here then? Protecting Bash?" Valentina asked. Her voice was softer now, curious rather than confrontational.
"The job is more about uprooting enemies than babysitting," I said, sounding more dismissive than I intended. "Bash can handle himself."
"What about his brother's child?"
"That's his child," I said. "He has custody now."
She cocked her head. Valentina laughed and there was no malice in it this time. "You've always been good at deflecting, Hassan. But I see through you."
"Is that so?" I said, raising an eyebrow. "And what exactly do you see, Val?"
"A loyal man," she said. "More than a hired hand. You're his friend."
"I'm not..." I began, but trailed off, shaking my head instead. Valentina had always had a knack for reading people. It was one of the reasons she was so good at her job. How could I explain? I'd done a lot of thinking about what Bash was to me, and beyond someone I considered a brother--and as complicated as our relationship was, I did consider him a brother--I had no idea where I landed.
"You don't have to defend yourself, Hassan," she said gently, reaching out and laying a hand on my arm briefly before pulling away. "We all have our reasons for doing what we do."
I nodded. "Speaking of that. What do you know about the De Lucas?"
She stilled, her eyes growing distant as if she was sifting through a library of knowledge. After a moment, she responded. "I won't give you information for nothing."
"So I'll be in your debt. It's nice to have me owe you a favor."
"I know," she said, playing with one of her silver rings. "Okay. Here is what I know. The De Lucas are a dynasty. They've been in power for generations, ruling with an iron fist and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake."
"Why didn't we know that Alicia was their daughter until now?"
"Because they made a huge effort to keep it hidden," she said. "Everyone knows that families don't get messed with, but you know who's truly untouchable?"
I raised my brows.
"Civilians," she said with a nod. "They knew that if Alicia had been connected to them, she would have become a target. For rivals, for the police, for anyone looking to hurt the De Lucas. They sent her abroad to study, to New York for college, and they expected her to get married to a doctor or a lawyer or someone important up there. But she came home and ran into one of the Rivera kids."
"Jez."
"Right," she said. "And then it was even worse for Vito because that meant that his kid wasn't just exposed to enemies of the De Lucas, she was exposed to enemies of the Miami Knives. So he told Jez he could marry her as long as they kept her association with his own family on the downlow."
"And then she died."
"Weirdly," Valentina said. "Someone broke in and shot her. Then the nanny walked in and called 911."
"But it could be anyone," I said, my insides twisting as I fought to keep my voice steady. "If she had ties to two dangerous gangs."
"Right. Which made him very paranoid," she replied.
"That's why Bash has her son now," I murmured, connecting the dots. "To keep him safe."
"His wife wanted to keep him; she said as grandparents, they were the best choice," Valentina continued. "But I heard Bash asked and pleaded, using the fact that his brother was dead too and that no one had touched members of the Knives. So..."
"So the child went with Bash," I finished.
“Well. With his girlfriend,” Valentina said. “For legal reasons.”
