Bad for You

Eleven

I like watching her sleep.

I think it’s because that’s the only time she ever looks at peace.

Last night, she let me in. I know her past contains monsters that feed on her soul every single day, but she let go of her fears and surrendered. She trusted me, which, for us, is something we don’t dish out easily.

But now, I don’t know what any of this means.

Do we go back to not talking?

Hating one another?

I don’t want that, but I also don’t want to be weird about it.

If Gianna were to find out about this, I know she’d find a way to make us both pay, and that’s the reason I run my fingers down the middle of Valentina’s back.

She’s lying on her stomach, her face turned to the side. The sheet rests just above her perfect ass. Goose bumps kiss her flesh, reminding me of her sweetness, which lingers on my tongue.

She brushes the hair from her face as she turns to look at me. I instantly smell strawberries.

Something suddenly happens, something that hasn’t happened before—my heart begins to beat faster, and my mouth goes dry.

We look at one another, knowing that last night changed everything, but neither of us has been taught how to deal with whatever the fuck this feeling is.

I’ve been with girls before, but last night, both Valentina and I are virgins when it comes to matters of the heart.

All I know is that I’ll protect her and kill anyone who stands in my way.

“Are you all right?” I ask because I know giving herself to me the way she did wasn’t easy.

Her past will forever threaten to taint her future, but she trusted me, and for someone who has never trusted anyone her entire life, it only has me wanting to protect her all the more.

She nods, her cheeks blushing.

I wish I could woo her, but regardless of last night, I’m not going to turn into a simp and forget the pressing matters at hand—we need to get the fuck out of here.

“We need to go.”

“Go where?”

“I mean leave…like forever leave.”

All matters of the heart soon evaporate.

Valentina pulls the sheet over her naked form as she stands. “What are you talking about? This is our home.”

“This has never been our home. We need to leave before Gianna—”

“Before Gianna what?” she coaxes, arching a brow.

“Before Gianna reveals her grand plans for us.”

Valentina scoffs. “Please, can you be any more dramatic? If it wasn’t for her, God knows where we’d be. She took us in when no one else wanted us. She may not have been a loving role model, but she provided for us and made us who we are today.”

“Bullshit!” I argue, leaping out of bed. “You’re brainwashed. She dangled you like a piece of meat in a tank of starving sharks!”

“It was a test, one which I passed.”

“Don’t you see? We shouldn’t have to continue to pass her fucking tests! This isn’t normal. She’s training us for something. I don’t know for what yet. But I do know that she’ll use us in any way that benefits her.”

Valentina is angry. Her flushed skin is a dead giveaway.

But she needs to know the longer we stay here, the more danger we’re in.

“Come with me. Let’s go. Anywhere, I don’t care. Just away from here.”

I walk toward her, hands raised in surrender because I don’t want to fight.

“Why have you stayed then? If you think she’s up to no good, why didn’t you leave years ago?”

The inevitable question…

“Answer me.”

With a sigh, I meet those blue eyes of hers that promise me the world and will rob me of life. “Because I knew you wouldn’t come, and I can’t leave you here. But I can’t stay. I can’t stay when I know it’ll kill us both.”

“Is that why you fucked her?”

“ Who? Gianna? ” I ask, pulling a disgusted face.

She nods firmly.

So that was why she was parading around with NFL Ken—she was jealous. She did see Gianna and me together, but she didn’t stay around long enough to see how it ended.

“I did nothing of the sort,” I reply firmly. “It’s all a game. She’s a means to an end.”

“And what end is that?”

I mull over how much I can tell her, and she reads it loud and clear.

“You don’t trust me.” It’s not a question. It’s a statement. “What a fucking idiot I am!”

She storms for the door, but I quickly sidestep, blocking her path.

“Get out of my way!”

But I stand firm.

“Please, just trust me, something bad is coming, and I don’t want you here when it happens.”

“How do you know that?”

“I can’t tell.”

“Un-fucking-believable. You expect me to just believe you, all because you made me come? Fuck you.”

She shoves me out of the way, but I grip her throat and slam her back against the wall. She fights me. All it does is get me hard.

“I expect you to believe me because deep down, you know I’m right,” I say, inches from her face. “Gianna is up to something, and it’s only a matter of time until our true purpose is revealed. Please don’t be stubborn. It’ll get you killed.

“We’ve been training for a war our entire lives. The war is coming. I know that it is. Please don’t be on the other side when it does. Gianna is a fucking drug dealer! You’re not stupid. She’s a fucking psychopath.”

“Or what? You’ll kill me? Is that it?” That’s what she decides to take from what I’ve just said. She’s not bothered that the money we spend is on the backs of nothing but greed and misery.

Silence…

“You fucking asshole. You give me bits and pieces and expect me to give up my life because you say so? Well, I say no. I’m here because I want to be. I’m here because Gianna has the answers I need.”

“Your mom?” I ask because it doesn’t take a genius to know that Valentina believes Gianna knows where her mom is.

Like how I did with Lewis, and I was right—she did know.

But she won’t hand over that information without offering her something first, and that’s what I’m afraid of. What will Valentina have to do for Gianna to get what she wants?

“Nothing in this world is free,” I say, never breaking eye contact. “She’s trained you to be her little lapdog, and she’ll use you any way she wants because she has something you want. She’ll ensure you pay dearly for that information.”

“Speaking from experience?” she wisely asks. “You think she knows where your brother is, right? That’s why you’ve stayed.”

Yes, but I’ve also stayed for her. But I can’t tell her that without making her feel second best.

“Please, just come with me.”

It’s only a matter of time. I can feel it in my gut. And I can’t shake the feeling that it has something to do with Aldo.

“No,” she stubbornly states. “Now let me go.”

“Why are you loyal to her?”

“Why are you not?”

“Because I don’t trust her. The way she raised us, it’s not normal. It’s like she secluded us from the world for a reason. Like she didn’t want us to know what’s really out there because it’ll reveal who she really is.”

“She looked after us, Lenny! She fed us. Schooled us. She taught us how not to be a victim in this world. Before her, that’s all I was.”

“No, you weren’t,” I argue, releasing my hold around her neck. “You never were. But she’s brainwashed you into thinking you won’t survive without her. She needs you, not the other way around.”

“Find my mother, then! Get me the revenge I deserve on Father Merry and that fucking orphanage, and then I’ll come with you. Until then, I’m staying.”

“This isn’t just about your mother, is it? You stay because you owe her some sort of loyalty. Why? It’s because of her you killed a man without remorse. What will she have you do next?”

Valentina knows I’m right. She too knows that something wicked is coming this way. But she stays because Gianna has the answers we both need. But unlike me, who found Aldo, Gianna is Valentina’s only hope of getting what she wants.

I understand, but I fear what we both must lose to get the answers we seek.

“We can find what we need—together, and away from here.”

“Can you promise me that?”

I avert my gaze because I cannot.

“Then get out of my way, Lenny.”

“Why do you fight me every chance you get?”

I punch the wall in frustration.

Valentina doesn’t flinch. “Because I can.”

Every inch of my body protests, but I know no one will surrender today.

She opens the door and slams it behind her as she leaves me alone with my failure.

“Fuck,” I curse under my breath.

I knew she’d fight me, but this is worse than I thought.

Gianna has something over both our heads, but unlike me, Valentina doesn’t have a plan B.

I’m thinking of ways to make her see the danger she’s in when the door opens. I’m hopeful Valentina has come to her senses, but Gianna enters.

I don’t have the patience to pretend. “Get out.”

Of course, she merely laughs in response. “I failed as a parent.”

“You were never a parent, Gianna, so stop with the bullshit. What do you want?”

She closes the door, leaning against it. “Did you find Lewis?”

I inhale slowly because this is the first time she’s used his name. And she’s done so with intent.

“The way you’re looking at me, anyone would think I didn’t give you what you asked for.”

“You knew he was a junkie, didn’t you?”

Gianna examines her nails casually. “I was only trying to protect you. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for the two of you. But I can see that the time has come for me to let you spread your wings.”

“I’m not leaving Valentina here alone with you,” I state firmly.

“She’s a big girl. She doesn’t need you to protect her. She never did.”

“What are you planning? Whatever it is, I’m clearly not needed. Therefore, I can only assume you need Valentina to do something you cannot.”

Her back straightens because I’ve hit a nerve. “Choose your words wisely, Lennon.”

But she can go fuck herself.

“Or what? You’re all talk. If you weren’t, then you wouldn’t need two kids to do your dirty work. Valentina is everything you’re not. I won’t let you destroy her.”

Gianna’s eyes narrow. It seems the ice-cold queen does have feelings.

I wait for a response, but she simply leaves.

I wish I felt this was a victory, but I know…this is the onset of war.

Aldo is out back doing “stocktake.”

I honestly can’t believe that I’m back here, dusting a Himalayan salt lamp while listening to what sounds like whales mating to Enya.

But I cannot find anything that hints at this store being anything but a hippie haven.

I refuse to believe I’m wrong, though. Aldo’s reputation is infamous among all men. As is Gianna’s. And I’m caught between the two.

I know I shouldn’t have pushed Gianna, but I’m done. I can’t pretend any longer. I can only hope Valentina comes to her senses and thinks over what I said.

I need to uncover the connection between Gianna and Aldo. Yes, they’re rivals, but there’s something more. There’s a reason Aldo came to the orphanage. Valentina is the common denominator.

But why?

“Molto bene.”

Aldo’s praise snaps me the fuck out of my head.

He looks around the store in what seems like approval. If this is a test, then I think I passed.

“Want to come make a delivery with me?”

I notice he carries a large bag of white crystals.

Of course, I agree.

He locks up, and we walk toward a black Jeep. “No driver today?”

Aldo simply smiles.

We get in, and he punches an address into the GPS. It’s an hour away. Once he selects his playlist of classical tunes, we’re off.

I don’t make small talk.

I wait to be spoken to because this delivery is a test.

“There is a fight organized for tonight.”

I nod.

“You don’t ask a lot of questions,” he says lightly, eyes on the road.

“I didn’t think I needed to.”

Aldo chuckles. “You’re not curious?”

“Not really, no. I know we’re not here to waste one another’s time.”

“You’ve not told me anything about your brother. I mean, he’s the reason you’ve put your trust in a stranger.”

“Oh, I don’t trust you,” I correct firmly. “And I know you don’t trust me. But I hope to change that soon enough.”

“You are a smart young man, Lennon,” he says, his accent thick. “I wonder why it is you need me.”

“Because you are nothing in this world without someone you can trust. Me, I only trust two people, and one of them is me.”

“And the other?”

I don’t reply as he knew I wouldn’t.

“This is a business proposal we both benefit from. I’m not proposing we become friends, but I think we want the same thing.”

“And what’s that?”

I mull over his question. I want to be as honest as I can. I need to be because time is of the essence.

“To be the best in every possible way and eliminate anyone who stands in the way.”

Aldo doesn’t say a word.

When we arrive at a derelict building in the middle of nowhere, I know things are going to get messy.

Whether this is where I prove my loyalty or I’m to be taught a lesson, I don’t know.

I follow Aldo, not expecting a single thing. The old factory is a squatter’s paradise, but there’s no one here…bar the man tied to the wooden chair in the middle of the room.

He’s blindfolded, his wrists and feet bound.

“To be the best in every possible way and eliminate anyone who stands in the way,” Aldo says, repeating what I said in the car.

Seems I was right after all.

“Sucks to be him,” I reply without feeling.

Aldo simply laughs.

Glenn appears from the corner, gun in hand. “He swears he knows nothing.”

I assume they’re talking about the chump who was stupid enough to find himself in the position he’s in.

Aldo casually walks toward the man, giving nothing away. Glenn makes clear he’s far from impressed that I’m here.

But my gut tells me something isn’t right, and I’m not talking about Glenn’s double denim outfit choice.

“Baz, this would be a lot easier if you told us the truth.” Aldo takes the blindfold off Baz, who blinks quickly to adjust to the dim light.

“I’m telling you the truth!” Baz implores, begging Aldo to believe him.

“You’re full of shit,” Glenn counters, coming out of nowhere and pistol-whipping him.

Seems a little excessive, and it must show on my face.

“You have something you wish to say?”

Aldo is asking me this because he too senses something is amiss.

Baz looks between us, clearly unsure of what’s going on.

“I’m not sure what you think he did, but he doesn’t look like a rat. I mean, he’s wearing a fanny pack.”

Aldo’s lips twitch.

“You’re listening to this kid?” Glenn asks, angered.

Aldo’s humor soon dies when he turns his attention to Glenn. The room grows smaller, and I soon understand why something is amiss.

Baz was merely the bait…

“Someone is stealing from me,” Aldo says, the bag of crystals in his hand. “And Glenn thinks it’s you.”

“Why would I do that?” Baz cries, shaking his head frantically. “You’ve been good to me and my family. I don’t want any trouble. I keep to my neighborhood and do what you ask.”

I look closely at that bag Aldo holds, and an epiphany hits. It’s the perfect fucking alibi. I was an idiot not to have guessed sooner.

“Bravo ragazzo.”

Aldo reads my thoughts as he passes me the bag.

I shut out all external stimuli and rifle through the stones, feeling for something…different. And when I find one, I know what I have to do.

Pulling it out, I hold it out in front of me, closing one eye to examine it closely. I turn it over and over, looking for the sweet spot. I find it within seconds.

If I’m wrong, then I’m about to look a fool. But as I smash the stone against the wall and a puff of white powder coats my hand, I know I just passed this test.

The crystals are legit; some are for healing, while most are transporting drugs because who the fuck would have guessed these harmless stones would hold A-grade cocaine.

But I’m sure each color stone represents a different drug.

This is fucking genius.

“You continue to impress me because someone with passion will do anything to succeed.” Aldo reaches into his jacket and retrieves the piece he has in his gun holster.

I don’t flinch because I know it’s not for me.

He aims the gun on the person this entire theatrical performance is for. “Glenn, I’m disappointed it’s ended this way. But someone is stealing from me, and we both know it’s not someone as foolish as Baz. No offense.”

“None taken,” Baz is quick to say, thankful the heat is directed elsewhere.

“This someone has inside knowledge of my business, and we both know Rocco and Ramond are too stupid to pull anything this complex off, so that only leaves you.”

“You’re fucking serious?” Glenn says, his utter shock apparent.

I watch for any cues that he’s lying.

“Why would I do that?”

“Why does any man betray another? Wealth? Power? Ego? There are endless possibilities. What I do know is my product is being sold over the valley. That’s your neighborhood, correct?”

Glenn nods while I’m hit with the truth.

Glenn isn’t the one stealing from Aldo.

But Aldo’s daughter is.

That’s where I first saw her, sneaking out of that crack house where Lewis supposedly is. She knew the valley streets well. It wasn’t her first rodeo because she’s undercutting her father and profiting from his stuff.

But why?

I’m sure it’s not to make a little extra pocket money.

My stomach drops because whatever the reason, I will be the decider of either her or Glenn’s fate.

“Yes, but I—”

“Shh.” Aldo cuts him off, not interested in excuses. “What do you think, Lennon?”

Glenn beseeches I show mercy.

But how do I do that without throwing Aldo’s own daughter under the bus?

And what if I’m wrong?

“I think every man has the right to a fair trial.”

“You show him mercy when he wouldn’t do the same for you?”

“He and I are nothing alike.”

“This is true, but I cannot have a man I do not trust.”

“Please, Aldo, you know me. I wouldn’t steal from you.”

“Yet you lie to me by bringing me Baz when you knew he wasn’t involved. How can I trust you?”

Aldo was testing us all.

I passed.

Glenn failed.

“I knew if I didn’t bring someone, you’d kill me!” Glenn’s desperation shines, and I wonder if perhaps he is guilty of something.

Is he working with Aldo’s daughter? He knows if he rats her out, he’s dead either way.

“If you were merely honest, then things would have ended very differently for you.” Aldo’s composure reveals why he’s in the position he’s in.

He earned his title not through fear but rather respect.

But make no mistake, double-cross him, and you’ll end up like ole Glenn here.

“Tell me what you know, and all will be well.”

“I can’t!” Glenn replies, tears in his eyes. “She’ll kill me.”

“Who will?”

I sigh because Glenn is a dead man walking.

“The person you trust.”

Before another word can be spoken, Glenn reaches for the gun in the small of his back, shoves it into his mouth, and blows his brains out.

His headless corpse drops to the ground with a squelch.

It takes Baz a moment to process the scene feet away before he screams hysterically.

My heart pounds uncontrollably. I’m covered in Glenn’s brains and blood, but I stand completely still.

Aldo reaches into his pocket and offers me a white handkerchief, which I accept. It is red when I’m done wiping my face with it.

“Egyptian cotton?” I ask, handing it back to him.

He waves me off, indicating I can keep it.

This scene is utterly comical, and that’s because this is my norm.

“A position has just opened up,” Aldo says, tongue in cheek, turning to look at me. “I need a man I can trust. I don’t want you to fight for me. You’re too smart for that.”

“You trust me?”

Aldo smiles. “Lennon Shepherd, you are far more valuable alive to me than you are dead.”

Shit…

He knows my name, which means…he knows who I am.

“You knew who I was this entire time, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” he replies, not insulting me by lying. “You never questioned my Italian, which made me believe you knew what I was saying. And only one person teaches to fight the way you do. So the question is, are you here to take me down?

“Or could it be…you’re here to take her down.”

This entire time, I thought I was a player in the game, but now I see I was merely on the sidelines, waiting for my turn to play.

“And who is she?” I ask, wondering if I too am about to join headless Glenn.

Aldo smiles, forever the motherfucking king of this kingdom. “Gianna Ricci…the woman who adopted you and bellezza . I’m sorry I didn’t get there first. I should have known she’d get to her before I could.”

“What does she want with her?”

This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. The answers I’ve been searching for, for years.

“She is the answer to it all. She has the ability to destroy us all, which means…she is the enemy. You pick a side, Lennon, because there’s no going back once you decide.”

“I won’t leave her there.”

“Then bring her here.” When he reads my confliction, he guesses why. “But she will not come. Gianna has a way of making one feel as though they’d perish without her.”

“How do you know all this?”

Aldo sighs heavily as if reliving a memory that plagues him to this day. “I know Gianna because she is my ex-wife.”

My poker face is long gone because what in the ever-living fuck? If Gianna is his ex, does that mean the girl I saw sneaking out of the crack house is her daughter?

This shit just gets more and more fucked up, but I guess it explains a lot because nothing in life is a coincidence.

“I promise your brother will get the help he needs. All I ask in return is you pledge your loyalty to me. But to do that, I need you to do whatever Gianna says. She cannot know anything is amiss.”

“And then what happens?”

Aldo appears saddened by what he says next, but all’s fair in love and war. “Then I take back what she stole from me. Her empire was built on everything I taught her. I confided in her, I…loved her, and in return, she stabbed me in the back because greed is more important to her than love.

“She has no heart. Trust me when I say this. She will use anyone to get what she wants. There is a war coming, Lennon. And I fear that war is not between me and her. I fear it is between you and Valentina…just the way Gianna intended.

“She has no problems killing me and burning my empire to the ground. But she knows she cannot win. She’s tried but has always failed. She’s forgotten who taught her everything she knows. Her allies grow tired of her games.

“She needs a new queen, one she can control, one she can trust. New blood is needed. A new leader who can seduce any man to do what she commands.”

“Valentina won’t leave her. I’ve tried.”

“Then you must try harder.”

“Even if I get her to agree, she has an unbreakable loyalty to her. Valentina believes Gianna can help her find her mother and get revenge on the orphanage.”

Aldo’s face soon changes, and I know why.

“You know where her mother is, don’t you?”

He replies after a few moments of silence. “Yes.”

“Then tell me, and this can all be over!”

But I soon realize he won’t, and that’s because nothing in this world is free.

“Prove your loyalty first, and then I shall tell you everything.”

“And until then?” I ask, angered because I’m now left with more questions than answers.

He simply smiles. “Until then, we sell crystals.”