Nicco: Devil's Spawn Book 1

Ch. 43: Burn It To The Ground

ARIA

"I-I'm not lying."

Nicco glares at me like I'm breaking his heart. "I know about the package you received for your father. Tell me what is going on. Per favore. Give me a reason to believe you."

My resolve begins to waver. I want to tell him everything.

But, I remind myself, I'm about to commit a felony, and Jaime might very well kill me if I fuck up.

Just because I'm willing to gamble with my life doesn't mean I should force Nicco to risk his neck alongside mine. Over and over again, I cling to my mantra like a prayer.

The less Nicco knows, the safer he'll be.

The less Nicco knows, the safer he'll be.

The less Nicco knows, the safer he'll be.

Feeling like I'm being put under criminal prosecution, I try my best to appease his anger without giving too much away, "You're right. I should've mentioned the package to you. At the time, though, I didn't think it was a big deal. Nelson only delivered it to me because my dad's currently out of the country."

"Did you open it?"

"Yes."

His broad shoulders grow square and tense. "What was inside?"

"A phone."

My response seems to relax him a little. "Who was it from?"

"I don't know."

"I find it interesting that a complete stranger would want to send your father a phone."

Nicco's remark throws me for a loop. I know I'm supposed to be protecting Nicco by keeping the truth from him. Yet, circumstances keep changing by the second, and my strategy must change with it. I'm beginning to realize that I can't outright lie to Nicco. He's too smart to be fed bullshit, and I suspect that he's testing me. Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation. He's simply refusing to reveal his hand right this moment, but I know he knows something. I debate fighting fire with fire. I may be keeping shit from Nicco, but he's probably keeping shit from me, too. I have the right to interrogate him over the fact that he's very possibly blackmailing Manning and his men into submission.

After some consideration, however, I pivot from attacking Nicco's weak point and decide, instead, to give him the partial truth, "It's possible that my dad might be involved in some shady shit."

I don't want to force Nicco to open his Pandora's Box. Because then I'll feel obligated to open mine.

Nicco cocks an eyebrow. "Why would you say such a thing about your own father?"

"A gut feeling, I guess." Toeing the line, I answer as upfront as possible without spilling every drop of the tea, "Knowing my dad, he'll do anything to further his career. Ethics be damned. It makes me worry that my dad might have been willing to bend a few laws to earn some points with his higher-ups."

Nicco's eyes flash shrewdly. "Does this mean he knows something about the Gravinski account?"

Shit. My suspicions were on point. Nicco knows. Oh, he knows.

I cough and look away. "I don't know about my dad's involvement with that particular account, but I might have heard Manning mention it once or twice."

Nicco regards me with renewed suspicion. "I was not aware that you spoke to Manning recently."

I try to shrug it off. "Only in passing."

"Ah."

"I don't know much about the Gravinski account, but I can look into it if you wish."