Hexed (Never After #6)

1. Venesa

ONE

VENESA

TWO YEARS LATER

“What the hell are you doing here?” My cousin’s shrill voice pierces the air as I stand across from her on a secluded part of the Hudson River.

It’s dark tonight, the clouds masking even the glow of the moon, so it took her a long time to notice me. She’s lucky it’s just me. Anyone could have found her, and she’s so obtuse to her surroundings, she’d be dead before she could even scream.

“Hi, Aria. Nice to see you too.” I grin sarcastically and scan her attire.

An emerald-green evening gown, her scarlet hair in a messy updo that’s definitely seen better days, and two red-bottom shoes dangling from her fingers, one of them with a broken heel.

Always the pampered princess, even when she looks like a dumpster fire.

“Out for a midnight run?” I ask.

She pushes a strand of hair off her smooth forehead before leveling me with a glare. “What I’m doing is none of your business. How did you even know where to find me? And why are you in New York?”

“You’re asking a lot of questions for a girl with broken shoes and a clear death wish.” I gesture to our surroundings.

I found her the same way I always find her: the tracking device my uncle installed in not only her phone but also the bracelet she got for her sweet sixteenth.

Truthfully, the tracking tech is probably in everything he’s ever given her, which is the whole caboodle. Aria doesn’t exactly make her own money, and he’s beyond overprotective of his only daughter, even after she up and skipped town years ago. Sometimes I wonder if she realizes that allowing him to bankroll her entire life means the whole “running away” thing doesn’t hold any weight, but she seems happy enough, and she’s always loved to live in the lap of luxury, so I’m not really surprised.

Aria crosses her arms. “Did Daddy send you again?”

I smirk.

She already knows the answer to that.

“I’m not a fucking kid! I can do things on my own. Make sure you remind him of that when you go back home.” She stomps her foot and then winces before bringing it up to look at the sole. There’s a thin stream of red, and she groans. “Great.”

I quirk a brow, looking pointedly at the broken heel of the shoe she’s carrying in her hand and then to the deserted area we’re in. “Seriously, what are you doing traversing damp rocks and murky waters in a thousand-dollar gown?”

She doesn’t answer right away. Instead, she gives me a curious look, like I should already know why she’s out here being reckless.

“I was on a date,” she finally says. “It didn’t go well, and it’s…peaceful on the water.”

She moves then, stumbling along the rocky shoreline, her dainty fingers reaching for purchase on some of the larger boulders as she slips between them.

“Where the hell are you going, Aria? Don’t you wanna know what dear ol’ Daddy has to say?” Begrudgingly, I follow her.

She trips and lets out a sharp hiss.

“You’re gonna cut up your feet and get them infected.” I try again just to get her to slow down.

She looks back at me and stops moving. “You’re so dramatic.”

“Seems like high praise coming from you,” I muse. “Maybe I should take my chances in New York, try out the whole singing thing, and you can go home and work for your daddy.”

“Be serious.”

“You don’t think I’d have better luck getting auditions for Broadway?”

She snorts. “Please.”

I’m not being serious. I enjoy working for my uncle, even more so now that Aria’s been gone for years and I get his full attention. Besides, I’m confident Aria has no clue who her father actually is beyond being the wealthiest businessman in the South.

What I do for him is so much more than that. I help prop up that hollow legacy, making sure the truth of his power remains out of sight.

Corruption sings with shiny buildings and fancy suits, and the truth is that my uncle is not only a respected businessman but he’s also the most powerful gangster in the South.

In any case, I don’t blame Aria for leaving South Carolina. New York is something special. Across the Hudson, broken up by the thick cables of a bridge, is the city skyline, and when I see it, something warm expands in the center of my chest.

I love it here, although admitting that out loud would mean also admitting I have something in common with Aria.

She’s been obsessed with Manhattan since we were kids. She would find pictures in magazines to cut out and hang on her wall like window dressing, and I guess her obsession rubbed off on me.

It’s all farcical, though. Dreams are that for a reason. Just dreams.

Maybe one day she’ll learn…or maybe she won’t. What do I care?

“Well.” She throws her hands out to her sides. “What is it, then? Spit it out, Urch. What’s Daddy want now? Did he send you out here to try and help me?”

I snap out of my daze, glowering at Aria for the nickname as I move toward her, trying my best not to slip on the rocks. “What do you mean ‘help you’? With what? ” I look at her funny because what is she even talking about? “He just wants to make sure you’re okay.”

Aria blinks at me, that same confused look as earlier coasting across her face. “That’s it?”

I shrug. “Yeah. You know how he is.”

It’s not like I want to admit my uncle, who claims I’m his most important asset, sent me out here to do an in-person, late-night checkup with his spoiled daughter and, because I’m desperate for his approval, I said yes.

My best friend, Fisher, says being so unwaveringly loyal is my biggest weakness, but I disagree.

“So you’re all right? Barring whatever this is?” I wave my hand up and down her disastrous frame.

She shoots me a dark look. “Would you shut up ? God, you’re always so?—”

A deep, low groan cuts off her sentence, and I reach out to grip her arm, shushing her, my heart ratcheting up in speed.

That sounded like a person.

And I don’t know how Aria ended up here or what kind of trouble she might have gotten herself in to make her look so haggard, but hanging out at a deserted part of a river known for cement shoes attached to dead bodies isn’t exactly high on my list of to-dos.

Aria looks around, arching a perfectly manicured brow. “Hear what?”

Another groan has me spinning, my vision skimming over the large damp rocks and the dark pockets of shadows that line the area.

“Seriously, you don’t hear that?”

“Who cares?” Aria looks at her nails like she can’t be bothered. “Listen, since you’re here, tell Daddy I could use some more wiggle room with the monthly allowance.”

I ignore her, walking toward the water to find the source of the noise.

Aria stumbles as she comes after me. “Hey! Are you listening to me?”

“With a voice like yours, who can ignore you?” I bite back.

“You’re pathetic, you know that? I wish you’d go back to where you came?—”

“Quiet,” I snap, my eyes homing in on a figure in the distance.

There’s a man laid out along the rocks, close enough to the water that it laps at his body like it’s attempting to shove him awake. But his eyes stay closed, and every time the small waves hit him, he just moves like a limp rag doll.

Great. Dying men were not on my agenda tonight either.

Heaving a heavy sigh, I drop my head back and stare up at the sky. Waxing crescent moon. Fantastic for acting on new beginnings. I should have never claimed I wanted to be a better person. It’s not like I meant it anyway. Being good is overrated.

Now the universe is mocking me.

“Venesa,” Aria hisses.

I ignore her and take a step closer, cocking my head. He looks young, but not too young, and he’s strangely familiar, although with how much dirt and blood covers his face, it’s difficult to tell.

“Urch, what the hell are you…? Holy shit ,” Aria breathes as she comes to stand next to me.

“Mm-hmm.” I nod, taking inventory.

He’s definitely unconscious, at least partly, and there’s no doubt in my mind he’s injured. Probably some low-level gangbanger who got himself in trouble. Although with the way he’s dressed in an expensive—and thoroughly ruined—suit, it could be worse. He could be a made man.

I shouldn’t get involved.

“We should leave,” Aria whispers, her blue eyes wide.

I shake my head. “We can’t just leave him.”

“What?!” she hisses. “Are you crazy?”

“I’m trying to be a decent person,” I snap.

Aria huffs and mumbles, “Little late for that.”

I blink at her.

Well, now she’s just pissing me off.

Licking my lips, I stare at her for one more second before moving so I’m right next to the injured stranger.

Aria’s footsteps crunch on the wet, muddy pebbles until she’s behind me. “Jesus, he looks half-dead. Just leave him for the fish to find or whatever. Let’s go .”

She’s right, I know she’s right, but still…

Dropping to my knees, I touch his neck and check for a pulse. It’s there, but it’s faint. Blood seeps onto the wet ground beneath him, pouring from a wound on his side.

He’s definitely hurt. Pretty badly, from the looks of it. Stab wound? Gunshot? It’s too difficult to tell in the dark.

The man groans again, his head shaking back and forth in a lazy motion, but his eyes stay closed.

My stomach jumps into my throat because I really shouldn’t be here.

“Venesa, this isn’t funny,” Aria snarls, keeping her voice low. “Daddy will kill you if you get involved with this.”

I cut her a glare before focusing back on the injured stranger. What does she know about what her father will or won’t be mad about?

Although, in this scenario, she’s not wrong.

Aria stomps her foot. “I’m leaving.”

“Good lord, either shut the hell up or actually do what you keep threatening,” I bark at her.

I take my black sweater off and jostle the man onto his side so I can slip it underneath him. I try to tie it around him to stem the bleeding, but he’s large and slippery from the blood and grime, so it doesn’t work. Blowing out a haggard breath, I settle for balling up the fabric and pressing it against him instead, applying as much pressure as I can.

If we were back home, I’d have some yarrow I could mix with water to spread on the wound like a paste, but of course, the urge to be a good person only happens when I have absolutely nothing on my side to help.

His eyes flutter, and it sends panic whirling through me like a tornado.

Aria’s right; Uncle T will murder me if this guy is, in fact, part of the New York mob and I get involved without specific orders from him.

But for some reason, I can’t just leave this stranger either.

“Listen,” I say to Aria. “Stay here with him, okay?”

“Fuck. That.” She crosses her arms, shaking her head.

Sighing, I run a hand through my hair. Aria’s always been the most difficult person to walk the earth, but she’s also shallow as hell and loves the limelight, so convincing her to do something is all about the angle.

I stare at her for a second, sinking my teeth into my lower lip while I work out what that angle is. “Everyone would probably laud you as a hero.”

Her eyes flare, her fingers tapping against her inner elbow.

“Think about it. You know better than anyone how to spin a story in your favor, and I know you’re desperate for some media attention like you used to get back home.” I gesture down at the man. “So take the opportunity. Give it a spin .”

She glances at him again before looking at me, indecision warring in her wide-eyed blue gaze.

“Look.” I reach into the right side of my bra and pull out a small vial I keep for emergencies.

Her face contorts. “What is that ?”

“Ammonia-soaked cotton. It’ll wake him up.” I jerk my head toward the guy on the ground, my right arm still draped over his body while my hand keeps pressure on his side.

“God, you’re weird. You just…carry that around?”

I lift a shoulder because yeah, I do.

She hesitates but eventually walks over and takes it from me.

“You’ll have to keep pressure on his wound until someone gets here to help. Otherwise, he might bleed out.”

“Ew, that’s disgusting. I’ll get his blood all over me.” Her nose scrunches. “You know what? No. I’ve already had a shitty night, so fuck this guy, and fuck you too.”

She spins and walks away.

Annoyed, I look between her and the guy on the ground.

For whatever reason, my left hand brushes over his midnight-black hair. “What did they do to you?”

And then, although I’ll never be able to explain why , I lean down and whisper in his ear, “Don’t die. Don’t let them win.”

His body jerks and his eyes flutter open, bright ocean blues locking on to mine.

Panic spreads through my body, and I jump to my feet, backing away as quickly as I can.

Stupid, Venesa.

If he’s some guy who’s supposed to be dead and Uncle T finds out I interfered in New York business?

I might as well just kill myself.

The man closes his eyes again, passing out, and I’m gone, jogging all the way to the tree line and hiding behind it. I glance down at my blood-soaked hands. My teeth sink into my lower lip as I debate what to do, my thumbnail picking at the cuticle of my ring finger—but then, surprisingly, Aria’s there again on the shoreline, so I watch her instead.

“Urch,” she whisper-yells, glancing around.

I suck on my teeth to stay quiet.

She tries again. “Venesa!”

The man on the ground groans, and it draws her attention.

Aria moves closer to the stranger, dropping to his side and picking up my abandoned sweater, grimacing as she crouches over him. “You better be front-page worthy, you hear me?”

She releases the fabric for a moment, just long enough to uncork the vial I gave her and put it beneath his nose. She glances around one more time, presumably searching for me.

A large gasp, and the man is awake, his eyes flying open and his gaze tangling with hers.

And that’s when Aria stops looking for me completely.

Instead, she runs her hand through his river-soaked hair, her other fingers pressing my sweater against his wound, and she starts to hum.