Star-Crossed (12 page)
“Motherfucker!” Tino fell to the mat taking up two-thirds of Romeo’s living room.
He rolled onto his back and pulled his karate pants up to examine his shin. “That’s gonna hurt for a month! You got me right on the bone!”
“Then stop fucking with me while I’m training.”
“I missed the nunchakus part of the cage fighting,” Nova said blandly. “You’re not training. You’re fucking around ’cause that Conner chick’s gotcha all distracted.” Nova sat on the couch in front of the large, flat-screen television with his back to the mat and his computer in his lap. Like Tino and Romeo, he was bare-chested and barefoot, wearing only a pair of karate pants, but as usual he’d gotten a call and was forced to stop practicing in the name of work. Though Romeo was hesitant to call working on Aldo’s stock portfolio work, Nova did make an obnoxious amount of money being the mafia’s on-call financial genius.
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“If it’s exercise, it’s technically training,” Romeo argued, going back to the nunchakus. “Why don’t you guys take off? You don’t have to sit here babysitting me.”
“Why do you want us to go?” Nova asked suspiciously. “Expecting a phone call?” Tino rolled back into a handstand, palms flat against the mat and his body board straight. He did a push-up and complained, “You can’t sit home jerking off on the phone all night when it’s New Year’s Eve.”
Romeo kicked Tino just to watch him fall back, but instead of crumpling, Tino flipped back and landed on his feet. Then before Romeo could blink, Tino lashed out with a roundhouse kick that Romeo barely dodged. It was instinct more than anything that had Romeo kicking Tino in the stomach.
Tino grunted but stayed on his feet. Hands up, he bounced in a typical fighter stance. “A fight to the death, Romeo-san.”
Nova sighed from the couch. “He watches too much friggin’ anime.” Romeo tossed his nunchakus onto the couch next to Nova and then bowed in response to Tino’s challenge. When Tino followed suit, bowing deeply, Romeo took the opportunity to knock his feet out from under him. He should’ve used Tino’s fall as a chance to attack; instead he laughed.
Undeterred, Tino rolled back and sprang to his feet, hands held once more in a fighter’s stance. “You have no honor in battle.”
“Very true,” Romeo agreed, still laughing. “In a fight to the death—fuck honor.”
“You are not my brother,” Tino announced, his handsome face contorted into a look of false disappointment. “You have abandoned your teachings and betrayed your family. For that you must die!”
Tino came at him, fast and furious, catching Romeo in the left eye before he could dodge him. He might have been playful, but in their family playful was dangerous and weakness was never an option. Mad that Tino had gotten such a solid hit in, Romeo punched back, catching his brother in the jaw and laughing when Tino shook his head 90
from the force of Romeo’s hit. Since this was a mock fight to the death, Romeo went ahead and knocked Tino’s feet out from under him once more.
Tino hit the mat but didn’t take more than a second to sweep his right leg out, knocking Romeo onto the mat with him. Romeo landed hard on his back, and it was a very good thing Nova owned the apartment beneath them, because it was a sure bet the chandeliers were shaking.
Tino was on him in the blink of an eye, hitting Romeo hard enough he tasted blood. Deciding this was exactly what he needed to work off the excess frustration, he hit his brother back, using the full force of the strength that earned him more knockouts than any other fighter in UFC history.
Tino looked stunned by the pain before a slow smile tugged at his lips. He was a bloodthirsty bastard. The dirtier the fight the happier he was, which was obviously genetic.
“I’m playing,” Nova suddenly announced, closing his laptop and leaping over the back of the couch. He ran a hand through his short, dark hair and rolled his shoulders.
“Two on one, winners get to choose what we do tonight.” Two on one was hardly fair: Romeo might be bigger, but Tino and Nova were faster on their feet and neither of them could be considered small. They both tipped the scales at just over two hundred pounds of pure muscle and were extremely gifted black belts. Even still, there was always an element of nostalgia in fighting the two of them that he could never resist. It reminded Romeo of a time before his mother was sick, before prison and the mafia had ruined their perfect little family. Days when Romeo was constantly dodging two playful kids kicking at his heels, begging for a fight.
“You’re on.” Romeo shoved Tino off him and then rolled back and leaped to his feet. Held up his hands and faced both his brothers. “Bring it, Morettis. I face death smiling.”
Now standing next to Tino, his hands held in the same fighter’s stance, Nova glared. “I wish you wouldn’t joke about that.”
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“I smile too, Romeo-san,” Tino said, still goofing around despite Nova’s dramatics. He kicked, but Romeo blocked him. “Burying you will be—” He gasped when Nova slammed his fist sideways into his solar plexus. Tino wheezed, his eyes wide as he turned and gave Nova a look of disbelief. “I’m on your team, asshole!” Nova kicked Tino’s feet out from under him in response. With Tino down, Nova jumped at Romeo, launching a kick that Romeo blocked. Then he was fighting with his fists, catching Romeo in the shoulder, before he started aiming his strikes at Romeo’s face, making Romeo realize he was fighting completely on the defensive with Nova.
This wasn’t a playful fight; this was something vicious coming from a dark place in Nova’s soul, and that level of fury was hard to keep up with.
“Anger issues?” Romeo deflected another hit from Nova, whose strikes were flying at him almost faster than he could keep up. “What’s your friggin’ problem?”
“You’re my problem.” Nova attempted another strike that Romeo blocked. “Stop talking ’bout dying.” He changed course and kicked back at Tino, catching him in the thigh, dangerously close to his crotch. “And you’re always encouraging him.” Tino grunted, frowning at the back of Nova’s head. “It’s a joke, dumb-ass.”
“It’s not a joke to him.” Another furious punch aimed at Romeo, who was being forced to the edge of the mat from the force of Nova’s anger. “That’s what he wants, to face death smiling, doing something stupid for a ridiculous ideal like integrity.” Tino jumped on Nova from behind, getting him in a choke hold as he announced,
“You have betrayed me. I will die beside my true brother with honor.” He smiled at Romeo. “Do it.”
Romeo punched Nova, doing it harder than usual because his preaching was getting old and Nova had been in a genuinely bad mood since Las Vegas. But all Tino’s speech and Romeo’s punch served to do was to anger Nova further. They were playing, but Nova wasn’t.
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Despite the split lip from Romeo’s punch that was bleeding badly, Nova dipped down, throwing Tino over his shoulder. He stepped on Tino, using the extra leverage to aim a kick at Romeo’s face. This time Nova didn’t miss.
Romeo bit his tongue on impact, tasting blood once more from the blinding power of Nova’s kick. Before Romeo could retaliate, Tino did the dirty work by grabbing Nova’s foot, forcing him to fall hard against the mat over him. Then Tino rolled out from under him and jammed his elbow into Nova’s chest before he could catch his breath.
Somehow the teams had changed. It was still two on one, but Nova was to the disadvantage and for some odd reason Nova seemed to like it that way. It was as if he wanted to be beaten, and in their family if you asked for a beating—you almost always got one.
* * * *
New Year’s Eve in Times Square. How the fuck Romeo had ended up there again, he didn’t know. Every year he swore he wouldn’t spend the next holiday freezing his ass off watching drunken fools acting like idiots, and every year he ended up in the same place, with the same assholes doing the same dumb shit.
Aldo was having a private party, which was a small bonus, being in a crowded bar rather than a street corner in the snow. It still didn’t make Romeo feel any less suffocated, and he found himself making his way to the door, searching for fresh air despite the cold.
Romeo leaned against the wall outside the bar just as two women in short skirts came up to him. He eyed their legs covered in nothing but black stockings, amazed they’d endure the freezing temperatures just to look sexy. They wore long, fur-lined overcoats, but they’d left them unbuttoned to keep all their assets on display.
“Hey, sexy.”
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Romeo rolled his eyes because he knew one of them. Cara Stefano was a mafia wife waiting to happen. Born into the mob, she’d eventually marry into the mob and have little mafia brats to complete the circle.
“Hey, Cara.” Romeo stuffed his hands into his pockets and eyed Cara’s legs once more. “It’s cold out. Button your coat.”
“I didn’t know you cared.” She grinned, flipping dark hair behind her shoulder, and then gestured to her friend. “Pia, this is Romeo. He’s Nova and Tino’s brother.”
“Hi, Pia.” Romeo gave the other girl an uninterested look before he turned his head, making it obvious he was done with the conversation.
Cara leaned into him, obviously not taking the hint. “When are we gonna hook up, huh, Romeo?”
“Never,” he said without hesitation. Nothing about this woman appealed to him.
She was Tino’s age, and even if he was interested, he’d never get past that. “But I’m sure there are plenty of willing victims inside.”
“You’re such a fucking buzzkill,” Cara announced. “I’m starting to think you got something to be ashamed of.”
Romeo snorted. “Yeah, that’s it.”
“No way,” Cara’s friend said, studying Romeo as if she had an eye for these things. “I’ve been with Tino. If this one’s built like his brother, he’s got nothin’ to hide.
Tino rocked my world.”
“He’s only Tino’s half brother,” Cara said, still looking pissed by the turndown.
“And not the better half.”
“What’s the other half? Incredible Hulk?” The pretty, dark-haired woman tilted her head back to study Romeo. “What’d you do? Do you work for Nova?”
“No, he’s a fighter,” Cara answered for him. “You know, one of those cage fighters on pay-per-view that beat the shit outta each other ’cause they’re too dense to get a real job.”
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“You’re hurting my feelings, Cara,” Romeo said sarcastically. “I’m gonna sit on the curb and cry knowing you don’t approve.”
Just in time, a group of revelers walked by and waved to him. “Gladiator!” Romeo waved, giving the partygoers a genuine smile because he couldn’t have planned that better if he’d tried. The large group of twentysomethings started chanting
“Gladiator” as they walked down the street, waving their cheesy hats and plastic glasses at him. Romeo waited until they were gone before he turned and arched a smug eyebrow at Cara.
“Fuck you.” Cara pushed past him and walked into the bar, leaving her friend behind without a backward glance.
“You really famous?” Pia asked once Cara was gone.
Romeo shrugged. “Depends on who you ask.”
“And you got connections,” Pia said, studying him once more. “Are you and your brother Nova close?”
“Most days.”
“What’d you like?” Pia’s voice dropped to a low, sultry tone as she leaned into him. “I like it kinky. I bet you do too.”
Romeo looked away, trying very hard not to remember this girl had just admitted to being with his brother. When Pia didn’t get the hint, he finally said, “Someone my own age. That’s what I like.”
“You’re not that old.” Pia frowned and looked to the open door. Her eyes lit up as if she hadn’t been sulking to begin with. “Oh, hey, Nova!”
“Hey,” Nova said, coming up next to Romeo. “You’re looking very hot this evening, Pia.”
Pia beamed. “You remembered me?”
“I do,” Nova said, giving her a smile. “You must’ve made an impression.”
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Romeo snorted at that line of bullshit. Nova remembered the name of every person he’d met since he was old enough to talk.
“You wanna hook up later?” she asked Nova hopefully. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
Nova tilted his head, studying Pia for one long moment before he said, “Maybe.
Come find me after the ball drops.”
“Okay.” Pia beamed, running painted red fingernails over Nova’s black leather jacket as she walked past him. “Later, Romeo.”
“Later,” Romeo said, giving Nova a look when Pia walked inside. “You know she was with Tino.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s an open bar party. She won’t even remember her own name by midnight,” Nova said as he leaned back against the wall and handed Romeo his drink.
“Hold this for me.”
“Pigs are gonna nail you.” Romeo put his hand behind his back to hide Nova’s drink because public drinking was illegal in New York. “You can’t walk five feet without seeing one.”
Nova looked unconcerned as he leaned down to light a cigarette. He was a social smoker, one of those guys who could smoke a few on New Year’s and not light another cigarette for two months. Though Romeo had noticed he’d been smoking more lately, and it bothered him enough that saying something was on the tip of his tongue. Instead he studied Nova. Bruises showed on his face from the fight earlier in the day, and his bottom lip was noticeably swollen. He bit his tongue rather than complain about the smoking. Nova had bigger problems.
Nova blew out the smoke and then took his drink back. “NYPD can’t touch us, especially for something stupid like public drinking. FBI’s tagging the place,” Nova observed drily. He took a drink of the amber liquid in his glass and tilted his head, looking across the street. “Don’t they got a better use for their time on New Year’s?” 96
“Obviously not.” Romeo sighed, wanting out of this life so much he could hardly stand it. “Don’t you ever get sick of it, Casanova?”
“No, I fucking love it,” Nova said sarcastically, keen eyes taking in their surroundings.
Romeo realized the reason Nova had started smoking more had nothing to do with stress and everything to do with the excuse it gave him to go outside and watch what was going on. Just standing there without distractions, Nova could gather a shitload of information.
Romeo let him do what he needed to do and pulled out his phone to text Jules.
What’re you doing?
“If you really liked that girl, you’d stop talking to her,” Nova said, gaze still across the street. He took a long drag of his cigarette and turned his head to blow out the smoke, looking to the other bars down the way. “There’s more of ’em.” Romeo turned to Nova curiously. “Watching?”
“Yeah,” Nova said solemnly, taking another drink and mumbling against the rim of his glass. “Same guys linger outside the apartment. Outside the dojo. They’re everywhere.”
Romeo shifted and turned to Nova, hiding his face from whoever was watching.
“What’s that mean?”
Nova shrugged. “It means they’re getting desperate.”
“You don’t sound too upset about that.”
“They’re desperate because they can’t get anything on me,” Nova said simply, turning his head once more, blowing out smoke and looking across the street. “Not a bad thing.”
Romeo considered Nova, who was still smoking and drinking and looking to all the world like any other guy partying on New Year’s Eve. But Romeo knew him better.
He could see his mind working, his eyes taking in everything. The FBI would never get
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anything on Nova. How could they compete? Geniuses like Nova didn’t come along every day, and when they did, they weren’t working for the government for pennies.
If Nova had no weaknesses, he’d be invincible—but he did have weaknesses.
“Are they tagging Tino and me?” Romeo asked, unable to help the flare of anger.
“I’d stop talking with that Conner chick,” Nova said in response. “You gotta date, make it someone who can deal with our shit.”
Romeo looked away, knowing Nova was talking about women like Cara and Pia.
He was trapped in the circle as deeply as they were, and it pissed him off. This wasn’t supposed to be his life, and it shouldn’t have been Nova’s or Tino’s either.
“You’re better than this,” Romeo whispered, looking to the ground and studying his black boots. “You could have been anything. Done anything in the friggin’ world you wanted to do. I hate that this is where you ended up.”
“This is the hand I was dealt.” Nova turned to Romeo, his eyes narrowed. “You play the hand you’re dealt, and you play to win. You don’t sit around crying and wishing you’d gotten a different hand. You know what happens to guys who do that?” Romeo raised his eyebrows. “What?”
“They lose. Regret is a weakness, Rome. Stop regretting. We can’t afford it at this point in the game.”
Romeo knew Nova was right, which hurt worse than anything. Looking back was pointless, and instead he focused on what he could do in the future. “I’m taking Tino with me on this publicity tour.”
“Good plan,” Nova agreed without hesitation. “He needs a month outta the party lane.”
“I’m taking him with me to Garnet after that.”
Nova snorted, giving Romeo an incredulous look. “He’s not a kid anymore. You can’t force him to go just ’cause—”
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“I’m going to train with one of the best jujitsu experts in the world,” Romeo said simply. “I won’t have to force him. He’ll race me there.”
“What the fuck is he gonna do with jujitsu?” Nova asked with a laugh of disbelief.
“You finally gonna let him in the cage?”
“Yeah, I am.” Romeo nodded, despite having fought against Tino being a professional fighter for years. “If he wants to get his head beat in for a living, who am I to stop him?”
“His older brother whose been balking about it for years. You said you never wanted to see him in the cage professionally,” Nova said as if it were obvious before he took another drag off his cigarette. “Why the sudden change of heart?”
“It’s the best option at this point. If he’s gonna risk his life, it might as well be for something he can be proud of.”
“I’m not ashamed of what I do,” Nova said with conviction. “I survive. I protect my family. I take care of business. There’s not a fucking thing wrong with that.”
“That scares me worst of all”—Romeo sighed—“’cause I believe you mean it.” Nova looked down for one minute, sadness showing on his handsome face. “You know I’m against it, but if you gotta go to Garnet, I’m glad you’re taking Tino with you.
Fighting is what he loves. He should be able to do it. It makes him happy, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted—for you guys to be happy.”
At that point Romeo wasn’t real sure who was the worse influence on Tino.
Fighting for a living was a dangerous career choice, one fraught with injury and struggle and until now Romeo had wanted more for his youngest brother than a short-lived career and a lifetime of aches and pains once it was over. Most of the time it wasn’t worth it. Very few fighters were as successful as Romeo was, but at the end of the day it was a better option than what Tino was doing here.
Romeo was still pondering it when a female giggle pulled him out of his musings.
He turned to the door, seeing two women leaning out, laughing and flushed with enthusiasm.
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They waved, their eyes predatory and hungry as they studied Nova. Since he’d been made capo bastone, he’d become even more in demand than usual. Now it was more than money, good looks, and keen intelligence that made him desirable—Nova had power.
“Nova, you gonna dance with us?” one asked, giving him a bright smile. “There’s a place in the middle just for you."
“Yeah, I’ll dance with you,” Nova called out nonchalantly. He took another drag off his cigarette before he dropped it to the ground and stomped on it. “You coming?”
“In a few,” Romeo said while pushing his hands deeper into his pockets. It was cold out, but he wasn’t quite ready to play the game again. “I’m just gonna sit out here and dwell on my failures for a few more minutes.”
Nova snorted, a grin tugging at his lips as he reached up and clasped the back of Romeo’s neck. He tugged him down and placed a kiss on Romeo’s forehead.
“I love you,” Nova said with brotherly affection. “It’s New Year’s Eve, and you’re on top of the fucking world. You got money, fame, and good looks. Stop sitting out here sulking about shit that went down years ago.”
“I don’t want you to go through the stuff I’ve been through,” Romeo said, not fighting Nova’s hold on his neck as he looked into his brother’s dark eyes. “I’d rather die than see you go through that.”
“Nova!” The girls whined, cold and impatient as they waited by the door. “You coming or what?”
“I’m coming.” Nova waved to them and then patted Romeo’s cheek. “You worry too much, Rome. I got it handled.”
“I hope so.” Romeo wished he were in a gym beating out his frustrations on something padded rather than stuck at this party. “Five minutes.” Romeo waited until Nova was gone before he pulled out his phone, looking for an escape from his life. What he found made him smile. A picture of Jules greeted him, and 100