“You didn’t see them?”
“They were over at my place all the time when I got out. They spent the night more often than not, but by then they were so entrenched in the organization I couldn’t undo what was done. Once you get in, you don’t get out. Nova dropped out of high school while I was in prison and moved up from helping Frankie to helping Aldo, his grandfather, the big boss. When I got out, I saw how people looked at him, scared, like they knew he was going to end up running it all. No one wanted to piss Nova off, and Tino was just as bad. He was a known soldier for Frankie. He didn’t leave the house without packing heat, and he was still a baby. It was just—bad.”
“Did it get better?”
“No.” Romeo shook his head. “It’s gotten steadily worse. Frankie wanted me to throw the fight with Lipton. He’s retaliating against Nova because Aldo demoted Frankie to give Nova the underboss job. That’s how good Nova is, twenty-four and he’s
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got Aldo kicking his own son to the curb because the payday Nova delivers on a regular basis is that massive.”
“But you ain’t throwing the fight if you’ve forfeited.”
“Doesn’t matter. Frankie has been looking for an excuse to whack me for years.
Now it’s got the added bonus of hurting Nova after he stole his underboss job. He’s coming after me. I’m not gonna have Tino or Nova get caught in the cross fire, and I’m tired of all the bullshit. They told me to throw the fight with Clay, you know? I didn’t. I was gonna take the mob hit instead, but I lost anyway. Now I’m never gonna get a title, and I don’t even give a shit. I just want my brothers back.” Romeo let his eyes close once more. The exhaustion. The heartache. The throb in his skull suddenly felt like more than he could bear, and his words were slurred with the crash of his confession.
“Just really tired.”
Jules slowed to a stop at one of the endless small intersections before the interstate. Romeo could feel her eyes on him, but he felt a little too beaten and exposed to acknowledge it.
“Did the doctors give you something for the pain?”
“Yeah,” Romeo said, not expecting that to be her reaction to his story.
“Have you taken any of it?”
“No,” Romeo said, his words still heavy. His tongue felt like lead in his mouth.
“Was driving, remember? Not totally irresponsible, Juliet.”
“I think you’re the exact opposite of irresponsible, Romeo,” Jules said, soft and reassuring; her voice was a balm of companionship when he should be feeling alone and lost in the darkness. She reached over, clasping his big hand in hers. “You’re a good brother. They were lucky to have you. I hope you know that.” Romeo squeezed her hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing it blindly rather than argue with her. Then he turned on his side, trying to get comfortable. He cursed his large size and his bruised ribs. He refused to let go of Jules. She was one of the more talented drivers he knew; she could navigate one-handed.
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“Do you want me to pull over and get your pain medicine out of your bags?”
“You’re my pain medicine.” He kissed her hand again. “Just gonna rest my eyes.” The low hum of the tires against the road and the silence that stretched out between them lulled Romeo, relaxing him to the point that some of the stress eased in his shoulders. It was nice to give up worrying for a moment, to let Jules drive and know without a doubt she’d get them somewhere worth being. For the first time in his life he let down his guard by falling asleep, trusting Jules enough to let her take the wheel for him and not fuck it up.
* * * *
Before she pulled onto the interstate Jules stopped to fill up her tank, bought a big cup of crappy coffee, and then pulled her cell phone out of her purse. She sat in the empty parking lot of the convenience store and stared at it for a few moments. It was past three in the morning, Wyatt should’ve gotten home, but he hadn’t called and it was her inclination to worry. What if something had happened at work?
Jules took a deep breath, knowing more than likely he got hung up with something and caught a few hours’ rest on the couch in his office. There was this pang in her chest at the thought of not going home. Something about Romeo’s story made this trip feel a little more final than Jules had originally realized.
Jules took a moment to text her brother just in case forever ended up being a reality and then immediately turned her phone off before he could call. She reached over and dug Romeo’s phone out of his jeans pocket. He was so exhausted he didn’t even stir. Jules turned his phone off too, then tossed them in the center console side by side and closed it to keep the connection to their family out of sight until she had a better handle on the situation.