Star-Crossed(26)

He was leaning past the shower door, looking at the screen to his phone, reading Jules’s latest text when Nova burst into the bathroom and set a backpack on the sink.

“Problem solved.”

Romeo gave his brother a look. “Knocking, ever hear of it? Get the fuck out.” Nova frowned at him for one moment before his dark gaze landed on Romeo’s phone, still resting on the sink where Romeo had dropped it after the shock of Nova’s

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invasion. He made a swipe for it, guessing it was the contents on the phone and not shyness that had Romeo wanting privacy. Romeo had seen that coming from a mile away. He threw the palm of his hand into Nova’s shoulder and swiftly grabbed his phone. A lesser man would’ve landed on his ass, but Nova simply stumbled and nimbly stayed on his feet. He was built like a brick wall, and due to Romeo’s passion for the sport, both his younger brothers had been heavily involved in martial arts since early elementary school. Not much could down Nova Moretti.

Romeo pulled the glass door to the shower closed and set his phone on the ledge where it wouldn’t get wet.

“So how was last night?”

Romeo ignored Nova and used the hotel shampoo to wash his hair. It was challenging using only one hand while trying to keep his stitches on his left palm from getting wet.

“You’re not gonna tell me what happened?”

Romeo squinted past the glass to see Nova sitting on the edge of the sink. “Since when do you give a shit what I do in my spare time?”

“You never do anything in your spare time. I’m just making sure everything’s kosher.”

“Everything’s kosher.”

Nova was quiet for a moment before he admitted, “I had Angelo run a background check on her.”

“Damn it, Nova!” Romeo pushed the door open. “You gotta lotta nerve—”

“She’s a cop.” Nova spoke with an exaggerated Southern accent, raising his eyebrows pointedly. “Did she tell you that?”

“Fuck off,” Romeo said to hide the sinking feeling in his gut. “She’s a lawyer.”

“Oh, even better.” Nova rolled his eyes. “A lawyer and a cop. I guess they don’t got an unemployment problem down home in Hazzard County.” 68



“I think it’s Garnet County.”

“It’s the same difference, trust me.”

“I don’t believe she’s a cop.” Romeo walked over to grab a towel and worked at drying himself off. “She doesn’t act like a cop.”

“Hang out with many cops?”

“Angelo,” Romeo reminded him. “He’s over at my place to bum food at least once a week.”

“Yeah, but Angelo’s dirty as hell,” Nova said as if their cousin didn’t count. “He’s a cop to collect a fucking pension when he retires. He’s not doing it ’cause he loves it or has any sense of social responsibility aside from helping me out by keeping his ear to the ground. These people fucking love it. They live for it. Redneck cops are scary as shit, and you just spent all night rolling around in the sheets with one.” For some reason even hearing Jules was a cop wasn’t enough to turn him off, which would have shocked the hell out of him before yesterday. Romeo and cops didn’t exactly mesh, but Jules was different. He grabbed a second towel and scrubbed at his hair, deciding to go back to his original course of action of ignoring Nova.

“I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts she’ll be looking you up the second she gets back home,” Nova went on as he arched an eyebrow. “What’s your Juliet gonna think when she finds out you got a record, eh, Romeo?”

“What does it matter?” Romeo stopped drying his hair and threw the towel at Nova’s face. “She’s gone. It’s over. So drop it.”

Nova tossed the towel aside and narrowed dark, calculating eyes at Romeo. “You actually like this chick.”

Romeo opened the bathroom door, finding Tino camped out on the bed with his cousins, Gino and Carlo. They weren’t Romeo’s family, just part of the baggage he’d inherited with his brothers. They were mob muscle, big and mean, not too bright. They flanked Nova everywhere, because like it or not, Nova was too smart and cunning for

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his own good. He’d made himself valuable to his grandfather and was more important to organized crime than his own father now. Seeing Carlo and Gino reminded Romeo he could one day be brother to a real-life mafia boss.

Romeo kicked at the mattress next to where Gino was laying. “Get outta my room.”

Gino casually laced his hands behind his head, making it obvious he planned to stay where he was. “What’s your problem?”