Star-Crossed(34)

Romeo rubbed a hand over his mouth, obviously considering it. Jules knew that offer was a little too sweet to pass up. Romeo was one of the fiercest fighters she’d ever seen. His boxing skills were unmatched and his karate was beautifully perfect, but he was an average wrestler at best and in the world of MMA that was a weakness. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, Romeo could win without intense grappling coming into

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play, but there was always going to be that one fighter like Clay who could get him to the ground and would beat him once he did.

“No.” Nova shook his head as he looked at Romeo with wide eyes. “You can’t do it. Not right now.”

“I’m really gonna consider it,” Romeo said, completely ignoring his brother’s protest. His gaze darted to Jules for one hot moment before he turned back to Clay. “I’ll probably say yes.”

Clay smiled as he reached out and wrapped his left arm around Melody, pulling her to him. “I hope ya do.”

“This whole thing just keeps getting better and better,” Wyatt groaned under his breath to Jules. “What a nightmare.”

Wyatt voiced Jules’s thoughts out loud. Romeo underfoot in Garnet was just asking for trouble. A constant temptation. Always available. She knew it was drama waiting to happen, but there was still that tiny part inside of her that secretly hoped he’d end up saying yes.



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Chapter Six

 New Year’s Eve

“Are you coming with us to Times Square tonight or not?”

“Been there, done that,” Romeo said dismissively. Dripping in sweat, he was practicing with his nunchakus rather than doing something more worthwhile because they helped him think. “Party without me.”

“Come on, man. How friggin’ lame is that?”

Tino kicked him in retaliation, his foot connecting with Romeo’s midsection just as Romeo had the nunchakus behind his back. Romeo grunted from the impact and brought his nunchakus around to hit Tino’s shin—on purpose.

“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!”