Star-Crossed(78)

“Whatever.”

Their late-night dinner ended up being tense. Romeo was technically off carbohydrates, but then so was Tino and both of them completely obliterated their diets. Each of them had upcoming fights, Tino’s was his first in the professional circuit, and the weigh-in had been important until the stress about Nova superseded a few cage matches.

“Maybe I should just fight light heavyweight,” Tino mused as he worked on polishing off his second plate of baked ziti. “Easier to gain weight than lose it.”

“Chuito fights light heavyweight,” Romeo reminded him. “I thought you didn’t want to end up fighting him.”

“Yeah, he’s a real stand-up guy. I’d hate to take that title from him.” Romeo gave Tino a look because that was certainly debatable. Tino and Chuito had become training partners, and there was no question, Chuito was the more seasoned fighter. Tino beat him fifty percent of the time, but in an actual match Chuito might be the one to go the extra mile. He had a killer drive that was intimidating. He trained constantly, even in the middle of the night.

“Did I tell you he caught Jules and me doing it at the Cellar?” Romeo asked, hoping to distract Tino from his worry over Nova.

Tino coughed into his beer, giving Romeo a wide-eyed look.

“There we are, bare-assed naked on the mat, and Chuito just walks in. Who the fuck works out at one in the morning?” Romeo asked, shaking his head at the memory.

“You should’ve seen his face.”





201

“That’s fucking awesome!” Tino laughed. “And he didn’t say anything to me.

Asshole.”

“Yeah, well, like you said, he’s a stand-up guy.” Romeo shrugged. “Jules asked him to keep it quiet.”

“I think he’s doing your girlfriend’s little secretary. You just mention her and Chuito gets tense,” Tino said, a wide smile still on his handsome face. “They live right next door over that office, and there’s no one around at night. He’s gotta be doing her.”

“Maybe,” Romeo said, more interested in distracting Tino than Chuito’s sex life.

“But if he was doing her, why was he ruining my night to sweat it out at the Cellar?”

“That’s true.” Tino snorted. “If I was fucking her, I’d be working out in her bed, not at the friggin’ Cellar. Seriously, how hot is that girl?” A knock on the door distracted Romeo from answering. He turned to look toward the front of the house, frowning.

“Was Jules coming over?” Tino asked, the paranoia heavy in his voice once more.

“No, she’s catching up on work.”

Tino jumped up and ran toward his bedroom without another word as Romeo pushed away from the table. He walked to the front door cautiously. Tino’s nervousness was catching, and even if it wasn’t, an unexpected visit at eleven thirty at night was enough to make him jumpy.

He leaned against the wall by the front window, staying hidden while attempting to spot who was standing by the front door, but it was so dark and the porch light wasn’t on. He squinted into the night, trying to see the car parked behind the Ferrari in the driveway, but it was impossible.

Tino bumped into Romeo’s back, his arm raised, his 9mm pointed toward the door, and Romeo’s stomach clenched as his brother whispered in his ear, “Ask who it is.”



202



As if hearing their plan, a voice from the other side of the door called out, “It’s me.”

Romeo and Tino exchanged confused looks.

“Can you just open the fucking door?”

He walked to the front door, Tino still at his back. Romeo cracked the door, peeking past the small space to see Nova looking unamused as he said sardonically,

“Really?”

“Are you alone?” Tino asked as he forced Romeo out of the way, pushing the door fully open and peering outside as if expecting Nova to be held hostage.

“Yeah, I’m alone.” Nova walked into the house, closed the door, and shoved Tino’s gun away dismissively. “Get this thing outta my face. You gotta stop drinking those energy drinks, Valentino. I told you that shit makes you paranoid. It’s like coffee on amphetamines.”

Romeo and Tino stood shoulder to shoulder staring at the brother they hadn’t seen in three months with their jaws hanging open in stunned disbelief. A smile quirked at the corner of Nova’s mouth, as if shocking them speechless had secretly been his reason for driving all night.

When neither of them said anything, Nova held up his hands and said, “What? No love?”

“You scared the shit outta us.” Tino put his gun on the side table by the door and then jumped on Nova, hanging on him like a six-year-old. “Man, I missed the fuck outta you!” He kissed his cheek and ruffled Nova’s hair. “I guess you missed us too? Driving all night just to get a little love.”