by Rye Hart
Though Romeo’s father still would’ve taken the guns.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go back home?” Enrico asked.
I panned my gaze back over to him, my hands wrapped around the now-cold mug. My eyes fell to Matteo’s empty breakfast chair and I closed my eyes. I heard the blocks upstairs tumbling to the floor before giggles fell from his lips. It pulled a smile across my cheeks at the heart-warming sound and, for a brief moment, I pictured us going back, leaving all this behind again and heading upstate to where my father had dragged me off to at eighteen. The home was mine now to do with what I wanted. I could sell it, buy something much smaller and better suited to Matteo and I, and bank the rest of the money for college –though I knew that was already funded. But that house was my last connection to my father, and though we’d spent a few years being angry with one another, the last year of his life had been wonderful for us.
Tthe hopeful part of me still wanted to believe Romeo was good. That he was the man I’d fallen in love with all those years ago. And if that was the case, then there had to be another side to this, an explanation for what went down even if he was involved. The only thing I had to go off of was Enrico’s gut.
But his gut was never wrong.
“I need a moment,” I said.
“Are you leaving or do you want me to leave?” Enrico asked.
“I’m going to go sit on the porch,” I said.
“I’ll be here if you need anything.”
I took my coffee out onto the porch and let the sun pour over my features. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath, taking in the familiar scent of the city. I loved this place. I loved everything about New York. It was home to me and coming back after all these years felt good. I didn’t want to go back upstate. I wanted to live here. With my son. Among the family that wasn’t tainted by all of this bullshit. I wanted Matteo to grow up in the area I had grown up in, experience all the things about the city I loved. I wanted to raise generations of my family in this very city and continue the traditions that were settled into my bones by my own mother and father.
But I couldn't stay if the horrors of my family were going to haunt us. I couldn’t stay and subject Matteo to the sins of his father if this was the path Romeo had chosen for himself. No matter what had happened, Matteo’s safety was my number one concern.
And I knew the only way I was going to get real answers was to talk to the source.
I had to see Romeo again.
CHAPTER 9
ROMEO
I’d tossed and turned every night since the shootout with the gun runners. The police were nowhere near our tail, but what made matters worse were the local gangs they were roughing up. Innocent men taking the fall for what I’d done. I was doing everything in my power to avoid anything remotely close to that. I was trying to make the family business and the blood that came with it a thing of the past.
And I had three men slaughtered in cold blood.believing it was a gang related shooting. That worked in our favor and also helped clean the city up of some of its festering gang problem. I didn’t feel too bad about those thugs being rounded up for my crime. They were hardly innocent.
But I still couldn’t get the looks of the men’s faces when I’d fired my gun out of my mind. The thought of it made my stomach roll with self-loathing. I kept telling myself it had been a necessary measure in order to ensure we could go legit, but it still didn’t sit right with me. Especially now that Julia was back in my life.
I stood with my hand pressed against the glass window of my bedroom. I had many people who applauded me for how I handled things, and then I had a few people that were irate at destroying a decades-old connection that took my father years to cultivate. I kept trying to tell them that the connection wasn’t necessary any longer. Not with what we were doing.
Then I had to command they stand down when they got angry and put their fists in my face.
“Romeo?”
Antony knocked on my door as his voice drifted through the painted wood.
“What?” I asked.
“Got breakfast.”
“Not hungry.”
“Tough shit. Open the door, or I’ll take it off its hinges,” he said.
I rolled my eyes and went to the door, then opened it up before I took up my place next to the window. I heard the door shut behind me before he set something on my mattress. The smell of toast and jam filled the room, but it was the scent of coffee that started my glands salivating.
I turned to look at my brother and saw him perched in a chair in the corner.
“Wanna talk?” Antony asked.
“No. Now get out.”
“Testy, testy. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said. “Just tired.”
“I’ve seen you when you’re tired. This isn’t it.”
I simply shrugged.
“You haven’t been eating much lately.”
“Mom tell you that?” I asked.
“No. I noticed it. Well before she did. And I know when you don’t eat, something’s very wrong.”
“And I told you. I’m tired.”
“No, you’re not. Look, I know people around here think I’m some nighttime grunt with no head on my shoulders, but I see and hear more than people think. That’s the thing about men like me who blend into the shadows because of people’s presumptions. No one holds their tongue when I’m around because they don’t think I’m listening.”
“Do you have a point, Antony?”
“This has to do with the shooting on the docks, doesn’t it?”
I felt my shoulders tense as my eyes closed. I whipped my head around to him and glared at him as a small grin crossed his cheeks. Someone was talking, and I didn't like it. I didn’t like the fact that people were already whispering about how I had put a bullet between the eyes of a man who wouldn’t stand down. The only two men that were there with me were my bodyguards, and I sure as hell hadn’t told anyone.
Someone was getting fired today.
“I want everyone to get along,” I said. “I want to make things legitimate with this family. Why don’t people get that?”
“Because most of them are still stuck in the world Dad created. If you want to do things a different way, you have to get rid of those who refuse to change. You need fresh blood who will not fight you at every turn while you try to take this family legit,” he said.
“Easier said that done,” I quipped.
“What happened, Romeo?”
“Bullshit. That’s what happened. I went there with a check for twenty thousand dollars to pay for their troubles and told them we didn’t want the guns. I told them the ‘deal’ they had with Dad wasn’t a paper contract, so I wasn’t bound to any deal they made with him because I didn't shake on it. I even tried to tell them that plenty of men in the city would pay twice what they offered us for the guns they docked on the harbor. And they wouldn’t listen. Do you know what they told me?”
“What?” he asked.
“They told me that I was going to pay them their money, take the guns, and then keep doing business with them.”
“They clearly didn’t know who they were talking to,” he said, chuckling.
“Yeah. They fucking held this family for ransom. Said they weren’t going to destroy a decades-old relationship that greased their palms simply because I didn’t have the balls my father did.”
“Holy shit, Romeo. They really didn’t give you a choice, did they?”
“The men wouldn’t budge, Antony. I don’t get it. Twice. They could’ve gotten twice the money in forty-eight hours. Maybe three days tops. Why hold that shit over my head?”
“To undermine your authority? To show they had dominance over you now that Dad’s dead? It could’ve been any number of things, but you know what the common thread is?”
“What?” I asked.
“They didn’t give you a choice.”
“There’s always a choice, Antony.”
“But
not on your end, there wasn’t. How many guns were you staring down?”
“Three,” I said.
“And you weren’t the one calling the shots. They were. You gave them a choice. Multiple choices, from the sounds of it. And then they threaten this family and think they can strong arm you into keeping a deal that doesn’t benefit what you’re trying to do? They would’ve killed you on the spot, and you know that.”
“That doesn’t excuse what I did,” I said.
“It was your life or theirs. And if anyone else ended up in your situation, they would’ve done the same thing. It wasn’t a gun deal gone wrong, Romeo. This wasn’t some bullshit Dad pulled. You were fighting for your life. If you’re dead, you can’t clean up the family.”
“Antony. I—”
“Look, what happened was unfortunate. I get it. I know you wish it didn’t have to happen, especially given the fact that you can smooth talk your way out of just about anything. But you have to forgive yourself. You did what you had to do in a circumstance that was unwinnable. And now? You get to live another day to make this family something you can be proud to pass onto your children someday.”
I felt a grin tick my cheek as Antony pushed himself from the chair. If he only knew.
“You’re going to do this. I believe you will. But it isn’t going to be easy.”
“Thanks brother. You’ve actually made me feel a bit better about it all,” I said.
“Great, now I can piss you off again,” he said. “Julia coming back anytime soon?”
My smile fell from my face as I walked over to my bed.
“Oh, come on. I know Mom talked to you about her. Did she give you her blessing? Is that how you’re going to bring peace? By fucking the Bianchi girl?”
“Can it, Antony. You’re treading on thin ice,” I said.
“Oh shit. Have you already fucked her?”
“Get the fuck out,” I said.
I slammed the door in his face and gritted my teeth. That fucking asshole. He was so close to getting on my fucking good side. I stared at the breakfast cooling on my bed and was no longer hungry. All my mind could think about was Julia. And my son. And how I couldn't fucking see him because of the monster she thought me to be.
Because of the monster I was scared I was becoming.
I wasn’t willing to tell anyone yet that I had a son. That would only complicate matters further. I had to figure out how I was going to handle the situation myself. I needed to be diplomatic and filled with integrity. Otherwise I didn't stand a chance at ever seeing my kid.
And that shit wasn’t an option.
I knew Julia would put up a decent fight, so I had to prepare myself for anything and everything she threw my way. I reached for the breakfast and ate it, forcing my thoughts to stay at bay. I had a family and I couldn’t even reunite us. I couldn’t even be the father I’d always longed to be because of my fucking job. I swallowed down my coffee and shoved the tray off to the side, then I slipped my feet into some shoes and made my way downstairs.
I slipped out the side door before someone else caught me and left the house.
CHAPTER 10
JULIA
I sat in the front window of a coffee shop on the edge of town. I’d asked to see him, knowing it would make my uncle happy. But I had to ask him about what had happened with the men found on the docks. I had to look him in his eyes when he answered me. I sipped my coffee and gazed out among the crowd, looking for Romeo’s tall form.
It wasn’t until a shadow loomed over me from behind that I tensed up.
“Julia,” he said as he sat down.
“Hey there,” I said. “Thanks for meeting me again.”
“I’ll always come when you call,” he said. “Do you remember the first time we snuck out?” I asked.
I watched Romeo furrow his brow before he sat back in his chair. A woman came out and set a cup of coffee down in front of him, and he thanked her, then brought it to his lips.
His movements were mesmerizing, his piercing blue stare hooked onto mine.
“I do,” he said. “We went to Central Park and sat on a bench underneath a tree.”
“It’s one of my favorite memories of us,” I said. “It was the first time we ever talked about what we wanted our futures to be like.”
“You told me you wanted to become a teacher, and I told you I wanted to start my own business.”
“Yep. I think you said you wanted to start your own construction business.”
“Without any knowledge of how it worked,” he said with a grin. “But my favorite memory of us is that long walk we took down by the beach.”
“Oh, my gosh, my father almost caught me sneaking back in that night. We practically stayed until the sun started to rise.”
“I didn’t want to let you go that night,” he said. “We walked and talked. You looked so beautiful in the moonlight.”
“I don’t think there was a moon that night.”
“Then maybe it was your smile that illuminated your skin, Julia.”
I shivered at my name falling from his lips.
“Do you think we could ever go back to those kinds of days?” I asked.
“Where we snuck out at midnight and didn’t get back until four?” Romeo asked.
“No,” I said with a giggle. “I mean when things were good. Proper. Romantic. We were in love, and things were simply—”
“Easy?” he asked.
My eyes met his, and I gave him a nod.
“It was a good time,” Romeo said as nostalgia laced his voice. “You were beautiful every time I saw you. No matter what you were wearing, it always made my heart flutter. I sometimes close my eyes, and I can feel you nestled in the crook of my arm, leaning against me in the backseat of that beat-up car I was determined to fix up myself because I thought I was a real man back then.”
“You were,” I said. “You loved me and took care of me the only way you knew how. You jumped through a lot of hoops to be with me.”
“And I’m still willing to do that, Julia.”
His words left me breathless.
“Those days were better for me. Happier. I never wanted to take over my family’s business. I didn’t want any part of it. I wanted you, and only you, no matter what it took. But when my father died, I made the decision to take it over because I thought I could right his wrongs. Undo the damage my family had wreaked in this city.”
I watched him over my coffee cup, trying to put as many barriers between us as I could. But even as I did, his foot slipped underneath the table and nestled against mine.
And I couldn't bring myself to pull away.
“I want to make everything better, Julia. Above board. Legit. I want to be able to provide a good and honest living for my family.”
His eyes hooked with mine, and I gripped my coffee cup harder. He was talking about Matteo and me. The family we had created. The family he couldn't touch.
“But it’s going to take time to undo all of the knots my father tied us up in. All of the nooses my family tied for themselves. I can give you those days back. I can give every one those days back. But I need time, Julia. I need time to undo my father’s legacy.”
“I want to believe you, Romeo. I do,” I said. “But I—”
He sounded so sincere. I wanted it to be real. Be truthful. I drank the rest of my coffee and set my mug down, then stood from my seat. Romeo rose with me, his eyes studying me as I maneuvered around him.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” I said breathlessly.
Then I rushed through the coffee shop.
I made my way to the back, my heart slamming against my chest. The idea of raising a family with him was floating around in my mind. I crashed through the door and made my way to the back stall. I sat against the wall and put my face in my hands, trying to steady the beating of my heart.
The thought of raising a family with Romeo made me feel happy. Hopeful. Blissful about the future. I felt my soul giving way to him like it had
all those years ago. I felt myself slipping. Falling into his beautiful eyes and drowning in his baritone voice. I loved him then, and I loved him now. I saw him in my son’s eyes. His features. His stance. But I also saw him in other things. Like the coffee I drank every morning, and the times I sat on the porch by myself. I saw him in the faces of elderly couples I passed by on the road as they held hands and guided one another along. I saw him in the faces of families that talked in restaurants and the faces of the tourists marching around the city.
All on vacation with their families.
All happy and safe.
It was all too much. I clutched my chest and struggled to breathe, but soon I felt something warm at my side. I gasped and opened my eyes and found a pair of blue ones staring back at me.
“Romeo? What are you—”
His lips covered mine, and my heart leaped to my throat. He pressed me into the cool bathroom wall and my guard melted at every stroke of his tongue. The love I had for him still coursing through my veins. It forced my guard down and allowed me to believe him long enough for his hands to peel my panties away from my body.
“Romeo,” I said breathlessly.
“The door’s locked. It’s just us. Let me have you, Julia. Please. Let me feel you again.”
His words were hot as his hands migrated to my ass. He hoisted me against the wall, and I crashed our lips together again. My arms threaded around his neck, gripping him tightly as he unhooked his belt. He shoved his pants down until his cock was free, and I kicked my panties off so I could wrap my legs around him.
I kissed down his neck as his cock head teased me. It slid up and down my wet slit before he pressed into my entrance. I groaned into his neck as I clung to him, shivering with each inch that sank into my wetness. I dug my heels into his strong back as his hands planted against the wall and I could hear him panting, trying to control himself as he gave my body time to adjust to his girth.
Then, I bucked against him, and the animal released.