I laughed. “I can manage patching up a few scrapes. I do plan on becoming a doctor, remember?”
He didn’t seem too amused by my attempt to add some levity to the situation. He slowly rose to his full height, his jaw hardening to granite. The rest of his face became as dark as the night sky glaring down on us.
“What the hell were you thinking, Rox?” he snapped. “Walking alone at this time of night? You’re lucky they weren’t the stab first, rob you later type.”
Actually, I think I was lucky Ace was there at all.
Which begged the question…
“Why are you here? How did you know where I was?”
His mouth tightened. “Why didn’t you take a cab to the subway station?”
“I asked you first.”
Seeming reluctant, he answered, “I found out you were working at the hospital, and I had a bad feeling about you wandering around this neighborhood at night. Clearly, I was right.”
That didn’t quite add up.
Was he checking up on me? Why would he do that? And I didn’t much appreciate his arrogant attitude.
But the guy did just save my ass, so I supposed some gratitude was in order.
“Well, thank you for interceding. I mean, I was handling myself okay, but still… Thank you for your help.”
He scoffed. “Yeah, the mace really did a number on him. Do you think he’ll ever fully recover from those watery eyes?”
Oh, screw gratitude.
I shoved him back, though it didn’t do much good. His chest was solid hard muscle.
“Would you have preferred if I’d done nothing?” I challenged. “I would have gotten away just fine if I hadn’t tripped over the sidewalk.”
“No, you would have gotten away if you knew how to properly defend yourself.”
Wait, how was I the one in trouble here?
“I’m sorry that I’m not a black belt in karate and that I was a third the size of that guy,” I fumed sarcastically. “I’ll make sure the next one understands my disadvantages before he attacks me.”
He gnashed his teeth. “There won’t be a next one.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, cocking my hip out. “Oh? And why do you say that?”
“Because you’ll either have a ride to and from the subway, or I’ll be with you.” His voice brooked no argument.
But he was damn well going to get one because that was ridiculous.
“Are you out of your mind?” I shrieked. “We can’t be seen together anywhere, let alone in Brooklyn.”
His eyebrows went up. “Yet you took a job in the middle of the lion’s den. And in this neighborhood?” He waved his hand down at my body. “You’re like a lamb to the slaughter.”
I flinched.
He was right. But I wasn’t about to own up to my reasons for taking the job to anyone, least of all him.
He sighed, his icy expression thawing. “This isn’t Hell’s Kitchen, Rox. Most people in Brooklyn don’t know who you are. That invisible barrier of protection around you doesn’t exist here. And I won’t always be around, despite how much I might want to be.”
What now?
He wanted to be around me?
“You need to be smart,” he continued. “If you insist on working at the hospital—”
“I do.”
“—then you need to be more aware of your surroundings. Degenerates like those guys look at you and see a helpless, pretty girl with an expensive purse. Even though I know you could have kicked that guy’s balls all the way up into his brain, that doesn’t mean you’ll have the opportunity to do it every time.”
“How do you know I’ve got a good kick?”
He grinned. “Sonny Rosenthal.”
I didn’t need to wrack my memory to recall the name. Since he was the only person, boy or girl, I’d ever gotten into a fight with in my life—other than tonight—I’d likely never forget his name. Sonny had been the Rossettis’ neighborhood bully when we were kids, torturing anyone he thought weaker than him. And being the little pipsqueak that I was, I’d definitely fallen into that category. Burying my face behind a book all the time hadn’t helped.
My hand flew to my mouth to contain my giggle. “You remember that?”
“Remember it?” he said, laughing. “I can still picture the whole thing. How red his face got after your foot nailed him between the legs in front of half the neighborhood. He walked funny for weeks after that.”
More laughter escaped. I was amazed I could find anything humorous after what had just happened.
“Well, he shouldn’t have ripped up my textbook.”
“Oh, I think he learned never to mess with little Roxy again. Matter of fact, I think everyone looked at you differently after that. In a good way.”
My grin turned sardonic. “That might explain why all the boys avoided me in school. I always thought it was because they were afraid of my father. But maybe it was me they were intimidated by.”
Not that I’d been all that concerned with boys back then—expect for Ace, of course. I’d been too focused on my studies. But with puberty and adolescence came the desire to at least be noticed by boys. To know that I wasn’t repulsive. I knew even then I’d never be as pretty as Gia, but it would have been nice to know that someone out there had liked me enough to ask me out.
Ace’s eyes narrowed on me. “They were more afraid of your brain than your father, Rox. Some guys are easily intimated by a smart girl. And FYI, those are the ones to avoid because they’re the biggest idiots. Just in case no one’s ever told you that.”
I think my face lit up like a thousand-watt Christmas tree.
His lips parted, his gaze falling to my mouth. He looked almost…stunned.
“I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
Ace wasn’t the type to be intimidated by a woman’s intelligence because he was on that same plane. As a matter of fact, he probably preferred someone with a sharp intellect because otherwise, he wouldn’t have much in common with her. Some smart guys have the need to feel all-superior, so they go after women who are less likely to challenge them mentally. It ensures that they always have the upper hand. I’d seen it with some of my friends at Yale, from both sides of the coin.
That wasn’t Ace.
I knew him well enough to know that he wanted someone as his equal. He’d get bored with a girl who only exercised her body and not her mind. He’d get impatient if she didn’t understand his references, or didn’t solves problems and think on his feet like him.
And only for about the millionth time in my life, I knew I could be the perfect girl for him.
Ace’s frown brought me back to our conversation. “I’ve said lots of nice things to you. I’ve certainly never been mean.”
I shook my head. “No, you haven’t. You just never used to say anything to me back then. You mostly ignored me. I figured it was that whole big brother wanting to avoid his little sister thing.”
All humor withered from his expression.
What did I say?
“You aren’t my little sister,” he growled. “Let’s get that straight right now.”
I felt my lips form an “O.” I was taken aback by how adamant he sounded.
“That’s just how it always seemed to me,” I said tentatively. “It’s not like I ever took offense to it.” Much. “I had a brother of my own, so I was used to it.”
Pain stabbed through me at the mention of Filip, but the twinge was duller than it had been five years ago. Still there, but not quite as debilitating.
“I looked after you like I did Gia,” Ace clarified, bringing his face closer to mine. “Because until Sonny Rosenthal, I didn’t know how well you could take care of yourself. But like you said yesterday, things aren’t like they used to be.”
Well, that’s cryptic.
I opened my mouth to ask what exactly he meant by that but was interrupted by the blaring of a car alarm just across the street.
The noise seeme
d to jar Ace out of his thoughts, too. He glanced around in all directions before grabbing my hand. “We need to go. You shouldn’t be here in the first place. Not everyone in this area would leave you alone if they knew who you were.”
That sounded uncomfortably ominous. “What do you mean?”
Then I mentally slapped myself at how naïve that sounded.
Of course, I knew what he meant.
He glanced back at me as he led us down the sidewalk, my hand in his. I wasn’t going to dwell on the fact that we were holding hands while walking down the street. Because this wasn’t exactly a romantic stroll as much as it was him forcefully dragging me when my short legs couldn’t keep up.
“You’re a target for people who don’t like your family,” he explained in a forbidding tone. “Most people in Brooklyn don’t see the five families like a lot of people in Manhattan might.”
Which probably had something to do with his family. He and his four older brothers were all apparently well-off financially, and they gave a lot back to the Brooklyn community. I’d read an interview that Cris—the second eldest—had given to Forbes last year about the Rossetti family’s philanthropic efforts and involvement in numerous charities around the city. Their mother, Val, was even on the board of several of them.
Needless to say, the people of Brooklyn looked at the Rossettis as local heroes.
Not exactly the case with my family.
People feared my father and the other bosses more than they respected them.
“Not everyone here would run away from you like those guys did tonight,” Ace added. “Hearing your name might give certain people extra incentive.”
“Are you trying to freak me out?”
“Those guys were part of the Niners gang,” he said grimly.
I gasped. The Niners were the most dangerous gang in New York. “How do you know?”
He grunted, maintaining a protective grip on my hand as we crossed the street. “Saw their tattoos. They had Niners symbols.”
He suddenly paused and looked back at me, as if considering something. Then he blew out a heavy breath.
“I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but maybe it’ll help you understand how tense the situation is right now. Before his death, Stefano Esposito was trying to get into the drug game. So, he partnered up with the Niners and had planned to expand his operation along the entire East Coast. But word is that he wasn’t paying the Niners their fair cut of the deals. And since he was killed, they still haven’t gotten their money, which they’re not too happy about. Now, they might be looking to take their revenge out on the rest of the families.”
Outraged, I tried to yank my hand free, but he held firm. “Then why did you tell him who I was? I assume that’s why he scampered off.”
“Because I also told him who I was,” he replied vehemently. “Now, he can go and tell his Niner buddies that you’re under Rossetti protection when you’re in Brooklyn.”
“And when I’m not in Brooklyn?”
He didn’t answer.
That was when it really hit me how dangerous it was for me to be back in this city.
What the hell has my father gotten me into?
“Your father has no idea you’re working at the hospital, does he?”
I leaned down to ask Roxy the question, putting my mouth right next to her ear.
We were standing on the subway platform, waiting for the next train. There were only a few other people waiting with us, but I still didn’t want any interlopers eavesdropping on our conversation. She’d tried to refuse my escorting her to her stop in Hell’s Kitchen, but her efforts fell on deaf ears.
Did she really think I’d let her go anywhere alone from now on, especially in Brooklyn?
Her head snapped around, her eyes wide and fearful. Though that fear banked the moment she realized I was teasing her. I was surprised when she didn’t automatically put distance between our mouths that were only inches apart.
“No, and he doesn’t need to know,” she said. “He would probably chain me to the radiator for the rest of the summer if he found out.”
I was still digesting all these sides to her I never knew existed.
“Lying to your father, taking a job in a place you’re forbidden from going, and associating with someone your father has deemed as the enemy.” I tsked my tongue. “What a naughty girl you’ve turned out to be. No wonder you were at confession.”
She rolled her eyes and finally shifted away from me.
Rather than be bothered by her miffed action, I just chuckled. Which was a miracle in and of itself, considering the night’s ordeal.
I had never in my life felt the level of ire that had coursed through me as I’d watched that Niner bastard drag Roxy to the ground. Knocking the first one out and slamming the other one into the wall… The whole thing had been an out-of-body experience. I’d been so fucking tempted to take that man’s life, it unnerved me.
I normally didn’t have the instinct to kill.
I hadn’t been in the military like my twin older brothers, Luka and Rome. I wasn’t a solider or a psycho, like Stefano Esposito had been.
But in that moment, with Roxy struggling beneath that asshole, I had been nearly blind with a killing rage.
I’d been ready to commit murder.
And I hadn’t wanted to just kill him in the quickest, easiest, most efficient way possible. No, I’d wanted to make it painful for him and pleasurable for me. I’d wanted him to pay dearly for deigning to even lay a finger on Roxy.
I never reacted that way.
I wasn’t the hot-tempered, quick-to-anger type like Luka. Nor was I able to shut down all my emotions like Rome. Nico, the oldest of us, was the carefree one who turned everything into a joke and never took life too seriously. Even Cris had lost his cool numerous times when he was trying to nail Jasmine down.
I was the one who could always control my emotions because I saw everything through logic and rationale. I never flew off the handle like I had tonight. But logic wasn’t providing me with answers this time. It couldn’t give me an explanation for why I had reacted so fiercely.
I couldn’t think about that horrific scene anymore. My control was already frayed beyond repair tonight.
But there was still one thing I needed to know.
“Why didn’t you scream for help?”
She frowned in thought. Then a sheepish grin overtook her features and she shook her head. “It’s stupid.”
“Tell me.”
“You already think I acted foolishly tonight. Trust me, this won’t improve your opinion.”
I wanted to blurt out that I could never think her foolish.
I was just unreasonably frustrated.
Frustrated that anyone would take advantage of a sweet, gorgeous, harmless girl—woman—like her. She had obviously been out of her depth in that situation. And why shouldn’t she have been? She didn’t belong in a world where violence and danger dominated society. But unfortunately, she’d been born into exactly that, thanks to her father.
“I was mad earlier,” I admitted, “but not at you. I was just…worried.”
Her eyes warmed. The color reminded me of melted chocolate mixed with gooey caramel.
Shit.
She needed to stop looking at me that way. It made me think of how she’d look if I kissed her, and I was going to—
My dick twitched in my jeans.
Yep, I was boning up.
“I didn’t scream because part of me didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of acting like a helpless victim.”
My muscles tensed as that unfamiliar feeling of rage started to re-enter my bloodstream.
“My plan was to go all Sonny Rosenthal on their asses after I used the mace”—we were both quick to smile at that— “but then I panicked and thought I shouldn’t waste time, so I took off instead.” She shrugged. “Or tried to. I was about to start screaming bloody murder just before you pulled him off.”
I had to get those
images out of my head or I wouldn’t be able to sleep for the next week straight.
“Just so you know,” I told her, “I think yelling for help is the first lesson they teach you in those self-defense classes.”
She smiled, waving her hand at me. “Why pay for the classes when I’m getting the lessons for free right here?”
That sparked an idea.
A completely irrational, impulsive, insane idea, but weren’t those usually the best kind?
I let the idea marinate in my mind as our train arrived and we stepped through the doors. The car wasn’t packed but there were no empty seats either. Standing in the center of the car, we each grabbed one of the metal handles on the bar above our heads and braced for movement.
“You really didn’t need to come with me,” she said as the lights in the tunnel system flashed by the windows. “You’ll be riding the train back by yourself for half an hour.”
“Thirty-three minutes, one thousand nine hundred eighty seconds to be exact.”
Her mouth curled up into another mysterious smile. The same one she’d given me earlier when I’d told her to stay away from guys who can’t appreciate a smart girl. But I wasn’t sure what I’d said this time.
“What?” I asked.
Her attempts to contain her smile didn’t work. And I didn’t want them to.
“Nothing,” she said. “I just forgot who I was talking to.”
When her smile disappeared, I mourned the loss of it. I wanted to demand that she stop thinking about whatever caused it to go away.
“I was serious about what I said yesterday,” she said softly. “We can’t continue to run into each other like this, Ace. Whether unintentional or not, you know both of our fathers would go nuts if they knew about this.”
She might have been right, but it wasn’t like we were doing anything really wrong. Nothing unforgiveable had happened.
Yet.
Yes, I knew that was another terrible idea. But I couldn’t stop this train—pun intended—anymore than I could have prevented my own dick from hardening in her presence.
Which it still was.
“Not to mention if the other families found out,” she added.
Now, that just fucking pissed me off.
“My family has never let the other five dictate our lives,” I said tersely. “And there’s no way in hell I’m going to start now. I don’t give a fuck about them or what our fathers would approve of.”
Scars and Sins (Brooklyn Brothers Book 2) Page 5