by V Domino
They begin bickering with each other, but all my attention goes to Sia when the music starts. She looks so beautiful up there in her high waist black designer skinny jeans with the Gucci Star & Bee boots I bought for her. I watch as she removes her leather jacket and hear the catcalls people put out. It has me grinding my teeth, but it’s not like she intentionally took it off in a sexy way, she just is. All her movements are sultry and seductive.
Her long dark brown hair is hanging in big curls around her shoulders, parting on her chest and showing off the top of breasts that are squeezed in that sexy as fuck maroon long-sleeved shirt she wore to match me.
She looks right at me before the lyrics start and says into the mic, “Bello,” in her bedroom voice. And fuck me if it doesn’t have my dick jumping at attention. She sings “Maria” and watches me the entire time while moving in a way that shows she’s hungry for me.
The song is not a particularly flattering song for the singer, but the meaning and feeling behind the words are what always mean the most.
The heartbreak of betrayal is a death unlike any other. To watch who you love walk away from you and still continue loving her.
That death is slow and agonizing.
One you can’t do anything to lessen the pain.
She sings a few more songs before Silver comes over to me. “Luca is here now if you want to take Sia this water and let her know.” She hands me a bottle of water that I check to make sure is unopened and without holes as I make my way to the stage. Can never be too careful and when it comes to my angel’s safety. I take that shit seriously.
Handing her the water and a napkin to wipe her perspiration with and as much as I want to watch her dab at her cleavage with the napkin, I need to tell her about her brother’s arrival.
Fuck it, I can multitask.
“Luca is here. You want to start on his song now or what’s the plan?” I’m straight up talking to her breasts, but she tips my chin up and tries to look upset with a cocked eyebrow, but I see the amusement in her eyes.
I give her a shrug. “What can I say? You have amazing tits, tesoro.”
Laughing, she shakes her head. “You’re crazy, Gavi.” As she drinks some water, I see Luca come in and head straight for Silver. He dodges people who try to stop him or shake his hand. From what I’ve learned about him in the past is that he hates being touched by people so he avoids socializing. I wonder if he had a similar past as Sia.
“Let’s just talk for a few minutes while I breathe a bit and when Luca comes over to you, keep him there, please.” She’s starting to look nervous again, but I cup her face and bring my eyes to her level.
“Don’t lose your cool, Anastasia, you’re going to do great. The crowd loves you and you’ve got us here with you. Just find your center, yeah? Or whatever they say on those meditation things Carla has Marco listening to every morning.” Fucking guy thinks I have it bad? He’s been suckered into doing yoga. I watched him one day try to pull off some moves and ended up landing on his face with his ass in the air.
Sia throws her head back, releasing a big laugh. I’m sure she’s remembering Marco trying to get his big ass body into those poses too.
“I love you, Gavriel,” she says when she gets her giggles under control.
“I love you. Now sing for your brother, baby.” Her dark red stained lips pull into a beaming smile, making my heart beat a little faster. This burning sensation hasn’t let up since that night she sang to me. My heart has been a cold muscle for years now. Beating only to keep me alive but never has it sped up or stuttered over a woman.
Sia woke my heart up with her voice. I only hope she can sing the life back into her brother.
I watch Gavriel make his way back to the bar while I’m setting up the next song. Neviah, or Silver as she likes to be called, gave me a thumbs-up, letting me know it’s go time, and just when I hit play on my laptop, Luca settles next to her. Okay, this is it. I’m about to sing our childhood song and I’m fairly certain he already recognizes the beat because he looks up and straight at me.
“This song is for Liliana Romano,” I say while holding his gaze.
As the chords beat out and the bass thrums smoothly, I begin the song. The same song our mother sang to us.
Over the hill
And under the moon.
Around the bend
And through the woods.
At the crooked Willow
Is where we’ll meet…
I see a mixture of emotions flashing on his face. Shock, suspicion, and surprise being among them. Gavriel gets his attention and says something that makes Luca freeze further as I continue the song.
Look at me, don’t look away.
Your eyes shine bright, don’t look away.
Sing your songs and write your words
Sing to me
Sing to me…
Luca breaks our eye contact as Silver hugs him tightly, burying her face in his neck. I’m a bit jealous that she has this close relationship with my brother. A relationship I coveted for as long as I could remember. I mentally slap myself for it, though. I should be thankful that Luca had someone like her. And I am, I just wish it were me hugging him, throwing surprise parties for him. Celebrating our mother’s life together. These thoughts cause the burn in my throat to strengthen and when the last bars of the song come out, my tears begin to flow despite how hard I’ve tried to keep them back.
Voice cracking, I sing on.
Your poetry is magical and your sweet, sweet voice is a soothing balm.
Write to me.
Sing to me.
Look at me.
Look at me.
I put the mic down and turn around, trying to control the fucking waterworks, but I can’t stop the flow of tears. I just hope it doesn’t turn into an ugly cry. Lately my damn emotions have been all over the place, more than usual. I blame it on meeting and getting to know my family.
Though I’ve yet to meet my aunt.
Just as I breathe deeply and threaten myself to chill the hell out, I feel Gavriel at my back, rubbing circles between my shoulder blades. My rock. He never fails to ground me. I turn into him and he holds me for a moment before tipping my head up.
“Amore, are you okay? I hate to see you cry.” His sincerity shines vibrantly in his eyes. Concerned that it’s too much for me. It’s sweet, but I need to get my shit together.
Nodding, I say, “Yeah, I’m good, I just got stuck in my feelings for a minute. I’m fine. What did you say to Luca earlier?”
He smiles. “Well, I wanted him to stay where you could see him while you sang, so I told him ‘here’s a piece to your puzzle, Romano.’” He practically told him! I should punch him, but I don’t get the chance to because I see a pair of hazel eyes, the perfect match to my own, looking at me from behind Gavriel. I wipe my eyes and grab my man’s hand to keep me steady then I step around him and smile at Luca.
My brother.
He has my ebony hair slicked back in the Pompadour style. He’s dressed like a clean greaser, Converse shoes, tight black jeans with suspenders, with a black button-up with the sleeves rolled to his elbows and a fucking bowtie. It all fits, though, especially with his tattoos covering every inch of exposed skin. He even has something above his eyebrow, but I can’t read it.
“Hi.” Is my brilliant line. Fucking twat! I’m tongue-tied like a sinner in church.
Luca continues to stare at me, looking as tongue-tied as I am, so Gavriel steps up to bat. Up to bat? The fuck? Even in my thoughts, my Texas twang is coming out with all this tension.
“Luca, this is someone I think you’ve been looking for or perhaps, thought you lost a long time ago.”
I squeeze his hand to stop him. I want to be the one to introduce myself and now that I’ve mentally kicked my own ass, I’m ready.
“I’m Anastasia Romano, your sister.”
I don’t know what I expected. Maybe some gasping or shock. Hell, I even expected anger. It would be understandable if he
thought this was some sort of fucked up joke. What I didn’t expect is the bone crushing hug I get. Luca wraps me in his arms and pulls my tight against him with his hand on the back of my head. Exactly as you’d hold a child to you. It feels as if something clicked in place.
A longing that’s been quelled.
I hear his cracked and raspy voice, “Sia! Mi sei mancata così tanto, sorellina! I’ve missed you little sister, so much!” He pulls back and cups my face. “I’ve looked for you all these years.” I see tears on his cheeks and I guess I have some on mine because he wipes them and then pulls me back in for a hug.
Over my shoulder I hear Gavriel say, “Let’s go somewhere private so we can all talk. There’s much you need to know, Luca. Your sister has been searching for you as well, but the conversation would be best with drinks, yeah?”
“Of course, Mr. Renzetti. Is there an office we can sit in?” It shocks me a little when he formally answers Gavi but then again, they have met before just without knowledge of the past. It seems Gavriel smiles and takes my hand while Luca takes my other hand.
Both of my men holding my hands and standing on either side of me.
My life has never felt more complete.
I’ll kill the motherfucker who tries to ruin it.
We get seated in Joe’s office after grabbing a bottle of bourbon and some glasses. Watching Sia and her brother reconnect after all this time apart, I know they’ll need the drinks. Looking at Luca I feel a strange familiarity. One that has nothing to do with seeing him fight. I think it may be because I might have seen him when we were kids. He was around eight years old when his parents were killed, so it’s likely that our parents threw us together more than once. He’s not someone you’d forget either. He’s built like a linebacker, bigger than Marco but still not quite my size. The tattoo above his eyebrow says vivi o muori, live or die, in a complicated script, but it’s a phrase known to made men. I’m wondering if he’s a made man himself or if he plans to be.
Coming back to the moment, I sit back and watch my girl be filled with joy at having her brother back.
“Sorellina, how did you find me? I’ve been looking for you since I turned eighteen, and I’ve never had luck. I went to all the city case workers and they all said you weren’t in their system,” Luca asks while pouring us all drinks.
“I’ve never been in New York until my last birthday. I’ve been in Dallas, Texas. I was a child of the state there and as soon as I aged out and got my state fund release, I bought a bus ticket and came to Manhattan. My birth certificate only had my information. Not mom or dad’s names. I got a job here in Medusa’s Lounge as the singer and that’s when I met Gavriel.” She looks over at me with a sweet smile and grabs my hand.
Luca sees but doesn't say anything about it. Which is good because I’d hate to have any bad blood with my woman’s brother.
“I never thought to look anywhere else. I was taken to San Diego, California, and became a ward of the state. I spent most of my childhood in juvie and detention centers. Every time I was put into a foster home or a children’s shelter I tried to run away and find you. The only way they could keep me from running was to lock me away,” Luca says with an edge to his voice. His is raspy like Sia’s but deeper, with a surfer’s accent.
Sia is breathing hard, fingers twitching like she’s itching to spill someone’s blood. “Did they hurt you, Luca? Did they harm you like they did me?” She slams her mouth shut, realizing she said something she planned not to tell yet.
Luca jumps up immediately and knocks his chair over, making me jump up as well. “Who hurt you? Dimmelo ora e gli taglio loro la gola! Tell me now and I’ll slit their fucking throats, Anastasia!” He looks over at me with the same fire in his eyes that Sia has when her knife is out to play. Sia jumps up and steps between us, but she’s not seeing what I am. I see a man looking for someone to point him in the direction of her abusers.
“No, Luca, Gavriel would never hurt me. He’s the one who found out who our mother and father were. He’s been on the hunt for their murders and even has one in a cell dying a slow death.” I hold a hand up to her so stop her from saying more.
“It’s okay, amore,” I tell her but turn to Luca and say, “Fratello, calmo. Calm, brother. I love your sister and her safety has been top priority to me and my family. You know who I am and who my family is, yes?”
His stance changes as he straightens. “Yes, capo. I know who you all are. I’m not a made man, but I work for the east side Renzetti capo, Alessandro DeLucci. I was planning to seek your father out and ask for help finding my sister, but I was never able to get word to Hangman. Something would always come up preventing it. Four weeks ago, my car was blown up in the parking lot of my apartment. I had been asking around about Andino Renzetti trying to find a way to speak with him. DeLucci said he told the underboss but nothing ever came of it. I figured my car getting blown up was a way of saying fuck off.”
The fuck?
“No way would we pull some outlandish stunt like that,” I say, bewildered.
All we’d have to do is send a soldato out to warn him to stop seeking an audience. Putting the light on us and our dealings is not something a boss does. Not a good one like my father, at least.
“Fucking Adriano.” Sia hisses and she’s right. The fuckface would do some bullshit like that.
“Sia is right. Adriano, my father’s underboss, is most likely the culprit for that. He is who I have in a cell. He will die a painfully slow death. My family, aside from the traitor Adriano, had no idea you or your sister were alive. Everyone in la famiglia thought you had perished in the fire along with your parents. When Anastasia and I first met I still hadn’t known who she was, but when she mentioned she was looking for information on her parents I had my mother call in a favor with the governor’s wife. We’d been looking for you since figuring out her parentage, but you’re using a different name.”
We all sit back down and continue the conversation.
“Yes, it’s the name on my birth certificate, but I knew my original name,” he tells me, but then he looks at Sia and asks, “Do you remember the woman who stole us away before the fire reached our room?”
“No, I don’t. Who was she, a maid?”
He shakes his head. “I can’t remember much either, but I can never forget Zia running with me on her back and you in her arms. I just don’t know why my name was changed and why we were separated.”
Sia looks at me in shock, but I see the anger rising too.
There’s only one woman who is their zia. Marcella Franco Renzetti.
“We’ll find out everything. There’s a lot we need to catch you up on, though,” I tell him and pour us more drinks.
The next few hours we filled Luca in on all the events of the past few months. It’s a long conversation, but it’s worth it because every time Sia looks at me I see her eyes filled with love and appreciation for me, but she doesn’t know that it’s her whom I love and appreciate more with each tick of the clock.
As we’re leaving the office, we see the bar is empty except for Marco and Carla, who are in the corner of the bar—fucking? Are these two really fucking in a booth in Joe’s bar? When Carla sees us, she giggles and stands. I guess they weren’t fucking but from the way Marco is adjusting himself I can see how close they were to doing just that. Il fottuto ragazzo. I don’t say anything, just shake my head.
“Where’s Silver?” Luca asks while putting our glasses on the bar and looking around for his woman.
“Last I saw her she was saying goodbye to that cute friend of hers.”
Marco growls and pulls on her hair lightly, making her giggle.
“Then she went to the restroom, but I didn’t see her come out. I was—uh, I was a little preoccupied. I’ll go look.” She turns to go but something doesn’t feel right and Sia feels it too because she pulls out her switchblade in her right hand, and in her left she has the matte black one I bought her to match my own.
“No, Carla,
stay with Marco. Sia, is there a window in the restroom? A way for someone to climb in?” I ask, pulling out my gun and clicking the safety off.
Luca reaches the back of his waist band and brings out a handgun.
“It's high up, but if someone can reach it, they can climb in.” Sia says.
“Merda. I didn’t think to have anyone run security at the restroom window. Marco, call Tommy and Peter. Make sure they’re good and have them bring men in. Sia, stay here and watch our backs. Luca, come with me.”
Just as I finish getting everyone in place an explosion goes off from the restroom. I instinctively make a grab for Sia and feel Luca slam into my back, yelling, “Watch out!” The explosion is so loud that I can’t hear for a few moments after the dust and debris settle.
I shake my head and watch the room zig-zag until it stops, showing me the damage. I look toward the restroom and see the wall is completely blown out with cement everywhere and exposing the steel framing within the walls. Luca is behind me, rolling over and spitting blood onto the dusty floor, but Sia is a few feet from me and she’s not moving. I get to my feet and stumble my way to her and begin to yell her name, but I can’t hear myself over this fucking ringing in my ears.
“Anastasia! Wake up, amore mio, wake up!” She’s got blood running from her nose and though I don’t want to move her, I turn her head slightly and test her pulse. It’s beating strong and I let out the heavy breath I was holding while I continue to search her body for injuries. I need to get her out of here. Seeing no visible breaks or cuts, I sit back and assess the situation. My hearing is back but only normal in one ear and I hear Marco yelling for me. I turn and see him holding a limp Carla in his arms. She’s bleeding pretty badly from her leg despite the tourniquet Marco tied around her leg with his belt. Tommy’s men are also in here doing a search for any enemies while Peter helps Marco take Carla outside.
“Luca, fratello, are you okay? Can you walk?” I ask him while he brushes Sia’s hair from her face. He looks like he’s in serious pain and is still bleeding from his mouth. I don’t think he can hear me, possibly lost his hearing too as he was closer to the blast than we were. I grab his arm and notice a steel pole about half an inch in diameter sticking out of his back. Fuck! He took that for me. He jumped on my back before that pole could hit me.
