6.

M ATTEO

“I’m worried about Papa,” Luca said as he walked into my bedroom.

“Sure. Come on in!” I said sarcastically as I stared at my brother’s reflection in the mirror. “Papa is fine.”

“Have you seen him?”

“Every day just like you have.”

“He doesn’t look the same. It’s like he’s aged years in the two weeks since his heart attack.”

“His color is off, but that’s probably because he hasn’t left the house in days, which we have to change, by the way.”

“How? Do we need to pick him up and . . .”

“No,” I interrupted. “We need to go walk with him. Mama suggested he come up here and use one of our treadmills. He refused, so she bought him a treadmill and called me to have some of the guys get it situated in the house so he could see the television while he walks. So far, he’s refused to use it.”

“Are you proposing we drag him out and force him to take a walk?”

“No, Mama is proposing that. I thought we might use a little more tact.”

“Since when are you good at that?” Luca asked.

When my phone dinged, I picked it up off the dresser and smiled when I saw Bella’s text.

I’m sitting here with a client that wants me to find someone to loan her a little boy and girl to be in her wedding.

She’s willing to pay their parents for their time.

When I asked why she didn’t use her own niece and nephew, she said that their hair clashed with her wedding colors.

Is it true that there’s no Netflix in prison?

I’m not sure about Netflix, but which one of your friends is gonna let you borrow their kids?

I’m trying to convince her that she should put the rings on her dog.

I hope she goes for it and he shits right in the middle of the aisle.

Is this the same Bridezilla that wants a thousand balloons but insists on paper straws to save the environment?

How did you guess?

I’ve got connections. I’m sure we can find a way to help you avoid prison.

You’re supposed to be talking me off the ledge.

Fuck it. Go ahead and hit her. I’ve got your bail.

You say the sweetest things. I’ll use my one phone call on you.

I’d be honored.

Ugh.She’s back.TTYL.

“When are you going to tell me about her?”

I glanced up at my brother’s reflection and said, “Like you told me you were getting married?”

“Shit, Matteo! I told you why I did that and have apologized a million times. I’m done saying I’m sorry, and now I’m ready to hit you in the face.” I smiled at him and he glared back. “You keep bringing it up just to fuck with me, huh?”

I sighed dramatically before I said, “At least I get to attend the church wedding.”

I sat down on the edge of the bed to tie my shoes - dress shoes that I absolutely hated, but thought necessary since I was going to a meeting.

“Is there anything you want me to talk to the engineer about?”

“Yeah,” Luca said angrily. “I want him to add a safe room.”

“It’s a store, not a fucking bank.”

“You’ve seen how things are changing in the neighborhood.”

“I know. I’ve got two extra men at Mama and Papa’s already. They’re hanging out on the street incognito to get a lead on who the major players are around there causing all the fucking problems. When they figure it out, they’ll report back and we’ll take care of it.”

“If we cut the head off, it will just grow another. They’re getting too ballsy.”

“So, we figure out who the major players are and take them out in a bloody and spectacular way that lets everyone who might think about taking their place in the hierarchy think again.”

“My contacts at the police station say their hands are tied.”

“But ours aren’t.”

Luca grinned and stuck his fist out as he said, “We’re going old school?”

“Damn right,” I agreed as I bumped knuckles with him. “Cento and Tonio are all in, and you know Rico and Ziggy enjoy a little bloodshed whether they want to admit it or not . . . and Zach is just Zach.”

“We’re taking the city back?” Luca asked.

“And we’re starting with the squatters who have moved in down the street from Mama and Papa’s.”

“What the fuck is up with that?”

“They’re going to try and stay there while they fight old Mrs. Santiago’s family in court. It could take at least a year and God only knows how much money in legal fees before they can legally evict them, but we can evict them in minutes.”

Luca chuckled and said, “That sounds like fun.”

“What are your plans for the day?”

“I don’t have anything this morning, but I thought I’d walk around the old neighborhood and visit a few shops just to establish a presence.”

“Wait for me, and we’ll take Papa with us - kill two birds with one stone.”

“I can do that. I’ll have to sneak out because Ember will want to go with me.”

“I told her that I’d come to get her later today. We’re going to get Chloe and then play hide and seek downstairs.”

“You’re such a fun uncle that Tabby and Brett are going to end up killing you someday.”

“If the girls want something, I don’t see the problem in buying it for them.”

“And someday, when you have children of your own, Tabby and Brett are going to pay you back tenfold.” After I shrugged, he laughed and asked, “So, does this mystery woman have any kids to add to the mix?”

“No kids.”

“Hmm,” Luca hummed. “How old is she?”

“Twenty-seven.”

“So just a year or so younger than us. And you met her at Dub’s wedding?”

“Shouldn’t you go ahead and read me my rights?” Luca raised one eyebrow, and I put my hands up and said, “I want a lawyer.”

“What? I’m just curious.”

“Mom, I’m a big boy.”

“What’s she like?”

“What kind of question is that?” I asked before I stepped over in front of the full-length mirror to check my reflection. I adjusted my tie and then blew out a long breath before I said, “Have you ever wondered what would happen if we showed up to one of these things in a tracksuit like one of the Sopranos?”

“Don’t let Tabby see you in that damn suit or she’ll make me start wearing one.”

“I make this look good,” I boasted. I pulled out my phone and adjusted it to get my entire reflection and then sent the picture to Bella before I turned around and looked at my brother. “I’ve gotta go, so you have about three minutes to finish grilling me and then I’m done with this conversation.”

“I don’t have any more questions. She makes you smile when she’s a thousand miles away and has you taking selfies to get her approval. Obviously, this woman is something special, and if that’s the case, then I’m happy for you. It’s about time you stopped moping around because Alexandria kept pulling your string and then decided to move to Boca with her nerd.”

I loved the fact that my brother instantly disliked the fiancé of my crush in my defense, and looking back, I realized that was exactly what my feelings for Alexandria were - a crush. We never once kissed, and she never treated me like anything but a friend. Somehow, I got it in my head that she was the one for me, so much so that I arranged for her to live in my stepmother’s house and help run her business in the hopes that would help me get closer to her.

“I wish Alexandria and her future husband nothing but the best,” I said honestly. “I don’t have anything against the guy, but you’re right - he is a little nerdy.”

My phone rang, and I looked down to find Bella’s face on the screen and smiled. Suddenly, Luca snatched the phone out of my hand and answered it, holding it up so Bella could only see his face. I was standing close enough to see the screen even though I wasn’t in her view, and watched her brow furrow as she greeted him.

“Hi.”

“Hey, sweetheart,” Luca said with a crooked smile. “How’s your morning going so far?”

“Um . . . can I talk to Matteo?”

“You are.”

Bella shook her head. “The twin thing doesn’t work on me, buddy, but it’s nice to meet you.”

Luca looked shocked and then glanced over at me and asked, “How the hell did she do that?”

“I just sent her a picture of myself in a suit,” I reminded him as I took the phone out of his hand and then smiled at Bella.

“It’s not the suit. I can’t see anything but his face, and I knew. The smile isn’t right, and there’s something different about his eyes. Maybe it’s his eyebrows? I don’t know.”

“Sometimes, even our mom can’t tell the difference,” I explained. “Our nickname is Mattuca so that whoever is talking to us doesn’t have to acknowledge that they’re not sure who we are.”

“Obviously, I don’t have that problem with my twin,” Bella said with a laugh that instantly made me smile.

“She’s a twin?” Luca asked.

“Apparently, she comes from a family full of them,” I explained.

“I’ll send you some pictures,” Bella said as she looked away from the phone. I could tell by the background of the screen that she was at her desk and had her phone propped on the stand she used so that her hands were free, and then I heard her typing. Suddenly, my phone dinged, and then she smiled at me and said, “Show him those, and maybe he’ll understand why it’s hard to trick me.”

“I’ll have to look at them with him,” I said.

“And just so you know, I have two uncles, Royal and Ronan, who go by the nickname Ro because it’s hard for everyone to tell them apart. I’ve heard stories about how they’ve played tricks on people through the years and how shocked they were when Aunt Thea could somehow always tell them apart.”

“That’s interesting,” Luca mumbled.

“I’ve got someone waiting for me, so I’ve got to let you go. I just wanted to tell you that you look very handsome in that suit, but I like the real you much better.”

“Thank you.”

“It was nice to meet you, Luca.”

“It was nice to meet you too, Bella,” Luca said with an odd smile.

“Have a good morning, Twang. I’ll talk to you in a bit.”

Bella didn’t say anything, just blew me a kiss and then ended the call. I opened the text that Bella had sent and found a group of pictures of her uncles and was shocked to see how much they looked alike. It was easy to distinguish each set of twins, but a few of them looked so much alike that I knew it would be difficult to tell them apart unless you knew them well.

I handed my phone to Luca and said, “These are her uncles. I guess they helped raise her after her biological parents died.”

“Oh,” Luca grimaced. “That’s horrible.”

I gave him a brief synopsis of the story Bella had told me about how her mother died, and Luca was just as shocked as I had been. “Her mom’s twin brother raised her along with her own twin Dylan. She calls him Dad, and his wife is her mom.”

“That makes sense,” Luca agreed before he said, “When do I get to meet her in person?”

“I’m not sure. We’re hoping to get together soon, but she’s got a life down there and I’ve got my life up here. As much as I like her, I’m not really sure that this is going anywhere in the long run.”

“Make it happen, Matteo.”

I snapped my fingers and then looked around before I said, “Shit. That didn’t work.”

“You know what I’m saying, smartass. Remember how you knew there was something special about Tabby just because you could tell I was different somehow?”

“Yeah.”

“Now it’s your turn.”

“I really like her.”

“I can tell, and just because you do, I know I’ll like her too.”

◆◆◆

“What sort of bullshit errand did your mom make up so that you two could get me out of the house?” my papa asked grumpily as he gingerly stepped off the curb to cross the street.

I glanced up at his face before I leaned my head forward and looked at my brother who was walking on his other side and then shrugged before I said, “No errand, really, but she said you need to be up walking, so we decided to come get you.”

“Thank God you did. I love your Mama, but she’s making me nuts.”

“She still won’t let you go to work?”

“No! She’s following the doctor’s orders to the letter.” Papa groaned before he said, “I’d kill for some real food right about now.”

“We can stop at Lito’s up here and grab a snack,” Luca suggested.

“You won’t narc on me?”

“Do either of us seem like the type of guy to narc on anyone? ” I asked.

Papa laughed and said, “Absolutely not.”

“She’ll be able to sniff it out, I’m sure, and if she asks you what you ate, you know you’ll have to tell her.”

“I have never been able to keep a secret from your mama. She’s like a bloodhound.”

“It’s not like you’re going to eat a buffet of fried food or something,” Luca said with a grin. “One cannoli won’t kill you, will it?”

“I might die if I don’t get one,” Papa said with a chuckle. I realized that he seemed a little out of breath, and rather than point it out, I stopped and knelt down to re-tie my running shoe and called out, “Wait up, you guys.”

I sensed them stop a few feet away from me and made a show of tugging at the laces to tighten them before I tied them again and then did the same for the other shoe. When I stood up, Luca gave me a slight nod, and I saw Papa looking at the businesses around us.

“It’s been ages since I walked around the neighborhood,” he mused. “At first glance, everything seems the same, but you can see slight changes if you pay attention.”

“That’s true,” I agreed as I looked around.

The neighborhood I grew up in was one of the most affluent in the Bronx but still kept that New York feel if you walked just a few blocks away from our home. There had been plenty of trouble to get into as a child, especially since we’d grown up as “the Robano twins” rather than the Russo twins. Luca and I hadn’t legally changed our name until we turned eighteen which gave us a certain measure of anonymity growing up that we could never have now that it was known we were part of the Russo family.

The Robono family was slightly famous, but not infamous like the Russos. My papa’s family was well-known for their high-end jewelry stores and slight connection to the Italian mafia, which was how our mama had gotten to know Papa. They grew up in the same circles and had been friends for years. When she found out she was pregnant and the father of her baby was going off to prison for a very long sentence, her family made an agreement with Papa’s family that included their marriage.

Luckily, Mama and Papa were friends and that gradually turned into a long-lasting love, which was much better than most of the marriages I’d witnessed when I visited my friends’ homes. Mama and Papa rarely argued, and they truly loved each other even though their marriage hadn’t started out with that emotion.

Papa had obviously known that the babies Mama was carrying weren’t his by blood, but he’d never treated us as anything other than his own. Neither had his family. We were part of the Robonos from the day we were born, and even though we’d changed our names, that hadn’t hindered our relationships with the family who loved us.

“That’s one of those fuckers who took over Ms. Santiago’s house,” Dad said as he pointed to a man walking toward us. Papa didn’t even try to hide his sneer or the fact that he was pointing directly at the man, and I watched the man’s face change to anger when he realized we were talking about him. “Piece of shit.”

“The law won’t fix it, but we will,” Luca assured him as the man got closer.

He stopped about six feet away, blocking our path, and glared at Papa. “What the fuck are you looking at, asshole?”

“You’re calling me the asshole?” Papa retorted angrily.

“I guess we haven’t met,” Luca said politely as he stepped in front of Papa. He stuck his hand out and said, “I’m the asshole ’ s son.”

“What the fuck do I care?” the man asked.

I could hear someone step up behind me and knew it was one of the guards who had been following at a discreet distance and watched as Salvatore - an old friend who was now our most valued employee - casually walked past us and then stopped about six feet behind the man who was now glaring at Luca.

“You’ll care,” Luca warned.

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“Do you know who he is?” I asked.

“Just in case you’re not sure, let me introduce you,” Luca said calmly. “His name is Carlo Robono.”

“And?” the man asked sarcastically.

“He’s our father.”

“What the fuck?” the guy asked angrily. He looked back at Papa and said, “Why the fuck were you pointing at me, asshole?”

“Don’t you want to know our names?” I asked.

“Who fucking cares? Do I need to teach you some manners?”

Suddenly, Salvatore sprang into action and was almost flush against the man’s back. I watched his eyes widen when he felt a gun digging into his spine.

“Maybe we should teach you some manners,” Luca said with an evil grin. “Now, introduce yourself and make sure you use a respectful tone.”

The guy wasn’t the smartest of people and angrily said, “Or what?”

“Or the cops are going to have a hard time getting any of the people around here to give a decent description of the men who shot you in the street and left you to bleed out on the sidewalk,” I threatened.

“Who the fuck are you?” the man asked, still angry but much more subdued.

I could hear the smile in Papa’s voice when he said, “These are my sons, Luca and Matteo Russo.”

The man’s eyes widened, and he looked from me to Luca. He was instantly afraid, but probably more so because my brother and I were both smiling at him while he had a gun pointed at his back.

“We were talking about you and your friends earlier, as a matter of fact,” Luca said cheerfully.

I nodded. “We were, actually. He and I decided that we needed to pay you a visit soon.”

The man’s face paled, and he asked, “Why?”

“Because there’s been some confusion about who exactly owns the house where you’re squatting. We’d like to get that cleared up,” I explained. I looked over at Luca and asked, “Would you say within the next twenty-four hours?”

“Hmm,” Luca hummed as he seemed to ponder the question. “I’d give it about forty-eight hours so that he can make sure everything is in perfect condition and he has all of his things out. I noticed that the lawn needs work too.”

“But I . . .”

“Do you know what we’re going to do to you if you don’t get everything in pristine shape before you get the fuck out of the house?” I asked as I took a few steps closer to the man. He started to open his mouth, and I put up one finger before I said, “Give me your wallet.”

“Huh?”

“Did you suddenly develop a hearing problem?” I asked angrily.

The man hurriedly reached for his wallet and then handed it to me. “I don’t have any money.”

“You think I’m about to rob you?” I asked incredulously. I heard Luca snicker right before Papa burst out laughing, and I scoffed. “As if you’ve got anything I want, you piece of shit.”

I pulled out the man’s ID and took a quick picture of it before I put my phone in my pocket and then slipped the card back into his wallet. I handed it back to him and said, “If we find any problems with Ms. Santiago’s house or hear about you giving her family any shit, I’ll find you and then I’ll kill you and all of your little cockroach friends.”

“But I . . .”

“Shut up, asshole,” I barked. “It’s not up for discussion, and I’d suggest you take my words to heart. While you’re at it, you might put the word out to the rest of the worthless rats like you that I’ll do the same fucking thing to them. This is our city, and you’ll play by our rules or suffer the consequences.”

He started to open his mouth, probably to argue, but shut it when I put my hand out to shake his as if we’d come to some sort of agreement. Like a fool, he put his hand in mine, and quicker than he could blink, I bent his pinky back until it touched the top of his hand. He howled with pain and tried to jerk away, but Salvatore slapped a hand over his mouth and held him still.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” I asked. The man tried to nod, and I smiled at him. “That was for disrespecting my father, asshole. Fuck around, and I’ll do that to every bone in your body.”

Over the man’s whimpers of pain, my brother said, “Now, you’ve got important things to do, so you should probably run along and let us enjoy our walk.”

Salvatore let him go suddenly, and the man staggered a few steps before he sprinted away, leaving Sal with his empty hands up in front of him.

Papa burst out laughing and said, “You didn’t even use a gun?”

Salvatore grinned, bent his pointer finger, and then tapped it against his other palm before he winked at Papa. “It’s all about perception, isn’t it?”

“He’s right,” I agreed.

“So he just thinks you broke his finger, huh?”

“Absolutely. I’d never do such a thing,” I scoffed.

Luca gave Papa an innocent look and said, “Neither would I.”

“God, I love you boys,” Papa said with another laugh. “Let me have a cannoli before I go home and tell your mama how sweet and innocent all of you are.”

“If you try to tell her that, she’ll know you’re lying,” Salvatore said with a grin.

“You’re right. I should make the story at least a little bit believable.”