But he wasn’t the only one who could play that game. And the minute I got him alone, I was going to remind him exactly how much he’d always wanted me. And what he’d promised me the last time we saw each other, about never keeping another secret from me again.

  3

  BROOKS

  I leaned into the bar, my back deliberately turned toward the room, and nursed my second glass of whiskey as I went over what Penny had said again and again. She’d been less than forthcoming about how she’d found out about Anthony—or even whether she realized he was the one who’d been following her and Michael on that fateful night—but she’d been crystal clear on some important details. This band was a new one for her, but it seemed to be made up of his best friends. She didn’t think they were in the family, but thought they did know who he was.

  She’d been surprised about the band, but it had made sense to me. Yes, it was a strange hobby for a guy as high up in a major crime family as he was, but it was less confusing when you knew what I knew about him. Like that he’d never wanted to be part of the mob in the first place. His uncle, Ercole, was the head of a family that was richer and more powerful than any other in the city, but who rarely made appearances. I knew they still had rackets going on—probably around the world—but they kept those under wraps.. Officially, no one did business with the Massimos anymore, not because they were outcasts but because they’d just stopped pursuing deals with any other family.

  They’d become ghosts.

  Rich ghosts who were still insanely powerful and could take you out with the snap of their fingers if they wanted to.

  Ercole had ushered the family into a position where they didn’t have to war with anyone else, though, and he’d done it so smoothly that no one had known it was going on. But he’d killed members of his own family to get it done, and that had left scars within the family itself.

  Anthony’s father had been one of the first casualties. Ercole’s younger brother—Anthony’s father—had been the biggest challenge to Ercole’s rule, and therefore the biggest danger. I’d lost touch with Anthony before it happened, but we’d heard the rumors. And it didn’t take a genius to realize that it would have turned Anthony—always a sensitive sort of guy—off from getting any more involved with the family.

  I wondered if that was what he was doing here. Pursuing his own version of life that didn’t include the mafia.

  If that was true, though, why the hell had he been tailing Penny and Michael?

  A sudden warmth directly behind me warned me I was no longer alone, and a moment later a hot breath whispered across the back of my neck.

  “You look like you’re thinking entirely too hard for such a pretty girl.”

  I tensed, hating that men thought they could just walk up to a girl and whisper something like that in their ear. Hating even more that they expected any girl to accept it and maybe even enjoy the attention. Act like they were flattered to have caught some guy’s attention.

  And maybe other girls would have faked it right now, just to avoid any drama.

  But I wasn’t other girls.

  I turned so fast I caught the guy still standing far too close to me, which just made my job even easier. A sharp jerk of my head and I heard the crunch of bone as his nose broke. A flick of my wrist and his windpipe was crushed. Another quick movement and he went to the ground, clutching his balls like he’d just been kicked there.

  Probably because he had.

  “Asshole,” I muttered, stepping over him and walking to the other side of the bar without bothering to see whose feathers I might have ruffled with my actions. I didn’t care.

  And I dared anyone to come at me over what I’d done. Men like that guy deserved to be taken down like the rats they were.

  I pulled up to the bar in a different place, gestured to the bartender for another glass of whiskey, and realized that the music had stopped. When I turned and glanced at the stage, wondering whether I’d actually stopped the show, I saw that I had.

  And Anthony Massimo was staring at me like he was seeing a fucking ghost.

  His look of shock turned into a cheeky, entirely too charming grin when he jumped off the stage and walked toward me, though, and I felt the same grin stretching my own lips.

  I couldn’t help it. I’d known this guy since I was a kid and had no clue what the world might hold for us, and though I chose Joseph and Sloane’s side of the line, I’d always have a soft spot for Anthony and the smooth way he glided through the world.

  And boy, had he grown up. He’d been gawky and awkward the last time I saw him—the one and only time we’d slept together—and though all the promise of a handsome man had been there, we’d barely been old enough to drink. He’d been all potential and no follow-through.

  Times had definitely changed.

  I stretched without meaning to, my back arching in appreciation of the way he was looking at me. His gaze ran from my face down over my body and back up, and when his eyes found mine again, I could see that he was thinking the same thing about me. I bit my lip and let another lazy smile grow on my lips.

  I’d been intrigued when I saw him on that video. Interested when Penny had said she knew where to find him. It had been a good plan—find the guy, sex him up, and find out what he knew about what his family was doing and why—but I’d had my doubts about how well it would work. Sure, I knew Anthony would remember who I was, and I’d been sure he’d still want me. But I hadn’t known if we’d have the same chemistry, and that chemistry was going to be important if I was going to get him to give up any secrets.

  Given the way the sparks were already flying, though, I was guessing chemistry wasn’t going to be a problem.

  Good.

  “Of all the gin joints in all the world,” I said when he was near enough. “If it isn’t Anthony Massimo.”

  He leaned in and brushed his lips across my cheek instead of answering, letting them linger right below my ear, and I fought to keep from moaning out loud.

  “Brooks Peterson,” he murmured. “I see you’re making friends as quickly as you always have.”

  I cast a quick glance at the man I’d had to put down and shrugged when he drew back. “He thought he could take advantage of me. I had to teach him a lesson.”

  Anthony grinned. “He obviously had no idea who he was dealing with.”

  “Exactly. He must be new in town.”

  Anthony barked a laugh at that and threw a hand up, getting the bartender’s attention. “Must be. What are you drinking?”

  “Whiskey. Top shelf.”

  “Same old Brooks.” He placed our orders and then turned back to me. “So, what are you really doing here? Because I’m in this bar every week and I’ve never seen you here before. I’m guessing, therefore, that it’s not one of your usual haunts. Right side of town, wrong address.”

  Right. I mean, I should have known he’d notice that I’d never been here before. And he was correct; this was the right side of town for me. But I kept to Rossi and Brennan territories, and this was...

  No Man’s Land.

  Where I stood out like a sore thumb.

  Time to lie.

  I put my finger in the middle of his chest and drew it slowly up, savoring the hard muscle under my fingertip and the slight dampness that came from him having been under the lights for so long. I dragged it up further, brushing it over his neck, and when I reached his chin, I tipped it up. “Maybe I heard you were going to be here and wanted to see how you’d grown up.”

  The corner of his mouth quirked. “Is that so?”

  I tipped my own head, not admitting to anything. “Could be. Or it could not. What do you think?”

  He pulled back enough to leave my finger in the air by itself, then leaned forward and pressed his lips to it once, his eyes dancing. “I think you know exactly why you’re here. And I don’t think it was just to see me. That’s too obvious. And you, Brooks, have never been obvious.”

  I snorted at that and turned to the bar, clutching at the whiskey the tender had set down there. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Anthony. I don’t do subtle.”

  He turned as well and leaned into me. “Subtle? No. But I learned a long time ago that you never tell the full truth. Not unless it serves your purpose. That said, if you’re just here to catch up, I’m game. Let’s sit.”

  He led me to a booth in the corner where we’d get at least some privacy and I followed, somewhat surprised that my plan had worked so quickly, and reminding myself that I couldn’t trust him.

  Because if I was the opposite of subtle, Anthony Massimo was the opposite of trustworthy. He’d smile in your face and stab you in the back while he was doing it. And you’d die still thinking he was the most charming man in the world.

  He might know me well enough to know how I operated.

  But I knew him even better, and I knew I couldn’t trust a single thing he said or did.

  Which was going to make this night very, very interesting.

  Half an hour later, I was sliding my card across the table and leaning toward Anthony. We hadn’t done anything more than catch up and reminisce about some of the things we’d done when we were young, and he hadn’t asked again what I was doing in his bar. He’d been watching me through narrowed eyes, though, and I’d been doing the same thing to him. Neither of us trusted the other, and we were both right on that score.

  We’d known each other too long to trust each other.

  We’d also known each other long enough to know that if we acted on the tension stretching between us, we’d get in trouble. He was a Massimo. I was a Rossi—or close enough to it. We weren’t supposed to be meeting. We could never be seen in public together. Hell, we shouldn’t even admit to knowing each other. If Sloane and Joseph had been born on opposite sides of the track, Anthony and I had been born on different worlds.

  And they weren’t worlds that could match up without the rest of the galaxy exploding.

  But I’d never been good at taking ‘no’ for an answer. I didn’t like being told what I could and couldn’t have. And neither did he.

  When I leaned closer to him, lips parted in invitation, he took the bait. He slipped his fingers up my jaw and into my hair, curling them to control me and tipping my head. I gasped at the feel of his touch and leaned into him, not bothering to fight it.

  I didn’t like to be manhandled, but this man had held a piece of my heart for a lot longer than I cared to admit. I missed his touch on my body. I missed the heat of his skin and the way he always found his way right under mine.

  I hadn’t come here to seduce him. I knew better than that. But God, it felt good to be this close to him again.

  He leaned toward me, pausing when his lips were only inches from mine. “You’re leaving so soon?”

  “Have to,” I murmured. “Curfew.”

  A slow, lazy smile curled the corner of his mouth and he slipped his lips over mine, kissing me like he’d been waiting for years to do it. His tongue pushed into my mouth, giving me just a taste of him, and then withdrew almost immediately, making the kiss far too short. A tease, just like it always was with him. When he pulled back, his eyes were dark with need. Stormy with want.

  “Are you going to come back?” he asked.

  Now I smiled. “Do you want me to?”

  “Yes.”

  I slipped the card closer to him, then disentangled myself and stood. “Then let me know when you’ll be here again.”

  I turned and walked away before he could answer, knowing that he was watching me walk away... and knowing that he’d call. Anthony Massimo was a lot of things—slick, charming, untrustworthy—but he also didn’t have any self-discipline.

  He’d call. And when he did, I’d be waiting.

  Because our short conversation had told me several very important things. Anthony hadn’t cut the family out of his life like he’d wanted to. He was still very close to his cousin Luca, Ercole’s oldest son.

  And he knew exactly what his family was doing making so much noise in the city—or he had an idea.

  Which just meant I had to get close enough for him to tell me.

  Mission accomplished. And it hadn’t even taken an hour out of my night.

  4

  ANTHONY

  I watched the girl walk away from me, hips swinging and shoulders back like she owned the fucking world.

  For all anyone knew, she did.

  Brooks Peterson. I hadn’t seen her since we were, what, twenty-one? Or at least, I hadn’t interacted with her. We’d been acquaintances growing up, always moving in the same circles and finding ourselves at the same parties, and though we hadn’t exactly been friends, we’d definitely been...

  Well, we’d moved in the same circles. Could have even been called partners in crime if either of us had wanted to admit to it. I’d kissed her on more than one occasion and had gotten into my fair share of trouble with her at my side. I’d even had one memorable night with her, full of hot kisses and even hotter movements between the sheets once I got her back to my apartment. But we hadn’t been on the same side of the line, even then, and I’d known as I was sliding into her, pinning her down on my bed, that we were both playing a dangerous game. At the time, I’d been the son of the second-highest Massimo in the city, and she’d been...

  Whatever she was. A friend of the Brennans and the Rossis, and protected by both families. Guardian of Sloane Brennan, pseudo little sister to Joseph Rossi, and of the same age as Michael Rossi. Brooks had managed to cozy up to all of them and gather herself under their umbrella.

  I didn’t think she’d ever needed their protection, due to the power of her own family, though I didn’t have any proof of that. No one talked about her family or what they could do. No one had ever confirmed my suspicions that they were bigger than any of us.

  Fuck, I didn’t even think ‘Peterson’ was her real last name.

  But that was all guesswork, and years of trying to figure it out hadn’t gotten me any further.

  I watched her swing through the door now, casting one last glance over her shoulder at me, and grinned to myself. I had no idea what Brooks Peterson had been doing in my bar, but I was positive she hadn’t come to listen to the music. Or just to say hi. She’d been looking for me, no mistake.

  The question was: Why? What did she want? Information, without question. She’d been far too happy to discuss old times and what was going on with my family, and I remembered well enough how bored she’d been by All Things Massimo, as she’d said, when we were younger. She’d never been interested in my father or his brothers. She’d hated when I brought any of my cousins along on our adventures.

  The fact that she’d asked about any of them was suspicious.

  Though I couldn’t fault the girl for fishing for information. After all, I’d been doing the same thing. And I was betting my reasons were even less honorable than hers.

  “Yes?” I gasped into the phone, shielding my eyes against the light streaming through the window in my bedroom.

  “Family meeting,” my cousin Luca growled. “An hour from now, at my father’s house.”

  I groaned and hung up without answering him. He didn’t need any answer, honestly. If there was a family meeting, he knew I’d be there.

  It wasn’t like I had any choice.

  I’d grown up hating that I was part of a family like mine. I didn’t like violence, and I certainly didn’t like bloodshed. I’d wanted to be a history major and had adored music and the art of writing. I’d had grand plans for getting away from the family and living a quiet, normal life, far from the city and its underworld.

  And then my uncle had killed my father and taken the family right to the top of the food chain, telling the rest of us that he owned us and that we’d shut up and get in line if we knew what was good for us. I hadn’t shut up or gotten in line, and it had very nearly gotten me killed. I’d wanted to be a musician, not a gangster, and for a while, I’d been young and stupid enough to think I could stand up to my uncle and do whatever the hell I wanted.

  That little rebellion had ended when he told me he’d kill my mother and sister if I didn’t learn to shut up and do what he demanded.

  Since then, I’d been his pet musician. The Every Man of the Massimo family. The only Massimo with a public face—and the one my uncle could count on to go into the world and gather information for him. I’d been forced into weekly meetings where I was told what to ask and who to ask it of, and where I reported everything I’d heard. He put me on stages and made sure my band was constantly working, so I got to live the life of a performer the way I’d always wanted.

  But only because I’d agreed to gather information for him.

  I had no idea what he did with the information. I didn’t know what games the family ran these days, though I knew enough to know the Massimos weren’t involved in the underworld in any obvious way. To the outside eye, it would have looked as if we were just a family that did high-end business with other companies.

  That didn’t explain why my uncle was so busy constantly gathering information on the other families, though, and particularly on the Rossis and the Brennans. It was one of the reasons I’d been so surprised to see Brooks last night. She was both Rossi and Brennan, and had been on my uncle’s watch list for years.

  I hadn’t decided whether I was going to tell him I’d seen her, and that I had an opening to see her again. I hadn’t decided whether it would put her in danger if he knew she was coming around. I did know that I wasn’t willing to risk her life for the sake of whatever my uncle was doing.

  Though something told me he already knew she’d been at my bar last night, and that I’d talked to her. We’d been in a public space and he had more spies than I could count.

  And this particular meeting hadn’t been scheduled. Which meant something had happened that made him think he wanted the leadership of the family together.