By Any Other Name (20 page)

Matty stood along the side of the lot, leaning back against the construction trailer as he watched the traffic flow by along Sixth Avenue. It was the middle of the afternoon, the temperature steadily creeping up so sweat beaded along his back, making his dark button down stick to him uncomfortably.

"This place seems like it took forever to build," Matty said, motioning toward the structure. "I remember when you guys first broke ground. I was just starting college."

"Yeah, we milked it for every penny we could," Gavin said casually from where he sat on the trailer steps, sipping from a bottle of water. "Couldn't delay it any longer, though. The city was starting to get pissed it wasn't finished."

"Turned out nice," Matty said. "How much does one of these places go for?"

"Uh, around four thousand a month or so," he replied. "You in the market for a new place?"

"No."

"Then why you asking?"

"Just making conversation."

Gavin cut his eyes at him, a look of skepticism on his face. "Ah, come on, Matty-B. Cut the shit. You know I hate small talk. Just say what you came to say."

"Why do you think I came to
say
anything?"

"Because contrary to how you're acting right now, I know you hate small talk, too. You always have a point for everything, so get to it."

Matty stood there for a moment in silence, continuing to watch the cars whizz by, before he let out a deep sigh. "I'm in deep, and I don't know what to do about it."

Gavin shook his head. "You pet it, didn't you? I told your ass not to, and you did it anyway, didn't you?"

"I didn't
pet
anything," he said.

"You didn't?"

"No, I scooped it right up and took it home and called it my own."

"Jesus Christ." Gavin looked at him incredulously. "Some shit's not meant to be had. No matter how pretty it is, you can't try to tame a wild animal and expect to
survive
."

Matty shrugged. "I've done pretty good at surviving."

"You've either got a lot of guts or no brains, and based on the fact that your preppy ass went to Princeton, I'm wondering how the hell you walk around carrying such big balls." Gavin put the lid on his water as he stood up and faced Matty, eyeing him peculiarly. "The Prodigal Son and the Ice Princess, huh? Sounds like a terrible fairy tale. You know, the kind where the big bad wolf eats everybody in the end."

Despite himself, Matty laughed at that. "It does."

"So you're in deep and you don't know what to do about it," Gavin continued. "You want my advice? Is that what you want?"

"Yes."

"Get the hell out."

Matty's expression fell. "What?"

"I don't mean walk away from her. I mean get out of
this
… the life, everything you came back to but I know you don't want. Walk away from it. Your father will be pissed, but come on… let's be real… when isn't Uncle Bobby pissed at you?"

Matty couldn't seem to remember a time the man wasn't at least disappointed. He had never lived up to his standards, and even if he stuck around, he knew he never would. His heart wasn’t into it. He couldn't follow in his father's footsteps.

Gavin lightly punched his shoulder. "Come on, let's go have a drink and commiserate. I'll even let you buy."

"Thanks." Matty laughed as he pulled out his keys. "Why are we commiserating?"

"Because of beautiful women and the hell they put us through."

"Speaking of which, whatever happened to your girl?" Matty asked curiously. "The one you were warned away from?"

"Ah." Gavin shrugged. "Guess she ended up wherever she was meant to be."

"How'd you learn how to play?" Matty asked, shifting the cue stick from hand-to-hand, his eyes on Genna and not the pool table. She shrugged, trying to keep her focus on the game, but he wasn't making it easy.

Fucking attractive man and his goddamn distracting eyes
.

She lined up, gracefully striking the cue ball, the loud crack echoing through the otherwise quiet apartment as the vibrant red ball flew into the side pocket. Her eyes flickered to his, drinking in the genuine curiosity. "Dante taught me."

"He must be pretty good."

"The best," she confirmed, knocking the cue ball into the green one. It hit the corner, bouncing right back.
Damn
.

Matty scoffed. "I wouldn't go
that
far. I like to think I'm the best."

"That's not thinking," she said¸ clutching the cue stick with both hands in front of her as she eyed him. "That's dreaming. And dream on, buddy. My brother is definitely better than you."

"How do you figure?"

"I can't beat him, but I can beat you."

"You've never beat me."

"But I could."

"You wanna bet?"

Genna watched as he hit the black eight ball, knocking it in the corner pocket and ending that game. He was undoubtedly good. In another life, it would've been amazing to watch him and Dante in a match.

"Okay," she said. "What are we betting?"

"Whatever you want," he said, smirking. "Except for my car."

"Ah, man." She dramatically frowned. "What about the watch?"

He cast a glance at his Rolex. "Fine. But if I win, I want your panties."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

He stepped toward her, their toes touching, his nose brushing against hers before he softly pressed his lips to hers. "I want your panties."
Another kiss
. "In your mouth."
Another kiss
. "Gagging you."
Another kiss
. "As I fuck you from behind."

Oh. My. God
. Genna shoved away from him, her cheeks burning at the mental images that flashed through her mind. Matty merely chuckled, studiously racking the balls for the next game.

"We have a deal?" he asked.

"Yep." She had no intention of losing, so it didn't matter what he wanted. That watch was about to be hers.

He motioned toward the table. "Ladies first."

"You sure?" she asked. "I don't want you crying foul when I win because you let me go first."

"I won't cry
nothing
. Go, princess." He winked. "I always heard you were good at breaking balls."

She rolled her eyes as she took her first try, breaking hard but scoring nothing, the cue ball flying into a side pocket instead. Groaning, she brusquely waved for him to go. She was off to a bad start.

Smirking, Matty took a turn, sinking a striped ball. He always went for the stripes, she noticed. Back and forth they went, both intently focused on the game, scoring until all that was left was the black eight ball.

Matty's turn.
Ugh
.

"Eight ball, corner pocket," he declared, self-assured, bordering on cocky, as he motioned toward the pocket diagonal from him. He lined up, taking his time. He struck it, the ball soaring that way, angled slightly too far left. It hit the edge hard, ricocheting back, and rolled straight into the side pocket right in front of Genna.

His smug expression fell as her lips curved into a grin. Wrong pocket.

"I won," Genna declared.

Matty cursed under his breath, tossing his stick aside as he strolled toward her, carefully unfastening his watch. He pulled it off, holding it up by the band and dangling it in front of her. "I guess you did."

"Don't look so surprised," she said, snatching the Rolex with a laugh and quickly putting it on as she leaned back against the table. The watch was gaudy, heavy and overwhelming on her frail wrist, but she wore it with pride. "This is real, right? It's not, like, gonna turn my wrist green and make my hand fall off, is it?"

"Of course it's real. It was a graduation present."

"Well, it's mine now, since I
schooled
you." She grinned. "Told you I'd beat you."

"You didn't beat me. I lost. There's a difference."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"And I think, since you didn't
beat
me, I should get what I want, too."

"You think so?"

"Mmmm, I do," he declared, pausing right in front of her, pinning her there. His hands stroked her hips before drifting further down and shoving her skirt up toward her waist. He slowly caressed the bare skin as he hooked his fingers on the sides of her black thong. Smirking, he crouched down in front of her, tugging the flimsy material down her thighs. Genna put up no fight, staring down at him as she lifted her feet so he could pull them off, his movements agonizingly slow, fingertips leaving searing trails along her skin. It never failed to mesmerize her how his simple touch ignited fire in her.

Standing back up, he held the lacy material up in front of her face. "Open wide."

Her lips parted, a seductive smirk curving her mouth as she leaned closer to him, whispering, "fuck you."

He didn't balk, mirroring her movement as he replied, "I think the deal was that
I
fuck
you
."

Squealing, Genna shoved away from him to duck out of his reach. Matty grabbed ahold of her, strong hands holding her there, playfully trying to turn her over as she shrieked and wiggled. The two wrestled, their laughter echoing through the apartment as she managed to sneakily slip away. He spun around fast, going after her, as she let out another squeal, her heart racing.

"Oh no you—"

Matty didn't have the chance to finish. '
Don't
' was halfway from his lips when the front door of the apartment abruptly swung open. Genna stalled, turning that way, her blood running cold. Matty stepped in front of her protectively, his stance suddenly defensive.

The vaguely familiar voice struck Genna seconds before she saw his face.
Enzo
.

"Yo, Matty, I saw your car parked downstairs and thought I'd—" Enzo stepped into the apartment, freezing, his words faltering and tone turning cold. "—say hey."

Enzo blinked rapidly, staring at her from a mere few feet away. Genna's vision blurred as the blood furiously pumped through her body, scorching her veins. Bile rose up, burning her throat, as she tried to swallow back the fear. She could only gape at him, wide-eyed, and Enzo stared back, purposely taking a step to the side to look past his brother, dead in her face.

From the corner of her eye, Genna saw Matty quickly slip her thong in his pocket as he took a proactive step toward his brother. The movement drew Enzo's attention. He forced his gaze away from Genna as he shifted back and forth between anger and disbelief, brow furrowing simultaneously as his nostrils flared.

"Calm down," Matty said, staring his brother straight in the eyes, before Enzo even said a word. The confusion faded from his expression, the anger winning.

Oh shit
.

"What the fuck's going on here?" Enzo ground out, pointing at Genna. "Do you know who that girl is? Do you?"

"Yes, but—"

"Of course you do!" Enzo spat, clearly not interested in his brother's answer. "I remember
telling
you who she was! So why is she here? Huh? What the hell is that girl doing
here
?"

"I brought her here."

"You brought her here?
Her
? Why would you do that? What the fuck's wrong with you? Why would you even...? How would you...? When did you...?" Enzo's anger was overtaken by shock as his posture stiffened, his large hands grasping the side of his head, like the reality was dangerously close to blowing his mind. "Her? She's the one? God, please fucking tell me the girl you've been going on about isn't
her
!"

"Calm down."

That seemed to be answer enough for Enzo. All at once, he shifted his body toward Genna, taking a hasty step toward her, accusingly pointing. "
You
. I don't know what game you're playing here, but you've fucked up. Big time. Because I swear to Christ, Galante, I will—"

Genna's stomach lurched. This had been her worst fear. Seeing the revulsion in Enzo's eyes, hearing the threatening tone to his words, his voice so enraged it quivered... Genna wanted to evaporate from the room, out of sight. Fear like no other coated her insides. She felt like a wounded animal.
Fight or flight
. Her father always taught her to stand up for herself, but when it came to the Barsantis? Motherfucking
run
.

Before she could figure out a way out of the apartment—running past him and out the door, or a flying leap straight out of the closest window—Matty intervened, cutting Enzo off, an authoritative edge to his words as he snatched ahold of his brother's shirt collar and viciously yanked him toward him, pulling his attention momentarily away.

"Calm down." Matty's jaw clenched as he ground out the words. "Or get the hell out."

"Get out?" Enzo forced Matty's hands off his shirt and shoved him. "I
live
here. And you brought her here, to my home!"

"Our home," Matty corrected him. "I live here, too."

"Like that makes it any better!" Enzo threw his hands up in disbelief. "She's one of them!"

Matty sighed exasperatedly, running his hands through his hair. "Look, just… calm down, okay?"

"Calm down?" Enzo repeated. "Stop telling me to calm down! I'm fucking calm!"

He was the furthest thing from calm Genna had ever seen, his movements jerky as he waved all around, like he wasn't sure what the hell to focus on. His cheeks were growing red from agitation as sweat formed along his brow.

Carefully, Matty reached out toward Genna, and she didn't resist when he pulled her to him. His arms wrapped tightly around her as she stood in front of him, grasping his inked forearms so hard her nails dug into his skin, her knuckles bright white from the strain. Enzo's disapproving gaze burned through her.

"I told her she couldn't judge you because she'd never met you," Matty said evenly. "I told her you weren't the asshole she was raised to believe you were. Don't prove me wrong, En. Don't make her believe I lied."

Enzo closed his eyes briefly as he blew out a deep breath. Irritation still skirted his expression when he reopened his eyes, but his posture relaxed, his fists unclenching. "She should."

"Should what?" Matty asked.

"Should believe you lied. She should think I'm that asshole. She should judge me, because it's better that way. She ought to be afraid of me, ought to be scared of what I could do to her, what looking at her pretty little face makes me
want
to do." Enzo's gaze shifted to Genna, calmer, but there was no warmth in his expression. Genna shivered at the coldness of his words. "Because if she doesn't fear me, then she's a threat… to me, to you, to all of us. If she's not terrified, then
she's
the dangerous one."

"She's not a threat."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. Do you think I'd bring her here if she was?"

Enzo shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know why you brought her here. Maybe you forgot how things worked. Maybe you forgot what happened."

Matty's grip on Genna tightened, his muscles rigid. She winced at the pressure in her chest, her ribs pressing upon her lungs, constricting the flow of air. "You think I forgot? That I could just
forget
?"

"She's here, isn't she?"

"I'll never forget what happened," Matty spat, his voice with a hard edge Genna had never heard from him before. The menacing tone sent a chill down her spine. "I remember it better than anyone. I know what that family is capable of."