Finding Gary (The Romanovsky Brothers Book 4) (6 page)

Val barely resisted the urge to flick Leo off, waiting until his twin was out of sight to pull his knees to his chest and bury his hands in his hair.  In the distance, he heard the doorbell ring but was too lost in his own mind to give it much thought.  Minutes later, the door opened, and Leo’s mumbled voice carried through the room.

It wasn’t until Leo was next to him again, kicking him with the toe of his boot that Val looked up.  Every minuscule shred of fight and anger had disappeared from Leo’s eyes. 

Val took in the stack of paper clutched in Leo’s hand, and his heart ground to a halt.

Leo dropped the papers next to him.  They landed on the floor with a thud.

“You just got served, brother.”

Val let his eyes fall to the papers, and the moment he read the words at the top, he nearly laughed.  “A restraining order,” he said, gazing off into the distance.  Hearing the words leave his mouth seemed to clear the world around him.  Everything was sharper, which made the pain in his gut all the more poignant.

“This is what happens when a woman says she doesn’t want to see you, and what you hear is that she wants you to show up at the hospital, every day, and go toe to toe with the police who are there to protect her.  They probably couldn’t wait to fast track this paperwork at the police station.  Keep going down the path you’re going down, and you may
never
see your boy.”

Val lifted his eyes to Leo.

“This is your fault.”  Leo pointed to the papers.  “You made the choice to lie, and when you made that choice, you gave up the right to dictate what Zoey does, or how Zoey feels. You have no one to blame but yourself.  So get the fuck up, get in the shower, and be man enough to face what you’ve done so you can figure out how to make a miracle happen and fix it.  You don’t have to come to Sunday dinner, but you do need to get up and dust yourself off.”

Tearing his eyes from the paper with a curse, Val pushed himself up using the couch as leverage, standing on shaky legs.  A moment later, his eyes narrowed to Leo.

“She’ll never forgive me,” he croaked.  “Will she?”

“I don’t know,” Leo whispered.  “But I do know that neither of us will find the answer to that question if you don’t man up and try.  You lost the battle, but I’ve got a feeling the war has yet to begin.  Gary’s arraignment is tomorrow, and if he pleads not guilty, it’ll go to trial.  Maybe hearing the whole story will help Zoey let go of some of that anger.  I wouldn’t hold my breath, but crazier things have happened.”

“I’ll do anything to get them back.”

“I know.”  Leo clapped a hand on his shoulder.  “Now, for the millionth time, I beg you, Val.  Get in the shower.  You stink.”

5

Still muttering obscenities, Leo stepped outside and pounded down the steps of his apartment building, pushing his keys around in the pocket of his jeans.  He hadn’t even cleared the last step to the sidewalk when he caught sight of Jessica Borgia, leaning on a car parked at the curb.  Her waist length hair caught a gust of wind and danced.

Runaway strands shielded her dark brown eyes, but not enough to stop Leo from picturing those eyes just days ago, shrinking when she smiled around the head of his dick as it slipped into the back of her throat.

His hand came out of his pocket when she opened her mouth to speak.  He held it up and began down the sidewalk.

“Go away,” he said.

“Leo…”

He heard her voice behind him, and again, in his mind, just days ago.  He heard her whispered words praising his every stroke as they soaked his sheets in their sweat, pleading for him to go deeper.  Harder.  Faster.

Her boots crunched on the sidewalk’s gravel behind him, and he cursed her scent as it teased his nose.  The scent that, just days ago, he’d breathed in with adoration as he buried his nose in her hair, screaming through each thrust as he unloaded himself inside her.

He looked over his shoulder and cringed.  “Go the fuck away.”

“Leo, please.”

Please.
  He heard that word when she’d breathed it to him, just days ago, before taking his earlobe between her teeth and matching his working hips, fucking him just as passionately as he was her until all that existed was the desperation of their lovemaking.  The sound of it as it pounded against his bedroom walls.
Please.

He stopped in his tracks and faced her, his face boiling red.

Jessica stumbled, caught off guard. 

He felt his eyes grow wide; his brows lift high, and his teeth push against his tightened lips.

Jessica sputtered, her own eyes popping to twice their size.  Her chest rose and fell rapidly.

And Leo saw her chest swelling, just days ago, as her wetness shuddered and clenched against his dick, drawing an orgasm that bent her spine and parted her lips in a scream.

“I meant what I said,” Leo growled.  “There isn’t a word in existence you can say, a thing in the world you can do, or a speech in the world you can give that I will ever be interested in hearing.  My family has been torn to shreds, and it’s your fault.”

Finally finding her voice, Jessica spoke, her pitch higher.  “I’m going to fix it, Leo.  I spoke to Gary today and, while he’s giving me some pushback, I know my plan will—”

“Fuck you and fuck your plan.”  He turned to walk away.

Her boots crunched behind him.  “If you would just listen to me.”

His heated eyes flew back to her.  “You bugged my house.  My nephew is in an incubator fighting for his life.  I can’t see him.  I can’t touch him.  Zoey isn’t speaking to any of us.  Angie is in the hospital.  My parents are living in separate homes.  My brothers are about two seconds from breaking each other’s goddamn necks, and it is your fault, Jessica!”

His eyes fell to her breasts, which were picking up speed with every second, and he felt them, just days ago, enveloping his shaft, the soft globes, velvety soft as they hugged the throbbing head of his cock.

“But you got your man, right?”  He lifted his eyes to hers.  “You closed your case.  Even got a little dick on the side, didn’t you?”

“I’m going to make this right, Leo.  No matter what it takes, I’m going to prove to you that I’m worthy—”

“Stop.”

Jessica pressed her eyes and lips shut.  She exhaled heavily.

Leo waited for her to disrespect him further by saying something—anything else.  When she didn’t, he breathed in relief, slicing his hand through the air.  

“Get the hell out of my life, Jessica.  I mean it.”  He pointed a finger at her just as she opened her eyes and met his.

Walking sideways, he waited until he was a good distance away from her before turning with a scoff.  This time, he didn’t hear her boots crunching against the gravel behind him.  He couldn’t smell her infuriating scent.

And he was grateful.

***

An hour later, Leo stepped out of his Porsche at his parents’ home in Westchester, the bottom of his boots smooth against the cobblestoned driveway as he made his way to the double cast-iron doors.  He stopped in mid-step when the doors swung open, and his jaw went slack as Gary appeared, pulling them closed behind him.

“Yo,” Leo said, catching Gary’s red eyes across the walkway.  Neither made a move to step closer.

Gary sniffled and lowered his gaze, but his attempt to hide his bloodshot eyes came a second too late.

“You don’t look so good.” Leo took the first step toward Gary.

Gary peered off, his mouth curling down.

When Leo was close enough, he frowned and reached out, catching the back of Gary’s neck and shaking him. 

“Ma kicked me out,” Gary whispered, eyes going back to his feet.  “No one else is here.  I didn’t want to leave her alone, but she can’t even… she won’t even…” He pressed the back of his hand against his lips.  “She won’t even look me in my eye.”

“Ay.”  Leo shook him.  “It’s a lot, you know?  A lot of shit came raining down on all of us really fast.  People are in the hospital.  Our lives have been turned inside out.  She’s just going to need time.”

“She wouldn’t even look at me.  Val hates me.  Rome and Pop won’t answer my calls.  Zoey won’t answer my calls. Every time I think about how much she must hate me, I feel like throwing up.  And Ma… not even Ma can look me in my fucking eye.”

Leo pulled him in when a sob escaped his lips, wrapping his arms around him and holding him close as he fell apart in his shoulder.

“This isn’t like putting a red sock in with the whites, forgetting to take out the trash, or leaving your sheets un-tucked,” Leo said.  “But just like all that inconsequential shit, she’ll find a way to move past it, because you’re her son.  You just can’t force yourself on her right now.  Her, or anyone.”

Gary pulled back, his tears dried, but his eyes remained lowered.  He nodded.

Leo took his neck and shook him again.  “Just lay low and focus on that arraignment you got coming up.”

“That’s the reason I wanted to see her,” Gary said.  “I wanted to get in one last Sunday dinner because I might never get one again.”

“You’re going to get Sunday dinners out the ass.  You’re not going anywhere.”

“I confessed to murder.  I’m going to prison.”

“Jessica says she’s handling it.”

“Jessica would say anything to get back on your dick.  I don’t trust a word that leaves her mouth.”

“Well, you better learn.”  Leo clapped a hand down on his shoulder.  “‘Cause, right now?  It looks like she’s your only friend.  And your only hope.”  He yanked, forcing Gary to stumble forward.  “Now get the hell out of here.  Give Ma a chance to process this and miss you.  You’re her baby boy.  You got away with murder when we were kids and I have no doubt you’ll get away with it now.”

Gary smirked.

“Go!” Leo insisted, making is way toward the door sideways.

Gary began towards his black Mercedes, moving sideways too, shooting Leo sporadic looks.  “Hey, Leo?”

Leo paused at the door, cutting his eye at Gary.

“You’re always the first one to say it’s okay,” Gary said.  “Even when we were little.  You never judged anybody.  Never held a grudge.”

Leo straightened his eyebrows pulling.

“Thank you,” Gary finished. 

They held each other’s eyes across the walkway for a long moment, and Gary was the first to turn away, shoving his hand through his curls.

Leo waited for him to climb into his car and pull out of the driveway before he went back to the door, turning the key to his parent’s home.  The silence that engulfed him when he stepped into the foyer sent a cold chill down his spine.  His eyes went to the staircases that greeted the front door, and then down the entryway that led to the dining room.  Usually the last to arrive, the sight of the empty chairs at the ten-seat table stole his breath.

He hesitated in the entryway, jolting when the front door slammed closed behind him.  On ginger feet, he began towards the dining room, and just when he was sure he was going to find an empty table, he didn’t.

He froze at the sight of his mother sitting at the head of the table.  Years of classical ballet as a child had left her long, lean, and utterly graceful.  It was the first time Leo had ever seen her spine bent forward the way it was right then.  All the way up to the salt and pepper bun tied at the bottom of her head, which hung low.  The golden eyes she’d passed on to him were riveted to the table below her, long, thin lips drawn tight.

It wasn’t until Leo saw the first drop of moisture leave her lowered eyes that he was blasted back to reality.  He raced into the dining room and to her side.

The moment he got his arms around her, Bette Romanovsky let out the first cry.  She didn’t even look up to see which of her sons had her in his arms, cradling her wet cheek to his strong chest, but Leo knew she didn’t have to.

“Leo,” she whispered, turning into his embrace and taking his bulky arm in clawed fists.  “I went to the hospital yesterday, and Zoey won’t even see me.  She won’t let me anywhere near my… my grandbaby.   When I came home and looked your father in the eye, I got so angry…”

“It’s okay, Ma.  I’m here.  I got you.”

“He’s gone.  I told him to go.  I couldn’t… I wouldn’t…”

“I know.” Leo tightened his hold, pushing his nose into her hair and letting his eyes flutter shut.  “I’m here.”

“You and Rome are the only ones who didn’t have a hand in it.  You’re the only ones who didn’t know…”

Leo tried to shush her but gave up when her voice rose.

“You’re the only ones I can bear to look at…”

“That’s okay,” Leo soothed, jamming his eyes shut.  “Calm down, Ma, please. We’re going to get through this.  Our family will be back together again, real soon.  I promise.”

“How can you promise that?” she lifted her head for the first time and met his eyes.

“Because I just did.”  He raised his eyebrows at her.  “What happens in the dark always comes to light.  That’s the hardest part.  The easy part is staying in the light.  Our family is going to figure it out, and everything’s going to be okay.”

The doubt in her eyes made Leo pull her back into his arms because he feared if he looked for long enough, he would begin to feel it himself.

***

Spring temperatures took Manhattan to a record high in the 70s.  For the first time in days, Gary stepped outside and breathed in the fresh air.  He looked up at the crisp blue sky, fat clouds dotting it, and let the sun burn his eyes, the heat prickle his skin. 

He strolled without purpose through Central Park, distantly enjoying the families picnicking, joggers breezing by, and even the filthy pigeons that flapped their wings just a touch too close for comfort.  He allowed it all, drank it in.

Coming to a stop at a bench under a shady tree, Gary plopped down, shaking his shaggy hair from his eyes while stretching out his long limbs. 

“Wow, you’re tall.” A young blonde jogger with a body that belonged in a workout video winked at him.

Gary couldn’t return her smile.  This only seemed to attract her more because she craned her neck to look over her shoulder as she jogged away.  He knew she would try her luck again, once she made her way back around the track.  Women, he’d learned from his brothers, had egos ten times bigger than men, and bruising their fragile pride was the number one way to get between their legs.

That morning, however, Gary had no interest in playing emotionally abusive games. He stretched his long legs out as far as they would go, leaning back on the bench.  When a shadow loomed above him, blocking the sun he’d been allowing to burn his skin, he rose his green eyes and sucked in a breath. 

“Get the fuck away from me,” Gary said.

A few feet from the bench, hands in the pockets of his gray slacks, the only man in the area taller and broader than Gary himself, shrugged his shoulders.  His dark brown skin was also under assault from the sun, and seemed to grow darker still with each second he stood patiently under its rays.  His brown eyes were just a hint lighter than his skin, enough to make them jump out as strongly as they would if they were bright blue.

“Why did you do it, Gary?  Jesus, why?”

Gary licked his lips, avoiding the eyes of Reggie King, doing everything he could not to lunge and take him around the neck.  “I’d like it very much if you went away from me.”

A silence fell, but Reggie didn’t move.  “I would’ve never told her…”

Gary shot him a heated look.  “I know that, but Val wouldn’t hear it.  Congratulations on finding his one and only Achilles’ Heel.”

“She seems to be a lot of people’s Achilles’ Heel.”

Gary cringed.  “You should know the media is all over me and my family right now.  There’s probably a photographer from The Post planted up in one of these trees as we speak.  God forbid the world finds out Victor King’s son is fraternizing with a Romanovsky in Central Park…”