“According to Vic, that won’t be a problem.”
“And why is that?”
Before he can answer, a knock sounds on my door. Raising an eyebrow, I turn and stare at the door.
“You expecting any visitors?” Rocco questions from behind me. Shaking my head, I start for the door. I peer out the peephole to see who it is but I can’t make out anything. Glancing over my shoulder, I motion for Rocco to get my gun from the safe. Instead, he reaches into his jacket and pulls out his own. With a jerk of his head, he gives me the green light to open the door and aims his gun.
My hand closes over the knob as the mysterious person on the other side of the door knocks again. Rocco moves to stand behind me and as I pull open the door, he cocks his gun.
“Don’t shoot!”
Chapter 6
Joaquin
“Violet,” Rocco murmurs, quickly lowering the gun. I divert my eyes to my sister, watching as she slowly peels her hands away from her face. Swallowing, she stares wide-eyed between me and Rocco, her gaze lingering on the gun still in his hand.
“Put that shit away,” I growl, reaching out to pull her into the apartment. Snapping out of his trancelike state, he tucks the gun back into his jacket pocket. Violet doesn’t move away from the door once I close it and for a moment, I wonder if my twenty-year-old sister is in a state of shock.
Being eight years younger than us, Violet was just a kid when Rocco and I started running wild on the streets of Brooklyn. I don’t even know if she remembers his father getting deported or when he and his family moved to Italy. I don’t think either of us paid her too much attention when Rocco returned from Italy either. She was an annoying teenager who got in our way until she wasn’t. It was like I blinked and suddenly, my little sister who snuck out of the house to follow me and Rocco was a young woman auditioning for the New York Academy of Ballet. There was no ignoring her anymore, she was destined for bright lights and stages across the world.
“Vi, what are you doing here? Why didn’t you call me?”
Her gaze snaps to me and the shock flees her face as she narrows her eyes.
“Why didn’t I call you? I’ve been calling the both of you for two days,” she snarls, glaring between the both of us. “I guess you’ve been too busy shooting shit to answer me, though.” She looks at Rocco. “I’ve never had a gun pointed at me before. You really know how to welcome people,” she mutters, rolling her eyes.
“Glad you enjoyed it, Bug,” he quips, flashing her a smile. I almost laugh at his use of the nickname he gave her years ago, but then I notice the way his eyes rake over her.
“Don’t call me that,” she snaps.
“You never used to mind,” he reminds her.
“I’m not twelve anymore, Rocco.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
Asserting my body between them like a shield, I glance from Violet to Rocco. The cocky fuck remains impassive, shoving his hands into his pockets nonchalantly like I didn’t just witness him eye fuck the shit out of my sister.
“What’s going on here?”
“What are you talking about?” he replies, stealing another glance at Violet. The fucker actually has the audacity to wink at her. I step to him, getting in his face.
“I’ll kill you,” I warn.
“Relax,” he chuckles. “I’m just busting your balls, besides . . . ” his voice trails as he turns so she can’t hear him. “It’s Violet, man. I’d never fuck with your sister.”
“I can hear you idiots,” Violet calls from behind me. Turning around to face her, I watch as she plops down on the couch and kicks up her legs. “And just to be clear,” she continues, looking at Rocco. “You’re not my type.”
“Right, you’re into men in tights these days.”
“Don’t knock it,” she chastises. “There’s nothing wrong with men in tights. They hug everything, leaving very little to the imagination and no room for surprises. There’s nothing worse than a guy hyping up his dick and lowering his pants to reveal one of those mini hot dogs you get at a buffet.”
“Sort of like when a girl stuffs her training bra with tissues and coincidentally gets caught in the rain,” Rocco retorts.
Violet’s cheeks flush as she stares daggers at him.
“Again, I was twelve,” she grinds out. “Since you’re so full of yourself, I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”
“Careful, Bug, I may have just promised your brother I wouldn’t touch you, but I never said I wasn’t down for a little game of show and tell.”
“Damn,” she says, snapping her fingers. “I knew I should’ve stopped at the airport gift shop and bought that magnifying glass in the window.”
I must have missed the memo where my sister got a smart mouth and started playing with dick.
“Who are you?” I question, shaking my head.
“Aww, you missed me, big brother. That’s cute. Now, which one of you is going to go downstairs and get my bags? By the way, I used your Uber account to call for a car since neither of you could pick me up from the airport.”
Rocco comes up beside me, keeping his eyes fixated on my wild child sister.
“What are we going to do with her?” he asks low enough that only I can hear him.
“Fuck if I know,” I mutter. “Hey, Vi, weren’t you supposed to bring some friends with you?”
“They bailed on me,” she says, staring at her manicured nails. “So, I’m sliding into my twenties with the two of you. Better make it fun, guys.”
The good thing about Violet’s visit is— oh, who the fuck am I kidding, there is nothing good about her being here. Don’t get me wrong, I love my sister and I hate that we’re not as close as we used to be, that I’ve missed so much of her life, but she couldn’t have shown up at a worse time.
There was no explaining any of that to her, though. She didn’t know about Pilar and while she probably surmised I was not a fucking club promoter, I couldn’t come out and tell her I had to have a sit down with Victor, or that I was regrouping from murdering a man the night before. To be honest, I’m not sure she would’ve cared. Violet had a one-track mind and all she seemed to care about was partying it up. That and busting Rocco’s balls.
“Why are we here again?” she questions, sliding onto the barstool.
Ignoring the question, I look toward the hostess station, hoping to catch a glimpse of Pilar. Of course, Victor would pick the restaurant she worked at for his sit down. Now, not only did I have to worry about running into her, but I had to deal with my sister too. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving her out of my sight, especially when I’m not sure Pablo’s guys aren’t going to try to retaliate— something I plan to further discuss with Victor when he gets here.
“Well, if you’re not going to answer me, the least you can do is buy me a drink.”
“You’re not twenty-one.”
“If you think I came to Miami on my birthday to be sober, you’re a fool. A handsome fool, but still a fool,” she says as she reaches over and squeezes my cheek.