Unbroken (The Protectors 12)

I’d checked.

“Nothing to be sorry for,” he finally said. I almost smiled because it was something Dante would always say to me when I apologized for something.

Instead of leaving, he came into the small room and shut the door behind him. “Can I lock this?” he asked as he motioned to the lock. My eyes fell to the gun in his hand.

So he still wasn’t certain we were safe from his brother.

I nodded.

Vaughn flipped the lock, then came and sat down next to me on the floor. I was leaning against the side of the small bathtub.

“Con’s making something for us to eat… he thinks he’s got grits.”

“This is his house?” I asked.

“It belonged to his grandparents.”

I nodded. “I recognize him,” I said. “Dante and Magnus like him… he does that fighting… not the boxing kind.”

“MMA… martial arts,” Vaughn said with a nod.

“He’s very good,” I said.

Vaughn laughed. “That he is… it’s funny because he’s one of the least violent and most levelheaded people I know. When Luca and I used to get into it as kids, Con was always trying to talk us through our argument before the fists started flying. King used to tell him he should be a shrink.”

“King is his brother? And Lex too?” I asked.

“Yeah. They’re not actually brothers, but they grew up in foster care together and became really close… even when they were split up and moved to different homes in the city, they never lost that bond.”

“You and Luca, were you foster kids too?”

Vaughn shook his head and looked at his hands. He tilted the gun back and forth. “No… that’s more complicated,” he finally said.

I was certain he wasn’t going to say anything else and I was actually smarting from the knowledge that he didn’t want to share something like that with me when he suddenly said, “We’re half-brothers… same father, different mothers.”

“You’re older than him?” I asked. “You called him little brother.”

“By a couple of years. His mother was the one to raise me.”

“What happened to your mother?”

I could see he wasn’t comfortable talking about the subject, though he didn’t fall silent. But he also wouldn’t look at me while he spoke.

“She died when I was two. But I’d already gone to live with Vidone and Theodora Covello by then.”

I shifted closer to him so our bodies were just barely touching. “Why?” I asked. “Your mother couldn’t care for you?”

Vaughn shook his head. “She was a showgirl… in Atlantic City. Do you know where that is?”

“No,” I said. “But it’s like Las Vegas, right? People go there to lose money so they can try and win more money.”

Vaughn smiled and I felt it ease some of the pressure in my chest. I was scared to death about what was going on around me, but having this moment where we talked about normal things and he looked at me like I hadn’t just cut his arm open with a knife gave me the few minutes of quiet I needed to keep from escaping into my head.

“Exactly,” he responded. “My father was already engaged to Luca’s mother when he went to Atlantic City for what was supposed to have been his bachelor party. He drank too much and when his friends brought in the entertainment, he indulged.”

“Entertainment,” I repeated as I tried to make sense of the word.

“Being a showgirl didn’t pay all the bills,” Vaughn said softly.

Understanding dawned and I dropped my eyes. “Oh… I’m sorry, Vaughn.”

I shot him a glance from the corner of my eye and saw him shrug. “It was what it was. When my mom found out she was pregnant, I guess she saw a chance to fund her showgirl stint for a bit longer.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“Luca’s dad was pretty well-known around New York and New Jersey, just not for the right reasons.”

I must have looked confused because he clarified, “His business dealings weren’t always aboveboard.”

I realized what that meant… his father had been a criminal.

“Anyway, my mother saw the chance to make a buck and took me to his house in the city. His new wife answered the door.”

“Oh,” I whispered in disbelief.

“My mother proceeded to tell Theodora Covello all about her husband’s indiscretion the weekend they’d gotten married nine months earlier. She told Luca’s mother if she wanted it to stay quiet, she’d pay her ten thousand dollars. Want to know what Theodora did?” he asked me.

I nodded.

“Gave her twenty thousand, took me from her and told her to get the hell out of there… though I’m sure she used the word ‘heck’ – she wasn’t big on swearing.”

“Me neither,” I whispered.

“I know,” Vaughn said softly. I looked at him and immediately got lost in his eyes. That strange tingling sensation returned and I wanted to yell at it for having the worst timing ever.