“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 theentertainment, he indulged.”
“Entertainment,” I repeated as I tried to make sense of the word.
“Being a showgirl didn’t payallthe 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.
