Page 4 of Dex

“Alright, fine.I did.You busy?”

“Got my hands full at the moment.”

“Understood.”I don’t want details.Zach is a bit of a ladies man.But then, we all are.Even the Italian Knights, given some of the stories I hear from Rio.

Zach pauses.“You good?”

“Yeah,” I say, even though I feel like I’m wasting my damn night.“Catch you later.”

I hang up, exhaling.Both of my brothers have a life.They have things to do.I go back to my apartment, get dressed, and step outside.There’s a sharp bite in the November air.Too cold to wander around, but I’m too restless to stay in.I still need a drink.I need to let off some steam after today’s meeting with all of us, and our father.That old man has been pissing me off lately.

I pull out my phone and make a call.“You in?”

Rio answers straightaway.“Yeah.What’s up?”

“Wondered if you might want to grab a few beers.At The Oasis?”A stylish rooftop terrace in Manhattan, that’s been around for almost a decade.It’s become our regular haunt.Where none of the others hang out.

A beat of silence.He sounds tired.“You wanna come over to mine instead?”

“Sure.”

A few minutes later, I drive across town to SoHo where the Italian Knights live, my half-brothers.The secret family my father had when he cheated on my mom.The secret which drove her to her death when she found out.

But it was really me that put the nail in her coffin.It’s a burden which weighs on me.A burden I try to forget by having fun with women like Lexi.

I knock on Rio’s door and he answers in an instant, already holding a beer.“Hey, dude.Come in.”

We’re just a short drive away in Tribeca.It’s done by choice, not theirs, not ours, but the old man’s.

Like us, the Italian Knights also have a luxury four story building.Rio, like Jett, gets the penthouse, because he’s the oldest in his set of brothers.The guy’s got a rooftop pool and garden.

I step inside the penthouse, which I’ve visited more times this last year than in all the time we’ve known each other.He’s been over to my place a few times, and so far, we haven’t been caught, by either sets of brothers.

It’s a crazy situation, to have to hide thefact that my half-brother and I get on, but I have a sneaky feeling, Rio does too, that the old man likes this setup.He has us attending those painful Knight family dinners every so often, but we believe he likes keeping us divided, with just a thin veil of unity.A unity that’s needed for the Knight empire to continue its global domination.With six sons, the old man’s legacy is assured, and by encouraging our division, he’s safe in knowing we’ll never unite and take him on together.

Except that Rio and I got talking about a year ago.We were going down the elevator after attending one of the Knight family dinners, and by the time we descended to the base, we were talking like we’d been friends for years.

Brothers, more like it, because that’s what we are.

We discovered then that we’re more alike than not.People have commented that we look alike, except that my hair is short, if a little longer on top, while Rio’s hair is longer, his skin more olive toned.I’d say my hair is dark brown, but his is a shade darker.He sometimes sweeps it back, and other times he just parts it down the middle, and it hangs, like he’s a modern-day saint, albeit a brooding one.

Now that a few people have commented on it, I can see the resemblance.We do look alike, more than we don’t.We’re also quite similar.Neither of us like authority.We don’t like suits.We both have attitude and we can’t stand the old man.That’s what we call him, too.

“You hungry?We can order in,” Rio suggests, sitting down.He’s wearing jeans and a T-shirt, like I am.

“Yeah, sure.Jett’s busy with his whole domestic life thing.”

Rio snorts.“Cari’s a regular now at his place, huh?”

“Dude’s practically married,” I say.“I’m happy for him, but it’s impossible to get him out for drinks.”

“You have to be happy when people find love.”

I shoot him a look.“Since when did you turn sentimental?”

Rio just shrugs.I take a beer from his refrigerator and take a seat in one of his big comfortable couches.He sits across from me.

“How far down the list was I?”he asks, sitting back, beer bottle in hand.

---