stood, pushing down his pant legs before he faced her. “You gotta help me out here.”
No sense in working up to it. Gia straightened, keeping her chin lifted, trying like hell not to let her temper brim too far over the edge. When it did, the results weren’t pretty and she had no desire to embarrass herself or her uncle in front of his players. “Why the hell were you and Luka fighting?”
Kona’s wrinkled brows smoothed at her question, likely making the connection between what he thought was her crush on Luka and her anger now. Pointless assumption on the whole. He probably thought she was still acting like a stupid kid with a crush. Of course he would. No one knew about her and Luka. She guessed he’d never told Kona, not if they were trying to beat each other’s faces in. But when Kona shook his head, grinning at her like she was simple, almost adorable for asking after his twin, Gia’s anger surfaced.
“Don’t look at me like that. You tell me why the hell you put your hands on him.”
The smile left Kona’s face and he inhaled, nostrils flaring. That worried, confused wrinkle reformed between his eyebrows and he looked like he needed a second to regroup, try to figure out how to best explain himself.
“Gia…the thing is…”
“My brother is an asshole,” Luka said from the door behind Kona.
They both turned, Kona only stretching his neck to look in Luka’s direction as Gia stepped to the side, moving around him to get a look at her boyfriend. She stood at Kona’s side, staring at the cut along Luka’s bottom lip and the bruises under both his eyes. Without taking her attention from her boyfriend’s face, Gia slugged Kona’s mammoth shoulder, not caring if the flinch he gave her was fake.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked the big man, moving to Luka’s side.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Luka told her, but he didn’t brush her hand away when she tilted his face toward the light. He lowered his voice, whispering in her ear, “You can yell at me later.”
“Oh, I will,” she told him before she rounded on his twin. “Well?”
“Listen, Gia, this really…” Kona looked to Luka, rolling his eyes before he stared at her. “This is between us.”
“Bullshit. You don’t put your hands on your brother.” Kona laughed, stepping back as though he was about to leave. “Hey!” She picked up the remote from the coffee table and flung it at him when he kept walking. “I’m talking to you, Kona Hale.” The big man stopped, and Gia ignored Luka’s hand on her arm. She ignored the slow frown that moved over Kona’s face and how menacing he looked when he glared at her.
“It’s none of your business.”
“No?” She glanced at Luka, knowing the truth, the real truth was the only thing they had between them. It was theirs. Only theirs and even if she was mad at Kona, she wanted to keep something just between them. “I’m making it my business because Luka is my…friend.”
“He’s my brother,” Kona said, the defense weak. When he glanced at his twin standing behind Gia, the big man shook his head. “I was wrong, I’ll admit that. I thought he did something I know he wouldn’t…” Kona waved a hand before he scrubbed his face and returned his attention to Gia. “Bottom line, it’s between us. He’s my brother. We handled our beef like we always do.”
“That’s ridiculous and stupid.” Kona tried to argue, but Gia held up a hand, stopping him. “I have four brothers. I know ridiculous and stupid. I also know how brothers handle their shit and this…” She pointed at the bruise on Kona’s face and the more significant damage on Luka’s, all the cuts and abrasions that Gia guessed would take much longer to heal than Kona’s, “this was not a fair fight. This was you in a damn rage and you know it.”
“It got sorted…” Kona tried, again glancing at his twin.
But Gia wasn’t listening. She turned, arms folded as she waited for Luka to explain himself because she knew Kona wouldn’t. “He thought I was fucking around with Keira.”
“Asshole!” Kona yelled just as Gia jerked her gaze back to him. “What?” he asked. “I told you I fucked up.”
“Are you crazy?”
“I had reasons,” Kona said.
“Stupid fucking reasons,” Luka answered, wincing as he dabbed at the cut on his bottom lip. He ignored Kona’s long sigh but leaned into Gia when