Fade To Midnight by Shannon McKenna Page B

when Tony found you!”
    Kev couldn’t deny it, but he couldn’t agree, either. “I need to know where I came from,” he said.
    â€œWhy?” Bruno yelled. “What would it help? What’ll it prove?”
    Bruno was right. There was no reason to think knowing his past would make the quality of his life better. And there were many reasons to think that it might make it worse. But curiosity was driving him bonkers. He’d always wanted to know where he came from, but since the waterfall, that want was fueled by raw emotion, like burning rocket fuel. If the truth should prove to suck ass, he still had to know it.
    But Bruno was on a roll. “What’s wrong with the life you’ve got? You’ve got plenty of money, or would if you’d stop throwing it at the widows and the orphans. You’ve got me and Tony and Rosa for family. What are we, chopped liver? Too lowbrow for you?”
    â€œDon’t be stupid. It has nothing to do with you, Rosa, and Tony.”
    â€œWe’re just not enough,” Bruno raged on. “You’re fixated on that hole inside your head, instead of the life you’ve built. Ever thought that what’s in that hole might be a big disappointment to you? You were in shit-poor shape when Tony got you. Whoever your people were, they didn’t stand by you! They left you to die! Fuck them!”
    Kev gazed at the younger man. “I won’t blow you off. Even if I find my former family. You’ll always be my brother. No matter what.”
    Bruno looked embarrassed. “It’s not about that.”
    Kev just looked at him.
    â€œOh, shut up,” Bruno snarled. “Just shut the fuck up.”
    â€œI didn’t say anything,” Kev said.
    â€œYou didn’t have to. It was the look on your face. Come on. Eat this.” He slapped a plate with a fried egg on a roll, bacon draped over it.
    Kev swallowed back the clutch of nausea. No way to let Bruno down gently. He shook his head. “I’ll take coffee,” he offered.
    Bruno muttered something foul in Calabrese, and spun the loaded plate in the direction of the sink like a Frisbee. The crash of breaking crockery made Kev jerk, covering his ears. Jesus. That hurt.
    He took off his coat and poured coffee, ignoring the anger radiating from the broad back of his adopted brother. He tried not to limp as he crossed the room. Any show of weakness set Bruno off.
    He sat at his worktable and turned the computer on.
    â€œDon’t jerk off with that while I’m talking to you,” Bruno growled.
    â€œI’m not jerking off,” Kev said mildly. “And if you do, I’ll talk back.”
    â€œWith only half your brain? That irritates the shit out of me.”
    Kev clicked his browser. “Half a brain’s all I’ve ever had.”
    â€œHah. You could solve complicated higher math problems while simultaneously operating a nuclear missile launcher, analyzing weather patterns, and shaving a poodle. But normal folk call that bad manners.”
    Kev tried not to smile. “That’s funny, coming from a guy who just picked all my locks. Get out, Bruno. I’m working.”
    Bruno grabbed a chair and straddled it. “I’ll leave when you eat.”
    Kev sighed. “It’ll be hours,” he explained. “My stomach’s fucked up. No digestive fluids. I’m not being difficult. It’s a timing thing.”
    â€œSo I’ll wait til you’re better,” Bruno said.
    Kev rubbed his throbbing forehead. “Thanks for caring, but no. I love you, man, but I’m busy now. Fuck off.”
    â€œMake me,” Bruno said.
    Kev exhaled slowly, dismayed. He’d managed this badly, out of exhaustion. Now there would be no getting rid of him without a fight.
    He looked at the challenge in the younger man’s eyes, the set of his jaw. He looked like Tony, with that expression. Scary thought.
    Kev had taught Bruno