“Well, you know now,” I said, giving him an encouraging smile when he dropped his hands. “Justice is just as dramatic as you are, by the way. She came into this world in a rush, demanding everyone sit up and pay attention to her. That includes you, so don’t disappoint her.”

“I won’t,” he vowed reverently. “From this moment forward, my only goal is to protect her and Lis.”

“Yeah?” I bit my lip. “Have you ever been to Colombia before? I mean, other than when you came with Dad?”

“Yeah, a few times. We control the biggest coke pipeline into the US, Nova. Once Matias died, we took over the fields he owned. I had to go down once or twice just to make sure everything was moving smoothly.”

I leaned in closer to my brother. “I own half of the Ramirez business now. The legit business.” His eyes nearly popped out of his head. “But if I go back to New York, I won’t be able to run the business as I have been. Would you maybe…want to take half of my half—”

“I’ll do it for free,” he rushed out. “For you and Cali. I owe you both.”

“I wouldn’t feel right unless you took a portion of mine.”

“Whatever. I’ll do anything you want as long as it gives me a reason to stay close to my girls.” He slumped back in his chair. “I have a feeling she’s going to try her hardest to keep me away. Running the business gives me an excuse to stay close.” He shifted his gaze back to me. “And what the hell do you mean, if you go back to New York. There is no if, Nova. Ryan needs you.”

“When did he get the tattoo?” I asked before I could stop myself.

“You saw that, huh?” He smirked when I merely shrugged. “The week after we buried you, he had Lyric slap it on him. Said he needed to have a piece of you with him so he didn’t lose what was left of his sanity. And, trust me, there isn’t much left. The fighting helped at first, but lately, he’s been letting them beat on him more and more before he finishes them.”

My mouth fell open. “Fighting? What are you talking about?”

“The twins convinced us to go to some underground cage fight a while back,” Garret explained. “Some idiot who was sitting in front of us kept running his mouth. Acting like a big shot. Considered himself important and trashing people left and right. He must have been living under a rock all his life, because he had no idea who Ryan was. Every time the asshole opened his mouth, I could see Ryan getting more and more agitated. And then suddenly, the guy was on the ground, and Ryan was beating the fuck out of him. It took two of us to peel him off. The guy was unconscious by then, and Ryan had blood all over him.”