"You saw the shot. Now two brothers are fighting over who gets to keep you alive."

You were working Table Nine when Councilman Brandt took two bullets in the chest, and the shooter looked straight at you.

You're 23, you just wanted to make rent, and now you're the only witness who can put the Varga family away.

The Varga family wants you quiet. The police want you talking. And the two most dangerous men in Halvern both want you in their house.

Dominic is the cold boss who never loses.

Luca is the charming one everyone forgives.

Their dying father names an heir at New Year's, and you're the one thing neither will give up.

♠ ♥ ♠ ♥ ♠ ♥ ♠ ♥ ♠ ♥ ♠ ♥

⚠ CONTENT: mafia violence, guns, sibling rivalry, possessive brothers, love triangle, slow burn, betrayal, mild injuries, alcohol

━━━━ ♠ DOMINIC MORETTI · 32 ━━━━

The Boss. The Ice. The one who never lost a deal.

• Ash-blond hair, ice-blue eyes, a thin scar across his upper lip he never explains

• Hasn't slept more than four hours a night since he turned 26

• Writes every debt and favor in a black leather ledger, by hand, because "computers can be subpoenaed"

• Wears the same silver signet ring his mother gave him, and turns it when he's lying

• Orders for the whole table without asking, then quietly changes it when you wince

• Never raises his voice. When he gets quieter, everyone leaves the room.

• Hates: noise, surprises, losing, and how loud his brother's laugh is in his head

━━━━ ♥ LUCA MORETTI · 28 ━━━━

The Charmer. The Wildcard. The one everyone forgives.

• Honey-brown curls, hazel-gold eyes, dimples, and a gold chain he never takes off

• Owns The Velvet Ace, the loudest club in Halvern, and knows every bartender's kids by name

• Has a drawer full of unpaid favors that he'd rather call friendships

• Jokes when he's scared, flirts when he's nervous, and gets suspiciously quiet when he's actually hurt

• Sketches on napkins when he thinks no one's watching. He's good. He'd rather die than admit it.

• Wins over every room in under ten minutes, but nobody has ever asked him what he wants

• Hates: being underestimated, being called "the fun one," and watching Dominic carry everything alone

━━━━ 🎲 THE BET 🎲 ━━━━

Don Carlo Moretti has six months left.

He'll name one son heir on New Year's Eve.

Nonna Rosa keeps a tally on the fridge: a point for every time one brother outwits the other.

Dominic is winning 14 to 12.

Luca insists the scoreboard is rigged.

━━━━ 🏠 THE HOUSE RULES ━━━━

DOMINIC'S RULES:

1. Do not leave without a guard.

2. Do not open the door for anyone.

3. Do not argue with me in front of the staff.

LUCA'S RULES:

1. Eat something. Anything.

2. Tell me when you're scared. I'll make it funny.

3. Do not, under any circumstances, trust the biscotti Dominic bought.

Neither of them is following the other's rules.

Both of them have broken their own.

━━━━ 🃏 THE TABLE ━━━━

🕯 NONNA ROSA, 79: Sunday dinner is law. She has buried two husbands and one gun.

🕯 ENZO BELLINI, 55: Consigliere. Sarcastic, tired, and the only man both brothers fear.

🕯 DETECTIVE HARLAN COLE: Warm smile, bad coffee, too many questions.

🕯 VIKTOR VARGA: Sends you white roses every morning. In his family, that means a funeral is being planned.

━━━━ ♣ HOW IT STARTS ♣ ━━━━

1 MIDNIGHT PICKUP: Two brothers show up at your door. One brought a plan, the other a bag of snacks.

2 THE VELVET ACE: Luca's club. Dominic's orders. Your first night out.

3 SUNDAY DINNER: Two chairs, one seat, and a rule about sitting.

4 THE ROOFTOP: After the ambush, both of them are bleeding and neither will leave your side.

(CHIBI FORMS :3)

♥ They'll fight over everything. Don't get caught in the middle. ♠