The Enforcer (Untamed Hearts Book 3) (62 page)

He wasn’t exactly singing, but it was sort of like he was making love to her with the words, because Italian was like that. As he said, it rolled off his tongue sensually, but then the song was over, and it left Brianna feeling a little bereft, until the next one came on.

“Oh!” She turned in his arms and looked at him. “It’s
Jersey Boys
!”

“What the fuck is this doing on there?” Tino turned to look out the window like he was personally insulted. “Who makes these Christmas lists for him?”

“Dance with me,” she pleaded and hit his shoulder. “Please. This is my favorite musical in the whole world. I would die to be in it.”

“You
are
in it.” Tino looked to the window pointedly as the lights cast a green-and-red glow over the room.

“Put me in it.” She ran a hand down his bare chest. “Dance with me.”

Tino grabbed her hand and pulled her up and then spun her until her back was pressed against his chest. The two of them danced and sang and were ridiculously silly, because Tino was a great one to dance and be ridiculous with and Brianna needed that. If she didn’t have a partner she could dance around a room with, it just wouldn’t work. The whole
Jersey Boys
sound track played from the musical, which made the night magical, because Brianna had gone to see it five times since she’d moved to Manhattan.

When “My Eyes Adored You” came on, they started with Brianna singing to him, just looking up at him as the two of them slow danced, but then Tino cupped her chin and whispered, “No,
my
eyes adored you.” He pushed her hair away from her forehead. “Though I never laid a hand on you, my eyes adored you.”

“Oh.” She pulled back, because something about the way he sang it stole her breath from the emotions that welled up.

He didn’t let her go; he pulled her closer and leaned down to whisper the lyrics into the curve of her neck. “Like a million miles away from me, you couldn’t see how I adored you.” He pulled at the top button to her scratchy red pajamas and breathed against her collarbone. “So close.” He undid the second one. “So close and yet so far.”

Brianna threaded her fingers into his hair, and she didn’t even try to hide the tears that rolled down her cheeks as he pulled her pajama shirt off and confessed, “My eyes adored you,” against her stomach like they were the most honest words that had left his mouth.

She didn’t know why she cried while he undressed her, singing that song to her, but it wasn’t just her. Tino was crying too as he pushed her against the mattress and crawled over her, unbuttoning his jeans as he went. Then he brushed her hair away from her forehead and held her face like he did, making her feel like she was the most precious thing in the world to him as he whispered, “My eyes adored you,” like he really needed her to hear it.

She nodded, and all she could say was, “I’m glad they did.”

“I’m gonna get to the other side of the board for you,” he promised with tears glimmering in his dark eyes. “If there’s a way, I’m gonna find it.”

“There’s always a way,” she reminded him with a smile.

Then the song switched, and Tino made love to her to the rest of the
Jersey Boys
sound track, telling her how much he adored her until she was moaning against his rough palm, because she couldn’t seem to keep it in despite their neighbors.

Tino buried his face in her hair when the pleasure became too much. Then he said, “Ti amo,” when he started to come down.

She didn’t recognize it, so she asked, “What does that mean?”

“I love you.” He stroked her sweaty hair away from her face. “I just love you, baby. That’s it.”

“Is that it?” she asked with a smile.

He nodded and smiled back. “That’s it.”

Epilogue

Somewhere in West Virginia

November 2014

And they lived happily ever after…

Brianna drew little swirly lines and hearts under it on the hotel stationery like she would’ve when she was eighteen. She’d been sitting in this room all day, hungry, with nothing to eat but the few snacks she and Carina bought at the Kentucky border.

No phone either.

She was just trapped with her thoughts for hours and hours.

Now she was left in that place with the lights and Tino adoring her to the sound track of
Jersey Boys
, wondering if that young, incredibly naive Brianna would believe for one second where she’d be six years later.

After all of them learned firsthand what love could destroy.

The kingdoms it could rip apart.

The lives it could ruin.

The hearts it could break.

Before the war that taught them there were no happy endings in Cosa Nostra, just the little collection of special memories they all had to learn how to survive with.

It had to be enough.

There was a knock on the door, and she nearly jumped out of her skin after being stuck in the room for so long. Then she sat there, staring at it, not moving, barely breathing before she heard, “It’s me.”

She still didn’t move, because that didn’t feel like enough.

“Brianna—” It was a bark of annoyance. “It’s fine.”

She very quietly got up, keeping her footsteps light as she reached for the gun on the nightstand. She turned toward the door and pointed it there. Even if she recognized Nova’s voice, they could have him hostage for all she knew.

If he were really okay, he’d know she’d need proof.

“Cazzo.” Nova groaned, sounding exhausted. “What the fuck do you want? Proof? You want proof? Fine. Um. I used to call you the BFF until Tino lost his shit on me and knocked me out with the shower door ’cause I wasn’t
reverent
enough.”

She frowned, because she honestly didn’t know that.

“Jesus, you’re more paranoid than I am.” He huffed when she didn’t respond. “The train ride in Harlem after the rave. The coffeehouse in the village where we met Lola. I don’t know what you’re looking for. It’s me. No one’s holding me hostage. I got you double the scholarship money when you first started college, and you’re leaving me out here spouting off shit when I haven’t slept in two days.”

She undid the locks. “I didn’t know you did that.”

Nova snorted in disbelief. “You thought they just hand out that much scholarship money for no reason?”

“Carina told me she did it,” Brianna mumbled.

“Okay.” Nova let out a harsh, cynical laugh. “But you’re still a smart girl, Brianna. Still very smart. Anyone else would’ve just opened the door. What dumbass thought they could get that cretino you married to ice you?” Nova looked away, seeming lost in thought. “You’ve been through a fucking war. The old man knows you’re smart. He knows you’re tough too.”

Brianna shrugged, because she didn’t have any more answers than Nova did.

“Anyway, let’s go get you something to eat. You gotta be friggin’ starving.” Nova walked into the room and picked up her bag that she’d already packed with the cash Tino left her, along with the other things she’d brought. “Is this it?”

She nodded as she slipped the gun into the back of her jeans and pulled down her shirt to cover it. “That’s it.”

“Okay, Chuito, this is Brianna. Make friends, because he’s the one going to the mattresses with you this time. He’s the
only
one.” Nova gestured to the huge Hispanic man standing at the door wearing a hoodie and jeans. Then Nova pointed to the slender, strawberry-blonde woman next to him. “You’ve met his wife, Alaine.”

“Yes, I have.” Brianna reached for the jacket she’d left on the desk. “Hello, Alaine.”

Alaine gave a little wave. “Hi.”

Nova walked past all of them with Brianna’s bag over his shoulder without another word, because when a Moretti moved, others followed, and he knew it. Brianna stood there staring at Chuito Garcia, who was very muscular and extremely intimidating. He wasn’t a bad choice for a war, but he wasn’t an army.

Tino wasn’t an army either.

They’d seen before it only took one man with a vendetta to tear apart a Borgata, but if this was it, then these were the people she could very possibly die with, so she asked, “Why are you here?”

Chuito considered her for a second before he said, “Because Tino’s my brother.”

Brianna nodded, feeling oddly at peace with that answer. “That works.” She smiled at him. “It’s nice to meet you, Chuito.”

Chuito smiled back, showing off deep dimples that made him look a little less intimidating, a little more approachable, but then his phone beeped in his pocket, and he reached for it.

He frowned at it for long enough that Alaine asked, “Who is it?”

“It’s just my mother.” He clicked the screen off and put the phone back in his pocket. “Bitching.”

“You should be kind to her,” Alaine said softly. “I’m sure she wasn’t bitching.”

“Okay,” Chuito said dismissively and gestured in front of him. “Dancers first.”

Brianna smiled again, knowing it didn’t meet her eyes as she slipped on the jacket and followed after Nova.

* * * *

Tino sat in his car around the corner from the hotel, watching the feed of Brianna walking down the hallway on his burner phone. He rubbed his thumb over her image and then screenshot it, not knowing if it was the last time he’d be able to see her.

Then he clicked back to his texts, seeing a little bubble indicating that Chuito was responding to Tino’s plea of:

Protect her. Protect my brother too. It’s the only way we can win. I’m not giving up, Chu. I’m just trying to get across the board. Ask Bri what it means. You of all people will understand.

Then Chuito’s response popped up.

Nova thinks it’s a trap that your grandfather went after Brianna. He’s freaking the fuck out. Where are you?

So Tino wrote back.

I’m like a phantom. I’m everywhere.

Chuito obviously didn’t think he was funny.

Did you miss the trap part, pendejo? You’re just gonna get yourself killed for the fun of it?

Tino was actually insulted.

No, I’m fucking new. I had no idea it was a trap. I promise to stay in touch, but I need to do some things away from Nova. The old-man thing is hitting him harder than it looks. Please protect them for me.

He could almost feel Chuito’s annoyance, but his response surprised Tino.

Turn back to your feed.

Tino switched back to his camera feed. He laughed out loud when he saw that Chuito had found the camera in the hallway vent near the room. Now he was looking at grainy footage of Chuito flipping him off, and Tino asked:

What the fuck was that for?

He went back to the feed to watch Chuito respond, typing angrily on his phone. Tino switched back to his texts to see a very Chuito-like response.

’Cause you thought you had to ask, motherfucker.

Tino smiled, feeling tears sting his eyes, and responded quickly with the only thing he could think of that wouldn’t make Chuito totally uncomfortable. He wanted to tell him that he loved him for being his best friend when so many people had stepped on him instead. He wanted to say how much it meant that Chuito was one of the few Tino could depend on without thought, but all he said was:

Grazie.

He turned back to the feed after he did it. Chuito was already walking away, following after the girls, but then Tino’s phone beeped with one final response.

De nada.

Valentino Moretti’s Guide to Italian, Sicilian, and Cosa Nostra Terminology, Version 2.0

Traditional Italian and Sicilian

Note from Tino: There are a lot of New York Italians who use broken-up, Americanized phrases in Italian, but this isn’t it. This section is traditional Italian the way my mother spoke it and traditional Sicilian the way Carlo’s mother spoke it. They’re not the same. They are different languages, but close enough that we can understand each other. Talking to Carlo in Italian required a learning curve, but we’re keeping them together in tribute to old-school, original gangsters like Carlo. There aren’t too many left. Most of them don’t even know what it means to take the oath.

Aiuto
—Help.

Andiamo
—Let’s go! It’s the Italian version of vámonos in Spanish.

Bastarda
—A female bastard. Words ending in A usually mean female, except when it doesn’t like minchia (cock—obviously male) because, I dunno, my people like wine.

Bastardi
—More than one bastard. For example, the house I grew up in was full of bastardi because my ma had an aversion to wedding rings and nice guys. Italian words ending in I mean more than one.

Bastardo
—Male bastard. Words ending in O mean male in Italian.

Buttana
—Sicilian version of puttana. Slut. Whore.

Capisce
—Do you understand? This is one of those I assume everyone knows, but sure, we’ll add it in.

Cazzo
—Fuck. Technically means dick, but it’s used universally the same way fuck is in English.

Che minchia hai fatto
—What the fuck have you done?

Ciao
—Hello.

Coglione
—It technically means balls, but we’ll use it to call someone an asshole or a motherfucker.

Cretino
—Idiot.