Page 21 of The Enforcer

Tino turned back to her, still feeling dirty, as if he didn’t deserve to be sitting there next to her, let alone thinking about touching her again.

Even if he had spent the past four years slowly dying without her.

But Tino didn’t tell her any of that.

He didn’t even know how, and the young, in-love part of him didn’t want to tell her. He wanted her to look at him like she had before, when he was pulling his shirt off, and he didn’t want to give her anything to be disgusted about.

And that was when he realized out of everyone, he was angriest with Brianna.

For falling in love with him.

And ruining her life.

Maybe ending it.

There was this very juvenile, very confused part of him that wanted to yell at her for touching someone like him. Someone dirty.

But the only way he could put that into words was to say in a cold, distant voice, “I need a shower.”

“We’ll get a room.” Brianna’s voice was soft, endearing, making him realize too late that he had said that to her one too many times before. “You can have a shower.”

She said it like she knew exactly why he needed one.

She knew why he was dirty.

Somehow she knew what happened in Miami. She always knew.

But she touched him anyway.

Because Brianna made bad life choices.

He was mad at her for it, irrationally furious, but he was going to take a shower and fuck her anyway, ’cause he loved her so much more than he was mad at her.

Chapter Six

“Who are we hiding from?” Brianna asked as she tossed her bag on the chair by the bed.

“Everyone,” Tino said as he locked the door behind them.

He had a briefcase with him, but there were no clothes in it. Just cash and firearms, neither of which she’d been surprised by when he pulled it out of the trunk.

“Like the feds?” she asked as she stared down at the tank top she was wearing under the jacket Carina had loaned her. She glanced back to Tino as he took off the camouflage hat and set it on the desk by the door. He pulled off his jacket, tossed it over the chair, and stood there in that blue University of Kentucky shirt that was too tight across his broad, muscular chest and clung to his thick biceps. He was way too sexy for her sanity, so she quickly turned away and asked, “Is that why you’re using an ID with your father’s name on it?”

“I’m using that ID ’cause the credit cards in my father’s name are the only ones I have that Nova doesn’t know about, and nice hotels need a credit card for incidentals. The feds are the least of our problems. Where we stand right now, the feds would be doing us a favor to pick us up.”

“We didn’t have to stay somewhere this nice,” she argued. “We should’ve just gone somewhere that takes cash.”

“I’m not staying in a shithole. It bothers me, and you know why it bothers me,” he said with a glare. “If you knew where I landed when I first got to Miami last week, you wouldn’t give me merda about the hotel.”

“For a wedding?” She arched an eyebrow skeptically, ’cause Miami was clearly an issue. “Did something happen in Miami? Obviously you’re not as out as we all thought. Did you piss Don Moretti off?”

“The don pissedmeoff,” Tino growled at her. “And he knows it. That’s why he attacked you. His plan didn’t work, and now he’s trying to make me feel vulnerable. He’s trying to make me feel sixteen again. He’s scared.”

“He’s not the only one,” Brianna whispered as she sat down on the bed. She looked at her hands as everything hit her again. Her career was as good as gone when she had been working toward becoming a headliner since she was old enough to stand on her toes. For all the years since she and Tino had been apart, her job had been her sole source of joy, and knowing she was going to lose it after she disappeared without a word had her fighting tears. “I did the right thing. I married Broccoli. I was lonely and unhappy, but I was supposed to be secure, and you were supposed to be safe. Nova promised me.” She lifted her head and stared at him, seeing that Tino was standing there, his entire body tense, as if she had physically struck him. She wanted to feel bad, but damn it, he’d been washing hot and cold since Kentucky. “I’ve missed you. I’ve cried for you. I have closed my eyes a thousand times and tried to imagine it was you touching me instead of—”

“Don’t,” Tino cut her off, as he looked away, clenching his jaw. “Don’t talk about him touching you.”

“It makes you uncomfortable?” She almost shouted it. She was just that indignant. “It was my reality, Tino. While you were off enjoying Southern hospitality with your little strawberry-shortcake friend Alaine, I was living a lie for security, and now that’s gone too! I guess I deserve it. Maybe we both deserve it. I lied in front of God. You made me a liar.”