Page 91 of The Enforcer

“Then don’t fucking buy it.” Tino snapped his fingers at the next person in the crowd in a very Don Moretti manner. “Next.”

“Fine!” The first guy dug into his pocket, not realizing he was now contributing to the Lost Kids’ drugs-to-survive fund. “This crew is whack. This is the last time I’m coming.”

“We’re really fucking sad over that.” Tino yanked the cash out of his hand and pointed at Meilei to give him a pill out of the bag. “Motherfuckers with attitudes don’t get glowsticks.”

The great thing about being the only guy with candy was he could charge whatever the hell he wanted. Frankie would probably take a belt to him if he knew Tino was selling it for more than he said, but what the fuck did he care? Frankie always found a reason, and Nova had the balls to say it was his ass?

Jesus.

Maybe Tino needed to start blowing brain cells on ecstasy and poppers. It felt like Nova hadn’t been part of reality for a really long time now. Just caught up with fucking party girls and rolling his ass off when he wasn’t jumping for Frankie or barking for the don.

Somewhere along the way, Nova had cracked under the pressure. He gave up doing anything but surviving and taking the pleasure where he could. Indulgently. Greedily. As selfishly as life robbed him of happiness, he yanked it back whenever he got the chance.

Like a Lost Boy.

Eventually the crowd of buyers wound down to a few every couple of minutes. Tino was still tired, but it was too early for an energy shot. So he stretched out on the concrete slab like the king of party treats, with his head in Meilei’s lap and his legs draped over Carla’s thighs.

Like Tino, Carla was one of the luckier Lost Kids.

Working off her parents’ green cards, she wasn’t alone in the world. She didn’t live in some dingy apartment with twelve other sex slaves like Bobby or Meilei. She had a family, but Tino had to wonder what her relationship was like with them.

She’d been coming out more and more, and he got the impression bitterness was setting in. She was probably starting to resent that her pain and humiliation were paying their debts. Tino should know; he had days when he was very, very angry at Romeo for going to prison.

It wasn’t Romeo’s fault, but Tino still got angry at him. Romeo didn’t have to punch that cop. He could’ve kept his shit together instead.

Tino had days when he was pissed off at Nova too. It wasn’t Nova’s fault everyone wanted to own his brain, but Tino would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit it wasn’t easy to be his brother.

But he still loved them both…very much.

Which left him feeling extremely fucked-up most of the time.

Tino pulled the bag of extras out of his backpack that he had hidden behind him and looked at it. He handed out fistfuls of the stuff to every Lost Kid in there and never took one for himself.

He was currently a very shitty Lost Boy, and he was starting to be jealous of Nova, who went after the title like the overachiever he was.

The music picked up with a quicker beat, because the DJ was awesome. He matched the pulse of the music to the pulse of the crowd as they started rolling. Each song got a little faster, a little more sexual, making people want to dance a little closer together, and even without the drugs, the vibe was catching.

Sexy.

And it was warm in that warehouse.

The sweat already dampened his temples, and it made him want to pull his shirt over his head and show off what Mary made so much cash from.

“You wanna split one with me?” he asked Carla, because he knew Meilei was one of the few clean Lost Girls who rarely used drugs. “Just once?”

“Sí.” Carla nodded. “I’ll roll with you.”

“I’ll roll with you too,” Meilei offered as she caressed his hair. “For you, I’ll roll. Two is more fun than one, right? You deserve a nice night. You never have fun. We’ll make it fun for you.”

“Oh yeah?” Tino raised his eyebrows, realizing she was talking about more than rolling.

Carla and Meilei wore bands on both their arms, meaning they serviced menandwomen. He mulled it over, knowing he had to get Nova and whatever party girl he picked up for the night back to the old apartment. He looked out in the crowd, finding Nova easily. Tino wasn’t sure why, but the crowd tended to part a little for Nova. Like he had this energy throbbing off him that forced people to respect his space.

Nova already had his shirt off. He was dancing between two girls who were on him like a second skin. Tino recognized them. Nova had been with them more than once. The girls were a couple, roommates with benefits, but they liked Novaa lot, and they weren’t under any sort of misconception about what he could offer them. College girls who fucked him on Saturday and called him on Monday for help with their classes, and Nova always took their calls. He always stopped and sat down and talked about whatever the fuck they were having a hard time passing.

It was an honest and convenient arrangement, and it seemed to work for everyone since the girls had their faces buried in the curves of Nova’s neck, licking at his sweaty skin, probably making the roll extra good, which was what Nova lived for. Tino didn’t totally blame Nova for being half-naked, because Tino wanted to do the same thingwithoutthe ecstasy. He really hoped Nova shoved his shirt in his back pocket, because Tino wasn’t taking the subway with Nova like that.

It was just so fucking hot, and Tino had a goddamn jacket on to keep the gun hidden. The gun that was digging into the small of his back, making it impossible to get comfortable, especially in the heat, and this was all such bullshit. He closed his eyes, trying and failing to push the anger down before he ate a fistful of E to escape it.