Page 131 of The Enforcer's Revenge

Now he knew that needing something—desperately—didn’t mean it was safe to have it. They weren’t protected just because they were in love. It was the exact opposite. It made them vulnerable, and Tino no longer believed the high he got from being with Brianna was worth it.

Not at the risk of losing her.

There was a lot going on with life besides being in love. Brianna had a lot of things to do that had nothing to do with Tino.

A lot of shows to star in.

A lot of things to see and do.

Carmen, he hoped, was the same. She, more than anyone, deserved a chance to live her life like Lola would’ve wanted forher. Getting tangled up with Nova would make it all so much more difficult. Tino had already failed Lola; he didn’t want the same thing to happen with her sister.

Still, Tino reminded himself it was Nova.

He avoided attachments like the plague. He was the one who always handled his shit. He hooked up with Lost Girls on a regular basis, and he stayed friends with all of them without complications. It never turned into a thing. If anyone was good at keeping things casual, it was Nova.

So, he forgot about it.

Tino was more pressed with the issue of the Don waiting in the basement with a dead Brambino and an extra henchman Nova was nice enough to keep alive so Tony could make his bones.

That was a huge shitshow, and since that fell clearly under Tino’s job description, it was a sure bet he was going to hear it. Not a great scenario when he was still trying to talk himself out of using his last bullet to end Nova’s real problem for him.

“Listen.” Tino decided if Tony wanted this job so fucking bad, he might as well make him good at it. “Center mass, slightly to the left.” He leaned over as the two of them walked and touched the place on Tony’s chest where his heart was. “Right here. It’ll be over, and then we can deal with the real problem.”

Tony snorted. “Which is?”

“Getting rid of all these fucking bodies.” Tino sighed with exhaustion. “It’s the worst part of the job, and this is a fucking mess.” He stopped and covered his face with his hands when he thought about everything that had to be done. “What the fuck was I thinking blowing that motherfucker’s brains out like that? I’m the one who's going to be cleaning up his closet. I’ll never get to the hospital to see Brianna.”

“Hey.” Tony reached over and grabbed his shoulder. “Look at me.”

Tino dropped his hands, feeling like the world was crashing down around him. The blow had long since worn off, and that was his biggest problem.

Reality.

It was too much, and Tino blinked at Tony, barely seeing him.

“How do we get through this?” Tony asked him like they were in the past, and Tino was young and melting down for a completely different reason.

Tino took a deep breath, and then, feeling like he was fifteen again, he whispered on autopilot, “One step at a time.”

“It’s just one step at a time, right?” Tony agreed with him. “And then it’ll be over.”

Tino nodded. “Okay, yeah, we’ll just get it over with. We gotta drive to Jersey to grab the chemicals, and uh?—”

“We gotta kinda worry about the Feds a little,” Tony reminded him. “I think they’re personally after you. They do not want you part of this war, and I just promised your brother I’d make sure you’re safe. I can’t let you drive around with body-eating chemicals in your car. That’s not an option for you. Is there anyone else? Maybe they can grab the shit and bring it back here.”

Tino shook his head, thinking of Carlo. “No, it’s just me. Carlo and I are the only two enforcers for the Borgata. We don’t like the others to know our shit.”

“Jesus, Tino,” Tony whispered. “What would’ve happened if you didn’t call me?”

Tino considered that for a second and looked at the gun still in his hand, thinking of his headache.

“Okay, come on.” Tony shoved at his back before Tino could answer him. “Let’s just do this.”

Tony walked into the basement with purpose. The Don had been leaning against the bedroom door, watching the televisionwith a gun in his hand, doing a lazy job of guarding the last Brambino. He glanced up at the sound of Tony’s stomping De Luca-sized steps down the stairs.

Tony turned around when he got to the bottom of the stairs and forcibly took the gun out of Tino’s hand, even though he clearly had two weapons on him.

He didn’t wait for the Don to acknowledge him.