Page 56 of The Enforcer's Revenge

“Iamangry,” Carlo promised him.

“Take a deep breath and apologize.” Nova’s voice didn’t crack this time as he growled, “Now.”

Carlo took a deep breath and looked at the two men in lab coats standing there, looking more than a little nervous. “I’m sorry,” he choked out in English.

“Okay.” Nova didn’t let go of his hold on the back of Carlo’s neck. “Can we take him?”

“Yeah.” They both nodded, and the medical examiner didn’t hesitate before he said, “Take him.”

Nova let out a huge sigh of relief and let go of Carlo, but Tino grabbed him because he knew instinctively they needed to be touching Carlo to keep him grounded. He wrapped an arm around Carlo’s shoulders and pulled him close as he whispered, “I love you, Zio.”

“I know what you did for her.” Carlo choked on the words as he switched back to the Sicilian-leaning Italian of his youth.A sob burst out of him as he crumpled into Tino and buried his face in the curve of Tino’s neck. “I saw the duct tape, and?—”

“Come on.” Nova wrapped an arm around Carlo’s waist. “Let’s get him the fuck out of here.”

Carlo was almost dead weight, but together, Tino and Nova were able to drag him out of the coroner’s office. There were soldiers outside the building, mulling around, smoking, and talking. Tino wished they weren’t seeing Carlo quite this broken, but he couldn’t fix it.

Nova brought the limo, and the three of them crawled into the back with the girls. They had a guy sitting shotgun, but Nova put the partition up, and they were alone when Carlo fell on his side and started sobbing.

Carina moved over and put Carlo’s head on her lap. She started stroking his hair, pushing the dark, sweaty strands off his forehead as he cried openly without shame. An enforcer’s hard reputation was everything, but Carlo broke down like nothing in the world mattered anymore.

It clearly affected Nova, too, because he doubled over.

He put his forehead against his knees, and his shoulder shook in grief while he sobbed. It was obvious he hadn’t had a chance until then. None of them held it against him, even if the driver and the guy riding shotgun probably heard it and knew their Consigliere had a chink in his armor like the rest of them.

They all cried.

All five of them.

By the time they pulled into the Dyker Heights’ mansion, Tino had his head in Brianna’s lap, with her tears hitting his face as she caressed his hair.

The engine was shut off, and Tino didn’t want to get out of the car. There would be people everywhere, especially if they were at war. Other members of the family would start showingup. They’d bring their children for safety because the Don’s homes were the most secure on purpose.

Tino would’ve just stayed in the limo because he was an enforcer too, and his rep fucking mattered, but Nova opened the door and jumped out before Tino could pull his shit together.

“And here we go.” Tino rolled off Brianna. “This part was way overdue.”

Sure enough, they heard Nova puking his guts up in the downstairs bathroom as Tino utilized Brianna’s dancer strength to help him drag Carlo to his bedroom. People looked at them, and a few approached. Some of the women offered food, but Carina’s bluntness worked to their advantage. She dismissed everyone as she followed them up the stairs.

Tino fell into the bed next to his zio after they dumped him there, thinking it wasn’t that long ago that he was curled up next to him in Mills Basin, wrapped up in a sheet like this—before their world ended.

Brianna crawled into the bed next to Tino.

Carina lay down on the couch.

They all hid from the rest of the family.

Nova showed up, still looking green, and sat on the floor underneath the window that he opened, letting in the hot July air even though it was evening. He sat there silently, smoking a joint with shaking hands. He wasn’t even subtle about it, which meant he was probably still trying to curb the urge to be sick. Weed was the only thing that helped him stop throwing up when his nervous stomach got him.

Then Carlo whispered into the quiet, “Where’s Carmen?”

“I don’t know whose phone she was communicating with Lola from, but it’s not hers,” Nova explained. “She keeps herself very off the grid. I had to fish deep in the network to get a hint. She’s still in Tampa, and I have enough leads to track her down,even without a number. I’ll just drive there and hope I get to her before someone else tells her.”

“Nova, you can’t go into Tampa. The old man’ll lose his fucking mind,” Carlo argued. “He already got arrested for my blow. I can’t send you into De Luca territory. He’ll never speak to me again.”

“I got a pass. The danger’s minimal.” Nova winced when he said it. “No reason to tell the old man we’re getting her in Tampa. We could say it was anywhere.”

“How expensive was the pass?” Tino asked in concern.