Page 98 of The Enforcer's Revenge

Tino stared at Tony for a long moment and then looked in the direction he had left Nova and Carlo at the coffee shop around the corner. He shook his head, realizing he couldn’t bring himself to go back. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t. Everything in him protested against it.

“I owe you so much. This isnothingin comparison to what you did for me. I can make it happen for you, Tony, and I will,” Tino confessed, knowing if he applied enough pressure on Nova, he could talk him into it. “Do you really want it?”

“Not like this.” Tony was quick to answer. “I don’t wanna hurt the Zu, and I don’t wanna hurt you either.”

Tino looked away, still feeling embarrassed. “I know I bounced on our friendship, but it’s still there.Always. And if you need me for anything?—”

“I know,” Tony assured him before Tino had to finish. “Same here. You know I got your back, son. No matter what. I’m gonna give you my new number. If your family ever needs me, just call me.”

“Not if you’re on the Savios’ books. We’ll never be that desperate. If you’re loyal to them…” Tino argued.

“I’ll stay a free agent,” Tony promised. “I’ll keep the gig with the Savios as side work until your brother warms up to the idea.”

That was a big commitment on Tony’s part, to turn down the protection of being made by another family.

Made men were much safer within the walls of Cosa Nostra.

The two of them stood there and exchanged numbers. Again, something unspoken between them. They had once been very close, and Tino hadn’t reached out once since Nova got them out. He had deliberately cut ties despite what they’d been through together. Tony didn’t seem to be even remotely pissedabout it, which was pretty typical of Tony, but it didn’t make Tino feel any better about it.

Tino put his phone back in his pocket and asked, “Hey, what’re you doing for the Savios?”

“Man, what don’t I do?” Tony laughed at that. “I’m a jack of all trades. That’s still my magic trick.”

“You know you gotta make your bones to get made,” Tino said rather than flat out ask Tony if he was digging graves for the Savios.

Tony smiled and arched a dark eyebrow at Tino’s warning that he’d have to kill someone in cold blood in order to earn the right to be a made man. “You worried about my cherry, Tino?”

Tino just nodded. “Yeah.”

“Don’t worry.” Tony hit his shoulder. “Tell your brother I come with references. It won’t be on him.”

“Okay,” Tino lied and promptly started working hard on forgetting that Tony De Luca had just admitted to being a rentable hitman.

The scariest type of hitman, in Tino’s opinion, because it wasn’t out of family loyalty.

It was something much darker.

There just wasn’t anything to save after that.

A Lost Boy, forever lost like the rest of them.

Tino never told Nova.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Brooklyn, New York

Early Evening July 8th, 2010

Now Tino was going down. He just knew it.

He pulled out his phone and looked for Tony’s contact. The fact that Tony lived up the street had to be a fucking miracle from God.

Fuck Nova’s agreement and his conscience.

Tino pissed on both without blinking.

He kept walking, fighting not to look back as he listened to the phone ring, praying for a pickup. Funny how he always found God the moment he thought it was all over. He was still mentally pleading with whoever was in charge of helping enforcers in trouble when the call was answered.