Page 99 of The Enforcer's Revenge

“Tino?” Tony sounded surprised because it’d been three months since he made the offer.

“Yeah, listen, what the fuck? You weren’t at Pietro’s. I’m still here waiting for you.” Tino’s voice was shaking. “I feel stood up, man, and I’m having a really bad week.”

“No, no, it’s cool. I’m close,” Tony said without missing a beat, which was pretty amazing, but then again, he was the master of this particular type of survival game. “Walk toward my place, and I’ll meet you outside. It’s on Hayden. You know where that is?”

Tino looked behind him, letting his paranoia show. “Not really. Maybe you’re not interested anymore. You can just tell me, motherfucker.”

“I’m always interested. I told you that the last time we talked.” Tony sounded deadly serious, making it obvious he understood what Tino was really asking. “I saved myself for you.”

Tino sucked in a hard breath of relief with the confirmation that Tony was still a free agent. He couldn’t stop himself from looking over his shoulder again. The couple who’d been arguing in the car were following him. They were on foot now, walking casually, hand in hand, but the man was on the phone. They are probably waiting for the all-clear to move in and actually take down Tino.

“Merda.” Tino felt like he was going to drop right there from a heart attack. It was almost worse than the car ride with Nova. He could barely force his brain to work under the fear, but he made his voice louder on purpose. “I’m feeling the heat, Tony. It’s all falling apart. They know about me.”

“Okay.” Tony sounded cool and confident, like he was used to getting calls from strung-out lost kids running from the authorities. “I got you. Where are you now?”

Tino gave him the rundown of where he was and started following Tony’s directions.

Tino glanced behind him, seeing that he was still being followed.

He was desperate to convey how deep this shit was. Praying Tony understood his real meaning, he repeated again, “Ireallythink they know about me. I’m paranoid as fuck.”

“Tino, it’s okay. We’ll figure it out.” Tony sounded breathless, like he was running down a staircase. “I gotta tell you, Maria’s with me, but you know she’s into it.”

“Whatever.” Tino let out a broken laugh that sounded a little more like a sob. “I figured as much.”

Tino turned down Hayden and then looked behind him once more. The couple turned too, still following him. The man continued to talk on the phone. A black van pulled down the road behind them.

Jesus fucking Christ, this was it, he was going down.

And he was taking Tony De Luca with him.

Nova was going to drive back to Tampa and drown himself.

“Did you hear about Lola?” Tino asked, feeling sick as the words left his mouth. “You been watching the news?”

“No.” Tony’s voice caught. “What about her?”

Tino didn’t even have to act as a real sob burst out of him. “Someone got her.”

Tony fell silent.

And Tino was half dead from the anxiety.

For a moment, he thought he had lost his lifeline.

Thewhoosh, whoosh, whooshin his ears sounded like his own heartbeat. Then he saw Tony booking it down the street, running flat out, barefoot and bare-chested, in only his jeans. The phone was still in his hand but forgotten in the need to get to Tino as quickly as possible. Seeing him, knowing he hadn’t lost his lifeline, Tino started to run at him.

By the time Tino jumped at Tony, his entire body was shaking. Tony just wrapped his arms around him, clinging to Tino right there on the sidewalk.

“I’m merda. I just needed to see you,” Tino sobbed, then in a softer voice only Tony could hear, he confessed his newest, darkest sin, “I failed her.”

Tony pushed Tino’s hair away from his sweaty forehead and kissed it frantically. “I’m so sorry.”

Tony was shaking, too, his voice choked with emotion that was unusual for him. Until that moment, Tino thought nothing could shake Tony, but hearing about Lola did.

Violently.

Honestly, Tino would look back later and never be one hundred percent certain it was all an act—for either of them.