Page 45 of The Enforcer’s Revenge (Untamed Hearts #4)
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
He didn’t want to get on his bike.
His gut told him that was a bad idea.
The Feds probably put some sort of tracker on it while he was inside.
The tired and wired in Tino’s brain turned into total fucking paranoia, especially with the Feds tailing him.
He had to land and regroup. If only he knew someone who lived close by.
At least he could flush the drugs and ditch his gun.
Tino stood there, drinking his coffee to look casual, and started searching his mind, desperate for anyone he knew in this area. Then, a memory hit him, a golden bolt of luck in the darkness, because it really shouldn’t be there under the damage Nova did with that 9mm.
Brooklyn, New York
Three Months Earlier
“You fucking cheat, you motherfucker. You’re a cheater.” Carlo shuffled the cards again. “Don’t do it.”
“Five-card draw is face down. I can’t see anyone’s cards. I have no advantage.” Nova threw in ten dollars for the ante, took a long drag off his cigarette, and turned his head to blow out the smoke. “I’m just a boss poker player.”
“Bullshit.” Carlo started dealing out the cards. “You cheat. I know you fucking cheat.”
“Same argument every time. Cazzo, Zio, why do you play with him if it pisses you off so much?” Tino threw his ante in and leaned back in his chair, looking at the blue spring sky.
“’Cause I’m not letting him pull one over on me. I’m figuring out his game.”
“Okay, you figure it out, paisan.” Nova picked up his cards and studied them.
“Do you know how he does it?” Carlo still hadn’t picked up his cards. “You have an obligation to tell me, Tino.”
“No, I don’t,” Tino assured him, but then asked Carlo, “Why is it so hard for you to imagine that he actually is a boss poker player—without cheating?”
“Right?” Nova laughed with him. “Man, I’ve been playing poker longer than I’ve been fucking, also something I’m boss at without cheating.”
Then Carlo tilted his head, looking over Tino’s shoulder, like he saw something he didn’t like.
Tino shoved his hand under his jacket for his gun.
The three of them were sitting with Tino facing one way and Carlo the other.
They had Nova against the wall between them, but they were still out in the open.
Tino had nearly pulled his 9mm out right in front of the busy street, but Nova smiled and held out his arms. “Tony!”
Tino turned around to the man who had obviously stopped behind him, but his stomach jolted when he saw which Tony it was.
Tino wasn’t nearly as excited as Nova about the new arrival.
Tony De Luca had been trapped behind the lines with Tino when he was a victim of the Brambinos’ sex trafficking. They were part of the same crew, and because of that, Tony held in his hands some of Tino’s deepest secrets.
Truthfully, Tony held the most secrets, more than even Lola—a lot more.
Tino noticed he was wearing a brown Versace jacket with the sleeves pushed up.
His belt and matching shoes were Versace, too.
He left his jacket open, showing off a white button-down dress shirt underneath.
The first three buttons were undone, and his beige slacks fit him perfectly.
He looked like he walked off a modeling job, and Tino wasn’t sure what to do with that.
It was a completely different vibe for him.
Not the model-perfect, since Tony had always been too handsome for his own good, but Tino had never seen him like this, with a wealthy, wearing only designer threads, model-perfect look.
Tony used to have more of a skater boy, school dropout, rebel without a cause, hair in his eyes, always the bad boy ascetic with the attitude to match.
Now here he was, looking older and classier, like all those years had left no mark. Talk about blindsided, especially sitting outside in the spring sunshine at Pietro’s with his brother and zio.
“And who the fuck is Tony?” Carlo asked in Italian to no one in particular, obviously testing to see if Tony could understand him.
It made sense because Tony was a very big guy.
De Luca tall, broad, and muscular. Even with the spring high-fashion, business casual look he was sporting, he still looked intimidating.
Like all the De Lucas, Tony was extremely Siciliano.
His inky black hair was a lot shorter than it used to be, but still styled in a way that partially hid his intense, dark gaze.
More than his size and coloring, Tony had a presence that warned of something hard underneath. There was no way to hide it, especially from a seasoned enforcer like Carlo.
But Nova ignored Carlo’s paranoia and put out his cigarette. He didn’t bother to answer Carlo because Nova likely knew what Tino did.
Tony didn’t speak Italian.
Nova pushed his chair back, already holding out his arms to hug Tony as he stood.
Carlo’s frown deepened while he watched Nova and Tony embrace. They looked very comfortable, like old friends, and it was strange enough that Carlo leaned over and asked Tino in whispered Italian, “Is he a friend of ours?”
“No, but he’s a friend of mine—and Lola’s.
” Tino used mafia code to vouch for Tony in one of the deepest ways possible within their world.
There were very few people Tino would do it for, and Carlo more than anyone knew that.
That was why he had to explain, “Nova got him out with the Brambino deal.”
“Oh.” Carlo’s hard edge softened, and he dropped his voice before he asked, “What family?”
“De Luca.”
“There’s a De Luca bastardo?” Carlo looked scandalized. “Holy shit, which one?”
“The one.” Tino gave Carlo a pointed stare. “Big Daddy Don De Luca himself.”
“Coglioni.” Nova turned around from talking to Tony and held his hands up at the two of them. “He knows his own fucking name.”
“Tino.” Tony smiled, looking more amused than insulted. “How you doing?”
Not like Tony didn’t know he was Don De Luca’s dirty secret.
“Alright.” Tino leaned back in his chair and reached out his hand to Tony. When Tony grabbed it, Tino asked, “How you doing?”
“Alright.” Tony’s smile broadened. “I live up the street, and you know I gotta stop and pay my respects to the Zu.”
“I get it.” Tino squeezed Tony’s hand tighter, forgetting to be uncomfortable over what this man knew because Tino knew shit about him too.
Tony was a fucking warrior.
The kind that would’ve scared Tino if he didn’t respect and trust Tony as much as he did. Tino had been through a lot of shit, but Tony was one of the few men who could still make him feel new. Like Nova and poker, Tony was a genuine boss at the survival game.
Tony turned to Carlo and held out his hand in a way most people wouldn’t with a known enforcer. “Tony.”
Carlo shook it, looking pleased instead of insulted. “Carlo.”
“I know.” Tony arched an amused eyebrow. “I heard things.”
“No doubt.” Nova laughed and gestured to the table. “You play poker?”
Tony nodded. “I do alright.”
“Pull up a seat, brother,” Carlo offered and picked up the deck again. “We’ll deal you in on the next round.”
That was an amazing offer on Carlo’s part.
He didn’t invite just anyone to sit down and play cards, but Carlo had a soft spot for the bastardi of Cosa Nostra.
“I don’t want to interrupt your game.”
“Man, you’re not interrupting anything. The Zu fucking cheats anyway.” Carlo replaced the two cards Tino threw away. “Sit.”
“Fine.” Tony smiled, making him look handsome and pleased in the sunlight. “But let me buy you coffee first. All of yous.”
“Yeah, cool.” Tino nodded ’cause he never turned down free coffee. “Macchiato. Tell Pietro it’s for me. He knows how I like it. Extra creamy, extra sweet. Don’t let the new guy make it.”
“Caffe doppio,” Carlo ordered before he looked to Tino. “You’re gonna get thick if you keep sucking down all those macchiati with extra milk and sugar. Why don’t you just fucking drink it black like the rest of us?”
Tino grabbed his dick through his jeans. “Milk this, motherfucker. I’ll drink it how I want. You’re not my personal trainer.”
But Nova complained, “Tony, you don’t have to do that. They can buy their own coffee. I can, too.”
Tony put a hand to his chest. “It’s the least I can do.”
Nova considered him and then threw three cards away before he said, “Okay, grazie. Surprise me.”
“You got it.” Tony didn’t complain about having to decide what drink to buy for the Zu. Very slick of him, but no one said Tony didn’t have amazing game.
When he walked off, Carlo gave himself two cards, picked them up, and then looked at Nova. “I think he’s looking for a job. That guy would suck your dick if you asked him to.”
“He might,” Tino agreed as he threw a ten in. “It’s certainly not off his menu, especially if he got something out of it.”
“He’s gay, right?” Carlo looked hopeful. “He didn’t, like, fuck Lola or anything?”
“We’re not doing this,” Nova whispered and then threw a twenty into the pile. “I raise you.”
“Cazzo.” Tino folded his cards and tossed them next to Carlo. “I’m out.”
“You didn’t answer me,” Carlo noticed, the game forgotten as he stared hard at Tino.
“I don’t know everything Lola did. Ask her if you’re so curious.”
“You said he’s gay!” Carlo shouted.
“I never said that,” Tino snapped at him. “I said dick wasn’t off his menu.”
“I already said we’re not doing this.” Nova leaned forward, speaking in low, angry Italian, “I’ll have the old man put you on septic duty for every construction site from Brooklyn to New Jersey if you bring this up in front of him.” He turned back to Tino. “Now tell him Tony didn’t screw Lola.”
Tino stared at Nova for one hard second and said in an obedient, monotone voice, “Tony didn’t screw Lola.”
“Okay.” Nova nodded. “So, we’re good.”
“That wasn’t real,” Carlo argued with both of them. “That’s a lie.”
“He’s fucking with you. If he was actually lying, you wouldn’t know it,” Nova said reasonably in Italian and then barked in English, “Are you gonna bet or what?”