Page 51 of The Enforcer’s Revenge (Untamed Hearts #4)
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
B rianna sat in the chair next to Nova’s bed because they had talked Carmen into lying down after Dr. Acciai adjusted Nova’s medicine.
Before, he had been restless, but now that Nova was sleeping, it gave Carmen a break, too.
Even if she hadn’t loved her father, finding out he was dead had to be a shock, especially after Lola.
Dr. Acciai ended up following Carmen’s lead and used the lull in the storm to take a nap on a couch in the basement.
They turned off all televisions and were trying to keep the basement extra quiet with so many of them sleeping.
Brianna should probably be trying for a nap, too.
Instead, she kept staring at her phone, waiting for it to make a sound and give her some sort of indication that Tino was safe. A text. A call. Anything .
“Does glaring at it make it work better?” Carina asked from her seat next to Brianna. “Little woman, sitting by the phone, waiting for Prince Charming to show up and save the day.”
“Please shut up,” Brianna whispered because it seemed the Moretti way of dealing with stress was to bicker.
As though Brianna fell perfectly into her trap, Carina tilted her head and asked in a dangerous voice, “What did you just say to me?”
“I said, shut up. I’m sick of listening to you bitch about Tino, like you’re so much better than me because you can’t commit.” Brianna loved Carina, but she was officially sick of her. “Fuck you.”
“Okay, brave.” Carina let out a harsh laugh and had the gall to say, “Starting shit with me on purpose.”
Brianna just raised her hand, giving Carina the middle finger as she went back to looking at her phone.
“I do commit, by the way,” Carina growled. “Just because it’s not to the All Mighty D doesn’t mean I’m not loyal. I give you shit because I care about you, Bri.”
Brianna rounded on her. “What is wrong with loving him? What is wrong with that?”
Carina looked back to Nova and held up her hands. “ This is what’s wrong with it.” She pointed to Brianna’s phone with exaggeration. “That’s what’s wrong with it. He will always be running from something, and every time, you’ll be staring at a phone that won’t?—”
A shrill ring cut Carina off.
Brianna jumped up, recognizing the ring as Nova’s burner phone. Only she didn’t remember where the hell she left it. The sound echoed around the basement, making her breathing shallow in fear since burner phones always seemed to bring bad news.
By the time she got to the bedroom, Carmen was sitting up in bed and holding out the phone from where it had been left on the nightstand. Brianna grabbed it from her. Again, she didn’t recognize the number, but it was Brooklyn’s area code. She was certain it was Tino.
She answered quickly, “Hello?”
“Hey, baby,” Tino said quickly. “Can I talk to Nova? Is he up? I just saw your texts. Has he been watching the news about the fire?”
“We haven’t told him about the fire. He’s really confrontational when he’s awake. We gave him something to help him rest a couple of hours ago, and he’s finally sleeping.”
“Cazzo,” Tino groaned. “Is the Don there?”
“No, he left to the other house now that he’s sure Nova will be okay.”
“God, fuck, that means I have to call him there. Shit’s closing in.
I’ve got teams on my ass. I’ll get there as fast as I can, but I don’t want to drag the heat with me.
Assume you’re getting raided soon. I’m using my friend’s burner, but I don’t want to stay on long.
Wake Nova up, turn on the news for him. He’ll know what to do. ”
“How soon do you think an actual raid could happen?”
“It could be any minute,” Tino barked, sounding frantic enough to terrify her. “The Feds are staking out our hangouts like they’re after something.”
“I can’t just wake him up! It’s not that easy!” Brianna shouted back at him. “We’ll have to hide him instead.”
“You said he was okay!”
“He is okay, but he’s still recovering! What if he’s groggy in front of the investigators?”
“Make him some fucking coffee. Ask the doctor for something,” Tino said in grim warning. “He’s Nova, he can do it. I promise. Get him up right now.”
“But—” Brianna looked past the open door to Nova’s bed, where he was still passed out.
“I love you. I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Tino said quickly and then added, “I’m sorry.”
Brianna nodded and whispered, “Okay.”
“See you soon.”
The line went dead, and she just stared at the flip phone in her hand for one long second. Then, she turned to look at Carina, who was standing in the doorway.
“Tino thinks we’re about to get raided. He says he’s being followed,” she whispered into the silence. “We need to get Nova up to help handle it.”
“I don’t think you explained to Tino exactly how fucked up Nova is right now.” Carina held up her hands to her sleeping brother in the other room. “Dr. Acciai knocked him out. He can’t talk to anyone like that.”
“It was a couple of hours ago. It’s probably worn off a little.
All we can do is try.” Carmen stood and pulled her hair out of its bun, letting her curls fall around her face.
“I’ll wake him. You go find him a suit. Something sharp that’ll intimidate the investigators.
” She must’ve sensed something in Brianna’s look as she started crunching her curls between her fingers. “What?”
Brianna opened her mouth but couldn’t find the right words. Truth was, she had no earthly idea how to pick out a man’s suit specifically to intimidate investigators. She’d never had to dress Tino before. He was always perfectly capable of dressing himself.
“Monte is still upstairs. He’s next in charge while Nova’s out. I’ll tell him Tino thinks a raid is coming and grab some of Nova’s clothes,” Carina said quickly, like she sensed Brianna needed the rescue.
Carina dashed out of the room. A few seconds later, the sound of shoes pounding against the stairs echoed across the basement as she headed to the first floor of the mansion.
“You matter, pretty girl.” Carmen pulled on a strand of Brianna’s hair. “Sorry I was snappy at you. I can tell you care—about all of them. Tino’s lucky to have you. Very lucky .”
Tears welled up in Brianna’s eyes and spilled down her cheeks without warning. Still, she shook her head. “You don’t have to try to make me feel better. I know this is so much harder for you.”
All Carmen said was, “Okay,” as she tucked a few more strands of Brianna’s hair behind her ears.
Brianna stayed there, unwilling to pull away, because Carmen was looking at her in a way that made Brianna feel like she still mattered.
Being in this family without Tino around was a lot harder.
It felt like everyone was mad at her. She loved all of them, but a part of her wondered if maybe she didn’t belong anymore.
It was scary in a way it never had been before, but having Carmen there helped, and not just because she was another outsider.
Carmen had a unique presence that made Brianna feel both extremely insecure and very special anytime Carmen talked to her. She found herself worrying about saying the wrong thing, like she was thirteen, and trying to be cool for reasons she wasn’t really sure about.
She’d never been around a woman like that before.
Not wanting her to leave yet, Brianna confessed honestly, “I adored Lola. The whole room lit up when she was in it. I’m just so sorry.”
Carmen looked away at that. Her beautiful eyes shimmered, but she took a deep breath rather than giving in to it. “Thank you, but I can’t talk about that right now.” She kissed Brianna’s cheek, and rubbed her arm affectionately before she turned away. “Let’s just help them get through this.”
Brianna followed Carmen out of the basement bedroom, deciding to wake up Dr. Acciai from where he was resting on the couch in the corner by the medical supplies.
The doctor was a short, sixty-something Italian man with a full head of gray hair, a slim stature, and a very friendly, amiable face.
He looked different without his glasses, more vulnerable somehow, and he was sleeping so peacefully. His hands rested on his chest, and his feet were crossed on the arm of the couch.
She hated to wake him—again.
“Dr. Acciai.” She touched his shoulder gently. “I’m so sorry.”
He jerked instantly like he was used to waking up at the first sign of trouble. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, just, um…” Brianna shrugged while the doctor sat up, grabbed his glasses off the side table, and put them on. “Tino called, and he thinks maybe there could be a raid coming.”
“ Fuck .” The doctor groaned before Brianna could finish. He looked over to Nova. “Someone has to take him to a safer location.”
“Actually, Tino was sort of hoping we could get Nova… working again.” Brianna knew that wasn’t the best way to put it, but the exhaustion and nerves made it hard to elaborate. “He wants him to wake up.”
“Well, I don’t give a shit what Tino wants.” Dr. Acciai laughed bitterly like the idea was ridiculous. “You have the Don tell me that, and I might consider it.”
Brianna stared at him, hoping to God this man didn’t expect her to call the Don for permission. “Carina’s upstairs looking for Nova’s clothes. Maybe when she gets back?—”
Dr. Acciai’s phone started ringing. He reached into his pocket, looked at the screen, and quickly answered it. “Hey, boss.”
Brianna knew it was the Don. The doctor was smart enough not to call him that on the phone, and she could hear the Don’s barking voice from where she stood. She just couldn’t make out what he was saying. For his part, Dr. Acciai simply listened, his scowl deepening with concern.
Then he shook his head and said, “Do you understand what he has been through over the past forty-eight hours?”
The Don started barking again, and Dr. Acciai went back to listening. Finally, he sighed, looking thoroughly disgusted with all of them. “I’ll give it my best shot. I can’t promise anything.”