Page 65 of The Enforcer’s Revenge (Untamed Hearts #4)

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

W hen Brianna was twelve, her father invited her out to his house in the Hamptons.

The big one with the game room for the kids.

Not her, but his new kids, who were probably still too little at the time for a game room but had one anyway.

Back then, her brother, Teddy, was three, and her sister, Lisa, was two.

They were cute and funny, like toddlers were apt to be, with their matching blonde hair and chubby cheeks.

Brianna used to imagine herself one day being the cool older sister, living in Manhattan, starring on Broadway instead of the unwelcome, untrustworthy outsider they made her feel like. The one stain on their otherwise perfect family would turn into something brilliant and unique.

Once her name was in lights, they’d be so proud of her, like her father used to be proud of her before her parents split up and her mother’s drinking made it nasty.

Then, after one long, mostly uncomfortable summer at her father’s big, beautiful house in the Hamptons that he bought for his new wife, who really didn’t like Brianna at all

They left.

Just like that, her father was gone from her life. He started over with a new and improved family, and Brianna was left behind with her mother, who was mostly broke with only minimal child support to keep them afloat.

Two months later, her mother went into rehab for the first time. Brianna stayed at Carina’s house for three weeks. Her father sent a check for two hundred and fifty dollars to Frankie Moretti for the inconvenience.

No phone call to see how she was doing.

Just a check to a known mafioso for two hundred and fifty dollars. Brianna was completely mortified, especially since she’d been hanging out with Carina in Tino’s room above the garage when Frankie Moretti walked in to tell her about it.

All three of them stopped working on their homework.

Tino dropped his pencil the second he heard someone coming up the stairs. When his father walked into the room, he kept his gaze down on his math. Brianna was sitting next to him, and she could feel the tension suddenly flowing off him, as if he was waiting for something terrible to happen.

“Hi, Dad.” Carina frowned since Frankie didn’t pay attention to them unless he needed something. “Why are you up here?”

Frankie walked around the couch to stop in front of the coffee table where the three of them were working. He dropped the check, and it floated over to land on Tino’s homework. “Your fancy lawyer father sent me that.”

Brianna glanced up, realizing he was talking to her, since she was the only one with a lawyer father. She reached out and picked up the check, looking at it in surprise.

“What for?” she asked.

Frankie shrugged. “I guess that’s how much he thinks you’re worth.”

“Oh,” Brianna whispered and glanced at Tino, who made a sound in the back of his throat.

“You gotta problem with that, pal?” Frankie reached over and hit the back of Tino’s head too hard to be playful. “You wanna say something to me about it?”

Tino shook his head, but his jaw was tight, like it was hard for him to hold it in.

“I wanna say something,” Carina barked right back. “I think that’s bullshit. She’s worth a million dollars ’cause she’s my best friend, and I love her.”

Frankie just rolled his eyes. “You must, ’cause you got your nonno forking out thirty-thousand-fucking-dollars a year for her tuition.

This is an insult.” He pointed to the check.

“And you better tell your pop that the next time you talk to him. Tell him to keep his chump change. We don’t fucking need it.

” He glared at Brianna. “As for you, missy, you better do your job. You keep Carina happy, and if you ever betray this family, I’ll take back every fucking dollar we’ve invested in you. ”

“I’d never betray Carina,” Brianna promised quickly. “Or this family.”

“Good thing, ’cause I guess we’re stuck with you now.

Two hundred fifty bucks. You tell that motherfucker to kiss my goddamn ass.

” He pointed at Carina. “Stop glaring at me. I’m sick of your attitude.

You should be grateful we’re letting her stay here.

Last fucking thing I needed was another kid.

I already got one more than I want around this place. ”

Carina looked to Tino and then seemed to bite the inside of her cheek rather than say anything.

“Nothing more to say?” Frankie asked Carina.

Carina shook her head. “No.”

“Okay.” He leaned down, grabbed the check, and ripped it up several times, then he tossed the pieces over their homework.

“Tell him that’s what I think about it.” He stormed out of the room, and Brianna heard him as he stepped out, “Maybe she’ll be worth it.

Her ma’s fuckable enough. I’m sure some dumbass from another family administration will want to marry her one day. ”

Brianna cupped her cheeks, feeling the heat in them, and she glanced to the door as he stomped down the stairs. Her hands were shaking, and the fear made her heart race loudly in her ears.

For a long time, none of them said anything.

“Promise you won’t marry some dumbass from another family,” Carina whispered fearfully when Frankie’s stomping footsteps on the stairs stopped, and it was apparent he was walking back to the main house. “Don’t let them use you like that.”

“I wouldn’t,” she said quickly because that sounded horrible. “Is he gonna make me do that?”

“No.” Carina sounded confident about it. “As long as you don’t fall in love with some dumb boy, I promise I’ll never let them do that to you, but you gotta promise.”

“I already did. I wouldn’t…” She looked over to Tino, who was picking up the pieces of the check like he needed something to do with his hands.

“Fall in love with a dumb boy,” Carina repeated. “Say it.”

“Yeah, that.” She took the pieces of the check out of Tino’s hand. “Are you okay?”

Tino gave her a wide-eyed look. “Are you?”

Brianna stared at the check pieces in her hand and whispered, “It’s not like he’s called. Not once since my mom went away. I already knew he didn’t love me.”

Carina suddenly hugged Brianna from behind, squeezing tightly. “I love you. I promise I love you.”

Brianna nodded and hated the way the tears suddenly rolled down her cheeks. She just couldn’t stop them, and she wiped at them furiously, embarrassed that it was happening in front of Tino, who had so many more reasons to cry than she did.

“Hey.” Tino reached out and hugged her, too, so that she was squished between both of them. “Don’t cry.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered because the hugs just made the tears flow harder.

Tino kissed the top of her head like he did with Carina sometimes. “Your dad’s a dumbass. He’s not worth it.”

Brianna nodded. “Okay.”

“I’ll never let them hurt you like that,” Carina whispered from behind, with her arms still wrapped tightly around Brianna’s middle, nearly squeezing the air out of her. “Do you believe me?”

Brianna nodded. “I believe you.”

“Never, Bri.” Carina sounded solemn. “I won’t let them.”

Brianna hadn’t thought about it for a long time.

Her father did a lot of things over the years to hurt her. It was all a sea of disappointment at this point. They hadn’t even bothered to tell him she was in the hospital. Her mother was there for a while, but Brianna told her to go home because she was always more work than help in a crisis.

Now, Brianna was trying to sleep, but something about the medicine they gave her made her restless. Her injured arm still hurt. She had an IV in the other one, so she couldn’t sleep on her side like she was used to.

She was horribly uncomfortable as the late morning sunshine lit up her private room. Thank God for small blessings. For a long while, she was in the ICU, and that was extra miserable.

She shifted uncomfortably, trying to find a way to sleep, when she heard Carina whisper in a deadly voice, “Look who decided to show up.”

Brianna opened her eyes and saw Tino standing there with the friend he had brought with him to the basement the night before.

“Hey.” She sat up, feeling instantly relieved. “You’re okay.”

“Yeah.” Tino looked back at his friend. “This is Tony.”

“I remember.” Brianna smiled at him. “Hi, Tony.”

“He gave me a lift.”

“What a champ.” Carina’s voice still sounded sharp.

“I’m just gonna…” Tony pointed down the hall, looking extremely uncomfortable. “I’m gonna wait out here.”

“Cool, yeah.” Tino ran a hand through his hair as he glanced from Carina, sitting next to the bed, to Brianna as she pulled on her ponytail, straightening it and trying to put herself back together. “How are you feeling?” he asked in a rush. “You still look really pale.”

“Well, she almost bled to death, so…” Carina went on. “She was in the ICU until a few hours ago. You’d know that if you’d been here.”

“I had to work,” Tino explained to Carina, his voice as sharp as hers. “We don’t all get to do whatever the hell we want in this family. I had real responsibilities.”

“I bet.”

“Carina, come on.” Brianna reached out when Tino walked up to her bed.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him closer.

“You look awful.” She tried to stroke the hair off his forehead because it was sweaty and messy in a way she wasn’t used to with him.

He jerked away before she could, staring back at Carina, appearing self-conscious.

Brianna huffed and looked at her best friend. “Can you give us a moment?”

“No, I can’t.” Carina shrugged. “Not this time.”

“For real?” Brianna gave her a harsh look. “I’d like a moment with my boyfriend, please.”

“Nope.” Carina shook her head. “He can say his shit in front me. I can’t wait to hear it.”

Brianna huffed, feeling exasperated as she turned back to Tino. “The bleeding thing scared her.”

“It scared me too.” Tino swallowed hard and looked at her arm that was bandaged up. “It scared the shit outta me.”

“Yeah, sure, just not enough to be here,” Carina growled.