Page 81 of The Enforcer’s Revenge (Untamed Hearts #4)
Since he first got to New York two weeks ago, Tino had been texting him asking for updates several times a day.
He was in touch. Even if Tino was vague, Chuito knew he was okay, but the communication had gotten less and less frequent.
There’d been nothing from him for the past two days.
Chuito had been nervous anyway, on edge and worried the longer all his texts didn’t get a response, to the point that he found himself watching telenovelas to hide from it.
He didn’t want to consider blow, but he had to admit, that would be a very good reason for Tino to suddenly go dark, and Chuito had been sitting on Nova’s couch for days now instead of looking for him.
“Cono, what the fuck am I doing?” he whispered to himself, realizing it had been two weeks since they got back to New York.
He looked back, making sure Nova wasn’t listening, and then whispered to Tony, “We gotta find Tino, and I don’t know this city like you do. You have to help me. I’m not kidding.”
“Here’s the deal, son.” Tony glanced toward the office like Chuito had, and then leaned in closer. “You follow me tomorrow, and you might find him, but you better act like it was your idea. I had nothing to do with it. You got me?”
“You pendejo!” Chuito hissed under his breath when he realized what he was saying. “You’ve known where he is all this time? What the fuck? Nova would bury you!”
“I have reasons,” Tony warned him. “We weren’t even going to bring you into the game, but I’m changing the rules. Turns out we need what you bring to the table.”
Chuito felt sick as he stared at Tony. “He’s on blow? You’re sure? He’s been doing it?”
“It’s not his fault.” Tony glared at Chuito as though willing him to understand. “Tino’s sensitive. He feels things very deeply, and that sucks for him sometimes.”
Chuito tilted his head in question. “He told me all Italians feel things.”
Tony just answered him by admitting, “I don’t know how to help him with this.”
“I do,” Chuito assured him. “You get me to him, and I’ll pretend you have nothing to do with it, I promise.”
Tony narrowed his gaze at Chuito, like he wasn’t a hundred percent sure if he could trust him. Then, he got up and said, “I guess we’ll see.”
Chuito let him go without saying anything and then turned back, staring at the television sightlessly. His heartbeat was still thumping hard and fast with fear, and he had no idea how he was going to get any sleep tonight.
Tony called out to Nova, “Zu, I’m leaving.”
Chuito turned back when Nova came out of the office a moment later. He watched Nova hug Tony and kiss his cheek.
“Did you eat?” Nova asked him, sounding more like a friend than a boss. “You missed dinner.”
“I’ll heat up something downstairs. I’m good.”
Nova patted his cheek. “Try to get some sleep.”
“Sure, Boss.” Tony walked to the door. Nova followed and opened it for him as Tony said, “I’ll see you in the morning. Call me if you need anything.”
Nova locked the door once he left, and Chuito kept staring, his heart rate still going crazy as he worried about Tino.
Nova wore blue sweatpants and a faded New York Yankees t-shirt that clung to his thick biceps and broad chest. It made him look much more intimidating than he did in his business suits, which was unusual for an Italian.
Their power was their class, but with Nova, it was different.
His power was his intelligence, not wealth and power.
Nova didn’t make stupid mistakes. He must have a good reason to trust Tony as much as he does, and Chuito tried to remind himself of that because he didn’t know where he stood with Tony De Luca.
“What’s going on with you?” Nova stopped before walking back to the office. He stood there frowning at Chuito. “You look like your dog died.”
“Why did you make Tony an enforcer?” Chuito decided to ask because Tony’s last name wasn’t Moretti. He was outside the family, and yet held a position that required the highest level of trust. “He seems to have a lot of loyalty to you.”
“He does, yeah.” Nova shrugged. “I gave him the job because he wanted it. He’s passionate about enforcer work.”
“Yeah, he is,” Chuito agreed, because there was no arguing that. “Was he your friend first or Tino’s?”
“He was Tino’s friend first.” Nova gave him a bemused look. “Why the twenty questions? Is he throwing you off?”
“A little,” Chuito answered him honestly. “I can’t figure him out.”
“Is it because of the make-up?” Nova asked with a laugh. “Are you worried he’s gay?”
“I’m not that big of a pendejo. I don’t give a shit if he’s gay,” Chuito barked at him, and then couldn’t help but ask, “Is he?”
“You ask him, man. I’m touching that.” Nova laughed harder, sounding genuinely amused. “As far as figuring Tony out, my advice is, don’t try. Just know he has your back, and don’t question the rest. That’s been my go-to, and it always seems to work out.”
“You believe he has your back?” Chuito questioned, making sure Nova knew he was serious about it. “You trust him?”
“Yes, very much.”
“Do you trust him more than you trust me?”
Nova tilted his head and winced. “Chu?—”
“It won’t hurt my feelings, I’m just curious.”
“Tony is our lead enforcer. Can you imagine the shit he has on me after doing that job for the past two years? And he worked with Tino for a long time before that, doing things that would put my brother in prison for the rest of his life.” Nova gave him a pointed look. “That’s a lotta trust.”
Chuito nodded. “Okay, I get it.”
“Did that answer your question?”
“Yup.” Chuito gave him a forced smile. “Thanks.”
He didn’t want to ask more. He knew what he needed, that Nova trusted this man not only with his life, but with Tino’s life as well.
That was a lot of trust.
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