The Enforcer (Untamed Hearts Book 3)(139)

“Reverent?” Nova raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “Valentino, do you really know what that means?”

“Like you’re talking about the goddamn Madonna,” Tino assured him rather than get pissed about his condescending tone, because it was obvious Nova was still angry about the shower door. Nova usually started flexing his brain when he felt threatened, but Tino knew him too well to fall for it. “No one’s allowed to disrespect her in front of me. I’ve put up with too much in my life to listen to it,” Tino growled, and then he turned and walked to his room in Romeo’s apartment before he knocked Nova out a second time.



Their cousin Angelo showed up for breakfast. He was the only family member they kept up with from their mother’s side, and Tino used to think he had a sixth sense for Romeo’s cooking since Romeo got out of the pen. Then Tino busted Romeo texting him. Something about Romeo, he liked having people around him. He liked having others to take care of. Maybe it was a prison thing. After being alone so much of the time, it changed him. Same with the fighting, and not the structured karate they grew up with, but the down-and-dirty MMA fighting Romeo did now. The anger and loneliness left a stain on Romeo’s soul that he was always trying to find a way to scrub out.

Tino understood, so he never said anything about it.

That was part of the reason why he camped out in the second bedroom of Romeo’s apartment instead of getting a place of his own. Not like he didn’t have millions of dollars in the bank thanks to the Brambinos and Nova’s guilt that had him investing it just to watch it double.

Tino could get another apartment in the building like Nova did, but he didn’t, though he liked his space more than Nova. He didn’t want to leave Romeo alone when he knew Romeo hated it. So Tino sucked it up, even if he had to be a guy for Romeo he wouldn’t understand on a good day.

Always on.

Always pretending to be what he should’ve been.

At first it was sort of fun, to create him, this great, fun-loving little brother. Tino liked to imagine he was what Harlem Tino would’ve grown into if Romeo hadn’t gone to prison.

If they hadn’t moved to Dyker Heights.

Without the basements and Mary.

“Okay, so I got one,” Tino said to Angelo, who was sitting across from him in his police uniform, already dressed for his shift. “This is a good one. You ready?”

“Hell, yes, I’m ready.” Angelo grinned, already rapt and waiting. “I love living vicariously through you.”

“I met this chick at La Bomba.”

“Hey, I heard they got raided last night,” Romeo cut in from the kitchen as he worked on cooking the bacon.

“Yeah, they did. ATF got ’em.” Angelo nodded as he took a sip of his coffee. “Made a lotta arrests too.”

“Thanks for the heads-up, motherf*cker,” Nova snapped at Angelo, while he held ice to his head on Romeo’s orders. “You know Tino hangs there.”

“Do I look like ATF?” Angelo threw up his hands. “You think they stop by the station and discuss their raids before they do them? Speaking of that, I want a f*cking raise for doing what I do for you. Everyone’s already looking at me like I’m on the pad because I’m your cousin.”

Tino snorted. “You are on the pad.”

“That doesn’t mean I like them thinking it,” Angelo barked at Tino before he turned back to Nova. “I want more.”

Nova just looked at him dully. “You think your information at NYPD is really that valuable to me? Get a job at the FBI, and then we’ll discuss more money.”

“Do you know how f*cking hard it is to get into the FBI? Do you know what kinda degrees you need?”

“Oh, well.” Nova snorted. “We all know how that’ll turn out.”

“Wow, you are a prick this morning,” Angelo said with a glare. “Sorry I’m not a f*cking genius like you.”

“You’re the one asking for more money,” Nova reminded him. “You have to do more work to get more money. I’m pissed about the La Bomba thing. Do you know what would’ve happened if Tino went down?”

“What does he have to go down for?” Romeo cut in as he put a plate in front of Angelo first since he had to get to work. “Not like he’s drinking.”

Tino raised his eyebrows but looked down at the tablecloth instead of saying anything.

“Are you drinking?” Romeo barked at him.

“Nah.” Tino shook his head, giving a mock look of being disgusted. “I hate drinking. Gross. Yuck.”

Angelo burst out laughing.

“Valentino—”

“Shirley Temples all night,” Tino assured Romeo, but cracked and started laughing with Angelo, even though Romeo looked like an angry bear. “Okay, come on, we can’t all be perfect like you, Rome.”

“You’re underage.”

“No shit?” Tino pulled out his wallet and looked at his fake ID in surprise. “The DMV lied to me.”

Romeo picked up Tino’s wallet and looked at his fake ID. Then his shoulders slumped, like all the energy was sucked out of him. “This is my fault.”

Tino was just considering pulling it back and admitting he really didn’t drink much. Which wasn’t a lie. He preferred blow to booze, but Tino tried to keep it a little real with Romeo. He couldn’t let him walk around thinking Tino was lily-white. A few things were good for him to know in case the truth ever did come out; he wouldn’t die of shock.