The Enforcer (Untamed Hearts Book 3)(16)

Tino fell back against the seat and rubbed a hand over his face. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something. Then he seemed to think better of it and leaned forward to start the car, leaving Brianna frustrated instead.



Tino didn’t like staying in shitty hotels.

So he had a collection of fake IDs and credit cards, many of which his brother Nova wasn’t aware he had because he had borrowed his dead father’s identity to get them. That was something Tino and Carina came up with together, because her mother was worse than useless, and Nova wasn’t exactly taking care of the paperwork for the man he’d iced. Tino didn’t like the idea of having to lie to his brother, but after Romeo took off and nearly got himself killed for being too traceable, Tino started plotting for every scenario.

Life had made him paranoid as f*ck.

He had a plastic bag full of fake IDs in a hidden compartment beneath Brianna’s feet in the passenger seat. She didn’t say anything as he paged through the drivers’ licenses, most of which were New York IDs because the guy who did them specialized in his home state.

But he had one from Kentucky, and thanks to Carina again, that worked perfectly. He set it on the dash and then pulled out the one for Brianna that matched his.

He handed it to her.

“You have one for me?” She stared at it as if she was genuinely shocked. “Why do you have this?”

“In case I needed it.” Tino pointed at the picture in the corner, deciding not to mention that he actually had several for Brianna. “It’s old, but you look the same. Mostly the same. A little fitter. A little hotter.”

He winced as he said it, even if it was true, ’cause holy shit.

Tino shifted in the seat when his cock betrayed him again.

He wasn’t real sure how he could be in this nuclear mess with Brianna in tow and still be hard, because the ramifications were terrifying. That was a low, even for him, which was saying something.

But she did look incredible, even if she was thinner than he remembered. He thought of asking if she was eating, but he was fairly certain she would tell him off for it. If he knew one thing about women, it was not to ask about their weight.

“I got one for Carina too.” He showed it to Brianna to stop himself from staring. “Nova. Romeo. Jules.” He handed her the one with his sister-in-law’s picture. “She would f*cking freak if she knew I had this. She’s still a volunteer deputy. If you can believe that.”

“I can’t believe it.” Brianna took the fake ID he had for Jules and stared at the picture. “She’s very pretty. Very blonde.”

“Yeah,” Tino agreed. “She’s very tall too. Like Romeo tall. My nephews are giants in their playgroup, and they’re the youngest ones.”

“I bet they’re cute,” she whispered as she handed Jules’s fake ID back. “I’m sure you miss them already.”

“Yup,” he agreed as he filed the ID with the others.

He shoved them in the plastic bag and reached back down, forcing Brianna to lift her feet and put them on the dash despite her long legs. He pulled out another bag and fished in it for a ring. It was simple and silver, and he slipped it on his left ring finger without too much thought.

It wasn’t until he handed one to Brianna that he saw the look on her face.

“I have one,” she whispered and held up her hand as evidence.

Tino stared at the glint of diamond and gold under the dome light. “Right. Yeah. I guess you do.” He took the silver ring off and grabbed a gold one. “We’ll just make it match.”

She looked back at her fake ID. “Are we married?”

He couldn’t look at her. “Yes, we’re married.”

“You got us matching IDs?”

“They’re fake IDs, Brianna,” he reminded her, his voice sharp and hard in a way he hated, because there was something about her that still pulled down all his shields. “I’m a criminal, remember? This is what I do.”

“I remember.” Brianna kept staring at the ID as if she hadn’t heard him at all.

His stomach knotted with so many overlapping emotions he wasn’t sure how to sort it all out. So he pulled off his jacket and reached for the bag of supplies his sister bought. He grabbed the University of Kentucky shirt and made quick work of taking off his old shirt.

Then he made the mistake of looking at Brianna before he pulled on the new one. She had tucked a strand of long auburn hair behind her ear in a nervous habit she obviously hadn’t grown out of. Her green eyes were startling in the dim light of the car as the two of them sat there in a dark corner of the hotel parking lot. The way she was looking at him made his stomach muscles tighten against his will and his cock jerk in his jeans.

He tugged on the blue University of Kentucky shirt, pretending not to notice. Then he reached into her bag and pulled out the tank top. “Put it on.”

To Brianna’s credit, she didn’t argue as she took it from him.

He would’ve liked to call himself a gentleman and say he turned away, but who was he kidding? Tino had never been able to call himself a gentleman.

He watched as she pulled off her jacket and tugged her turtleneck over her head. Brianna had great tits, not too big, not too small, but tight and high in a way that had always made him hot and hard whenever he thought about them.