The Enforcer (Untamed Hearts Book 3)(5)

AIUTO!

She stared at her phone, wondering if Carina was still doing her set. Her latest gig was at a place way over in Brooklyn. One of those very trendy, very indie clubs where most people ordered Red Bull instead of wine at midnight and enjoyed listening to real artists perform.

If Carina ever got a record deal, she’d lose most of her fan base.

Not that she’d ever get a record deal.

She was too hip for that.

Luckily, Carina’s inheritance afforded her that luxury.

The rest of them, Brianna included, were slaves to the paycheck.

The art was the bonus.

Carina texted her back in less than a minute.

Where are you?

Brianna asked the doorman the address and texted it to Carina with the thought that if her best friend was in on this whole thing, she might as well just give herself up anyway.

She’d be done.

So she stood there, staring out the rain-streaked windows, watching the cars driving by.

She saw not one, but two black SUVs driving by slower than usual, and she stepped behind the marble pillar, watching as they rolled by her and kept going.

“You sure you’re all right, lady?” the doorman asked. “I can call the cops.”

Brianna paused at that, wondering if that might be a consideration, but just as quickly she dismissed it. For one, she had spent a little too much time around Carina and Tino to be comfortable with the idea of police intervention. For another, she was fairly certain the Morettis had dirty hands all over the NYPD.

Her phone chimed, and she looked down to see Carina’s text.

I’m on my way.

“No, I think I’m okay.” She winced in apology. “Can I just sit here for a little while?”

“Whatever.” He shrugged and sat back down, even though Brianna knew he was breaking the rules by letting her loiter in his lobby.

Brianna sat on the bench to the right of the door, peering out into the rain the entire time. Her heart never stopped beating hard and fast. Several times she silently cursed Carina for working way the hell out in Brooklyn when there were plenty of places in Manhattan willing to feature her.

But Brooklyn was where it was at this year.

So Carina was commuting to Brooklyn.

Brianna bet Tino got a good laugh over that, because Carina spent most of her teenage years trying to get out of Brooklyn. Yet even as Brianna thought about Tino, she felt the gravity of everything hit her, and oddly enough, she didn’t feel as terrified as she should.

In that one moment, shivering in the too-cold lobby, still dripping wet, she almost felt relieved. Like no matter what happened, she knew her farce of a marriage with David was over.

Even a mafia bullet sounded better than staying married to him.

She wasn’t totally sure how it had happened. How she could’ve let a man like that into her life. One who claimed to have been sent by the mafia, and for what? To keep her distracted? To keep her away from Tino?

And she’d fallen for it.

Not really. There had never been any delusion of love between her and David. It had been a marriage of convenience, a trophy wife for him, and security for her because marrying David was the only way to stop herself from doing something drastic.

Like running back to Tino.

Despite the consequences.

“You sure you’re okay?” the doorman asked.

She was shivering, but she nodded and said, “I’m okay,” hoping she would start believing it.





Chapter Two


Brianna’s phone was almost dead by the time she spotted Carina’s black BMW slowing down in front of the apartment building that had been Brianna’s haven for the past hour.

She called a thank-you to the doorman and dashed out into the rain before Carina had time to pull up. She jumped into the sleek black sedan and jerked the door shut with more force than necessary in her anxiousness.

Carina’s eyes were narrowed. Her thick dark hair, usually so neatly styled in a bob that curled just past her chin, was unruly, making it obvious she’d left the gig without her umbrella. Brianna glanced into the backseat, finding Carina’s guitar lying there, minus the case, as if Carina had just grabbed it and run out of the club without looking back.

“Aiuto is life-or-death. It’s a code that means you are in deep shit,” Carina reminded her. “It means there are motherf*ckers with guns chasing you down the street. Is that what happened? Were there motherf*ckers with guns chasing you? ’Cause if I just skipped out on my gig for another fight with Broccoli—”

“Have you swept the car for bugs?” Brianna asked as she looked around in paranoia, unable to shake the high-strung nervousness that running for her life had caused.

Carina did a double take, because normally the FBI’s nosiness wasn’t too big a deal. It wasn’t like either of them was actively involved in anything illegal. Tino was gone. Carina didn’t really speak to her other brother. The rest of her family was usually careful not to discuss business around her.

Carina’s face lost some of its color as she asked, “Why?”

“Have you swept it?”

“Tony did it before he left.”

“That was over a week ago!” Brianna shouted. “Carina!”

“Really?” Carina gave her a look of disbelief. “You have issues that require a sweep.”