The Enforcer (Untamed Hearts Book 3)(51)
Nova nodded, looking like he wanted to believe it desperately. “Okay.”
“I’ll give you all the money you need. Just help your father.” The don wrapped an arm around Nova’s neck and pulled him close like he was an unexpected lifeline. “Help your f*cking father. We need hard blood to stay strong. He and Carlo never got along, but you could help him. I feel it in my bones. God sent you to us for a reason. You know, the Brambinos were strong. Then the old man died and that spoiled prick took over. Now they’ve gone to shit. If your father hadn’t married Mary, they’d be done. People respect them because of us, and they don’t even f*cking appreciate it.”
“Sick bastard. Can you imagine being one of those Brambino f*ckers walking up to the pearly gates?” one of the soldiers behind them asked. “If I had their shit on my conscience, I’d live in a lead room.”
“What’d they do?” Tino asked, remembering something vaguely from the basement about the Brambinos. “What makes them so sick?”
“We’re not gonna talk about that.” The don turned around and glared at the soldier. “The only thing we’re gonna worry about is buying these kids some decent clothes.”
Chapter Sixteen
The don wasn’t f*cking kidding about the shopping.
They had boxes and boxes of clothes. More clothes than Tino ever imagined owning in his entire life. Nova had twice as many as him, mainly because Tino was still f*cked with his cast.
The don promised to take Tino shopping again when he got it off.
So in the room with a million boxes, they tossed more boxes and bags.
“We’ve been back ten minutes, and I’m already claustrophobic,” Nova said as he looked around. “This place makes me feel like we’re part of the shit they’re storing away. Too valuable to get rid of, but not worth keeping in the main house.”
“Well.” Tino tilted his head at that, because Nova was pretty dead-on with that assessment.
He might have said more, but some high-pitched squealing distracted him, and he went over to the window. In a small nook of the property, between the garage and the trees, was a trampoline. Not a small one either, but one of those huge professional ones. Which had been a terrible tease, because Tino f*cking loved trampolines and his foot was broken. His ma used to send him to the kids’ gym on free days. There was nothing Tino enjoyed quite as much as free days at the kids’ gym. Even though he was twelve, he would still go sometimes when he felt like he had a little too much energy. They let him in on nonfree days, because they’d been trying to recruit him for their team. Romeo was always all for it, but Nova ragged on him about it. Tino never cared. They had a f*cking trampoline there. Nova could rag on him all he wanted.
Now he stared down at Carina, who was jumping in the center, going higher and higher, shouting, “Go, go, go!”
“Okay, okay, okay!” a redhead called back as she stood on the far end of the trampoline by the gate. “Ready?”
“Ready!”
Tino’s breath caught when he watched the redhead spring forward and then flip-flop her way across the length of the trampoline. Carina leaped out of the way at the last minute, landing on the side even though it looked like she should’ve crashed to the ground.
Same with the redhead; she barely missed tumbling off with her last back handspring, but she landed on the edge instead, as if both of them were very familiar with this trampoline.
“I guess this is the BFF forever,” Nova mused next to him. “She must be a gymnast.”
“Must be,” Tino agreed distantly as he watched her flip her way back to the other side of the trampoline like she had waited all summer to do it. Both girls were wearing swimsuits, as if they had planned on swimming and gotten distracted. Tino would have to be blind not to notice those legs, miles of them, and surprisingly tan for a redhead. “I sorta wanna be her BFF forever.”
Nova laughed at him. “What about your boyfriend Dominic Brambino?”
“Yeah.” Tino laughed with him. “But she’s cute, right?”
“She’s too WASP-y looking,” Nova said dismissively and turned away. “You know, it’s funny. I thought she’d be an Italiana. Some button man’s daughter that was thrown at Carina to keep her happy.”
“Yeah, me too,” Tino mumbled as he watched them jump and remembered having fun like that. Why did it seem like such a long time ago? The girls’ innocence, if that was the right word for it, felt sort of contagious. Like he could catch it again if he got close enough. “I wish my foot wasn’t broken.”
He left out his back that was still healing, because that was a sure way to send Nova into a downward spiral.
“You wanna smoke?”
He shook his head, still watching as Carina and her friend started jumping in the middle. Each sending the other higher and higher, their arms out, their ponytails bouncing. “No, I wanna jump on the trampoline.”
“Tino—” Nova started.
“Tino!” Carina shouted when she jumped high enough to see him staring down at them. “You’re home!”
She’d been visiting him at Don Moretti’s mansion, but their father had obviously forgotten to mention that he and Nova were coming back today.
“You’re home!” Carina shouted again and did an impressive toe touch that made her look exactly like the cheerleader she claimed she wasn’t. “Come meet Brianna!” She jumped higher and pointed at the window. “That’s my brother! The nice one!”