Page 71 of The Enforcer

“No.”

Nicola pulls the boat along the pier, and then he and Alfonso help me off of the yacht. I grab the bag, and before we leave, Alfonso turns to his brother, and they hug, tight and fierce. They kiss one another on each cheek, and Alfonso climbs onto the pier and takes the bag from my hand.

Nicola waves at me. “I’ll see you next time, sorella, si? He always comes home for Christmas.”

“No, I don’t,” Alfonso groans.

Nicola is walking back toward the cockpit. “He should. Make him.”

Alfonso sighs and leads me down the pier toward the beach.

“So, what’s he smuggling?” I ask nonchalantly.

Alfonso looks at me and laughs. “Is it that obvious?”

I shrug. “He has a boat. He’s a little too mysterious. Yes, it’s that obvious.”

We walk down a set of stone steps to the beach and trudge through the sand toward the town. “I don’t know what he’s moving or for whom. That’s what we were fighting about.”

“Ah. Got it.”

“Is there anything else you would like to know?” he asks, smiling warmly at me. His bottom lip is very red and a little bruised, but he looks relaxed in a way I haven’t seen him in the three days of our whirlwind acquaintance.

“Do I have to walk up those fucking steps?”

“Yes.”

I lean toward him. “Are you in pain?”

I watch a shudder run through his body. He swallows loudly. I enjoy the way he’s expressly avoiding looking at me, even though his face is turning red. “Yes.”

“Good.”

I’m not looking forward to the stairs again, but if I can tease Alfonso and myself, I think it’ll be worth it. I’m smiling like a cat who got the cream at Alfonso, so I see the moment that his heated embarrassment changes and hardens. I watch as he stops being someone who can feel the scratches I left on his back and becomes someone who’ll punch another man’s face into a bag of broken bones and blood like he did the day we met.

“What’s wrong?” I whisper.

He doesn’t answer. He grabs my hand and practically pulls me to the street. He’s walking faster now, obliterating all hope that we aren’t in trouble. He’s too focused for me to ask if this is Nicola’s trouble wearing off on us or if whatever we’ve been running from has finally arrived from Naples.

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