Page 146 of The Enforcer's Revenge
“I thought it was just Carmine’s place.” Tino scowled at him. “Then, he got Enzo this morning. What’s the third crime scene they keep talking about? Lola?”
“No, I think they know Lola’s murder was the motive. They keep saying they have a motive, and his freak-out with the medical examiner is on video. I’m sure they’ve watched that a million times over.” Nova shook his head, looking genuinely sick. He took another long drag of his cigarette and then explained, “The other crime scene is Alesso Brambino and one other guy whose name hasn’t been released yet, probably an enforcer. Carlo got them last night while we were dealing with shit at the Don’s place. That’s significant. Alesso was acting Consigliere for the Brambinos.”
“Yeah, I know.” Tino gave him a dark look because just hearing that name made his stomach knot. “I remember Alesso.”
“Not surprised. Since he was Carmine and Mary’s brother…” Nova winced, “…I’m sure he was equally hideous.”
Rather than tell Nova just how true it was, Tino just shrugged. “I’m not sad he’s dead.”
Nova sighed, sounding bone tired. “I never met him. Enzo always represented them in the commission meetings, and now Enzo’s gone, too. Carlo really did it. He took out their whole fucking administration and all their top muscle. They have no power structure now. He basically annihilated them.”
“But he’s going down for it,” Tino whispered in understanding. “And there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“I don’t think you should keep looking for him,” Nova whispered as tears rolled down his face. “Everyone knows you two hang out. I’m sure there are a thousand pictures of you together at the FBI. And if you’re with him when they take him down?—”
“You think they could get something on me?”
“I think it’s possible. This is a known war we’re having. If you get arrested, it’ll be very hard to get you out. They’ll pin something on you. Something serious.” Nova looked at him and wiped at his cheeks. “Think about where you’ve been when all those murders went down. You’ve got no alibi. You’d be in very real danger of going down with him. I can’t let that happen, Tino. I can’t lose both of you. I need you to stay very under the radar.”
Tino laid back against the lounge chair and put a hand over his eyes again, thinking about the news report. All of New York City was looking for Carlo, and if anyone in law enforcement caught him, he was going down for life.
It was every gangster’s worst nightmare—dying in prison.
“We gotta hide him somehow, right?” Tino whispered as his heart rate picked up. “Like, get him outta the country. Send him back to Sicily or somewhere else where he can blend.”
“Yeah, it’s all we got left. I’ve been working on that. We have a strong hold on the port in Baltimore. There’s a lot of international shipping going out from there. We can hide him in one of the large containers and get him out that way.”
“But you’d have to find him and get him to fucking Baltimore,” Tino finished for him. “I checked several of his houses, but I haven’t looked as hard as I should’ve. I got sidetracked with almost going down and everything at the Don’s place last night. This war is really fucking distracting.”
“It’s not your fault, Tino.” Nova sighed as he said it.
“I feel like I’ve been hearing that a lot lately.” Tino kept his eyes covered as another wave of misery crashed over him. Once more, it felt like he’d never be happy again—like every ounce of joy had just been sucked out of his reality all at once. “Just let me try and find him. Forget lying low. None of it fucking matters anyway.”
Nova was quiet after that, and Tino lifted his head to see his brother staring at him pensively.
“What?” Tino barked at him.
“You want to tell me why you’re hooking up with Tony and Maria instead of staying with your girlfriend at the hospital?”
“I broke up with my girlfriend.” Tino shrugged and looked away. “’Cause I didn’t feel like opening a door one day and finding her cold and dead in a pool of her own blood.”
“You don’t know?—”
“Please, fucking spare me,” Tino cut him off before he could say something they both knew was a lie. “You and I both know enforcers shouldn’t have girlfriends. We fucked off with that rule. We thought we were too boss for something bad to happen,and look at where we are. I gotta tell Tony he has to move out of Maria’s place—they’re too close.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it. They’re a different situation. Everyone knows Tony gets around.” Nova took another long drag of his cigarette and then arched an eyebrow at Tino. “A lot more than I thought, apparently.”
“I didn’t fuck Tony,” Tino explained since he could see the open question on Nova’s face. “And it’s not the first time the two of us have shared a woman, so don’t stand there looking so fucking shook over it. Ask Mary about it sometime if you don’t believe me. She and Carmine made a lotta money selling the idea that two Siciliani were a lot more fun than just one.A lot of money.”
Nova was quiet for a long time before he whispered, “I didn’t know that.”
“Now you do.” Tino shrugged after he said it. “It’s not a big fucking deal, Casanova. Two Siciliani is more fun.”
Nova opened his mouth but didn’t say anything.
So, Tino went on, “It’s your fucking issue. It’s your macho, gangster, old-fashioned, old man, Siciliano fucking bullshit. Like if your dick touches another dick, you’re gay forever—fuck off.”
“Look, I don’t care, Valentino. It’s your dick. Do what you want.” Nova said it like he meant it. “What about Brianna? I get why you’re scared, but I’m worried about what you’ll be without her. You’ve been very loyal to her all this time, and I think that loyalty makes you careful. It keeps you clearer and cleaner.”
