Page 59 of The Enforcer's Revenge
They all did.
Carmen Brambino was one of those people everyone liked to talk about. He wasn’t sure what parts were true, but some of it had to be.
She created a lot of intrigue among the other Lost Girls and Boys. There were whispers everywhere about her tendency to dabble in magic and rumors about sponsors dying. Tino never got to know her because Lola always kept her life separate from work like Tino had.
But he heard about it.
And he saw how it affected her sister, who worked so fucking hard to protect her. Tino just assumed the magic thing was part of her game, being dangerous and mystical. It was a very sexy narrative. It worked like a motherfucker, especially to men of Cosa Nostra, who typically leaned into the forbidden just to prove they could, but he never bought into it.
Tino knew how easy it was to make people believe things that weren’t true, and he couldn’t think of a better protection mechanism than scaring people to death with witchcraft. Even Carlo believed it, and Tino had seen gangsters start sobbing when they spotted Carlo walking into their place of business. He was easily one of the most intimidating men on the planet, and he was terrified of Lola’s sister.
Well played, Carmen.
Her game was clearly top-tier, and that, more than any rumors of witchcraft, made him nervous.
“I’m going,” Tino repeated, knowing full well what a Brambino woman with an agenda was capable of. “I’mdefinitelygoing.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
So, they drove.
All the way to motherfucking Tampa.
The second Nova sprung the Don from lock-up, they took off.
Carina promised to stay with Carlo, and she had Brianna to help. Tino didn’t like leaving them with a war going on, but there was so much mob muscle guarding the Don’s place that no one was breaking in or out of that compound. They should be able to keep Carlo locked down until Tino and Nova got back.
Romeo wouldn’t stay at the mansion, and Tino found himself texting manically every time Nova was behind the wheel, constantly finding reasons to check in with his brother, the girls, even a few of his cousins who were holed up with the rest of the family, just to make sure everything was okay. Carlo didn’t have a cell phone, and even if he had, Tino knew he wouldn’t have answered, so he kept in contact with Carina and Brianna instead.
The girls seemed to need it, and Tino didn’t feel too bad about the constant checking in with them. Romeo was tolerant as well, and he promised he was training in the apartment rather than going to the dojo. That made Tino feel better because he knew Nova had a small army guarding the building, even if Romeo didn’t.
It wasn’t until they passed the Florida border through Georgia that Nova and Tino started to make a plan, which, more than anything, should’ve told Tino how far gone Nova was to the stress.
He wasn’t the sort of guy to wing things.
Nova was also, Tino discovered, not fantastic at going undercover. That was surprising enough to wake him up a little.
Tino was driving, which was another big warning flag. Nova didn’t give two shits that Tino was behind the wheel of his Bentley. All of a sudden, it seemed Nova’s car wasn’t much of a priority.
“I say we just go in like we would for any other negotiation.”
“If we show up in this car, with you flashing your Bespoke Italian threads and gold tie, their security is going to call someone,” Tino pointed out. “That would bevery bad, Casanova.”
“We can’t go to her apartment. I’m sure they’ll have it guarded, with video feeds pointed in every direction.”
“She’s not Carina,” Tino reminded him. “It’s not the same level of security. I know because I saw what they were doing when they had money, and it wasn’t that great. Now they’re broke as a motherfucker.”
“I’m sure they’re protecting her, and I’m double fucking sure they have video feeds from the club that someone in their Borgata is watching as we speak,” Nova argued. “You think the Brambinos don’t keep an eye on their investments? Especially now? People respect a suit. They fear it, and fear creates weakness. If they’re going to recognize us anyway, we might as well go in demanding respect.”
Tino tried very hard not to roll his eyes because he felt like he was listening to the Don with all that respect shit, but at least Nova was talking. It was something after he’d spent most of thetrip silent, like the images burned into his brain over the past thirty-six hours had shocked him quiet.
“If you wear a suit to a strip club in a beachy place like Tampa, it’ll make you look like an idiot. You’ll stand out. You’re not there to fucking date them. You’re there to buy them,” Tino argued as he kept his eyes on the road. “As long as you bring your money clip, they’ll pay attention to you. That’s how it all works. You don’t have to be cool.”
Nova put a hand to his forehead at that, looking like he might get sick. “Whatever, Valentino,” he finally said. “I don’t give a fuck what we wear.”
Nova checked out again.
Tino kind of did, too, but fortunately, this sort of thing was what Tino did for a living, so he went on autopilot. When he saw a billboard advertising an outlet mall, he decided to pull off.
