Page 8 of The Enforcer's Revenge
“I knew she didn’t fucking earn that A,” Nova barked at him like his sister’s fling with a nun was the least shocking part of the confession. “I knew that was bullshit.”
“Sister Justina is easily the finest teacher at St. Frances.” Carlo shook his head. “If I had her in high school, I would’ve spent a lot more time in math class.”
“Sister Justina is hot.” Nova looked back at the stage thoughtfully, clearly having some sort of internal war with himself. Then, he seemed to choke on the words when he asked Tino, “Who was on their knees?”
Carlo leaned in too, clearly trying to hear over the music.
“You really think Carina got on her knees for an A in Algebra? Since when does she give a shit?” Tino reminded the two of them. “You know who was on their knees. You don’t even have to ask.”
“Well, okay.” Carlo sounded impressed. “Carina is definitely more boss than we’ll ever be.”
“Probably.” Nova shrugged. “She certainly doesn’t half-ass shit.”
CHAPTER TWO
After that, Tino sat between his brother and uncle and watched Brianna dance while he entertained all his dirty fantasies.
Despite the dim lighting, Carlo put his sunglasses on and stretched out on the other side of the couch. He dropped his head against the arm and put his booted feet on the coffee table. There was no way he could sleep with the noise level, but he was probably hoping word would get back to Lola that he did.
Nova was still on his phone, doing whatever the hell he did. He was as distracted as Tino, so neither noticed the woman until Carlo jerked. There were so many people, she was easy to miss until she was on Carlo, standing at the edge of the couch and sliding her hands down his chest.
Carlo caught her wrists when she tried to pull up his black shirt beneath the lines of his jacket. She was behind him, and Carlo couldn’t see her face, so he was noticeably tense about being molested by an assumed stranger. She exposed his gun and holster, and he didn’t bother to hide it as he said loudly over the music, “I've gotta girlfriend, sweetheart.”
Tino grinned because, unlike Gino, he was good at recognizing faces, and he knew this one very well. Despite thedark brown contacts she’d worn to disguise her startlingly light eyes and the blue Mardi Gras-style mask that covered most of her beautiful features, Tino would know her anywhere.
“C’est bon.I heard you’re dangerous. Now you let a woman scare you.” Her voice was accented in a way that made Tino roll his eyes. “Who cares about your girlfriend?”
Not that she wasn’t good at playing her game, because she was.
Very good.
Carlo stared down at her slim, tanned arms and hands before he caressed the index finger on her left hand with a thoughtful look, making it obvious she couldn’t hide from him for long. Her fingernails were painted with little skull and crossbones. She was getting into this Mardi Gras thing a little too much. She even had the French accent to match, though she sounded more Caribbean than Creole, which would make sense, all things considered.
And everyone knew how much Carlo liked Caribbean women.
Tino would almost wonder if she was testing him, except she was smiling as she leaned in and whispered something in Carlo’s ear that made him jerk a second time. Then, Carlo intertwined her fingers with his and used his hold to pull her closer, forcing her to wrap her arms around him.
He turned his head to look at the beautiful woman molesting him on a Friday night and studied her with a bemused smile. Her curls were wild, hanging long and loose down her back. It was as different from her usual style, as was everything else about her tonight, but Carlo didn’t seem to mind the new look.
“I like your hair.” He caressed her cheek under her ornate mask and said, “But you know this is too risky.”
“You like risk,” she reminded him, her accent gone as she smiled at him. “That’s why you’re here.”
“No, I’m here because the old man told me to be here.” He reached up and tugged one of her curls. “You look very rebellious tonight. What would your daddy say?”
“He’d fucking hate it,” Lola assured him.
Carlo sucked in a sharp breath like that really did it for him. That was probably dead on considering their history with Lola’s father, who, among other things, just happened to be the Don of a rival mafia family.
Her father also rented out Lola on the black market for most of her life, and it was a fucking miracle Carlo didn’t blow up the entire Brambino Borgata when he found out. They sold Tino, too, before Nova put an end to the Brambinos’ racket in the sex trade and nearly bankrupted Lola’s father in the process. Tino was certain Carmine Brambino was still extremely pissed about it.
Needless to say, there was no love lost between the Brambinos and the Morettis, but Carlo never let that stop him with Lola. The two of them had been tangled up in this secret love affair for years now.
“Come here,” Carlo said in a low, gravelly voice. “I like you when you’re being bad.”
“Only when I’m bad?” Lola asked playfully.
“Nah, I like you always.” Carlo gave her a wide, devious smile before he added, “But especially when you’re bad.”
