The Enforcer (Untamed Hearts Book 3) (23 page)

Chapter Eighteen

The C train into Bed-Stuy wasn’t the greatest.

For being a Dyker Heights girl, Brianna used public transportation quite a bit. Even if there were only a few train stops in their neighborhood, she rode the bus constantly, and it was enough to get her where she needed to go without asking her mother for help.

So Brianna liked to think she had a pretty good feel for Brooklyn. She knew how to stay safe, but she would be really nervous about this trip if Tino weren’t with them.

She studied him for a long moment, with his head tossed back against the seat. His eyes were closed. His hand rested on his crutches that he had leaning against the seat next to him. His Yankees hat was pulled low. His
East Harlem Martial Arts Center
shirt was faded, but the black basketball shorts he wore were clearly new.

He looked like any other twelve-year-old boy, more handsome, definitely, with those full lips and defined cheekbones, but still fairly ordinary in a New York Italian sort of way.

There really wasn’t anything about him to make her feel protected.

He wasn’t thick and muscular like his brother, whom Brianna had caught glimpses of throughout the week while she and Carina made up for a summer apart. Tino was wirier, still looking more like a kid, but she could see the corded muscles of his biceps. It was obvious he was extremely athletic, and it made her wonder what he was going to look like in two years when he was Nova’s age.

His cast was silly and ridiculous and had Carina written all over it.

Literally.

Any other boy wouldn’t leave the house with it, but Tino didn’t seem to care. Just like he didn’t seem worried on the C train. He was chewing gum, popping it in a way Brianna’s mother would have had a fit about. He blew one big bubble, eyes still closed, before he popped it, turned his head on the seat, and asked, “What?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Why do you keep staring at me?”

“I just—” She shrugged, feeling her cheeks heat as she looked to Carina sitting on her other side. Carina was chewing the same watermelon bubblegum and smiling as if she was wondering the same thing Tino was. “I was curious why you aren’t nervous on the train,” she admitted and resisted the urge to cup her cheeks. It was bad enough dealing with Carina, who was very good at embarrassing Brianna. Now there was a whole collection of Moretti kids, and they all seemed to be missing that filter most people had. “Why aren’t you worried about what someone will think of your cast? I mean, I don’t care. I think it’s kinda funny, but most boys
would
care, and I was wondering why you don’t.”

“You think that’s what I have to worry about? A cast?” Tino asked her. “I got bigger fucking problems.”

“Yeah, maybe that’s the difference,” she agreed, but she didn’t think that was totally it.

“Am I being an asshole?” Tino asked her like he wasn’t sure.

“Sorta,” Carina answered before Brianna could assure him that he wasn’t. “What’s up?”

Tino was quiet for a long time before he said, “I didn’t sleep last night. Tired.”

“You’ve had a bad month.” Brianna didn’t know why she did it, but she reached out and grabbed his hand, intertwining her fingers with his. “Maybe next month will be better.”

She’d been hoping the same for herself, because having her father basically dump her for life had left her crying into her pillow more than a few nights since she got back from the Hamptons.

Life was very mean.

“If yous guys got married, we’d be sisters.
Real sisters.
” Carina blew a bubble, making it pop loudly. “That’d be cool.”

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.” Brianna had to let go of Tino’s hand to cup her cheeks this time, because they were on fire. “Carina.”

Tino laughed at her, but it was such a nice sound, like something he needed to do, and Brianna figured her embarrassment was worth the sacrifice.

“You’re cute, Brianna,” he finally said, which made her cheeks burn worse. “Very cute.” His voice got distant. “Wish I met you when I lived in East Harlem.”

She frowned. “Why?”

“East Harlem Tino was cool. Everyone liked that Tino. I had lotsa friends.” He shrugged. “Maybe you would’ve liked him too.”

“You don’t like Tino in Brooklyn?” Brianna asked.

“No.” He said it without hesitating. “I don’t.”

“Well,” she whispered as she considered that. She looked at him for a long time and then admitted, “I like Brooklyn Tino.”

“Me too.” Carina smiled. “Brooklyn Tino’s way cooler than East Harlem Tino. Brooklyn Tino’s got a kick-ass sister.”

Tino laughed again and asked, “Do you kick ass?”

“I do.” Carina popped her gum again.

“Yeah, okay.” Tino rolled his eyes. “You know, me and Nova are gonna find a dojo once my leg heals. You could come with me. Both of you should come.”

“We should,” Carina agreed. “Then maybe I wouldn’t have to ditch the bodyguards all the time.”

Tino leaned past Brianna and looked at his sister. “Bodyguards?”

“Yeah, that’s why I spent the night at Brianna’s last night. You think Nonno would let me ride the train to Bed-Stuy?” She laughed in disbelief. “They think we’re hanging at Brianna’s all day.”

Tino’s face physically paled, the horror was so blatant. “What the fuck, Carina?”

“It’s fine,” Carina assured him. “We do it all the time.”

“Guess who’s gonna pay for it if we get caught?” Tino barked at her. “You just threw me under the bus.”

“I’ll tell them you didn’t know.” Carina popped her gum again. “I promise.”

“Which isn’t a lie.” Brianna looked to Tino in concern. “I thought you knew.”

Tino dropped his head back against the seat. “Cazzo.”

“I had to cheer for Brianna,” Carina went on, though she sounded a little frantic. “What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t come?”

“Carina.” Tino sighed in annoyance. “If we get caught, I’m fucked on so many levels.”

Carina was quiet for a long time before she said, “I’m sorry.”

Tino closed his eyes. “Just don’t do it again.”

“Am I an asshole?” Carina asked in the same way Tino had, looking to Brianna for confirmation.

“Yeah.” Brianna winced. “Pretty much.”

“Does that mean you don’t love me anymore?” Carina asked like a girl who needed someone to love her more than anything. It was a rare show of vulnerability from her. “That you don’t wanna be my brother?”

Tino snorted and looked back to her. “If I stopped loving someone for being an asshole, I would’ve dumped Nova ages ago. Brothers love you even when you fuck up. That’s sorta how it works.”

* * * *

Tino’s excitement for anything in general had waned since the night before.

The Bed-Stuy trip went from being the one thing he was excited about to just one more thing to do because he was fucking obligated. It was hot, the walk was long on crutches, and now, on top of everything else, he had to worry about getting caught with Carina.

He was still fighting that void that wanted to sneak up and wipe out any semblance of who he was before he’d been forced to move to Dyker Heights.

And what the fuck was he fighting it for?

He wanted to be numb.

He wanted to stop thinking about what happened the day before.

He wanted to be pissed off at Carina for being built like her mother in a twelve-year-old sort of way. It was really fucking him up, on every single level. He could see what she was going to turn into, and it was making him feel like he was going to lose his lunch again.

He was irrationally furious at his ma. Which he hated, because she was gone, and he didn’t want the nice things about her to be ruined.

He was sort of pissed off at Romeo too.

For being in jail.

It was just all mixed up in his mind, the fear for Romeo and the fear of Mary.

And he still had a whole fuckload of issues where Nova was concerned.

Tino wasn’t naturally an angry person.

And Carina was a brand-new sister.

He couldn’t imagine hating her too.

Carina isn’t her mother.

He said it like a chant in his mind, knowing that like karate, if he practiced something enough, it became second nature. He wasn’t going to let Cosa Nostra ruin that too.

They didn’t get to ruin it.

“What song are you dancing to?” he asked Brianna on instinct, because he needed something to be fucking excited about, but then just as he said it, he realized he didn’t want to know yet. “Never mind.”

She stopped walking and looked at him curiously.

“I don’t wanna know. I thought I did, but I don’t. I’ll wait.”

She frowned.

Carina did too.

“I want it to be a surprise,” he explained to both of them. “’Cause, you know, I don’t have cable.”

Brianna was still frowning, her cheeks pinker than usual. She got flustered easily. He thought it was cute in a way few girls had appealed to him before now. Plus, she had these amazing green eyes that glowed in the sunshine.

They were unique.

And her hair was too, this very dark red, not orange, but more copper. It almost didn’t look real, but he was sure it was.

She had on black stretch pants and one of those loose-fitting, very hip-hop-styled tank tops. The sleeves hung open down to her waist, showing off her sports bra. It almost worked; she almost fit in, except her hair was pulled into a tight, ballet-dancer-type bun.

“You should take your hair down,” he said as he started walking again. “I promise none of the girls in this crew wear their hair like that. It’s too stuck-up looking.”

“But it’ll get in my face,” she argued as she followed him.

“He’s right,” Carina agreed and pulled at one of the pins in Brianna’s hair as if she had already decided.

“Stop it!” Brianna snapped at her. “I can’t do it right if it’s in my face.”

Carina pulled out another pin.

Brianna pushed her, but Carina was unfazed.

By the time they got to the studio, Carina had a handful of pins, and Brianna’s hair was a mess of red waves that hung down to the middle of her back.

They stood outside the studio doors, and Brianna held up her hands at both of them. “This isn’t gonna work. It’ll be in my face the whole friggin’ time. If I screw up, it won’t matter how I look.”

Tino supposed that would be a problem, so he pulled off his hat and put it on her head. Carina reached over and messed with the sides of Brianna’s hair, making it fall right under the hat and pushing it out of her eyes.

Then Brianna stood there and shrugged. “Happy?”

Tino smiled, a real smile, one he felt because she looked really fucking perfect to him right then. “Now I’m happy.”

She pulled back, her cheeks turned pink again, and she messed with the hat. “I guess this works.”

“Yeah, it does,” he agreed. “Rock it out. This is the only thing I’ve had to look forward to.”

“No cable,” Brianna whispered in understanding.

“No cable,” he agreed with another smile. “So make it good.”

She nodded, her cheeks pinker than ever. “I will.”

“It’s gonna be amazing,” Carina assured him as she pulled open the door.

They were three steps into the door when someone shouted, “Tino!”

Tino stopped and looked over to see one of his friends from the Harlem kids’ gym. Otis had moved over a year ago when his dad got a promotion and they lost touch.

“Holy shit!” Tino shouted in surprise and handed one crutch to Carina to give Otis a real hug when he came up. “I fucking forgot you were in Brooklyn.”

“Did you move here?” Otis asked as he hugged him back. “I thought you guys were East Harlem forever.”

“Yeah, uh, my dad got custody.” Tino avoided his gaze rather than admit Romeo was in jail. He gestured to Carina. “This is my sister.”

“Sister?” Otis frowned and looked at Carina in surprise. “Oh.”

Carina covered the awkwardness by hugging Otis. A big, tight-armed hug that must have been developed by Carina to cover up the fact that her father was a sadistic murderer and her mother rented kids to truckers in rest-stop bathrooms.

“This is my best friend Brianna,” Carina introduced Brianna, who was standing next to her. “She’s auditioning.”

“Cool.” Otis nodded and grinned at Tino again. “You gonna audition too?”

Tino looked down at his cast and arched an eyebrow.

“What happened? Karate?”

“I jumped off the first-floor landing of my building. It was stupid.” Tino winced, because he was really tired of this cast.

“When do you get it off?” Otis asked and then turned to a tall black woman who walked up. Her braids were pulled away from her face, and she had a warm smile. “Jasmine, this is Tino Moretti. We used to hang in East Harlem. He does a front tuck that’s sick. Tino, this is Jasmine. She’s one of the choreographers.”

“You can do a front tuck?” Brianna asked in surprise.

Tino looked back at his cast. “Usually.”

“It’s awesome,” Otis confirmed. “Our coach at the gym even went to his house, trying to recruit him for the team.”

“I had a lot going on.” Tino avoided Brianna’s and Carina’s gazes rather than admit that they were laying low. It was the reason he and Nova didn’t compete in karate either, and Nova gave up playing competitive chess.

They quit everything after their mother died.

“Moretti,” Jasmine frowned. “Like—”

“I’m Brianna Darcy.” She stepped forward and held out her hand before Jasmine could dig further. “I’m really thrilled to audition. Thank you for the invitation.”

“I remember.” Jasmine grinned at Brianna and looked around as if expecting someone else. “We’re excited you came. Is your mother here?”

Brianna shook her head but didn’t seem too embarrassed about it as she searched in her bag. “I have the forms. She signed them for me.” She handed the papers to Jasmine. “And you can call her for verification. She wrote her number on the bottom. The phone is listed in her name, so you know it’s her talking and—”

“It’s fine,” Jasmine said with another smile. “We’ll figure it out.”

Brianna pulled back and took a deep breath, making it obvious that her mother’s lack of participation in dance was usually a huge issue. “Thank you.”