The Slayer (Untamed Hearts #2) (58 page)

“Am I in trouble?” Chuito asked, doing a much more effective job of lying than Alaine had, before he turned to Alaine. “Are we in trouble, mami?”

Alaine shook her head. “No.”

“This is bullshit,” Wyatt said in denial. “I know it’s bullshit. It’s my business to smell bullshit like this.”

His daughter, Emma, started babbling, “Bu, bu, bu, bu,” to Wyatt as she patted his face.

And Wyatt groaned and glared at Chuito. “Now you’re making me teach my daughter how to swear.”

“I did that?” Chuito asked in disbelief. “I haven’t done anything but tell you that I’m taking a year off and moving to New York. You are the one freaking out.”

“I can help.” Wyatt sounded pleading now. “Tell me how to help. Does Nova need help? Why didn’t he ask me instead? I owe him more than you do.”

“If that’s true, if you
really
owe him, then you should probably trust that Nova’s doing what’s best for his family instead of making it harder for him. Peel Jules off his back instead of helping her fight this losing battle. We’re leaving, Wyatt.” Chuito just reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “Let it go.”

Then Chuito got up, because like Alaine, he probably realized this wasn’t going to get any easier. They weren’t going to convince anyone here to be happy about them leaving.

Together the two of them walked over to the cage in the center of the room. Chuito opened the door to Tino lying in the middle of the mat, with one twin sitting on his chest and another tugging his hair.

Tino had been talking to them in Italian, looking at the ceiling, his dark eyes glassy, but when Chuito led Alaine into the cage, Tino just turned his head and looked at them. “So this party sucks.”

“Pretty much,” Chuito agreed. “I’ve been hearing it from Wyatt.”

Tino pulled Charlie to him, hugging him while Freddy kept playing with his hair. “You should’ve been at my house last night. That was fun. I’m pretty sure Nova is on his way to a nervous breakdown. I hate that they’re blaming him. I keep telling them, but they aren’t listening to me. I wish I could just take the heat off him somehow. If there’s a God, he’ll find a way to take the heat off Nova, ’cause he can’t deal with Romeo hating him like this.”

“That’s blasphemy, Tino,” Alaine chastised.

“I’m just saying,” Tino said without apology. “It’s too unfair. Life is officially a bitch.”

“Bitch,” Charlie repeated with stunning clarity, and Tino groaned.

“Mama taught you that,” Tino whispered in his ear. “Say mama taught you.”

“Zio!” Charlie announced, making it very clear he knew where he heard it.

Alaine burst out laughing as Tino rolled over with Charlie, letting out a monster roar, making both twins squeal.

Chuito and Alaine sat with Tino for a while, watching him play with the twins, because he looked like he was on the verge of having a moment like Jules did in the bathroom.

Then Tabitha showed up, carrying her daughter she had obviously taken from Wyatt, and said, “I think she wants to play with her cousins. She’s been pointing at the cage for the past ten minutes. She loves it in here. Must get it from her daddy.”

“Let her come play,” Tino said as he waved her over. “I’m gonna get some air anyway, but I won’t be long.”

Tino rolled back and sprang to his feet with remarkable agility.

Tabitha set down Emma, who walked on unsteady legs toward her cousins.

When Chuito and Alaine got to their feet, Tabitha said to Chuito, “Wyatt asked to speak with you.”

Chuito groaned, but he waved Alaine and Tino off. “I’ll meet you outside.”

So Alaine followed Tino outside, and the two of them stood in the crisp autumn air, wishing for the warmth and understanding of Miami.

“I could just take him out by myself,” Tino said as he leaned against the wall. “I mean, how fucking difficult could one old man be to take out?”

“Isn’t he like Nova? Doesn’t he have a million bodyguards?” Alaine asked.

“One bullet.” Tino whispered it like a prayer. “One more bullet and all my problems would be solved. I’m so tired of Romeo acting like it’s Nova’s fault. He doesn’t know. He just doesn’t know, and I can’t fucking tell him. I can’t tell him what it was like when he was in prison. He can’t know why Nova got stuck.”

Alaine leaned back against the wall with him. “I sort of told Jules you were awe-inspiring, and they should probably stop babying you.”

“What?” Tino groaned in false disappointment. “I like being babied. Are you trying to ruin my gig?”

Alaine didn’t know why it was funny, but it was and she burst out laughing. “You don’t want them to baby you.”

“Yes, I do. I love living in the lap of luxury over the garage in Garnet and eating Romeo’s cooking every day,” he said with a laugh, before he sobered. “I am gonna miss it. A lot.”

“I know,” Alaine agreed. “Remind me to tell Nova he hired me to be his lawyer for five million dollars. I told Jules that too.”

“Holy shit,” Tino said with another snort of amusement. “He got screwed. You only cost me twenty-five hundred.”

“Price of inflation.”

“Fucking inflation,” Tino said with another laugh. “Gets us every time.”

“Who is that?” Alaine asked as she looked out to the parking lot, seeing a black BMW pull in. It was the same car her father drove, and for one crazy moment Alaine thought he actually wanted to reach out and respond to the voice mail she’d left on his phone. It didn’t matter one way or the other. She’d already decided her life with Chuito was the only thing that mattered, but then a woman stepped out of the car instead, and Alaine let it go as she turned to Tino. “I thought that was my father. How stupid is that?”

Tino frowned at the woman, looking stunned, as if he wasn’t quite sure of what he was seeing. The woman seemed to notice Tino at the same time, because she waved him over frantically.

“Another admirer?” Alaine asked, because Tino did have a lot of female admirers. “She’s very pretty.”

“That’s not an admirer,” Tino said as he pushed away from the wall. “That’s my sister.”

“Your what?” Alaine asked, even if Tino was already out into the parking lot.

That was too big a bomb not to follow up on, and she ran after him, wildly curious, because she’d had no idea Tino had a sister.

He had never once mentioned her.

By the time Alaine got to him, Tino was having a rushed, heated debate with the woman in Italian. She spoke the same way Tino did, exuberantly and with hand gestures, despite her graceful appearance. On closer inspection, Alaine saw the resemblance between her and Nova was uncanny, which was bizarre, because like Chuito, Alaine considered Nova to be one of those men who had nothing but a pure masculine appearance, but this woman was radiant.

Alaine stood there uneasily behind Tino as another woman in the car tilted her head, eyeing Alaine through the windshield. She had deep red hair, so dark it was almost mahogany. It hung long and loose down her shoulders and was shiny and layered in a way that told Alaine she probably had a five-hundred-dollar haircut.

The two of them kept eye contact, because clearly this woman didn’t understand Italian any more than Alaine did.

Alaine noticed she had a bruise on her face, a nasty one that ran the length of her cheekbone, and she looked tired, very tired, but even still she was beautiful.

Stunningly so.

“Motherfucker,” Tino cursed in English and looked back to the Cellar for one long moment, as if he was suddenly making a life-altering decision. Then he ran up to the BMW and jerked open the passenger-side door. “Cazzo,” he cursed as he cupped the woman’s cheek. “Jesus, Bri. I’m sorry.”

“I told Carina not to come, but we didn’t know where else to go,” the redhead said as she gripped Tino’s arm as if she couldn’t help it. “I don’t want to ruin your life here. Are you together?”

“What?” Tino frowned and glanced back. “Alaine. No, she’s my friend. She just got married. I haven’t been involved with anyone. Not like that.”

“Wish I could say the same,” she said as she held up her hands. “It all happened so fast and—”

“
Figlio di puttana
,” Tino said with a growl. “Is this the first time he hurt you?”

“I didn’t know David was working for your grandfather,” she whispered rather than answer his real question. “I think your grandfather’s been setting us up all along. I’m not Italian and—”

“Yeah, that’s the reason,” Tino said sarcastically. “We have to go. Right now.”

“Tino—” Alaine cut in. “Where are you going?”

“I have to take care of something,” Tino said as he helped the woman out of the car.

“What something?” Alaine barked at him. “Don’t you think you should tell Nova what’s going on?”

“Is Nova here?” the redhead asked as she put a large purse on her shoulder. She turned back to Tino’s sister. “You didn’t tell me he was here.”

“I didn’t know.” Tino’s sister glared at him. “You are
not
leaving me here with Nova.”

“No, no, I’m not,” Tino said quickly. “I’m leaving you with Romeo.”

“No friggin’ way,” his sister snapped. “Your brother hates me.”

“No, he doesn’t. He has no reason to hate you,” Tino said soothingly. “I have to go, Carina. No one wants to hurt you. Everyone loves you. Stay here. Watch my nephews until I get back. We both know the old man won’t bother you. Staying here is insurance for them. Please do this for me.”

“I can’t believe my
nonno
did this,” Carina whispered miserably. “And now I’m stuck with Nova.”

“Sweetheart, your nonno is an asshole, but I can’t help you deal with that.” Tino pushed his sister toward Alaine. “This is my friend Alaine. Talk to her about it. I have to go. Stay with Romeo.”

“I don’t even know this woman. I can’t talk to her about everything,” Carina said as she gestured to Alaine. “I should come.”

“No, that’s bad. You need to stay here. I can’t move fast with both of you.”

“You’re leaving me with Nova. Forget Nonno; Nova is the original asshole,” Carina argued. “Is this woman gonna help me deal with that?”

“Yes, she will.” Tino seemed confident about it as he looked to Alaine. “Help her deal with Nova.”

“Isn’t he her brother too?” Alaine asked, but Tino was already pulling the other woman toward his CL, digging his keys out of his pocket as he went. “Tino, you can’t leave. Where are you going?” Alaine ran after him, trying and failing to hold him back when he opened the car door and crawled in. “Don’t do this. Please don’t do this. They will all freak out. This will kill them.”

The woman halted, pulling away from the car, but Tino growled at her, “Get in the car, Bri!”

She shook her head, looking back and forth between Alaine and Tino. “I can’t ruin your life. I can’t do this. I won’t. I won’t make you suffer for my bad decisions.”

“My life sucks!” Tino shouted at her. “There’s nothing left to ruin. I lost the only good thing a long time ago. I’m not gonna lose it again, not for that asshole. I’m officially done hurting for him.”

The woman put a hand to her chest and took a long, shuddering breath as her eyes glimmered bright green under the sunshine.

“Get in the car, Brianna,” Tino said as he reached over and opened the passenger-side door.

Brianna stood there for a long moment; then she turned back to Tino’s sister and called out, “I love you. I’ll call you.”

“I love you,” Carina said as she stood there crying. “Tino, you better keep her safe.”

“You brought her to me ’cause you know I will.” Tino smiled at his sister as Brianna got into his CL. “Tell me you love me, Carina.”

“I don’t love you.” Carina huffed. “You won’t take me with you, and you’re leaving me
with Nova
.”

Tino waved her off as if he didn’t believe it; then he turned to Alaine. “Tell Chu to protect my sister.”

“Is Brianna the dancer?” Alaine asked him.

Tino nodded. “She’s the dancer.”

“You talked about me?” Brianna whispered next to him.

“Yeah, I talked about you,” he said and then held out his hand. “Give me your cell phone.”

Brianna reached into her purse as he fished his phone out of his pocket too.

“Where are you going? At least tell me where you’re going,” Alaine said quickly. “I have to tell them something.”

Tino gave her a dazzling smile, big and wide and devious as he said, “To get Patrón. Tell Nova I’ll call him.”

“No.” Alaine shook her head frantically. “No, you’re not allowed to get Patrón, because—”

Tino dropped the phones on the ground and shut the door before she could finish.

Alaine stood there, stunned and shaken, as Tino peeled out of the parking lot. She watched him disappear down the street as the smell of burned rubber on asphalt permeated the air.

Carina let out a sob and sat down in the middle of the parking lot before she whispered, “I didn’t tell him I loved him. Do you think he knows?”

“I’m sure he knows,” Alaine said miserably.

The two of them just stayed there in awkward silence for several heartbeats, before Nova called out, “Alaine?”

“Merda.” Carina groaned behind her.

Alaine turned to see Carina drop her face to her knees, as if willing the asphalt to swallow her whole.

Nova had been coming around the corner of the Cellar, but walked out into the parking lot when he spotted Alaine just standing there.

“Where were you?” Alaine asked, using it as a diversion tactic, because she did remember Tino asking her to help Carina.

“I was hiding from my life and chain-smoking,” Nova said as he walked over to her. “Are you okay? Who—” He stopped walking and looked at Carina sitting behind Alaine. “Oh my God.”

Alaine turned to see Carina lift her head and look at Nova defiantly despite her obvious hesitance to see him.

“Where is Tino?” Nova asked the two of them.

“Um—” Alaine started, because Carina didn’t seem to be volunteering information. “He, um—” She looked to the phones on the asphalt and then turned back to see Chuito walk out of the Cellar like a beacon of light. She waved him over. “Chu!”

Chuito didn’t get there in time, because Nova had spotted the cell phones on the ground. “You cunt!” he shouted so loud Alaine gasped in shock, assuming for one moment he was talking to her.