“You bankrupt us. Now you’re gonna fucking take away our largest source of income?”
“No one’s comfortable with it,” Lombardis agreed. “I vote disbanding, but I’ll reluctantly accept the restitution. Moretti can handle it, but I want total fucking transparency.” He looked at Nova from the other side of the table and pointed. “I’ll be watching, motherfucker. I don’t trust you, and if you ever hack into my computer—”
Nova arched an eyebrow. “Don’t fuck with my brother or my Borgata, and I won’t hack into your computer.”
“We don’t have that much.” Enzo threw up his hands again when he realized he was outvoted. “You’re taking about hundreds of millions of dollars.”
“Better start selling some shit, then,” Nova snapped at him. “If your Borgata banded together, you have enough assets to keep your spot on the commission.”
“And if we don’t?”
Nova shrugged. “We annihilate you.”
“And we’ll help,” Dante agreed.
Enzo didn’t say anything else; he couldn’t. They’d rendered him speechless, and Nova began picking up his pictures.
“We’re going to the house.” Enzo finally found his voice as Nova started putting everything back in his suitcase. “I don’t believe he’s gonna hold up his agreement. You’re all cretini to trust this kid.”
“I’ll hold it up,” Nova said, though he choked on the words. It was like being back in that basement. He wanted to scream and rail against the unfairness of it, but at this point it would just make everything worse. Maybe, with a huge amount of luck, Tino would make the right decision. “I don’t want to. Just like the Brambinos don’t wanna pay restitution, but I will because I respect this commission and what it stands for.”
“We’re all going,” Enzo warned him.
Nova nodded. “Fine.”
He packed up the rest of his stuff, and then Marcell said, “Moretti.”
“Yeah?” Nova asked as he stood.
“He’s not fine.” Marcell said it with a wince. “Your brother.”
Nova paused. His heart started beating faster, which was amazing when he was already strung tight with fear. “What’s wrong with him?”
“Lorenzo shot him.” When Nova sucked in a hard gasp, Marcell held up his hands. “In his thigh. It’s survivable, but—”
Nova turned and ran out the door, knowing Tino was probably bleeding in Lorenzo’s fucking basement and wishing for death. He wasn’t going to let Carlo show up and give him that option.
Unfortunately Carlo had enforcer friends who caught Nova and tried to hold him back because he’d made the fucking agreement. Nova slammed his palm into Sergio’s shoulder, knocking him off his feet. They obviously weren’t expecting that from someone on the commission, who had others to fight their battles for them.
Nova liked fighting his own battles.
He fought all the enforcers minus Carlo, who watched on the sidelines. Except he hadn’t had sleep in days, and there were too many of them. He put up a good fight, but eventually they pinned Nova in the hallway, all of them breathing hard.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Carlo,” Sergio growled. “What the hell are the Morettis feeding your accountants?”
Nova screamed, because this was exactly like the fucking basement, and he fought their hold again.
Fuck the commission.
Fuck any sort of grand idea Nova had about paying Tino back by saving his friends and all those other Lost Boys and Girls who’d been hurt by the system.
“I need your bike,” Carlo said to Sergio and caught the keys deftly when Sergio tossed them to him, even though he was still fighting to keep Nova pinned. “I will be honest with him, Nova. I owe him that, okay?”
“You better be fucking honest with him!” Nova yelled at him. “You remind him what I’ll turn into if he fucking dies! You remind him, Carlo!”
He wanted to scream that if Tino died, Carlo would be dead to him forever.
But Carlo wasn’t supposed to have friends. He wasn’t supposed to give a shit. Nova wasn’t either. They both knew better, but they’d broken the rules, and they could end up paying for it in the worst way possible.
Carlo was gone anyway, disappeared down the hallway too fast, and Nova’s breathing was harsh and irregular. He couldn’t lose Tino, not for this.
Not because of the fucking Brambinos.
He started fighting again.
“Moretti, I get it, but you made an agreement,” Dante said in warning as he got down on his knees next to Nova. “We’ve all been here. You got the pass, but enforcers are intense about this shit. It’s like a fucking religion to them. If your brother doesn’t want that life, it’s his choice. Respect that.”