“You think you’re tough?” Frankie jammed his gun against the back of Nova’s head. “Huh, smart-ass? You feel tough now?”
Nova didn’t say anything. He just lifted his gaze to Tino, the dim lighting in the basement reflecting the tears and fury.
“Let’s test how tough you are.” Frankie looked worse than Nova. His face was swollen and bruised. He was tilting his head like his neck was bothering him, but he didn’t let on that he was suffering as he pushed his gun against the back of Nova’s head again. “Take your shirt off, tough guy.” Nova didn’t even flinch. Didn’t hesitate. He just pulled his shirt off, and when he went to toss it aside, Frankie caught his arm. “Eat it.”
Nova turned to look at him. “What?”
“Shove it in your mouth,” Frankie said slowly. “Don’t you think we’ve traumatized your sister enough for one day?”
Tino jerked on instinct, making a move to get up, because he understood more than he wanted to. They didn’t want Nova’s screaming to upset Carina.
“It’s okay.” Nova shook his head quickly at Tino, his eyes wide and pleading to shut up. “It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay.”
Nova said it like a chant, as if he was willing it, because Nova didn’t do well with situations he couldn’t fix.
He tended to freak the fuck out.
“It’s not okay, sweetheart,” Frankie assured him as he wrapped a big, meaty hand around the back of Nova’s neck. “You wanna know what happened to the last person who ate a shirt for me?” He gestured toward Tino. “See those black marks on the floor. Couldn’t get ’em up. Motherfucker didn’t respect me either. Trust me, chief, he was respecting the hell outta me when we took a blowtorch to him.”
Tino rolled over and looked at the floor, seeing there wasn’t just one black mark.
There were hundreds.
“No blood. Nice and neat. The high heat cauterizes it,” Frankie went on as if he were talking about the weather. “Keeps them alive longer.”
Tino scooted back, trying to get away from the black marks. Then he turned around, searching for a fucking blowtorch. He found it hanging on the wall behind him.
That moment when you realize your father isn’t just a drug-dealing asshole, but also a sadistic murderer.
Not too many people can say they know what that feels like.
“Do you know what the punishment is for hitting a made man?” Frankie growled in Nova’s ear. “Someone’s gotta die for it.”
“You kill him. You hurt him. You even touch him,” Nova rasped, his voice quivering despite the fury. “I’ll eat a bullet. I swear to God, Tino dies, I’ll kill myself.”
“You still got another brother in jail,” Frankie reminded him. “You die and I’ll rent him out. I’ll get my money one way or the other. Then I’ll sell him to the Brambinos once he gets out. The underground sex trade is such a nasty business. How much do you think Romeo will fetch?”
Nova looked over Tino’s shoulder at the blowtorch, and then he swallowed hard, as if he might be sick. Thank God he didn’t puke again. Instead he whispered, “What do you want? Just tell me what you want. You want me to run your fucking scheme and launder your money. Fine.”
“I want more than that now. You disrespected me in front of my crew. No one disrespects me.”
“I respect you,” Nova said quickly. “I’m fucking stressed out. I’m not handling this well, but I respect you, okay?”
“I want you to grovel.” Frankie wrenched Nova’s head back and got in his face again. “I want you to cry. I want you to lose all that fucking arrogance. I want you to be my bitch. That’s what I want.”
“It’s gone,” Nova assured him, and Tino believed him because he was shaking. “I promise. It’s gone.”
“No, it’s not, but it will be.” Frankie picked up Nova’s shirt, shoving at his face. “Eat it.”
Tino had to give Nova credit. He shoved the shirt in his mouth without complaint. Then he knelt there and closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling harder.
“We’re gonna play a game. You like games, don’tcha, champ? Five-to-one odds.” Frankie tugged at his belt, unbuckling it. He pulled it free from his pants. “For every one you take, Tino wins five. If he lives, we’ll give him a pass. If he dies, the debt is paid. As long as you play along, your brother Romeo will do just fine in prison. If not, things could get very uncomfortable for him in there.”
Nova jerked in shock. He pulled the shirt out of his mouth and turned back to their father.
“Ten to one.” Frankie raised his eyebrows before Nova could say anything. “Say another word, and I’ll get the blowtorch. It’s your choice, but I promise you, he’s not living through it if we get out the blowtorch.”
Tino’s heartbeat was nothing but a whoosh, whoosh, whoosh in his brain.
At some point, he’d curled up into himself, hands wrapped around his legs, as Nova whispered, “Oh my God,” and shoved the shirt back in his mouth.
Then Nova folded his arms over his chest, maybe to hide the shake in them.