Reno and Sal, too, wondered the same thing. Reno even frowned. “What?” he asked with a harsh bass in his voice. His men knew better than to interrupt an interrogation!
“Mrs. Gabrini is outside, sir,” his man said. “She wants to come in.” He had that pitiful, I don’t know what to do look all over his face.
But nobody else knew what to do, either. Trina? In the Bowels? They didn’t even know she knew such a place existed. They all looked at Reno.
Reno was mad as hell. Not so much at his man. He was angry with Trina. But he wasn’t about to embarrass his wife in front of his fucking help. “Then let her in,” he said as if it went without saying. “What the fuck are you waiting for?”
“Yes, sir,” the man said quickly, and then hurried to do as he was told.
But Sal couldn’t help it. “Let her in?” he asked Reno as if he couldn’t believe it.
But it was true. Trina Gabrini walked into the main room of the Bowels, in essence the torture chamber beneath their grand and luxurious PaLargio. Mick, Tommy, and Sal all stared at her. They all knew Trina was the grand dame of the wives, and not just because she and Reno had been married the longest. But the strength of her personality, and the fact that the other wives looked up to her, put her on that pedestal. But even for Trina, they all felt, this was going too far.
Trina knew she had disobeyed a direct order from Reno. He said she couldn’t come. She came anyway. But she didn’t come there to defy him. She was there to see for herself what level of man would kill all of those people, and could have killed so many more, just to get to her.
She walked up to Reno. Although others couldn’t see it, she could see the rage in his big, blue eyes. She knew full well that he was going to make her pay dearly for her decision to disobey his order. Disobedience was one thing Reno never let her get away with. But she still had to come. She could not allow this killer to be this close to her, and not see him for herself.
And now that she was there, she looked past Reno, and was staring at the man. “This is him?” she asked. “This is Oscar Di Salvo?”
Reno didn’t respond. But Oscar did. “Yes, I’m Oscar. And you are?”
Reno’s jaw tightened when that prick spoke to his wife. But Trina just stared at him.
Oscar smiled. “You’re Katrina Gabrini, aren’t you? You’re Reno’s wife. I’ve heard about these Gabrinis and their black wives. I prefer blondes myself. Preferably white blondes. But to each his own, right?”
Reno decided to cut the shit. Trina was here now. He wasn’t about to confront her in front of the man who had wanted her dead. He moved on. “You were in Palermo,” he said to Oscar.
Oscar knew he had to remain tough. Heather was gone; his female impersonation gig was up. But if he had any chance of preserving his life, he had to keep Gabrini guessing. He had to convince him that he had the wrong man. “So what?” he asked. “Plenty of people were in Palermo. What does my travels have to do with you?”
“Travels my ass,” Reno said. “Your ass was in prison.”
“So? Plenty of people were in prison. You never been in prison before?”
“Stop asking me fucking questions!” Reno snapped. “I ask the questions.”
“So we’re on a one-way street,” Oscar said. “I see where this is going.”
“See this motherfucker,” Reno said, and leaned closer to him: “Keep fucking with me and I’m going to bury your ass in the pavement of one of those one-way streets you talk about.” Then he stood erect again. “You used to work for Frank Partanna.”
Oscar wanted to get smart again. But he saw that burning look in Gabrini’s eyes. He exhaled. “Frank’s been dead for a long time. Nobody works for him anymore.”
“But you didn’t just work for him. You slaved for him. You were his number one flunky. And what does he do after all of that devotion? He let your ass rot in a Sicilian jail. For years and years, he let you rot. That has to do something to a man’s psyche.”
Even Trina could see the bitterness that suddenly appeared in Oscar’s beautiful eyes. He was a beautiful man. But he was tormented. Life had dealt him an unplayable hand. And now it had come to this.
“Tell me why,” Reno said to Oscar. “Why did you try to kill my wife?”
Oscar was done with the game-playing. It was only buying him time, he knew it now, when he would just as well get it over with. “I hate your guts,” he said. “That’s why.”
“How can you hate a man you don’t know?”
“I practiced it for many years. It kept me going.”
“I killed Frank Partanna,” Reno said. “You should put my face on Mount Rushmore.”
“I’ll be happy to put your face up, alright,” he said, “but it won’t be on any monument. Inside one maybe, but not on one.”
Reno smiled. “Check this guy out. Still got jokes.” And then Reno pulled out his knife.
“You killed my brother,” Oscar said, to prolong his life.
Reno stopped, and looked at him. “What?”
“When you killed Frank, you killed all of his lieutenants. My brother was one of his lieutenants.”
“That’s a damn lie,” Reno said. “I knew every one of Frank’s men. You were the only Di Salvo, and your ass was in prison.”
“He wasn’t a Di Salvo,” Oscar said. “He was a Tetroski. Mike T they called him.”
Reno knew Mike T. But all he knew about him was his name and gang affiliation. And the fact that he was one of the men who died with Frank Partanna.
“You killed my brother. That’s why I hated you. That’s why I counted the days. I purposely told everybody that bullshit story about how you had taken away my dream of killing Frank myself, but I wasn’t thinking about that. I hated Frank, but I couldn’t do anything about that. But you, on the other hand? I could do a lot of damage.”
And that was when it all went sideways. Not because of anything Oscar did. He was talking noise, but he was resigned to his fate. Besides, trying to get away from Reno, Tommy, and Sal Gabrini would be like trying to get away from three big, black bears. And then there was Mick the Tick the lion. The king of the jungle? He wasn’t making any attempts to do anything but hope that his death would be easy. Although, if he were to be honest with himself, he knew it was not going to be.
But it all went sideways when Trina, unable to control her rage, took the knife from Reno and flicked it open. And put it to Oscar’s throat.
Reno was floored. He had given her a direct order. Stay home. Wait until he got back. But she had disobeyed him blatantly and showed up anyway. And now this. He glanced at Mick the Tick. Mick didn’t like the fact that Reno wasn’t controlling his woman. He didn’t like it one bit.
But Reno wasn’t about to bring shame on his wife by confronting her in front of others. He didn’t give a shit what Mick thought. She was there now. She wanted her moment with her would-be killer. He gave it to her.
Trina’s entire focus was on the man sitting in front of Reno. He was out of whatever getup he had on, and looked like a regular ex-con to her. But when she got up close to him, her rage unleashed. “You killed twelve people today,” she said to him, “just because you wanted to get to me? Twelve innocent people, you bastard! And for what? Your brother was trying to kill Reno so Reno took him out? You would have taken your brother out in similar circumstances. But you somehow think Reno deserves death for doing to your brother what he was trying to do to Reno? Do you realize how fucked up that is?”
“Do you realize how fucked up you are?” Oscar had the nerve to ask.
Everybody knew he had hit the wrong nerve. And Reno’s reflexes took over. He punched Oscar so hard that he flipped over his chair. And then Reno was down on top of him, beating the crap out of him. Then Reno grabbed him up, and flung him against the wall. “Say it again, motherfucker!” he yelled. “Disrespect my wife again!”
“She’s not fucked up,” Oscar said. But he now had a death wish. His plans had gone awry. He knew these people didn’t brin
g him down to this basement to let him go. He was ready to get it over with. “She’s a very beautiful lady. So beautiful, in fact, that I would love to fuck her myself, Reno. You wouldn’t mind, would you? You could watch, if you wanted to.”
Reno was about to beat his ass again, to defend his wife’s honor. But he didn’t have to. Trina hurried up to Oscar and defended her own honor. “Watch this, motherfucker,” she said, took that knife she held in her hand, and slashed Oscar’s throat.
She slashed so deep, and the blood gushed out so violently, as if it was leaping out, that Reno had to pull her back to avoid the splatter. Oscar tried to hold on, by holding onto the gaping hole in his neck, but it was like covering a crater. The blood was literally spewing out of his body as if it was flying out. And then he slid down the wall, sat on the floor, and lobbed his head sideways. He was dead.
Trina hated going that low, and Reno hated it, too. But they both understood why. It had to be done. For Reno, it was about revenge for what he had tried to do to Trina. But for Trina, it was about what he did, and almost did, to all of those innocent people. That carnage he caused, not to mention the agony he caused her own family, was quickly avenged. He didn’t get away with it. The cops and the Feds could continue to blame it on terrorists all they wanted. But Reno and Trina knew better.
And even though Mick, Tommy, and Sal congratulated her on taking Oscar’s ass down the way she did, and Reno didn’t seem to object to their congratulations, he was inwardly enraged.
And that night, after everybody had gone back to their corners of the earth, and Reno and Trina were upstairs in their bedroom alone, he did what he had to do. Trina had disobeyed him. Disobedience in his family meant danger to his family. It was as if he was telling them to do something that could save their lives, but yet they turn around and do the exact opposite of what he told them to do. Reno had zero tolerance for disobedience. Zero in his children. Minus-zero in Trina.
And after an argument that reached screaming proportions, he flung her across his lap, tore off every stitch of her clothing, and beat her naked ass.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Eat your own food, Dommi, and leave Sophie’s alone,” Trina warned her wayward son as she bottle-fed Carmine with pre-prepared breastmilk and tried to eat a bowl of cereal at the same time. After Reno lit into her last night in that unusual way of his, but his way of reasserting the absolute authority he felt he had to have in his household to keep his family safe, she fell asleep in his arms and didn’t go back down for supper. Now she was starved. But Dommi, being Dommi, would not give her a moment’s peace.
“She’s not going to be able to eat it all,” he said as he and his sister sat side by side at the breakfast table. “I’m just trying to give her a helping hand.”
“Help yourself,” Sophie said. “I don’t need a helping hand.”
Trina smiled. Sophie was getting more and more combative with her brother. About time, if you asked Tree.
“You don’t know what you need,” Dommi said. “You’re just a baby.”
“I am not!”
“You are, too!”
“Mommy! Tell Dommi to stop calling me a baby. Carmine’s a baby. I’m not a baby.”
“Compared to me, you’re a baby,” Dommi said. “Just like Daddy’s in charge of Mommy, I’m in charge of you.”
Sophie frowned. “Daddy’s not in charge of Mommy.”
“Yes, he is, too! I heard him say so last night.”
Trina looked at Dommi. That was always the downside whenever she and Reno argued: Dommi always found a way to make it upstairs and eavesdrop on their entire conversation. He didn’t know what the fuck he was listening to, but he’d listen like a pro. Trina was also willing to bet he heard his father’s bare hand slapping her ass for what seemed like forever, too. He probably heard her cries. He probably heard Reno caressing her afterwards. She felt guilty as hell whenever she thought about how fast her children, especially Dommi, were growing up. “Just finish eating, Dommi, and don’t you worry about what your father said to me. That’s none of your damn business.”
“But I heard what I heard,” Dommi said, staring back at his mother. Then he smiled. “Daddy don’t play!”
“Mommy don’t either,” Trina warned. “And if you don’t believe me, keep talking.”
Sophie grinned. Dommi grinned, too, but stopped his talking and kept on eating.
And then Reno made his way downstairs. He was still in his robe, and still looked as if he was half-asleep. Sophie and Dommi both smiled when they saw him. “Hey, Daddy,” Dommi said.
Reno walked over and stood between their chairs. He kissed Dommi, and then he kissed Sophie. “Good morning,” he said, as he hugged both at the same time.
“Did you rest well, Daddy?” Sophie asked him.
“I did,” Reno said.
“I know you were tired,” Dommi said. “Especially after that hurting you put on Mommy.”
Reno and Trina exchanged a glance. “Mind your own business, boy,” Reno said as he left his children’s side and made his way around to Trina and Carmine. He kissed the baby, and then kissed Trina on her lips. “You okay?” he asked, when their eyes met.
“I’m okay,” Trina said, although Reno could tell she was still a little pissed with him. He sat at the head of the table.
“They phoned me this morning,” Trina said.
Reno frowned. “Who phoned you this morning?”
“Those investors I told you about. They wanted to make sure I was okay after what happened yesterday, and they wanted to reschedule the meeting. With a caveat.”
“And that caveat is?” Reno asked.
“That you attend with me. They want me onboard, and I very much want to get onboard, Reno. I think professional women’s basketball is going to explode and I want in on the ground floor. So they reiterated that they want me onboard. But they need you onboard or we can kiss that dream goodbye.”
Reno leaned his head back and ran his hands through his hair.
“I know you have a lot on your plate already,” Trina said.
“When do they want to meet?” he asked.
“By the end of next week. They make their pitch to the commission in a couple months and they need to have you onboard well before then.”
Reno looked at Trina. “And this is what you want?”
Trina nodded. “Very much so, yes.”
“And it won’t consume any of your time?”
“I won’t have anything to do with the day to day operations. The only thing I’ll have to do is put in the upfront money and attend a few meetings a year. That’s it.”
Reno still had his doubts. But for Trina? “Okay,” he said. “I won’t promise l’ll go along with it. But I’ll meet with them. Set it up.”
Trina smiled grandly. “Thanks, Reno!”
“But make it clear to those assholes I don’t have all day to be hanging out with them. And set it up here at the PaLargio, inside the Barker Lounge. Tell them if they blow their presentation, that’s it. There won’t be a second meeting.”
Trina got up, and handed the baby to Reno. And kissed him. “There won’t need to be,” she said. “What do you want for breakfast?” she asked as she walked over to the center island.
“Just coffee,” Reno said as he placed the baby on his shoulder and lightly tapped his back. “I’ll grab something to eat downstairs. I’m not hungry right now.”
“I’m starved,” Trina said as she began preparing him a cup of coffee. “I didn’t have dinner last night and my empty belly knows it.”
“Are we going home this weekend, Daddy?” Sophie asked. Going home meant going to their huge lake estate on the outskirts of Vegas. During weekdays, they took up residence at the PaLargio, in their penthouse apartment. On most weekends, but not all, they went to their suburban home.
“We’ll see,” Reno said. “Why?”
“Allison is having a sleepover at her house Saturday night. She invited me. And I want to go.”
/> “What difference does it make if we stay here or stay at the house?” Dommi asked. “You won’t be home. You’ll be at Allison’s.”
“But in order to go to the sleepover, you have to do something for everybody first,” Sophie said. “All of the girls are coming to my house Saturday morning to get their nails done. But their parents aren’t going to let them come here. They say Daddy’s hotel is a casino, and it’s not for kids.”
“You’re a kid, and it’s for you,” Dommi said.
“They’ll come to our house, but not here,” Sophie said again.
“But it’s a penthouse apartment, silly girl,” Dommi reiterated. “Your foolish friends don’t understand what they’re missing. And who wants all of those gaggling girls at our house on a Saturday morning anyway? They’ll cut into my sleeping time!”
Reno smiled at Dommi and shook his head. “It’s always all about you, isn’t it?” he asked his son.
Dommi looked mystified. “Who else is it ever about?” he asked, and then grinned.
Reno looked at Sophie. “Yes, baby,” he said, “we’ll go home this weekend.”
Sophie smiled. “Thanks, Daddy!”
Carmine burped. Reno then took his son off of his shoulder and held him in his arms. He was looking more and more like Trina, it seemed to Reno, which was a pleasant surprise, but an unexpected one, too. Usually the boys in the family looked more like his side of the family. But Carmine was the exception.
“He cries a lot, Daddy,” Dommi said, looking at the baby, too. “He’s going to be needy. He’s going to be, just like Sophie, another mouth I’m going to have to feed.”
Reno and Trina both looked at him. “You’ll have to feed?” Trina asked him.
“When I grow up as their big brother,” Dommi said. “Hell yeah!”
And Reno and Trina, although they weren’t particularly joyous this morning, managed to laugh. Dommi and Sophie laughed, too.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The following week, after a busy but relaxing weekend at their suburban estate, they were back to spending nights at the PaLargio. And Reno was back at work.
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