“I don’t know, Ma,” Gloria said. “Joey has his moments. He can be a handful. But he wouldn’t do something like that to Dad.”
“I agree with you,” Roz said as she looked down at her now sleeping baby. “But that’s what Joey’s men are saying and Mick’s men are checking it out. But if he’s innocent, he should act like it. He should at least give somebody in the family a phone call. He’s always pulling these disappearing acts. It’s getting old.” Roz looked over at Gloria. “Why hasn’t he phoned you, Glo? You guys are close, right?”
“I thought so,” Gloria said. “And I’ve been calling him ever since I got here. But all my calls go straight to Voice Mail. I even called Teddy’s mother to see if she heard from him. But she hadn’t heard a thing either.”
“This is getting very concerning,” Roz said. “I told Joey the last time he stayed away and wouldn’t give anybody a call to cut it out.”
“Unless it’s all true and he has been screwing Dad over,” Gloria said. “But if that’s the case.” Gloria looked at Roz. “What will Dad do to him?” She remembered their brother Adrian and the fate that befell him at their father’s hand.
“I can’t tell you what he’ll do,” Roz said, “but I can tell you it won’t be pretty. Your father doesn’t take a lot from anybody. Not even me. He went all the way to Rome, and was involved in a terrible situation there, because of people tampering with his shipments. If it turns out Joey was the one shorting him, and not those men he had to take out, Joey is in some deep trouble. There’s no way around it. And if that’s the case, he needs to bring his ass back here and face the music. That’s why, if he calls you, don’t keep it to yourself. Never keep things from your father. He’ll find out in the end. And I trust that, in the end, he’ll do the right thing by you guys. You’ve got to learn to trust him.”
Gloria continued to hold Duke and nodded her head. But that for her, and for her half-brothers too, was easier said than done. Their father’s neglect did a lot of damage to them when they were young. It was going to take a lifetime to repair.
But when the front door finally opened and Mick and Teddy walked in, all was forgiven again as far as Gloria was concerned. She was relieved they both were alright.
Roz was relieved too, as she sat up on the sofa. She didn’t want Mick to see how drained she truly was. But it was too late. He already saw her. He, in fact, headed straight to that sofa, and straight to Roz.
“Hey,” Mick said as he removed Jacqueline from her arms and lifted the shirt up on her exposed breast. He sat down, holding the baby, beside her. “You okay?”
“I should be asking you that question,” Roz responded. Then nodded. “I’m okay.”
“Hey, Teddy,” Gloria said with a smile as her half-brother came in also. “Still up to no good?”
Teddy smiled that charming smile she loved. “You know it,” he said as he gave her a hug. Then he sat on the arm of her chair. “Heard from Joey?” he asked her.
“Not a word,” Gloria said. “I keep calling his phone, but it keeps going to Voice Mail.”
“I’ve got an army out looking for him,” Mick said. “We can’t track his phone. We already tried that. But he’ll surface.”
Roz looked at Mick. “How did that other matter go?” she asked him.
Mick exhaled. “It went. Ang claims to have no involvement. He claims that somebody’s setting him up.”
“You believe him?”
Mick thought about it. “I know they lied about that woman being his wife. Maybe those men weren’t his people either. I have my men checking that out too. Who knows? Maybe he’s telling the truth. I’ll find out.”
“But if he’s not involved,” Roz asked, “then who set Teddy up? Who tried that craziness in Paris?”
“We should get some answers tomorrow,” Teddy said. Then he smiled. “Guess who’s coming to dinner?”
Roz and Gloria both looked at him. “Who?” Roz asked.
“Big Daddy Charles Sinatra.”
Roz looked at Mick and smiled. “Well, that’s good news. I haven’t seen him in a while. But I also know Big Daddy is a very busy man. Why is he coming? Because of what’s going on with Joey?”
“No,” Mick said. “We don’t really know what’s going on with Joey yet. I don’t even know if he’s missing or just in hiding. And the not knowing part is driving me nuts.”
Teddy and Gloria looked at their father. They were often taken aback whenever he said anything that showed his concern for any of them.
“Then why is Charles coming?” Roz asked.
“Because of Amelia,” said Teddy.
Roz was puzzled. “Amelia? Who’s Amelia?”
Teddy smiled. “You don’t know either? I certainly had never heard of her. I was floored.”
Gloria frowned. “What are you talking about, Teddy?”
Mick looked at Roz. “Amelia is my sister,” he said.
Roz and Gloria both were floored too. “Your sister?” Roz asked. “You have a sister other than the one that died?”
Mick nodded. “Yes,” he said.
“But why didn’t you mention her, Mick?” Roz was often astounded by the level of personal information Mick had a habit of withholding. “Don’t you think your wife and children had a right to know that you had another sister?”
“I didn’t know myself,” Mick said. “I didn’t know she was still alive anyway. I thought, Charles and I thought, she had died when she was a baby. Angelo’s mother delivered her. His mother was a midwife, and she left our home with the baby. Our mother told her to get rid of the baby. Our family was so dysfunctional, so fucked up, that we assumed she got rid of her. We assumed she killed her.”
But Gloria was puzzled. “Why would your mother want her own baby to die?”
“She had an affair,” Mick said, “outside of her marriage to my father. She had an affair with an African-American male.”
Gloria, at first, didn’t understand. Then she did. “I see. The baby didn’t come out white enough for her to pretend the baby was your father’s.”
Mick nodded. “Right. She came out more black than white and it was obvious she was not my father’s daughter. And given that he was already a monster in his everyday life, this revelation took his nastiness to another level. My mother felt she had no choice but to get rid of the child.”
“That’s stupid,” Teddy said. “I mean, yeah, he might be mad for a month or two. Maybe even longer. But it wasn’t the kid’s fault. Why would he take it out on the kid?”
“That’s the way it goes with some people,” Roz said, and then looked at Mick. “But what does she have to do with Angelo? What’s her relationship with him?”
“That’s the crazy part,” Teddy said. “She’s a supplier just like Uncle Ang.”
Gloria frowned. “A supplier of what?”
“She’s a drug dealer,” Mick said bluntly.
Gloria was disappointed. “Good Lord,” she said.
“In other words,” Teddy said with a grin, “she’s a Sinatra through and through.”
Gloria grinned. Mick and Roz failed to see the humor.
Mick rose. Jacqueline was fast asleep in his arms. “I’ll put the baby to bed,” he said, and left the room.
Roz looked at Teddy and Gloria. “That’s not funny,” she said mainly to Teddy. “You know how your father hate the fact that you and Joey are following in his footsteps. Now to hear that his baby sister is too?”
“I’m following in his footsteps also,” Gloria said. “Only I’m doing it the right way.”
“What right way?” Teddy asked, playfully pushing Gloria. “You’re a cutthroat business person same as I am. You’re ruthless too.”
Gloria glanced at Teddy. Did he know about Will’s scheme? Then she decided that he didn’t. “You know what I mean,” she said.
Roz shook her head. “How you guys can make light of our situation is a mystery to me.”
“What situation?” Teddy asked.
“Well, l
et me see. Your father has one son who may have been intercepting arms shipments that he is duty bound to provide to his customers. He goes to Rome to straighten out the situation, and it all turns deadly. He could have been killed. But then he gets back in town and find that his other son, his oldest boy, is a drug dealer who nearly got himself killed, even though he told that knucklehead to leave those drugs alone.”
Teddy looked away. He still regretted his decision in that department.
But Roz continued. “Then his cousin Angelo, his cousin, mind you, turns out to have one time been his son’s main supplier of said drugs. Only to find out that the cousin wants the son, and the father while he’s at it, killed. Now he finds out that his sister, a sister he thought died in infancy, is very much alive and was also his son’s supplier. And maybe she’s the one who wanted said son dead rather than the cousin ordering the hit. And you ask what situation? Boy please,” she said as she rose to her feet, and left the room.
“Well,” Teddy said with a shake of the shoulder, “if you put it that way!”
And Teddy and Gloria laughed again.
But Roz didn’t care either way. She made her way to the Nursery. She was glad that they could laugh at their troubles. But when she saw the Nanny and little Jacqueline in the Nursery, but no Mick, she became worried herself. And made her way upstairs.
Mick, to her surprise, was not only in the bedroom, but was lying across the bed. And if she thought she was drained, it was nothing compared to Mick. She could see the emotional drain all over his face. She closed and locked the door when she entered the room, and walked up to him. She got on the bed, and laid down beside him.
After a moment of silence, she spoke. “It must have been jarring news to hear something like that,” she said.
“To put it mildly,” Mick said. “Heartbreaking news. And then to find out she may have been involved in that attempt on Ted’s life, and was in that damn drug trade herself.” He exhaled. “Jarring is right.”
“I’m going to tell you like you tell me,” Roz said. “You can’t blame yourself.”
“Maybe not for how she turned out,” Mick said. “But who can I blame for how my two sons turned out? Them?”
“Yes,” Roz said. “They’re grown men, Mick.”
“In Joey’s case the jury is still out. And Teddy? Slinging drugs? I expected more from him.”
“At least Gloria’s a bright spot,” Roz said.
“Depends on what you call bright,” said Mick.
Roz looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“She and Will Flannigan are conspiring together to take over my company.”
Roz sat up as if she’d been shocked. “What? Gloria conspiring against you? That child loves you with all of her heart. Mick, I don’t believe it. She wouldn’t do something like that.”
“She hasn’t fully committed to the plan as of yet,” he said. “But stay tuned.”
Roz laid back down. And looked at him. “How did you find out about it? How do you know?”
“I know everything that goes on in my company. In both my companies.” He looked at Roz. “This isn’t second hand information. I know.”
“Have you spoken to her about it?”
“No,” Mick responded. “And neither will you. I need to know what I’m dealing with. They’re my children, but they harbor some massive resentment against me. I need to know what I’m dealing with.”
“Teddy told me you went pretty easy on him in Paris. Is that true?”
“What else was I going to do? His ass nearly got killed behind his stupidity. I still can’t believe he was selling drugs when I told him to stay out of that shit.”
“You still want to groom him to take over?” Roz asked.
“Yes. What I said about Gloria holds true for Teddy, too. I’ve got to know what I’m dealing with.”
Roz nodded. And then shook her head. She could only imagine the hurt this must be costing him, and the guilt. Everything seemed to be unraveling, and he couldn’t figure out how to put it all back together. Roz could see the strain all over him.
And that was why she got off of the bed, knelt down between his legs, and unbuttoned and unzipped his pants.
When she pulled it out, and began to lick him, Mick’s entire body felt her touch. It was a needful and welcomed feeling.
Mick remained laid back as Roz did him. He felt the gentleness of her touch, mixed with the expertise of her licks and sucks, until his entire body began to relax. And when she put it in her mouth, and he began to mouth-fuck her, it was more than relaxation he was feeling. He was feeling a powerful need to cum. And he wanted to cum in her mouth, but he didn’t want to do that to her.
But Roz would have none of it. She kept the pressure on. She kept her mastery of his penis right in the palm of her hand, and she worked it. She licked and sucked and went down on him over and over, until he was in full fuck. He couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. And he came. He came in her mouth. And Roz, the woman he loved above any human being alive, took it all in and swallowed.
When Mick realized what she had done; when he realized how important it was to her to give him complete pleasure, he pulled her up on top of his body, and wrapped her into his arms. He held her with a tenderness so loving that she felt his mere embrace was doing to her what her expertise had done to his cock. She knew he loved her. Those females out there could claim otherwise until they were blue in the face. But Mick loved her. And Mick also, Roz thought, as she slowly began to fall asleep in his arms, made her feel some kind of way no other man ever could. He made her feel special. He made her feel cherished. He made her feel beloved.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Later that evening, as the sun began to set, Gloria and Teddy remained in the living room. Gloria was seated in the chair and was working on reports she had to complete, with her laptop on her lap and her feet tucked under her butt. Teddy, on the phone, paced the floor relentlessly as he spoke to the teams responsible for finding his kid brother. He needed status updates. The twins were fast asleep, and Mick and Roz were still upstairs. And then Teddy ended his last phone call, and stood there.
Gloria looked over at him. “Nothing still?”
“Nothing,” Teddy said. “They got nothing. He’s not in any of his familiar places. None of his friends have seen or heard from him. We got nothing.”
“You don’t believe those guys. Do you?”
“I wish I could say hell no. But Joey can do some stupid shit.”
“You mean like you?”
Teddy looked at her. “I handle my business. Somebody set me up this time, but I handle my business. Joey?” Teddy shook his head.
But then the front door opened, and Big Daddy Charles Sinatra, Mick’s big brother, walked in.
“It looks like a fortress out there,” Charles said as he removed the one piece of luggage he held on his shoulder and sat it at the door.
When Gloria and Teddy turned, and saw that their uncle had arrived, Gloria sat her laptop on the table and rose to her feet. And she and Teddy hurried to greet him.
“Big Daddy!” Gloria said excitedly as she ran to him.
Charles smiled. “Is that the most beautiful girl in the world coming my way?” he asked as she threw herself into his arms, causing him to gladly stumble back. He held her tightly.
“Let me take a look at you,” he said, as he pulled slightly back. Then he nodded. “Yup. You look like your daddy. I don’t know your mother, and I heard you favored her more, but I will dispute that. The older you get, although you’re still just a baby,” he added, squeezing her cheeks, “you look more and more like Michello.”
“If I look more and more like Daddy,” Gloria said, “then Teddy must be his spitting image.”
As soon as she said it, and Charles looked at his tall nephew. “Hey, Big Daddy,” Ted said with a grand smile, as he gave Charles a wide handshake and then hug. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” Charles said as they stopped embracing. He sque
ezed Teddy’s massive bicep. “Look like you aren’t doing bad yourself,” he added. “Considering that foolishness you got yourself into.”
Ted felt sheepish. “Oh, Pop told you about that?”
“He told me about it,” Charles said, still staring at his nephew. “Don’t fool with those drugs, son,” he admonished. “Drugs are bad. Don’t do that to people. When the Sinatras, and your Gabrini cousins too, get into shit, it’s because people pull us into shit. But when you start messing with those drugs, you’re the one pulling the shit. Don’t bring that on our family.” Then he smiled. “We have enough issues.”
“Yes, sir,” Teddy said.
“You don’t bring that to your home, then your home doesn’t have to look like Fort Knox. The Security out at that gate, geez. I was shocked they let me in.”
“You have automatic pre-clearance, Big Daddy, no matter what.”
That warmed Charles’s heart. Mick was his kid brother, and although he was only six years older, he, for all intents and purposes, raised Mick. He loved Mick’s children as much as he loved his own kids. “Where are the twins?” Charles asked.
“Sleep,” Gloria said. “I just checked on them.”
“Any news about Joey?”
Teddy shook his head. “Nothing. But our people are covering the waterfront. From one end of this town to the other end. We’ve even got out of state eyes looking too. We’ll find him.”
“Have you determined if he wants to be found?”
Teddy shook his head on that too. “No, sir, to be honest with you. We have no idea.”
Charles nodded. “Let me know what I can do, and I’ll do it.”
“Thanks, sir.”
“Now, Charles asked, rubbing his hands together, “where’s that kid brother of mine and his longsuffering wife?”
Gloria laughed. “They’re upstairs. I’ll go get them.”
“Stay right where you are,” said Charles, as he moved toward the stairs. “I’ll gladly get them myself.”
Mick Sinatra: Breaking My Heart Page 13