Mick Sinatra 2: Love, Lies, and Jericho

by Mallory Monroe

  Mick knew he couldn’t bullshit Charles. Not when they were kids. And not now. “I’m not telling you that, no.”

  “Worse than the Mafia,” Charles said. “That’s how one newspaper described you.”

  “Yeah, ten years ago. I’m not into that shit that heavily now.”

  “But you’re still into it?”

  Mick had already answered that question. He wasn’t answering it again. He was no angel and he wasn’t trying to pretend to be one.

  “Where are you staying?” Charles asked.

  In other words, Mick thought, you aren’t staying with me. “We didn’t reserve anything. We’ll find a room. No sweat. And look, if this little reunion is making you that uncomfortable, we can always leave.”

  “I’m not uncomfortable,” Charles said.

  “Yeah, you are,” Mick said.

  “I’m not.”

  “You are.”

  Charles pounced. “Who the fuck are you to tell me what I am? If I was uncomfortable, I’d say so.”

  Roz waited for Mick to attack. He didn’t take backtalk from anybody, not even her. And when she looked at Mick she could see him poised to strike. But he didn’t strike. He held his fire. It astounded Roz. Mick took a backseat to no man, but he was taking a backseat to his brother.

  Charles rubbed his forehead. He was obviously upset by his outburst. “You guys drove up?” he asked.

  Mick hesitated, but he responded. “Yeah.”

  “From Philadelphia?”

  “That’s right.”

  “How long do you plan to stay?”

  As long as it takes, Mick wanted to say. “I haven’t thought about it,” he said instead.

  Charles stood up. “Let me get my keys,” he said, as he began walking behind his desk. “I’ll get you guys settled at the B & B.”

  Mick and Roz stood too. “A Bed and Breakfast?” Roz asked.

  “Yup.” Charles grabbed his suit coat. “It’s called The Jericho Inn.”

  Mick smiled. “That place still around?”

  “It is. I bought it years ago. It’s the best hotel in town now.”

  “If you may say so yourself,” Mick said.

  “If I may say so myself,” Charles replied with a smile. And the three of them left the office.

  But once outside on the sidewalk, Charles looked at Mick’s expensive car. And all of his good will was thrown out the window again. What was he doing? His brother was a gangster. He couldn’t condone this! “That yours?” he asked Mick.

  “Yeah, it is.”

  “How do you get to afford a car like that? Running drugs or running hookers or running both?”

  “Hookers and drugs?” Roz asked. “Mick is the Chairman and CEO of Sinatra Industries, one of the most respected companies in this country. What are you talking about?”

  “I know what he runs,” Charles said. “I also know what else he runs. And if you expect me to be okay with it, then your expectations far exceed mine, young lady. I am not okay with it. I will never be okay with it.”

  Mick walked up to Charles. They were now toe to toe, face to face. “You can talk to me however you choose. You can treat me however you like. But you will not talk to Rosalind however you chose. You will not treat her however you like. Make no mistake about it. If you disrespect my lady, I will kick your ass.”

  “And it will be the last ass you ever kick,” Charles fired back. But then he stood down and nodded. He could respect a man who stood up for his woman. “But point taken,” he added. And looked at Roz. “No disrespected intended,” he said.

  Roz nodded. “Okay,” she said.

  Then Charles exhaled, and looked at Mick. “You want to ride with me or drive your own car?”

  Mick had to take a moment too. “I’ll drive,” he ultimately said.

  Charles glanced at that car again. Had to be three-hundred thousand easy. “Suit yourself,” he said, and began walking toward his own vehicle, a big Dodge Ram pickup truck, parked further along the curb.

  Mick helped Roz into his Maserati, and then got in himself.

  Roz looked at Mick as he waited for Charles to pull out. “He treats you like you’re still that kid he was responsible for,” she said.

  Mick nodded. “I noticed.”

  “And I get why he would do that. But I don’t get why you’re letting him do it. You even told him he can talk to you any way he choose. What’s that about? This isn’t like you, Mick.”

  Mick leaned his head back. He felt like a fish out of water around Charles. Then he turned his head toward Roz. His lazy eye was practically closed. “Remember when you were putting up with your mother’s bullshit?”

  “Of course I remember.”

  “Remember when you told me you will always honor your parents, right or wrong?”

  Roz nodded. “I remember.”

  “Charles is my parent,” Mick made clear. “He’s the only real parent I’ve ever had. I honor him.”

  “Right or wrong?”

  Mick nodded. “Right or wrong,” he said. Then smiled. “But trust me. He’s usually right.”

  Roz laughed. “Okay. But Mick Sinatra taking a backseat to somebody else?” She folded her arms. “This is going to be an interesting visit.”

  Mick laughed too. And then pulled from the curb as his big brother’s big truck pulled off too.

  “Come in!” Jenay Sinatra, eating a chef salad, looked up from her desk inside her office at the Jericho Inn. When the door opened, and Charles walked in, she smiled as she ate. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  And then she saw two additional people walk in behind him. Charles glanced back at them. “This is my wife, guys,” he said to them. “Jenay Sinatra.”

  Mick and Roz glanced at each other, surprised. Jenay was African-American too.

  “Couple people here I want you to meet, sweetheart,” Charles said as he walked toward his wife. They had been married for well over a decade, but his heart still raced whenever he saw her pretty face.

  Jenay put down her fork, wiped her mouth, and stood up. Mick and Roz walked toward her. She was wearing reading glasses and looked very studious, but there was no denying her beauty. But they weren’t surprised to see that a great looking man like Charles would have a great looking wife. But they were both surprised to see that his wife was a black woman. Mick was especially surprised. He never recalled seeing any African-Americans the entire time he lived in Jericho! But he also saw her as a welcomed surprise. Now Rosalind would not feel so alien, he hoped.

  Charles kissed Jenay on the lips, glanced into her eyes in a way that let her know he was troubled by this turn of events, and then he placed one arm around her waist.

  Jenay was concerned, because Charles looked so troubled, but she maintained her smile as she looked at her two guests. “So who exactly are these lovely people?” she asked her husband. She smiled such a warm, inviting smile that Mick and Roz could not help but smile too.

  Charles pulled her closer, as if he had to protect her from a threat she might not realize was there. “I want you to meet Mick and his fiancée,” he said.

  Jenay looked at Charles. “Mick?” Then, after a pause. “Your brother Mick?”

  Charles nodded. He still couldn’t believe it either. “My brother Mick.”

  Jenay looked at Mick again with shock in her eyes. She Googled him once and saw his picture online, but he now looked entirely different in person. “I Googled you once,” she admitted to him. “You look far more imposing in person. Far more intense.”

  Mick smiled. “I’m sorry I disappoint you.”

  “No disappointment,” Jenay responded. And then she smiled even grander. “And you’re little Micky? Come here you!”

  Mick loved the way she said that, and gladly moved toward her. They hugged vigorously, as if she was, literally, welcoming him home with open arms. It was a stark contrast, Roz noticed, from the greeting Charles had given Mick.

  Mick noticed it too. And he basked in the warmth of thi
s woman’s arms. He was still reeling from his encounter with Charles, but she was making it seem as if a true bury-the-past reunion could still be possible.

  When they stopped embracing, Mick pulled Roz in front of him. “And this beautiful lady right here,” he said proudly, “is my better half.”

  Jenay smiled. “Oh, is she?”

  “This is my soon-to-be-wife Rosalind.”

  “You’re right,” Jenay said. “She’s very beautiful indeed, Mick. And she’s all yours?”

  Mick laughed. He liked Jenay already. “She’s all mine,” he said happily.

  “It’s so nice to meet you, Rosalind,” Jenay said as they hugged.

  “Call me Roz,” Roz responded as they continued to hug. “And it’s nice to meet you too.”

  When Mick looked away from the ladies, he noticed how his brother was now sitting behind his wife’s desk staring at him. Jenay might have been all onboard with this get together, but Mick could tell that Charles still wasn’t there yet.

  “This is such a wonderful surprise,” Jenay said. She looked over at Charles. “You knew they were coming and didn’t tell me?” she asked.

  “He didn’t tell me,” Charles responded as he picked up her fork. “I had no idea he was coming.” He began eating some of her salad.

  “Well, we’re glad you came,” Jenay said, looking at her brother-in-law again. “And we’re especially glad you brought your fiancée along. Have you set a date?”

  “Not yet,” Roz said.

  “But it’ll be soon,” Mick assured her. He knew of guys who pretended their booty calls were their fiancées whenever they took them around their people, but Mick wanted to make it clear that he was not that guy and Roz was not that kind of lady. “We’ve only been engaged a couple weeks.

  “This is such a blessing,” Jenay said. “I’m not going to say Charles talked about you often, because he didn’t, but I know he thought about you often. And don’t let his sour pus fool you. He’s happy to see you again.”

  Mick smiled.

  “So how long are you staying?” Jenay asked, looking from Mick to Roz and back to Mick. “A week at least, I hope.”

  Mick glanced at Charles. “We haven’t set any particular timeframe,” he said. “But no more than a week. We both have businesses to run.”

  “Oh, okay. So I know you have Sinatra Industries.”

  “That is correct.”

  “What about you, Roz? What do you have? What is your line of work?”

  “I own a talent agency in Philly. The Graham Agency. It’s doing great, but it’s just getting off the ground.”

  “All the more reason not to stay away from it for long,” Jenay said. “I fully understand. When Charles turned this place over to me to run, this hotel, it required my full attention too.”

  “It’s a lovely place,” Roz said, looking around. “Just beautiful.”

  “Thank-you so much. I’ll show you around.” Then Jenay smiled. “And for you to come on a Monday is excellent. We have our family dinners on Mondays. You’ll get to meet the whole clan tonight! I’ll have the maid prepare the guest room at the house and---”

  “Ah,” Mick interrupted her, “I think my brother, your husband, has other ideas for our stay.”

  Jenay frowned. “What other ideas?” She looked at Charles. “Charlie, what other ideas?”

  Charles wiped his mouth with Jenay’s napkin, and stood up. “I thought they would stay here.”

  Jenay couldn’t believe it. “Here? Your brother? No way, Charles! They’ll stay at the house. I insist upon it.”

  Charles didn’t argue with his wife. At least not yet. Mainly because a part of him wanted this reunion as badly as Mick wanted it. He knew it was needful too. But he didn’t know Mick’s motives. He didn’t know if he and Roz were there to hide out, he didn’t have a clue what was up with them. But Mick was his brother. But he was keeping his eye on him. “If that’s what you want,” he said to his wife. “Okay.”

  But Mick could tell it was not okay. “We can certainly stay at this fine establishment,” he said. “We don’t want to impose.”

  “No imposition whatsoever,” Jenay insisted. “We’re thrilled to have you. Charles is too, he just doesn’t know how to show it.”

  “Anyway,” Charles said, walking from behind the desk, “I’ve got an eviction to serve.”

  “Perfect,” Jenay said. “Mick can go with you, and Roz can stay here with me.”

  “Sounds good,” Roz said.

  Charles wasn’t crazy about the idea, but he was not an unreasonable man. He knew it was needful and best. That was why Jenay, a very reasonable woman, suggested it. “That can work,” he said.

  But Mick wasn’t so sure. Charles could tell Mick was concerned about leaving Roz behind. Charles was protective of Jenay that way too. He knew it when he saw it. “She’ll be in good hands,” he said to Mick. “Don’t worry.”

  And that was enough for Mick. He kissed Roz on the lips. But leaving her in a strange place with a woman they were only just beginning to know, even though he was only leaving her for a little while, was still unsettling to him. Roz was his responsibility. He would have preferred they stayed together. But Jenay was right. He needed time with his brother.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Charles drove his truck along the backroads of Jericho and Mick bounced along on the passenger seat.

  “It’s amazing how so little has changed,” Mick said as he remembered those backroads. “It’s like time stood still here.”

  “It did,” Charles said as he drove. “Some people tend to like that fact. I like that fact. But you were never one of those people.”

  Mick smiled. “You got that right.”

  “So Philadelphia’s your home now?”

  Mick nodded. “Yeah, it’s where I landed and stayed.”

  “But still can’t seem to keep yourself out of trouble.” Charles said this as if it was a fact. He looked at Mick. Mick didn’t respond.

  They made their way along a dusty road that led to an old farmhouse near the outskirts of town. Mick smiled. He remembered this place too. “Isn’t this the old Cunningham farm?”

  Charles was impressed. “You remember it.”

  “How could I forget it? I used to fuck those Cunningham sisters every chance I got.” He looked at Charles. “So did you.”

  Charles didn’t like to be reminded of his womanizing days.

  “What happened to them?”

  “They left town as soon as they turned eighteen. The old man tried to keep the place up, but then he got real sick and died. The house went on the market for pennies on the dollar, so I bought it and started renting it out. The guy I’m going to kick out now has been here for a little over a year, but took it upon himself to stop paying his rent four months ago. I’m supposed to understand that. I don’t. He’s getting out today.”

  But Mick was confused. “Shouldn’t the sheriff’s office handle your evictions?” he asked his older brother. “Shouldn’t the cops be handling this?”

  “The cops around here are too close to the tenants. They don’t do shit. I get on my son about it all the time, but it hasn’t worked. They have more pressing matters, let Brent tell it.”

  “Who’s Brent?” Mick asked.

  “My son. My oldest boy. The chief of police.”

  Mick was surprised to hear that. A law enforcement officer in the family? “The police chief? You don’t say?” Mick shook his head. “Now that’s a switch,” he said, and Charles couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Look like somebody’s waiting here already,” Mick said.

  Charles didn’t recognize the car, but he recognized the person inside the car. “That’s my son Robert,” he said, as he drove up alongside an Infiniti. “He manages my rental properties for me.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “He’s not exactly great at his job,” Charles admitted, “but he’s getting there. He handles my evictions for the most part. He tried to handle this one.”

/>   “Is that him?” Mick asked when a young man, blonde and blue-eyed, stepped out of the Infiniti.

  “That’s him,” Charles said, and got out of his truck too. Mick got out also.

  “What’s this?” Charles asked as he pointed at the Infiniti and walked toward Robert.

  “You like?”

  “What happened to the Corvette, or whatever that was you were driving?”

  “I wanted something different.”

  Charles wasn’t buying it. He stared at his son. “It was repossessed, wasn’t it?”

  His son didn’t respond.

  “I thought you were trying to get your credit back on track, Robert. We were working on that!”

  “I know that, Dad. But it’s okay. I’m straight.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “I am!”

  “Tell that shit to the birds because you know I’m not buying it. You just had a car repossessed. You are not straight. Your credit is a mess again.”

  Robert, knowing his father spoke the truth, decided to look beyond him at the man standing beside him. “Hi.”

  “Hello,” Mick said. “Robert, right?”

  “Right.” Robert looked troubled. He looked at his father. “He looks like Brent.”

  That fact wasn’t lost on Charles either. “Brent looks like him,” he said. “He’s my brother. Meet your Uncle Mick.”

  Robert couldn’t believe it. “You’re Uncle Mick?” He smiled. “You’re the gangster?”

  Mick laughed. “I’m a businessman actually. Sorry to disappoint you.” Mick extended his hand. “But nice to finally meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you, too,” Robert said grandly as they shook.

  With his blonde hair and striking big blue eyes, Robert was a gorgeous specimen to behold. He reminded Mick of his long-deceased mother.

  “So how long do you plan to stay, Unc?” Robert asked.

  “That’s still to be determined,” Mick said.

  “I’m just glad you came. Dad has told us so little about you. When we would ask he’d get so upset that we stopped asking. That was years and years ago.”

  Mick glanced at Charles.

  “Is he at home?” Charles asked his son.