Mick Sinatra: The Harder They Fall

by Mallory Monroe

  “If you believe that bullshit,” Mick said, “you can kiss my ass.”

  Joey was shocked by his father’s retort. Teddy was too.

  “Of course it’s a scam they run all the time!” Mick said angrily. “Of course if we investigate we’ll see that they run it up and down the line. They were recruited because they run these kind of scams, and because they run it up and down the line. It wasn’t a blind because they aren’t traditional crooks. They wouldn’t fall for a blind. Whoever paid them to pull that swoop and squat bullshit on my wife is known to them.”

  Teddy exhaled frustratingly. “Then you need to come, Pop, because they aren’t giving us shit. No matter what we say, no matter how we threaten, they aren’t giving us shit. And we’ve been at it all night.”

  “Did you torture their asses?” Joey asked.

  Teddy was a little offended that his kid brother would be asking a question like that. But what surprised him even more was when their father didn’t tell Joey to shut the fuck up. Mick, instead, seemed to be waiting for Teddy’s answer.

  “They’re old,” Teddy said. “And like I said, they aren’t your run-of-the-mill crooks. We weren’t going too far, but yeah. We gave’em the business. We put fear in their hearts.” Then he looked at his father. “But none of it worked, Pop. They’re sticking to their story.”

  The intercom button buzzed again. Mick pressed it again. “What?”

  “Mrs. Benny Blake is here to see you, sir.”

  Joey and Teddy glanced at each other. They both knew who Benny Blake was. He was the starting wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles. His wife was Roz’s friend. His wife, they both also knew, was a pain in the ass.

  “Send her in,” Mick said into the intercom. “Wait downstairs for me,” he said to Teddy.

  “Ah, Pop, I can’t. I’ve got to get to a meeting.”

  “A meeting?” Mick asked. “What meeting?”

  “A meeting. I told you I’m trying to get my nightclub off the ground. I have meetings to attend.”

  Mick stared at his son. He was a hustler like Mick used to hustle. And rarely ever in a legit way. “Make sure your business doesn’t interfere with mine,” he warned him.

  “Don’t worry, Pop,” Teddy assured him with a smile. “I’m not stupid like some I know.” He glanced at Joey.

  Joey frowned. “Ah, forget you, Teddy!”

  Teddy laughed. And began heading toward the exit.

  “Wait downstairs,” Mick said to Joey. “You’re going with me.”

  Teddy glanced back, surprised by his father’s pronouncement.

  Joey, however, was downright giddy with shock. “Yes, sir,” he said with excitement in his voice. “I’ll be right there waiting!” And he headed for the exit too.

  Tamron Dawson-Blake was coming in just as they were going out, and she spoke to both boys.

  “Hey, Tam,” Teddy said.

  “Hey, Miss Tamron,” Joey said.

  Tamron smiled as they walked past, with her eyes giving tantalizing Teddy that extra look.

  Mick rose to his feet as the office door closed and Tamron made her way to his desk. “Good morning,” she said.

  “Good morning.”

  “May I?” She motioned toward a chair.

  Mick motioned for her to sit down in front of his desk. She did. He sat down, and then leaned back too.

  “Every time I come to S.I.,” Tamron said, “I’m impressed. This is a beautiful corporation, Mick. And all of the people you employ throughout the city. You should be very proud.”

  Mick knew Mrs. Benny Blake didn’t come all this way for chitchat. “How can I help you?”

  “Direct and to the point,” Tamron said with a smile. “Okay, I can deal with that.” Then she sat erect. Her proud stance. “As you know, I am a very well-known philanthropist across the state. My charity functions, through the years, have been legendary.”

  Mick wanted to roll his eyes. For Roz’s sake, since she liked this woman, he began rocking in his chair instead.

  “I raise large sums of money each and every year for charity,” Tamron continued. “In fact they call me Miss Charity in many circles.” She laughed. Mick didn’t.

  “My major charity function is my Success Ball,” Tamron continued. “Did Roz tell you about it?”

  “She told me, yes.”

  “Will you come?” Tamron asked him. “It’s a masquerade ball, and everybody has such fun. You’ll love it. Will you come?”

  “No,” Mick said pointblank.

  Tamron batted her eyes. He was not an easy man to talk to, especially not when the stakes were so high. She had already put out the word that he would be attending. He had to attend! “It’s for such a worthy cause,” she said. “Just having a man of your reputation there could bring in thousands more dollars, and far more patrons, than we could otherwise hope for. Please tell me you’ll reconsider.”

  “I’m not going to be able to attend your function,” Mick said. “I’m sure my wife already told you that because I already told her that.” He stared at her. “Why are you here?”

  Tamron knew she had to go there. She didn’t want to. She loved Roz. But this was the biggest event of the year, and she had already put his name out there. Her backers demanded he be there. She felt she had no choice. “I saw you in New York last weekend,” she said.

  Mick continued to stare at her. “I don’t recall seeing you,” he said.

  “I saw you in New York last weekend with Bella Caine.”

  Bella Caine was Gloria’s mother and Mick’s ex-lover. When Mick realized where this was going, he quickly rose to his feet. When he felt under attack, it was his natural instinct to strike back.

  Tamron rose too. She never wanted to look up to anybody she was negotiating with. “Since you like direct and to the point,” she said, “I’ll be direct and to the point. I won’t tell Roz that I saw you, and Bella that is, if you come to my ball.”

  “You won’t tell her?”

  “I won’t tell Roz anything about that weekend. I won’t mention seeing you at the fashion show with her. I won’t mention seeing you at the restaurant with her. I won’t mention seeing you go into that hotel room with the luscious Bella Caine. If you come to my ball.”

  Mick nodded. “I thought that was what you meant,” he said, and began walking around his desk.

  “I don’t want it to come to that,” Tamron pointed out, “because I know how much Roz loves you. I know how much it’ll break her heart to hear such news.”

  Mick walked up to Tamron. She could feel his machismo. His maleness. And it was powerful. “But this event,” she said, trying not to feel the attraction, although she did, and trying not to back down, “is very important to me. I really need you to be there. That’s the only reason I’m resorting to this.”

  They were within an inch of each other. Mick had purposely invaded her personal space. “That’s why you’re resorting to what?” he asked her. “To threatening to blackmail me?”

  Tamron smiled. “Blackmail? I think that’s a little strong.”

  “You think it’s too strong, do you?” Mick asked. “Then you’re going to think this,” he said as he grabbed Tamron by the arm and flung her against the wall, “is downright criminal!”

  He was up to her as quickly as her back was against that wall. He was all over her. Tamron’s heart was beating so loud Mick could hear it. “Who do you think I am?” he asked her. His mouth was touching her ear. His face was frowned with incredulity. “You think I’m some fucking chump you can roll? You think I’m some fucking novice who just hit the scene? I’ve got scars older than your crusty ass and you’re threatening to blackmail me?”

  “But I’m not!” Tamron said quickly, shaking her head. Beads of sweat appeared on her upper lip. “I wouldn’t dare. I know who you are. I was just . . . I wasn’t blackmailing you, no, that wasn’t my intent at all! And I promise I won’t tell Roz anything. What am I going to tell her? I didn’t see a thing. Not one thing. I wasn’
t even in New York last weekend! I was mistaken.”

  All mouth and no backbone, Mick thought as he stared at Tamron. Rosalind would run circles around her weak ass. “Get the fuck out of my office,” he said, “before I throw you out.”

  “Yes, sir,” Tamron said, nodding her head and walking so fast toward the exit that she began to run. She slammed the door behind herself.

  Mick opened his suit coat, placed his hands on his hips, and exhaled. That was a meeting nobody was supposed to see or know about, and some blabber mouth friend of Roz’s saw it without even meaning to see it. He was getting sloppy.

  He pulled out his cell phone, and called Bella Caine.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Roz was standing behind her desk, just getting off the phone, when her office door flew open and Tamron hurried inside.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Roz asked her.

  Tamron ran up to the desk, with Tee hurrying in behind her. “She just barged in,” Tee said anxiously.

  “It’s okay,” Roz said, still staring at her frightened friend.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Tee said, still upset with Roz’s friend, but she knew her place. She walked out and closed the door behind her.

  “What’s wrong, Tam?” Roz asked.

  “You’ve got to stop him, Roz,” Tamron asked, clutching Roz’s arm.

  Roz was now seriously concerned. “Stop who?”

  “He all but threatened to kill me!”

  Roz frowned. “Who threatened to kill you?”

  “Your husband, that’s who! I tell you that man is crazy. He’s a psycho!”

  But Roz still didn’t understand. “You saw Mick? When?”

  “This morning at his office,” Tamron said, leaning against the desk. She held onto her pounding heart. “And I tell you it was awful. It was one of the most harrowing experiences of my entire life. I’m Benny Blake’s wife. I’m not just anybody! Who does he think he is?”

  “But I don’t understand,” Roz said, still puzzled. “Why were you . . . What were you doing in Mick’s office?”

  “I,” Tamron started. And then realized that she could not tell the full story. “Why I wanted to invite him to my masquerade ball,” she said. “What else?”

  “I told you he said no. Why would you go behind my back like that, Tam?”

  “I wanted to see if he’d reconsider.”

  “Oh, Tam, you know better than that! If he told me no, you think he’ll tell you yes?”

  Then Roz saw that arrogant look on Tamron’s face. She shook her head. “What am I saying? Of course you thought he would! All you heifers around here want to believe that I’m his accidental wife. That he couldn’t possibly have meant to marry me. Keep believing that.”

  “Okay, I made a mistake,” Tamron admitted. “I shouldn’t have gone to see him. But I already told people he would be there, Roz. I’ll be a laughingstock if he doesn’t show up. And then, on top of all of that, for him to threaten me the way he did!”

  Roz folded her arms. “Why did he threaten you?” she asked.

  Tamron took umbrage. “What do you mean why? I told you why. I asked him to change his mind.”

  “Do I look like a fool to you?” Roz asked. “Do I really look that foolish to you? You’re an old friend, Tamron, but I’ll kick you to the curb so fast if you don’t cut this shit out.”

  “What shit?” Tamron was floored. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about your bullshit,” Roz fired back. “My husband does not go around threatening my friends unless my friends do something to deserve it.”

  “To deserve it?” Tamron was livid. “How dare you! No, you didn’t say that.”

  “Actually I did,” Roz responded. “Why did he threaten you, Tam?”

  “You know what?” Tamron said, standing upright. “Forget this. I don’t know why I even came here. That man can do no wrong in your eyes. He walks on water let you tell it. I come to my close friend, one of my closest friends, and tell her that her man just threatened my life, and she wants to blame me. You’re just the typical battered wife.”

  Roz couldn’t believe it. “The typical battered wife? Really bitch? Because I refuse to take your word for it against my own husband, I’m a battered wife now?”

  “You heard me. You behave just like a battered wife!”

  “Then kiss my battered ass!” Roz shot back. “In the name of friendship, I’ve taken all I can stand from you! You won’t tell me the full story, and yet you’re upset that I don’t rush to your defense? Girl bye! You need to leave.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Just like that,” Roz said. “Leave.”

  Tamron was offended, and a little sad by this turn of events, but she decided it was all Roz’s fault. If Roz would have used her womanly wiles on Mick to begin with and forced him to say yes, they wouldn’t be in this position. “I’ll gladly leave your little office,” she said, tossed her mink stove around her neck, and walked out. As Roz expected, she slammed the door behind her.

  Roz pinched her temple. Their relationship had always been a work in progress, and this wasn’t going to advance it much further. Because she knew Tam was full of shit. Tam probably confronted Mick with some accusation. She probably figured she had some dirt on Mick. And if Roz had to bet, it was probably about another woman. That was what dirt on Mick was usually about. Roz was used to it by now.

  But that didn’t mean it didn’t bother her. It did. She would be lying if she said it didn’t. Mick was the most sexual human being she’d ever known. She often wondered if she was enough woman for a man like him.

  But as she sat behind her desk, she thought about this morning and how understanding he was about her Chad Dawkins problem. And how he came home to her every night. And the way he made love to her, and seemed to want her with every fiber of his being. She thought about how he chose her above all those other women in the first place.

  She knew she wasn’t made of stone. It bothered her whenever some rumor of him with other women reared its ugly head time and time again. But she also knew she had to keep her head about her, and her marriage together. She couldn’t do what those females wanted her to do and go running to Mick with accusations based on somebody else’s gossip. Whenever the allegations came, she, instead, watched him, studied him, and saw for herself. When she didn’t see any signs of him cheating on her, despite what folks like Tamron would tell her, she left it alone. She was going with what she knew. Not with what others wanted her to know.

  She pressed her intercom button. Time for her to forget Tamron, and get back to work. “Get Rog Gordon on the line,” she said to her secretary. “I just got the call. A new producer wants him in the lead.”

  Joey walked behind their father as they entered the house on McCormick. Angelo Jovanni was still there. And so was Danny Padrone. They were exhausted because the couple wouldn’t admit shit, and they knew they couldn’t go all out to get them to talk.

  Mick stood in the middle of the room. The couple sat in chairs facing him. They had a few bruises, but nothing life threatening. Danny stood on one side. Angelo stood on the other side.

  “Who are they?” Mick asked.

  “Joe and Betty Alanbeck,” Danny said. “They’re from Buffalo, New York.”

  “Ted says their story checked out.”

  “And how,” Angelo said. “They’ve been running this scam for years, boss. Up and down the coast just like they said. We figure it’s the truth. It was just a thing that happened. A coincidence.”

  Mick’s jaw tightened when Angelo said those words. Even Joey knew his father wasn’t going for that.

  “Is that what you think too, Drone?” Mick asked Danny.

  Danny Padrone used to be Mick’s right-hand man before Teddy took over. Now he felt as if he was walking on egg shells. He said the wrong thing, he made the wrong move, and Angelo would overtake him as number two. But he had to be honest. “Yeah,” he said. “There’s no other answer for it, boss. These fools just
picked the wrong mark last night. They had no idea it was your wife. They just thought they had a woman in an expensive car who would be willing to pay to make it go away, or at least get her insurance to pay. It’s a classic scam.”

  Mick was disappointed in Danny. He used to expect big things from that young man. But then Teddy came along, threatened his position in Mick’s organization, and Danny folded like an accordion rather than fought like hell to stay on top. Now this.

  When Mick wasn’t with Rosalind, he always felt like a man alone. He always felt like a man fighting wars that nobody else seemed to realized were raging. He was getting tired of the fight. But unlike these younger cats who stopped climbing whenever the hill got too steep, he would never stop fighting until there wasn’t a breath left in his body.

  Mick stared at the man, and made his calculation. He knew that look. He had that look whenever he looked at Rosalind. That man loved his wife deeply and hated that she was in this situation. Mick looked at the woman. It was a different story with her. If the man was threatened, the man would be too grieved to talk. He’d protect his wife at all costs. But if the woman saw that man endangered and knew that she could be next, it was Mick’s calculation that the woman would not only talk to preserve herself, she’d sing. She might love her husband, but Mick figured she loved herself more.

  Mick went for the man. He walked up to Joe Alanbeck, pulled a switchblade from beneath his coat sleeve that Joey didn’t even realize he had put there, slung open the blade, and without a nary word sliced the man’s throat.

  The blood gushed out as the man immediately grabbed his throat with both hands, gasping for air as he tried to stanch the massive blood flow. His wife screamed in horror and tried to run away. Even Danny Padrone and Angelo Jovanni winced. How could boss do such a horrific thing to salt of the earth people like this?

  But Joey was smiling. The old man got what he deserved. He, like Mick, wasn’t falling for their Ma and Pa act either. A couple this old running scams was a couple of scammers to Joey. A couple of crooks. He wouldn’t trust them if trust was their middle name.