Reno noticed how Val was now rubbing her small fingers together. And it wasn’t that she was resisting Trina’s call to move on. She hadn’t even considered where she could move to. She, Reno was now convinced, had no answers at all.
“I’d better check on my roast,” Val said. And then she stood and hurried into the kitchen.
Jimmy stood too, and was about to follow her, but he decided against it. His parents could see the sense of defeat on his face. “I’m going to go upstairs and get out of this suit,” he said to them. “I’ll be back.” And just as Val retreated to the kitchen, Jimmy retreated upstairs. Like the kids they still were. Trina looked at Reno.
“They’re so young,” she said. “But they’re caught up in grown-up games.”
Reno agreed. “Sometimes I wish I would have never gone along with this marriage. But I thought it would help James.”
Trina stared at her husband. “Help him? Help him how?”
“He had so many bad starts in his young life. First it was the tragic death of his biological mother, and that girl in Georgia and the craziness that happened involving her. And then there were all of those other girls he would be interested in, only to find out they didn’t want him, they wanted what they could get from me, his father. Then Valerie came along. A young lady of background and breeding, and with no dollar signs anywhere in those beautiful eyes of hers. I thought she was perfect for our child. And I still believe that. I thought she would do for him what you did for me.”
“What did I do for you?” Trina asked.
“You brought out the best in me, and you showed me that there were still good, decent people in this world who said what they meant and meant what they said. That’s how I view Valerie in James’s life. But then this unfortunate miscarriage happened and suddenly their marriage is on the rocks. Suddenly the one woman I thought could reaffirm his faith in his fellowman, doesn’t want him either. And that’s a heartbreaking thought.”
Trina agreed. “And there’s not a damn thing we can do about it,” she said.
Reno’s cell phone began to ring. He pulled it out and looked at the Caller ID. “I’d better take this,” he said, stood up, and began talking and walking around the living room.
Trina continued to sit there, since she was tired anyway, but then she thought about that unfinished business she had with Val. Val was in a bad place, and she understood that. But she had to understand Trina too.
Trina got out and went into the kitchen.
Val was just pulling her roast from out of the oven. Val smiled as Trina approached. “Hey,” she said.
“Smells good in here,” Trina responded.
“Jimmy likes my cooking, believe it or not, so I thought I’d let you guys taste it for yourselves.”
Val began to base the roast with its own juices. She also sat the asparagus aside.
Trina was never one to mince words. “I understand you met my husband at the door when he came over earlier,” she said, and then looked Val in the eye.
Val’s heart dropped. She was stunned that Reno would have told her about that. She continued to base her roast, and sauté her asparagus. “I thought it was Jimmy coming home,” she lied.
“That asparagus looks scrumptious too,” Trina said. “Ask next time,” she added. “Before you open that door, make certain it’s your man, and not mine.”
Val looked at Trina. “Please don’t think I was trying to make a play for Mr. Gabrini or anything like that, because I wasn’t. It’s just that I wasn’t being myself.”
“Yes, you were,” Trina said firmly. “You were being yourself. You have been attracted to Reno for quite some time now, Val, and you saw an opportunity. The fact that you were in that I don’t care state of mind did exacerbate things and cause you to actually put into action what you would have normally kept as a fantasy. But you knew what you were doing. And if my husband would have been willing, you would have been able. He saved you from yourself today. Because he loves his son, and he loves his wife, and he loves you, Val. Very much. But those other men out there are not going to show that kind of restraint. You try that stunt and prance around half-naked in front of them, they will be more than willing to take you up on your offer. What I’m saying to you is simple: if you still love Jimmy, don’t offer it, Val.”
Val nodded her head. “I do love him. I just. . .”
“Just stop making excuses, and love him,” Trina advised. “He truly loves you, and he doesn’t deserve this treatment.”
“Wow,” Reno said as he entered the kitchen. “Something smells like real food in here!”
Trina smiled. “Real food,” she said to Val with a shake of the head, and Val smiled.
Then Trina looked at Reno. “Well what were you expecting, Reno? Fake food?”
“No. But nothing this appetizing,” he said, licking his lips at that juicy roast. “I was expecting food that was more along the lines of what you cooked, Tree,” he added. Val laughed, and Trina hit him playfully on the arm.
But then Jimmy came tearing into the kitchen, grabbed his father by the catch of his shirt collar, and ran with him until he was slamming him against the kitchen wall.
“Jimmy!” Val and Trina both yelled.
But as they were yelling hysterically, Reno was reversing the maneuver. He, instead, grabbed his son, turned him around, and shoved Jimmy’s back even harder against the wall. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Reno yelled angrily.
“That’s the word,” Jimmy said. “Your favorite word. Fuck. As in are you fucking my wife, Dad?”
“Jimmy!” Val yelled in horror.
Reno frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Jimmy jerked away from his father and shoved the suit coat, the one nobody realized he had in his hands, against his father’s chest. “That’s what I’m talking about!” Jimmy yelled. “It was upstairs on our bed. How did it get there? What were you doing upstairs in our bedroom? And don’t tell me it’s not yours because your cologne is all over it. It’s yours!”
“It’s not what you think, Jimmy,” Val said, and hurried between the two men.
Jimmy looked at her. “Oh yeah? So what’s the story then, Val? What’s the story?”
Reno and Trina both looked at Val. They were depending on her to tell the truth to her husband. This was about character now. This was about morality and doing the right thing even if it cost her.
“It wasn’t about him,” Val said. “It was about me. He came over just after I got out of the shower.”
Jimmy frowned. “Yeah, so?”
“So then I hurried downstairs to answer the door.”
Jimmy hesitated. “Naked?”
“With nothing on but a towel, yes,” Val admitted.
Jimmy was puzzled. “But why, Val?”
“She thought it was you,” Reno said, intervening on Val’s behalf. He knew it wasn’t true, but he couldn’t bear seeing his son hurt.
But Trina stared at Val. It was now or never. She was going to show Trina what she was made of, or continue to live in her lies.
“No,” Val said after some hesitation. “I knew it was your father. I told him I thought it was you, but I knew it was him.”
Jimmy couldn’t believe it. “You knew it?”
“Yes. I knew.”
“So you wanted him to see you . . . like that?”
Val was ashamed to admit it. But she knew she had to. “Yes,” she said.
“But why, Val?”
“Because I didn’t care enough, Jimmy. My world just felt so useless and uneven and I didn’t care about the consequences!”
Jimmy steeled himself. “So what happens?” he asked. “You show up in a towel and what? Dad takes you upstairs?”
“No!” Val shot back. “He took off his coat and put it on me, and sent me upstairs to put on some clothes. I forgot about that jacket.”
Jimmy nodded. “I knew my Dad would never betray me,” he said, more as a knock against Val than a nod to Reno.
Then Jimmy turned t
o leave. Val grabbed him by the arm. “Jimmy, don’t just leave. Where are you going?”
It was Jimmy’s time to jerk away from her. “Where do you think I’m going?” he asked. “Away from you, that’s for sure!”
“But nothing happened!”
“Because my dad wouldn’t allow it to happen!” Jimmy shot back. “That says something about my dad, that’s true. But it says even more about you!”
Then Jimmy left the kitchen, and his home altogether.
Val burst into tears, and ran upstairs.
Trina was about to go after her, but Reno stopped her. “She said she didn’t care about the consequences, Tree,” he said. “Think about what those consequences could have been if she would have gotten her wish. Jimmy’s marriage would have been ruined, and ours too.”
“I know that,” Trina said. “But I also know that she’s young and she’s in pain. She knows she messed up. I made that clear to her myself. Jimmy just made it clear to her. She doesn’t need any more consequences. She’s going to need a little love. I’m going to make sure she gets it.”
And against Reno’s advice, Trina removed herself from his grasp, and went to her young daughter-in-law.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Reno, Trina, and Jimmy made their way across the tarmac to Reno’s private plane. He was leaving Vegas to handle business in Georgia, and neither his wife nor son wanted to see him go. Especially after what happened at Jimmy’s place last night. When they made it to the plane, Reno turned toward them. And addressed his wife. He felt unsettled too.
“Don’t have too much fun while I’m gone,” he said.
Trina smiled. They both wore shades against the glaring sunlight, but Jimmy also suspected that they both wore shades to shield the emotions they often felt when one of them had to leave town. It didn’t seem to have gotten any easier for them with each passing year. It seemed to have gotten harder.
“And don’t let my staff bug you about anything,” Reno went on. “Make them wait until I return. You have enough to do already.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And don’t smile at the opposite sex.”
Trina wanted to smile. “Yes, sir.”
“Don’t nod your head, don’t even laugh at their jokes.”
Trina laughed. “Don’t deny me at least a little fun,” she responded. “At least while Grace is in town.”
“Okay, a little is fine,” Reno responded with a smile of his own. “But with Grace only. And where is she anyway? She’s in my town. Why didn’t she come with you guys to bid me farewell?”
Jimmy shook his head. “Like you’re some rock star, hun, Pop?”
“Damn right,” Reno replied laughingly.
“She’s at Sal and Gemma’s,” Trina replied. “She wanted to spend some time with them. We’re going to meet at the club as soon as I can ditch my old man here and finally be free to roam.”
Although Jimmy laughed, Reno failed to see that particular humor. “That’s not funny,” he said.
“Neither are all of your edicts, Reno. I’m going to be fine. I’m not going to suddenly go out and act a fool, I don’t know why you’re tripping. I want you to go and seal that deal. And then get your ass back home to us.”
Reno laughed. “Yeah, that is the important thing, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Trina said. “This will be new territory for us. The PaLargio South. It’s going to be exciting.”
Reno agreed. Then he looked at his wife with a lingering look. He didn’t know why, since he was always going on business trips, but he hated to leave her on this particular trip. He kissed her on the lips. Oh that taste of her! But he knew he had to go. No more lingering. “See you soon,” he said.
“Have a good trip,” Trina replied. She wasn’t exactly thrilled to see him go either. But she stepped aside and allowed Jimmy to say his goodbyes.
Jimmy extended his hand. “Good luck with the deal, Dad,” he said.
Reno shook his hand and then hugged him. When they stopped embracing, he looked into his eyes. “Talk to your wife,” he ordered him.
Jimmy nodded, but he knew he wasn’t ready yet.
Trina gave Reno a blow-kiss goodbye and then she and Jimmy began to move away from the plane. Reno began to head up the steps that led to the plane’s entrance, but he stopped, turned around, and looked at his wife again just as she was looking back at him. Their eyes met, and suddenly their separation felt as real as rain.
“Come here,” Reno said to her.
Trina didn’t hesitate. She knew what he wanted, and she instinctively knew exactly how he felt. Because she was feeling it too. She walked back up to the plane, with Jimmy following her, and then she walked up the steps to Reno.
Reno took her hand and looked beyond her at his oldest child. “I’ll have her back out in a minute,” he said, and then took her inside the plane.
Jimmy smiled. It amazed him how the two of them, after two babies and a solid marriage, still couldn’t get enough of each other. But then he thought about his own marriage, and that little stunt Val tried to pull with his father, and his smile slowly, but surely evaporated.
Inside the plane, Reno walked Trina into his private cabinet, locked the door, and then walked up to her. He placed his arms around her waist and began kissing her passionately. He could feel his erection expanding with every second of their kiss, and all he could think about was how wonderful she tasted, and how wonderful she smelled, and how wonderful she was going to make him feel. He lifted her into his arms and sat her back down on the double-seat. He bent down, removed her panties, opened her legs, and began to lick.
Trina rested her high heels on his shoulders as his mouth gave her a mouthful. Reno loved the taste of her, that was no surprise to her, but the way he was doing her now was surprising. He usually ate her slowly, building his momentum. But tonight he was licking her vigorously. So vigorous that Trina’s heels were digging into Reno’s shoulders and her stomach was pushing in as the licks intensified, and pushing out as the feelings those licks produced settled in. And then he was eating her.
He ate her so hard he was biting into her. He ate her so hard her small body rammed against the back of the seat and was still banging against it as Reno mouth-fucked her as if his life depended on that feeling.
And he felt it. He felt it with every throb of his dick. His mouth devoured her. This was his woman and she satisfied his massive appetite in ways he didn’t think any one woman ever could. But Trina did. Every time he fucked her, she did.
And that was what he had to do right now, he thought as he stood up. He had to fuck her. He unbuckled his pants. He unzipped and dropped his pants and briefs. Trina felt her eyes become hooded as she looked at his magnificent dick. Reno held it tightly and watched her watching it. Her hair had fallen into her dark brown face, partially covering her left eye, and she looked so sexy to Reno just her look alone caused his dick to pulsate to the point where he could not wait a moment longer.
He put it into her. Trina’s hooded eyes closed. Reno leaned against her and closed his eyes too. He was in that place again where his deep love for Trina, and his constant need to fuck her, converged. There was no better feeling to Reno and Trina. And they fucked on that plane as if they were into each other for the very first time.
Time was running out. Reno was already late taking off, but he kept putting it on her. For ten minutes, twenty minutes, nearly thirty, he put it on her. Until the finally came. Together. And it felt like their first time all over again. Reno had to hold onto the back of the double seat, to steady himself as they came.
Jimmy was still waiting outside of the plane. He was flipping through his phone’s text messages and trying with all he had not to think about Val. But all he thought about was Val. Why would she do something like that, he wondered. She was grieving, and so was he, but to try and seduce his father was crazy to him. Instead of trying to move on, she was camping out, staying in that place of misery, and trying with all she had to get him to jo
in her. His feelings didn’t matter. She was in pain and that was all she wanted to deal with. Her pain. Never his.
It reminded him of so many of his previous girlfriends. They always became little seductresses whenever his father would come around. It was no longer about pleasing Jimmy. It became all about pleasing Reno. Or, at least, acting the way they thought would please him.
Now Val was pulling that same shit too. And she was pulling it in the name of her grief and despair. And what did she expect Jimmy to do? Accept it? Get over it? Forget about it?
Jimmy didn’t know what he was going to do. He loved Val. He wasn’t going to pretend he didn’t. But their marriage was rocky even before last night. He could leave her. But that wouldn’t be easy either. She made a mistake. One stupid mistake. Leaving her wasn’t even on the table as far as he was concerned. In truth, he was more concerned with what she might do. He was more concerned that she might leave.
Reno and Trina finally reappeared at the door of the plane. Reno had already cleaned her up. Now he kissed her, and she headed down the steps.
“Take care of her while I’m gone,” Reno ordered Jimmy.
Jimmy smiled. “The same way you just did, Pop?” he asked.
Reno didn’t find that funny at all. He didn’t crack a smile. Trina and Jimmy, however, were laughing.
Trina and Grace Gabrini relaxed in the VIP section of the mellow club and sipped their wine. Grace was Tommy Gabrini’s wife and the mother of a bouncing baby girl, and they spent a big portion of their girls night out talking about little Destiny Gabrini.
“Here’s a picture of her laying on Tommy’s stomach,” Grace said, showing Trina yet another picture on her smartphone.
Trina smiled. The brown little girl was on Tommy’s stomach, as he lay on the sofa. “She’s fab, Grace,” Trina said. “Just so precious.”
“And here’s a picture,” Grace said, sliding her phone’s screen past three other pictures, “of Dez on the patio. Isn’t she adorable?”
“Yes,” Trina agreed with a knowing smile. “She’s so adorable. Every one of these thousands of pictures of your baby girl is adorable.”
Mob Boss Eleven- The Wrong One (The Mob Boss Series Book 11) Page 8