MOB BOSS 3: LOVE AND RETRIBUTION (3 page)

“Yo, Dirt,” Carmine said as he approached. “Where’s Reno?”

“Carmine, where you been?” Dirty asked this in his thick Jersey accent. “Franny said you and MarBeth was coming later, but the party’s almost over.”

“Where’s Reno? You seen Reno?”

“Where’s Reno? You seen Reno?”

“No, I ain’t seen no Reno. I mean yeah, I seen him for a minute, but he left.”

“Left where? Where did he go?”

“How should I know? Reno doesn’t tel me his business. Where you been, that’s what I wanna know?”

Carmine looked passed Dirty, he was getting no-where with that jerk-off. When he saw Trina talking with Bele Gabrini, Reno’s mother and Carmine’s mother-in-law, he hurried for their table.

“Tree, where’s Reno?” he asked as soon as he was upon her. She was seated to the right of Bele, with Francine, Dirty’s wife and Bele’s daughter, to her left. Trina saw the look of terror in Carmine’s earnest face.

“What’s wrong?” she asked him.

“It’s---,” he started, shook his head, and then looked at his mother-in-law, who was now looking at him. He smiled, which was always an effort for a tough guy like Carmine. “Hey, Ma Bele,” he said.

“How you doing?”

“Which one are you?” Bele asked. With her growing dementia, sometimes she recognized him and the rest of her family, and sometimes, like now, she didn’t.

“That’s Carmine, Ma,” Trina said. “MarBeth’s husband. Your son-in-law.”

“Some son-in-law. Wait til Paulo hears about this.” Paulo Gabrini, Bele’s husband, was dead.

Trina patted Bele’s hand, stood up, and walked away with Carmine away from her earshot.

“What’s wrong?” she asked him again.

“Trouble,” Carmine said, his eyes registering fear and anguished al roled into one. “I need Reno.”

“What kind of trouble? Mob trouble?”

“I need him, Tree.”

“No, Carmine, no. Reno’s not getting caught up in anymore of that craziness.”

“This can’t be helped.”

“None of it can, that’s the problem. But it has got to be helped this time, Carmine, are you kidding me? That so-caled trouble nearly destroyed him last time, and you know it. And now you want to pul him back into that?”

“It’s MarBeth, Tree.”

Trina’s heart pounded. MarBeth Rossi was Reno’s sister and Carmine’s wife. She was also the only one in Reno’s family, other than Trina, wiling to stand up to him. “MarBeth?” she asked.

“And it’s bad, Tree,” Carmine said. “Or I wouldn’t be here. It’s bad.”

Trina hated it. She knew Reno was exhausted and needed his rest. She also knew he needed more trouble like he needed a hole in the head. But this was about his sister. Carmine was right. It couldn’t be helped.

She escorted him out of the balroom, down the quiet corridor, and up to the hotel room she had left less than an hour ago herself. She used her passkey and they entered in.

Reno, as she expected, was stil in bed and fast asleep. She hesitated, he so needed his rest, and looked at Carmine.

“It’s vital, Tree,” he said. “It can’t wait.”

Trina exhaled, walked over to her husband, and shook him.

Reno jumped awake, his head and bare shoulders lifting up suddenly, until he realized it was Trina. He laid back down, frowned, and closed his eyes. “Hey, babe,” he said.

“Carmine’s here, Reno,” Trina said, but Reno was snoring again as if he never woke up in the first place. Trina shook him. His eyes reopened.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, what was it?”

“I said Carmine’s here. He needs to talk to you.”

Reno looked past Trina to Carmine, his brother-in-law and many times his right hand man. “What’s up?” he asked him.

“It’s MarBeth, Reno. She’s in trouble.”

Reno stared at him. Carmine was afraid he had falen back asleep, but Trina knew he was wide awake now. The word trouble always got Reno’s attention.

“What kind of trouble?” he asked his in-law.

Carmine swalowed hard. Didn’t know how to say it, except to just say it. “She kiled Vito Giancarlo’s son,” Carmine said and Reno threw the covers off and jumped out of bed, his penis dangling, his nakedness completely forgotten. “She
what
?” he asked.

Trina, too, was stunned witless. They both stared at Carmine.

“I just found out,” Carmine said, tears staining his lids. “I just found out.”

“What the fuck happened, Carmine? What are you teling me?”

“It’s that element she’s been hanging around.”

Reno frowned. “What element? What are you talking about?”

Trina walked over to the bathroom, grabbed a white terry cloth robe, and came back, listening intensely the entire time.

“It’s that guy,” Carmine was saying. “That Joey Laster.”

“Who the hel’s Joey Laster?”

Carmine and Trina exchanged a glance.

“Wel who is he?” Reno asked. Trina helped him put on the robe.

“He’s the guy MarBeth been foolin’ around with,” Carmine said.

Reno was tying the robe, but stopped mid-tie. “Foolin’ around? What you mean ‘fooling around?’ You’re trying to tel me that MarBeth, that my sister, was cheating on you? Is that what you’re teling me?”

Trina could tel that Carmine, a proud man, hated to admit it. But he had to. “Yes,” he said. “And Joey Laster isn’t the first time, either. But that guy, Reno, is a major league fuck-up and I told her that.”

“But you didn’t tel me a damn thing about it,” Reno said angrily.

“You weren’t here, Reno. What was I supposed to do? Cal you up? You left us, remember? Didn’t want to have anything more to do with us, remember?”

“That wasn’t the reason, Carmine, and you know it,” Trina said, surprised that he would go there. “Now I know you’re upset, we al are, but you aren’t going to stand up here and put that guilt trip on my husband.”

Carmine settled back down. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m just so. . .”

“Tel me what happened,” Reno said, attempting to maintain his cool although his heart was hammering. He left his family for seven months; left them dangling in the wind when he knew they relied on him for practicaly everything. And he was now just beginning to reap the whirlwind from that horrific past of his that never seemed capable of letting him go.

“Joey Laster is a smal time hood who sold drugs over in Newark,” Carmine said. “He and MarBeth hooked up through some friend of hers. By the time I found out, she was already head over heels in love with this guy. Said she’l leave me if I try to break it up or do any harm whatsoever to her new Casanova.”

Carmine paused. The pain was stil too raw.

“So I did nothing,” he said. He saw that look of disapproval in Reno’s eyes. “I didn’t wanna lose my wife, al right? What would you have done?”

Killed the motherfucker
, Reno wanted to say. “Just tel me what happened,” he said instead. “What happened that caused my sister to ice the son of Vito Giancarlo, my father’s closest friend and her godfather for crying out loud. I want you to explain that to me.”

Carmine exhaled, felt as if he was near hyperventilation. “Can I sit down?” he asked, and Trina hurried to assist him.

“Please,” she said, puling the chair out from under the smal conference table in the room.

As Carmine sat, Reno started moving around, rubbing his forehead.
Please
, he was praying,
let this be some mistake. Please
.

“Want something to drink, Carmine?” Trina asked him.

“No, Tree, thanks. I just been so blown over since MarBeth caled me. Cause it was so out of the blue. We had plans. She was to fly down for Ma Bele’s celebration, and I thought she was on her way. I was waiting for her at the compound in Spring Valey so we could drive over and make our appearance together. Then she cals and says she’s stil in Jersey, tels me what went down. So I just jumped in the limo and got here as fast as I could.”

“What happened?” Reno asked again, this time his voice barely a whisper. “What went down?”

“MarBeth said she was with Joey when he was making a drop.”

“What kind of drop?”

Carmine hesitated. “Drugs, Reno,” he said.

Reno and Trina exchanged glances. Trina had suspected, for some time now, that both Carmine and Dirty had turned to drugs to keep the money flowing the way it used to flow when Reno’s father was alive. Reno didn’t believe it, but Trina always suspected it.

“Go on,” Reno said.

“It was supposed to be a routine drop,” Carmine continued. “In some office building garage somewhere. It went fine she said, Joey and the guy were talking, you know, until the guy puls out this gun.

She says she panicked, knew Joey kept a gun in the glove compartment, so she puled it out and got out of the car. When the guy put the gun to Joey’s head, she . . .”

Carmine looked at Reno as tears appeared in Carmine’s bloodshot eyes. “She fired, Reno. Three shots she think, but maybe more, kiled him dead on the spot. Joey started yeling, saying, ‘what have you done,’ and then he jumped in the car, screamed for her to get in, and they took off. There was another guy there but he seemed too stunned to react fast enough. She didn’t know it was Vito’s son until you done,’ and then he jumped in the car, screamed for her to get in, and they took off. There was another guy there but he seemed too stunned to react fast enough. She didn’t know it was Vito’s son until Joey told her later.”

Reno’s heart grew faint. His sister kiled somebody. His
sister
? “Where is she now?” he asked.

“They were driving around, that’s how panicked they were. I told her to wait wherever she was, I can’t even remember right now, and I had our people bring her in. They caled just before I got here.

She’s stil in Jersey, at the family compound in Somers Point. Under heavy guard. She begged me not to tel you, but how could I not, Reno? She’s your sister.”

“Where’s this Joey character?” Reno asked.

“With her. I had him brought in too. I didn’t want the cops capturing him so he could spil the beans on MarBeth.”

“Good,” Reno said with a nod, although his face was stil a mask of anguish. “Good move, Carmine.”

“They’re both waiting for you.”

Trina’s heart dropped. Because she knew this was just the beginning. She looked at Reno. The anguish in her eyes broke his heart.

“Go to the balroom, Carmine,” he ordered. “Get a hold of Dirty and also tel Lee Jones I want to see him. Bring them both here.”

Carmine glanced at Trina. He hated puling Reno in like this, he hated it, but what did she expect him to do? He left.

Reno walked up to Trina, placed his hands on her toned, bare arms. She was already shaking her head.

“You can’t, Reno.”

“I have to, Tree,” he said, his heart filed with as much despair as her eyes displayed. “I don’t have a choice, sweetheart. She’s my sister. She’s in trouble. What else am I gonna do?”

“But she shot Vito Giancarlo’s son. He’s not going to let somebody kil his child and there be no retribution.”

Reno began rubbing her arms. “I know. That’s why I’ve got to go to him--”

“No, Reno--”

“I have to, Tree. I’ve got to go to him and beg that man’s forgiveness. I’ve got to do it for my sister’s sake.”

“And if he wants blood for blood?”

Reno’s chest heaved in and out. He could hardly believe he was being forced down this road again. “I can’t let it be my sister’s blood,” he said.

Trina’s heart fel through her shoe. Because she knew he’d do it. Reno Gabrini would sacrifice his own life to save his sister. He’d leave this earth today if it meant his family would be spared. She desperately hated and desperately loved that quality about Reno.

Tears filed her eyes. “I’m going with you,” she said.

But Reno was already shaking his head. “You know better than that. I need you to stay right here, Tree, with Ma and Franny. I need you to be strong for me.” His eyes glistened. He looked at her arms, and then back into her eyes. “I’l leave Dirty here, to supervise and beef up security, and I’l tel Lee to keep his eyes wide open too. But I’m counting on you, Tree. To be strong. Wil you do that for me?”

Tears dropped down her cheeks. She angrily wiped them away. “It’s so unfair, Reno,” she cried. “It’s so not fair!”

Reno puled her violently into his arms, his eyes tightly shut as he held her. What did they want from him! Just two weeks back and shit like this goes down? He could hardly contain his rage, his despair.

But he had to. For Trina.

He puled back from her, his hands stil gripping her arms.

Trina rubbed her hand across the lapel of his robe. “I’l let you go this time,” she said, tears faling anew, “but you’d better come back to me, Dominic Gabrini. I’l kil you if you don’t.”

Reno smiled. Wiped away her tears with his thumb. “I’l be back,” he said in his best Schwarzenegger imitation. And then his look turned serious. He lifted her chin, looked her dead in the eyes. “I’l be back, Katrina,” he promised.

And she smiled, as if his saying it made it so.

She fel, once again, into his warm, strong, powerful arms.

He would be back, she decided.

Because he had to.

TWO

The next morning, the limo carrying Reno and Carmine drove through the electronic gates of the family compound in Somers Point, New Jersey. When the limo stopped at the steps, however, Reno just sat there.

Carmine looked at him. “What is it?” he asked. “She’s waiting inside.”

“Bring her here,” Reno ordered.

“Here? In the car?”

“Bring her here,” Reno said again. “Along with the boyfriend.”

Carmine didn’t understand why. Did he think the house was bugged or something? But Reno was the boss. He got out, and went inside to get the twosome.

Reno picked up the car phone, caled Luigi Drago, an east coast mob boss everybody caled the Drag. Because he was one of Vito Giancarlo’s closest friends, Reno was using him as a go-between.

“Tel me something good, Drag,” Reno said into the phone.

“I talked to him Dominic. He’s upset obviously. Man just lost his son.”

Reno closed his eyes. He’d lost a child before too. But he couldn’t dwel on the tragedy of it. He had his sister to think about. “What did he say?” he asked him.