Mob Boss Eleven- The Wrong One (The Mob Boss Series Book 11) (15 page)

Fran
was seething, but she was no fool.
 
Sal
wasn’t going to let her put a finger on Gemma, and she knew it.
 
She backed off.

And
Sal took over.
 
“Now get the fuck away
from here,” he ordered, “before she really beats your ass!”

Fran
rubbed the side of her face, picked up her cell phone that had fallen from her
hand, looked at Gemma one more time, and then left.
 

Sal
looked at his wife as if he was seeing her for the first time.
 
“
You
wanna go down that road
,” he mocked her.
 
“Like you’re bad.”
 
Jimmy and Val
laughed.

But
Gemma was dead serious.
 
“We could have
called Tommy and told him what Fran had told us,” she said.
 
“If we didn’t go and see it for ourselves, we
could have killed Tommy with that kind of news.
 
You should have let me beat her ass.”

“You’re
right.”
 
Sal nodded.
 
“You’re right.”
 
Then he exhaled and looked at Jimmy and
Val.
 
He was pleased that Val and Grace
were okay.
 
“So everybody’s okay,” he
said.
 

But
as soon as he said it, everybody knew that wasn’t quite true.

Jimmy
gave it voice.
 
“Except Ma,” he
said.
 
And his father, because his mother
wasn’t okay.
 

And
their already heavy hearts grew fainter.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Sal and
Gemma met Reno’s plane with a line of SUV’s behind them.
 
Reno expected security, but even he was
surprised by this show of force.
 
He
would have thought the President of the United States had arrived the way so
many of his men were standing at the foot of the steps to provide a line of
cover for him as he hurried off the plane, and made his way across the tarmac.

His
suit coat flapping in the rising wind.
 
And that very wind felt like a metaphor to Reno.
 
He was stepping back in Vegas.
 
He was returning home to his town.
 
But it didn’t feel like his town
anymore.
 
His wife had been gunned down
in this very town and was now fighting for her life.
 
It felt like an unwelcoming, strange, cold
place to Reno as he made his way to Sal and Gemma.

Reno
and Sal hugged as soon as he arrived.
 
Both men were emotional, but neither man, Gemma noticed, allowed
themselves to shed a single tear.

As
soon as they stopped embracing, Reno looked at Sal.
 
“Any new news on Tree?”

“She’s
still in surgery,” Sal responded.
 
“They’re
too busy working on her.
 
They aren’t
keeping us posted.”

Reno
let out a harsh exhale.
 
Then he thought
beyond his immediate pain.
 
“And Val and
Grace?”

“Val
and Grace are good.
 
Considering.
 
Both of them were hurt in the aftermath.
 
Neither one of them were hit.”

“Thank
God,” Reno said, relieved.
 
Then he
looked at Gemma.
 
“How are you,
sweetheart?” he asked.

“I’m
okay, Reno.”

He
kissed her on the lips and then hugged her.
 
He closed his eyes tightly as he held her.
 
Everybody knew she was his favorite.
 
Of all the Gabrini women after Trina, Gemma
was number two.
 
“Thank God you weren’t
there too,” Reno said to her.

Sal
looked at Reno.
 
He appreciated
that.
 
Most men would be angry and bitter
if it were their wives who took the hit, and not his.
 
But not Reno.
 
He was always a stand-up guy that way.
 
And although Sal disagreed with Reno on virtually every single thing,
there was not a man alive he respected more.

“Fran
was at the hospital too,” Sal said.

Reno
looked at him.
 
He knew Sal would not have
brought her up unless she was up to no good.
 
“Yeah?
 
What did she do this
time?”

“She
told us Grace had died.”

Reno
frowned.
 
“She
what
?”

“Yeah,”
Sal said.
 
“And you know what her excuse
was for telling us that?”

“What?”

“She
said Grace looked dead to her.”

Reno
couldn’t believe that crazy-ass sister of his.
 
“Wait until I get my hands on her,” he said.

“No
need,” Sal said with a grin.
 
“Gemma took
care of it.”

“Gemma?”
Reno asked, surprised.

“My
Gemma,” Sal responded.
 
“And it wasn’t
pretty.”

Reno looked
at Gemma and nodded his head.
 
“Good,” he
said.
 
“I hope you beat the shit out of
her,” he said. “It’s overdue.”

“Long
overdue,” Sal said.
 
“But don’t get me
started on that sister of yours.
 
I know
you want to get to the hospital.”

Sal
was right.
 
Reno was on pins and
needles.
 

They
all piled into the same SUV, with Reno riding up front with his
security/driver, and Sal and Gemma in the back.
 
“I thought you’d be over at the PaLargio with the children,” Reno said
to Gemma.

“Until
I’m certain they’re not targeting her too,” Sal responded, “she stays with me.”

“We
thought about getting the kids and bringing them to the hospital with us,”
Gemma said.

But
Reno was already shaking his head.
 
“They’re safer right where they are.
 
I have them in a safe room that can’t be penetrated, and Trina’s parents
were just a couple hours away at a church convention in Barstow, so they were
able to get here in no time.
 
They’re
with them now.”

Gemma
nodded.
 
“That’s what Jimmy told us,” she
said.
 
“I wasn’t sure what you wanted to
do.”

“They’re
safe.
 
Tree’s parents are old, but
they’ll give their lives for their grandkids.
 
And, on top of that, they’re all in the safe room.”

“I
didn’t know you had a safe room like that, Reno,” Sal said.

“Lots
of things you don’t know,” Reno responded.

Sal
shook his head.
 
“I forgot.
 
It’s you.
 
I lost my mind for a second and almost thought I liked you.”

Reno
smiled, but it was an ephemeral moment.
 
Because the pain was still there.
 
Because all he could think about was Trina, and Val, and Grace.
 
And, again, Trina.
 
He exhaled.
 
“Where’s Tommy?” he asked.
 
“He
should have made it by now.”

“He’s
here,” Sal said.
 
“He’s at the
hospital.
 
He’s been there for about half
an hour.”

Reno
looked back.
 
“How’s he taking it?”

“How
he takes everything,” Sal said.
 
“Hard.”

“But
Grace is okay, right?”

“Grace
is fine.
 
But he knows it was only a
miracle that she is.”

Reno
nodded and turned back around.
 
Reno
thought about Tommy, a man who had seen so much tragedy in his life, and he
knew exactly how Tommy felt.
 
Trina was
in surgery fighting for her life, those bastards who did it were running for
theirs, and all Reno could do was wait.
 
And stay calm.
 
And collect all
the intel he could before he exacted his revenge.
 
Because he was going to avenge this.
 
He was not going to rest until every one of
those fuckers was sleeping in their grave.

The
baby was asleep in Tommy’s arms.
 
Grace
wasn’t in and out anymore, but was now fast asleep .
 
Buddy Wellstone was back in the room with
Jimmy and Val, but Sal told him what Buddy had done.
  
How he sat with Grace.
 
Now it was just Tommy and baby Destiny
sitting there.
 
Their beautiful baby
girl.
 
She had her mother’s sparkling brown
skin tone and gleaming eyes like her father.
 
And Tommy was grateful.
 
The fact
that his wife was resting peacefully was a great thing.
 
Tommy could not express the joy he felt when
he got the news that she had not been shot.

But
there was also the dread in knowing what she had gone through, and how close
she had come.
 
And as he held his
sleeping daughter and continued to look at his sleeping wife, he knew he
couldn’t allow it.
 
She wanted to leave
before, but he begged her to stay.
 
And
then she ended up in a battle with one of his ex-lovers, and with blood on her
sweet, innocent hands.
 
All because of
her association with him.
 
She was going
to make it through this close call, thank God, but what about the next close
call?
 
How many more close calls would
she have?
 
How many more could she make
it through?
 
Would the law of averages
eventually catch up with them?

And
what about their precious daughter?
 
Would this be her end too?
 
Tommy
thought about Jimmy.
 
Would Destiny’s
husband be sitting at her bedside praying for her recovery too, the way Jimmy
undoubtedly had prayed for Val’s?
 
What
about Buddy Wellstone, Val’s father?
 
Would Tommy be that same devastated father when it was Destiny’s time to
be at this place in her life?
 
He closed
his eyes.
 
He couldn’t allow it.
 
No matter how much it hurt, he couldn’t allow
it.
 
He had to give his daughter, and his
wife, a fighting chance.

The
hospital doors flew open and Reno was in the house.
 
It was as if electricity itself entered the
building when Reno walked through those doors.
 
Everything became charged.
 
Everybody became hyper-alert, as if they were well aware that somebody
special was definitely in their midst, or Reno Gabrini wouldn’t be there.
 

The
security that surrounded him, Sal, and Gemma took a backseat to no one, and
even the cops that were still at the hospital, waiting to see if they would
ever get a statement from Trina Gabrini herself, knew it too.
 
Reno was one of the premier businessmen in
Vegas, that was true.
 
But they knew he
was the undisputed head of the Gabrini family also.
 
And they weren’t getting tangled up with
that.
 
They gave his security detail free
reign for now.

The
security expert in charge of the hospital detail met Reno and his entourage as
soon as they made their way toward the elevators.
 
He seemed happy, which pleased Reno.
 
None of his security chiefs were frivolous
men.

“She’s
out of surgery, boss,” he said.

“You
spoke with the doctor?”

“He
wouldn’t talk to me.
 
But he gave me a
thumbs up.”

“Where
is he?” Reno asked as they got on the elevator.
 

His
security expert remained on the first floor.
 
“I don’t know,” he said.

“Find
him,” Reno ordered, and the elevator doors closed.
 
He looked at Sal and shook his head.
 
“Fucking thumbs up.
 
No details, just a thumbs up.
 
That could mean anything.”

“Like
she ain’t dead yet,” Sal said, “but stay tuned?”

“Yeah,”
Reno agreed.
 
“Fucking doctors!”

“She’s
out of surgery,” Gemma said.
 
“That’s the
important thing.”

Reno
looked at her.
 
“What’s so important
about it?” he snapped.

“Hey!”
Sal snapped back.
 
“Now I know you’re
worried sick about your lady.
 
But you’re
not going to disrespect mine.”

Reno
immediately realized his slight.
 
He
nodded his head.
 
“Sorry about that,
Gem,” he said.
 
“I apologize.”

But
Gemma fully understood his anxiety.
 
“Sure, Reno.
 
No problem at all.”

Reno
nodded.
 
He knew she’d understand.

But
when the doors to that elevator opened again, only Trina occupied his
mind.
 
He couldn’t wait to get to her.

“Dad?”
Jimmy said as he hurried up the hall.

“Hey,”
Reno responded and then embraced his son heartily when he arrived by his side.

“Val’s
okay?” Reno asked when they stopped embracing.

“She’s
fine, Dad.
 
Aunt Grace is too.”

“I’m
glad to hear it, son.”

“I
guess you know Ma’s out of surgery.”

Before
Reno could respond to that, a tall man in surgical scrubs was coming out of the
Recovery room.
 
The room Reno was heading
into.

“Mr.
Gabrini I presume?” he asked.

“Yes,”
Reno responded.
 
“You’re my wife’s
doctor?”

“I’m
your wife’s surgeon, yes.”

“She’s
going to make it, right?”

“She
was wounded.
 
Severely.
 
But fortunately none of the bullets
penetrated vital organs, and none of them remained lodged within her.
 
So yes, she should have a full recovery.”